Leylin certainly didn't believe that the methods of the Wizard World were necessarily correct, but he wasn't particularly fond of the Magma World's approach either — it was simply too wasteful of time.
Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that he himself was a Wizard. After all, he did rather consciously protect the interests of his own class.
"Envoy of the Fire Worship Empire — Sake! Greetings to Your Excellency the Chancellor!"
Striding at the front of the delegation was a fire giant standing over a dozen meters tall, like a fire demon out of myth. He bowed low in greeting, lowering his head toward a tiny figure — it would have been comical, but no one present could laugh.
Because Red Eye, simply by standing there, was like an eternal mountain and sky, leaving one with no choice but to look up in awe.
"Furthermore… our Empire formally condemns Chancellor Red Eye's previous unjustified killing of our delegation members!" Sake's next words instantly tensed the atmosphere.
"Condemn?" Red Eye laughed lightly. "Anything else?"
"The Chancellor must take responsibility for this incident and resign! Otherwise, the Sacred Day of Celebration of the Fire Feather Clan shall become the starting point of war between our two sides!"
"What?" The crowd erupted in commotion. Even Leylin's pupils contracted — he hadn't expected that the Fire Worship Empire had come here to declare war outright!
Just think about Red Eye's temperament and you'd know — asking him to apologize and resign? Was that even possible?
The moment the envoy's words left his mouth, Leylin felt a chill run through his body, as though some ancient beast had locked its gaze upon him.
This was the aura unconsciously released by a powerhouse, brimming with a sense of mortal danger.
"Is that so?" Red Eye's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, while the fire elemental giant across from him stumbled back several steps, a terrifying wave of energy that transcended the Star Rank surging from his body.
This delegation member was actually a Star Rank powerhouse as well. And not only that — the several fire elementals behind him all swelled dramatically in size, violent energy fluctuations radiating from their bodies.
"You Star Ranks alone are not enough!" Red Eye's half-squinted eyes opened a crack, as though stating a perfectly ordinary fact.
But every Fire Feather Clan member present knew that their Chancellor had probably already reached the edge of absolute fury.
"How can we trouble the Chancellor to act himself? Uncle Burns!"
Shick's face flushed crimson with rage as he surged forward.
"The Attaché Office will never tolerate anyone insulting our Chancellor!" Burns strode out, crimson energy flooding his entire body. With a sharp wave of his hand, a throng of military attachés rushed out, surrounding the Fire Worship Empire's diplomatic delegation.
Seeing Burns make the first move, Red Pupil's eyebrows shot up. "Burns, you—"
Boom!!! But at that very moment, Red Pupil's expression changed drastically as he looked toward the northwest.
And a tremendous sound came rushing over from that direction.
Crackling, the earth heaved up and down like a plank floating on water, rippling with enormous tremors. Massive fissures split open, and from within them gushed crimson magma and flame.
As if some colossal fire demon were burrowing through the underworld, a web of shattered crust spread toward the city of Transas.
If that web of destruction closed in, the great mountain the entire city rested upon would sink without a trace — and Transas with it.
"Haha… Red Pupil, I've come personally to offer my congratulations. Are you moved?"
The earth cracked apart, and from within it emerged a colossal hand that blotted out the sky, wreathed in flame and dripping with crimson magma.
Red Pupil's expression had never been so grave.
"Archibald…"
What accompanied that enormous hand was a terrifying Fifth-rank pressure, so oppressive that many of the Fire Feather Clan present could barely draw breath.
"Fifth-rank! A Fifth-rank powerhouse! Could this be the Elemental Emperor of the Fire Worship Empire?"
Lin retreated a few steps, using the shadows of nearby buildings to conceal himself. Under the horrifying might of a Fifth-rank powerhouse's strike, his small movements went virtually unnoticed.
Red Pupil's face darkened as he realized that if the attack connected, the entire city of Transas would suffer catastrophic damage — and the high-ranking officials and nobles present could suffer countless casualties. He had no choice. He had to act!
"Screee!!!"
With a piercing phoenix cry, a magnificent fire phoenix wreathed in blazing flame burst into existence, its crimson wings crashing headlong into the titanic hand.
Boom! Earth and sky seemed to vanish in an instant, and everyone present was stunned into a daze. By the time their eyes could make out shapes again, they saw Red Pupil transformed into a gigantic fire phoenix, locked in combat with a flame giant that towered between heaven and earth. The two were battling further and further away, yet waves of terrifying energy still pulsed back toward them, making every heart shudder.