Kael's overwhelming strength left everyone in awe.
Even powerhouses like Stellan and Magnus were utterly stunned, finding Kael's abilities almost inconceivable. Below the eighth rank, Kael was undoubtedly the strongest!
With his current power, he could even challenge ordinary eighth-rank experts—and stand a great chance of winning.
Having dealt with Kairo and Heath, the only remaining threats were the disorganized undead horde.
"Alaric, wipe out these undead!" Kael said with a faint smile. He didn't lift a finger this time. Having grasped the mysteries of his domain, he had gained even greater power. Moreover, another seal on The Book of Immortality had been unlocked.
Within this newly revealed layer were records of numerous rare magics.
Kael was still immersed in the contents of the seal. It documented multiple spells from The Book of Immortality, all of them rare—but what intrigued him most were a few particularly unique ones.
This trip has truly been rewarding. The more seals I break on The Book of Immortality, the more profound its revelations become. And these incantations… Kael's heart swelled with satisfaction. This time, The Book of Immortality had granted him an even greater harvest.
"Don't worry, Kael! These damned undead won't escape! Heh heh! I'm still waiting for your roasted meat!" Alaric chuckled, clearly looking forward to Kael's cooking.
Kael couldn't help but laugh. This glutton—still thinking about food at a time like this.
Without Leif's control, the undead beasts were nothing more than a disorganized mob. How could they possibly withstand the assault of the Unicorn Rhino herd?
Soon, the thousands of undead beasts were completely overwhelmed under the frenzied attacks of the hundred-strong Unicorn Rhinos.
The battlefield was swiftly cleared. The undead horde had been utterly annihilated.
"All done?" Kael asked with a faint smile.
"Kael, heh heh—all done!" Alaric grinned, his massive frame towering over his herd. This battle had cost them over twenty Unicorn Rhinos, but overall, the losses were acceptable.
After all, Leif had commanded thousands of undead beasts. Though individually weak, even ants could bring down an elephant when there were enough of them. The Unicorn Rhinos were only eighth-rank—powerful, but not invincible.
However, with only slightly over twenty Unicorn Rhinos lost, the outcome was still quite acceptable. After all, if these undead had been allowed to grow unchecked, the threat to the Unicorn Rhinos would have been far greater. This was precisely why Alaric had agreed to Kael's request in the first place—otherwise, he wouldn't have consented so readily.
For all his gluttony, Alaric wasn't without a brain.
Everyone present watched Kael with a mix of awe and wariness, their expressions unconsciously revealing reverence. They all understood—Kael had close ties to the Unicorn Rhino herd. And even setting that aside, he now possessed the strength to annihilate every single one of them alone.
This left them no choice but to regard him with fear.
"Kael… thank you." Stellan met Kael's gaze deeply before sighing and speaking in a low voice.
Against Kael, he had no choice but to concede. Moreover, this time, their survival had hinged entirely on Kael's intervention. Without him, things wouldn't have been resolved so easily.
Kael shrugged. He hadn't expected the Holy Temple members to be so polite. Though they were cooperating now, they were ultimately rivals.
Had these Holy Temple fools provoked him, Kael might have even considered wiping them all out to avoid future trouble.
But with them behaving so courteously, he lacked a pretext to act. More importantly, these Holy Temple members surely had some means of communication among themselves. Eliminating them now would only alert the Holy Temple—a far greater headache.
"Tsk, the Sacred Council still lags slightly behind the Holy Temple in this regard. Their organization is too loose. Though individually strong, if things continue like this, it's hard to guarantee they won't be overtaken by the Holy Temple." Kael rubbed his nose, sighing inwardly.
Watching the Holy Temple members depart under Stellan and Magnus' leadership, Kael couldn't help but feel a pang of reflection.
His gaze then shifted to the three from Harrow Academy—already long dead from the undead toxin. Kael exhaled softly. Had it not been for the addition of Kael's group, the Sacred Council's performance would have paled in comparison to the Holy Temple's.
"Wait a minute—weren't there people from Saint Academy too? Where did they go?" Kael suddenly recalled. Four great academies had participated in this competition, yet there was no trace of Saint Academy. What could they be up to?
The moment Kael voiced this, Ethan and Amelia both shot him strange looks.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Kael asked, puzzled by Amelia and Ethan's strange expressions.
"Kael, you were probably too focused on chasing Leif to notice," Ethan replied, his face still twisted in an odd grimace before he sighed and lowered his voice. "The truth is… all three members of Saint Academy were turned into undead by Leif!"
"What?!" Kael was stunned.
"Yeah," Ethan shrugged. "That's how it is. Look over there—you can still see the traces of their 'purification' earlier. It happened while you were pursuing Leif. At first, we didn't even realize, but then we spotted the Saint Academy trio among the undead beasts. Seems they fell victim to the creatures first, and then Leif turned them into undead…" he explained.
Kael sighed as well. This expedition to the ancient ruins had nearly wiped out the Sacred Council's forces. In comparison, the Holy Temple had fared much better—only three or four of their members had died, with two or three others severely injured.
"So, that means we're the only ones left from the Sacred Council's side," Kael said with a bitter smile.
"Exactly! We really did fall short compared to the Holy Temple this time. If not for you, Kael, we'd have been completely wiped out!" Ethan laughed.
"Kael, Kael! What about the barbecue you promised?" Just as Kael and Ethan were talking, Alaric suddenly barged in, looking at Kael with eager, pleading eyes.
"Fine," Kael had no choice but to relent. This guy really lives up to his gluttonous reputation—demanding food the moment the battle ends.
"Heh heh, as expected of the great Alaric's best friend! I've already got everything ready—look!" Alaric, grinning widely, somehow produced a massive pile of meat and plopped it onto the ground.
This guy… even prepared the ingredients in advance.
Resigned, Kael began grilling the meat for Alaric, who in turn ordered his 'underlings' to clean up the battlefield.
The amount of meat Alaric had brought was staggering, but fortunately, Kael was a fire mage. With a few flame spells, the barbecue was perfectly cooked in no time. The addition of some spices made the aroma irresistible, and Alaric's mouth watered uncontrollably.
"So delicious... Do you know how hard it is to find barbecue this good? Sniffle..." Alaric devoured the meat messily, his manners nonexistent.
The Snowbear Beast, which had been cooped up in the spatial storage during the battle, was finally released by Kael. Having contributed significantly in the ancient ruins, it too was rewarded with a generous share of the roasted feast.
With the barbecue finished, Kael began to reflect. His power had surged dramatically this time, and another seal on The Book of Immortality had been unlocked, revealing several rare magic incantations. At least a few of them deeply intrigued him—they seemed to be long-lost spellsfrom the continent, and he was determined to master them thoroughly.
"We've been in this ancient ruins for quite a while. By my estimate, the gates will reopen soon, and we'll have to leave," Ethan remarked.
"This time, Kael, you killed Leif—the Sacred Council will undoubtedly take this very seriously. And let's not forget their initial promise..." Amelia added with a knowing smile.
Kael's eyes gleamed as he recalled the Sacred Council's pledge: Whoever slew Leif would receive 200,000 gold coins and the right to enter the magic tower of the legendary 'Star Sage' Orlando for ten days!
The rewards were astronomically generous, and even Kael couldn't help but feel eager.
Since arriving in this world, the name he had heard most frequently was "Star Sage Orlando."Naturally, his anticipation was especially high...