"You're that Lei! The genius of the Task Force's Eastern District? One of the two wolf-dogs Shike keeps on a leash?"
The black-clothed figure's voice carried a hint of mockery.
"You're asking for death!"
Lei Lin's eyes snapped open abruptly, as though twin flames had just erupted from within them.
Whoosh! His entire body transformed into a streak of fire, pierced straight through the opponent's forehead, burst out the back of their skull, and coalesced back into a humanoid silhouette.
Boom! The black-clothed man who had spoken so insolently froze with a vacant expression, and seconds later his entire body erupted into blazing flames like a torch.
"Wolf! Wolf!" The other black-clothed figure was visibly stunned for a moment before letting out a shrill scream — clearly a woman's voice.
"You dare… you dare kill him…"
The woman across from him raised her head, her eyes burning with hatred as she stared at Lei Lin, looking as though she wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces.
But Lei Lin merely let out a cold snort, utterly unconcerned. If looks and grudges alone could kill people, what need would there be for power?
These two leaders possessed Sky Tier strength, but they had clearly forced their way through using some sort of secret drug or forbidden technique. Their auras were extremely unstable — at most they were equivalent to peak Earth Tier. Probably any Fire Feather Technique eighth-level expert could dispatch them with ease.
Of course, this was understandable. After all, if the Three Serpents Cult had truly been founded by three Dukes, then given the disparity in time flow between the Lava World and the
"Activate the Berserker Legion!"
The woman didn't rush forward to fight to the death. Instead, she shouted orders into the communicator in her hand.
Crash! Crash! The steel doors of the base ground open, and from within poured a massive number of Fire Feather clansmen with vacant, blank expressions.
Their eyes were an unsettling blend of indifference and blood-red, their bodies covered in bizarre runes, and many of their body parts had clearly been enhanced or even modified. So many of the Fire Feather clansmen had been altered that the task force members could barely recognize them.
"Auugh…" Once released, the Fire Feather clansmen's eyes went momentarily blank before a fierce, savage light rapidly gathered within them, and they let out roars resembling wild beasts.
Bang! A researcher who had gotten too close was immediately blasted into a shower of blood mist.
Countless droplets of crimson rained down upon the berserker legion, making them appear even more grotesque and terrifying.
The berserker legion had already gone mad, attacking indiscriminately—commando squad members and their own allies alike fell under their assault. And due to the sheer difference in numbers, the frenzied legion dealt the heaviest blow of all to the Three Serpents Cult members inside the base. Watching this scene, Lei Lin couldn't help but shake his head. This woman had clearly been treating these bloodline-modified humans, who were not yet fully under control, as her trump card and her weapon of revenge.
"Ahahaha… Wolf is dead, and I'm going to drag every last one of you down with me!" the woman across from him shrieked in madness, her piercing screams nearly rupturing eardrums.
"This woman has lost her mind! Or rather, she was never quite right in the head to begin with!" Lei Lin shook his head.
With a flicker of pity in his gaze, Lei Lin showed no mercy. The colossal Fire Phoenix soared straight across, its enormous wings sweeping sideways. The woman was immediately sent flying, blood spraying from her mouth.
"Boss! What do we do?" Mills stared at the rest of the berserker legion, particularly at the unmistakable Fire Feather Clan features on their bodies, his expression caught in clear conflict.
These berserker soldiers were not only maddeningly ferocious and terrifyingly powerful, but they were also his own kin. Mills still couldn't bring himself to strike.
"It's fine! I'll handle it! Their blood may be contagious—make sure it doesn't touch you!"
Lei Lin's voice drifted over, calm and detached, but it filled Mills with a sudden sense of dread. "Boss! You're not about to—"
But it was already too late. Mills raised his head just in time to see Lei Lin's figure transform into a streak of golden light, seeming to merge with the phantom phoenix behind him.
The phoenix's cry grew even more piercing, nearly shredding the clouds apart. A blazing crimson-golden flame radiated from the phoenix's body.
In the blink of an eye, the phantom phoenix from before had become a massive bird engulfed in roaring flames!
"The pinnacle of the Fire Feather Technique—the Undying Phoenix!" Mills' eyes went wide as he muttered the words under his breath.
This kind of ultimate technique at the absolute peak, he had only ever heard about in legends. According to rumor, only those who had pushed the Fire Feather Technique to the Sky rank or above—and whose bloodline purity was absolutely flawless—members of the Fire Feather Clan, or even the Fire Feather Royal Family, could execute such a feat!
"Could it be… that Lei is also a member of the most exalted Fire Feather Royal Family?"
Mills stared at the flaming Undying Phoenix high in the sky, and suddenly felt his brain stop working properly.
*Boom!* The great fire bird shook its wings, scattering countless crimson motes of light. A single spark landed on the shoulder of one berserker soldier, and immediately began burning with raging intensity, transforming him into a human torch in an instant.
With a soaring, triumphant cry, the colossal Undying Phoenix in the sky dove savagely toward the ground!
"Look out! Get clear! Get down!!!" The strained, nearly twisted voices of the other commando squad members reached Mills' ears, but he could no longer pay them any attention.
All he could do was stare blankly at the scene before him.
A terrifying fire bird, as if a falling star had plummeted to earth, slammed into the ground and unleashed a horrifying tidal wave of flames. The only thing Mills could do was clutch his head and crouch flat against the ground.
Facing power like this, power that felt like a natural disaster, he felt as small as an ant.
The fire bird's landing point was right in the center of the berserker legion, and the massive flames instantly swallowed them whole.
After a moment, the flames gradually died down, revealing a tall, upright figure standing amid the destruction.
"Boss... is actually that strong?" Mills murmured, a surge of hot blood rushing to his head. He charged forward, looking at the wreckage strewn across the ground, tears glistening in his eyes. "Captain! They... they were also—"
"On the battlefield, there are only enemies!" Lei Lin's voice was ice-cold, instantly chilling the hot blood in Mills' veins.
"I'm very disappointed in you!" Lei Lin clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked away from this hellscape, leaving Mills standing there in a daze.
"He's right, son!"
At some point, the general from before had come to Mills' side.
"If he hadn't done this, even letting a single one of those legions or corrupted entities escape would have immediately spread a terrible plague through the surrounding cities..."
"And thanks to Lei's efforts, we successfully destroyed this stronghold. No more Fire Feather clansmen will suffer its cruelty and persecution..."
The general patted Mills on the shoulder. "Cheer up, kid!"
...
"This kid seems to have changed somehow. I just hope I haven't completely shattered his worldview!"
Lei Lin watched Mills, eyes blood-red, charging at the front lines, and a hint of amusement played at the corner of his lips.
The desert branch of the Three Serpents cult had naturally been wiped out, but a large number of its remnants and forces still remained throughout the entire eastern district of the federation.
And the place they were at now was within the inner city of a massive Fire Feather metropolis.
These Three Serpents cult members had actually established a secret base inside the city itself, which genuinely earned a measure of respect from Lei Lin.
Whoever had thought of this and put it to use was certainly a talent. It was a pity that when individual combat power was infinitely amplified, the value of clever strategy automatically shrank to a negligible level.
The army surrounded them, the special task force charged in—arranging these things had long since become second nature to Lei Lin.
And Mills, though he had fallen into a slump for a few days after the last incident, had seemingly matureed ever since. In several subsequent battles, he had charged to the very front in an uncharacteristically aggressive manner, striking without mercy or hesitation.
It seemed like he was driven by the belief that the more enemies they killed now, the fewer of his people would suffer persecution later — a naive conviction, perhaps, but there was no denying it marked a step forward.
"Youth really is something…" Lei Lin watched the fired-up Mills and felt an unexpected wave of sentimentality.
His actual age had long surpassed two hundred — in his previous life, that would have made him older than anyone's great-great-grandfather. Looking at Mills now, he couldn't help but feel like he was watching a child.
"Captain! This outpost has been cleared — not a single enemy escaped!"
Mills, still splattered with blood, reported to Lei Lin with a cold, hard expression.
"Good work! Go rest and regroup — your share of the spoils won't be short by even a fraction!" Lei Lin crossed his arms and nodded.
Just then, a female soldier hurried in, clutching a device that resembled a microphone — a communicator of some kind.
"Captain Lei! A transmission from Lord Shi Ke!"
"Instructor!" Lei Lin took the device and immediately heard the voice on the other end.
Though the underlying principles were different, the effect was remarkably similar.
"I know everything you've done — very good!" Shi Ke's voice came through the communicator, laced with approval, likely because he had heard of Lei Lin's battle record.
But Lei Lin's sharp senses detected a thread of barely concealed fury hidden beneath the words — and it was certainly not directed at him.
"It seems like Shi Ke has run into trouble during the operation to eliminate the Möbius Ring."
Lei Lin mused to himself, and sure enough, Shi Ke brought it up next: "Now, Captain Lei! I am ordering you to bring all your squad members and converge on Vox City immediately!"
"Understood!" Lei Lin answered loudly. After a brief pause, he lowered his voice slightly and asked: "Has something happened over there?"
"Yes! There's a bit of a problem!" Shi Ke on the other end fell silent for a moment before continuing, his words deliberately vague — clearly not wanting to go into detail.
"Of course! I'll get there as fast as possible!" Lei Lin knew exactly what to say at a time like this.
After setting down the communicator and sending away the wide-eyed, adoring female soldier, Lei Lin stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression settling over his face.
"The Möbius Ring? Could this organization really be harder to deal with than the Three Serpent Cult?"