Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1602 - 553: Cologne Cathedral Disturbance (Part 2)

This black-gray mist appeared to possess a mind of its own at its leading edge, cautiously scanning left and right. At last, as though it had spotted something intriguing, the mist surged swiftly against the breeze toward the Second Prince Mansion, situated not far to the left of the Imperial Palace.

Within the study room of the Second Prince Mansion.

Everton appeared utterly worn out, his gaze threaded with crimson streaks. He hadn't managed a proper sleep in days.

Right then, he gazed vacantly at a vial of deep crimson elixir that shimmered with an ethereal sorcery glow.

"Your Highness, the trials with Lunfrell, I'm sorry to say, cannot go on any longer."

"The elves were all freed by Rein. This is the final batch of enhanced Super Evolution Potion that Lunfrell crafted from the remaining supplies. Yet, without additional amounts, it hasn't undergone any trials."

Buchanan delivered the update with a respectful incline.

He'd been rushing about nonstop lately, barely keeping his feet on the earth.

The bewildered and unfocused Second Prince hadn't bothered to evaluate the damages in the Secret Realm or plan next steps, leaving Buchanan to drive those efforts ahead.

Ties between the Elf Clan and the Empire grew ever warmer. Rein's meteoric ascent had stirred unease among numerous high-ranking nobles, and even the teams hunting slaves now rarely dared enter Ferdinand Forest.

Furthermore, the elves had ramped up their watchfulness at the boundaries, rendering elf captures over tenfold more challenging than in the past.

Still, Lunfrell's elixir trials demanded the vital essences of at least two dozen elves just to have a chance of advancing...

"Rein! Elves!"

At Buchanan's report, Second Prince Everton snapped back to a flicker of awareness.

Yet, neither man spotted the subtle, almost animated black-gray mist that had already slipped inside, creeping along the floor from the fireplace's rim.

Quickly, the mist's tendril-like tip glanced first at Buchanan, then at Second Prince Everton, before snaking over the floor like a viper and reaching right under Everton's boots.

All at once, Everton sensed an icy grip at his right ankle. In the instant that followed, the entire world seemed to whirl around him!

From Buchanan's view, Everton went rigid in a flash, his eyes flipping upward, and his frame started shaking uncontrollably.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

The sight jolted Buchanan badly, sending him hurrying over to examine the prince.

A few moments passed, and Everton appeared to steady himself, lifting a hand to dismiss him while murmuring:

"Phew~ I'm alright, probably just worn out from the recent strain."

"You can leave now; I'll take some time to recover."

Buchanan eyed Everton once more, as if gauging his well-being.

Convinced the Second Prince truly required more downtime, Buchanan paused briefly before agreeing, "Understood, Your Highness. Please rest well."

As Buchanan departed, Everton's stare grew fixed once again, locking onto the "Super Evolution Potion" in front of him while he whispered endlessly, "Drink the potion... Cologne Cathedral... underground..."

....

Above the skies of Casweis Province.

After soaring for barely more than an hour, Rein reached the crimson mark on his chart.

"This must be the place—the ruins of the old Angma Mine."

Guiding Black Dragon Metheus into a gentle descent, Rein surveyed the surroundings.

This mine nestled amid verdant hills. Nearby rose a timber pillar towering over twenty meters. Legends held that centuries back, it buzzed with activity as a thriving dig site, but odd happenings soon erupted after work started, drawing probes from the Empire's mightiest warriors.

Only then did they uncover a slumbering rare and formidable metallic dragon in its depths.

Given the beast's ferocious temperament, the operation shut down at once, and the zone got sealed off with a sentry post erected.

"Lord Rein! Garrison Captain Char Hammond at your service!" Just then, a unit of geared-up Imperial troops dashed forward, led by a middle-aged officer in crisp attire.

Char had gotten prior alerts that the Imperial Guardian, Lord Rein, could arrive anytime.

"Hmm, so it's lurking inside this spot?"

"Affirmative, sir," Colonel Char responded with deference.

At the same time, he and the Empire's crack fighters behind him kept stealing looks, their eyes drawn covertly to Metheus's colossal form.

It was as if they whispered among themselves, "So this is the vibe of an Imperial Dragon Knight? Utterly awe-striking."

"Captain Char, in your watch over this site, have you run into any odd occurrences? Or spotted any unusual activity?" Rein inquired offhandedly while heading to the opening.

"Well... Lord Rein, I've held this post for eleven years. Around ten years back, we felt a rumble here, which I figure came from the dragon underneath," Char explained.

"A quake in the earth? What made you sure it was the creature and not some natural shake?"

"We caught a mighty bellow that froze us solid and buckled our knees, like staring down a predator. It echoed the dread from facing Lord Rein's dragon companion," Char gestured toward Black Dragon Metheus nearby.

"Hmm, Captain Char, you've got sharp instincts," Rein acknowledged with a grin.

"Oh, it's nothing special—just lore from the last captain," Char rubbed his head, a touch sheepish under Rein's praise.

By now, the party stood at the cavern mouth. Noticing Rein's plan to venture in, Char hastened to warn:

"Lord Rein, take care—some bizarre beasts lurk within."

"It's fine," Rein brushed it off with a wave, indicating no real threat.

Upon nearing the entrance, he picked up, beyond the stirrings of living things, a subtle but immense presence radiating from the mine's heart.

With his caliber of strength, focusing intently let little slip past his detection.

That presence... it had to be the Steel Dragon's signature!

Pinpointing its spot below, Rein geared up to act. He'd mapped out his approach during the flight.

"Everyone, pull back some distance."

"Right away!" Char's team obeyed without delay, retreating fifty or sixty meters.

"Not far enough—head over to the watchtower," Rein directed at a timber spire at least five hundred meters off.

"Er... as you wish, Lord Rein." Char looked mildly confused but assented at once.

After all, five hundred meters felt like a hike.

...

With Char and his squad gone, Rein softly pressed his hand against the cavern wall at the entry. Silvery-dark metallic waves rippled out from his touchpoint.

Myriad flecks of metal started gathering toward his hand.

This was a knack unique to Metal Series Wizards: drawing in nearby metals. Its potency hinged on two things—the level of metal element bond and the might of one's spirit force.

Yet in both, Rein stood unmatched among Metal Series Wizards.

So right now, his hand functioned like a massive lodestone, pulling in ambient metal bits and swiftly shaping them into a boulder-sized lump, which kept expanding.

The sheer might on display left Char and his troops slack-jawed in wonder.

And a grin crossed Rein's lips, for he felt stirrings from the depths.

True enough, as Menia had noted, metallic dragons craved metals and reacted keenly to shifts in metal energies.

"Buzz buzz!"

The earth around them quivered, and from the mine erupted over a dozen reptilian fiends sheathed in dull gray-black armor, though they quailed before Rein's aura and held back from assault, slinking to the edges instead.

Right after, fissures spiderwebbed the ground, hinting at some colossal force about to erupt from below.

...