Bang!
An iron fist wreathed in crimson flame slammed into the elderly cardinal, sending the man vomiting blood and hurtling backward. A colossal phoenix phantom behind Leilin let out a piercing shriek, and with unstoppable resolve, Leilin instantly closed the distance to the other cardinal.
"Even if we're both Sky-level, you've only just broken through — you can't know much about Sky-level combat! Watch me finish you, brat!"
The cardinal guarding Shike roared. In his eyes, the old man's defeat had simply been carelessness, allowing Leilin to land a sneak attack.
"Let Instructor Shike go! That's the only way I'll spare you!"
With a ferocious roar, Leilin and the cardinal crashed into each other head-on.
BOOM! The scarlet and dark storms tore at each other, churning the scorched earth and exposing the hard rock layer beneath.
"Now… it should be fine, right? Even if Leilin broke through mid-battle, the enemy has two Sky-levels!" Locke groped at the object in his hand, ready to charge out.
He'd come with a mission — he had to earn Shike's trust to infiltrate the upper echelons of the Special Task Force. But Leilin's sudden intervention had thrown everything off, and it vexed him to no end.
Whoosh! A streak of scarlet light burst out from within the storm. It flashed past Shike's position, and in the blink of an eye, Shike's figure vanished.
Whoosh! The next instant, Leilin appeared directly in front of Locke with Shike in tow, shoving the instructor hard into Locke's arms. "Get the instructor out of here!"
"…"
Though Leilin couldn't see Locke's expression right now, he was certain the man was cursing inwardly with every foul word he knew.
Because of Leilin's escape, the storm that had lost its target was now hurtling toward them. And further back, the elderly cardinal Leilin had blasted away was grim-faced and closing in for the kill.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Leilin was already at the peak of the seventh layer. Breaking through mid-battle I can accept, but I only showed sixth-layer strength before! Another breakthrough wouldn't help me at all!"
Locke watched the two Sky-level cardinals bearing down on him and screamed inside his head.
"Forget it — I have to use this!"
Locke gritted his teeth and hurled a black iron egg from his hand.
Zip! A flash of black light, and the small iron egg detonated mid-air. A massive cloud of smoke billowed outward, and a hulking construct materialized to block the two cardinals' path.
"A Binding Construct!" The two cardinals' cries of alarm reached Leilin's ears, drawing a smile from deep within him.
Compared to Leilin, Locke's little schemes were like a child's prank — transparent to anyone paying even a shred of attention. And yet, the man had managed to push things this far.
"That's… a Spider-type Construct! So you're actually…" Shike gave the construct a weak glance, and his eyes immediately lit up. The look he directed at Locke now carried a measure of goodwill.
"The family heirloom I inherited can hold them back for five minutes at most. Let's go!"
Locke wore a smile uglier than a grimace as he hoisted Shike onto his back. A luminous membrane of fire feather technique energy flared across his body as a defensive shield.
"Wait… wait for me!"
Hearing that they were about to break out, one of the corpses on the ground suddenly sprang to its feet, revealing Mies's blood-streaked face. "Brother Leilin! Take me with you!"
"There's another one!" Locke rolled his eyes weakly. He was beginning to think he'd never encountered this many surprises in his entire life combined.
"Let's go!"
Leilin let out a hearty laugh, surging with torrential fire energy. Amid the encirclement of Mobius's fanatics, he carved out a blazing corridor of flame.
The two Sky-level cardinals were temporarily held off. Leilin's eighth-layer fire feather technique swept across the battlefield. Whether ordinary priests or fanatical zealots, none could withstand the attack of the crimson-gold flames. Ordinary cultists who so much as touched a single spark burst into immediate conflagration, transforming into enormous human-shaped torches.
…
"You all rest here! I need to go take care of something!"
After making it back to their quarters in the city, Shike had mostly recovered — he could even move around freely. There was no visible trace of injury on the surface, save for slightly tattered clothing.
"Yes, Instructor!" Leilin and the other two straightened up and shouted in unison.
"Mm." Shike looked at Leilin and Locke with unmistakable gratitude in his eyes. He stepped forward and clapped each of them on the shoulder.
"Leilin, you did well this time. Breaking through to the Sky-level on top of everything — I'll put in a word for you. And Locke, I'd like to have a proper talk with you tonight."
"My honor!" Locke called out eagerly. Judging by his expression, Leilin guessed it probably wasn't anything bad. The spider construct, it seemed, had some impressive provenance that had genuinely caught Shike's interest.
"The organization backing Locke really went all out to get him in here…"
Leilin sighed inwardly, though he had no idea that Locke was currently green with envy. If looks could kill, Leilin would already be a human torch.
"As for you…" Shike turned his gaze to Mies, and the young man's face immediately drained of color.
"I ought to charge you with desertion during battle! But since this whole mess started with my own misjudgment in command, I'll let it slide!"
"Thank you, Instructor!" Mies, who had been wracked with anxiety, instantly perked up and answered at the top of his lungs.
"But if there's a next time, I'll shove your head so far up your own rear end that you'll be tasting breakfast twice! Understood?!" Shike bellowed, and Mies's face crumpled into a wretched grimace.
"All right, dismissed!" Shike hurried off, and watching his retreating figure, Leilin grew thoughtful.
From the unapologetic killing intent radiating off the man, Leilin knew that certain people in this base were about to have a very bad time.
Shike returned quickly, even sporting fresh bloodstains on his collar and cuffs.
He cursed under his breath as he tossed a golden badge and a new uniform in front of Leilin. "You've been promoted — you're now a squad leader in the Special Task Force! You've also received the Federation Second-Class Honor Medal, and you've earned enough merit points for the lowest tier of knight certification! Wear the uniform for now; the official paperwork and procedures will come through in a few days…"
"And Locke — you didn't get promoted, but you've received the Federation Third-Class Honor Medal…"
"My honor!" Locke's voice shot up an octave, trembling ever so slightly with barely concealed excitement.
Watching him put on that performance, Leilin immediately realized that this so-called Federation Honor Medal was no trivial distinction.
Still, none of it had much to do with him personally.
After this incident, though, Shike would undoubtedly hold him in higher regard. Gaining access to classified intelligence would be a welcome bonus — not bad at all.
…
The average temperature in the Magma World was at least fifty degrees, with scorching waves of heat radiating everywhere.
In contrast, the building exteriors were mostly quite thin, designed with heat-absorbing properties.
The Fire Feather Clan's architecture was yet another style from the buildings in Volk City, more reminiscent of bamboo-tube houses. Leilin's residence was built from a type of rock that continuously emitted a chill, keeping the entire interior perpetually cool and comfortable.
The Special Task Force's benefits were naturally generous. Even ordinary members received dedicated housing and cultivation resource stipends, and as a squad leader, Leilin enjoyed a private villa. This kind of glacial rock was an extremely precious resource — unavailable to anyone below squad-leader rank.
That Mies frequently found excuses to loiter at Leilin's place, lingering for the air conditioning.
Leilin, meanwhile, held a device that resembled a display screen, rapidly browsing through information.
With his current clearance level, many Special Task Force files were open to him. Intelligence on the Three Serpent Cult, in particular, was something he'd been quietly stockpiling in large quantities.
The full picture of the organization was finally materializing before his eyes.
"This Three Serpent Cult — the more I look at it, the more it seems connected to the three Grand Dukes!" Leilin set down the display, rubbing the bridge of his nose as his fingers drummed absently on the desk.
"According to the intel, the Three Serpent Cult claims to be fighting Atlas's rule in order to carve out living space for the other races. In reality, they're nothing more than a band of terrorists — attacking Fire Feather cities, looting and pillaging, with no particular grand design… Hmm!"
Leilin used the Chip to run through every city the Three Serpent Cult had attacked, building a dedicated database from the vast troves of damage reports. The correlations became immediately apparent.
"These materials! They seem to be the Three Serpent Cult's favorite!"
Leilin's eyes sharpened. He discovered that the cult's marauders displayed a fanatical interest in a peculiar type of ore. Several of their past city raids had very likely been motivated by this ore alone — a target they'd concealed with considerable skill.
But the Chip, through exhaustive cross-referencing, had pinpointed this common thread from within the ocean of loss data.
"Fire Origin Stone! The legendary treasure said to accelerate the progress of fire feather technique — a top-grade material found only in the Atlas Federation!"
Leilin stroked his chin, studying the projection image the Chip had compiled alongside its explanatory notes. A contemplative expression settled over his face.
The Three Serpent Cult's obsession with Fire Origin Stone had to stem from something extraordinary.
And if it was something that drove Morning Star Wizards to such frenzy, Leilin felt an equally powerful pull of interest.
"If I recall correctly, with my current merit and rank, I should be able to apply for purchase of restricted-tier resources. I could start by acquiring a sample to examine…"
Leilin made his decision, then ordered the Chip to scan and record the Fire Feather Clan's remaining texts.
After all, this was the accumulated knowledge of an entire otherworld's civilization — for him, its research value was immense.