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

During their journey to the prison, the team confronted at least a hundred goblin mechanical vehicles.

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 deep. Even for the Floating City, such a wide breach couldn't seal itself easily.

Naturally, if the Floating City was in its prime condition, the goblin engineers would have fixed this damage in no time.

Because of this enormous split, the prison area was nearly completely wrecked by goblin machines, shown by the twisted and bent metal bars strewn about.

"Rein Crown, your assessment appears correct. The King of Tyrannosaurs must have emerged from this spot."

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

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

Now at the Dawn peak, Rein detected certain profound elements on this trip.

The whole Floating City gave off a subtle sense of pressure, as if enclosed in a vast enclosure. Yet, this restraint didn't aim at living creatures but at Fiend Demons.

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

"Oh?"

"I possess a spell known as ’Eye of Flame’ that allows scouting far-off areas."

"Excellent, go ahead." Rein agreed, smiling.

While Ogre started his incantation and spellcasting, a large eye the size of a head materialized before them, trailing flames, with a hollow center featuring a vibrant smaller flame like a pupil.

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

Viewed 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 camp, lacking any notably powerful mechanical constructs..." Ogre reported soon after, eyes shut.

"Up to a hundred meters, it's secure..."

A military camp straight below?

All at once, Rein gained a sudden realization.

Earlier, his fight in the negative second level prison against some Fiend Demons probably alerted General Angerik—or more accurately, that fragment of Fiend Demon essence—to detect it.

As a result, the King of Tyrannosaurs shattered the ground of the negative second level and charged upward.

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

Abruptly, Ogre's eyes snapped open, his expression puzzled.

"Vanished? Yet your Eye of Flame can cover several kilometers, so how could it disappear after merely two hundred meters?" Otto expressed disbelief as well.

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

"Well, it felt like some force affected it and made it disappear." Ogre thought back, trying to remember the sensation.

"Wait, I'll attempt it once more."

...

After two minutes passed.

"I can verify it now; there's definitely some interference down there." Ogre stated gravely.

"Do we proceed downward anyway?"

At the question, all eyes naturally shifted toward Rein.

"Hold on a second!"

The very next moment, 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 oddly comforted them, as if depending on him brought great ease.

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

"Understood." The others acknowledged with nods.

...

Upon descending, the shift became immediately apparent.

"The whispers' effect has grown stronger."

Rein instantly noticed the contrast between the negative third and negative second levels.

Although he could still fend it off without issue, Haleem, freshly advanced to Dawn as a High Rank Wizard, furrowed his brow intensely and hurriedly swallowed a Concentration Potion.

The Concentration Potion proved far stronger than the Concentration Talisman, granting brief resistance to the eerie whispers.

"The whispers at the negative third level, while insufficient to corrupt a Dawn Wizard’s mind, begin to disrupt spellcasting somewhat."

"Furthermore, the fog down here is thicker..."

"The military camp likely holds some hints; let's search for them." Rein instructed, glancing about.

Surrounding them were chambers protruding from the metallic walls, like neat square ovens, arranged in a structured manner.

"Got it!"

Minutes later, Haleem stepped out from a room, looking somewhat satisfied, and raised a charred diary:

"Look, everyone, I've discovered a diary—most likely General Angerik’s."

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