Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1445 - 495: Red Flare

"Hah!!!"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from Sword Saint Terrio!

Rippling outward from Terrio, a sound wave infused with the Sword Saint's unique will surged forth, instantly churning and disturbing the thick, surrounding fog.

As the sonic vibration reached the elite soldiers—whose eyes had already rolled back to reveal only white—they snapped awake as if emerging from a deep slumber, regaining their senses one after another.

Though they inspected their bodies and the environment with looks of sheer terror, their years of rigorous training took over, and they swiftly drew their steel to reform their battle ranks.

In spite of their discipline, hushed murmurs were unavoidable.

"What is happening?"

"How did I end up here?"

"Yes, a moment ago I was clearly..."

Listening to the soldiers' panicked chatter, Rein immediately concluded that the mysterious voice possessed the power to bewilder the mind and pull one’s consciousness into a deceptive illusion.

He, Terrio, and Hernandez had likely remained unaffected because both a Dawn Wizard and a Sword Saint possessed formidable resistance against such abnormal mental intrusions.

Still, Rein refused to let his guard down!

The persistent whispering made it uncertain whether even the three of them might eventually succumb to its influence.

If the mental erosion was gradual, it would be difficult to notice the shift over time within such a grim environment.

"Your Majesty Hernandez, I believe we must shield the soldiers from that voice," Rein suggested, turning toward Hernandez at his side.

Hernandez gave a firm nod; he had also observed that once the resonance of Terrio’s roar faded, the elite troops were beginning to show unnatural signs of agitation under the weight of that eerie murmuring.

"Listen closely, I am going to place a Silence Spell upon you. During its duration, you will hear nothing, nor will you be capable of making any sound."

The moment he finished speaking, Hernandez began the incantation.

"Silence Spell!"

Hernandez’s lips blurred with speed as he raised his hand toward the rear ranks, weaving his witchcraft.

A wave of surprise and relief instantly washed over the soldiers' faces.

They realized the maddening whispers that had been clawing at their minds had finally vanished.

While they were now completely mute, it was a small price to pay for their sanity.

Meanwhile, Rein and Sword Saint Terrio directed their full concentration toward the path ahead.

The 'clack' sounds were growing more distinct and frequent.

Abruptly, through the veil of mist ten meters away, several towering silhouettes over three meters tall materialized—though these massive figures appeared more beast-like than human.

"Swish!"

Identifying the shadows as hostile, Terrio flicked his wrist, launching over ten beams of razor-sharp silver sword light from various angles.

"Sssh! Sssh!"

The brilliant blades of light tore through their targets.

"Boom! Clang!"

The sound of heavy, metallic objects crashing to the earth echoed through the clearing.

"Mechanical Land Birds?"

The elite soldiers behind them could now see clearly; the clattering noise had been produced by Mechanical Land Birds, relics of the Ancient Goblin Empire.

"It is strange. By all rights, the Goblin Empire collapsed millennia ago. How could a patrol of Mechanical Land Birds still be functioning?" Hernandez muttered under his breath.

Rein shared the same suspicion.

Had these machines been preserved in a sealed vault, their functionality might be logical.

But to have been active and patrolling for thousands of years...

The realization was unsettling!

Even ancient dragons rarely survive such spans of time, let alone simple goblins...

Wait, the goblins!

When Rein focused his gaze on the goblin pilots, even his pupils narrowed sharply!

He saw the goblin bodies that had been sliced apart; their skin was shriveled and parched, looking exactly like ancient corpses.

It was hard to believe these withered husks had been piloting the Mechanical Land Birds just seconds ago.

If these creatures were the operators, it explained how the patrol could persist for millennia.

However, a new question surfaced: were these goblin cadavers also responsible for the mechanical maintenance?

Could mere zombies retain the complex knowledge they held in life?

Rein’s brow furrowed in thought.

"Zombies?!"

"Are they undead creatures?" Sword Saint Terrio asked, frowning as he looked toward Hernandez for answers.

"They don't resemble standard zombies. If these goblin remains had been turned into typical undead, they shouldn't possess the coordination to pilot Mechanical Land Birds," Hernandez replied, his expression grave.

"Meaning the corpse might just be a shell." Rein nodded in agreement, stepping forward to conduct a closer inspection.

The hardened Essence Gold in his grip rapidly reshaped itself into a knight’s longsword, which he used to poke at the mangled remains on the ground.

Suddenly!

A tiny black insect darted out from the ear of a shriveled goblin head, moving with incredible speed.

"Huh?"

In a startling move, the small black bug leaped, attempting to scuttle up the length of the knight’s sword toward Rein’s face.

"Ssst!"

A flash of silver sword light intervened, bisecting the black insect in mid-air.

Yet, in a bizarre twist, the insect did not fall. Instead, it dissolved into a puff of black smoke and vanished into the air.

All that remained was a trace of nearly invisible black soot.

Then, a rustling sound filled the air as more black insects began to crawl out from the other goblin corpses.