Chapter 529: A Single Strike Shatters the Rock

Chapter 529: A Single Strike Shatters the Rock

The high-ranking officials of Isodrial Academy, gathered in the grand council hall, seemed to have been struck by lightning. They sat frozen in their seats, unable to regain their composure for a long while.

After a few seconds, their expressions varied.

Some had dark, sullen faces, some frowned deeply, and others erupted in curses.

"This young man is truly arrogant! We didn't go after him for Harold's death, and now he dares to come to our doorstep!" The wizard who had just mocked Rayne suddenly stood up and said.

"Does he really think that just because he's a Dawn Wizard, he can do whatever he wants?"

"Let's go and see!"

"Headmaster?" Deputy Headmaster Malcolm looked at Stewart, who was seated at the head of the table.

Stewart, upon seeing this scene, remained silent, deep in thought.

But his dark expression revealed that his mood was far from the calm exterior he displayed.

Although he had made preparations early on, in truth, these were merely for a low-probability event. He never expected the other party to actually show up.

Moreover, as the headmaster, he knew Rayne far better than the others present. He was well aware that Rayne was not just a newly minted Epic-Level Warrior by name.

The title of the youngest Epic-Level Warrior in the empire was not just a hollow boast; it was earned through real combat.

"Let's go and see."

"Young people are often hot-headed. We should try to resolve this peacefully. Where we can, we should be willing to compromise." Stewart slowly rose to his feet, speaking calmly.

Huh?

Try to resolve this peacefully?

Be willing to compromise?

Upon hearing Stewart's words, including Malcolm, the three Crystalization Peak wizards all looked at their headmaster, known by the title 'Shield of Stone,' with expressions of surprise. They wondered:

'Is the sun rising from the west?'

'Is the usually cold and stern Stewart actually being so accommodating?'

At the entrance of Isodrial Academy's headquarters.

The guards were terrified, and the Third-Rank Apprentice had collapsed to the ground.

An expert's move always reveals their skill.

Rayne's transmission, slightly infused with Dragon Roar, had the power of a Crystal Apex Mage's Sound Wave Witchcraft. It immediately sent the entire Isodrial Academy into chaos, as if a major threat had appeared!

Many wizards in earth-toned robes jumped up from their experiments, rest, and book readings, their faces showing signs of panic as they rushed out of their rooms.

Various defensive witchcrafts in the sky above the headquarters were activated!

In no time, light yellow, yellow-green, and dark yellow defensive shields appeared in the sky above the headquarters.

However, with the appearance of the academy's leadership, led by Stewart, the wizards felt a bit more at ease and began to murmur among themselves:

"Is this person Rayne?"

"I think I've heard of him. He's a rising star in the empire, the youngest Epic-Level Warrior!"

"I've heard of him too, but from the commotion he's causing, it doesn't seem friendly."

"Sir Rayne, it's a rare honor for you to visit Isodrial Academy. We welcome you warmly! However, your actions just now seem to suggest some misunderstanding towards our academy", Deputy Headmaster Malcolm said smoothly.

"Who are you?" Rayne asked.

"I am the Deputy Headmaster of Isodrial Academy, Malcolm."

"Malcolm? Good, I've heard of that name." Rayne nodded.

"It's an honor that Sir Rayne has heard of me." Malcolm was taken aback, but then his smile widened as he bowed slightly in gratitude.

After all, being remembered by the empire's youngest Epic-Level Warrior was a form of recognition in itself.

"In Minstrel, two of my followers were killed. When I caught the killers, they said you ordered them to do it. Do you admit to this?"

"Let me remind you, your subordinates are still alive. Lying would be pointless."

Rayne's words made Malcolm's expression change dramatically!

"Well", Malcolm's face shifted several times, unsure how to respond. For a moment, he was even annoyed at his subordinates' incompetence for being captured.

After a few seconds, Malcolm could only force a laugh. "This must be a misunderstanding, Sir Rayne. Since you're here, why don't you come inside and we can discuss this further. Let us extend our hospitality to you."

Malcolm forced a smile and glanced at Rayne's current position.

Rayne, of course, saw this.

He was well aware of Malcolm's intentions.

His current position was just outside the range of one of Isodrial Academy's magical arrays.

If he accepted the invitation and moved a few meters forward, he would be within the array's range.

From the faint energy fluctuations, even a high-ranking Dawn Wizard in the middle stage would likely be at a disadvantage within that array.

On the other side.

Malcolm's expression and words caused many of the wizards around him to look puzzled, their faces suggesting, 'There's a story here.'

Even the three old wizards nearby glanced at Malcolm, as if to say, 'This is quite different from what you said in the council hall.'

This made Stewart realize that he had to say something.

"Sir Rayne, if there has been a misunderstanding, it is due to the incompetence of my subordinates. We are willing to offer whatever compensation we can. Perhaps we can discuss this further inside", Stewart said.

Stewart also invited Rayne inside, harboring the same intentions as Malcolm.

After all, he was quite familiar with and wary of Rayne. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked exposing their relationship to contact Graham, the head of the Tuttesh Academy.

From the moment Rayne saw the person come out, he had identified him. After all, Isodrial Academy had only one Dawn Wizard.

"So, you must be Sir Stewart. I wanted to ask you, are you aware that Tuttesh Academy has been collecting corpses and engaging in other nefarious activities on the Cyrodiil Plateau? Others might not know, but you, surely you can't be unaware?"

"Have you forgotten the heavy responsibility the empire has entrusted to you and your school?"

"Sir Rayne, without evidence, please don't make baseless accusations!" Rayne's words made Stewart's face turn ashen, and a wave of shock surged through his heart!

"Furthermore, even if you are the empire's rising star and the youngest Epic-Level Warrior, you should still show at least some respect to another Dawn Wizard."

"Oh? I don't see why someone like you deserves my respect", Rayne said calmly.

"As for evidence, the numerous Aberrant Spider Swarm nests near the city, don't they speak for themselves?"

"As a Dawn Wizard, don't tell me you can't sense it?" Rayne countered.

Rayne's words were like thunderclaps, shaking Stewart's mind!

What!

He didn't expect this young man to have discovered the truth.

Graham, that fool, said even a Dawn Wizard would find it difficult to uncover the connection between the Aberrant Spider Swarm and Tuttesh Academy.

So how did this Rayne figure it out?

But that didn't matter now.

Stewart noticed that Rayne's words had already changed the way his fellow school wizards looked at him. If he couldn't turn the situation around today, his prestige within the school would be greatly diminished.

At this moment, Rayne glanced at Stewart with a half-smile, and to the surprise of both of them, he stepped forward and walked through the school gate.

For a moment, Stewart didn't know how to evaluate this young man.

Should he praise his boldness?

Or say he was overly confident?

Or was it just youthful ignorance and fearlessness?

Well, since it's like this...

Stewart's eyes narrowed.

The best solution now was to capture this Rayne alive, make him admit that his words were all lies, and, at the very least, keep him here.

Then, even if the empire asked, he could say that Rayne had provoked him and was justly killed.

"Sir Rayne, your words are a grave slander against a Dawn Wizard, one that can only be washed away with blood!"

"I agree it needs to be washed away with blood, but not your dignity, rather the dignity of the empire."

Rayne's words left Stewart speechless with anger!

"Rock Shards!"

Stewart raised his hand, and a Level 4 Earth Dawn Spell materialized in front of him. A dense cluster of rapidly spinning rock shards, like flying discs, coalesced in the air.

Then, with a gesture, these hundreds of rock shards, as large as millstones, shot toward Rayne at breakneck speed.

In a way, this spell was similar to Rayne's Level 4 Metallic Magic 'Razor Disk,' both using high speed and rotation to increase their lethality. However, this was a ranged spell.

Malcolm, standing nearby, sneered and immediately raised his hand, muttering a spell.

"Tangle Rune!"

A large, intricate rune array appeared beneath Rayne's feet, glowing with an earthy yellow light. Earthy hands emerged from the ground, grabbing Rayne's feet and quickly spreading up to his knees, as if he had been planted in the earth, immobilized.

Seeing their school head and deputy head take action, the Isodrial Academy wizards, though most were hesitant, still joined in. This included the three Crystal Apex Mages, one of whom, an elderly wizard holding a yellow orb, swiftly released a Sharp Stone Cone, about a meter in diameter and four to five meters long, which hurtled toward Rayne.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The dense rock shards collided, causing a series of violent explosions, sending dust and debris flying.

"Truly bold, to walk right in!" Malcolm couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

He had seen clearly that Rayne had no time to dodge, meaning he had taken the full force of the Level 4 'Rock Shards' spell, enhanced by the rune array, and the combined attack of dozens of school wizards.

Even with epic-level strength, in Malcolm's view, Rayne would have been either killed or severely injured.

"Is that it? This is really disappointing!"

A calm voice echoed from the gradually dissipating smoke and dust.

Rayne showed no signs of moving, with the large earth hands still firmly gripping his legs. However, several Dark Silver shields now surrounded him, blocking the Rock fragments that Stuttgart had just cast.

"Isn't this the first-tier spell, Metal Shield?" The elderly wizard with graying hair, known for his vast knowledge, immediately recognized the spell Rayne was using.

"A first-tier spell? How could it possibly withstand the Dawn spell 'Rock Fragments' from the head of the faction?"

"Rumors say that only Dawn Wizards can enhance lower-tier spells to near the power of higher-tier spells. It seems the opponent is indeed a Dawn Wizard."

"But that's just an approximation. The power of a first-tier spell can only be boosted to that of a third-tier spell at most. How could it be close to a Dawn spell?"

The wizards from Isodrial Academy were both shocked and buzzing with discussion.

At the entrance of the school.

Rayne shook his head and said, "Even with the amplification from the magic array, your attacks are still lacking."

"Then it's my turn now!"

Rayne extended one hand and slowly raised it above his head. In the next moment, a saw-toothed Dark Silver disk, several meters in diameter, appeared a few centimeters above his palm, spinning at an incredibly high speed.

Due to its rapid rotation, the disk appeared to be stationary to the onlookers, except for the humming sound that indicated its movement.

"Whoosh!"

As a flash of Dark Silver light swept by, most of the wizards present didn't even see how the disk vanished.

Malcolm, the deputy head of Isodrial, was utterly terrified!

He was one of the few who could clearly see the flight path of the Dark Silver Metal Disk.

Even though three earth-colored kite shields instantly formed around Malcolm's body, he still felt a surge of panic and instinctively wanted to dodge.

But seeing and dodging are two different things.

"Arrogant!"

Stuttgart, standing nearby, had a stern expression. Though he was awed by Rayne's strength, he couldn't remain indifferent as one of his capable subordinates faced a fatal blow. He raised his hand, and the ground suddenly rose into a dense, earth-colored vortex, enveloping Malcolm and quickly solidifying into a massive, translucent gray rock, like amber.

Malcolm's heart immediately relaxed, and his expression eased.

He knew this was the earth-elemental defensive spell, 'Shield of Stone,' his faction leader's specialty, enhanced by the magic array of their school. He believed even a mid-Dawn wizard couldn't break through it.

But in the next instant!

"Zing!"

The massive, translucent rock, several meters in diameter, was sliced through like butter by a hot knife, without any resistance.

Malcolm's mind had just registered "Oh no" when he was split in two.

His expression, still relaxed, remained frozen.

But it didn't end there.

The elderly wizard holding an earth-colored sphere, standing behind Malcolm, was also petrified with fear. However, he was not in the same straight line as Malcolm, so he secretly rejoiced, thinking he would survive.

However, the Dark Silver Metal Disk made a turn in mid-air, tracing an arc and slicing through his forehead without any resistance!

Suddenly, only a body with an empty upper half of its head, eyes wide open in shock, stood there.

In an instant, two Crystal Apex Mages from Isodrial Academy were killed in quick succession!

"What!"

"How is this possible!"

"It didn't even block!"

The two elderly Crystal Apex Mages were utterly stunned!

"It's a Dawn-level killing move from the Metal school!" Stuttgart's face was unusually solemn as he spoke each word slowly.

Even he hadn't noticed that Rayne had used a Dawn-level killing move.

One reason was Rayne's casting speed, and the other was that the energy fluctuations of the disk were extremely suppressed, making it impossible to discern its true power.

Moreover, Stuttgart had never considered the possibility of a Dawn-level killing move from the Metal school.

The Metal school's Dawn-level killing moves were said to have been lost in the empire's wizard schools for a long time. Stuttgart never imagined that Rayne would have mastered such a powerful and unfamiliar Metal school Dawn-level killing move.

It wasn't until the high-speed spinning Metal Disk cut through his 'Shield of Stone' that Stuttgart realized the astonishing power of Rayne's spell.

"No wonder you had so much confidence to come to Isodrial Academy alone, mastering such a rare Metal school Dawn-level killing move!"

"Mr. Rayne, it seems I have repeatedly underestimated you."

"However, you are still too young. Isodrial Academy's thousand-year legacy is not as simple as you think."

As Stuttgart spoke, the ground around Rayne began to glow with a dense, earth-colored light, and the entire surface began to tremble. Even the city of Nelheim was slightly shaking.

The originally solid ground suddenly became as soft as noodles, and the center of the area began to rise dramatically, as if something was slowly emerging from underground.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end