Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1526 - 525: Shadow Shifting (2)

Her face was filled with terror, her body positioned as though she were about to flee.

Rein, on the other hand, stayed completely still, his face serene as he observed Quinna.

"You... how could this happen! Your spiritual power is so incredibly powerful!"

"Such intense spiritual power waves, you..." Quinna's eyes bulged with red veins, fixed on Rein in total shock. Still, she appeared to sense that Rein had no plans to spare her.

A rush of energy flowed through her whole form, dragon scales appearing across her skin as she initiated her Dragon Vein Transformation, her eyes locked on Bo He standing behind Cleya.

"Pff!"

Rein, quickly catching her faint glance, lunged forward in a flash, his hand plunging straight into the woman's chest and crushing her heart.

Quinna's eyes bulged in surprise; she never imagined dying would come so swiftly.

The Bloodline Transformation she had only just begun got cut short, her vitality draining away rapidly, her frame collapsing like a serpent without its backbone, slowly slackening as her head lolled forward, dangling from Rein's sturdy arm that remained extended.

Right then, a system alert rang out abruptly:

[Ding! Host has absorbed incomplete Shadow Dragon Bloodline, can be integrated with existing Super Mutated Dragon Bloodline, automatically initiating fusion...]

[Ding! Fusion successful!]

[Host’s Bloodline Mutation, gained the Shadow Dragon Bloodline’s special ability ’Shadow Shifting’]

[...In any form, the host will possess the special ability ’Shadow Shifting’.]

[Shadow Shifting: Consumes a large amount of spiritual power to gain the ability to shift through shadow space, its difficulty correlates with the concentration of the Shadow Dragon Bloodline, and its duration is proportional to the consumption of spiritual power.]

"Hmm?" A flicker of astonishment crossed Rein's mind.

He hadn't foreseen that the enemy's Bloodline Essence would actually aid him, particularly since her power hadn't even hit Epic tier.

Was it perhaps from her using a Bloodline Burst Potion?

From what it looked like now, even though the enemy's Bloodline Essence failed to raise his Bloodline Concentration, it delivered a distinctive Talent Ability.

"Shadow Shifting?"

Rein at once remembered the moment inside the carriage when Quinna had materialized out of nowhere.

During that encounter, had he not already been alert, she might well have triumphed.

"Handle the cleanup, Matteo." Rein flicked his arm to drop the body, cleaned off his hands, and commanded.

"Yes, Lord Rein." The small-framed Matteo jumped to the task without delay, joined by two attendants close by.

"Olena, wrap up the matter with the Imperial City Security Patrol; the suspect fought back during capture and got slain right there," Rein stated coolly.

"Yes... Lord Rein." Olena, known for her quick work, was still catching up to the moment.

At her side, Major General Tatia parted her lips a couple of times, looking like she wanted to speak, but no words emerged.

This was the initial instance where she'd seen Rein take a life with such cold resolve.

Clearly, the chaos they'd figured would build slowly over several days had erupted ahead of schedule.

Rein’s journey to Mingster was likely to ignite a major uproar.

She needed to alert the two Lords at once.

However...

Not even Marshal Alfred could likely halt the wrathful Lord Rein in his current state.

Luther and Halowin kept their faces steady, yet waves of unrest churned within them.

They never imagined Rein would strike with such sharp efficiency and precision.

As descendants of Great Nobles, the pair grasped the fine points of power plays. Normally, an overture from a figure like the Second Prince called for offering some face-saving way out.

In truth, merely a horse had fallen, but Rein proved merciless.

Evidently, the clash involving the Second Prince had stirred Rein's deepest rage.

Rein’s aim stood plain: to warn off any in the Empire harboring ill will against him, making it clear that striking at his kin crossed a deadly line, even if meant only as a signal.

Any who dare, face death!

Quinna bore the bad luck of being the pioneer, and in a rare turn for him, Rein extended no mercy to her as a woman.

...

Meanwhile.

A brief way from the entrance, Buchanan sat waiting in his lavish carriage.

Moments before, he'd been sure Rein's humiliation was moments away.

Yet in the very next instant, his eyes stretched wide, mouth hanging open a bit, as he witnessed Rein skewer Quinna's heart, his form quivering against his will.

"How bold... how could he just execute Quinna like that!"

"Outrageous! He's beyond arrogant, this is a direct slap to the Second Prince!"

Thinking back to Rein's imperious words aimed at him earlier, Buchanan shook with fury!

But as Rein's glance drifted over idly, Buchanan sensed a torrent of icy chill cascading from crown to sole, trembling as he bellowed to the driver:

"Hurry! Head back to the estate!"

"Yes, milord!"

The carriage bolted away in a rush.

...

In the front yard of the Rein Mansion.

"All of you, I'll return by nightfall."

With a short parting, Rein stepped into the ready carriage, Olena and Major General Tatia climbing aboard too.

That said, on this trip back, unlike the journey there, the pair mostly kept quiet throughout.

Before long, Rein arrived at Sword Holder Headquarters, lingering only briefly before stepping onto a rapid airship set for Mingster.

With the fast airship pre-arranged, Rein made it to the Mingster Swordsmen Division in just shy of three hours.