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

"Donok’s Poison Effect: Greatly diminishes self-healing ability, keeps dealing ongoing poison harm, plus a weakness curse and fatigue curse..."

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

"Given my build and resistance to toxins, it'll require three full days to fully eliminate it... Those extra curse effects are the real headache, cutting my power by roughly twenty percent."

Rein checked himself and found his spiritual energy waves had fallen to the Mid Dawn Stage.

Yet, with the power to heal on his own, Rein stayed fairly calm and quickly pulled up his status panel.

Spirit: 282 (Quality 92%)

"Defeating the ’Unhearable’ Kexi’er boosted absorption by 12%, and slaying the ’Unseeable’ Donok a second time added 11%."

"I’ve basically reached the Peak of Dawn Wizard." Rein’s thoughts quickly shook off the minor worry from Donok’s poison.

After all, if faced with the same decision, even aware that taking down Donok meant getting poisoned for sure, Rein would eliminate him without a second thought.

Trading three days of debuff for lasting power boost; smart folks would pick that every time.

Right then, Rein abruptly gazed toward the distant sky.

Across the horizon, a massive airship drifted into view, and thanks to Rein’s sharp vision, he easily spotted the five-colored dragon insignia on the ship’s envelope.

Meanwhile, the watchmen aboard the airship spotted the huge crater in the heart of the Isodre School outpost in Nirheim City, along with the lingering haze of dust.

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

"What! Looks like the bulk of the Isodre School outpost got wiped out?"

"This Lord Rein is way too impulsive and over the top!" Pantoscoke, the Imperial Guardian dubbed ’Storm Cloud,’ pounded the desk in fury and scolded harshly.

"Doesn’t he realize the Isodre School outpost sits right in Nirheim’s downtown? Such wild moves totally ignore the safety of the Empire’s common folk."

"Elder Ivan, I propose the Elder Council halt the evaluation of Rein’s candidacy for Guardian. Sure, his power 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 one more 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, if the Isodre School gets discouraged, who’ll step up to watch the Shirendil Plateau for the Empire, holding back the cults and Secret Schools?"

While it sounded like a challenge to the group, he was really highlighting the dire fallout from doing nothing, the point crystal clear.

"This..." Marshal Alfred started to speak but couldn’t find words to counter right away.

Elder Ivan’s expression turned sour too.

In truth, should things play out that way, he might pull strings, but Rein wouldn’t face real penalties—though his Guardian hopeful role could get yanked away.

...

"The Imperial Elder Council?"

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

He had a gut feeling these arrivals meant trouble.

Just then, wizards from the Isodre School started stepping out from the shielding witch formation nearby, and the pair of leading elder wizards, after watching cautiously, saw Rein showed no signs of pressing on, so they ventured closer side by side.

Both the bearded elder and the silver-haired elder dipped their heads to Rein together and stated, "Your Crown, what happened here at the Isodre School is a total embarrassment."

"However, nearly all the junior wizards in the school had no clue about Sect Leader Stuttgart and Deputy Sect Leader Malcolm’s schemes. We beg Your Crown to spare these youngsters."

They called Rein ’Your Crown’ with deep respect, not just politeness, because at Late Dawn Wizard stage, even without the official Imperial Guardian title, Rein already embodied one fully.

Rein gave a nod and replied, "I caught your actions earlier and can see that the majority of School Wizards didn’t know about Stuttgart’s doings."

"You two included, since you held back just now; looks like even you were left out of the loop."

While speaking, Rein scanned the area.

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

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

"It’s embarrassing to admit, but ever since Stuttgart hit Dawn Wizard, we’ve stayed out of school affairs mostly, or we could’ve spotted hints sooner," the silver-haired elder wizard admitted.

"What good does talking do now? The Isodre School’s likely off the list of major wizard schools this round," the bearded elder wizard sighed, eyeing the ruins.

"Can’t avoid it. Like empires that rise and crumble, wizard schools face their own booms and busts... Lord Rein, the Isodre School might not hold the Shirendil Plateau anymore."

"Would you kindly pass this to the Empire’s top brass? Naturally, we’ll file the request with the Empire ourselves..."