"And we don't even need to decide — they've already come to us!"
"The Soul Fire is approaching rapidly, and the aura is powerful! A Morning Star... this kind of bloodline fluctuation... how is that possible..."
Gilbert turned to look at Emma in disbelief, only to find the same shock and bewilderment mirrored in her eyes!
From the approaching figure, they sensed the most pureblood Comorin bloodline aura — but how could that be?
Every Morning Star Warlock of the Ouroboros Circle had always been just the three of them. Could the Grand Elder have been resurrected?
A thought flickered through Gilbert's mind, only to be quickly extinguished. He had watched the Grand Elder die with his own eyes — even her singularity had returned to the Astral Plane.
In fact, judging by bloodline density, the purity of the other party's Comorin bloodline was almost superior to that of all three of them, veteran Warlocks as they were! Even the Grand Elder had been a shade inferior!
"Who on earth is it?" Gilbert and Emma watched the streak of red light shooting toward them from the distance, both wearing expressions of keen curiosity.
Whoosh! The rainbow of light dissipated, revealing the appearance of an extraordinarily handsome young man.
A brilliant smile spread across his face as he spoke first, bowing to Gilbert: "Master... I've returned!"
"You're Lin Lei?! How is that possible?!"
The next instant, Gilbert and Emma's jaws dropped in unison, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
...
A long while later, although Gilbert and Emma had already accepted the fact that Lin Lei had advanced to Morning Star, the shock was still plain to see in their eyes.
"...That's how it was. I advanced to Morning Star just as the Phosphorfire Swamp was about to fall, then killed the Hunter Ganliel. The other allied forces withdrew. Both sides are keeping each other in check, maintaining the status quo..."
Lin Lei gave a brief account of his experiences in the
Anyone who managed to advance to Morning Star surely had their own secrets, didn't they? Even the two of them had encountered one stroke of fortune after another as third-tier Warlocks, inheriting countless ruins and legacies before finally managing to reach the Morning Star realm by some miracle.
"So you're saying... that guy Ganliel really is dead..."
Emma's eyes were filled with shock as she studied this young man, Lin Lei. For her age, Lin Lei was incredibly young.
But this Warlock, still in his youth, had directly caused the fall of the Demon Hunter, Ganliel?
Emma couldn't help but recall Ganliel's terrifying demonic magic and his powerful, rich combat experience, which only made her view the young man before her in an even higher light.
"All right! So... are the two of you willing to return now, to go back to the Wizard World?"
Lin Lei removed the necklace from around his neck. The silvery-white pendant radiated an aura of starlight, causing both Gilbert's and Emma's breathing to grow heavy.
This was the projection coordinate for Lin Lei's Star Gate, sufficient to open the gate and return them to the Ouroboros Serpent Ring.
But Gilbert and Emma exchanged a bitter smile. Neither spoke, leaving the scene in an awkward silence.
"I understand! It seems you two have something very important to attend to in this Lava World!"
Lin Lei smiled nonchalantly.
"Yes!" Emma was the first to speak. "And Lin Lei, you are a Morning Star existence just like us. You don't need to use titles. Just use our names..."
"Understood, my lords!" Lin Lei's expression grew solemn as he slowly ventured a guess. "Is it because of the Fire Source Stones?"
The moment the words left his lips, he saw Gilbert's expression change, and Emma let out a cry of astonishment.
"You actually found out!"
"Of course! This kind of treasure that can directly enhance the soul essence, even the quality point, is enough to drive Morning Stars mad!"
Lin Lei nodded, admitting it.
"Fine, since that's the case, we have no reason to hide it from you like before!" Emma shed her previous hesitation. "Although the three of us were ambushed by the Thunder of Jupiter Warlocks and ended up stranded in the Lava World, our strength exceeded their expectations. Especially in this other world, where their Radiant Moon Warlocks couldn't act. After paying a certain price, we broke through the encirclement. While searching for a way back, we discovered the Fire Source Stones!"
A hint of excitement entered Emma's voice. "How could we pass up a treasure that directly amplifies soul power? So, the three of us Morning Star Wizards took the lead. We also gathered some alien races persecuted by the Atlanta Federation and established the organization known as the Three Serpents. Our public slogan was to overthrow Atlanta's rule, but in reality, our primary goal was to collect Fire Source Stones!"
Lin Lei nodded. During this meeting, he had noticed that the soul fluctuations of the two Grand Dukes were clearly much stronger than they had been in the Wizard World. Now he saw it truly was the effect of the Fire Source Stones.
"Then... what about the Grand Elder?"
Lin Lei's question plunged the atmosphere into gloom. After a long silence, Gilbert finally spoke, his voice laced with an indescribable dryness.
"There are many powerhouses in the Lava World, and the top few even possess strength on par with Radiant Moon Wizards. In the beginning, the three of us joined forces and it went quite smoothly — we even managed to gather quite a number of Fire Source Stones. But Jupiter's Thunder's influence here is clearly much broader, and they even have connections with Atlanta's higher-ups. Their Federal President is a powerhouse who cultivated the Fire Feather Technique to the unprecedented thirteenth layer — the pinnacle of Radiant Moon! Under his siege together with a host of Wizards, the Grand Elder stayed behind to cover our retreat… and perished…"
Although Gilbert's account was quite terse, Lin Lei could still imagine how brutal that battle must have been, and he keenly sensed that the other party was withholding certain details.
He absolutely refused to believe the Grand Elder would be so self-sacrificing, but just as Gilbert and Emma hadn't questioned why Lin Lei hadn't come immediately after the battle but had waited until now to mount a rescue, Lin Lei wouldn't comment on the matter either.
"In that case, Master and Lady Emma are still planning to stay for a while, aiming for the Fire Source Stones? If so, it seems we could cooperate!"
Lin Lei stroked his chin. The plans of these two Morning Star Warlocks coincided with his own, and having two allies of Morning Star strength gave him considerably more confidence.
"Wonderful! With you joining us, Lin Lei, not only will our strength grow immensely, but we'll also have a way to retreat!"
Emma and Gilbert exchanged a glance, and unmistakable delight could be seen in each other's eyes.
It seemed they were planning to cause a massive upheaval and then leave this world right away.
Lin Lei couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Once three Morning Star Warlocks attacked without restraint, the entire Atlanta Federation would likely descend into chaos.
But that was none of his concern. As long as he could obtain enough Fire Source Stones, he wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to push this federation into the abyss — or even reduce it to dust.
"Oh, right! I've been infiltrating the special task force within the Atlanta Federation. In order to gain their trust, I even destroyed several of the Three Serpents Cult's outposts…"
Lin Lei slapped his forehead as though he had just remembered something.
"It doesn't matter — they're just peripheral organizations. We can set up a few more in no time. If it means truly gaining their trust, we wouldn't mind handing over the entire Three Serpents Cult…"
Gilbert waved his hand dismissively with a look of complete indifference.
"In fact, we've also been infiltrating the Atlanta Empire. We've even obtained noble titles. A great deal of the intelligence about the Three Serpents Cult that surfaced was deliberately leaked by us!"
Emma smiled delicately, and a layer of crimson feathers emerged from her body as tiny sparks of fire materialized around her.
"The Fire Feather Clan! The Fire Feather Technique!" Lin Lei chuckled. Morning Star warlocks were all masters of bloodline modification, and with Emma and Gilbert's experience, disguising themselves as members of the Fire Feather Clan would be practically effortless.
Moreover, these two were ruthless — they had outright sold out their own organization to gain trust. Their noble titles had probably been obtained the same way. No wonder they hadn't been the least bit bothered by Lin Lei's actions.
Lin Lei couldn't help but feel somewhat speechless, realizing that when it came to cunning and ruthlessness, he still had a great deal to learn from these two seniors. If those Three Serpents Cult members ever found out they had been sold out by their own cult leaders, they would probably have complete mental breakdowns.
Even Lin Lei couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for them deep down.
"Do you two have any intelligence?" Lin Lei couldn't help but ask. These two warlocks had been undercover longer than he had — they must know quite a few secrets.
"Of course!" Gilbert smiled with a touch of pride.
"According to our intelligence, there is only one source of Fire Origin Stone, and it's in the capital of the Atlanta Federation — Transasus! It's only ever circulated from the Chancellor himself, under his direct control! So the reserves outside are extremely scarce!"
"Fire Feather Art, thirteen layers! A Brilliant Moon pinnacle Chancellor?" Lin Lei sighed softly, knowing this matter was going to be troublesome.
Trying to forcibly seize something from the other party's hands — the three of them combined, all at Morning Star, still weren't quite enough.
Not only that, in an otherworld, outsiders like them were always at a disadvantage compared to the natives. The very will of the world would favor its own people. Even a level-five Brilliant Moon pinnacle Wizard might not necessarily be able to do anything against the opponent.
"Gilbert and I have already drawn up a plan. We're planning to infiltrate Transasus during the Sacred Festival two months from now — and your arrival is perfectly timed!"
Emma said.
Lin Lei stroked his chin. The Sacred Festival was a major holiday for the Fire Feather clan. The Chancellor would inevitably have to give speeches or attend banquets, providing ample opportunity to infiltrate his residence.