The Ghosts gulped knowing that they would face a lot of risks in this path that Carl Gustav had decided. They quickly fired a yellow flare to confirm the appearance of a dimensional crack before entering into serious and detailed discussions of their tactical plans.

They hoped to break through all at once but it was night impossible especially with the overwhelming amount of void insects in the vicinity.

‘How unfortunate that there are no hell cows.’ 

Iron felt a bit regretful that the ‘heroes’ of Winter Mountains, the hell cows, were not in this place. But just as regret was starting to seep in, his heart started pounding wildly once again as if to remind him of what he needed to do.

Perhaps it was because the witch believed that the void insects were more than enough to deal with the Ghosts that she did not place any specter, ghost trees or dolls to block their path. Their journey was unexpectedly smooth but it would have gone smoother if the void insects were not present.

“Did we go the wrong way?” 

“But the direction is correct.” 

Iron answered Carl Gustav solemnly. 

They killed as much as possible but the void insects were still crawling around endlessly. What was worse was the fact that the contaminated mana in the surrounding area was getting worse the deeper they went in the forest.

The only silver lining was knowing that they were on the right path. After all, these phenomena meant that they were getting closer and closer to the dimensional crack.

‘And this pounding…’ 

Iron could feel the energy that stimulated and made his heart pound getting stronger the more they moved in this direction. 

“We should move silently like this.” 

Carl stepped lightly on a tree branch as he said so. The Ghosts immediately followed his example. They stealthily jumped from one tree to the other while suppressing their mana to the minimum just so they could avoid the detection of the void insects.

Even if the Ghost was a special task force that was specialized in killing monsters, they were still a group that could use stealth and infiltrate when necessary. Iron had also received intensive training to hone his skills in stealth after he finished all of his work in the Winter Mountains.

However, no matter how stealthy they could move, they weren’t professional assassins. There was a limit to what they could do under the cover of darkness. Although they wanted to continue moving forward like this, they had no choice but to stop. The empty lot in front of them was teeming with void insects. They were well aware that they would not be able to pass through this area undetected unless they were the assassins specialized in stealth.

“I believe this is the end of our flower path?”

“Tch! A hard path suddenly appeared.”

Billie Brandt clicked his tongue at Lintel as he pulled his sword out. The other Ghosts also pulled out their swords under the cover of darkness. But as soon as they injected their mana…

―Kiyeeeeeek!

“Quite sharp.”

A void insect appeared right in front of Lintel as soon as his sword turned bluish with mana. 

Lintel immediately cut the void insect in half covering him in its body fluids. He quickly shook off the sticky body fluids as he moved and slashed his sword. Dozens of void insects were killed with just a single slash of his sword.

With Lintel as the fuse, the other Ghosts also moved out. 

The first one to attack was Milton. Void insects exploded whenever he passed by. Gordon and Sauria also swept the surroundings while making sure to pave the way. 

―Hoot!

“Owl?”

Iron tilted his head when he suddenly heard Owl.

―Hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot!

“Everyone, out of the way!”

Iron immediately shouted after hearing Owl’s warnings. The Ghosts stopped in their tracks as they hurriedly stepped out of the way. Then, a blue intangible energy suddenly burst out from the sky. 

“Keuk!”

Everyone hurriedly stabbed their swords as they held on from the explosive gust of wind that the blue energy brought about. 

“It’s not just a simple wind!”

“Keup!” 

“Sp… specter?” 

The Ghosts covered their ears as soon as Carl’s warning resounded in the area. 

They were swept away in confusion the moment the blue gust of wind wrapped around their bodies. All kinds of debuffs including exhaustion, ghastly shrieks, curses, and temporary blindness bound the Ghosts’ and stopped them from being able to move. 

At that moment, the surrounding mana wound around Iron’s body before spreading. When the mana passed by the Ghosts’ bodies, all the debuffs that they experienced disappeared. 

“Iron?” 

“Yes?” 

“You… Your eyes…” 

Lintel couldn’t help but flinch and step back when Iron turned around to look at them. The same was true for the other Ghosts. 

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” 

“It’s shining?” 

“Yes? What do you…” 

Iron frowned and tried to speak but a notification suddenly rang before he could finish his words. 

― An ancient witch is now targeting you, the person who assimilated with Two Moons. The witch will try to deal with you first from this point on.

― The witch has stopped the dimensional crack from expanding as she begins the process of turning it into a gate. A wave of contaminated mana will spread all throughout the Northeast because of the ongoing territorialisation process. Stop the witch and seal the dimensional crack!

― This quest is like a main quest. However, because the ‘official opening’ still hasn’t happened, it will not be included in the main quests.

― A bigger reward will instead be given in exchange for not being included in the main quests. Upon completion of this quest, you will ‘directly’ receive a clue about another phantom species.

A blue ball of fire began to fall from the sky as soon as the notifications ended. 

The witch has now considered Iron as the most threatening existence in the area. So, she was trying to get rid of him first.

―Hoot! Hoooooooot!

“I get it.” 

Iron turned to look at Carl Gustav upon Owl’s urging. Carl Gustav nodded slightly and gave his orders. 

Since the debuffs that made them suffer earlier had disappeared, the Ghosts were able to show what an elite was as they swept away the thousands of specters that appeared to block them. 

Blue fireballs flew in again to stop the Ghosts from moving but Carl Gustav stepped forward to stop it himself. Carl’s sword cut off dozens of blue fireballs with the shockwave from his sword. He infused his mana on his sword and used his Quick Draw Sword Technique to blow away the dozens of fireballs that came their way.

But the blue fireballs were not the end. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As they advanced forward, not only did the fireballs appear, even the specters, ghost trees and giant dolls appeared one after the other to stop them. The debuffs even began to get stronger the more they advanced forward. 

The Ghosts began to feel exhaustion. It was as if the witch was trying to teach them the horrors of the realm of witches. 

However, as if to help the Ghosts, the bombing from the outside continued as the Drake Unit and the Airship Units began to take the risk to break the barrier covering the Black Forest. The knights also descended from the cracks and gaps that were created in the barrier. 

“There’s a breach! Let’s go!” 

The Drake and Airship Units kept the barrier in check while Crimson moved forward himself to block the powerful magic that targeted the units. 

The Ghosts immediately flew forward when they saw that the things that blocked them loosened and showed a gap. They immediately dug through the gaps and passed through. 

They continued to move forward until a black screen stopped them. However, thanks to Carl Gustav using his full strength, the screen broke after being hit with dozens of shockwaves from his sword. 

“That…” 

A huge dimensional crack appeared once the black screen was broken. The Ghosts couldn’t help but stare blankly at the sky. However, Iron’s eyes were not drawn towards the crack.

“Owl?” 

He saw a gigantic owl lying on the floor with its eyes closed.

―Hoot! Hoooot!

Iron quickly moved to take his divine beast there when he heard Owl’s request. The Ghosts immediately moved to assist Iron when they saw him moving. 

―You’re persistent.

The Ghosts instinctively raised their sword when a pumpkin doll wearing a witch’s hat and holding a scythe appeared in the sky. However, unlike the pumpkin doll from earlier, the small pumpkin doll with the witch hat could use magic. It even used a black wind to block Lintel’s sword, the fastest sword among the Ghosts all the while summoning countless monsters to deal with the others. 

The Ghosts dealt with the summoned monsters while Carl Gustav personally dealt with the pumpkin doll wearing a witch hat. Meanwhile, Iron quickly approached the sleeping owl. 

“Come to think of it, where are the void insects…?” 

When Iron touched the gigantic owl as he wondered where the void insects were despite the dimensional crack being opened, the space began to distort. 

“Illusion?” 

He noticed that he was deceived. However, it was already far too late.

Void insects began to flock in the area as the space distorted and showed the real situation in the area. Iron clenched his teeth as he jumped up. 

Numerous void insects flocked from behind while a blue flame flew towards him from above.

―Hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot!

Iron quickly maneuvered and made his way to the gigantic owl under the guidance of Owl, who appeared in front of him.

―Troublesome.

A pumpkin doll carrying a gigantic scythe several times larger than its body appeared as it swung its scythe. 

Clang!

“Go!” 

Iron blocked the pumpkin doll as he urged Owl to move forward when he saw him hesitate because of him. 

―Two Moons signed a contract with a human… that’s funny.

―Hoot, hoot!

Owl hooted at the pumpkin doll. Owl told the pumpkin doll that it was the one that was funny. After all, the pumpkin doll also tied itself to a witch. The once noble and honorable being was now merely a familiar to a witch.

While the divine beast and familiar were busy facing each other, Iron quickly swung his sword at the void insects that came from behind him. The pumpkin doll gave up on this staring contest as it focused on Iron more fiercely.

Owl, on the other hand, flew straight to where its body was. A black screen, like the one that stopped the Ghosts earlier, appeared to stop Owl, but Owl just turned into light and passed through it. 

‘Is it in that place?’ 

Perhaps it was because Owl had pierced through the black screen that a path suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It seemed like the illusion spell had been broken as an opening suddenly appeared from the place that they had thought was just a simple mountain wall.

―This… I’m in trouble.

The pumpkin doll began to exert its strength earnestly. 

Blue flames covered the small pumpkin doll and its scythe while specters flocked all over its small frame.

―Little human. I’m very curious. I wonder how long you’ll last against me.

Specters covered with blue flame flew towards Iron with just a simple swing of its scythe.

Kakakakaka!

―Hang in there. It will be your honor if you can hold out for a while. I’m giving you the honor of fighting against me, the Necromancer Ghost King. 

Numerous specters appeared in the air once again after the pumpkin doll finished its words.

Blue flames flew from the dead void insects body as they materialized into hundreds and hundreds of specters that turned into a ghost army.

“You… Who are you?” 

―I told you. I am the Ghost King.

“But you’re the witch’s familiar?” 

―Because she’s worth it. And we have the same purpose.

Iron looked at the Ghost King incredulously. 

―You’re curious about a lot of things. If you’re really curious, you should hold out until that bastard divine beast fully awakens. I can’t answer you since there are restrictions placed upon me, but the Witch Queen is different. You can ask her.

“Witch Queen…”

―Of course, that’s only possible if you can survive through this ordeal.

Then, the Ghost King’s army began to move. 

Iron gritted his teeth as he lifted his sword to face against the numerous specters in front of him. 

“Hoo… Fine. I’ll survive and listen to your answers.” 

Then, he began to concentrate his mana into his sword.

The path that he chose was survival. He chose to endure and endure until he survived to the end. That was his path. Just like steel that got harder the more one hammered it, he wanted to survive by ‘smelting’ the countless hardships that he experienced into his sword. 

And right now, Iron’s will was firmly contained in his sword. His will remained as tough as steel as he viewed these countless specter soldiers as a tool to smelt himself. 

He would use his body and his mana as the materials to build his steel sword and find the answer.

“Come!”