Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys Chapter 1570 - 541

A peculiar odor permeated the atmosphere, combining mustiness, medicinal notes, and the metallic reek of blood.

"Intruder!!"

Before Rein could fully sense the repelling force from this Small Secret Realm pressing on him, a thunderous bellow reverberated through the surroundings.

Rein scanned his environs swiftly and spotted multiple burly dragon-men brandishing lengthy war blades with broad handles, rushing in his direction.

As it happened, the moment he forced his way into the Secret Realm, a patrol team of robust dragon-men had detected him from the rear.

With the dragon-men’s guttural growls, it was evident that additional dragon-men and odd dragon beasts were now surging toward him.

"Better make it quick!"

Rein brought his palm down forcefully, unleashing a brilliant dark silver glow that crashed against the shadowy gray stone beneath. As metallic waves rippled outward, the aggressive dragon-men found themselves impaled by jagged spikes erupting from the earth.

They remained fixed in place like impaled morsels, scattered everywhere.

Hearing the uproar, the grotesque figure Lunfrell hurried over, muttering profanities under his breath:

"Damn it, these foolish dragon-men always blow things out of proportion over nothing!"

"For an experimental subject like this escaping, they need to..."

Lunfrell trailed off, his words faltering as his jaw dropped slightly, his eyes widening in disbelief at the field of impaled forms that had sprung up ahead.

"This..."

"Who.....who are you?"

"Perhaps you should first tell me who you are?"

Gazing at the hunchbacked abomination that evoked Quasimodo from the Notre Dame tale of his past life, Rein examined him with keen curiosity.

"Gulp! I...I’m Lunfrell, the overseer of this place." Lunfrell gulped down his fear anxiously.

He sensed the overwhelming spiritual energy pulsing from the youth in front of him, realizing full well that evasion or threats involving the Second Prince would probably leave him skewered like the foes nearby.

"Overseer, huh? Excellent." Rein gave a nod, somewhat satisfied by Lunfrell’s caution, which spared him considerable effort.

"Where are the elves?"

"O...over there." Lunfrell shakily indicated a path.

"Take me there."

"O...Okay, my lord."

Before long, guided by Lunfrell, Rein reached the chamber confining the elves.

Observing the listless, sluggish female elves shuffling about, Rein’s expression soured, releasing an intense aura as he demanded of Lunfrell: "What have you done to them?"

"N...nothing, I..." Beneath Rein’s piercing stare, Lunfrell quaked: "T...this lord, I merely administered ongoing doses of a mild sedative potion."

"To ease the blood draws?" Rein noted the multitude of puncture scars dotting the elves’ limbs.

"Y...yes." With no way to conceal it, Lunfrell bobbed his head meekly.

"Which one is Lady Darien Yueling?" Rein inquired, weaving in a thread of spiritual energy to assess the befuddled female elves.

The unique vibrations at last stirred the elves, particularly one whose wide eyes sparked at the name’s utterance before turning toward Rein.

Following a quick scrutiny, Rein confirmed she had to be Anna’s mother.

Their features mirrored each other strikingly, matching by at least eighty percent, almost ninety, and she bore a seven-to-eight percent likeness to Anna’s aunt Delana as well.

"Hello, Lady Darien, I am Anna’s friend." Rein advanced and declared.

"An.....na?" The woman faltered, seeming dazed, yet the name stirred something profound within her, compelling her to respond.

Her reactions alone convinced Rein he’d located the correct individual.

"Yes, Lady Darien, I’ll get you out of here first."

Having arrived, Rein planned to liberate every elf present.

...

Yet he cast a look at Lunfrell standing close by, pausing briefly.

Not only that, this fiend’s prowess in alchemy stood unparalleled in his experience; ending his life felt somewhat profligate.

Furthermore, from inspecting the female elves’ states, aside from their lethargy, emotional dullness, and frailty caused by extended sedative exposure, their bodies showed no signs of mistreatment.

This differed sharply from his earlier grim imaginings, such as the elves chained to seats, enduring degradations or compelled into reproductive servitude, and so on.

Above all, he had complied without resistance throughout and displayed outright cowardice, potentially positioning him as a future ally for switching sides...

Thus, after a brief deliberation, Rein refrained from delivering a killing strike but instead hastened the departure of the female elves.

Lunfrell observed Rein departing alongside the female elves, his feelings surging like a wild storm, leaving him rooted in stunned silence.

He had braced for certain death.

Yet... astonishingly, he lived on.

One certainty lingered: the figure before him could have slain him with effortless ease but chose not to, leaving him utterly baffled.

"Could it be that he truly only sought to free the elves?"

"Regardless, I owe this to Lady Luck’s favor!"

...

"Roar!!!" A savage, disordered dragon bellow erupted from behind Rein.

"Not good, the primary test subject has broken free!" Lunfrell cried out.

Owing to Rein’s sabotage, the Witch Array restraining the initial experimental entity had failed. Lacking the array’s binding, mere heavy shackles proved inadequate to contain it.

"Hmm?" Rein turned toward the murky hall’s interior, detecting the potent aura of the beast.

"Nearing Epic Peak?"

"What exactly is that?"

"My lord... that’s my subject for the Super Evolution Potion, and it’s gone berserk. We must flee at once. It’s probably evolved to Extremely Old Dragon rank by now."

"Extremely Old Dragon?" Rein’s gaze sharpened.

It made sense; he had faintly perceived an oddity lurking in the hall’s shadows moments ago.

"Huh? So it takes this form?"

"Intriguing."

In a flash, Rein pondered his subsequent actions.

...

Within a secluded spot in the palace gardens, a pair of elders conversed idly.

"Elder Ivan, didn’t Prince Menia act a tad impulsively? Though young Lord Rein preserved her life, this decision strikes me as overly abrupt," remarked one member of the Elder Council.

Elder Ivan creased his forehead, temporarily at a loss for words.

For the Royal Family’s ancient precepts dictated that upon verifying the Multi-Headed Dragon Bloodline in anyone, total eradication followed, offering no alternatives.

Nevertheless, through his dealings with Rein, no savage or turbulent impulses had surfaced, clashing with the chronicles in the old scrolls.

"This... for now, we can’t truly verify that Lord Rein carries the Multi-Headed Dragon Bloodline, can we?" Elder Ivan responded evasively after reflection.

"But..."

As the Elder Council member prepared to continue, a abrupt blast rang out sharply in the vicinity of the Inner Ring!

...

"Boom!!!"

The violent detonation originated from Second Prince Everton’s residence, trailed by a furious dragon howl.

Above the Second Prince’s abode materialized a hideously malformed beast, featuring a primary dragon head flanked by four twisted or withered ones, inevitably evoking images of a Multi-Headed Dragon.

This abrupt event swiftly drew swarms of elite Griffin Knights diving in, and given the mansion’s proximity to the Imperial Palace, roughly seven or eight Imperial Dragon Knights materialized overhead as well.

At that precise moment, Second Prince Everton reached the mansion’s gateway and, witnessing the spectacle, flew into a rage:

"Rein, how dare you breach my domain!"

"I went only to extract someone. Moreover, this beast stems from your faction’s handiwork, doesn’t it?" Rein, hovering aloft with arms folded, wore a subtle smirk as he added, "Don’t attempt to refute it; I possess proof!"

"You!!" Everton’s visage flushed scarlet, his breaths coming in heavy gasps!

Previously, during the assembly, he had claimed Rein harbored a malevolent Multi-Headed Dragon Bloodline, yet the current issue lay in how the monster birthed by his Dragon Scale Brotherhood resembled that bloodline far more than Rein did.

Curse it!

Rein’s declaration promptly caused the encircling group of over a dozen Imperial Guardians and Elder Council members to regard Second Prince Everton with peculiar glances.

After all, merely two days prior, this Second Prince had proclaimed Rein’s lineage as the Multi-Headed Dragon Bloodline, but now it appeared he had unwittingly revealed his own scheme, covertly forging a creature eerily akin to a Multi-Headed Dragon.

This naturally cast doubt on the reliability of the Second Prince’s earlier claims.

...