Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Chapter 290 – 172: What a Big Hole

Rein burst out of the dense forest, his body swelling to over two meters in height, with the chromium iron Knight armor looking like children’s clothing on his frame.

What was originally a comical scene became terrifying the moment it caught the eyes of the elite rebel forces!

This was Rein, who had released “Limit Break,” activating the Transcendent attributes “Huge Strength” and “Strength Burst” to enter a “Triple-State”!

This time, he employed a completely different strategy from the one he used in his previous clash with Salem.

Because his purpose was different.

Last time, it was to gain experience in the Tokkal Hammer Technique, but this time…

Rein only wanted to vent the rage in his heart!

Looking at the formidable Rein charging towards them with such speed made Andre, the leader of the rebel forces, his pupils shrink sharply!

He knew their target was tough, but he hadn’t expected this level of difficulty.

Besides, just because you’re a Peak Knight does that mean I’m not one? Andre thought to himself.

Then Andre also let out a roar, his muscles bulging, transforming into a muscular man a shade shorter than Rein, and charged forward with his sword and shield raised.

Huh, a Strength-type Knight?

Indeed, in terms of strength, he seemed to have never feared anyone within the same rank.

“Earth-Splitting Hammer!”

Rein, using the momentum of his sprint, leapt into the air and swung his dark, two-handed hammer from above, bringing it down with a dull humming noise towards the muscular giant charging at him,

“Ah!!!”

Facing Rein’s earth-shattering strike, Andre let out a roar, his eyeballs bulging as if they were about to burst from their corners!

He mustered all his strength, lifting his heavy steel shield with his left arm to block the blow from Rein’s hammer!

“Clang!”

A flurry of sparks and a piercing clang of metal on metal erupted between the hammer and the shield!

The next instant!

“Boom!”

The heavy steel shield shattered into pieces, flying like shrapnel in all directions! Several of Zaral’s elite rebels were struck by the fragments and fell silently to the ground.

As for Andre, the impact from Rein’s hammer had sent him into the ground as if he had been slapped by a hill giant ten meters tall, with half of his body buried and his left shield arm grotesquely twisted!

If Salem were here, he would surely remark how, even among Peak Knights, the gap could sometimes be unimaginably wide!

“Ah!!!”

At this point, Andre had lost all will to fight, screaming in agony as the injuries he sustained weren’t limited to his broken left arm—the shock that came from the shattered shield was the most lethal.

The force rippled through him, severely damaging almost all the cartilage and tendons at his joints, and this was despite his formidable Peak Knight’s physique.

Had it been an ordinary Knight, their spine could have been shattered by the impact!

Seeing this scene, Andre’s trusted lieutenant Magis let out a roar and, waving his greatsword, charged at Rein, trying to stop him from further harming Andre!

The other rebel elites hesitated for a moment before springing into action, clumsily rushing to rescue their leader from the ground.

At this moment, Rein’s lips curved into a smile!

After one hammer blow sent Magis stumbling back several steps,

The next second, Rein raised his hammer high and used the “Earth-Splitting Hammer” again, slamming it heavily onto the ground in front of Andre.

All within an eight to nine-meter radius were enveloped in dust, and those coming to help—whether Knight, squire, or elite—were all flung up into the air, some bleeding from the mouth due to the distance, others spewing blood profusely.

Seconds later, as the dust settled, there appeared a crater in the middle of the road, resembling the aftermath of a 155mm howitzer shell with the deepest point reaching around one meter twenty, spanning a vast fan-shaped area and extending forwards.

Only after six or seven meters did the ground return to its normal slope.

Andre, who had narrowly escaped death by hammer, vomited blood while looking at Rein with fear in his eyes, his expression devoid of the confidence and spirit he had upon arrival!

“Is this what a Peak Knight is?”

“Damn, so this is all the strength of a Great Knight!” Andre roared in his heart and cursed the one who had sent the message to him mercilessly.

If that person had been here, Andre had half a mind to eat his heart alive!

In fact, this couldn’t really be blamed on ’Magis’, the spy in the prison…

Rein, without hesitation, quickly switched his Pig Head Hammer to the Glimmering Greatsword and, with the momentum of a fierce tiger, charged into the midst of those disheveled and defeated soldiers, slashing wildly.

Soon, Rein left only five knight-level leaders, including Andre and Margen, alive as captives. After severing the tendons in their hands and feet, he dragged them into the nearby dense forest for interrogation.

With screams echoing one after another, a quarter of an hour later, Rein wiped the blood off his hands, his expression grim.

The group that had attacked him turned out to be people from the Zaral rebellion.

He immediately remembered the time in the forest near Rosby City when he had saved Hass, which had been supported secretly by the Zaral rebels. He didn’t expect that at his doorstep, he would encounter the elite of the rebellion.

Why did they attack him?

The muscular leader said it was an order from above, and the specifics were unclear. After repeated interrogation, Rein confirmed that the men indeed seemed to be unaware of the reason.

He learned some information about the Zaral rebels and sent all of these people to embrace the goddess.

These people turned out to be Zaral rebels stationed in Meister County, and moreover, their base was in a nearby abandoned copper mine in the ’Wild Wolf Hills.’ There were no longer any personnel as powerful as Peak Knights there.

The strongest was just a senior knight left behind to guard the place; the elite of the mine had been mostly taken out with them.

Initially, upon hearing this news, Rein couldn’t help but feel puzzled. The strength of this Zaral rebel force stationed in Meister County seemed weak. Is this it? What could they do against the empire?

Rely on those few matchlock guns that seemed to be imports from the Eagle Federation?

They might be okay for dealing with elite forces of ordinary humans, but against proper knights? Better save the effort!

Wait, was it possible that they had a master in their midst, and this was a ruse to lure him in?

After another round of interrogation, Rein came to understand that it wasn’t that the Zaral rebels lacked stronger people.

It was because the overall development of the rebellion was mainly along the coastal cities with developed maritime trade, and it was gradually spreading to the surrounding and inland areas.

For the Zaral rebels, although Meister County had a part of its territory by the sea, like Fishing Port Town, it wasn’t a mainstream commercial port, so in the rebellion’s plans, it was considered second-line.

This explained why the highest combat power of the rebels in Meister County was just a Peak Knight.

Furthermore, their main mission wasn’t to fight the empire or even to cause disturbances; their current orders were to win over nearby bandit gangs, gather supplies, build up strength, and wait for the next command.

Unfortunately, they didn’t expect to be nearly wiped out by Rein in one fell swoop.

Rein quickly contemplated. If only a senior knight was left watching over their base, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to uproot them entirely?

Even if they wanted to rebuild, it would take a considerable amount of time and effort.

Rein looked up at the position of the sun. It was almost noon, and the abandoned mine wasn’t far from here. It should take him only half a day to get there and back.

Spending half a day to uproot Zaral rebels’ base in Meister County sounded good!

Having made up his mind, Rein immediately hid his two horses in a secret spot, then quickly headed toward the abandoned mine he had learned about during the interrogation.

A quarter of an hour later, a small merchant caravan consisting of three wagons passed by the area. Seeing the huge pit on the ground, the coachman couldn’t help but look surprised.

After reporting, a caravan leader wearing a thick waistcoat stepped down from the carriage, looked closely at the huge pit on the ground, and then looked up at the sky, muttering to himself:

“Strange, I didn’t hear about any meteorite falling recently!”

“How did such a big hole suddenly appear!”

“What a hassle!”

“Quick, get some people to fill in the hole a bit, we’ll go around.”

The middle-aged man gestured with his hand.