"Good! I'll be there too!"
Leylin nodded.
"Of course it's you — you have the best chance!" Gilbert smiled.
"Oh? Why?" Leylin's mind raced, and a reason immediately sprang to mind. "Could it be..."
"Hehe... That's right! Shike himself is the illegitimate son of the Atlanta Federation's President! With his connections, and you being a member of the Special Task Force, you'll have the best chance of infiltrating their estate!"
Emma revealed a piece of hidden information.
"No wonder! I always felt that Shike had powerful backing and strong connections — so he's actually the illegitimate son of the Federation's President..." Leylin said with a look of understanding.
"Hehe... That's what you call a fortunate coincidence! We originally wanted to infiltrate the Special Task Force too, but their bloodline detection is extremely strict. We can only replicate the Fire Feather Technique up to the seventh layer — it's practically useless. Even if we got in, we'd end up at the very bottom. But you're different, Leylin! Not only is your Fire Feather Clan aura completely authentic, you've even advanced the Fire Feather Technique to the ninth layer! Truly a genius!"
Gilbert praised him, only now realizing that he had been blind before for not having noticed a peerless talent like Leylin.
Still, having eventually taken him under his wing was some consolation.
"Alright! I'll do my best to follow Shike back to the capital!" Leylin nodded and glanced at the two Comos Dukes. Before coming to the Lava World, he had been worried about their injuries and such, but now it seemed that concern had been entirely unnecessary.
For Morning Star wizards, what was truly difficult to heal was damage to the soul. As long as one had Origin Fire Stones in hand, even the most troublesome soul injuries could recover quickly.
In fact, Leylin guessed that the two Comos Dukes had invested all their accumulated Origin Fire Stones into treating the injuries they had sustained during their previous breakout — otherwise their auras wouldn't have improved by only so little.
"Oh, right! Under Shike's command, there's a man named Rock — is he also one of your planted agents?"
Leylin suddenly thought of something and asked.
"Rock?!" A flicker of doubt crossed Emma's and Gilbert's faces as they exchanged a glance. Even Leylin, who had been closely watching their expressions, couldn't tell whether their reaction was genuine or feigned.
"We don't know him! He's not a spy we planted. Is there something wrong with him?"
"There is, actually. I suspect he's also a non-human who disguised himself to infiltrate the Special Task Force!" Leylin casually mentioned the earlier incident.
"In that case..." Gilbert rubbed his smooth bald head. "You'd better keep a close eye on him. There's a very good chance he's with the Möbius Ring!"
"The Möbius Ring?! Do you know anything about this organization?" Leylin's interest was piqued — more precisely, he had taken note of the enormous quantity of materials and Origin Fire Stones they had plundered!
"It's only a guess, but we're fairly certain they're Jupiter's Thunder's organization here!"
Emma's expression darkened. "Because of the Atlanta President's suppression, Jupiter's Thunder's Jesia doesn't dare cross over himself. He can only send a few Morning Star wizards here to covertly build up a power base!"
"Jesia?!" Leylin stroked his chin. Only now did he learn the name of the fifth-tier Bright Moon wizard who had been opposing him all this time.
"If that's the case, Rock could very well be a spy sent by Jesia, or something similar?"
Leylin smiled faintly.
"Just a chess piece. Even if it is, it doesn't matter. As long as it's not a Morning Star, it won't play any significant role in this game!"
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Gilbert's face. "If you really find them that troublesome, just 'deal with' them directly. If it's inconvenient for you, let us know—we'll handle it..."
Although Gilbert and Emma appeared to be minor nobles in the Atlanta Federation on the surface, they were in fact two of the three most ruthless Patriarchs of the Three Serpents Cult. Going after the task force was perfectly justified—even if Rock died, his death would be for nothing.
"Keep him alive for now! Don't alert the Möbius Ring pulling the strings behind the scenes! Oh, and is that Morning Star who heavily damaged the task force and made off with a large quantity of supplies still around?"
"What, you want to know his whereabouts?" A faint, knowing smile appeared on Emma and Gilbert's faces.
"Of course! I don't care about the other supplies, but the Fire Origin Stone—I must have it!"
Leylin's answer was resolute. "Furthermore, I can use this to gain even more of Shike's trust. Think about it—if I brought him the news of the Morning Star who caused him to end up like this, what do you think would happen?"
"As it happens, we've been tracking the other party as well, and we've already found some leads..."
Emma said, "Perfect! The other party is Clynes from Jupiter's Thunder. Neither of us is confident we can kill him outright. With you joining, it should be more than enough. But the Fire Origin Stone must be divided equally!"
"No problem!"
Leylin immediately thought of Clynes, who had once been taught a lesson by him during his celebration, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
……
Rumble!
The earth split open, the sky collapsed, vast expanses of space crumbled and shattered, spewing forth violent spatial turbulence. Silver storms raged, ravaging the already devastated region into an even more wretched state.