Chapter 130: Taking Shape

The tranquil night enveloped the earth, the chorus of insects rising and falling, adorning the quiet little garden with vibrant life. Victor lay on the lawn, letting the cool moonlight wash over him. A gentle breeze whispered across the grass, causing the blades to sway eastward, then westward—playful and joyful, mirroring Victor’s own mood.

The lively breeze swept past Victor, yet a faint current lingered, twining softly around his fingers, reluctant to depart.

Having read the scroll left by Sophia, Victor finally grasped the truth of this world. Draven’s combat technique scroll detailed the skill he had created: the Azure Moon. To aid those in his clan with innate gifts to better master it, the scroll also revealed the true nature of this world.

According to Draven’s record, the world is composed of three layers. The outermost is an endless sea of elements, where the four primal elements circulate, collide, and dissipate. From these interactions arises the second layer: the void elements. These void elements merge and settle to form the material world—the world in which Victor resides.

No one knows where the edge of the material world lies, but it is certain that it continues to grow. This explains why there are only the moon and sun, with no stars, and why the moon shows no phases. As for the sun and moon, high-ranking knights believe they are reflections of the fire elemental sea, while the Church of Radiance claims the sun is the divine realm of the Radiant Lord, and the moon its projection. Of course, these are mere conjectures without evidence.

Victor wondered why the elite of the human world kept such knowledge secret. Sylvia explained that the Church deemed ordinary folk unworthy of such truths, while high-ranking knights guarded the knowledge as the key to preserving their power lineage. Low-ranking knights were forbidden from learning this, as it could do more harm than good. They must train their fighting spirit and willpower step by step, reaching the pinnacle without being subsumed by the vast elemental sea. If lower knights learned the secrets prematurely, they might become reckless in pursuit of power or paralyzed by fear—both fatal mindsets for a knight. Over the millennia, many knights have perished on the path to greatness, most of them rogue knights without inheritance.

Compared to the perilous path of the knights, Victor faced no such issues. The Moon Elf gifted and the knights followed entirely opposite paths. Knights honed their fighting spirit to master and even enslave the four elemental forces. Moon Elf gifted ones, however, only needed to deepen the affinity of the wind element toward themselves—embracing nature rather than controlling it.

Practicing Draven’s Azure Moon, the first step was to learn to feel the wind element, increasing affinity by becoming one with nature and using the spirit to touch the intangible wind. Draven’s instructions were simple, but this was the hardest step. Without a systematic method, few could easily enter this state of unity with nature. Fortunately, Victor was an exception—his Golden Toad secret form pursued the harmony of man and nature, a skill he had already mastered.

Having overcome the first hurdle, Victor moved directly to the second step: guiding the wind element. This ability came naturally to those with the Windwalker gift. Victor could make the wind elements around him dance, creating a gentle breeze within a three-meter radius. Previously, he had never valued this innate talent; a soft breeze was neither harmful to enemies nor a boost to himself, and even for cooling, it drained his energy.

Reading Draven’s scroll made Victor suddenly understand the practical significance of guiding the wind element. Dravet believed that void wind elements were infinite and ubiquitous. Windwalkers should not merely control a single gust but allow the wind elements to freely dissipate and replenish.

This insight enlightened Victor. Previously, he had forcibly bound wind elements close to him, contrary to their lively and free nature. When disturbed, these void winds immediately slipped from his control. Furthermore, controlling them drained his mental strength, steadily sapping his physical stamina—a thankless effort.

Moreover, in Draven’s view, feeling and guiding were fundamental skills. Gifted individuals could enhance their affinity through prolonged feeling exercises, while guiding practice allowed subtle manipulation of the wind elements. Only after reaching a certain level could one perform the Azure Moon.

Thus, lying on the grass, Victor directed the gentle breeze to come and go, delighting in the play. Now, a soft current swirled around his fingers—he knew well the void wind elements were constantly dissipating and replenishing there.

The scroll recorded that when affinity and guidance reached a threshold, the wind element would break free from the limits of the Windwalker, revealing its violent and fierce side. Layer upon layer of wind elements would compress into an arc, dealing massive damage to enemies within thirty meters. This was the Azure Moon.

Draven described the Azure Moon as extremely fast but somewhat lacking in power—only enough to draw blood from the Ogre King. Victor did not know the Ogre King’s strength, but Sylvia told him that two legendary paladins had fallen to that very ogre.

Victor could not yet unleash the Azure Moon, but his renewed understanding of Windwalker had already borne fruit. The duration of his Awakening extended from one minute to five. His movement speed increased slightly, and the range of wind-infused arrows extended from ten to fifteen meters—boosting both power and reach by twenty percent. Most importantly, Windwalker’s abilities could be improved through Draven’s training.

As for whether this training could alter one’s bloodline, Victor thought it unlikely. External changes could hardly transform innate essence. He suspected Draven bore the blood of another intelligent species, which explained his warrior-like fortitude. Moon Elves with the Windwalker gift possessed high-speed movement, silence, agility, and keen perception—undeniable qualities of a supreme marksman. This was the role Victor designated for himself, at least until the Golden Toad secret form advanced.

A faint rustling reached Victor’s ears—no need to look, he knew it was Nicole. When the female knight stepped within two meters, her image vividly formed in Victor’s mind: lifting her skirt hem, bare-footed, holding her breath, tiptoeing softly like a big cat. Victor couldn’t help but smile—besides Sylvia, no one could evade his two-meter blind sense.

Feigning a casual stretch, Victor reached out and caught Nicole’s smooth ankle. With a startled cry, she curled up beside him just like a cat. Victor knew well that with his strength alone, he could never pull down a female knight—this was a lovers’ jest.

Her fair, sharp chin gently rested on Victor’s arm as Nicole gazed at him for a long while.

“Nicole, you seem quite happy,” Victor softly remarked, seeing a faint smile in her amber eyes.

Nicole lightly shook her head, then pressed her cheek against Victor’s chest, quietly listening to his strong heartbeat before biting her lip and saying, “I’m glad you didn’t listen to the lady.”

Victor couldn’t help but laugh. Sylvia had left the decision of whether to keep Sophia to him. If Victor had revealed the Ants’ secret to Sophia, Sylvia would have justifiably detained her. Victor had not done so, much to Sylvia’s regret. Nicole, however, was pleased with his choice—she was the only woman among Victor’s circle to show jealousy.

“Sylvia only wanted Sophia to join her knight order…”

“No, the lady values you. She believes you might become a remarkable non-knightly noble like Arya one day. She doesn’t want you to have regrets. She also thinks Lord Sophia’s path will be hard, even perilous,” Nicole said softly.

Victor fell silent. Arya was the founder of the Silver Tower, the one who proposed the vassal system that liberated commoners’ productivity and eased tensions between knightly nobility and the Church. The emergence of the Human Empire had indeed reversed humanity’s steady retreat. Sylvia’s comparison of Victor to Arya stemmed from the fact that the Special Bricks could likewise change history—they had already altered the York family’s fate.

Sylvia valued Victor, believing his feelings for Sophia were deep and unwilling to see her friend suffer. Yet, she understood Sophia’s commercial ambitions but did not realize Victor was no longer the young baron he once was.

Undeniably, Sylvia possessed true leadership. In the family’s hour of crisis, she neither stopped the family knight Nicole from risking her life to rescue her nor interfered with Sophia’s choices. Reflecting on this, Victor could not help but ask, “Does the York family plan to establish a kingdom? Is Sylvia aiming to be queen?”

“I can’t say for sure. Our family only wishes for a stable and prosperous life for its members. But King Kline won’t let us be, neither have the Ants in the Centaur Hills. Now, we can only go with the flow and keep striving,” Nicole shook her head.

“Go with the flow and keep striving.” Victor pondered this phrase carefully and smiled. “Is that the York family tradition?”

Nicole gave him a sharp look. The boar was the York family emblem, symbolizing tenacity, resilience, and fierceness—but not aggression. Because of this, other nobles often mocked them, since boars are hardly noble or elegant creatures.

Victor gently embraced Nicole, curled in his arms, and suddenly noticed her hair was damp. A thought struck him. “Did you go out to fight the Ants today?”

Nicole proudly lifted her chin. “Yes, we annihilated a lone ant swarm. The ant leader was taken down by the teacher and three other grand knights working together. Then we immediately withdrew to Black Fort town. Now, over a thousand ants roam outside the walls. Once they scatter in a few days, we’ll strike another swarm. Victor, your Black Feather played a huge part. Without its guidance, finding the lone swarm would’ve been much harder.”

Victor frowned. The York knights actively leaving the city to hunt down isolated ant swarms and reduce their numbers was clearly preparation for the decisive battle. Yet, Victor needed more time.

Sixty days had passed since the unlimited production of alchemical militia. Victor should have gained 120 militiamen and 60 auxiliary soldiers by now, but he still had no idea of the secret fortress’s progress. One thing was certain: the longer the delay, the stronger his forces.

“When will the final battle against the Ants begin?” Victor asked.

“At least another six months. We’re clearing out lone swarms to pacify the surrounding lords. Only when the family and kingdom reach consensus can we face the Ants head-on. By then, the Ant numbers should be much reduced,” Nicole replied.

Victor exhaled in relief. In another half-year, the Alchemy Tower would surely be fully staffed. Seeing Nicole’s excited expression, he smiled. “Nicole, you seem eager.”

She looked him squarely in the eyes and said earnestly, “Victor, once I’ve earned enough glory for the family, I will fight for you!”

A warm feeling blossomed in Victor’s chest as he replied sincerely, “I believe that without doubt.”

Drawing the female knight closer, Victor’s thoughts lingered, “That day will never come—unless I truly fail to protect you all.”

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Deep into the night, in the western mountainous region, dozens of burly men labored tirelessly. The fiery red forge blazed fiercely as hammers struck anvils. One by one, spears of refined iron took shape, while the first batch of Special Bricks emerged from the kiln. At this moment, the power of alchemical humanity was being unleashed.