Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1453 - 498: Breaking Through the Ground (Part 2)

The moment the Giant Dragon emerged, stretching over forty meters and shimmering with a dark silver metallic luster, it clamped its jaws onto a metal limb of the mechanical octopus, biting it clean off.

Without pause, its claws seized two more metallic tentacles, and with a powerful wrenching motion, it tore them away!

The momentum of the fight shifted entirely in a heartbeat!

"This... given the scale of that dragon and the sheer power Lord Rein displays after his transformation, could he already be at the initial epic level?" Haleem stammered, his voice failing as he witnessed Rein’s overwhelming dominance.

Hernandez, however, remained much more composed, having previously fought alongside Rein and witnessed the dragon transformation before.

Confirming Haleem’s suspicions with a nod, he remarked, "Certainly not just that; he has already surpassed the middle epic stage and is nearing the late stage."

"Hiss~ Such incredible power!"

Upon hearing Hernandez’s assessment, Haleem sucked in a sharp breath, his gaze fixed in awe upon the dark silver dragon.

In comparison to Rein, he felt as though his own hundred and sixty years of life had been squandered.

"Haleem, strike the prototype machines from the rear!" Sword Saint Terrio’s command suddenly snapped Haleem out of his daze.

Sword Saint Terrio had seized the opening to counterattack the moment Rein, in his dragon form, began dismantling the mechanical octopus’s tentacles.

Nevertheless, the mechanical octopus and the two prototype machines were working in perfect unison, creating a suffocating web of crossfire and fluctuating gravity fields that forced him to stay on the defensive.

Despite the protection of Hernandez’s witchcraft, Sword Saint Terrio was not the type to gamble his life on others, refusing to risk injury by trying to force his way through.

In truth, he merely required a distraction to draw the attention of one prototype machine so he could break the stalemate.

However, he had watched as the serrated metal rings Rein previously utilized were split into two paths, foolishly clashing head-on against the plasma shields of the two prototype machines.

The sight nearly caused him to cough up blood in frustration.

Thankfully, following Terrio's shout, Haleem redirected the serrated metal rings to strike at the prototype machine’s blind spot.

Simultaneously, Hernandez summoned four water elements to launch a coordinated assault from the rear.

Faced with this new threat, one of the prototype machines was forced to cease its suppression of Terrio to deal with the attackers behind it.

This provided Terrio with the perfect opening.

"Super Divine Cross Slash!"

A cross-shaped beam of sword light tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, striking the prototype machine just as it turned toward the water elements.

"Szz!"

The plasma shield was obliterated instantly, and the prototype machine was carved into four massive chunks of metal!

The rest of the engagement was a foregone conclusion.

The lone remaining prototype machine was no match for the combined strength of Sword Saint Terrio and the other two.

Once Rein, in his dragon form, had completely shredded the mechanical octopus, the skirmish came to an end.

Haleem, looking as if he had spotted a priceless treasure, initially moved toward the prototype machine but quickly changed course. Seeing the fallen mechanical octopus slain by Rein, he sprinted toward it, muttering under his breath:

"I never dreamed so many prototype machines were hidden here."

"And this colossus... the craftsmanship required for these metal tentacles is incredibly sophisticated, and the materials are extraordinary."

"This energy core is unlike anything I've seen; it bears no resemblance to the large-scale energy units or the Furnace Cores we currently utilize."

"This must be the unique technology of the Ancient Goblin Empire."

Reaching the wreckage of the mechanical octopus, Haleem stared with fervent intensity at a red, translucent energy core the size of a human head, resting upon a metal base.

"Ahem... Haleem, this isn't the time for a research project," Hernandez noted, shaking his head at the display.

"Haha, forgive me, Lords. But might I take this energy core back to our camp first?"

"This core appears to be an artificial creation rather than a natural formation; its research value to us is immense," Haleem requested with an awkward laugh, his eyes full of longing.

Since Rein was the one who had primarily defeated the mechanical octopus, both Hernandez and Sword Saint Terrio remained quiet, looking to Rein for the decision.

This was not a dispute over loot, but a gesture of genuine respect.

"Go ahead," Rein replied, nodding as he noticed the passion in Haleem’s eyes.

For Rein, Goblin technology was not his primary objective; having mastered a new Dawn Witchcraft, his focus was now on the Fifth Layer of the Steel Heart Advanced Meditation Method.

However, this location was bizarre and riddled with hidden threats that Rein could not yet account for.

He intended to seek Haleem’s counsel later, given the man's extensive experience in exploration, and was happy to offer small favors in exchange.

"My thanks, Lord Rein."

"It is no trouble."

Rein offered a thin smile.

As Haleem hurried back toward the small camp in high spirits, Sword Saint Terrio looked back at the encroaching mist and asked:

"Should we attempt to retreat now?"

"The issue is, if the ground within these ruins truly shifts as Lord Rein suggested, how can we be certain that moving backward leads to the exit?" Hernandez pointed out the flaw in that plan.

"Well..."

Sword Saint Terrio blinked, glanced at the contemplative Rein, and then turned to the returning Haleem.

"Haleem, do you have a better strategy?"

"If I had a plan, I wouldn't have been trapped here for so long," Haleem replied, shaking his head.

"Have you truly attempted nothing during your time here?" Terrio asked, looking at him with a helpless expression.

"I certainly have. I dispatched more than ten scouting puppets, but unfortunately, contact is lost the moment they gain any significant distance," Haleem said, spreading his hands in frustration.

It wasn't a lack of effort, but a limitation of his resources.

"In that case, we shall find our way through the floor!" Rein declared, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes.

"What?" Haleem looked at Rein, caught off guard.

"But Lord Rein, even though the metal beneath us is imbued with ancient solidification witchcraft, I estimate it to be several meters thick at the very least..."

Haleem trailed off as the realization hit him.

While he recognized Rein as a young Metal Series Dawn Wizard, Haleem still felt that breaching this reinforced metal floor was a nearly impossible task.

"I do not doubt your strength, Lord Rein, but is it truly safer below than it is up here?" Hernandez asked, pondering the risks.

"Hernandez, you're missing the point. It isn't about safety; it's about finding a path out," Sword Saint Terrio interrupted, answering on Rein's behalf.

"If we wanted safety, we could just hide in Haleem’s camp. Wouldn't that be the safest option?"

"But if the three of us go missing for days, who in the Federation would be brave enough to enter these ruins to find us?"

Rein nodded in agreement with Terrio’s logic.

"Terrio is right." Hernandez thought it over and realized his error, offering a brief apology.

The suppression of his Water Witchcraft had temporarily clouded his judgment.

"Since we are in agreement, we go down."

As Rein spoke, his right palm began to radiate a dense, dark silver glow.

He knelt and struck the floor, sending ripples of dark silver energy outward from his hand.

Unlike his previous displays, these ripples were tightly confined to a three-meter circle, focusing all the power vertically downward!

As Haleem had noted, the metal beneath the marble, reinforced by ancient witchcraft, was difficult to penetrate, even for Rein.

Rein pushed his domain-like Dawn Killing Move, 'Steel Forest,' to its absolute limit.

"Break!!"

At Rein’s shout, a burst of dark silver light erupted from his palm. The metal floor began to soften like melting wax, churning like boiling water.

The metal within the radius of the ripples rapidly gave way; within a minute, a hole over three meters wide had been melted through.

The sight revealed beneath the floor immediately commanded everyone's attention.