Destroying the Tower of Ghostflame was no easy task.
Almost all dark-winged mage organizations shared one characteristic: they hid themselves extremely well. This could be seen from the incident with the Reynolds family. The Tower of Ghostflame had long since infiltrated the Reynolds family and seeped into the heart of the continent without anyone noticing. Even the Sacred Council, with its vast intelligence network, had failed to detect it.
"This time, we must eradicate the Tower of Ghostflame completely, leaving not a single trace behind. That will be enough to demonstrate the authority of the Sacred Council!" Zorath the Silent said with a smile. In fact, even the Grand Speaker was paying close attention to this matter—otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Zorath the Silent and Bloodshadow to assist Kael.
After all, the situation with the vampires in the southern continent was tense, and the Sacred Council had already dispatched the Divine Martial Knights there. Bloodshadow was one of their top-tier combatants. Sending Bloodshadow to aid Kael was more than enough to show how seriously the Grand Speaker viewed this operation.
To destroy the Tower of Ghostflame, sending too many people wouldn't work. A large-scale movement would alert them, so only elites could be deployed to wipe them out in one strike.
Bloodshadow nodded. "Zorath the Silent, bring out the map."
Zorath the Silent smiled and produced a map—a detailed chart of the Blackwind Mountain Range in the western kingdom of Caelan.
Kael understood. According to Netherghost's earlier account, the Tower of Ghostflame was indeed located within the Blackwind Mountain Range.
"Actually, I've already captured one of the Tower of Ghostflame's elders," Kael said with a laugh.
"What? You captured one of their elders?" Zorath the Silent was stunned.
Kael nodded. "Netherghost, one of their four great elders. I'll have someone bring him up."
"Ah, Netherghost—the weakest of the four great elders," Zorath the Silent remarked, nodding. In his mind, it made sense that Kael, now at the eleventh tier, could defeat and capture Netherghost. Little did he know that Kael had accomplished this feat while still at the tenth tier.
Netherghost had been imprisoned by Kael within the space of Moonlight Dusk, but Kael wasn't ready to reveal the secret of Moonlight Dusk yet. So, he made an excuse to step out, retrieved the unconscious Netherghost from the space, and then called for Lone Wolf to accompany him back inside.
Zorath the Silent stared at the unconscious Netherghost, his eyes gleaming slightly. "It really is Netherghost—one of the Tower of Ghostflame's elders!"
With Zorath the Silent's extensive intelligence and now Netherghost captured by Kael, the situation became even clearer. Kael promptly woke Netherghost up, forcing him to divulge more critical information about the Tower of Ghostflame.
When Netherghost saw Zorath the Silent and Bloodshadow, his expression froze, and a look of despair flashed in his eyes. These two were infamous figures within the Human Alliance—Netherghost recognized them instantly. His face paled instantly.
"Y-you… who exactly are you?" Netherghost stammered, his voice laced with terror. He still didn't know Kael's true identity, but he finally realized that the young man he had crossed was far from ordinary. This time, he had truly kicked an iron plate!
Kael gazed coldly at Netherghost. "You have no right to know who I am. From now on, you will answer every question I ask. If you lie or withhold anything, my subordinate here will make sure you regret it."
Netherghost shuddered as he noticed Lone Wolf standing nearby, his sharp eyes cutting into him like blades.
Lone Wolf smirked menacingly, reinforcing the threat.
Netherghost glanced again at Zorath the Silent and Bloodshadow, his expression conflicted. With a resigned sigh, he finally nodded in defeat and began confessing everything.
"Fine… I'll talk. The Tower of Ghostflame is heavily guarded. If you want to wipe them out completely, you must…" Netherghost spoke hoarsely under their relentless scrutiny.
With Netherghost's confession, Kael and the others gained even greater confidence in their mission.
They immediately began formulating a plan to deal with the Tower of Ghostflame.
The discussion lasted well into the night before they finalized their strategy. Everything was now in place.
Everyone understood the importance of striking swiftly—especially against a cunning organization like the Tower of Ghostflame, which had remained hidden for so many years. The sooner they acted, the better, to prevent any leaks.
Thus, Zorath the Silent and Kael immediately decided to gather all the elite forces of the Shadow Hall and set out in secret for the Kingdom of Caelan!
Nightfall.
Kael wrapped his arm around Amelia's slender waist, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. With the Sacred Council's support this time, a third-rate dark-winged mage organization like the Tower of Ghostflame won't be a problem. Don't forget—I'm now an eleventh-tier mage!"
Amelia forced a smile, knowing it wasn't the time to distract Kael with her worries. Instead, she replied cheerfully, "Mm, I believe in you. Besides, I've also advanced to the ninth tier. I can help a little too."
Kael was slightly surprised—Amelia had actually reached the ninth tier. Among her peers, she was undoubtedly exceptional.
Truthfully, Kael's rapid ascension had put immense pressure on Amelia. Over the past days, she had trained relentlessly, honing her combat aura day and night until she finally broke through to the ninth tier today.
Kael knew how hard Amelia had been pushing herself and understood why. Touched, he gently stroked her smooth raven hair and chuckled, "Don't worry. Just wait for my triumphant return."
Amelia hummed in agreement, then unexpectedly leaned in and kissed Kael's cheek, sending a warm flutter through his heart.
"Time to go!" Kael laughed heartily, shaking off any lingering sentiment. Right now, his mind was set on one thing—annihilating the Tower of Ghostflame in a single decisive strike!
Kingdom of Caelan.
Given the gravity of the mission and the limited high-tier combatants in Raphael City, Kael only brought Thunderclap with him.
When Zorath the Silent first met Thunderclap, he was skeptical. How strong could a guy who didn't even use combat aura possibly be? But after Thunderclap casually sparred with a few of the Shadow Hall's officers—flattening three tenth-tier experts in a row—Zorath the Silent could only grumble in resignation. It seemed the people around Kael defied all logic. Monsters truly attract monsters.
Of course, aside from Thunderclap, Kael also brought Little Kitten.
Zorath the Silent had already witnessed Little Kitten's extraordinary sensory abilities firsthand—they would undoubtedly prove invaluable.
In addition to Zorath the Silent and Bloodshadow—both top-tier eleventh-tier powerhouses—Zorath had also mobilized thirty tenth-tier experts, all core members of the Shadow Hall. This gave Kael a glimpse of the sheer might of the Sacred Council's influence.
The thirty elites were all highly disciplined veterans. Without delay, the group set off toward the Blackwind Mountain Range.
Approaching the Blackwind Mountain Range.
Kael and the others frowned as they surveyed the desolate landscape. They had been flying at high altitude for nearly half a day, yet there was scarcely a trace of human presence. Where there's abnormality, there's deception—this place was clearly anything but ordinary.
Little Kitten, perched on Kael's back, whispered, "Kael, be careful. The aura here is strange… I sense traces of sinister dark magic."
Dark magic was vastly different from ordinary magic. Practitioners of dark magic would inevitably be corrupted by its influence, growing cruel and malevolent. Among its most feared branches was necromancy, a taboo that sent shivers down the spines of people across the continent.
Even among dark-winged mages, few mastered necromancy—yet the Tower Lord of Ghostflame was likely one of them.
Kael nodded, expanding his spiritual sense to monitor their surroundings vigilantly.
"We're almost at the Blackwind Mountain Range!" Zorath the Silent raised a hand, signaling the group to halt. His expression turned grave as he continued, "According to our intelligence, the Tower of Ghostflame should be hidden beneath these very mountains."
That's right—the Tower of Ghostflame wasn't above ground but buried deep underground!
This intel had been gathered by Zorath's Shadow Hall and later confirmed by Netherghost's confession.
"There's an illusionary barrier here. We'll need to dismantle the magic array to proceed," Kael said, his spiritual sense detecting the anomaly.
Dismantling magic arrays was well within Kael's expertise—after all, he was now an eleventh-tier mage. With a few precise adjustments, the illusion shattered, and the scenery before them transformed abruptly.
A circular entrance, roughly two meters wide, appeared ahead. The opening was pitch-black, its depths unfathomable—the gateway to the Tower of Ghostflame!
"Haha! Nice work, my friend! So this is where they've been hiding!" Zorath the Silent chuckled before catching himself and straightening his expression. With a swift wave of his hand, he commanded, "Move out! The interior will be heavily guarded. We must strike fast and leave no room for them to react—speed is crucial!"
The group exchanged determined nods.
"Let's go!"
Zorath the Silent took the lead, leaping into the dark abyss first. The passage was narrow, allowing only two people to advance side by side. The others followed closely, filing in one after another.
The moment they crossed the threshold, a chilling, sinister aura engulfed them…