A Star-level powerhouse was, in Mills's understanding, the most powerful existence in the entire Lava World.
With his limited perspective, he had no awareness of realms even more powerful beyond the Star level.
But even a single Star-level combatant had been enough to cause Captain Shike's forces to suffer devastating losses, with numerous Sky-level experts falling in battle. What if another one arrived? Mills didn't dare continue that line of thought.
"Is it the Northern Duke who's arrived?" he guessed aloud.
Leilin, who knew the situation all too well—and was in fact the very cause of it—wore a grave expression. "I'm afraid not! I need to see the instructor!"
On the way, Leilin encountered Rocke, but the latter also looked deeply troubled, whether genuinely or in pretense it was impossible to tell.
"Reporting!" Leilin and Rocke shouted in unison from outside the door.
"Come in!" Shike's somewhat weary voice came from within. Once Leilin entered the room, his nose twitched—the air was thick with the smell of antiseptic and medicinal salves.
Shike still looked like a mummy wrapped in bandages, but his spirits seemed decent enough—he could already perform simple movements.
"That fluctuation just now—you sensed it too?" Shike asked, his gaze somewhat vacant as he stared out the window at a massive white tree, pale yellow buds blooming upon its branches.
The battle fluctuations of a Star-level powerhouse shone as bright and dazzling as a torch in the dark night. Surely every Earth-level powerhouse within a thousand miles would have sensed them, so both Leilin and Rocke nodded.
"Sigh... it seems that besides the Star-level combatant from last time, another powerful figure has arrived... The situation is very unclear. Leilin! Pass down my orders—our special task force is to hold position. Under no circumstances are you to act rashly!"
"Understood!" Leilin acknowledged the order solemnly, then hesitated as though he wanted to say something more.
"What is it?" Seeing him like this amused Shike somewhat, and he couldn't help but ask.
"Actually, Instructor, I previously snuck into that battlefield..." Leilin spoke haltingly.
"What—" Shike's jaw dropped, staring as though he were looking at a monster.
A Star-level battlefield—any stray aftershock could leave a Sky-level powerhouse gravely injured or on the verge of death. This reckless fool had actually dared to charge in?
Not just Shike—even Rocke beside him looked stunned, feeling he needed to reassess this Leilin fellow entirely.
"Heh heh..." Leilin scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
"Last time I heard about the Instructor's situation, so I wanted to go have a look, find some clues about that Star-level powerhouse, and be better prepared for the Northern Duke..." Given Leilin's previous display of hot-blooded impulsiveness, such an action was entirely plausible, so Shike simply nodded without suspicion.
"You..." Shike was at a loss for words. "The only reason you're alive is that the opponent couldn't be bothered with a Sky-level brat like you, combined with your absurd luck, that you made it back safely. Otherwise, we'd only be seeing your corpse right now—no, we wouldn't even see that..."
"Your courage is truly remarkable..." Shike nodded. "So, what exactly did you see?"
"That's precisely what I wanted to report, sir. Look!"
Leilin immediately produced a pencil sketch containing two faces. One of them Shike didn't recognize at all, because it was something Leilin had simply made up. But the other portrait made Shike's eyes turn red and a guttural roar escape his throat: "That's him! The one who attacked me last time—that's him!!!"
"Quickly! Tell me everything you saw!" Shike's only remaining hand gripped Leilin's arm tightly, his eyes blazing with desperate hope.
"Alright, I..."
Leilin recounted the fabricated story he had prepared earlier. It was mostly factual—everything except his own involvement.
"So you're saying the Star-level combatant who attacked me previously was defeated, and you also recorded the direction of his escape? Well done!"
A sharp, vicious glint shot through Shike's eyes. He had keenly realized this might be his only chance at revenge.
Bang! A cascade of documents scattered across the floor as Rocke beside him let out a cry of surprise.
"What's wrong?" Leilin looked at the panicking Rocke with some amusement, stepping forward to ask with concern.
"N-Nothing! I was just too startled!" Rocke quickly concealed the shock and anxiety in his eyes, then resumed his usual composure.
"Oh, is that so!" Leilin nodded. By now, he was virtually certain that this Rocke was most likely an undercover agent planted by the Mobius Ring, and that his direct superior might very well be Clynes.
He knew exactly where Clynes was hiding, because he had long since planted something on the man. To place a tracking mark or similar device on Clynes undetected—only Leilin, with the Chip, could achieve such perfect stealth.