"Thank you for saving Uma, respected powerhouse!"
Unlike the young girl of the alien race, the other two Unicorn tribe members immediately stepped forward, placing their right hands over their chests in a peculiar gesture of salute.
"May we ask the name of this powerhouse?"
From the eyes of these two Unicorn tribe members, Leilin detected carefully concealed gazes of scrutiny, even carrying a trace of suspicion — but he had long since prepared his cover story.
"I am Leilin of the Winged Race! I'm traveling to gather impressions — you don't need to thank me. The Great
Thanks to the memories of that Unicorn tribe member, Leilin now spoke as though he were a native of the Lava World, without the slightest flaw.
Moreover, this so-called Winged Race was the cover identity Leilin had chosen for himself.
Through the other party's memories, he had discovered that all the alien races in the Lava World looked vastly different from ordinary humans — only the Winged Race bore any resemblance. As for wings? With a Morning Star
"So it's a friend of the Winged Race! Welcome to the Land of Fire and Thorns!"
The Winged Race was one of the very few peaceful races in the Lava World. The Winged People were scattered across every corner of the land, with no entanglements involving any of the major powers. So although these two Unicorn tribe members had not yet fully relaxed their guard, their wariness had diminished considerably, and they began warmly inviting Leilin to rest and recuperate in a nearby city.
Leilin, who harbored his own hidden agenda, politely declined at first before graciously accepting.
Overjoyed, the two Unicorn tribe members immediately ordered materials gathered on the spot to hold a banquet in Leilin's honor.
What surprised Leilin somewhat was that the food they served that very day was the lava worm itself.
He had to admit — once he suppressed his disgust and put the worm's meat into his mouth, the terrible taste he had expected did not materialize. The texture was more like chicken, with an added sweetness from its juices. It was a truly rare delicacy.
And especially in the Lava World, food that contained large amounts of moisture was the most prized ingredient of all!
"Lord Leilin! Thank you! And also..."
Uma thanked Leilin and handed him a large piece of the worm's meat, a hopeful note coloring her voice.
"What is it?" Leilin replied, somewhat amused.
"C-Can I... see your... wings? I've heard that the wings of the Winged Race are the most beautiful things in the world!" Uma's eyes were filled with admiration, which only left Leilin not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Most beautiful? I'm afraid our Winged Race can't quite claim that! But I can grant this request of yours!"
Leilin nodded. Whether this was simply a young girl's fantasy or someone's deliberate probing, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.
When he stood up—crack! Crack!—the clothes on his back split open, revealing a pair of enormous snow-white wings. Once the two wings spread fully, they spanned a good four to five meters. Like the wings of an angel, they enveloped Leilin at their center, and along the edges of those fine, pure-white feathers shimmered faint threads of golden light.
With this appearance, I could have passed for an angel back in my previous life... Leilin thought with some amusement, as he caught sight of the shocked expressions on the faces of the other two unicorns standing behind the adoring Uma.
From their earlier conversation, Leilin had learned that one was named Urke and the other Upoel, both members of the largest nearby unicorn clan—the Wu Clan—and that they had ventured out this time to complete the coming-of-age rite for a few of the younger generation.
In the Lava World, every adult unicorn had to independently hunt and kill a prey as a mark of their adulthood.
It was just that their luck had been poor—or perhaps they had been secretly set against it—because they ran into a lava worm, and one in a frenzied state at that. If Leilin hadn't intervened, these people would likely have been wiped out right then and there.
"Mr. Lei, you said you used to be a traveler. Could you tell me stories about other places?"
Uma propped her chin in both hands and leaned directly in front of Leilin, looking every bit like a curious little child.
Especially paired with her nearly three-meter height and her horn, that kind of appearance—which could have made ordinary children cry back in her previous life—created an enormous sense of contrast.
"Well now, hold on a moment first. I'd like to have a word with your two uncles!"
Leilin smiled. All the information he had obtained so far had come from that unlucky deceased creature. If they asked about anything else, he'd be exposed—so he immediately changed the subject.
"That's enough! Uma! Go to sleep now. We still have some matters to discuss with Mr. Lei!"
Urke stepped forward and sent off the pouting Uma, then gave Leilin an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, Mr. Lei. She's still just a child!"
"I don't hold it against her at all!" Leilin shook his head, the light in his eyes making the two unicorns across from him unable to meet his gaze. "It's just... what exactly is the purpose of your probing?"
"Nothing gets past you, sir!" Urke and Upoel exchanged a glance and both let out bitter laughs.
The burning campfire gradually died down, while only the distant river of red lava still slowly emitted a dark-red glow. The flickering flames obscured the faces of the several aliens, lending them an air of shifting light and shadow.
As Leilin listened to the account the two aliens gradually laid out, his expression turned grave. He would occasionally nod or shake his head, a contemplative look surfacing on his face.
……
The next day, Urke and Upoel announced that Leilin would temporarily join their party and travel back with them. This immediately drew a great many cheers, with Uma being the loudest of all.
Watching Urke and Upoel walking ahead with such incredibly confident expressions, Leilin almost wanted to laugh.
What the two had told him last night was nothing more than some tale about power struggles, persecution, and the like. Although Leilin didn't really understand and couldn't be bothered to care, he still put on an expression of complete comprehension and righteous indignation, which immediately won him the good graces of these two aliens.
And now it seemed they still regarded him as a force they could rely on — or perhaps... a savior?
This really made Leilin want to laugh, but he had to struggle to hold it back.
"Mr. Lei, what are you thinking about..." Uma immediately latched onto him again, making Leilin press his forehead in helpless resignation.
Although Leilin could act independently and directly seek out gathering places of powerful creatures, searching the soul of the strongest among them to surely obtain far more intelligence — and faster at that — doing so would cause too much of a commotion. It would inevitably draw unwanted suspicion and attract the attention of the world's will, which would be far too costly a price.
Even if the world's will didn't take notice, this lava world was still a world unto itself and certainly harbored Morning Star-level combatants. If he provoked mass outrage and fell into a siege, even Leilin couldn't be confident of making an unscathed retreat.
Moreover, his purpose in coming here was to rescue two Comorin Dukes, so he had to keep a low profile before making contact.
This method of infiltrating among them was troublesome, to be sure, but it had the advantage of being safe and convenient, with no real drawbacks.
What put Leilin even more at ease was the fact that the flow of time in this Lava World differed from the Wizard World — perhaps a year could pass in the Wizard World while only a month or even a few days passed here, giving him plenty of time.
"Since this is a trap set by Jupiter's Thunder, that means they must have discovered this world's coordinates long ago, and may have even conquered part of it..."
Leilin's thoughts grew clearer and clearer.
"Perhaps even that Brilliant Moon Wizard has several clones stationed here. There could already be some kind of trap laid, just waiting for me to walk into it, so I absolutely cannot reveal the slightest flaw..."
After advancing with the group for several days, the outline of a black city gradually appeared on the horizon.
It was an enormous city of stone — every house and wall constructed from massive black rock. Though the walls were low, the aliens standing atop them looked sturdy and fierce.
"We're home!" The numerous Unicorn clan members immediately broke into cheers, and at the same time, remembering their fallen brothers and sisters, they began softly weeping.
……
"This is already considered a settlement of sentient beings, yet my soul power hasn't detected a thing..."
With his concealed soul power sweeping across the area, Leilin's expression remained unchanged while inwardly he sighed.
Inside a palace built from enormous black stones, Leilin met the leader of the Unicorn clan's Wu household. Of course, in their own language, such a leader was generally called a "Wise One."
"Esteemed Wise One, please accept the blessings of this traveler who has come from afar!"
Following proper etiquette, Leilin placed several pieces of worm meat as gifts before a wrinkled-skinned member of the Unicorn clan.
Inside the enormous palace, only the two of them remained—the others, including Urke, had long since been sent out.
"Lava worms? Those creatures always prefer to live inside magma and rarely come out. Once provoked, they unleash terrifying lava attacks. Umma and the others were able to return safely thanks to you!"
The elderly Wise One nodded, picked up the worm meat with both hands, and began eating without the slightest pretense of ceremony. Juice splattered and slid down along the corners of its mouth, dripping one drop at a time onto the woven mat on the ground.
This was a tradition of the Unicorn clan—to consume a guest's gift openly as a sign of respect.
Leilin sat politely and respectfully to the side, but in truth his soul power had already spread throughout the surroundings.
"This Wise One's strength is decent—roughly on par with a first or second-tier Wizard. Unfortunately, still far too weak…"
The elderly Unicorn naturally did not notice the pitying look in Leilin's eyes. After finishing the food, it wiped its lips. "Then, what can I help you with? Please, speak freely!"
"Of course! I do happen to have a problem that requires your assistance…"
Leilin smiled slowly and softly stated his request.