Kyran noticed how Celine could not answer directly. Most likely, it was a piece of information she could not disclose. He also noticed how she avoided giving out a title. She kept on saying the President this and that, but this time, she used someone 'high up'. Did it mean that the person involve was higher than the President?
[Oh f*cking shit. You've got to be f*cking kidding me! Seriously? That guy is.. This is getting very complicated!]
Nolan's cursing broke Kyran's train of thought. Before he could berate him, however, Nolan added.
[Since when did the Regis Clan had a connection with the Conclave? She's talking about the Head of the Conclave! F*ck.]
"Head of Conclave?"
Celine's eyes widened in surprise. Normally, if someone heard 'someone high-up' they would try to guess who it was by asking a title one ladder up an organization until they guessed it right. She was even prepared to give more hints. However, Kyran was able to guess it immediately.
"The Head of Conclave knew about the deals my clan had with the Mercenary Hall?" he asked her.
However, she remained silent.
Kyran did not get angry. Her silence was already an answer. At this moment, however, he was more curious as to why Nolan was making such a fuss over his family's connection with the Head of the Conclave. They were just talking about the Mercenary Hall, so why did they shift to the Conclave? What was so important about the Conclaves anyway?
If Celine knew what Kyran was thinking, she would probably flip.
Nolan on the other hand already saw the 'no idea' expression on Kyran's face. He sighed in his heart. Once again, he could not help but silently scold the whole Regis Clan for not teaching this guy about the outside 'world'.
[Oi, kid. Don't tell me you haven't heard about the Conclave of the East.]
Kyran did not reply and instead waited for Nolan to explain. He was aware that the Conclave of the East was a big establishment that worked with various businesses in Starhorn. But apart from that, he could not understand why Nolan had such a reaction.
Nolan sighed.
[The Conclave of the East is a big neutral faction in the whole empire. It has a lot of business constituents, and the Mercenary Hall is only one of them. However, the Conclave rarely meddles in how its constituents do their business as long as they follow the rules.]
'Neutral faction?' Kyran pondered for a bit. No wonder the Mercenary Hall wanted to play safe. Because they were part of a neutral faction they could not openly oppose the army.
However, he could not understand why a neutral faction would even make a deal with a clan that would likely endanger their neutral status if they were found out. He assumed they were only interested in his clan's background and the potential of his magic that's why they decided to have a cooperative relationship. But if the army found out about it, even if they denied it, their reputation would be tarnished.
Kyran also felt that he was missing an important piece of the whole puzzle.
"Did the Head of Conclave agreed to the deal as long as it is kept under wraps? No. Why would he even agree?" Kyran wondered out loud.
Celine remained silent.
[Argh! This is frustrating. I actually believe the deal was only between the Regis and the Mercenary Hall. Hell, the Conclave has always been a neutral faction. If they found out the deal, I sure as hell believe they will surrender the whole Mercenary Hall to the army for being accomplices. But thinking about it now and what the old hag has hinted so far, for the kind of deal your clan had with the Hall, the Chairman will not just agree to it unless the Conclave is aware of it.]
Nolan took a deep breath.
[We need to talk to someone from the Conclave. But if that person is also under an oath... Tsk. The most likely person who will not be bound by an oath is the Head of Conclave! If we manage to meet him and get him to talk...]
"Meet the Head?" Again the reply was directed at Nolan but the moment Celine heard Kyran her already pale complexion paled further.
"M-Meet the Head of Conclave–do you even realize what you're saying? Asking to have an audience with the Head is not an easy thing to–."
"Who says anything about asking for an audience? If I make enough scene in front of the Conclave's headquarters, I'm sure he'll voluntarily show himself. Ah, right. I need to kick his right-hand man first."
Both Nolan and Celine had black lines appearing on their heads.
Wasn't this kid opposed to 'running wild' earlier? What was he suggesting right now?
'Did I overdo it? I'm sorry Cade, I think I corrupted your son.' Nolan thought and silently apologized to Cade.
Celine on the other hand was scared out of her wits as she exclaimed, "T-That's too dangerous and impossible. The Tower of Conclave is nothing like the Mercenary Hall. It is–!"
Noticing Celine's reaction, Kyran knelt in front of her and sneered. "Do you even have the time to worry about what I'll do? You should worry more about your own. Just because I haven't done anything yet doesn't mean I have decided to let you live."
Celine immediately bit her lip. He was right. She might have succeeded in diverting his thoughts, but it didn't mean she was safe.
[You say that, but the fact you're still talking to her makes me think you're letting them off.]
Nolan, however, thought differently.
Kyran did not react and instead asked Celine, "Tell me everything you know about the Conclave."
[O-Oi. You really want to go?]
"I c-can't tell you much," Celine answered truthfully.
Kyran frowned. "You're not going to tell me you had another oath."
"N-No. A Soul-binding oath can only be done once. B-But information about the Conclave is very confidential. I am only a Mercenary Hall Master. The information available to me is limited to the Mercenary Hall."
"You at least know something. Your reaction earlier meant you are aware of the Conclave's security, at least."
[Oi, oi, oi! Don't ignore me! Are you really being serious?]
"T-Then, will you promise to let us return if I tell you what I know?" Celine asked.
Kyran was a little taken aback. He remained silent and just stared at her as he pondered.
To Celine however, Kyran's silence scared her.
After a few minutes, she could no longer bear his silence and said, "I'll tell you. Y-You don't have to let us go."
Celine felt hopeless. Was her request to return in exchange for information too hasty? She thought that if she cooperated and tell him what she knew, he would at least agree to her request. It seemed Kyran had not changed his mind about killing her.
To her surprise, Kyran's eyes returned to normal and he sat down cross-legged in front of her.
Nolan also was a little surprised. He wondered if the earlier exchange was just Kyran's scare tactic to make Celine cooperate. If it was, this kid was more manipulative than he thought.
"I'm curious. Why did you ask me to let you guys go instead of not killing you?" Kyran asked Celine. "Did you think that by letting you go, you'd be safe?"
"H-Huh?" Celine was suddenly dumbfounded.
"Never mind," Kyran shook his head. "Start telling me what you know before I change my mind."
"O-Of course!" Celine replied, her expression brightened slightly. "What do you want to know?"
"Do they also have a defensive array?" Kyran asked.
"They do. And it is a very powerful one. One of its key features is, only those recognized by the Head of Conclave can pass the array. Forget about sneaking in, you'll probably not be able to even pass the gates."
"You mean the defensive array is outside the gates?"
"No. The whole parameter of the Tower of the Conclave is being protected by its defensive array. It's like a big defensive barrier."
"Is it active all the time?"
"Yes. That's why the Tower of Conclave is known to have the best defensive array in the whole empire. I am not aware how they were able to maintain its formation 24/7. That would definitely require a lot of spirit stones and other rare items. Anyway, as far as I know, magic cannot easily destroy the array from the outside. It would at least need a Magus level to even put a dent on it but they will not be able to destroy–." Celine suddenly stopped. Her eyes slowly grew wide as she remembered something. "No. Maybe you can."
"What?" Kyran asked with a slight scowl.
"I know I shouldn't disclose this information, but just think of this as my sincerity. Your magic may be able to put a crack on the Tower's defensive array. You see, the Mercenary Hall's defensive array is tier 8. No one can easily damage it. But you did. With just one attack, you did not merely damage a part but destroyed the whole defensive array."
Nolan was shocked. If this was true then sneaking into the Tower of Conclave might not be easy, but not entirely impossible. Of course, this would only be possible if Kyran could really put a crack in it. Now their only concern would be the Conclave's manpower.
Kyran thought for a few seconds. He was aware that his magic could destroy an array, but he did not expect to actually destroy the Mercenary Hall's defensive array. No wonder it only attacked him once.
Judging from Celine's words, the Tower's defensive array was a level higher than the Mercenary Hall. But what if that array had another condition? Like the Four-colored Ruin array they encountered.
"You said 'one of its key features', tell me the other features of the array."
Celine shook her head, "I'm sorry. I only know of the identification and the defensive barrier features. Apart from that, the Tower has never been attacked so I don't know."
[Ask about the Security Unit and Mage Forces inside the Tower.]
Kyran nodded slightly, after hearing Nolan's voice.
For the next couple of hours, Celine answered Kyran's questions and explained the overall force inside the Tower.
She was amazed and frightened by the fact that he looked unfazed when she listed the ranks he might encounter inside.
Then their conversation shifted when Kyran suddenly asked her to expound on the Conclave's influence in the whole empire.
Celine soon found out that Kyran had little knowledge about the different factions in the whole empire! No wonder he was fearless.
She also noticed that he was very interested in knowing the overall forces of each faction.
Of course, because they were not in her office, Celine could only provide brief information about the things he wanted to know. And so Kyran made a proposal that as long as Celine continues to provide him information starting today, then he would at least spare her and Dante's life and let them go in one piece. However, he emphasized that if she would not uphold their agreement, he would immediately appear in the Mercenary Hall and obliterate the whole place.
To show her willingness to cooperate, Celine told Kyran that they created a private channel they could use to communicate. Then she gave him the communication device they prepared in case he wanted to contact them in the future.
Kyran took it but did not even look at it before putting it in his pouch.
After that, he let Celine tend to Dante's wound. Fortunately, he only suffered one broken rib and some cuts and bruises.
Dante was still hostile, but he seemed to respect Celine's decision when she explained their current arrangement. He was a little confused because she decided no to tell him about Kyran's intention in going to the Tower of Conclave.
Kyran then took a potion and rested for a bit. Then he told Celine that they had to wait here until he returned. He also told her not to contact the Mercenary Hall. She agreed at once, much to Dante's annoyance.
As soon as they stepped out of the abandoned warehouse, Nolan was shocked to find out that Kyran wanted to infiltrate the Tower at once. However, he did not disagree.
As an old saying said, strike while the iron is hot.
Back to the present...
Nolan sighed and looked at Kyran in front of him who was still looking at the opened doors leading to the main tower.
He remembered how Kyran told him to stay within two meters around him as soon as they neared the gates of the Tower of Conclave. Back then, Nolan was still in his stealth magic.
When Kyran used his magic a few meters away from the Tower's main entrance, Nolan's stealth magic was nullified at once. And when they were wrapped with a huge dark purplish sphere, he watched in horror as the whole gates, walls, even the soil, and trees around them get devoured.
[If your that uneasy, why don't you just destroy the doors as you did back at the entrance?]
Kyran looked at Nolan then all the bodies lying on the ground.
"If I do that these guys will die."
Nolan sneered.
[You already attacked the Conclave, did you think they will be lenient just because you did not kill their people?]
"No. I just think it's best to let them think I'm afraid to kill anyone," Kyran answered and looked back at the gates. "It will let their guard down."
[Humph. You say that but you also did not kill the old hag.]
Kyran did not reply and instead cautiously approached the doors. Nolan followed.
[Hm?]
However, when they were only a couple of meters away, Nolan felt a sudden chill in the air and he stopped walking.
[Stop.]
Kyran stopped and looked at Nolan, "What's wrong?"
[The whole tower... is a domain.]
Kyran frowned and before he could say anything, a huge magic fluctuation rushed out of the opened doors and immediately shattered his purple dragon scales.
[Shit!]
Nolan cursed as his magic was negated as well, but before he was exposed, he activated his own domain and disappeared.
"Errgh," Kyran was forced on his knees as the pressure from the magic fluctuation bore down on him.
"Interesting."
A male voice suddenly resounded within the opened doors.
"I can only force you to your knees but not shatter your magic defense. No wonder you dare come here alone."
From inside the main tower, a man in his early thirties with shoulder-length blond hair, and green eyes appeared. He was dressed in a white robe with gold linings and in his hand was a long staff with a huge dark green spirit stone attached at the top, glowing brilliantly.
"Welcome to the Tower of Conclave. I've been expecting you, Kyran Regis." The man said and smiled at Kyran.
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