"Screech!!!"
Accompanied by a piercing phoenix cry, a massive fire-type avian burst forth from the mansion.
Like a streak of brilliant light, the bird in midair spread its wings wide. Radiant, magnificent flames erupted from its body, causing its size to swell in an instant. The enormous wings folded outward, enveloping the entire Tranlasas City within their embrace.
Drops of magma — each one over a thousand degrees in temperature — rained down upon the phoenix's wings, only to be instantly absorbed by the very same flames.
By the time the rain of fire had subsided, the entire city had sustained not the slightest damage.
"This transformation… it's very similar to the atavistic phenomenon of warlocks. It seems the Star Rank Fire Feather Clan must have awakened the bloodline of the ancient Fire Phoenix!"
Watching this scene, a sharp gleam flickered through
High-level bloodlines had always been something warlocks eagerly sought to collect. As for the ancient Fire Phoenix — Leylin had already witnessed its overwhelming power in the previous illusionary realm. It was unquestionably a powerhouse on the same level as the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents.
The bloodline of such an existence, even when diluted through sacrifice and projection, held an irresistible allure for warlocks.
"Once the plan is set in motion, I'll see if I can obtain some Star Rank Fire Feather Clan bloodlines. The Red-Eyed Chief's would be ideal, of course…"
A sharp gleam flickered through Leylin's eyes once more.
At that very moment, the phoenix in midair tore through the clouds, revealing the enormous silhouettes of several fire elementals — each hundreds of meters tall — lurking behind it.
Fire elementals were the most common elemental-type lifeforms in the Lava World. They possessed no flesh or blood; their bodies were composed entirely of raging flames and rock, with pale white soul fire burning in their eye sockets.
"The Fire Worship Empire! It seems the lesson you received in the Grand
The Red-Eyed Chief's voice boomed down from the sky. The great phoenix spread its wings and swept several of the colossal fire elementals — creatures that were ordinarily terrifying in size, yet infinitesimal compared to the Fire Phoenix — into a circle before flying off in a single direction.
Continuous explosions rumbled from the Fire Phoenix's position, but its opponent paid them no mind whatsoever.
By the time the Fire Phoenix vanished from the sky and even the radiant glow on the horizon had begun to fade, Leylin's eyes suddenly went wide.
"They actually had another method like this? Could there be more moles inside the Chief's mansion? Was that fire elemental attack by the Fire Worship Empire just a diversion?"
Ahead of him, Locke — who had been concealed the entire time — let out a long breath of relief upon seeing the great phoenix depart, then pulled a circular hard drive from inside his coat.
On the disc, there were also some eerie symbols, with numerous blood vessels interconnecting to form a blood-red vertical eye.
"Treasures with this kind of design. I think I've seen something like it before?"
A hint of confusion flickered through Leylin's eyes. He immediately ordered the Chip to search, and the answer came back in an instant: "The replica of the Earth Plate from back then? And this kind of specialized targeting formation..."
Locke arrived at a spot on the ground inside the mansion, a trace of excitement surfacing on his face, and placed the Earth Plate directly onto the surface.
Whoosh! The moment the plate made contact with the ground, vast layers of soil parted like flowing water, revealing a pitch-black underground passage.
"This is it! This is it! The weak point of the entire underground structure, combined with the power of the Earth Plate..."
Blazing light shot from Locke's eyes. For this mission, he had endured humiliation and suffered in silence for far too long, and now he finally saw the hope of success!
"Well coordinated, but unfortunately, it still won't work!"
Leylin watched as the excited Locke was the first to enter the underground passage, followed closely by his superior Burns, who wore a dark expression on his face. He couldn't help but shake his head.
It seemed that Locke was destined for tragedy.
However, a lingering question still troubled Leylin: "If the plan was to coordinate from both the inside and outside, why not plant a Star member to infiltrate? Wouldn't that have been much more convenient? They'd already sent several people just to serve as a distraction — what was one more!"
Unable to figure it out for the moment, Leylin didn't dwell on it further and followed them in, slipping through the entrance just before it closed.
Bang!
In Leylin's quarters, Shike suddenly pushed the door open and strode in.
"Sir!" 'Leylin' rose from the bed, saluting as if still somewhat groggy.
"At a time like this, and you're still able to sleep?" Shike first swept a wary glance around the room, and only after confirming that Leylin was still there did his expression visibly relax — though he still couldn't help but offer a bit of criticism.
"Well, with Lord Burns and so many colleagues on the scene, if there's something they can't handle, I certainly wouldn't be able to handle it either. Might as well just sleep..."
'Leylin' spread both hands in a helpless gesture, and under the Chip's simulated control, he replicated Leylin's personality so vividly that even
"You..." Shike didn't know whether to laugh or cry, though inwardly he felt considerably reassured...
Inside the underground passage, Leylin followed closely behind Burns, his aura suppressed to its absolute limit. Not the slightest ripple of energy accompanied his movements, and Burns seemed to have focused all his attention on the Locke ahead of him, utterly unaware that he was being tailed.
"The Earth Platter — according to the legends of the Fire Feather Clan, it was the powerful relic that the hero Mengkolde used to pry open the earth's crust and behead the underground monster king Felsas. Even a mere replica can effortlessly carve out enormous subterranean tunnels!"
Locke's voice was low but tinged with excitement: "The organization actually produced even this relic, bypassing the mechanisms and countless traps inside the Red Eye leader's chamber... Truly..."
By the time they reached the underground, red veins had already appeared across Locke's skin, and his aura surged abruptly.
"The outermost layer of defense — we've arrived!" Locke's face lit up with wild elation as he beheld a membrane of crimson light forming the barrier.
He struck without hesitation, a torrent of blazing fire energy erupting from his palms and crashing into the crimson
Crack! Crack! The formation shuddered violently, and a terrifying wave of energy rebounded, sweeping across Locke's body. Layer after layer of his skin sloughed off, revealing the raging flames burning beneath.
Once the formation's backlash had subsided, Locke had been completely transformed into a Fire Elemental standing two meters tall, composed entirely of flame and stone.
Boom! Fierce flames exploded outward. Locke's aura had now rocketed to the peak of the Sky-level — the absolute limit of the third tier in the Wizard world.
"Hm? Locke — he's a Fire Elemental?"
A flicker of surprise passed through Leylin's mind. He had always assumed the man was an agent of the Möbius Ring, backed by Jupiter's Thunder, but it now appeared that either his earlier assessment had been wrong, or Jupiter's Thunder had already extended its reach into the Fire Worship Empire and struck some kind of deal with them.
Having restored his true form, Locke pressed his entire body against the crimson Wizard formation.
A single point of golden flame burst forth from him and burned a small, circular hole through the formation's light membrane.
Locke's body dissolved into a massive ball of fire, poured through the tiny gap, and then reconstituted into his normal proportions on the other side.
"Haha... haha... the treasures of the Red Eye leader, and every secret he held — they're all mine now!"
Locke laughed aloud, his flame-wreathed feet beginning to circle through the numerous vaults as he searched. Every step he took left a charred black footprint on the floor.
He seemed familiar with the layout, making straight for a central vault from the very start.
The enormous chamber within was nearly empty, save for a massive Wizard formation inscribed upon the floor — countless intricate runes and energy circuits interlocking in patterns of dizzying complexity, enough to make even a Wizard's head spin after staring too long.
At the formation's center, a faint red light pulsed ceaselessly, radiating waves of energy that made Leylin's heart clench.
"This aura! A Fire Source Stone!!! No — some kind of living creature!!!" Reading the Chip's analysis, Leylin found his thoughts thrown into disarray.
"Found it!" Locke cried out in triumph, producing a large black key and striding toward the formation.
Whoosh! At that very moment, a film of flame appeared before him, and the surging energy sent Locke hurtling backward in an instant.
Bang! The colossal fire elemental body crashed to the ground, sending a faint tremor through the entire chamber.
"What the—? Wasn't there only one layer of outer defense here?" Locke rubbed his head, thoroughly bewildered.
"Of course that was to keep the likes of you out!"
Bernus let out a cold snort, dispelled his invisibility effect, and stepped out from the shadows.
"L-Lord Bernus?!" Locke's face twisted into an expression as though he had seen a ghost.
"Hmph! The Supreme Leader already suspected something was wrong with you, and now it's clear — you've been hiding quite a lot!" Bernus instantly transformed into a streak of light that sliced across Locke's palm.
Crack! The lava arm, still wreathed in flame, fell to the ground, and Bernus seized the black bronze key from its grasp without hesitation.
"You're a very important captive, after all! I'm sure the Supreme Leader and Shike will be most interested in you!"
Bernus spoke coldly, his hands weaving threads of fire into rope-like bindings that coiled tightly around Locke.
Before a power at the Star level, Locke stood no chance of resistance. A dazed look still hung on his face, but he barely struggled at all.
While the two of them had their attention fixed on each other, Leylin quietly slipped closer to the film of flame. A scan from the Chip immediately revealed the conditions for activation: "The tenth level of the Fire Feather Technique, and an aura verification?"
Watching Bernus drag Locke away, Leylin followed behind them and slipped out of the underground chamber.
After returning to his room and storing the shadow puppet safely, Leylin's mind was still swimming with questions: "That red light at the center of the formation — what exactly is it?"
"And Bernus moved so quickly to capture him. It clearly wasn't to use him as bait to lure out anyone else — could it really have been just for the Earth Platform and the black bronze key?"