Chapter 550: An Unstoppable Blow!

Chapter 550: An Unstoppable Blow!

As Mothis’s flight speed increased, the scenery below changed rapidly.

The vast golden wheat fields outside the Imperial City of Tamriel gave way to undulating hills with lush forests. Soon after, they were replaced by dense, verdant woodlands.

Rayne could clearly see the white air currents formed by the powerful compression of air on Mothis’s dragon wings.

“This speed is almost supersonic,” Rayne remarked, a smile spreading across his face.

“It’s at least three times faster than the high-speed dirigibles.”

In fact, this wasn’t even Mothis’s top speed.

If he were to burst into a short-term sprint, his speed could double, breaking the sound barrier.

However, doing so would consume a tremendous amount of energy.

At the current speed, Mothis was flying at his normal cruising velocity, similar to how fighter jets have both cruising and maximum speeds.

After more than an hour:

In the Cyrodiil Highlands, at the Isoldrane Academy’s base.

“A few lords, a massive black dragon is approaching from the sky. Please come and take a look,” a young wizard ran up, slightly out of breath.

“Hmm? Are you sure it’s a black dragon?”

“Yes, its color is pitch black; it must be a black dragon,” the young wizard nodded emphatically.

“A black dragon? It’s rare for a Dragon Knight in the Dragonguard Empire to ride a black dragon. Could it be Lord Hector? But he usually stays in Sava Province. Why would he come to the Cyrodiil Highlands?”

Moria, as the head of the Bishu Construct Guild, naturally knew a lot about the Dragonguard Empire’s Dragon Knights. After some thought, he shook his head, still puzzled.

“Lords, let’s go and greet it.”

After a moment’s consideration, Moria turned to the high-ranking wizards of the Isoldrane Academy.

“Whoa, that black dragon is huge!”

“Yeah, it’s enormous!”

By the time Moria and his companions reached the newly repaired central square of the Isoldrane Academy, many wizards were already pointing and whispering about the massive black dragon in the sky.

“Hmm? An ancient dragon? No, it’s a Jiulao Dragon!” Moria exclaimed.

As a high-ranking wizard nearing the Dawn Wizard level, he immediately recognized the enormous black dragon approaching.

This wasn’t just an ordinary dragon but a Jiulao Dragon, a black dragon of immense size.

“A Jiulao Dragon-level black dragon?”

“Does the empire have any Dragon Knights with such a dragon?” Even the two elderly wizards of the Isoldrane Academy exchanged puzzled glances.

“Watch out! It could be an ancient dragon that has just awoken. Everyone, prepare for battle!” A flash of realization crossed Moria’s mind, and he called out loudly.

Thousands of years ago, before the Dragonguard Empire was established, many dragons were not friendly to humans.

“Activate the destroyer, prepare for battle.”

At Moria’s command, the wizards on the scene scrambled into action.

“It’s me!”

At that moment, a familiar voice to Moria came from the approaching black dragon in the sky.

Despite the distance, the young male voice was exceptionally clear, reaching the ears of every wizard present.

Instantly, the wizards who had been running stopped in their tracks.

While they might not have recognized the voice, they could tell that the speaker seemed to have no hostile intentions.

“Rayne! It’s Rayne!”

Makar, Rayne’s mentor, exclaimed, a flash of recognition crossing his mind.

Sure enough, as the massive black dragon landed, a familiar figure from the Bishu Construct Guild stepped down from the dragon’s broad, glossy black back.

“Lord Rayne!”

“It’s Lord Rayne!”

“So this is Lord Rayne’s dragon!”

Many wizards who knew Rayne breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed in surprise.

The wizards from other schools, seeing the empire’s rising star and the youngest guardian in history, bowed respectfully.

A bit further away, many whispered to each other or asked the Bishu Construct Guild wizards:

“Is this Lord Rayne? He’s so young.”

“Hey, did you notice how much larger Lord Rayne’s black dragon seems? I once saw another Dragon Knight’s dragon, and it was only about half the size of Lord Rayne’s.”

“The Bishu Construct Guild is truly fortunate to have such an outstanding figure. It would be great if someone like Lord Rayne appeared in our school.”

A Liquefaction wizard from the medium-sized ‘Rockfort Construct Workshop’ sighed.

“Head, Mentor.”

“Hmm? Why are there so many new faces?” Rayne glanced around and noticed that the number of wizards present was nearly double what it was when he last left.

Finding individuals with wizard potential wasn’t easy, and many of those present were holding mechanical parts, skilled in puppet-making, which made them even rarer.

Clearly, they couldn’t have been recruited locally in the Cyrodiil Highlands.

“Ha ha, Rayne, have you forgotten about the construct association you founded?”

"The new faces you see are partly new wizards and wizard apprentices, and partly wizards from other schools who have come to observe. Many wizard schools that specialize in golem crafting are very interested in our construct association."

Moria explained with a smile.

"Oh? That’s great news." Rayne’s eyes lit up.

He hadn’t expected that the construct association would receive such a quick response from the wizard schools.

"Now, we have further refined the system. Whether it’s actively participating in golem crafting or completing designated tasks with golems, there’s a comprehensive evaluation system in place, and it’s running smoothly." Moria continued.

Rayne nodded frequently, clearly impressed.

It seemed that entrusting the specific matters of the construct association to Moria had been a wise decision.

"By the way, I received a message saying that you’ve discovered a secret base of the Tuttesh Academy?"

"Yes, Your Majesty Rayne. Three days ago, three of our wizard teams lost contact in the Telvootho Valley. We’ve now surrounded and placed it under surveillance."

"Telvootho Valley?" Rayne recalled the map, remembering it was a desolate valley on the western side of the Cyrodiil Highlands, rarely visited by people.

He hadn’t expected the Tuttesh Academy to set up their base there, which explained why no one had been able to locate their headquarters before.

"Indeed. When do you plan to check it out?"

"Right now."

"Right now?" Moria and the others were taken aback.

"Your Majesty Rayne, isn’t that a bit too hasty? Shouldn’t we plan this operation in more detail before tackling the Tuttesh Academy?" Moria carefully worded his response.

"There’s nothing to prepare. Let’s go now." Rayne waved his hand and smiled.

"Alright, Your Majesty Rayne. We’ll bring the ‘Destroyer’ along. Please wait a moment while we arrange the dirigible." Moria and the others exchanged glances, then looked at the massive black dragon Mothis, nodding in agreement.

"No need. We’ll go directly. As for the ‘Destroyer,’ leave it here to handle the defense."

"Hmm?"

Soon, with the ‘Wings of Madness’ Mothis leading the way and several griffins following behind, Rayne and his group arrived at the Telvootho Valley on the western side of the Cyrodiil Highlands.

The appearance of the massive black dragon Mothis caused a stir among the wizards stationed there, but when they realized it was the Empire’s new guardian, Rayne, they immediately cheered.

Many of the wizards present had lost comrades in battles against the Tuttesh Academy.

Rayne’s arrival, coupled with the overwhelming presence of the powerful black dragon, greatly boosted their confidence for the upcoming battle.

"Your Majesty Rayne, the enemy’s base is located below the valley. The interior is a labyrinth of tunnels, with various ward arrays and traps. Our reconnaissance teams have almost all fallen into these traps."

A Crystallized Wizard, responsible for the area’s security, explained respectfully.

Rayne surveyed the surroundings. The Telvootho Valley matched the descriptions: desolate, barren, with almost no vegetation, and only a few scorpions and wild rabbits visible.

"Your Majesty Rayne, I suggest that our earth wizards from the Isoldrane Academy jointly cast the earth magic ‘Earthquake,’ which should force them out with its strong tremors."

An elderly wizard with a mustache from the Isoldrane Academy stepped forward, offering a suggestion.

He hadn’t proposed this earlier because, without a high-level combatant to counter the Tuttesh Academy’s Graham, even if they forced the enemy out, they would likely suffer losses.

But now, with Rayne and his powerful black dragon, the situation was different.

As soon as the enemy showed themselves, they would be dealt a severe blow.

"There’s no need for that." Rayne smiled and shook his head.

"Everyone, step back a bit."

"Mothis, you’re in charge of surveillance."

With that, Rayne walked forward and stopped at one of the entrances to the Tuttesh Academy’s base.

Moria, Bradley, Makar, and the other high-ranking wizards from Isoldrane watched Rayne with puzzled expressions.

They naturally had questions, but as the imperial guardian, Rayne’s decisions were not to be questioned, so they could only wait and see what he planned to do.

Suddenly, Rayne’s right hand glowed with a dense, dark silver metallic light, so intense that it almost completely obscured his palm.

Then, he bent down and gently placed his hand on the ground.

"Smack!"

Instantly!

Ripples of dark silver light spread out in all directions.

Wherever they passed, the ground was instantly covered with a thick layer of dark silver metal. But it didn’t stop there; the metal rapidly deformed and extended into sharp spikes and thorns, covering an area of at least several thousand square meters.

"Wow! The power of Your Majesty Rayne’s magic is astonishing! I remember Stuttgart, though also a Dawn Wizard, couldn’t compare at all!" The mustachioed elder from Isoldrane Academy exclaimed.

"Yes, the coverage is incredible. Even if all our earth wizards worked together, we might achieve a similar range", another elderly wizard with graying hair added, equally amazed.

"No wonder Your Majesty Rayne didn’t need our help."

Unlike the others who were exclaiming and whispering, the black dragon ‘Wings of Madness’ Mothis watched the center of the energy waves with serious, slightly shocked eyes.

As a Jiulao Dragon, it could sense the unique nature of the wizardry Rayne was casting.

It could feel that, compared to the horizontal spread of energy, the vertical penetration several kilometers deep into the ground was truly terrifying!

This... The power of this spell of Rayne's is simply too exaggerated.

Mothis's perception was not wrong.

The power displayed before them was just the surface. The true situation was that, as a Dawn peak wizard with a 100% quality progression, Rayne's full-force casting of the dawn spell 'Iron Forest' focused on the vertical region rather than the horizontal.

Beneath the ground, unseen by anyone, the layer of Dark Silver metal flowed like a thin stream of water, or like mercury seeping into every crevice, rapidly invading various channels of different sizes.

Numerous defensive and alerting ward arrays, just as they began to glow with magical light, would be immediately covered by the ripples of Dark Silver metal, disappearing like illusions.

Some of the Aberrant Spider Swarms, sensing the impending danger, let out hissing screams and scurried about like headless flies in the tunnels.

Any hesitation or a wrong turn into a dead-end would result in the aberrant spiders being instantly trapped by the surging metal ripples, only to be pierced to death by metal spikes in the next moment!

As for the wizards of the Tuttesh Academy, whether they were at the Vaporization, Liquefaction, or Crystalization levels, those who fled directly could survive a few more seconds. However, those who stayed to resist were all swallowed by the Dark Silver metal ripples.

The colorful spells they cast, without exception, struck the metal ripples like stones thrown into a lake, causing ripples that quickly subsided, unable to stop the spread of the Dark Silver metal, let alone resist it.

This was because the one casting this spell was Rayne, who possessed Superior Metal Elemental Affinity, practiced Advanced Steel Heart Meditation, and had taken the path of the Dawn Wizard to its ultimate end!

"Head of the Sect! The enemy has invaded!" A panicked Tuttesh wizard ran into Graham's laboratory and shouted.

However, he froze in place upon entering.

He saw that his sect leader, Graham, was standing on what was clearly a teleportation ward array.

Was he planning to retreat?

But what about the wizards of their sect outside?

In fact, as soon as Rayne began casting the spell, Graham, a high-level Dawn wizard, had already sensed the overwhelming metal energy particles.

What alarmed him even more was that the power of this wizardry was so intense that it gave him a sense of complete helplessness!

A feeling of impending doom welled up within him!

Fortunately, since the last time he was defeated by Rayne, he had already planned his escape route.

Suddenly, a large wave of Dark Silver metal ripples appeared at the door, instantly covering the stunned messenger wizard.

"Head of the Sect... save..."

The messenger wizard's face twisted in pain and desperation, his hands reaching out involuntarily towards Graham, but he was trapped in place.

Graham, watching this, showed no emotion on his face, but internally, he was seething with hatred:

"We'll see about that! Rayne, when Nayubrekkan regains some of his divine power and descends as an avatar, it will be your end!"

Before the metal ripples could reach him, a green light flashed, and Graham disappeared from the spot.

The teleportation array on the ground exploded with a loud 'bang.'

"Hmm? This fluctuation..."

Rayne sensed a faint spatial fluctuation.

At the same time, his Dark Silver metal ripples had covered the deepest levels of the underground base of the Tuttesh Academy.

"That's not right. Did Graham escape?" Rayne was slightly surprised.

Then, with a flash, he disappeared from his spot.

When Rayne reappeared, he was in Graham's room.

Rayne focused his gaze on the ground.

The shattered teleportation array indicated that Graham had not dared to face him and had fled directly.

This made Rayne chuckle bitterly and shake his head:

"I should have let the wizards from the Isoldrane Academy take the first shot. Now, I've scared him away."

Soon, Rayne's figure reappeared on the surface.

"Alright, get someone to clean up later. There should be quite a few ancient books and materials from the Tuttesh Academy underground. Head of the Sect, you take care of the arrangements", Rayne said to Moria.

"Hmm? Lord Rayne, it's over already?" Moria was still a bit dazed, staring at Rayne.

The other high-level wizards were also in a state of shock, looking at Rayne.

It's over?

"Yes, Graham escaped, but I've dealt with the other wizards of the Tuttesh Academy, including the Aberrant Spider Swarms."

Rayne's words left the onlookers in silence for a few seconds, followed by a wave of cheers.

Some wizards, still finding it hard to believe, immediately rushed to the entrance to verify if what Lord Rayne had said was true, that those troublesome enemies had indeed been eliminated.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end