The Atlantean Federation had no shortage of opposition organizations, and the various cults and sects were equally numerous. Yet the Federation's President had chosen to strike specifically at the Three Serpents Cult and the Mobius Ring — this inevitably set Lei Lin's mind racing.
The Three Serpents Cult might have had three Morning Star Wizards from other planes backing it up, but what about the Mobius Ring? What was their trump card?
A faint smile crept across Lei Lin's lips. "Interesting! This is getting more and more interesting!"
He whirled around and bellowed, "All hands, assemble..."
Since Lei Lin's squad was small and he was extremely decisive in his actions, they arrived at Vox City — as Shike had described — by the following afternoon.
Upon entering the city, Lei Lin immediately noticed that the security was far tighter than usual. Even he and his team had to undergo a thorough inspection before being allowed in, and the very air seemed to carry a heavy, oppressive weight.
"Could the Mobius Ring have stirred up something big? Now that really is interesting!"
Lei Lin stroked his chin and made his way to the location Shike had mentioned — the current base of the task force.
"Lei!" Locke hurried over to greet him, his face a mixture of surprise and delight. "It's wonderful that you could get here so quickly!"
"What happened?" Lei Lin furrowed his brow, wearing a worried expression.
"We may have found the Mobius Ring's headquarters, but the attack led by the Instructor ran into fierce resistance from the other side! You'd better go see for yourself..."
Locke stepped aside with a bitter smile, a dark cloud of worry etched across his brow that seemed impossible to dispel. Lei Lin quietly gave him a mental nod of approval — an actor of that caliber wasn't easy to come by.
When Lei Lin pushed open the door and saw Shike inside, an expression of "shock and fury" surfaced on his face. "Instructor! What happened to you..."
Shike, as he appeared before Lei Lin, looked truly wretched — his entire body was wrapped up like a mummy. His right arm hung in a sling across his chest.
"Lei! You've done well!" Looking at the anxious Lei Lin, Shike's face was filled with gratification. "To get here in just one day..."
"It's my honor to serve, sir!" Lei Lin put on a display of unwavering loyalty. After all, Shike had extensive connections back in the capital, and he was also the best channel for Lei Lin's plans to obtain the Fire Source Stone — not someone to be easily discarded.
"What exactly happened?"
Lei Lin clenched his fists. Tiny sparks began to drift from his body.
"At this rate, I'd say your Fire Feather Art is about to break through to the eighth layer and reach the peak of the Sky Tier..." Shike looked at Lei Lin, an indescribable light shining in his eyes. "In terms of cultivation technique mastery, I'm afraid you're about to surpass me..."
"Not at all! This is all thanks to your guidance, Instructor!"
Lei Lin bowed slightly in respect.
"Mmm! We underestimated the enemy this time. We thought it was just an ordinary outpost of theirs, never expecting to actually discover their headquarters..."
Lei Lin listened carefully. Originally, the operation to cleanse the Möbius Ring, led by Shike with Rocco and the others and backed by strong support from the military department, had been proceeding very smoothly. But while sweeping a nearby outpost, they unexpectedly discovered the trails of several Cardinals!
Realizing he had hooked a big fish, an incredibly excited Shike immediately summoned several Sky Tier generals to hold the line, preparing to capture all these Cardinals in one fell swoop.
However, it was only when the actual assault began that Shike realized he had made a grave error!
His initial assessment was completely wrong. This place was no outpost of the Möbius Ring at all, but directly their main stronghold!
Although Shike and the other Sky Tier powerhouses had initially achieved astonishing gains—even seizing a large amount of stockpiled supplies previously held by the Möbius Ring—what happened shortly after left Shike speechless. A faint look of fear even flickered across his face.
This expression immediately sent a jolt through Lei Lin's heart. If something could make even the fearless Shike look like that, it probably wouldn't be so simple.
"I only called you over to take over the operations of the special task force, since I'm in this state now!" Shike raised his arm with a bitter smile.
"As for that matter, the capital will naturally send someone to deal with it. You don't need to worry!"
Lei Lin came out in a bit of a daze and eventually found Rocco. Under questioning from this newly promoted "Superior," Rocco explained everything Shike hadn't said.
It turned out that when escorting supplies back, Shike's group had been ambushed! The entire unit was wiped out. Even the supplies were completely lost again. Several Sky Tier generals were killed on the spot, and only Shike managed to survive.
"Oh? How many were there?" Lei Lin had a vague guess, but still asked with great curiosity.
"Only... only one person! But more terrifying than a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, because... it was a Star Tier powerhouse!"
Rocco's voice dropped, as if afraid of disturbing something, and his tone held obvious relief. If it weren't for his low strength, being of no help in Sky Tier battles, and not having participated in the previous operation, he might already be a dead man now.
"A Star Tier powerhouse?!" Lei Lin drew a sharp breath outward, but inwardly his mind was racing wildly.
The Star Tier was the pinnacle of power known throughout the Molten World! It was on the same level as a Morning Star
Every single one of these beings was worthy of being proclaimed, their deeds enough to be recorded in history books or even myths, passed down forever.
Facing such an expert, unless there was a powerhouse of the same level to hold the line, no amount of Sky Tier forces sent up would be nothing but suicide!
The fact that Shi Ke had actually run into the opponent simply meant his luck had run out.
And moreover... Lin touched his chin, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Shi Ke's backing looks incredibly solid! Even a Morning Star Wizard has to tread carefully around him — that's the only reason they left him alive!"
As a fellow Morning Star Wizard, Lin naturally understood the terror of the Fourth Tier. To a Morning Star, Sky Tier cultivants were nothing but ants — slightly larger ones, perhaps!
Every other Sky Tier commander had been wiped out, leaving only Shi Ke alive. Lin certainly wasn't counting on the Morning Star Wizard's good will. The fact that they had spared Shi Ke was clearly because they were wary of whoever stood behind him.
"It seems! This Shi Ke's origins are quite mysterious as well! He's worth keeping an eye on — and investing further in!"
Lin made up his mind.
"That's the general situation... And because of this incident, many of the scattered Mobius Rings have started to coalesce once more..."
Locke shrugged, the bitter smile on his face undiminished. "But we only need to hold out a little longer. Duke North will be arriving soon, and when he does, we'll be able to..."
"Just keep up the act," Lin rolled his eyes inwardly, though his face showed nothing but agreement.
"Duke North? He's a renowned Star Tier powerhouse in the federal capital! With him here, the Mobius Rings will surely be brought under control!"
Lin spoke with an expression of deep admiration.
At the same time, he now understood why Shi Ke looked so dejected. With someone of higher authority stepping in to take over, his own position had become redundant — he would even lose most of the credit.
Although Duke North likely wouldn't care about a measly bit of merit, Shi Ke was not the type to accept handouts either! He was just that stubborn, and Lin had already come to know his character all too well.
"In that case, I'll head back and take over the special task force's defenses right away to prepare for the counterattack!"
Lin and Locke parted ways in a hurry. In truth, he had very little confidence in this operation.
The Mobius Rings had a Star Tier expert, along with a large number of followers and manpower. The moment things started to look bad, they would certainly retreat. By the time Duke North arrived, he would most likely find nothing but an empty nest.
But none of that concerned Lin. What caught his attention the most was the supplies that had been seized by that mysterious Star Tier expert.
"For someone to make a move that drew out a Star Tier powerhouse, that batch of supplies must be incredibly valuable. There could even be Fire Origin Stones among them..."
A gleam flashed through Lin's eyes. His current demand for Fire Origin Stones was enormous, yet he had too few exchange points to obtain them through proper channels. Since the legitimate route was a dead end, he naturally had to look elsewhere.
And not long after Locke departed, Lin's expression shifted abruptly.
He returned to his room and took out the blood-red crystal from before.
Threads of bright light flickered erratically, while the two wisps of ashen-white flame at the center had begun to boil and churn.
Watching this scene, a smile spread across Lin's face. "To think they'd all converge at once..."
……
At the bottom of a lava flow not far from the city, within a secret pocket of space that had been hollowed out, two figures sat cross-legged facing each other.
Suddenly, the man in front — bald, with neither eyebrows nor beard — opened his eyes, a hint of confusion flickering within. "I've sensed a trace of my soul flame! Which warlock has arrived here?"
"I feel the same!" Across from him sat a young woman clad in blood-red robes, both her eyes bearing uncanny vertical pupils that sent chills down one's spine.
"A trap?"
"Hardly! Unless the entire Ouroboros Ring has been breached and Frey and the others are all dead — only then might it be possible!"
The Duke of Blood,
"Then... reinforcements from the Warlock Alliance have arrived?"
A hint of excitement suddenly surfaced in Gilbert's voice.
"Hmph! If they were the least bit reliable, we wouldn't have ended up in this state!"
Emma, on the other hand, harbored no fondness for the warlocks' alliance and rebutted him outright.