A Star-level powerhouse, in Misi's understanding, was the most supreme existence in the entire Lava World.
His horizons were not wide enough for him to realize that there existed even more powerful realms beyond the Star level.
But even a single Star-level powerhouse had been enough to inflict devastating losses on Captain Shi Ke's forces, causing numerous Sky-level experts to fall. If another one arrived? Misi didn't dare continue down that line of thought.
"Has the Northern Duke arrived?" he ventured, guessing.
Leilin, who knew the full situation and was in fact the very culprit behind it all, wore a solemn expression. "I'm afraid not! I need to see the Instructor!"
On the way, Leilin ran into Luo Ke, though the latter also wore a troubled expression—whether genuine or feigned, it was hard to tell.
"Reporting!" Leilin and Luo Ke shouted together outside the door.
"Enter!" Shi Ke's somewhat weary voice came from inside. When Leilin stepped into the room, his nose twitched—the overwhelming scent of antiseptic and medicinal paste flooded his nostrils.
Shi Ke still looked like a mummy from before, but his spirits seemed decent enough, and he could already perform simple movements.
"That fluctuation just now—you felt it too?" Shi Ke asked, gazing out the window at a massive white tree adorned with pale yellow flower buds, his eyes somewhat vacant.
The battle fluctuations from a Star-level confrontation shone as bright and dazzling as a torch in the darkness—every Ground-level powerhouse within a thousand-mile radius would surely have sensed it. Both Leilin and Luo Ke nodded.
"Sigh... It seems another powerhouse has arrived in addition to the previous Star-level one... The situation is very unclear. Leilin! Pass down the order—our task force is to hold position. Under no circumstances are we to act rashly!"
"Understood!" Leilin acknowledged crisply, then looked as though he wanted to say something but held back.
"What is it?" Seeing his expression, Shi Ke couldn't help but feel amused. "Actually, Instructor... I previously sneaked into that battlefield..." Leilin spoke hesitantly.
"What—" Shi Ke's jaw dropped, staring at him as though looking at a monster.
A Star-level battlefield. Even a casual aftershock could leave a Sky-level powerhouse gravely injured or on the brink of death. And this reckless fool had actually dared to charge in?
Not just Shi Ke—even Luo Ke beside him looked stunned, as if he needed to reassess this man called Leilin all over again.
"Heh heh..." Leilin scratched his head, looking sheepish.
"Last time I heard about what happened to you, Instructor, so I wanted to go take a look and find clues about that Star-level powerhouse—to prepare for the Northern Duke's arrival..." Given Leilin's previous hot-headed behavior, this kind of thing was entirely plausible, so Shi Ke simply nodded without suspicion.
"You..." Shi Ke didn't know what to say. "The other party must have looked down on a Sky-level brat like you, and your luck was good enough for you to come back alive. Otherwise, we'd only be seeing your corpse right now—no, we wouldn't even be able to find your remains..."
"Quite the courage you have..." Shi Ke nodded. "So, what exactly did you see?"
"That's exactly what I'm here to report, sir. Look!"
Leilin immediately produced a sketch. It contained two faces—one that Shi Ke didn't recognize at all, because Leilin had simply made it up, and another portrait that made Shi Ke's eyes turn red and a growl escape his throat. "That's him! He's the one who attacked me last time!!!"
"Quick! Tell me everything you saw!" Shi Ke's remaining hand gripped Leilin's arm tightly, his eyes brimming with desperate hope.
"Of course, I..."
Leilin recounted the story he had fabricated, which was largely factual—except for the parts involving himself.
"So you're saying the Star-level one who attacked me before was defeated? And you recorded the direction he fled? Well done!"
A sharp, fierce glint immediately shot through Shi Ke's eyes. He keenly sensed that this might be his only chance at revenge.
Bang! Papers scattered across the floor as Luo Ke beside him let out a cry of alarm.
"What's wrong?" Leilin asked with some amusement, watching the flustered Luo Ke, and stepped forward with a concerned look. "N-Nothing, I was just too surprised!" Hiding the shock and anxiety in his eyes, Luo Ke finally composed himself.
"Oh! I see!" Leilin nodded. He was now certain that Luo Ke was most likely a mole planted by the Möbius Ring, and his direct superior might even be Kelinsi.
He of course knew where Kelinsi was hiding, because he had long since planted a tracking mark on the person. Planting a positioning rune or the like on Kelinsi required the kind of covert capability that only Leilin, with his Chip, could achieve.
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to mention that he had a positioning mark on the target. He would only point in a general direction, and he believed that once this crucial lead was in hand, the vast machinery of the Atlant Empire could be set in motion, and locating Kelinsi would be a simple matter.
"Calm down, calm down!" Shi Ke stood up, pacing back and forth across the room, his face flushed crimson as he muttered curses under his breath.
But after pacing for a long while, Shi Ke eventually slumped back down in defeat.
"It's no use! Even a gravely wounded Star-level powerhouse is not someone we can recklessly provoke!" After calculating the forces at his disposal, Shi Ke dejectedly announced they would have to let it go—but his fists remained tightly clenched, betraying the unwillingness and hatred in his heart.
"Sir! Are we really just going to let him go?" Leilin shouted hot-headedly.
"That's right, Instructor! We can't just let them go!" Luo Ke relaxed inwardly but also joined in the shouting.
"I know, but..." A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Shi Ke's mouth.
"There is no 'but'!"
A firm, resolute voice came from outside. The door was thrown open, and a tall, powerfully built Fire Feather wearing a military uniform strode in.
"Shi Ke! I will avenge you!"
An overwhelming aura instantly engulfed the entire room, making the air as heavy as lead.
"Thank you, Uncle
Compared to Luo Ke, Leilin was more focused on the energy fluctuations emanating from the newcomer. Fire Feather Technique! The tenth layer of Fire Feather Technique! He must be the Federation's special envoy—the Star-level powerhouse, the Northern Duke!
This was the first time Leilin had ever seen a Fire Feather at the Star level. He didn't dare be careless; his singularity contracted sharply, drawing in all his spiritual energy. Only the externally projected Fire Feather Technique continued to circulate.
"You must be Leilin, right? Well done! You've got nerve! If you ever join the Thunder Legion, remember to look me up!"
Martin extended a massive hand that felt like steel and patted Leilin on the shoulder, his eyes full of approval. "Now, take me to where they fought..."
A surge of killing intent clearly overflowed from his eyes.
"Yes, sir!" Leilin shouted with an excited expression on the surface, but inwardly he let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, the other party hadn't seen through his disguise. It seemed that the high-level Fire Feather Technique combined with the concealment power of his singularity was enough to pass before a Star-level Fire Feather...
Having confirmed this, Leilin's confidence in infiltrating the Atlant Federation's capital, Transas, grew even stronger.
"Let's go!" Crimson flames ignited, and by the time Luo Ke snapped back to his senses, Martin and Leilin had already vanished without a trace.
"In-Instructor... who was he...?" Luo Ke stammered.
"Ha ha! That was the Northern Duke! A Star-level powerhouse! The one who once slew eighteen Fire Elemental Overlords in a row in
He slammed his fist down, his face filling with hope and satisfaction. "Our previous grudge—soon we'll have our revenge..."
Shi Ke rambled on excitedly, entirely oblivious to the flash of worry in the depths of Luo Ke's eyes.
…
A few days later, a stunning piece of news swept through the entire eastern region of the Atlant Federation, even showing signs of spreading to other countries: a Patriarch of the Möbius Ring—a terrifying Star-level powerhouse—had been killed by the Federation's Northern Duke, Martin!!!
In an instant, the name of Northern Duke Martin resounded throughout the entire east, striking terror into numerous resistance organizations. Yet few knew of the secret role Leilin and the other two had played in orchestrating the event.
The fall of a Star-level combatant was also a devastating blow to the Möbius Ring. Ever since Kesilin's demise, the eradication campaign across the entire east had progressed rapidly.
And the task force led by Leilin ruthlessly uprooted every faction and stronghold connected to the Möbius Ring. This ruthless approach immediately earned Shi Ke's approval, and combined with the intelligence from before, Leilin felt that Shi Ke had fully taken him into his confidence as one of his own.
As for Luo Ke? The kid had been somewhat distracted lately, his enthusiasm for missions having waned, which drew some displeasure from Shi Ke. Of course, Leilin knew the reason, but he had no intention of revealing it.
By the time the large-scale eradication operation across the eastern region was completed, over a month had passed without anyone noticing—and the most grand and important festival of the Fire Feather race, the Sacred Star Festival, was fast approaching!