Chapter 531: Shock and Chaos
Chapter 531: Shock and Chaos
"Hehe, Stuttgart, you're still as impatient as ever."
A somewhat sinister voice echoed from all directions!
In the center of Isodrial Academy's plaza, the ground suddenly collapsed, forming numerous densely packed holes.
These holes varied in size, with the smallest being palm-sized and the largest having a diameter of over two meters. Immediately, a large number of black-striped aberrant spiders emerged from the ground.
A slender man, dressed in a black robe and wearing a hood, also emerged from one of the larger holes.
Rayne had already sensed a subtle, hidden scrutiny from multiple angles. However, the scrutiny was quite covert, and with the presence of numerous Isodrial Academy wizards, it was difficult to pinpoint the source.
Now, he finally understood that the other party had used these aberrant spiders to form a surveillance network.
Therefore, he had reserved a significant portion of his strength during the battle, such as not transforming into his bloodline form or using Shadow Traverse.
Moreover, as soon as Rayne saw the black-robed man, he immediately matched him with the information he had previously studied.
A few months ago, after Stavin's failed assassination attempt, he had investigated Tuttesh Academy.
The man who had arrived was none other than Graham, the head of Tuttesh Academy, a rare Necromancy Dawn Wizard. Most importantly, it was suspected that he had been corrupted by the eldritch deity Nayubrekkan.
Unlike Rayne's calm demeanor, the two senior Isodrial Academy wizards exchanged a deep, meaningful glance, seeing anxiety, shock, and disbelief in each other's eyes.
"This is Graham from Tuttesh Academy!" one of the liquidation wizards exclaimed.
"The head of the academy has really colluded with Tuttesh Academy!" someone said in complete disappointment.
"No wonder! No wonder the academy didn't address the reports we submitted during our patrols. It turns out the head of the academy has been in cahoots with Tuttesh Academy!"
"Damn it, Uriel, you died in vain. I never imagined the traitor would be the head of the academy!" a fog wizard gritted his teeth, seemingly mourning the loss of his girlfriend in a conflict with Tuttesh Academy.
As Rayne had predicted, most of the Isodrial Academy wizards had been misled by Stuttgart and the deputy head, Malcolm.
"Tsk tsk, to be a high-ranking Late Dawn wizard at such a young age, Lord Rayne, you truly amaze me!" Graham lifted his hood, revealing a pale, gaunt face. He smiled at Rayne and said, "Thank you, but I don't need praise from someone who enjoys hiding in holes like a rat."
"You!" Graham's smile froze at Rayne's words.
"Unfortunately, with such exceptional talent, you are about to fall in the Cyrodiil Highlands." Graham's smile vanished, and he looked at Rayne with a decidedly malicious expression.
"Oh? Just you?" Rayne glanced at him and then at the fallen Golon Giant's corpse, continuing, "You must have been the one helping to resurrect the Golon Giant. I suspect you didn't tell Stuttgart the full truth. Even if the Golon Giant is completely necromantically transformed, its master won't be Stuttgart but you!"
"Or perhaps, the entity you worship."
Graham's pale, sinister face twitched at Rayne's words.
"Graham, is this true?" Stuttgart's face darkened, and he fixed a stern gaze on Graham.
"How could it be, Stuttgart? Can't you see that Rayne is trying to drive a wedge between us?" Graham immediately countered.
Graham's words left Stuttgart uncertain. After all, there was some logic to what he said, and Rayne had not provided any concrete evidence about the Golon Giant. Words alone were not enough.
"Pity." Rayne couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Stuttgart, look around. The Aberrant Spider Swarm has surrounded us. I suspect you and Isodrial Academy have been on his hit list all along."
"All lies! These Aberrant Spiders are here to kill you."
"Go!" With a wave of Graham's hand, the densely packed Aberrant Spiders swarmed toward Rayne.
Before Stuttgart could fully consider Rayne's words, Graham pulled out a dark, carved wooden box from his robes and quickly opened it. A heart-like object emitting a intense yellow light appeared before Stuttgart.
"Stuttgart, look what I've brought you", Graham said in a highly seductive tone.
"Earth core?" Stuttgart's expression relaxed, and his gaze toward Graham softened.
"You've finally found the earth core!"
Stuttgart's eyes lit up with surprise, fixated on the wooden box, unable to look away.
The earth core is a treasure of a higher order than the essence of earth elements, found only within the bodies of naturally earth-elemental creatures like mountain giants, hill giants, and golon giants, which possess exceptional control over earth elements.
For high-ranking earth wizards, it has an extraordinary allure, not only for enhancing their power but also for crafting various high-tier magical artifacts.
However, with the extinction of these epic-level and even demigod creatures, earth cores have become exceedingly rare.
"Of course, I promised you that if you could evenly distribute the aberrant spider nests across the Cyrodiil Plateau, I would find an earth core for you."
Graham smiled, walking toward Stuttgart, seemingly intending to hand over the earth core.
Just as Stuttgart, with a delighted expression, reached out to take the wooden box—
Suddenly, a dramatic change occurred!
"Thrust!"
A black-glowing dagger shot out from the bottom of the box, piercing Stuttgart's chest with lightning speed!
The moment Stuttgart's innate defensive magic activated, it was instantly pierced.
Clearly, this dagger was no ordinary weapon. Judging by its power, it was likely blessed by divine force.
"You!!" Stuttgart's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Graham.
"I'm sorry, Stuttgart, but the great Emperor Nayubrekkan is about to descend, and this requires the souls and blood of two Dawn Wizards. You, in my plan, are the first."
"Don't worry. As for Rayne, I will help you by killing him. I will avenge your death."
Graham smiled, reciting a brief prayer under his breath before touching the black-glowing dagger.
In the next second, the dagger transformed into a cloud of black mist, rapidly corrupting Stuttgart's wounded body.
"Ah!!"
Stuttgart's body trembled uncontrollably, his face and hands covered in black, spider-like patterns, and he let out a piercing scream.
Then, his body floated in mid-air, and a malevolent, powerful, and overwhelming aura began to emanate from him.
On the other side, the corpse of the golon giant also suddenly emitted a nearly identical evil aura.
In an instant, both auras surged by dozens of times!
Strangely, there seemed to be a connection between them.
It was as if a twin existence was about to descend!
The sudden turn of events naturally caused the wizards of the Isodrial Academy to scream in terror.
"Headmaster!!"
Many of the school's wizards, though aware of Stuttgart's mistakes, felt a mix of sorrow, regret, and anger at seeing him assassinated by Graham.
However, intimidated by Graham's power, no one dared to avenge him.
Meanwhile, high in the sky above the Cyrodiil Plateau, an empire high-speed dirigible was rapidly advancing.
In the luxurious cabin, several dignified figures were gathered around an oval table, engaged in a heated debate.
"Rayne's private assassination of Marquis Oren was already outrageous. Now, he's going to the Isodrial Academy to seek revenge. Is he trying to incite civil war within the empire?"
The speaker was the empire guardian Pantoskoc, known as 'Storm Cloud.'
"That's not entirely accurate. It has been confirmed that the Isodrial Academy arranged an attack on Lord Rayne's followers. Therefore, Lord Rayne's visit to the Isodrial Academy is justified", Marshal Alfred argued.
"Currently, the testimony of a single Isodrial Academy wizard against Deputy Headmaster Malcolm does not implicate the entire academy or Headmaster Stuttgart."
"Furthermore, even if there is a reason, does the Senate exist for nothing? If everyone acts like this young Lord Rayne, the empire will be in chaos!" Pantoskoc retorted, displeased.
For a moment, Marshal Alfred was at a loss for words.
After all, the other side had a valid point.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in the uniform of an empire military marshal spoke with righteous indignation:
"Our Military Department has received classified intelligence indicating that the secretive Tuttesh Academy, located on the western border of the Cyrodiil Plateau, has been very active in recent years, with further plans."
"Therefore, the empire needs the Isodrial Academy to stabilize the Cyrodiil Plateau. Lord Rayne's actions go against the empire's strategy of using major wizard academies to maintain order in the border regions!"
"This is a complete disregard for the empire's interests!"
This army marshal was a representative figure in the empire's military, chosen by the conservative nobles. His name was Meyer Lane.
He had always believed that the Empire Swordsmen Department should be merged into the Military Department. Otherwise, there would be multiple heads of government, and the allocation of resources would be problematic. As a result, his relationship with Marshal Alfred, the leader of the Swordsmen, had never been particularly harmonious.
"Alright, stop arguing! We'll ask Rayne for the details once we arrive", a slightly aged voice interjected.
The speaker was Elder Ivan, whom Rayne had met before. Due to Rayne's past feat of saving 'Red Queen' Menya, Elder Ivan had a favorable impression of him.
Half a day earlier, after receiving the report from the empire senate about Rayne's unauthorized execution of an imperial marquis and his journey to the Cyrodiil Highlands, Elder Ivan had decided to lead a team to the Cyrodiil Highlands.
He was concerned that the young and passionate Rayne might inadvertently clash with Stuttgart, and if that happened, he could help smooth things over.
After all, they couldn't let Menya's savior come to harm while she was in seclusion, recovering her strength.
Nelheim.
When Rayne struck the ground with his palm, a large-scale Dark Silver metallic ripple spread out, covering and piercing the thousands of Aberrant Spiders. He then noticed that Stuttgart's body had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Stuttgart's body was stretched to an extreme length, and his skin rapidly formed a chitinous shell with intricate gray and white patterns. His lower half grew four spider-like legs.
Soon, a monstrous creature appeared before Rayne, standing over ten meters tall, with a human-like upper body and a spider-like lower body.
Mysterious whispers emanated from the creature, spreading out in all directions.
The guards at the Isodrial Academy Gate suddenly screamed in terror!
These guards, who were only at the knight level, found their bodies covered in spider-like fuzz. Their swords and shields fell to the ground as their hands mutated into spider legs, making it impossible for them to hold their weapons.
The whispers seemed to be a form of dark magic, capable of transforming humans into half-human, half-spider monstrosities!
From the massive corpse of the Golon Giant, which resembled a small mountain, something burst out from within, as if it had been hatching inside the giant's body.
A colossal spider, nearly as large as the Golon Giant, slowly crawled out from its abdomen.
The spider's eight sharp legs, each stretching thirty to forty meters, were particularly prominent. In comparison, its round body, which was about ten meters in diameter, seemed less noticeable.
Its compound eyes, which were pink, surrounded a menacing mouth.
Even a wizard at the vaporization tier would feel dizzy and disoriented upon seeing it.
The wizard apprentices, meanwhile, appeared to be under some form of mental control, moving like zombies towards the massive creature.
While most of the wizards present might not have known the origin of the monster, the two 'living fossils' of Isodrial Academy, the elderly wizards, recognized it immediately.
"Oh no! This is one of the two incarnations of the spider eldritch deity, Nayubrekkan, as recorded in ancient texts!" the white-haired old wizard exclaimed.
"That's right! They are 'the Unlistenable' Khir and 'the Unseeable' Donok!"
"Everyone, retreat! First-tier wizards, cast silence spells on yourselves!" the mustachioed old wizard shouted while quickly guiding the others.
Hearing the two old wizards' cries, the previously chaotic Isodrial wizards finally began to organize themselves.
However, these Isodrial Academy wizards were not Graham's primary concern.
His focus was on Rayne.
"Lord Rayne, the two incarnations of Emperor Nayubrekkan have already descended. All that's left is to sacrifice you to complete the full manifestation", Graham said with a grin.
Rayne remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the two creatures. His face showed no fear, but rather a hint of joy.
Judging by the dense divine aura emanating from their bodies, whether or not they were avatars of a demon, they certainly contained a significant amount of eldritch deity power.
"Thank you!" Rayne said sincerely.
"Thank you?" Graham was taken aback.
"Thank you for summoning these so-called avatars of a demon. They will all become the nourishment for my power."
As Rayne spoke, he removed his wizard robe, folded it neatly, and placed it aside. Relying on wizardry alone might not be enough to deal with these creatures, so he would have to use hand-to-hand combat as well.
(End of Chapter)
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