Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1547 - 533: The Association and Wariness

"Donok’s Poison Effects: Greatly diminishes the body's self-recovery abilities, inflicts ongoing poison harm, and comes with a debility hex plus an exhaustion hex..."

In the end, the system offered a countdown for self-recovery: "71:59:55."

"Given my build and resistance to toxins, clearing it fully will require three full days... Those extra hexes are the real headache, cutting my power down by roughly twenty percent."

Rein took a moment to assess and found his spiritual energy waves had fallen back to the Middle Stage of Dawn.

Yet, with the option to recover on his own, Rein stayed mostly calm and quickly pulled up his status screen.

Spirit: 282 (Quality 92%)

"Slaying the 'Unhearable' Kexi’er boosted absorption by 12%, and taking down the 'Unseeable' Donok a second time added 11%."

"I've basically reached the Peak of Dawn Wizard now." Relief washed over Rein at once, easing the minor worry from Donok’s toxin.

For if given the chance again, even aware that ending Donok meant getting poisoned for sure, Rein would strike him down without a second thought.

A mere three days of debility traded for lasting power boost—anyone sensible would pick that deal.

Right then, Rein lifted his gaze toward the far-off sky.

A massive airship drifted into view on the edge of sight, and with Rein’s sharp vision, he easily spotted the five-hued dragon symbol on the vessel’s envelope.

Meanwhile, the watchers aboard the airship caught sight of the huge crater in the heart of Isodre School’s outpost in Nirheim City, along with the lingering haze of dust.

Before long, word of this reached the ears of all in the conference chamber.

"What! Rumors say most of the Isodre School outpost got wiped out?"

"This Lord Rein is far too impulsive and oversteps bounds!" Pantoscoke, the Imperial Guardian dubbed 'Storm Cloud,' pounded the desk in fury and barked his rebuke.

"Is he clueless that the Isodre School outpost sits right in Nirheim’s city core? Such wild moves show total contempt for the Empire’s everyday folk."

"Elder Ivan, I propose the Elder Council halt review of Rein’s bid for Guardian status for now. Sure, his might hits the minimum for an Imperial Guardian, but his character falls short of what we expect."

At that point, Imperial Army Marshal Mayer Lane chimed in with support:

"Exactly! And there’s another issue: if the Isodre School pushes for measures against this Lord Rein, how do we handle it?"

"I have to warn you all that without stepping in, should the Isodre School grow disheartened, who’ll stand by the Empire to watch over the Shirendil Plateau and hold back the cults and Secret Schools?"

His words posed as a query to the group, but truly they highlighted the dire fallout of doing nothing, the point crystal clear.

"This..." Marshal Alfred started to speak yet couldn’t find a counter right away.

Elder Ivan’s expression soured as well.

In truth, should things turn out that way, while he might pull strings to shield Rein from real penalties, the Guardian hopeful title would likely get stripped away.

..."The Imperial Elder Council?"

"Are they coming after me, perhaps?" Rein’s brow furrowed a bit.

He sensed dimly that these arrivals brought no friendly purpose.

Just then, wizards from the Isodre School began stepping out from the shielding witch formation nearby, and the pair of elder wizards in front, after scanning the area briefly, saw Rein showed no sign of pressing on, so they ventured closer side by side.

The elder with the mustache and the one with gray locks both gave Rein a deep bow together and spoke, "Your Crown, what happened here at the Isodre School brings deep shame upon us."

"Yet the bulk of our young wizards knew nothing of Sect Leader Stuttgart and Deputy Sect Leader Malcolm’s schemes. We beg Your Crown to show mercy to these juniors."

Both hailed Rein as 'Your Crown' with true respect, beyond mere politeness, since at Late Stage Dawn Wizard, even without the official Imperial Guardian rank, Rein already embodied one in full.

Rein gave a nod and replied, "I witnessed how you all acted earlier and see that the majority of School Wizards had no inkling of Stuttgart’s doings."

"You two included, staying out of the fight just now—it looks like even you were left in the dark."

While speaking, Rein cast his eyes about.

He observed that apart from the two elder wizards at Peak Crystalization, there stood six or seven at Crystalization, over thirty at Liquidization, and more than a hundred at Fogging level all around.

No matter where, this lineup screamed power, proof of a major wizard school’s deep roots and might.

"It shames us to admit, but since Stuttgart rose to Dawn Wizard, we’ve stepped back from school affairs mostly, or we might’ve spotted hints sooner," the gray-haired elder wizard admitted.

"What good does dwelling on it do? The Isodre School faces delisting from the ranks of great wizard schools this round," the mustached elder wizard sighed, gazing at the wreckage.

"That outcome feels set. Like empires wax and wane, so do wizard schools rise and tumble... Lord Rein, the Isodre School likely can’t hold the line on the Shirendil Plateau anymore."

"Would you kindly relay this to the Empire’s leaders? Naturally, we’ll submit our own request to them as well..."