Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1617 - 559: Advancement in Progress

While heading toward the prison, the team confronted at least a hundred goblin-powered machines.

Before long, Rein and his allies reached the entrance to the prison.

The sight that greeted them caused Rein to hesitate for a moment.

A huge crack, stretching dozens of meters, had torn through the central corridor of the prison, exposing jagged metallic fractures several meters wide. Even for the Floating City, such a vast opening wouldn't seal itself easily.

Naturally, if the Floating City was operating at full strength, the goblin engineers would have fixed this damage in no time.

Because of this enormous rift, the prison area was nearly obliterated by goblin machinery, shown by the twisted and scattered metal bars everywhere.

"Rein Crown, looks like your assessment hit the mark. The King of Tyrannosaurs must have emerged from this spot."

"So... should we head down?" Sword Saint Terrio inquired.

"Absolutely, but I've never ventured into the negative third level, so all of you need to remain extremely alert, especially against the growing power of these whispers." Rein cautioned them.

Now at the Dawn peak, Rein picked up on certain profound sensations during this trip.

The whole Floating City exuded a subtle sense of pressure, as if enclosed in an enormous enclosure. Yet, this restraint didn't appear aimed at living creatures, but rather at Fiend Demons.

"Hold on, Rein Crown, should I go ahead to scout?" Right then, one of the Twin Flame Spirits, Dawn Wizard Ogre, suggested.

"Oh?"

"I possess a spell known as ’Eye of Flame’ that lets me check out far-off areas."

"Excellent, go for it." Rein agreed, smiling and nodding.

As Ogre started his incantation and spellcasting, a large eye the size of a head materialized before the group, trailing fiery streams, with its core empty and a vibrant smaller flame acting like a pupil.

Rein observed that the Eye of Flame bore a striking similarity to Ogre’s own eyes.

From this perspective, the foe’s spell closely mirrored his own ’Eye of the Beast.’

The Eye of Flame swiftly glided across the floor toward the crack, vanishing from view in moments.

"Right underneath lies a military outpost, lacking any notably powerful mechanical constructs..." Moments later, Ogre reported with his eyes shut.

"Within about a hundred meters, it's secure..."

A military outpost straight below?

All at once, Rein gained a sudden realization.

Earlier, his clash in the prison's negative second level against certain Fiend Demons probably alerted General Angerik—or more accurately, that fragment of Fiend Demon essence—to something.

This prompted the King of Tyrannosaurs to smash through the floor of the negative second level and charge upward.

"Wait, that's odd—my Eye of Flame just vanished."

Abruptly, Ogre's eyes snapped open, his face full of confusion.

"Vanished? But your Eye of Flame can cover several kilometers, so how did it disappear after only two hundred meters?" Otto was equally stunned.

As siblings, Otto was well aware of the scope and capabilities of Ogre’s ’Eye of Flame.’

"Yeah, it felt like some force interfered and made it fade away." Ogre thought back, furrowing his brow as he recalled the sensation.

"Give me a second, I'll attempt it once more."

...

After two minutes passed.

"I can say for sure now—there's definitely some kind of interference down there." Ogre stated gravely.

"Do we proceed downward anyway?"

At those words, all eyes naturally shifted toward Rein.

"One moment!"

In the blink of an eye, Rein's form blinked out of existence, only to reappear within a single second.

He had just executed a ’Shadow Shifting,’ which worked but drained his spiritual power far more than usual.

’The spiritual power drain was way higher; there must be some barrier in place.’ Rein mused inwardly.

The display first stunned the group, then filled them with an odd sense of ease, as if depending on him brought real comfort.

"No major problem; there's a barrier here that impacts certain spell effects." Rein clarified.

"Understood." The others nodded, accepting his words.

...

Once they started descending, the shift hit them right away.

"The whispers' effects have grown stronger."

Rein immediately sensed how the negative third level differed from the one above.

While he could still fend it off without trouble, Haleem, freshly advanced to Dawn as a High Rank Wizard, was already creasing his forehead in strain. He hurriedly pulled out and downed a Concentration Potion.

The Concentration Potion proved far more effective than the Concentration Talisman, granting brief protection from the eerie whispers.

"The whispers down on the negative third level aren't strong enough to corrupt a Dawn Wizard's mind, but they're beginning to disrupt spellcasting somewhat."

"Plus, the fog around here is thicker too..."

"The military outpost ought to hold some hints—let's search for them." Rein directed, glancing about.

Surrounding them were chambers protruding from the metallic walls, like neat square furnaces, arranged in precise rows.

"Got it!"

A short while later, Haleem stepped out from a chamber, looking somewhat excited, and raised a charred diary:

"Guys, I've got a diary here—it's likely General Angerik’s."

"Huh? It survived intact?" Sword Saint Terrio arched a brow, obviously taken aback.