After passing through a rusted iron door, Leilin arrived at a vast underground plaza.
Cheers, roars, and frenzied bellowing, along with the clash of weapons and even the sound of blades piercing flesh, filled the air.
The atmosphere was frenzied and intense, with the alien races inside waving slips of paper and shouting toward the center of the plaza.
"This is..." Leilin gazed toward the center with interest and immediately spotted something.
Inside a massive iron cage, a lion-man covered in golden fur was facing off against several enormous monsters.
Each of those monsters had eight legs, yet their bodies resembled crocodiles, their mouths brimming with razor-sharp fangs.
Especially when they opened their massive jaws, the terrifying sight of nothing but sharp teeth—like some kind of flesh-shredding cutter—radiated a predator's brutality and horror, enough to make low-level creatures tremble and faint on the spot.
Their opponent, the lion-man, fought bare-handed, relying only on his fists to grapple with the monsters. Bulging muscles rose across his body, concealing tremendous power.
The moment Leilin looked over, he saw the lion-man grip one of the giant crocodiles by the tail and slam it hard against the iron bars. Numerous iron spikes pierced the creature's body and blood sprayed everywhere—it looked like that crocodile monster wouldn't survive.
As the price, the lion-man's back bore several bloody gashes, blood pouring down in streams.
"An underground fighting arena, along with gambling and taverns?" Leilin nodded, his interest in Old Man Jick growing.
The boss of such an underground operation was usually the most well-informed person around. To control such a large organization meant possessing an extensive intelligence network.
After all, the intelligence trade was also highly lucrative—there was no way he would pass up on that.
"Follow me!"
The minotaur limped ahead, guiding Leilin past several bar-like areas where crowds of aliens were raising their mugs and howling with drink, before opening a small wooden door. The door was genuinely tiny—even Leilin, who was slender by alien standards, had to lower his head and half-bow to squeeze through.
Thump! The thick wooden door swung shut, sealing off all the noise from outside.
At the instant the door closed, Leilin caught a glimpse of the lion-man successfully dispatching two more crocodile monsters—though at a terrible cost, he had at least saved his own life.
A massive crowd of losing gamblers, their stakes wiped out entirely, roared in fury, their waves of sound nearly tearing the entire underground arena apart.
But once the wooden door closed, everything outside seemed to have nothing to do with this place.
"Calm and madness are separated by just a single door—doesn't that feel rather wondrous, Mister Leilin from the Unicorn Race territory?"
A dwarf barely a meter tall emerged, wearing a silver robe whose long hem dragged along the floor, holding a wine glass in hand, with a flush of excitement still coloring his face.
Yet his eyes were cold as ancient ice, without the slightest flicker.
"A rational madman!" was Leilin's first impression of this dwarf. To command such a large operation was clearly no simple feat.
"You know who I am?" Leilin had only been in the Lava World for a few days, and the only group he'd encountered was the Unicorn Race. The fact that the dwarf had already gathered his information so quickly pleased him—it meant his plans had an even greater chance of coming to fruition.
"Of course! There aren't many who can defeat the summoner Griduo. A Sky-level powerhouse deserves my respect!"
The dwarf gave a slight bow, bringing a flicker of expression to Leilin's face.
The dwarf should be a member of the Ant Race—brown skin, two small antennae on his head—yet for some reason had separated from his colony and built a massive underground empire right here in Wogjin City.
"The caravan from Unicorn City?" Leilin needed only a moment's thought to reach his answer. In all of Wogjin City, the only ones who could have possessed his information were that Unicorn Race caravan.
"Precisely! Them. For Mister Leilin's sake, I've already given orders—their goods will all be purchased at ten percent above market price!"
The Ant Race dwarf invited Leilin to sit and personally poured him a full glass of red wine.
A faint alcoholic scent, mixed with various fermented ingredients and even some anesthetic compounds, immediately swirled around Leilin's nose.
"Alien wine really is something else. Aren't they worried about poisoning their constitutions..."
Leilin shook his head, somewhat speechless. Though his current physical condition could handle such things, his palate had long been spoiled—this crudely made swill simply didn't meet his standards.
Even though this wine was already the best the Ant dwarf had in his collection.
"Well then! Respected guest! What exactly does poor old Jick want to know?" Seeing Leilin set down the glass without taking a single sip, the Ant Race dwarf Jick's expression didn't change in the slightest. His eyes brimming with mirth, he spoke first.
"Everything." Leilin chuckled softly.
"Everything???" Jick blurted out. "What do you mean, everything?"
"All intelligence, everything you know—about this region and others, regardless of how big or small, as long as it has value, I want it all..." Leilin's voice was low, carrying a peculiar charm.
"Heh heh... Mister Leilin, do you have any idea how much that information is worth?" Though Jick was still smiling, his voice had clearly turned cold.
"I do. And I can certainly afford it." Leilin's answer was decisive.
"With what?" Jick was beginning to think he had encountered either a madman or someone whose wits had gone astray.
"Your life—would that be enough?" Leilin said coldly.
"Not good!" The moment Leilin's words left his mouth, Jick ducked, retreated, and sprang behind his desk, slamming down on something as an energy barrier materialized in an instant.
The sequence was seamless, as if rehearsed countless times.
Once the barrier was up, his expression calmed and a cold smirk played at the corner of his mouth: "Mister Leilin, as a guest, don't you think you've gone a bit too far?"
"With a weakling, I never think so." Leilin's voice was perfectly calm, yet it brought a flush of red to Jick's face.
"Get him!" As if Leilin's words had struck a nerve, Jick immediately flew into a flustered rage.
He shouted sharply, and at the same time the entire room was blanketed in a layer of pinkish smoke. Through the haze, two figures charged forward, radiating powerful energy fluctuations.
"Two rats finally willing to come out. Just Sky-level—is that supposed to impress me?"
Leilin smiled faintly as a layer of dark-green energy surfaced around him. His great hand reached out.
BOOM! As if the entire space had frozen for an instant, the two fierce shadows halted abruptly—seized by the throat and hoisted up, one in each of Leilin's hands.
The two figures turned out to be another pair of dwarves, remarkably similar to Jick. The energy fluctuations of Third-rank Wizards emanated from them, but against Leilin they were far too weak—like candles in a gale, a single breath could snuff them out.
"So these are your trump cards? Anything else?"
Leilin opened his mouth and a vortex appeared in the air. The pinkish smoke that had filled the entire room was drawn straight into his stomach.
"This level of power... you—you're a Star..."
One of the aliens he was holding suddenly seemed to realize something, his words turning to stammers.
BANG! BANG! The two aliens were sent flying, crashing to the ground gravely wounded and unconscious.
WHOOSH! Seeing Leilin dismantle his trap so effortlessly—especially after defeating two Sky-level powerhouses—the dwarf Jick inside the barrier's expression shifted several times before he finally gritted his teeth, dropped the energy shield, and knelt before Leilin.
"Respected Lord Leilin, please forgive this humble one's unintentional offense. Jick is willing to hand over all his forces and intelligence to you..."
"You're smart, and you understand the situation. Good—I like people like you." Leilin flashed a smile, but in Jick's eyes it looked like the grin of a demon.
"I don't want your forces or anything of the sort. I simply need you to provide me with some intelligence. And because of your cooperation, at most I'll clear this portion of your memory. Rest easy..."
Hearing Leilin's words, Jick immediately dropped into a grateful prostration, though inwardly he could only laugh bitterly.
After all, a Star-level powerhouse had the power to annihilate all of Wogjin City—it left him absolutely no room for resistance.
...
Several hours later, having obtained everything he wanted, Leilin finally left the underground fighting arena in satisfaction.
The atmosphere inside was still heated, though this time it featured various races battling each other. Leilin even spotted a few Unicorn Race members serving as cannon fodder.
The wooden door had excellent soundproofing—some kind of array had likely been installed—so even though Leilin had practically turned the place upside down inside, nobody outside had the slightest clue.
Even the minotaur would never know that in just those few hours, the organization's leader had thoroughly submitted to the young alien standing before him.
Of course, Leilin had no interest in the boss of some underground outfit. Once he had confirmed—through means such as psychic suggestion—that all the data had been surrendered, he immediately altered the man's memories, even fabricating a false backstory to completely conceal today's events.
Leaving the underground fighting arena, Leilin casually found a place resembling an inn and, after paying with precious gems, immediately secured a large room.
Naturally, these funds had also been "generously provided" by Old Man Jick.