Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1544 - 531: Upheaval and Chaos (Part 2)

Graham approached Stuttgart with a grin, clearly planning to pass the Earth Core over to him.

Right then, Stuttgart grabbed the wooden box, his face beaming with delight.

In an instant, the situation flipped dramatically!

"Pffft!"

From the base of the wooden box, a dagger glowing with sinister light burst forth like a bolt of lightning, stabbing straight into Stuttgart’s chest at incredible velocity!

Even as his natural Defensive Witchcraft sprang to life, it got shattered in a flash.

This dagger was obviously no ordinary weapon; given its might, it probably held the boon of Divine Power.

"You!!" Stuttgart’s eyes bulged wide, staring at Graham in utter shock.

"I’m sorry, Stuttgart, the mighty Lord Nael Breccan is on the verge of arrival, but to make it happen, it demands the souls and vital blood of two Dawn Wizards, and you were merely the initial target in my scheme."

"Don’t worry, regarding Rein, I’ll take care of eliminating him on your behalf, I’ll settle your score."

With a smile on his lips as he explained, Graham extended his finger, whispered a quick incantation, and then pressed it against the dagger of dark glow.

In the following moment, the dagger dissolved into a cloud of ebony mist, savagely eating away at Stuttgart’s injured form.

"Ah!!!"

Stuttgart shook violently like chaff in the wind, dark lines resembling spider webs emerging on his face and arms, as he let out a piercing wail of torment.

Next, Stuttgart’s form rose into the air, an evil, majestic, and domineering presence started radiating from within him.

Yet over there, the Gorlon Giant’s remains abruptly released a sinister aura almost exactly the same.

In a heartbeat, both presences surged stronger by scores of folds!

Oddly enough, a peculiar connection appeared to link the pair.

It was as though a paired entity was starting to manifest!

This abrupt shift predictably sent the wizards of the Isodre School into panicked cries.

"Sect Leader!!"

Numerous School Wizards, despite knowing their Sect Leader Stuttgart had erred, couldn’t help but feel a rush of sorrow, sentiment, and fury as they watched him perish from Graham’s treachery.

Yet, cowed by Graham’s formidable strength, none had the courage to advance and seek retribution.

...

At the same time.

Far above, not yet close to the Shirendil Plateau, an Empire Airship hurtled forward at top speed.

Inside the opulent compartment of the airship, seated around an oval conference table, a group of esteemed figures engaged in a heated discussion.

"Rein’s unauthorized slaying of Marquis Orlanz was outrageous enough, and now he’s heading straight to the Isodre School for payback—is he aiming to spark a war inside the Empire?"

The one voicing this was Pantoscoke, the Empire Guardian known as ’Storm Cloud’.

"That’s not entirely fair; the Isodre School’s deployment of assassins against Lord Rein’s allies is a proven fact, so his trip there makes sense." Marshal Alfred countered logically.

"At present, just the word of one Isodre School Wizard accusing Deputy Sect Leader Malcolm doesn’t prove anything wrong with the whole Isodre School, much less implicate Sect Leader Stuttgart."

"Besides, even if it’s valid, is the Elder Council there for nothing? If every hotheaded youth like Lord Rein took matters into their own hands, the Empire would fall into disorder!" Pantoscoke grumbled irritably.

For a brief while, Marshal Alfred found himself at a loss for a comeback.

After all, the man’s points rang true.

Then, a middle-aged figure clad in the Empire Military Department Marshal’s attire declared firmly:

"Our Military Department has uncovered classified intel showing that the Secret School Tutkash, situated along the western edge of the Shirendil Plateau, has ramped up its operations over the last couple of years, hinting at bigger intentions."

"Thus, the Empire right now relies on the Isodre School to secure the Shirendil Plateau, and Lord Rein’s actions go against the Empire’s key strategy of leveraging major Wizard Schools to hold the frontiers!"

"Such conduct completely ignores the Empire’s welfare!"

This Army Marshal, backed by the Empire’s Conservative Party nobles, went by the name Mayer Lane.

He firmly held that the Imperial Swordsmen Department ought to fold into the Military Department, to avoid divided commands and disputes over authority, which explained his ongoing friction with the Swordsmen’s Marshal Alfred.

"Enough, cease the bickering! We’ll hold off until we get there, then question Rein for the full story to grasp what’s really happening," an elderly voice interjected.

The speaker was Elder Ivan, someone Rein had encountered previously.

Thanks to Rein’s earlier feat of rescuing the ’Red Queen’ Menia, Elder Ivan regarded him positively.

Just half a day prior, after getting wind of the reports to the Empire Elder Council about Rein’s unsanctioned killing of an Imperial Marquis and his path toward the Shirendil Plateau, he chose to head a delegation to the scene.

He feared that Rein, fueled by youthful zeal, might end up in conflict with Stuttgart; if that occurred, he could step in to resolve it.

In the end, he couldn’t let Menia’s savior come to harm during her closed-door cultivation.

...

Nirheim.

As Rein slammed his palm down, unleashing a vast ripple of dark silver metallic waves that engulfed and skewered the swarm of hundreds of foreign spider creatures, he spotted the radical shift in Stuttgart’s body.

The form stretched out to its utmost limit, while a pale gray exoskeleton etched with intricate designs swiftly covered its exterior, and spider-esque appendages sprouted from the bottom section.

Before long, a grotesque beast towering over ten meters tall, featuring a human-like torso atop a spider’s bottom half, loomed in front of Rein.

Enigmatic whispers emanated from its core...

The guards stationed at the Isodre School’s entrance abruptly howled in horror!

These mere Knight-level sentries suddenly sprouted spider hairs across their skin, letting go of their blades and shields as their arms morphed into spider limbs, rendering them unable to grip any gear.

That whispering acted like an enchanting melody, turning people into these hybrid human-spider abominations!

And from the massive frame of the Gorlon Giant, an explosion erupted suddenly, as though something had emerged by feasting on its cadaver.

A colossal arachnid, nearly matching the Gorlon Giant in scale, emerged sluggishly from its gut.

Its eight razor-sharp legs extended to an astonishing span of thirty or forty meters, dwarfing its ten-meter-wide circular form.

Rosy compound eyes dotted the area around its enormous maw.

Even Fogging-level wizards would reel from vertigo with one look.

Meanwhile, the Wizard Apprentices appeared entranced, stiffly shuffling toward the massive creature in front.

Though most wizards on site likely didn’t recognize the beasts facing them, the two veteran ’living fossil’ wizards from the Isodre School did.

"This is bad! Those are the two Avatars of the Spider Evil God Nael Breccan described in ancient records!" the elderly wizard with white hair cried out.

"That’s right! It’s the ’Unhearing’ Kexi’er and the ’Unseeing’ Donok!"

"All of you, fall back now! First Level Wizards, apply the Silence Spell to yourselves immediately!" the old wizard with the mustache bellowed, issuing urgent orders.

Upon hearing the two elders’ warnings, the frantic Isodre Wizards began to regain a bit of order.

However, to Graham, these wizards from the Isodre School weren’t his main worry.

His sole focus was Rein standing before him.

"Lord Rein, the two Avatars of Lord Nael Breccan have arrived, and offering you up as sacrifice will finalize their summoning," Graham regarded Rein with a smirk.

Rein stayed silent, merely glancing across the two horrors in his path, displaying no dread but instead a trace of excitement.

By sensing the thick holy aura pouring from their frames, he could tell that even if they weren’t genuine Evil God Avatars, the divine essence of an Evil God they channeled was undoubtedly potent.

"Thank you!" Rein expressed sincerely.

"Thank you?" Graham blinked in surprise.

"Thank you for calling forth these so-called Evil God Avatars; they’re all going to fuel my breakthrough in strength."

While saying this, Rein shed his Wizard Robe, folded it carefully, and placed it to the side—witchcraft alone wouldn’t cut it, so he opted for close-quarters fighting.

...