Warlock of the Magus World

by Stayrr

What happens when a scientist from a futuristic world reincarnates in a World of Magic and Knights? An awesome MC is what happens! A scientist’s goal is to explore the secrets of the universe, and this is exactly what Leylin sets out to do when he is reincarnated. Dark, cold and calculating, he makes use of all his resources as he sets off on his adventures to meet his goal. Face?

19. 556

Read Warlock of the Magus World - Chapter 556 – Orders Given online free - Light Novel Full

Orders Given

"What mission is it?" Leylin took the document that was labelled 'top secret' on the cover, and unconsciously furrowed his brows.

"The union has ordered that our Special Task Force is to attack the Triserpent Sect and Mobius Organisation within the territory of the state. I am the person in charge of the eastern region!"

Schiker's voice was that of a hardened war veteran.

"Your squadron is in charge of a few strongholds of the Triserpent Sect that have been discovered recently. I will personally take care of the Mobius Organisation's side!"

It was obvious that their trap had thoroughly enraged Schiker. Now, he wanted to exact revenge properly!

"The Triserpent Sect?" A look of interest appeared on Leylin's face, though he was sighing inside.

His intention in coming to the Atlan Union was to obtain some information regarding the Triserpent Sect, but so many things had happened, especially with the appearance of the firasource stone. That one resource had dispelled all other thoughts.

However, just when he was hoping to continue concealing himself, this matter had suddenly cropped up, and it just so happened that he was involved. This left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"The order this time was personally signed by the head of the state. The garrisons from all regions will coordinate with our operation. In other words, once we succeed, we will appear in front of the head immediately. Chances like these are hard to come by!"

Schiker seemed to be reminding him.

"Understood." Leylin saluted, his back ramrod straight, though he began making some guesses. It seemed that Schiker had an unusual relationship with the union head, to the point that he could obtain the position of the person in charge of such a vital operation. He must have a very powerful backing, no wonder that Loke wanted to get close to him no matter what.

"Good, you may leave. Get Loke to come in!" Schiker nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes!" Leylin saluted and left. Every movement was like a textbook example and seasoned as a soldier. Schiker nodded inside after seeing this.

"Captain Loke, the instructor is calling you!"

After walking out, Leylin found that Loke was already waiting aside. Compared to before, there was more calm and steadfastness on his expression, and he had 'unwittingly' broken through the sixth level and reached the seventh level of Fireplume. He could now be considered an Earth rank.

Of course, this was all a facade. Leylin believed he was at least at the Sky rank, but he had somehow snuck in for some unknown reason and gained Schiker's trust.

In the operation this time, Leylin was in charge of dealing with the Triserpent Sect, while Loke was to follow Schiker and was in charge of the matters of the Mobius Organisation. Just this point made it clear to Leylin that Schiker trusted Loke more.

In the Special Task Force, there had long since been rumours spreading that Ley and Loke were Schiker's left and right-hand men, and Schiker himself did not deny this directly.

'It's a pity… When you find out the two subordinates you'd thought were your helpers were actually enemies sneaking in as spies, I wonder what expression you'd have? Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be amusing!' Leylin touched his chin, a smile on his face as he ruminated.

"Leader Ley, is there anything else?" Loke observed Leylin who was acting in this manner. For some reason, he felt a chill in his heart, and seemed to have a bad premonition.

"Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking about the scene from our previous mission. Quick, get in!" Leylin patted Loke on the shoulder, and calmly sauntered away.

Loke kept drawing back and stared at Leylin's back. Though he seemed to be sending Leylin off respectfully, there was a strange glint that flashed in his eyes.

"Soon… things will be different…"

A flicker of jealousy and hatred appeared in Loke's eyes. Though both Leylin and he were captains, one was a Sky rank while the other was only at the Earth rank. That naturally gave rise to criticism.

Though Loke was considerably powerful and was on good terms with Schiker, he seemed to be a level below Leylin in many aspects.

He might not seem bothered on the surface, but that was because he was trying to be conceal himself. He wasn't preparing for a life in the Union anyway, but he still somehow felt strange.

Of course, this was hidden well, and even the person closest to him had not realised it.

"Loke, what are you waiting for?" Schiker's dissatisfied voice travelled from within the room. Loke was startled and immediately returned his expression to the original honesty with a trace of shrewdness and admiration, nodding and bowing as he entered the office. "Reporting in!"

……

Back in his residence, Leylin was carefully browsing over some information in the documents. Only after some time did he put it down and sigh.

The information within was so detailed that it was excessive. They even knew the strength of the leaders there, and it seemed that the Atlan Union definitely had hidden some spies and the like inside.

"The Triserpent Sect will probably suffer heavy losses this time…"

Leylin stroked his chin. He still could not confirm if the Triserpent Sect was an organisation formed by the three Giant Kemoyin Serpent Dukes, and he was not prepared to make a move.

They were a few branches and strongholds anyway. Nothing would be missed even if everyone died, and with this, he could even gain a higher standing and more trust from the Union. That would make it convenient to pry into the secrets of the firasource stone!

With this thought, the light in Leylin's eyes gradually dimmed, a bone-chilling iciness within.

"B…Boss… Wha- What's going on…"

Mies chose this moment to push the door open and met Leylin's gaze. Instantly, he collapsed, cold sweat pouring, and was left stuttering.

"It's nothing. Our official mission has been handed down. Take a look!"

Leylin chuckled, and it was as if all that ice had melted with the smile. Warm sunlight shone down, and Mies was no longer limp on the ground, and could struggle to take a hold the document.

However, while looking through it, his hands were still trembling slightly. Mies swore that he'd never have imagined that when Boss Ley's expression was grim, it would be so frightening!

That bone-piercing chilliness was something he had never experienced before. Swearing in the name of the honour of the Emberwings, he never wanted to meet that sort of gaze ever again. Heavens! He now felt that even the sweltering heat outside was more comfortable than staying in this room.

"How is it? Have you finished looking through it? Tell me your thoughts!" Seeing Mies in this state, Leylin smiled gently and crossed his arms, body half leaning on the chair as he appeared to be at ease.

"This… Since it's an order from the headquarters and the head of state, we can only obey. However, the members of our squadron don't have enough strength, and I'm afraid we will need to mobilise and coordinate with the garrison!"

Mies was no fool to have been able to survive up to this point. With some slight reflection, things immediately became clear to him, and he even had a contingency plan in mind already.

But… Mies stealthily peeked at Leylin, who was expressionless, and decided that before he could understand the man's thoughts it was best not to speak his mind.

That bit of bloodthirst earlier had frightened him.

"Mm, very good! I'll leave contacting the local garrison to you. Don't disappoint me!"

Unexpectedly, Leylin did not ask about his plans and instead gave him a task.

Though Leylin did not explicitly state the consequences of not completing the task, Mies could somewhat guess that it was something he absolutely did not want to bear.

"Understood, Captain!" As a long-term habit, while Leylin was issuing the command, Mies subconsciously stuck out his chest and saluted, expression full of respect.

Ever since he had entered Leylin's unit, he was completely convinced by Leylin and understood how he worked. It was consistently simple and crude, and he did not allow for retorts. Mies was naturally tactful.

"Mm, send down the order that I want our unit to assemble!" Leylin waved his arms, and Mies immediately escaped as if he was faced with a huge enemy.

Though Leylin was usually very easy-going, to the point that Mies could get benefits like stealing some cool air here, the Leylin in missions was very resolute about killing. He was not going to make things bad for himself now.

After sending down the order, their unit assembled quickly.

On a field, Leylin wore military attire and walked past the orderly line, looking satisfied.

The Lava World was a world with Exemplaries. Their individual abilities far surpassed their collective strength, which was why this group was very small, with only ten or so members. However, every single one of them was at or above the fifth level of Fuming Wings, meaning they were at the peak of the Exemplary rank. He had three Earth ranks, and all had been forced to submission by him in missions. This was unthinkable in the eyes of many people.

After all, Earth ranks were considered top-rated strengths even in the Atlan Union. They could take on important roles in the corps, so how could they be the subordinates of a little captain?

However, Leylin had done it, and many were in awe.

In reality, Leylin's methods were simple. He had achieved victory with strength, and forcefully suppressed them.

Even so, he had not intentionally taken in these three. They were an unexpected harvest.

For him, Earth Ranks were comparable to rank 1 or 2 Magi or Warlocks in the Magus World. He could kill a large number of those who possessed this level of strength with just a breath, and he did not even need to spend much energy on it.

Even Sky ranks, who were comparable to rank 3 Magi, were nothing much.

The ones able to affect Leylin were Star ranks, who were of a similar strength! The attention of a Morning Star would forever be focused on enemies of the same level!

"Based on the intel, the commanders of the few Atlan military districts are all Star ranks! Rumours have it that the head of the union far exceeds the Star rank, and could be at rank 5, the Radiant Moon Realm…"

Learn touched his chin, a look of anticipation flashing in his eyes…

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Lava Base

"I really want to try my hand at fighting an enemy of this level of strength…" A fierce desire for battle burned in Leylin's eyes, but was quickly withdrawn.

Though he was looking forward to the Radiant Moon Realm, he was no fool. Power at rank 5 was still far from him as he was now. Before he himself became a rank 5 Warlock, he was not going to fight with any Radiant Moon Magus, no matter who they were.

Leylin currently had his arms behind his back and after inspecting these members, he shouted, "Everyone, the head has issued our newest mission, which is an order for elimination! With us the Special Task Force taking the lead, the garrison troops will coordinate with us to uproot the Triserpent Sect strongholds that are throughout the Atlan Union!"

"Long live Atlan!" Many members yelled together, an agitated flush on their cheeks.

Compared to those troops formed with regular people, they were mostly people who were enlisted in a hurry and had not experienced much hardships so it was expected if they had unrealistic delusions. Furthermore, this time, it was clear that union was serious, and since the head had issued the command himself, it meant multiple opportunities to perform meritorious deeds.

And those meritorious deeds would net them higher level techniques, large amounts of information, and even the status and glory of nobility quite easily. How would they not be riled up?

"Good!" Leylin obviously knew what these people were thinking; On the contrary, he was no saint. Hence, he did not destroy their hopes right now.

"There are a total of fifteen strongholds in the eastern region that belong to the Triserpent Sect. I will now hand down the assignments…"

In actuality, Leylin had not even told them how to choose their targets. In his perspective, only he and the three Earth ranks were mildly useful in his group.

The others would probably only be useful running errands outside, or providing moral support.

It didn't matter, since they were only destroying the branches of the Tri-serpent Sect, and the most powerful people there would probably be only at the Sky rank.

……

Within a large desert, boiling-hot temperatures caused slight distortions in the sky. Heat waves surged, causing the scenery in the distance to seem blurred.

"One of the branches of the Triserpent Sect is here! General Gilfah, your mission is to seal off this region and not let any suspicious characters escape. Any questions?"

In a simply constructed tent, Leylin pointed at a large map on the table and spoke to a white-haired Emberwing.

This Emberwing was obviously not young, and even his mottled red feathers were falling down. However, the tenacity was as strong as ever. What had Leylin raising his eyebrows in surprise was that this old man was a Sky rank.

"No problem!" Gilfah nodded matter-of-factly. "I will order the army to surround the area. Even a bug will not be able to escape!"

This high-ranking officer by the name of Gilfah was in charge of this region. He had been contacted by Mies.

While he had control over the troops by order of the head, Leylin had gotten this general's support after displaying his strength.

"I hope you can destroy this nest in one go. A lot of disappearances in my jurisdiction are related to it," The general brought up.

"I understand. Let's go!" Leylin nodded and left the camp, suddenly waving his arms.

Rumble!* His body turning into a tornado, he charged into the depths of the desert with a few similarly powerful pillars of light.

"This stronghold of the Triserpent Sect is really covert. If not for the vast network of spies controlled by the union, it would have been unlikely that I'd find this place…" Light flickered in Leylin's eyes.

The Atlan Union was much too vast. Even if he had his bloodline and soul fire crystal and searched from city to city or even ran through the outskirts, it would still take several decades to cover the country. Even then, he could end up not even finding a trace of the Triserpent Sect.

They had long since been chased by the union, and their actions had always been secretive. Leylin had no confidence that he would coincidentally bump into them.

With the map, however, all the branches of the Triserpent Sect were bared before Leylin. There was no difficulty in finding them now.

"But… Did the three dukes really create the Triserpent Sect?" A giant, fire-red lake had appeared before Leylin's eyes. At the heart of it, flames were vaguely seen. Based on the intel, the branch of the Triserpent Sect was under the lava lake.

Soul force surged through the lava and the desert to scan below, and it resulted in a marvellous expression on Leylin's face.

"This…" With his soul force, Leylin could clearly see the many experiments in the laboratories of the Triserpent Sect branch, as well as the modified Emberwings.

"Bloodline modification experiments?" As a Warlock himself, he was no stranger to this, and could even be said to be a subject matter expert.

With just a look, he could find many traces of what the Magus World, even the Ouroboros Clan, were used to operative procedures.

"Could it be… that the Triserpent Sect really is an organisation set up by the three dukes?" Leylin's eyes flashed, a crimson crystal already appearing his hands, two threads of pale soul flames twining around each other.

"No reaction… The two dukes aren't here." Leylin shook his head.

Though the range of bloodline and soul sensing was already quite vast, it was still too small in comparison to the whole Atlan Union, let alone the entire Lava World.

"Attack!" Thoughts whirling in his mind, Leylin unhesitatingly gave the order. A gigantic phantom phoenix made of fire appeared behind him. Bathed in pure golden flames, it was as if the real ancient phoenix had been reborn!

This was the pinnacle of the eighth level of Fireplume. Seeing this display, nobody would believe it even if Leylin himself admitted to not being an Emberwing.

The point mass of a Morning Star was incomparably tiny, and massive strength could be held within this tiny point. It would not cause any clashes with other energies.

Leylin had the A.I. Chip to analyse and perform simulations for him. In reality, he had secretly already practised up to the peak of the ninth level of Fireplume. In other words, the limit of rank 3!

However, as he lacked the training technique for the tenth level, he had been unable to progress further. Even if the A.I. Chip could simulate it, too much time would be spent on it and Leylin had thus lost his patience.

Hence, he had focused on Schiker. He was sure that with Schiker's status, it was very possible for him to have access to the tenth level of Fireplume!

To Leylin's knowledge, there were ten levels to Fireplume. The first three were for regular people, but the fourth and fifth, it would begin to touch on exemplary strength. The sixth and seventh were comparable to rank 1 and 2 Magi, while the eighth and ninth meant being able to battle rank 3 Magi! As long as he entered the tenth level, he would be a Star rank, which was comparable to a Morning Star Magus in the Magus World!

Leylin did not have much interest in the first nine levels of the technique, and was only invested in the tenth level.

After advancing to Morning Star, it meant that he had already chosen a path for himself. While Leylin had no plans of giving it up, other paths to power still had a lot of useful experience to give him.

Fireplume was one of the most advanced techniques among those of foreign origin. It could combine both physical and spiritual aspects, and this train of thought was a breath of fresh air for him.

If he could obtain the tenth level of Fireplume and gain clarity on the Emberwings' path and system, it would definitely be of much use to him.

"Come out!" Leylin shouted, and an ear-piercing explosion sounded behind him, like a high-spirited phoenix cry filled with heat and excitement.

Amidst the cry, Leylin abruptly made his move. The flames that filled the sky were as splendid as the wings of a phoenix as they swept through the ground and shaved a layer of soil off the earth.

The ground kept trembling, and rocks and dirt were scattered everywhere. As if a geyser of water, the lava from the lake shot upwards as its surface emptied out, revealing a giant secret base underneath.

Many members of the Triserpent Sect raised their heads. Upon seeing the dazzling phantom phoenix, they yelled in alarm, "It's Atlan's Special Task Force! Those black leather dogs have caught up to us."

The members of the Special Task Force were usually ruthless in their methods, possessed extraordinary power and dressed in black leather uniforms. That had netted them this title.

"Aren't you wearing black robes too? What about it?" Leylin, who was in mid-air, grew speechless as he observed the followers who wore black, wide robes with an image of three black snakes intertwining on the surface.

While he was quibbling, a few streaks of powerful undulations rose, and two black-clothed people who were obviously the leaders blocked his way, dressed in luxurious robes. The sounds of members of the Triserpent Sect howling could be heard from within the stronghold.

"Take care of that trash as soon as possible!" Leylin's brows furrowed. He could not sense any special aura from these two black-clothed people.

If they were higher-ups within the Tri-serpent Sect and had made contact with Morning Star, there should be some radiation residue or the like on their bodies, but there were no traces at all on these two leaders. This led to Leylin's disappointment.

"Understood, leader!" A few streaks of red flames shot out, and Leylin's Earth ranks immediately began their massacre, doing as they liked amongst the ordinary followers.

Crimson flames flashed, turning the region into a sea of fire.

Facing this attack that was at the Earth rank, these ordinary disciples were mowed down like grass. Under the prowess of the Exemplaries that he led, no matter how much battle intent the ordinary followers had, it all proved futile. That was the main reason why Leylin had brought a small team of only ten or so people, and dared to forcefully attack the enemy's large-scaled base!

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Developments

"You're Ley, the genius of the Special Task Force in the eastern region? One of the dogs that Schiker's raising?" The black-clothed person opposite him spoke with a hint of scorn.

"You're looking for death!" Leylin's eyes opened suddenly, as if two balls of flames were being launched from them.

Shua!* His entire body seemed to transform into a thread of flames, boring through his opponent's forehead and coming out through the back before turning back into a humanoid figure.

Crackle!* The black-clothed person who had not been the least bit modest with his words had a dazed look on his face. Seconds later, he turned into a torch of fire and began to incinerate fiercely.

"Whorf! Whorf!" The other person in black was clearly stunned, before beginning to shout. The voice was lovely, and evidently belonged to a woman.

"You dare… You dare kill him…" The woman raised her head, eyes full of hatred as she glared at Leylin, itching to hack him to pieces.

Leylin merely hummed coldly as if he did not care. If looks could kill, what was power for anyway?

These two heads were Sky ranks, but they had obviously used some secret potion or taboo techniques to forcefully break through. Their auras were rather unstable, and were at most comparable to the peak of the Earth rank. Perhaps any expert at the eighth level of Fireplume could dispose of them easily.

Of course, this was understandable. If the three dukes had created the Triserpent Sect, they could not have gathered many techniques given the difference in the flow of time between Lava World and the Magus World. Support for advancement and methods that would result in instant benefits were necessary things.

The woman did not rush over to fight with all her might. Instead, she ordered something into her communicative device in her hand, "Activate the Berserk Legion!"

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* A steel door in the base opened, and many Emberwings with dazed expressions walked out.

Their crimson eyes radiated a feeling of indifference. Their bodies were filled with strange runes, and parts of their bodies had obviously been strengthened and altered. Many of the Special Task Force members had difficulty even telling that they were Emberwings.

After being let out, the lost look in their eyes was replaced by viciousness as they let loose howls that were similar to those of beasts.

Boom!* A researcher nearby was immediately beaten to the point that blood splattered everywhere.

A crimson rain fell on this berserk legion, causing them to appear even more malicious and terrifying.

The legion that had already gone insane began to destroy things without distinction. Whether it was the Special Task Force members or their own people, all were attacked. Due to the differences in numbers, the berserk legion landed the most critical attack on the followers of the Triserpent Sect. Leylin, who saw this scene, could not help but shake his head. This woman was obviously treating these modified people who were as of yet unable to control their bloodlines as her trump cards and weapon for revenge.

"Ahaha… Whorf's dead. I want all of you to die with him." The woman shouted maniacally, her voice so sharp that it could pierce through eardrums.

"This woman's gone crazy! Or she wasn't mentally sound in the first place… " Leylin shook his head.

Watching her with pity, Leylin did not hold back. An enormous fire phoenix soared across the sky, its giant wings sweeping across the woman. It sent her retreating, coughing up blood.

"Boss, what do we do?" Watching the berserk legion, especially whose members consisted of Emberwings, Mies was caught in a dilemma.

Not only were those of the berserk legion insane, their battle might was astounding. On top of that, they were his fellow clansmen, so Mies found it difficult to attack.

"It doesn't matter, I'll take care of it. Their blood might be infectious, so be careful not to make contact with them!"

Leylin's voice travelled over faintly, but Mies suddenly had a bad premonition. "Boss! You're not going to…"

But it was too late. Mies raised his head and saw Leylin turning into a streak of golden light, as if fusing with the phantom phoenix on his back.

The phoenix's cries were even louder than before, practically piercing through the clouds. Golden flames were emitted from its body.

In that moment, the phantom image of the phoenix had turned into a giant, blazing bird!

"The apex of Fireplume— Undead Aves!" Mies' eyes grew wide as he muttered to himself.

He had only heard of this killing technique in legends. Based on the rumours, only those who had trained in Fireplume up to the Sky rank and above, and only ones with incomparably pure bloodlines could exhibit this ultimate technique, restricted to the Emberwing Royal Family!

'Could it be that Ley is a member of the esteemed Emberwing Royal Family?' Mies watched the Flaming Undead Aves soaring in the skies, suddenly feeling as if his brain had short-circuited.

Rumble!* With a shake of the flaming bird's feathers, large amounts of fiery-red light shone down on the region. A spark fell onto the shoulder of one of the members of the berserk legion, and he immediately began to burn up fiercely, turning into a torch.

With elated cries, the gigantic Undead Aves dived towards the ground!

"Crap, get away! Drop down!" The other Special Task Force members' voices, distorted due to their nervousness, travelled into Mies' ears, but he could not manage to process it.

He wore a stupefied expression as he stared ahead.

The terrifying giant flaming bird was like a falling meteor descending upon the ground, bringing with it horrifying tremendous waves of flames. All Mies could do was hug his head and crouch down.

In the face of this strength that was like a natural disaster, he felt as tiny as an ant.

The flaming bird descended into the heart of the berserk legion, and the flames swallowed them in an instant.

Moments later, the flames gradually went out and revealed a tall figure.

"Boss… Is actually this strong?" Mies mumbled, hot blood rushing to his brain as he darted forward, glancing through the remains on the ground, eyes filled with tears, "Captain! They… They were also…"

"There are only enemies on the battlefield!" Leylin's voice was icy cold, and the heat in Mies' body went cold.

"I'm very disappointed in you!" Leylin had his arms behind his back as he left this hell slowly, leaving Mies in a daze.

"He's right, child!" At some point, the general from before was at Mies' side.

"If we don't do this, if the legion or any of these contaminated bodies escape, there could be a terrifying plague in the surrounding cities…"

"Furthermore, with Ley's efforts, we've successfully destroyed this stronghold. No fire-feathered clansmen will have to be ruined by it anymore…"

The general patted Mies' shoulders, "Cheer up, little guy!"

……

"There seems to be some change in this little thing. I hope I haven't ruined his outlook on the world…"

Watching his bloodshot eyes as he darted to the frontlines, a smile of rumination shot up on his lips.

The desert branch of the Triserpent Sect had been destroyed, but there were still many other branches and organisations remaining in the eastern region of the union.

They were now within a giant Emberwing city.

The members of the Triserpent Sect had actually set up a secret base within a city, something that only managed to increase Leylin's respect for them.

To be able to come up and make use of this meant they were absolute geniuses. It was a pity that in a time when physical strength was of utmost importance, intelligence automatically decreased in value to the point that it was negligible.

The army surrounded the area, while the Special Task Force rushed in. Leylin had long since gotten used to arranging things like these.

After that matter the other day, Mies had seemed depressed for a few days, but seemed to become mature immediately after. In the next few battles, he was in an unusual state where he would charge to the frontlines, and was ruthless in his attacks.

It was as if he believed that the more he killed, the lesser the number of his clansmen that would be oppressed by the enemy, or something to that effect. It was a certain level of maturity, although still naive.

"It's good to be young…" Leylin observed the hot-blooded Mies, and could not help but get emotional.

His real age had long since surpassed 200, and he was even older than his grandfather's grandfather in his previous world. Watching Mies now was like looking at a child.

"Captain, the stronghold has been purged. No enemy was caught." Mies reported to Leylin with indifference, blood on his body.

"Good! Go back and reorganise yourselves, the spoils of battle won't reduce!" Leylin's arms were tucked together as he nodded.

At this moment, a female soldier rushed over in a hurry, holding a communicative device similar to a handset, "Captain Ley, a call from Lord Schiker!"

"Instructor!" Taking the handset, he immediately heard the sounds within.

Though the principle of this thing's operation was different, it was still like the cellphones of his previous world.

"I know everything you've done. Very good!" Schiker's voice sounded from within the handset, praise in his tone. Evidently, he had heard of the results of Leylin's battles.

However, Leylin had astutely realised the trace of fury hidden in his voice. That was obviously not aimed at him.

"Looks like Schiker met with some trouble during his operation at destroying the Mobius Organisation!"

Leylin thought. As expected, Schiker mentioned this right after, "Captain Ley, I now command you to bring all your members and hurry to Wox City and meet me!"

"Understood!" Leylin answered loudly. After waiting for a moment, he lowered his voice and asked, " Did anything happen there?"

"Yes. There's are some issues!" Schiker answered vaguely after a brief silence. It was obvious he did not want to touch on it.

"Alright, I'll hurry there now!" Leylin obviously knew what to say in this situation.

After putting down the handset and sending away the female communications officer whose expression was full of admiration, Leylin sank into deep thought, his hand finding his chin.

"Mobius Organisation… Is this organisation more difficult to deal with than the Triserpent Sect?"

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Tingling Senses

There were many rebellious organisations in the Atlan Union, as well as various sects. However, the union leader had only chosen to act against the Triserpent Sect and Mobius Organisations, which led Leylin to make a mental association.

If the Triserpent Sect was targeted because of its three foreign Morning Star Warlocks, what about the Mobius Organisation? What did they have?

A trace of a smile appeared about Leylin's lips. "Interesting! It's getting increasingly interesting!"

He abruptly turned back and shouted, "All members, assemble…"

As Leylin had very few subordinates, he could act swiftly and decisively, bringing his unit to the Wox City Schiker had spoken of the very next afternoon.

After entering the city, Leylin sensed that the level of security was much higher than before. Even Leylin and the others were checked over once before being allowed entry. Uneasiness seemed to permeate the air.

'Could the Mobius Organisation have caused a huge ruckus? Curious!' Leylin touched his chin as he arrived at the area Schiker had spoken of, which was also the current station of the Special Task Force.

"Ley!" Loke welcomed him, pleasantly surprised. "It's great that you could come so quickly!"

"What's going on?" Leylin's brows furrowed in feigned concern.

"We might have found the Mobius Organisation's headquarters. The attack that Instructor led was met with a violent counterattack from the other side. It's best that you personally take a look…"

Loke smiled wryly as he got out of the way. There was a gloom between his brows that would not disappear easily. It was so well-feigned that Leylin cheered for him on the inside. It was rare to find actors of this calibre.

As he opened the door and found Schiker inside, Leylin displayed an expression of 'alarm'. "Instructor, how did you…"

The Schiker in front of him now was in a pitiful state, wrapped up to the point that he seemed like a mummy. His right arm was hung in front of his chest.

"Ley, you did well!" Seeing the worry on Leylin's face, Schiker looked gratified, "You only took a day to get here…"

"It's my honour to serve my lord!" Leylin looked devoted. After all, the other party had connections in the capital, and was his best route to getting firasource stones. He could not give him up so easily.

"What exactly happened?" Leylin clenched his fists, sparks emitting from his body.

"This level… It means your Fireplume is about to break through to the ninth level, entering the peak Sky rank…" Schiker watched Leylin, eyes full of an unspeakable radiance. "In terms of training, you'll probably surpass me soon enough…"

"Not at all! It's all thanks to Instructor's nurture!" Leylin bowed slightly to show his respect.

"Mm! We underestimated our opponent this time. I'd assumed it was an ordinary branch of the enemy, but never could I have expected that we'd found their headquarters…"

Leylin listened closely. Schiker, with Loke and the rest as well as the support he garnered from the army, should have been able to complete the operation of destroying the Mobius Organisation smoothly. However, while wiping out one of the branches nearby, they'd found quite a few red-clothed bishops!

Schiker, who had realised he had found a big opportunity, was obviously excited as he gathered quite a few Sky rank generals and prepared to eliminate these bishops at one go.

However, when the time came for the actual attack, Schiker found out he had completely wrong.

There had been a mistake in his calculations. This wasn't some branch of the Mobius Organisation, but their headquarters!

They had astounding harvests under the joint effort of the Sky ranks at first, and had even seized much of the resources the Mobius Organisation had stocked up on. Suddenly, Schiker was unwilling to say more, a hint of fear appearing on his expression.

This expression immediately alarmed Leylin. For the fearless Schiker to become this way, the matter could not be simple.

"I've gathered you only so that you can take over the next operations of the Special Task Force, especially since I'm in this state!" Schiker raised his arm and laughed bitterly.

"As for the issues there, there will be people coming in from the capital to take care of it. Don't worry!"

Leylin came out, still baffled, and went to look for Loke. Under the questioning of this new 'superior', Loke narrated all the parts Schiker had failed to explain clearly.

As it turned out, while transporting the resources back, Schiker and the rest had been met with an ambush, resulting in total annihilation. Even the resources had been lost, and a few Sky rank generals had perished on the spot. Only Schiker had somehow managed to survive.

"Oh? How many people were there?" Leylin had some conjectures, and asked curiously.

"Ju– Just one, but he was more terrifying than thousands of troops and horses, because… that was a Star rank!"

Loke's voice was low, as if afraid to alarm anyone. There was an obvious hint of joy in the fact that he was weak and useless in a battle between Sky ranks, and had thus not participated in that operation. Otherwise, he'd be dead right now.

"A Star rank?!" Leylin seemed to breathe in sharply, although his mind was actually working quickly.

Star ranks were the most powerful members of the Lava World. They were on the same level as Morning Star Magi of the Magus World, and were absolutely certain of their cultivation path. They were existences who had already generated a core.

Every single one of these existences was celebrated. Their achievements would be written in history books or even as legends, passed down for eternity.

Facing such an expert, Sky ranks would only be courting death unless there were other Star ranks suppressing them.

If Schiker had met one, it meant he had incredibly bad luck.

'On top of that…' Leylin touched his chin, deep in thought, 'Schiker's backing must be quite firm for even a Morning Star Magus to have qualms about killing him and leave him alive!'

Leylin, who was also a Morning Star, naturally knew the terror of rank 4s. For Morning Star Magi, Sky ranks were just like slightly large ants.

The generals, who were also at the Sky rank, had all died, leaving only Schiker behind. Leylin did not think that this Morning Star Magus had a good heart and let Schiker go. It was very likely that the real reason was because he feared the person backing Schiker.

'Looks like Schiker's background is very mysterious! I'll need to pay more attention and take advantage of that!' Leylin decided resolutely.

"That's the basic situation… With the motivation from this event, many branches of the Mobius Organisation that had begun to disperse seem to be congregating again…"

Loke shrugged his shoulders, the wry smile not diminishing at all, "But we only need to push through during this period of time. The Northern Duke will reach this place soon, and when that happens, we can…"

'Just continue acting!' Leylin rolled his eyes inside, while he looked to be in favour of his words.

"The Northern Duke? That's a famous Star rank of the Union! With him around, the Mobius Organisation won't be able to settle down and have a peaceful time!" he exclaimed in admiration.

At the same time, he now understood the reason for Schiker's listless look. Since someone with a higher status was taking over, his own position was dispensable, and his achievements would be wrested away from him.

Though the Northern Duke might not think much of these merits, Schiker would not want to accept charity from others. Leylin knew very well what type of person he was, and he was not one to admit defeat.

"In that case, I should return and quickly take over the defence of the Special Task Force, preparing for the counterattack!"

Leylin and Loke hastily bid farewell.

Leylin did not like this idea. The Mobius Organisation had Star ranks, as well as many helpers and followers. After noticing something, they would definitely retreat, and by the time that Northern Duke reached, he would only see an empty nest.

However, all this was none of Leylin's business. What he focused on was the resources that had been stolen by the mysterious Star rank.

"To be able to get a Star rank dispatched after them, these resources must be especially precious. There might even be firasource stones inside…" Leylin's eyes flashed. He was in dire need of these stones, but he did not have that many points to exchange them. Since the proper way wasn't working, he would need to think of other methods.

Not long after Loke left, Leylin's expression changed.

He came to his room and took out the crimson gemstone from before.

Rays of brilliance were twinkling, the two threads of pale flames beginning to increase in intensity at the middle.

Seeing this, a smile showed on Leylin's face, "They've come together…"

……

At the bottom of the lava not far from the city, in a secret space that had been opened. Two figures were facing each other, sitting cross-legged.

All of a sudden, a bald male with no eyebrows or a beard opened his eyes, eyes full of doubt, "I felt a trace of my soul flames! Which Warlock has arrived here?"

"I had the same feeling!" Opposite him was a young girl in blood-red robes. Her eyes were strange vertical pupils that would make people shudder in fear.

"Is this a trap?" Gilbert muttered to himself and asked slowly.

"It doesn't seem like it, unless the Ouroboros Clan was completely breached and Freya and the rest have all died." Blood Duchess Emma was very confident in the loyalty of her students.

"Then… Have the reinforcements from the Warlock Union arrived?" Excitement appeared in Gilbert's tone.

"Hmph! If they were reliable, we wouldn't be in this situation!" In contrast, Emma's retort showed that she did not have a good impression of the Warlock Union.

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Meeting

"It's not for us to decide anyway, since they've already taken the initiative to come here!"

Crimson flames flashed on Emma's body as she appeared in mid-air, Gilbert right behind her. Eventually, the two came to a stop, standing side by side.

"The soul flames are closing in very quickly, and the other party's aura is very powerful! It's a Morning Star, but… This blood line undulation… How is it possible…" Gilbert turned to Emma in disbelief, only to be met with Emma's eyes filled with similar astonishment and suspicion.

From the incoming person, they felt the purest Kemoyin bloodline aura. But how was that possible?

There had always only been three Morning Star Warlocks in the Ouroboros Clan.

'Did the First Elder come back to life?' An idea rose in Gilbert's mind, but was quickly extinguished. He had personally seen the death of the First Elder, and his point mass had even returned to the astral plane.

From the thickness of the bloodline, the purity of the other party's Kemoyin bloodline was even above that of themselves, even that of the First Elder!

"Who is it?" Gilbert and Emma watched the red rays that were shooting over from the distance, filled with curiosity.

Sou!* The light rays dissipated, revealing the appearance of a handsome young man.

A bright smile on his face, and he rushed to bow towards Gilbert. "Mentor… I've arrived!"

In the next moment, Gilbert and Emma's mouths were just as wide, their eyeballs almost popping out. "Leylin? How's that possible?"

……

A good while later, while Gilbert and Emma seemed to have accepted Leylin's promotion to Morning Star as reality, there was still a shock that could not be concealed in their eyes.

"… This is how it happened. I advanced to Morning Star just when Phosphorescence Swamp was about to be breached, and then killed Demon Hunter Cyril. The allied forces withdrew, and both sides are restraining themselves. The situation has now stabilised…"

Leylin gave a brief overview of what he had experienced in the Magus World. Of course, anything that touched upon his secrets, such as the A.I. Chip, the Lamia fingerbone and all that, was obviously hidden and not discussed. Gilbert and Emma had not asked either.

Of those who had reached the realm of Morning Star, who did not have their own secrets? Even the two of them had many fortuitous meetings while at rank 3, and received inheritances from ruins and the like, which had allowed them to thankfully advance to rank 4.

"In that case… That guy, Cyril, is really dead…" Emma's eyes were filled with astonishment as she sized up Leylin. Compared to her own age, Leylin was much too young right now.

However, it was this adolescent Warlock who had caused Demon Hunter Cyril's fall?

Emma couldn't help but recall Cyril's terrifying demonic spells, as well as his power and abundant experience. Her opinion of this young man raised immensely.

"Alright! Well then… Are the two of you willing to return to the Magus World now?" Leylin took off the silver-white necklace on his neck that was emanating the rays of stars. Gilbert and Emma's breaths immediately became heavier.

This was the projection of the coordinates of Leylin's astral gate. It could open the astral gate and allow them to return to the Ouroboros Clan.

However, Gilbert and Emma exchanged a wry smile, and did not speak. Instead, the area turned strangely silent.

"I understand. It seems like Your Graces still have very important things to do in the Lava World!" Leylin laughed, not minding the least.

"Yes!" In the end, it was Emma who spoke up. "Leylin, you're a Morning Star just like us, so you don't have to call us 'Your Grace'. Just call us by our names…"

"Alright, my Lords!" Leylin looked solemn as he began to make guesses. "Is it because of the firasource stones?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Leylin noticed the change in Gilbert's expression, while Emma cried out in alarm.

"You've actually found out!"

"Of course! It's a treasure that can strengthen the soul and even the point mass. Any Morning Star would go crazy over it!" Leylin nodded as he admitted.

"Alright. In that case, we don't have to keep hiding it from you like before." Emma immediately threw away all hesitation, "Although Jupiter's Lightning had duped us, we were much stronger than they had anticipated. This was especially so in another world, where their Radiant Moon could not intrude. While we did suffer a bit, we managed to break out, and while searching for the road back we found out about the firasource stones."

Emma sounded emotional, "How can we let go of this treasure that can amplify soul force? We three Morning Star Warlocks thus led the way and took in a few oppressed races within the Atlan Union, creating the organisation, the Triserpent Sect. On the surface, we want to overthrow the government of Atlan, but in reality, we prioritise gathering firasource stones!"

Leylin nodded. In this meeting, he had found that the two Dukes' soul undulations were obviously much more powerful than in the Magus World. It seemed to be the effect from the firasource stones!

"Then… where's the First Elder?" Leylin asked, and the atmosphere immediately became gloomy. A long while later, Gilbert spoke, his voice hoarse.

"There are many powerful beings in the Lava World. At the peak are a few who have a strength similar to Radiant Moon Magi. At the beginning, with the three of us working together, everything went smoothly, and we even seized quite a lot of firasource stones. However, the organisation Jupiter's Lightning set up here was obviously much larger, and even had relations with the higher ups in Atlan. The head of their union was one who had trained up to the thirteenth level of the Fireplume technique, which was unheard of in history. He was a peak Radiant Moon Magus! Under his assault along with many other Magi, the First Elder fell… while trying to protect us…"

Though Gilbert explained it in a simplified manner, Leylin could tell how desperate that battle had been. He could keenly tell that Gilbert had concealed some things.

Whatever it was, he would never believe the First Elder was so selfless, but Gilbert and Emma had not asked why Leylin had not come here right after the battle and instead done so only now. Leylin thus would not make his opinion known.

"This means Mentor and Madam Emma are preparing to stay here for a period of time and conspire to obtain more firasource stones? In that case, we can collaborate!" Leylin touched his chin. He held the same thoughts as these two Morning Star Warlocks. With two Morning Star helpers, he had more confidence.

"That's great. With you joining us, Leylin, our strength will increase by a large amount, and we will even have a way to retreat!" Emma and Gilbert exchanged a glance, the elation obvious in their eyes.

It looked like they had been planning to cause a huge ruckus before leaving this world.

Leylin could not help but feel his scalp tingle. The unrestrained attacks of three Morning Star Warlocks would definitely throw the entire Atlan Union into chaos.

However, this was none of his business. As long as he could obtain enough firasource stones, he didn't mind pushing the union into the abyss, or breaking it into smithereens.

Leylin patted his head, suddenly remembering something as he spoke. "Right! I'm lying low in the Special Task Force in Atlan for now. In order to obtain their trust, I destroyed a few of Triserpent Sect's strongholds…"

"It doesn't matter. Those are just the surrounding organisations. We can just create a few more soon. To really obtain their full trust, it doesn't matter even if we hand over the whole Triserpent Sect."

Gilbert waved his arms, not minding the least.

"In actuality, we've also been keeping a low profile in the Atlan Union and even obtained titles. Most of the intel regarding the Triserpent Sect was intentionally divulged by us!" Emma laughed, a layer of sparkling red feathers appearing on her body.

"The Emberwings and Fireplume," Leylin chuckled. Morning Star Warlocks were all grandmasters at remodelling bloodlines. With Emma and Gilbert's experience, passing off an identity as an Emberwing was way too easy.

On top of that, these two were ruthless and had even sold away their organisation just to obtain trust. That was probably how they gained their titles, and why they did not mind Leylin's actions.

Leylin was rather speechless at that, feeling like he still needed to learn much more from his seniors in these dark areas. If the followers of the Triserpent Sect found out they had been betrayed by their leaders, they would probably just break down.

Leylin could not help but begin to pity them.

"Do you have any intel?" Leylin asked. These two Warlocks had been laying low here for longer than he had, and definitely knew more secrets.

"Of course!" Gilbert laughed proudly.

"Based on our sources, there is only one place where the firasource stones are being generated, and that's the capital of the Atlan Union— Tylasus! It only comes from the head himself, which means the source is being controlled by him. There are very few reserves outside!"

"The head who is at the thirteenth level of Fireplume, the peak of Radiant Moon?" Leylin sighed lightly, knowing things were going to get troublesome.

Three Morning Stars cooperating was still not enough to snatch something from this opponent.

That was not all. Fighting in another world, foreign beings like them obviously had a disadvantage compared to the people of this land. The World's Will itself would also have a bias and help its own people, and even if a peak Radiant Moon were to head over, they might not be able to deal with this opponent.

"Gilbert and I have already set up a plan. We're planning to sneak into Tylasus two months later, on the Holy Solar Day. You're just in time!" Emma exclaimed.

Leylin touched his chin. Holy Solar Day was a very important festival of the Emberwings. During that time, the head would have to make a speech, participate in the feast and whatnot. There were more than enough opportunities to sneak into his residence.

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Setting A Plan

"Good! I'll be there then!" Leylin nodded.

"Of course you will, because you'll have the greatest chance!" Gilbert chuckled.

"Oh? Why's that?" Leylin's thoughts were lightning quick as he immediately came up with a reason. "Could it be…"

"Hehe… that's right. Lord Schiker is the illegitimate child of the head of Atlan. With this connection, and you yourself as part of the Special Task Force, you'll get the most opportunities to sneak into his residence." Emma revealed.

"No wonder I've been thinking Schiker has a very solid backing and very powerful connections. So he's the illegitimate child of the head of the union…" Leylin spoke in understanding.

"Hehe… This is called an opportune moment. We'd wanted to sneak into the Special Task Force too, but the bloodline scanning there is very strict. We can only imitate up to the seventh level of Fireplume, which is pretty much useless. Even if we got in, we'd only be at the bottommost level. You're different. Not only is your Emberwing aura unbelievably pure, you've even improved in Fireplume up to the ninth level. What a genius!"

Gilbert praised. He was now feeling he'd been blind not to have noticed a super talent like Leylin. However, he had managed to take Leylin under his wing, which was a huge relief.

"Alright! I'll do my best and follow Schiker back to the capital!" Leylin nodded, watching these two Kemoyin Dukes. Before heading to the Lava World, he'd been worried that they were injured or something like that, but now, it looked like there was nothing to worry about.

What was difficult for Morning Stars to heal from were injuries to the soul, but as long as firasource stones were in their possession, even the most troublesome soul injuries could be healed quickly.

In actuality, Leylin guessed that these two Kemoyin Dukes had used all their firasource stone reserves to heal the injuries from breaking away from the attack. If not, they would not have had just this slight improvement to their aura.

"By the way, there's someone called Loke under Schiker. Is he also someone you arranged for to be there?" Leylin suddenly thought of something and asked.

"Loke?!" Suspicion flashed on Emma and Gilbert's expression as they exchanged a glance. Even Leylin, who had been observing their facial expressions, could not tell if these expressions were genuine.

"No, I don't know him! He's not a spy we sent out. Is there something wrong?"

"A little. I suspect he's from another race who feigned an identity to enter the Special Task Force!" Leylin casually brought this up.

"In that case…" Gilbert rubbed his shiny bald head, "You'll need to be more wary of him. He's most likely someone from the Mobius Organisation!"

"Mobius Organisation? Do you know that organisation well?" Leylin's interest was piqued at this. Or rather, at the large amount of resources and firasource stones that this organisation had stolen.

"Though this is just a guess, we are almost certain that it's Jupiter's Lightning's organisation here!"

Emma looked grim, "Due to the suppression from Atlan, Zegna of Jupiter's Lightning does not dare come to this world. He's only dispatched a few Morning Star Magi here to secretly build up an organisation!"

"Zegna?" Leylin touched his chin. It was only now that he found out the name of this rank 5 Magus who had been opposing him.

"In this case, Loke is probably a spy or something to that effect sent out by Zegna?" Leylin chuckled.

"Just a mere pawn. It doesn't matter even if that's true. As long as he's not a Morning Star, he won't be that vital in this game here…"

Ruthlessness flashed in Gilbert's expression, "If you really think he's annoying, then dispose of him. If it's not convenient for you, just tell us, and we'll handle it…"

Though Gilbert and Emma seemed to be nobles in the Atlan Union, they were actually one of the three wicked leaders of the Triserpent Sect. It was obvious that they would seek trouble with the Special Task Force, and Loke's death wouldn't be that significant anyway.

"Let's keep him around for now and not alarm the Mobius Organisation. By the way, is that Morning Star who had caused major casualties and stole a lot of resources still around?"

"Why? You want to know where he is?" Emma and Gilbert both had on something that seemed like a smile.

"Of course! I don't really care about other resources, but I must get those firasource stones!"

Leylin answered decisively, "Besides, I can gain more of Schiker's trust with his help. Think about it, if I give Schiker news of the Morning Star who landed him in his current state, what would happen?"

"Actually, we've been trying to track him down and seem to have found some trails…"

Emma exclaimed, "Just as well! That is Collins of Jupiter's Lightning. Neither of us is certain we can kill him, but with you around, we have enough strength. We shall divide the firasource stones equally though!"

"That's fine!" Leylin immediately thought of Collins, who he'd disciplined at his ceremony, and the corner of his lips quirked up in a smile.

……

Rumble!*

The earth split open, the sky falling. Space was constantly being destroyed, causing turbulence. Silver storms wreaked havoc and ravaged the region.

At the very centre, three phantoms in the form of indistinct giant black serpents streaked across the horizon, surrounding a figure.

"Collins, hand over everything you have on you, and we can let you off!" Gilbert yelled loudly.

Trapped in the middle was Collins, who Leylin had seen once before. Now, bloody wounds were all over his body, and it was obvious that his injuries were not mild.

His own strength lost to even Leylin. Under the joint attack of three Morning Star Warlocks, he was actually pretty good to have survived so far.

"Lord Zegna won't let you off…" The energy undulations from Collin's body were all over the place. The battle with Morning Star Arcane Arts had already landed him in a critical state.

"Zegna? Hmph! Even if he doesn't look for us, we'll look for him. We can't just forget about what happened with the First Elder." Emma snorted coldly.

Collins could only whine about the situation inside his mind. Though his strength surpassed that of Demon Hunter Cyril, he was still no match for three Morning Star Warlocks working together.

Unfortunately, Jupiter's Lightning was huge, and needed many Morning Stars taking charge in the Magus World. There were few Morning Star Magi in the Lava World, and he was the strongest of all those sent over, having committed a serious sin that he had to make up for.

But now? He first had to think about how to save himself!

"Alright! I can give you all the firasource stones, but you'll need to swear on the astral plane that you won't harm or imprison me!"

Collins shouted. This was usually what happened in battles between Morning Star Magi. It might be easy to define the winner, but killing the opponent was difficult and often not worth it. That was why after being defeated, it was common to agree to an unfair contract and concede to a huge compensation.

"You don't have any leeway to bargain over this!" Leylin's tone was firm. With his opponent's life in the palm of his hands and unable to escape, there was no space for negotiation.

"Alright. In that case…" Collins seemed to acknowledge his fate and placed his hands on his waist. All of a sudden, his expression turned sinister.

Berserk black lightning closed in with him in the middle.

Above his right hand, a simple leather scroll was slowly opening, revealing the phantom image of a Magus with a black moon rune on the forehead.

"It's a rank 5 magic scroll!" Emma's expression instantly changed, countless blood-red rays exploding forth.

A giant black snake that spanned across the horizon appeared, charging in his direction.

"Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!" Gilbert and Leylin, who were trailing behind, immediately acted as well. The power of a rank 5 spell was not to be underestimated, and they had to go all out.

On top of that, since this was another world, there was no danger even if they destroyed anything. Their methods were frenzied and cruel, not considering the destruction of the environment.

"Hissss…" A giant black phantom snake collided with the lightning, and the energy undulations created could be felt even hundreds of kilometers away.

Boom!* A human figure was sent flying, Collins' figure. Black blood shot out of the corner of his mouth, and there were traces of rot that continuously penetrated deeper within. Even his Morning Star body was full of bloody holes.

While he flew backwards, he flung large amounts of fiery-red ores, and even some other precious resources and treasures of his collection. They flew in all directions, emitting brilliant light.

"The firasource stones are all here, as well as my collection. Don't go too far!" he yelled, his figure turning into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon.

Swish!* The fog dissipated, and three black figures floated down, gathering the many firasource stones.

"What do you think of this?" Leylin spoke first.

"Since we're acting, we need to seem genuine. I'm going to chase him for a while longer…" Gilbert nodded, before dashing towards the black streak.

"Well then, Madam Emma, I'll head back now!" After keeping the portion of firasource stones that belonged to him, Leylin was in an exceptionally good mood and bowed to Emma.

"Mm! Take care of yourself. I don't want Freya to become a widow at such a young age," Emma hummed, though there were hints of concern in her tone.

"I understand!" Leylin was slightly touched, nodding as he turned back into Ley the Emberwing. He returned to the Special Task Force encampment in Wox City.

"Boss, the energy undulations just now?" The moment he entered, Mies rushed over hurriedly, his expression grim.

"It's probably a fight between Star ranks!" Leylin obviously knew the reason for the change in his expression.

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Leaking Intel

To Mies' knowledge, Star ranks were the most powerful existences in the Lava World.

He, who had not seen much in the world, was not aware there was an even more powerful realm after the Star rank.

However, just one Star rank was enough to cause their leader, Schiker, to be heavily injured, and Sky ranked experts to die in large numbers. If another one had appeared? Mies didn't even want to consider that.

"Has his Grace, the Northern Duke, arrived?" he guessed.

Well aware of all that was going on and actually the main offender himself, Leylin had a serious expression, "I'm afraid not! I'll need to see the instructor!"

On the way, Leylin met Loke again. However, the man seemed to have much on his shoulders, and he could not tell if this was real or a pretence.

"Reporting in!" Leylin and Loke shouted outside the door.

"Come in!" Schiker's slightly weary voice sounded from within. After entering the room, Leylin's nose twitched, the smell of disinfectant and ointment filling his nostrils.

Schiker was still looking like a mummy, but looked to be in a better mental state. He could now perform simple actions.

"Did you feel those undulations too?" Schiker asked with his eyes unfocused, watching a gigantic white tree whose light yellow flowers were blossoming.

The undulations from a Star rank battle were as dazzling and bright as a torch in the dark night. Most likely, all the Earth ranks in a 500km radius around them had sensed it at as well. Leylin and Loke nodded.

"Sigh… Looks like one more powerful person has appeared apart from the previous Morning Star… The situation does not look good. Ley, send down the directive. Our Special Task Force is to wait for orders. Do not act recklessly!"

"I know!" Leylin apprehensively did as he was asked, but seemed hesitant.

"What is it?" Schiker asked. Seeing Leylin this way, he found it funny.

"Actually, instructor, I actually went into the battlefield in secret…" Leylin mumbled.

"What…" Schiker's mouth went wide, as if he had just seen a rare beast.

Just a single stray wave from a Star rank battle could easily cause serious injuries or even death to Sky ranks. And this fearless fool had actually rushed in?

It was not only Schiker. Loke who was at the side was also stunned, feeling like he had to refamiliarize himself with this 'Ley'.

"Hehe…" Leylin touched his head, looking embarrassed.

"I heard about what happened to Instructor and went to take a look and search for trails of that Star rank. It was in preparation for the arrival of His Grace, the Northern Duke…" With Leylin's hot-headed displays in the past, this was a very plausible situation. Hence, Schiker merely nodded, not doubting anything at all.

"You…" Schiker had no idea what to say. "He must have thought little of a Sky ranked kid like you. On top of that, you must have had enough luck to come back safely. If not, we'd only be seeing your corpse now. No, we wouldn't even have seen your corpse…"

"Your courage is really one of a kind…" Schiker nodded. "Well then, what did you see?"

"This is the report I prepared. Sir, take a look!"

Leylin immediately produced a sketch with two faces on it. The first sketch was someone Schiker did not recognise, because it was a portrait Leylin had drawn of nobody in particular. The other image, however, had Schiker's eyes turning red, his throat letting loose a roar, "It's him! He's the one who attacked me!"

"Quick! Tell me everything you saw!" Schiker's remaining arm held Leylin's tightly, eyes hopeful.

"Alright. I…"

Leylin narrated the story he had come up with previously. All of it was the truth, though he took himself out of the equation.

"In that case, the Star rank who attacked me was defeated, and you remember which direction he fled in? You did well!"

The ruthlessness was apparent in Schiker's eyes. He could sense that this could be his only chance at taking revenge.

Thud!* A stack of documents fell to the ground, and Loke who was at the side cried out in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Leylin watched Loke, who had panicked, and found the situation hilarious as he went forward and asked in concern.

"N-Nothing. I was just shocked!" Concealing the panic and anxiety well, Loke regained his previous demeanour.

"Oh, is that so." Leylin nodded. He could now confirm that Loke was most likely a spy sent in from the Mobius Organisation, and his superior might very well be Collins.

He obviously knew where Collins was hiding, because he had done something to Collins' body. Only Leylin, who had the A.I. Chip, was able to place an imprint that would determine Collins' location without arousing suspicion.

Of course, he wouldn't be so stupid as to reveal he had placed some symbol on the other party's body. He just needed to point in a direction, and with this important clue, finding Collins was a simple matter with the entire Atlan Union working on it.

"Calm down, calm down!" Schiker stood and began to pace around the room. His face was flushed as he cursed.

After standing straight for a long while, Schiker lay back down, disappointed.

"No! Even a heavily injured Star rank isn't someone we can just walk up to!" After calculating the power he had at hand, Schiker announced that he was giving up. Only his tightly-clenched fists signified unwillingness and desire for revenge.

"Sir, are we going to let him off like this?" Leylin seemed to be extremely impulsive as he yelled.

"Yes! Instructor, we can't just let them off like this!" Loke relaxed inside, but shouted along as well.

"I know, but…" Schiker smiled bitterly.

"There's no 'but's!" A resolute voice sounded from outside, and the door was pushed open. A tall, sturdy Emberwing walk in, dressed in military uniform. "Schiker, I will help you take your revenge."

An intense aura took over the room, and the atmosphere grew as heavy as lead.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Martin!" Schiker's eyes turned, looking ready to cry. This was the first time Leylin and Loke had seen such an expression on him, and their eyes grew wide as they watched on in surprise. When would they see Schiker, who had gained repute for his tenacity, having such an expression?

If not for pinching himself firmly, Loke would think he was dreaming.

Compared to Loke, Leylin was more focused on the energy undulations. "Fireplume, the tenth level of Fireplume! He must be the special commissioner, the Star rank Northern Duke!"

This was the first time Leylin had seen an Emberwing at the Star realm. He did not dare let down his guard and hid his point mass and soul energy completely and leaving only Fireplume operating outside.

"You must be Ley, right? Not bad! You're brave! If you ever go to the Thunderoll Legion, remember to look for me!"

Martin extended a large hand that was like steel and patted Leylin's shoulders, eyes full of praise. "Now, bring me to the place where they battled…"

A surging bloodlust was present in his eyes.

"Understood, sir!" Leylin sounded excited as he yelled, though he was actually giving a long sigh inside. "Luckily, he didn't see through my pretence. Looks like a high-levelled Fireplume and the concealed strength of my point mass is enough for me to get away with this situation even in front of a Star rank Emberwing…"

Having ascertained this, Leylin now had more confidence in sneaking into the Atlan capital, Tylasus.

"Let's go!" Fiery-red flames lit up, and Martin and Leylin left before Loke could come back to himself.

"In-Instructor, he's…" Loke was tongue-tied.

"Haha, he's the Northern Duke. A Star rank who once killed 18 fire elemental commanders in the Death Grand Canyon!"

A flush appeared on Schiker's face from his elation; he was extremely excited.

"I heard from Father that even among Star ranks, Uncle Martin is still the best. The other party is now injured, and if Uncle Martin finds him, he definitely won't be able to escape!"

He ferociously punched forward, hope and carefreeness in his expression, "My revenge will be taken quickly…"

Schiker went on and on excitedly, not noticing the hint of concern in Loke's eyes.

……

Days later, a piece of shocking news spread through the eastern region of the Atlan Union. There were even indicators that this news would be spread to other countries. A patriarch of the Mobius Organisation, who was a terrifying being at the Star rank, had been killed by the union's Northern Duke, Martin!

In that instant, the Northern Duke Martin's reputation spread throughout the eastern region, causing many rebelling organisations to be panic-stricken. However, few knew that Leylin and two others had been adding fuel to the flames.

The fall of a Star rank was a huge blow to the Mobius Organisation. Ever since Collins' death, the progress of the purging operation in the eastern region was lightning quick.

The squadron that Leylin led showed no mercy as they uprooted all organisations and strongholds that had anything to do with the Mobius Organisation. Such a fierce method instantly netted a favourable evaluation from Schiker, and with the intel from before, Leylin sensed that Schiker now treated him as a trusted aide.

As for Loke? That kid had been restless nowadays, and was not as enthusiastic in his missions. This had resulted in Schiker's dissatisfaction. Of course, Leylin knew the reason, but he would not make it known.

A month had passed by in a flash after the large-scaled purging missions were over. The most magnificent and important festival of the Emberwings was now fast approaching — Holy Solar Festival!

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Formal Visit

A fleet of vehicles slowly drove out of Wox City. Leylin turned to look at the city, a ruminating smile about his lips.

The Atlan Union's operation had dealt a huge blow to both the Mobius Organisation and the Triserpent Sect.

As he had found the opponent's headquarters and killed a Star rank, the eastern line that Schiker was in charge of was instantly rewarded by the leader. Now, they were heading back to the headquarters of the Atlan Union to have their merits evaluated after giving their reports.

Within another vehicle, Schiker's injuries had pretty much healed and he watched Martin, deep in thought and sitting upright. He restrained himself for a while, before he could not help himself and asked, "Uncle Martin, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Martin seemed to recover from his daze and looked tired.

"I'm letting my imagination run wild in my old age," he laughed, mocking himself. "The opponent this time is from another world. I keep having a feeling that if not for his being injured, I might just have…"

"Hss…" Schiker sucked in deeply, "Someone as powerful as Uncle Martin! How about the person who injured him?"

"Exactly! The mysterious person who exchanged blows with him is a giant threat, but no matter how hard I tried to find them, I couldn't find any traces…" Martin rubbed his brows.

What worried him more was that with his intuition as a Star rank, he had a feeling that something big was going to happen at the Holy Solar Festival. However, there seemed to be a veil that he could not see through.

"With the head around, who else could create trouble? I'm thinking too much into this…" Martin chuckled, and closed his eyes to get more rest, not realising there was someone watching him from the outside.

"Tsk tsk… Tenth level of Fireplume! I really want to use him as a guinea pig and do some research…" Leylin withdrew his gaze.

Martin was obviously an existence that had broken through to the Star rank, and in Leylin's eyes, was like a specimen with very high research value.

If he were to make a move on the sly, he had a very good chance of taking him down and obtaining the secret of the tenth level of Fireplume.

However, for the greater benefits, Leylin restrained himself.

Besides, even regular contact throughout the day was enough for the A.I. Chip to gather data on the energy undulations and forcefield of the Emberwing, speeding up the simulation of the tenth level.

……

The sacred land of the Emberwings that was also the capital of the Atlan Union— Tylasus City appeared before Leylin.

As the Holy Solar Festival was fast approaching, the whole city was in a state of merriment, with multicoloured streamers everywhere.

In Leylin's eyes, Tylasus City was not that vast, but since it was constructed on cliffs and precipices, it gave one the feeling of it being a boundless city in the sky.

Red floating feathery cotton-like items floated down into the city like snow.

Schiker and Martin parted ways at the entrance to the city, and brought Leylin and Loke to another area.

Passing through a large square and a commemoratory forest full of large stone sculptures, Schiker arrived at a building as large and as majestic as a palace, the whole body made of some sort of white jade.

"This is the leader's residence?" Loke's voice trembled, as if extremely emotional. Leylin, however, shot him a discreet glance. This spy from the Mobius Organisation, which was also Jupiter's Lightning, was probably targeting this place. That excitement was probably not feigned.

Leylin, on the contrary, had a change in expression when looking over this residence, as a trace of solemness appeared in his eyes.

In his line of sight, there were powerful energy lights all over the residence, as well as many probing spells and the like. This was a normal sight.

However, there seemed to be a terrifying feeling emanating from within the residence. This aura was scalding hot and dense, where the radiation from powerful fire elemental particles was felt.

A humming sound pervaded the area as the world seemed to come to a standstill in Leylin's eyes. Everything was monochrome, and there were distortions in the lines of the building. Eye-piercing red lights constantly leaked out to form an ancient fire phoenix that faced the sky and gave a long cry.

Chirp!* This fire phoenix was almost alive, eyes filled with wit as it glanced in Leylin's direction.

Surprised, Leylin immediately curbed all the undulations from his body, where his soul force holed up within his point mass.

A great heat wave swept past, and red rays of light flashed in Leylin's eyes, causing him to momentarily be dazed.

"What's wrong, Ley?" Schiker immediately noticed him acting oddly and turned around, looking concerned.

After all that had happened, he now treated Leylin as his trusted aide, and even depended on him more than Loke. They had a very good relationship.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how we're going to see the magnificent leader of the state, so I was somehow lost in thought!" Leylin still looked slightly distracted but had obviously regained his senses. It seemed that only Schiker had seen him in that state.

"Haha!" Schiker patted Leylin in understanding, causing a trace of jealousy to arise in Loke's expression.

"Lord Schiker!" The guards at both sides of the residence saluted with their bodies straight, not hindering Leylin and his group. It was obvious that they had known of Schiker's identity beforehand.

"Instructor, so you're the son of the leader! It's truly an honour to be able to serve you…" Loke entered the resistance, so stirred up that he seemed about to spit foam.

In order to get these two talents to submit more wholeheartedly, Schiker had revealed his identity as the leader's son on the way to Tylasus.

In actuality, while he'd assumed that his identity was kept secret, Loke and Leylin had long since found out. However, they obviously appeared to be shocked, and were only one step short of grovelling at Schiker's feet.

"I'm going to bring you to see Father. Remember to be cautious with your words!"

There was no excitement on Schiker's expression, and his expression instead turning darker. This evidently had to do with his status as the illegitimate child, and Leylin and Loke naturally did not say more.

There was a second wall after they entered the residence. Schiker did not enter directly, but instead brought Leylin and Loke to another area similar to a duty room.

Leylin glanced at the inscriptions beside the room. There was a line of small wording written in black on a red base: Military Office.

'Could this be the Atlan Union leader's personal force?' Leylin could sense the Emberwing undulations from outside the place.

He found that the auras of all the soldiers inside the office were immensely powerful, and none were below the eighth level of Fireplume. He could feel powerful crimson flames in a few other directions, causing his Fireplume at the peak of the ninth level to turn somewhat sluggish.

'Star ranks! Perhaps only the leader of the Atlan Union will be able to order Star ranks around. He's probably a rank 5 Magus…' Leylin wondered.

"I am Schiker, bringing two of my subordinates to see the leader. I've made an appointment," Schiker spoke to a staff member at the military office, passing an emblem-like item over.

The staff member had a stern expression. From the undulations from the ninth level of Fireplume, he was also a peak Sky rank.

Taking Schiker's emblem, he placed it on a piece of apparatus and scanned it.

Beep!* The screen on the apparatus leapt up, and showed information on Schiker's appearance and some other basic details.

He stood up, performing a military salute, "Officer Schiker, you can bring two subordinates inside."

"Thanks" Ever since Schiker entered the residence, he had spoken sparingly, to the point that every single word was as precious as gold. Leylin and Loke struggled to suppress the excitement in their hearts and followed behind him as a military official led the way.

'A.I. Chip! Record information on the structure, as well as powerful energy responses. Whether it's heat, electrons, radiation or chemical reactions, record everything!' Leylin was inwardly communicating with the A.I. Chip, making the most of his time and creating a topographic map of this residence.

'The moment those two Kemoyin dukes found out about my status, they immediately threw this job at me while they relaxed. Sigh…' Leylin rolled his eyes inside, but knew that they had already prepared this operation for a long time. Coming in mid-way of their plans meant he had lucked out, so he did not take this to heart.

'Firasource stones… This soul treasure is only distributed from the residence of the leader. There's definitely something wrong!' A glint flashed in Leylin's eyes and withdrew again as he lowered his head and followed the official in front. They passed through several sentries and corners one after another. These security measures were all shown on the surface, and there were probably many more in the unknown.

In actuality, Leylin disapproved of these measures. For the leader, they were probably a burden, and at crucial moments, only his rank 5 strength could suppress everything.

However, this was the anguish of a person occupying the top seat. Even if it was impractical, it was needed for a person befitting his status.

"His Highness, the leader, is inside. You have half an hour!" The official brought Leylin and the others before a large red door and gave a deep bow before retreating.

Schiker took in a deep breath and held the brass handle of the door, "Father!"

"Come in!" The voice was gentle, yet held within an irrefutable intent. Even the air seemed to distort, obstructing the usual operation of rules and physics.

'There's a rank 5 inside, but I have the A.I. Chip, as well as Fireplume at the peak of the ninth level as a cover. That's enough to conceal my original strength!'

Leylin, who had faith in his strength, followed him in.

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Infiltration

Leylin was clear that this was a huge test for him.

If his disguise did not get through the leader of the Emberwings, everything was over. He could forget gaining his trust and the entire plan would have to be revised.

Hence, he had to go through with this, but it wasn't as if he was entirely unprepared.

At least, the two Giant Kemoyin Serpent Dukes had stealthily entered as well and were constantly on the watch outside the residence. If the leader noticed anything, Leylin would immediately use his Kemoyin Serpent Transformation and attack. With three Morning Star Warlocks together, it would probably be enough to escape.

After all, the three Kemoyin Elders from before had the record of fighting evenly with a rank 5 Radiant Moon Magus. Though the most powerful First Elder had already fallen, Leylin believed he was no less powerful than him.

With three Giant Kemoyin Warlocks working together, it was enough for them to escape even if they could not win. That was what the three of them had counted on before daring to draw up this plan.

"A.I. Chip!" Leylin called out in a low voice.

[Beep! Beginning to conceal energy undulations.] The A.I. Chip intoned loyally, causing the aura on Leylin's body to become more obvious as if he was a pure Emberwing.

The hidden strength of the point mass of a Morning Star, the secret technique to hide bloodlines as well as the support of the A.I. Chip gave Leylin the confidence that he could get away with all this under the rank 5's nose!

Taking a deep breath, Leylin followed Schiker into the room, bowing to the figure at the middle.

This was a large study room. Simple armour, oil paintings and the like filled it with a history that changed the atmosphere. What surprised Leylin was the feeling that a domain had automatically been created in the study room.

This was not the domain of Morning Star, but a special space that had been formed due to the long period of time it had existed.

"Schiker, you're here!" The head's voice was gentle as he watched Schiker and the rest enter.

"Father!" Schiker called out after he went through a thousand different expressions.

"It's been hard on you, get up. Are these your two subordinates? Excellent!" When the sound fell, Leylin felt his heart squeeze, and entire self get nervous. Immediately after, he felt something like a boiling hot gaze sweep at his body, causing him to tremble.

When the gaze was on his body, his point mass shuddered, as it his soul force defences was being forced to the surface, but Leylin firmly stopped it.

Meanwhile, his Fireplume, which had reached the peak of the ninth level, formed a giant energy tide that kept the point mass within. Terrifying flame energy began to revolve spontaneously, resisting the spying from outside.

"Hm?" The head made a light sound of surprise. "You must be Ley, right? Raise your head."

Though the voice was gentle, it held the hint of an irrefutable command. Almost at the very moment the voice was heard, Leylin raised his head like it was a conditioned reflex.

Following that, he saw a handsome young man with red hair and eyebrows, looks slightly similar to that of Schiker. He wore a loose white robe, and his eyes seemed to hold… praise, within them?

"Pretty good strength, and a pure flame energy." The red-haired young man nodded, and turned in the other direction.

Loke's body shivered, but the head said nothing. It was no surprise either, though. Just a soldier at the seventh level of the fire feathered technique was not enough to attract the leader's notice.

"I've already looked through your achievements in detail. I hope you will continue to work hard in the future and protect our Union…" The handsome head encouraged them and waved his arms.

Leylin and Loke immediately retreated with expressions of reverence.

Thud!* The door to the room closed, leaving only Schiker and the head inside. The head's aura changed once more, and his expression while watching Schiker turned emotional, "It's been hard on you these past few years!"

"It's service for the union!" Schiker had a taut expression while speaking, but his clenched fists displayed the dissatisfaction in his heart right now.

"Forget it. I know you care nothing for using my name and working, so I'll let things move according to the usual procedure. Your contributions are enough for you to be promoted to be an admiral. Make some preparations, you will work at the Tylasus garrison!"

The leader's voice was gentle.

"Understood!" Schiker answered coldly. Seeing this expression, the leader's brows furrowed slightly.

"One more thing. There's something off about your two subordinates, Ley and Loke."

"What's wrong? I don't need to say more about Ley's loyalty, and as for Loke, he's a descendant of the Eiffel family…"

The muscles on Schiker's face tensed. He cared quite a lot for these two subordinates.

"There's not a large issue with Ley. He's long since broken through to the ninth level of the fire feathered technique, but he's been concealing it and only revealing the strength of level eight. It's probably on purpose," the red-haired head commented.

"He must have a pretty high potential to reach this level at such a young age, and you can definitely consider roping him in. His intentions are too complex… Give him the tenth level of Fireplume later, I'm sure he'll definitely be even more loyal to you after that…"

"So he's already reached level nine?" Schiker ducked his head, slightly ashamed. From his point of view, Leylin had probably hidden his strength because Schiker had yet to advance himself. He did not want to pressure his superior.

He raised his head to look at his father, the number one genius of the Emberwings, and could not help but let his head hang down, defeated. He did not seem to have inherited even an ounce of talent from his father, and no matter how hard he worked, he still could not measure up to those geniuses. This was why he had been discouraged and left Tylasus City.

"I understand." Schiker huffed out a long breath and nodded.

The head's next words caused Schiker's brows to raise. "Loke, however, is a very serious problem."

"His appearance is a pretence. I'm afraid the real Loke has already died, and the one in front of you is of another race!"

"Another race?" Schiker cried out in alarm.

"Yes! I can't tell if he's from the Triserpent Sect or Mobius Organisation, but he probably has his eyes on the Holy Solar Festival." A sneer appeared about the leader's lips.

"I'll seize him immediately!" Schiker got up, understanding the situation. His heart was filled with fury from the betrayal.

Never had he expected that Loke— the man who usually worked hard, was responsible, and very much to his tastes— was a spy from the enemy. The shame from not realising this hovered in his mind.

The leader stopped Schiker, "There's no hurry. They're just a few bugs, what do they matter? What you need to do now is…"

……

After leaving the residence, Leylin bade Loke farewell and found an inn to stay in.

Though the Special Task Force members had a station in Tylasus City with many unoccupied rooms and better facilities, Leylin was obviously not going to choose to stay there. He would perhaps go there later, but for now, it was better to find a place that would not attract attention.

After sending the maid away, Leylin locked the door, and the light in the room dimmed.

"How is it? Are things going well?" Two translucent figures emerged from the dark corners of the room. They were Gilbert and Emma.

"Is this place safe? Make sure it's secure!" Leylin's brows furrowed.

Emma replied, "Don't worry. We've long since set up a concealing spell formations and boundaries. Even the staff and guests of the inn have been \hypnotised, and we've also used some spiritual force pressure…"

Leylin did not ask more and began to narrate the happenings of the day slowly, "Things are going well on my end. I've obtained part of the map of the building, and even met the leader successfully…"

"So he didn't suspect you? Tsk tsk! So that leader is a pretty boy!" Emma giggled.

"Probably not, but he did notice my faked Fireplume, something I intentional revealed," Leylin laughed. He had long since gotten used to how these female Warlocks jumped from subject to subject so suddenly.

"How powerful is he?" Gilbert's focus on his power more than his appearance was only expected. They had exchanged blows with the leader before, but wanted to know Leylin's opinion.

"I can't tell…" Leylin looked absent-minded, as if he was recalling the scene from the meeting. "But I can confirm that his soul strength is very powerful. It's probably the strongest out of all the Radiant Moons I've seen!"

"He is the best of another world. He's trained up to the thirteenth level of Fireplume, so he's probably not any weaker than Radiant Moon Magi with level 5 meditation techniques in the Magus World. Not to mention he's been using firasource stones and supplementing his soul…"

Gilbert sighed, recalling the scene when he had fought with their opponent, and his body involuntarily trembled.

"In our operation this time, we'll try our best not to make contact with him, and all should be fine…"

Leylin's heart sank but he continued and asked Emma, "How's your preparation going?"

"It's smooth-sailing. Hehe… From now, you need to call us Viscount Flower and Earl Violet…" Emma giggled. It looked like she was doing well.

Leylin was rather speechless. The Atlan Union had actually let outsiders do so well that they became earls. He had no idea how Emma had gotten through the nobility examination.

"Also, we've found traces of activity of several Jupiter's Lightning Morning Stars in Tylasus!"

Gilbert's other piece of information immediately had Leylin's attention, "Are they here to take revenge on us?" he asked as he touched his chin. After all, Collins was slain by them.

Gilbert shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Their target should be the same as ours."

"Is that so? Then the difficulty of our operation should increase by a large amount. Of course, things might also become more convenient for us…" Leylin's eyes glinted profoundly.

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Fire Phoenix

Leylin walked out of the inn, with the hypnotised boss and attendants left behind.

After he left, these people would forget his appearance and him having been there at all, and would not even doubt their memories. This was a spiritual force intent planted deep in their minds.

He had learnt this technique from the Spirit Circle Warlock, Paul.

He returned to the station to find Schiker waiting for him, having come in secret. After a lengthy conversation with him, Leylin was left wanting to both laugh and cry as he looked at the item on the table.

This was a little book with a fiery-red cover. Within was the information on the tenth level of the fire feathered technique!

Schiker had come over just to give him this. The tenth level of Fireplume that had been on Leylin's mind had landed in his possession quite easily.

"I don't know how to react…" Leylin commanded the A.I. Chip to destroy the book after recording the thing down. "But it looks like he has gotten rid of all suspicion towards me…"

On top of that, the item he had been desiring had landed in his palms. Leylin was in a pretty good mood.

[Beep! Recording of tenth level of Fireplume complete. Beginning analysis…] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded, and Leylin carefully looked through the contents in his memory bank.

Compared to the ninth level, the tenth touched on the Morning Star Realm, and was a path that focused on strength. Given that this had the unique characteristics of a foreign world, Leylin believed it would have very high research value.

Many ancient Magi were all-embracing, incorporating these paths from other worlds into their own systems to advance. By making use of others' strengths to make up for their own weak points, they had been able to achieve the splendour of the ancient era. And Leylin, too, wanted to do the same!

"The tenth level of Fireplume!" Leylin's expression gradually became solemn.

The more he watched on, the more he felt that the person who had created this technique had a talent that was off the charts. This was definitely a powerful technique that could contend against many other top-grade meditation techniques!

As the A.I. Chip's analysis progressed, Leylin's aura gradually changed.

Within his body, the boiling hot energy from the ninth level of Fireplume gradually purified and turned transparent, emanating a frightening might.

Large amounts of fire elemental crystals appeared, and even seemed to turn into a whirlpool.

Skreee* A high-pitched phoenix cry sounded by Leylin's ear. It felt as if his spiritual and soul force had made a connection with some unique existence!

At the bottom of an abyssal starry river, a giant, terrifying beast with a body that spanned several worlds suddenly opened its eyes, gazing at Leylin coldly.

"Could this be the legendary ancient fire phoenix? With this aura, it's probably the king or even primogenitor of fire phoenixes!"

Leylin knew very well that even if what he saw was merely a phantom, such an ancient existence was mysterious and difficult to fathom. It could perhaps even use its phantom to display its strength.

The rage in the phoenix's eyes caused Leylin to feel a biting cold.

'Crap, it's realised that I've been wearing a disguise!' A thought flashed in Leylin's mind, and immediately after he sensed a tremendous crimson current flooding towards him.

Rumble!* The sound of shattering was heard in Leylin's lower abdomen, and he immediately turned pale, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His expression, however, was that of rejoicement.

"Luckily, I've already condensed my point mass!" Leylin could still feel fear as he looked into his body.

His point mass, which had already turned silent, had suddenly appeared when Fireplume was writhing, ready to break through to the tenth level. That had shaken the crimson energy essence that had gathered and broken the process of the advancement to the tenth level of Fireplume, the Star rank. For this reason, Leylin had been pulled out of that dream-like fantasy, or else the consequences would be dire.

"That fire phoenix that was like a world itself… Could it be the ancient lord of phoenixes?"

Leylin recalled that terrifying giant fire phoenix. In his mind, it could only be compared with existences such as the Snake Dowager, Trial's Eye, and a few others.

"It looks like Fireplume and the fire phoenix have a relationship, and the tenth level of Fireplume requires connecting with the fire phoenix, and even withstanding the corruptive power radiating from it. Of course, the Emberwings would call that power an additional boost"

The true body of the tremendous fire phoenix was obviously not here, but with sacrificial rites, or other techniques absorbing some sort of energy, disseminating power was a method used by many existences to traverse worlds.

If not for Leylin having already reached Morning Star and having his own path, forcefully interrupting the advancement of Fireplume might have immediately caused his death at its hands!

'So Fireplume at the Morning Star rank is a path of sacrifice! By offering sacrifices up to the ancient fire phoenix or even changing one's bloodline, one will ultimately become part of its family…' Leylin touched his chin. These methods were similar to the belief in various gods, but was still different. Gods focused on quantity, while the path of sacrifice was passed on on a large scale, but then focused only on the elites. It was more like a chosen community of its own.

Leylin's expression grew grim, as he thought of something, 'These methods, this feeling of being suppressed…it's very similar to the rule of the Snake Dowager…'

"A.I. Chip, begin modification of Fireplume. Moderate the force of point mass and simulate fusion of the two, eliminating the possibility of being controlled via sacrifice…"

Since he would attract attention from the fire phoenix after reaching the higher levels of Fireplume, Leylin obviously would not persist. However, he was rather interested in modifying the technique and fusing it into the Magus World system.

In the ancient era, these thoughts had been proven countless times to be workable. On top of that, the element he had the second most affinity with was the fire element, and in this area he had a natural advantage.

This led to an even more insane thought.

'Since all this has to do with the bloodline, meditation techniques and controlling cultivation pathways, I can probably make use of this Fireplume and find ways to deal with the Snake Dowager…'

Leylin's eyes turned darker. He was unwilling to serve beneath anyone, and while he had not gained the attention of the Snake Dowager yet, he could not tolerate the idea of being manipulated. He was already preparing for the day that will eventually come.

Whether it was attempting to break through bloodline shackles or abandoning the bloodline restraints from meditation techniques, it was all for this cause.

'Where is the fun in having immortality at the peak yet being under the oppression of another?' A trace of profound thought flashed in Leylin's eyes.

[Beep! Beginning fusion simulation, mobilising 80% of task resources. Tenth level of Fireplume, meditation technique Kemoyin's Pupil… Estimated time: 16 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes and 56 seconds…]

The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

After Leylin had entered the Morning Star realm, its calculations and simulation techniques had been reinforced, and the time limit set was now precise to the second. This was a rare occurrence while simulating techniques in the past.

"16 days? It will be completed right before the Holy Solar Festival. That's not bad!" Leylin touched his chin, rather satisfied with this outcome.

……

In the residence of the leader, at the deepest part underground.

Boiling heatwaves of hot lava expanded and withdrew, but were unable to advance due to an isolated maroon spell formation.

Within the maroon spell formation, there were many crowded buildings that formed a large number of private rooms.

In one of them, the leader, with his red brows and hair and young looks, was now meeting the gaze of another black figure in a mirror on the ground.

The figure in the mirror donned loose, majestic Magus robes, with a moon rune on his forehead. Those eyes were now filled with fury.

Zegna's voice was low. "Scarlet Eye! You obviously knew that the Mobius Organisation was mine, and yet you still made a move? On top of that, there's the fall of Collins as well. You need to take responsibility for it…"

The leader of the Atlan Union, Scarlet Eye, snorted. "When we last communicated, I reiterated many times that the Atlan Union is my territory, and I won't let any outsiders spy on us, particularly Magi from other worlds. You seem to have forgotten that, my friend."

Zegna, who was in the mirror, sighed lightly as if finding this a pity. He obviously knew what was taboo to the other party, but how could he have a large world right there but not do anything about it?

"But a Morning Star from our end has fallen! Do you know how much resources we would need to compensate that?" Zegna's voice became sharp.

"Based on the intel from my subordinates, he was already seriously injured and on the verge of perishing when we found him. Those three enemies of yours had attacked him…" There was a hint of schadenfreude in Scarlet Eye's voice.

Zegna's voice was stilted, and he was slightly regretful.

When he had used this world and set a trap, he had been absolutely confident in taking care of the three dukes. That was why he had not minded the leaking of this world's coordinates. However, he had grossly underestimated his opponents' abilities, and they had used quite a few bloodline treasures to break free from their trap forcefully and descended down to this world. That had made things very troublesome for him.

If he could turn back time, he would probably not do the same thing.

"Besides… you have not kept to your word. Trading between us needs to be halted for a period of time…" Scarlet Eye tossed him a heavyweight bomb.

"No!" Zegna immediately cried out, and instantly saw the mocking smile on the other person.

He lowered his head unwillingly, but said little more. The other party did not mind losing the support of his technology, but he could not let go of the firasource stones. That was his only hope at having a glimpse into the Breaking Dawn throne!

Hence, he had no choice but to duck his head and gentle his tone. "Revered leader, I'm afraid we both have to take some responsibility, but this shouldn't affect our friendship…"

"That's right, my friend! As a cost of you violating the promise between us first, you will need to halve the price of the secondary element balancing spell formation you promised the last time!"

"Alright!" Zegna was practically gritting his teeth as he agreed.

When the communication was closed off, he stood up while roaring. The black throne under him continuously creaked, terrifying air waves dissipating in all directions.

"I'll definitely kill that Scarlet Eye someday and roast his soul above my Magus Tower for ten thousand years!"

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Shadowing

A Morning Star Magus would not dare face the wrath of a Radiant Moon.

Outside the elegant palace, a few Morning Star Magi looked at each other and kept their distance, leaving the low-level servants hugging their heads and trembling at the side.

A reckless energy wave swept across the area near the throne, and soon there was not a single living thing in the area.

"Rage is the natural enemy of all Magi! Don't tell me, you're a bloodline Warlock as well?" A soothing gentle laugh sounded in the air like a clear spring, mocking at Zegna.

Shockingly, upon hearing the voice, Zegna calmed a little. Besides slightly heavy breathing, he showed no significant difference from before the contact.

"You are right! But soon or later I'm going to wipe out the bloodline of those damn Kemoyin Warlocks!"

Zegna returned to his throne, and the moon on his forehead glowed with bright light, brightening up the entire palace.

"In your current state, you might not be able to deal with Scarlet Eye even if you use a large amount of firasource stones to increase your soul force. Unless you can lure him out of the Lava World, or find a way to eliminate the resistance of the world's will…" The woman said in a cold voice.

"You're still pestering me to use that?" Zegna replied in the same tone.

"Yes! I am the most experienced in the tests of secondary clones. I can reduce the percentage of error such that it's lower than one out of a million, and the best method for you to go to Lava World…"

The female voice seemed to analyse the situation in a very composed manner, sounding very charming.

"If you want to use rank 5 strength in the Lava World, this is the only way. Furthermore, you won't be detected as an enemy by the foreign world through some cleansing of the mind of the clone."

Zegna fell into complete silence upon hearing the last sentence. A foreign world's will was the biggest hindrance to any Magus, and once it worked to support that world's inhabitant, even a Radiant Moon would not dare to defy its terrifying power.

Perhaps, only those who were at the peak of the Breaking Dawn Realm would have the power to destroy the world's will.

Zegna's face turned solemn and gloomy all of a sudden. "Pass down my order. All Magi of Jupiter's Thunder are to return and assist in the preparation of a pathway to the Lava World. All proposals and backups are to be effective immediately. Let's give Scarlet Eye's Holy Solar Festival a big gift!"

Zegna's voice lowered gradually as his facial expression turned malevolent.

In the Lava World, Leylin had not noticed any of this. He had reached the head's place with Loke And Schiker.

"You guys are really lucky. I was transferred to the central garrison. Since you lot were from the Special Task Force, I recommended all of you to enter the Martial Officer Department of the head."

Schiker was wearing the uniform of an Emberwing general as he brought the rest to the Martial Officer Department.

"I am truly honoured and thankful for your recommendation!" Both Leylin and Loke showed gratitude towards Schiker.

With them being allocated here, they would hold high positions wherever they went in the future. It was also obvious that they would have the benefit of getting closer to the head.

As for Leylin and Loke, they both had unspeakable secrets, so the main reason why they got close to Schiker was to use him as a stepping stone towards the head. Since that dream of theirs had come true, they were both thrilled.

"Good! So long as you know I mean well!" Schiker patted Leylin's shoulder. He did not wish to spare a second glance at Loke, but he still gave Loke a smile as he recalled his father's words.

"It's different here, completely unlike being in the Special Task Force. You have to be extra careful. Once you violate law and order, I won't be able to help you… "

While Schiker was giving them reminders, he walked them into a small office, "This is Bowens, and he'll be in charge of you in the future."

A blond-haired middle-aged man in the office got off from his seat and came up to welcome them when he saw Schiker. He seemed to be rather easy going, "Haha, Schiker! You haven't been here in quite some time. So these are the ones? Don't worry, I'll take good care of them."

But Leylin and Loke dared not ignore him. Not only would Bowens be their superior in future, his aura was somewhat similar to the Duke they had encountered previously.

This new superior of Leylin's was also an impressive elite, a Morning Star Magus that had already reached level 10 of Fireplume.

'This familiar aura! He was one of the elite Morning Star Magi I sensed earlier!'

The red progress bar was currently already halfway full. The A.I. Chip had already begun to smoothly merge the essence of the tenth level of Fireplume into his Morning Star point mass, which would greatly increase his power.power.

'I'm not sure how the modified tenth level of Fireplume will be… How will it compare to these true Emberwing elites? I can't wait to find out…' Leylin curled his lips in a subtle movement, showing great interest.

Bowens was totally oblivious to the decision of his new subordinate, who was planning on getting rid of him after completing the new Fireplume. He instead found this Ley quite genial and amiable, instantly growing fond of him.

"There are specific duty rooms and bedrooms in the Martial Officer Department, you guys cannot stay in the Special Task Force anymore, you have to move in from now on. You do have any missions yet, I want you two to join the night patrol team and attend trainings during the daytime for now, any questions? "

After Schiker had left, Bowens turned and looked at them, his tone was less courteous, his aura full of dignity.

"Yes, Sir!" Leylin and Loke bowed together.

Night arrived.

"Something is just not right…" Leylin straightened up his body, feeling good that everyone had their individual bedrooms despite the limited area.

"Schiker has always treated us as his trusted aides… Now that he's going to the central garrison, why didn't he bring us with him?"

Leylin rugged his chin, "Even though being in the Martial Officer Department means to have a very promising future, it is also considered as being his father's bodyguards. It's unlikely that he put both of us in here, unless… someone got exposed…"

Leylin had full confidence in himself, but Loke could not even fool him much less a rank 5 elite.

"Now it seems that they're not as cautious about me anymore, even sending me the tenth level of Fireplume. However, I'm obviously here under observation. It seems like they don't trust me unconditionally yet…"

"As for Loke, he's basically bait. They're ready to net the entire organisation behind him…"

Leylin grew more assured of his assumptions as he thought it through. Suddenly, a red light glowed from the ring on his finger.

Leylin was shocked for a second, but then he lifted a map written on pale yellow parchment from the top of the table.

A little black dot was moving slowly on the map.

"I knew you couldn't wait, but I never expected you to be this impatient." Leylin smiled and laid down.

A thin black string drifted swiftly out of his body and emerged from the darkness.

Hidden in the shadows, Leylin made use of his fine manipulation and the perception of the A.I. Chip, carefully avoiding numerous sentry devices and traps in the leader's area as he followed the other party.

That person was holding onto a black pearl, which had helped him get through many detection formations and the like. It seemed to be recording something.

'Collecting information, eh? It seems like Jupiter's Lightning wants to get rid of the leader of Atlan too…'

Leylin smiled, discovering the other figure who had also secretly followed after Loke. He shook his head and hid himself further.

He was here in his real body, while inside the room was a mere shadow puppet. Still, with the A.I. Chip's abilities, it was not a problem for the puppet to cover his absence for a short period of time.

'This fellow didn't even realise he was being followed. He only has himself to blame…'

Since Leylin already knew that this was a setup, he wanted to return to his bedroom, and hence he hid in silence.

Just when he was about to leave, a horrifying ferocious energy wave fluctuation in the air caused his body to come to a violent stop.

'What's this fluctuation?'

He raised his head, gazing at the sky nearby, 'Morning Star Arcane Art? No, not that! It's more like another path to power. It seems like magic, but it's actually a combination of fire elemental spell formations, not an Arcane Art.'

Together with strong fluctuations, a point of scarlet fire lit up the sky. The heavens rumbled as if they contained muffled thunder.

A rain of lava dripped down, spreading over a vast range and almost covering up the entirety of the head's residence.

'He dares to attack this place directly?' Leylin felt at a loss for words, unsure as to how he should praise that person's bravery.

The ghastly lava rain had wrapped up the entire place, every single drop containing a power of over a thousand degrees. If they were allowed to hit the ground, all the officers except the head and a few elite Star ranks would die, and the whole place would be razed to the ground. The leader would turn into a huge laughingstock.

"Stop!" "How dare you!!"

A few ferocious and reckless voices sounded around the whole place, and dazzling energy light pillars shot up forming into a light shield that covered the whole place within.

"Kekeke! How many can you save?" A quirky voice sounded in the midst of sky, followed by a huge amount of lava rain, it extended fiercely, covering the entire city of Tylasus.

A drop of the lava rain could kill all the normal citizens easily. Were this to happen before the Holy Solar Festival, the head of the union would land in deep trouble.

Thus, Leylin judged that that person would surely take action.

"Screeee!"

Just then, a ferocious bird, huge scarlet body complemented with a stunning tail that was covered by flames flew out of the residence, the high-pitched whistle of a phoenix sounding out…

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Gaia's Disc

Skree!* The gigantic bird of fire dashed out of the building. It opened up its wings in a flash of light, and glorious flames shot out from its body as it enlarged in the blink of an eye. Its humongous wings closed, wrapping up the entire city of Tylasus.

The drops of lava with over a thousand degrees of power fell onto its wings, being absorbed by the flames.

When the lava storm passed, the city had emerged unscathed.

A bright light flashed across Leylin's eyes as he looked at the scene, 'Such a transformation is very similar to that of an ancient Warlock. It looks like the body of this Emberwing Morning Star has the bloodline of the fire phoenix.'

Warlocks were always fond of high-level bloodlines. As for the fire phoenix, Leylin had already seen its incredible power when he'd been trapped in the illusion previously. It was likely at least as strong as the Snake Dowager.

This bloodline posed an irresistible attraction to Warlocks even if it was diluted through sacrifices and projections.

'Before we launch our plan, I should try to get some of the bloodline of a Morning Star Emberwing. It would be even better if I manage to get it from their leader, Scarlet Eye.'

Just as Leylin's eyes brightened, the phoenix soared down from the clouds in the sky, revealing several gigantic, hundred meter long silhouettes made of flames.

The fire elementals were the most powerful living beings in the Lava World, and the most populous. They did not have blood or flesh, and instead had bodies covered in fuming flames and rocks. Their eyes were like deathly white flames that arose from the very soul.

"Divineflame Empire! It seems like you lot didn't learn your lesson at Death Grand Canyon!" Scarlet Eye's voice boomed across the sky, and the humongous wings wrapped up the giant fire elementals, flinging them away.

Its body rumbled as explosions erupted all over it, but it did not seem bothered at all.

By the time the phoenix vanished, half the flames in the sky had subsided. Leylin widened his eyes.

'They even have such a method? Are there still people undercover in the leader's residence? And does that mean this was a ploy to lure the tiger out of its den?'

Hidden in front of him was Loke. He sighed in relief and pulled out a circular disk as he saw the phoenix leave.

On the surface of this disk were weird runes with countless interconnected crimson lines that formed a vertical pupil.

'Haven't I seen something like this before?' Puzzlement crossed his eyes as he immediately checked with the A.I. Chip's database. The answer showed up within a second. 'A copy of Gaia's Disc? Such a technique actually exists…'

Loke stopped at an empty ground in the building. He placed the replica on the ground as he showed a tinge of excitement.

Ssshh!* The very moment the disc touched the ground, a large amount of sand split apart like it was a stream, revealing a pitch dark tunnel that led underground.

"Here it is! Now I'm at the weakest part of the entire building. Together with the power of Gaia's Disc…" Loke's eyes grew impassioned. He had endured a lot of humiliation during this mission, and now he could finally succeed in his task!

'That was good cooperation, but I'm afraid it won't be of help.' Leylin saw the agitated Loke enter the underground tunnel, soon to be followed by a gloomy Bowens. This was the superior they had just met that day.

It seemed like Loke's luck was at an end.

However, Leylin had one more doubt, 'Since they wanted to coordinate between the inside and outside, why don't they just send a Morning Star Magus in, isn't that much simpler? They already sent so many just to attract attention, one more wouldn't be too hard…'

He did not think much of it since that was a question that wouldn't see an answer soon. Instead, he followed the two and entered just as the tunnel closed up…

Boom!* Schiker entered Leylin's room.

"Instructor!" 'Leylin' got up from the bed, bowing even with blurry sight.

Schiker first looked around with a cautious gaze, and he looked relieved that Leylin was still around. Soon, he reprimanded the boy, "You're still asleep under such circumstances?"

"Master Bowens and so many of his colleagues are around right now. If they can't solve the problem, what can I do? I might as well just continue sleeping…"

'Leylin' threw his hands up, seemingly helpless. With the support of the A.I. Chip, every action of this puppet was a perfect copy of Leylin's behaviour, even its character was flawless. Forget Schiker, even Gilbert was unlikely to be able to notice the difference.

"You…" Schiker was dumbfounded, but the waves in his heart secretly calmed down…

Inside the underground tunnel, Leylin followed closely after Bowens. He had weakened his breath to the maximum, and not a single energy wave fluctuation broke out. Additionally, Bowens seemed to have put his full focus on Loke, and he did not realise he was being shadowed.

"Gaia's Disc was used by the Hero Moncordol of the Emberwings' legend to lift open the stratum, it is also the powerful weapon which slew the demon king Falsace; this can easily crack open a huge underground tunnel even if it's just a replica."

Loke's voice trembled in agitation, "The organisation possessed such a precious weapon that let me avoid triggering numerous traps. Truly, this is…"

As he reached the bottom, blood vessels popped out from under Loke's skin, his aura growing berserk.

"The final layer of defence!" Loke was frantic in excitement as he saw a crimson defensive membrane.

He suddenly attacked, and a huge amount of fire exploded forth from his hands, rushing into the spell formation.

Crackling sounds rang out as the spell formation shook. A terrifying wave of energy was returned in counter, and surged through Loke's body. His skin peeled off, revealing the flames burning within.

Loke's body had been completely shredded by the formation's counterattack, revealing a two-meter tall fire elemental, composed of flames and rocks.

The flame surged in all directions, and Loke's aura rose to the pinnacle of the Sky rank, the equivalent of a peak rank 3 in the Magus World.

'Hmmm? Loke is a fire elemental?'

Leylin was rather surprised. He had always thought that Loke was an undercover agent of the Mobius Organisation, Jupiter's Lightning's operations here, but now it seemed like he did not know the length of it. Jupiter's Lightning had also approached the Divineflame Empire, and had signed some terms of agreement with each other.

After recovering his original appearance, Loke marched up to the scarlet spell formation.

A dot of a golden flame shot out of his body, burning a round opening in the spell formation's light shield.

Loke turned into a ball of flames, entering from that tiny opening in the spell formation and soon returning to his normal form.

"Hahahaha… All of Scarlet Eye's treasures and secrets are mine for the taking!" As Loke laughed, he explored the chamber. His flaming legs left a black burn mark with every step he took.

He seemed rather familiar with this area, running straight towards the chamber in the centre.

The gigantic chamber was spacious, with nothing around except a large spell formation. Strings of runes interlocked with the energy circuit. It was so refined that a Magus would go dizzy simply by staring at it for a length of time.

In the middle of the formation was a weak red light, it's energy as it flickered causing Leylin's heart to palpitate.

'This aura is so familiar… Yes, the firasource stones! Wait… it's a living creature?' The A.I. Chip had made a judgement that threw Leylin into confusion.

"Found it!" Loke celebrated in his excitement. He took out a big black key, walking towards the spell formation.

Just then, a membrane of light blocked his path of return, the surging wave of energy sweeping him onto the ground in an instant.

The gigantic fire elemental fell flat to the ground with a thud, causing the chamber to shake a little.

"What happened? Doesn't this place just have a single defensive layer?" Loke touched his head, puzzled.

"Obviously it is used to guard against people like you." Bowens sneered, exiting stealth and walking out from the dark.

"B–Master Bowens?" Loke was totally taken aback.

"Hmm! The leader knew long ago that there was something wrong with you. It seems you hid quite a lot from us."

The fuming lava hand dropped onto the ground, and the black key was snatched from his hands.

"You are a very important captive. The leader and Schiker will take great interest in you." Bowens spoke coldly as the flame on his hands turned into ropes which tied Loke up.

Loke could not fight back against the power of a Star rank. Rather, he was so flabbergasted that he did not even struggle or otherwise resist.

While both of them were unaware of their surroundings, Leylin snuck close to the membrane of light. The A.I. Chip scanned the formation, revealing the entry condition, [Aura of level 10 Fireplume required for access.]

Watching Loke being taken away by Bowens, Leylin followed them out of the basement. He recalled the shadow puppet after returning to his bedroom.

He had lots of questions, 'What was that red orb in the middle of the spell formation? Bowens settled Loke so quickly, and obviously he wasn't used as bait. Was it merely for Gaia's Disc and that black bronze key?'

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Holy Solar Day

"Gilbert, Emma; the tides have turned. The Mobius Organisation might be colluding with the Divineflame Empire. Be very careful!"

Unable to come up with anything even after a long time, Leylin specially informed Gilbert and Emma about the situation. He then returned immediately to the leader's residence. His actions were not in the least bit unusual.

Yesterday, Scarlet Eye had returned to the mansion right after Leylin followed Bowens out, making Leylin secretly heave a sigh of relief.

If he had chosen to take action then, it was likely that even after he tackled Bowens, he would have bumped into Scarlet Eye who was rushing back. That would have spelt trouble.

Furthermore, he didn't want to make a move before understanding the situation.

"Officer Schiker! Where's Loke? Why haven't I seen him around recently?" Leylin questioned 'curiously'. Upon the mention of this name, Schiker's facial muscles twitched, and he was silent for a long while before he spoke. "He has been assigned to a top-secret mission, and will be away for some time!"

"I see!" Leylin seemed to have gained some understanding. He moved closer to Schiker and asked, "Instructor, about that night… what happened in the end?"

"What else? The leader emerged victorious of course! He struck two of the masters from the other party who were at the Star rank. He took one of them prisoner, and the foreign affairs department will negotiate with the Divineflame Empire!" A look of admiration flashed across Schiker's eyes, but Leylin's heart sank.

'They paid such a high price, yet ended up with nothing. Those people from the Divineflame Empire definitely will not take things lying down. Furthermore, the trap they set previously that caused the loss of the combat abilities of the Morning Stars was not very wise. What is the truth behind all of this?'

Combining that line of thought with the intelligence given by Emma and Gilbert in the past two days, Leylin suddenly felt as though the future was shrouded in a dense fog.

'I'm afraid I'll have to modify my previous plan. This Holy Solar Day will not pass in peace. Divineflame Empire, Jupiter's Thunder, and even the Ouroboros Clan will take action. When that time comes, this place will be plunged into chaos…

'Well, at least there's this to look forward to!' Leylin saw that the progress bar on the A.I. Chip was quickly filling up, and couldn't help but smile.

The tenth level of Fireplume was the gateway to the Star rank. Leylin's energy had already been condensed to form a point mass, and if these two systems could be fused successfully the formidable power produced would definitely not just be additive. There would be a horrifying qualitative change in him, amplifying his powers to a great extent.

Additionally, Leylin had long since used up all the firasource stones he had earned from Collins, something that caused his soul force to improve by leaps and bounds. His strength after all this would surely give many enemies a surprise.

His eyes glowed crimson as the corners of his lips rose to form a wicked smile.

The bloodline of the apex predator, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, was pressing him to slaughter! He wanted to destroy everything, to bring it all to flaming ruin!

The emotional instability that was common to bloodline Warlocks had begun to act up. After he advanced to the Morning Star realm, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's soul had fused with Leylin's own, causing him to inherit these violent moods. These were no longer an external thing, but instead part of his own nature.

Once such an illness acted up, it would have a far-reaching effect on the Warlock's personality.

Previously, Leylin had always made a conscious effort to restrain himself, preventing his feelings from eroding his character away. Now that war was upon them, he was facing unprecedented pressure, and some strange emotions managed to worm their way out…

No matter what others thought, time was still ticking by. Finally, the day of the Emberwings' festival— the Holy Solar Day— had arrived.

During his recent trips, Leylin saw the streets and markets starting to bustle with activity. Many teenage Emberwings now went against the taboo, playing on the road. The atmosphere was filled with clamour.

The various district representatives from the Atlan Union and the other tourists who came on their own accord arrived at Tylasus City one by one. The place was packed to the brim, even overcrowded, resulting in multiple cases of breaches in public security. Even Leylin, a martial officer from the Military Office, had to step in at times, something more than evident of how thin the security had been stretched.

According to the information given by Gilbert and Emma in private, many of the elites from the Mobius organisation and Triserpent Sect had also snuck into Tylasus City. They were the ones who stirred up trouble here, making the place chaotic.

Additionally, the arch-enemy of the Atlan Union, the Divineflame Empire, had also sent a large team of ambassadors, causing more trouble.

"It just seems like things will get relatively more troublesome!" Leylin lamented. He donned the dashing uniform of a military official, and stood tall and straight. He and his colleagues lined along both sides, while Scarlet Eye stood in front of a huge fitting room mirror, adjusting the butterfly-shaped necktie on his collar.

"Your Highness! Your schedule for today is as follows: first up will be the parliament lecture, followed by welcoming the envoy from the Divineflame Empire. The banquet in the afternoon…" Standing next to Scarlet Eye were a few secretaries with pen and paper in hand, chattering away. There were also a few maids who were tidying up the creases on the coattails of his dinner suit.

Schiker, Bowens and the others were also dressed neatly and stood at the side. Outside the window, lots of fireworks and gun salutes could be seen. Colourful confetti filled the sky, and the place was filled with a festive atmosphere.

"Alright! I have my own plans for today's matters!" Scarlet Eye furrowed his brows and waved his hand, sending away the secretaries who were still chattering endlessly.

"Schiker, you shall accompany me today." These words seemed to move the leader's son to tears.

Seeing his odd mix of being both moved and apprehensive, Leylin felt at a loss for words.

'The private life of this state leader is quite confusing. His previous marriage did not produce a heir, and now that he only has Schiker, his illegitimate child, does he hope for him to inherit his political legacy and even become the next leader of the union?'

If the other officials knew that Leylin was silently cursing their almighty leader, they might have come together to tear him apart, and the outcome wouldn't be pleasant.

"Let's go!" After quite some time, Scarlet Eye finished his preparations and took the lead as he mounted a chariot that was drawn by numerous scarlet birds. Schiker followed closely behind.

Bowens walked behind everyone. He suddenly glanced at Leylin and commanded, "Ley, you come too!"

"But… The duty of a humble servant is to stay behind and guard the residence!" Leylin appeared to be hesitating, but he was secretly cursing in his heart.

His duty for today was to stand guard at the residence. This was perfectly normal as he lacked the proper qualifications, and thus could not show his face at the parliament. However, this was what he wanted. After all, the places that Scarlet Eye would go to today would not be tranquil, and there would not be any advantages from following him out. How would that be more enjoyable than being able to hide in the residence and unearth treasures the minute he discovered that something was off?

What did he stand to gain from going out with Scarlet Eye anyway? That one casual sentence from Bowens disrupted his plans for the day.

Leylin felt a little gloomy as he looked at Bowens. Maybe Bowens sensed that something was amiss, or maybe he just found Leylin an eyesore, but he had been causing a lot of trouble for Leylin on the sly.

" .. Yes, Sir!" To the others, it seemed that Leylin only hesitated for a while before agreeing immediately in a loud voice, ecstasy spreading across his face. This made many of the officials who were staying behind envy him, yet they did not know that Leylin was secretly rolling his eyes.

Bowens was his superior after all, and Leylin could not do much even if he disagreed.

Leylin stood at the back of the fleet and reflected, 'Might as well! When the moment comes, I'll join Gilbert and Emma directly. Once something is amiss, we will immediately activate the coordinates and return. I don't believe that Scarlet Eye will give chase and follow us back to the Magus World.'

Gilbert and Emma had first found their way into the ranks of feudal nobility through a small noble family by disguise and strength. They then wantonly betrayed the secrets of the Triserpent Sect against their interests, and attained the positions of Earl and Viscount, allowing them to attend today's celebration.

If the three Giant Kemoyin Warlocks were together, even Scarlet Eye would find it hard to capture them successfully, so there was at least some form of assurance in terms of safety.

'Bowens, however, has to be killed! He better not run into me today, or else…' Leylin lowered his head slightly, hiding the brutal crimson radiance in his pupils.

Leylin kept Scarlet Eye company at the parliament while listening to an illogical and boring speech. Afterwards, he tagged along with the leader of the state and the other major ministers as they proceeded to the plaza where people pledged oaths and celebrated their victories. They were preparing to welcome the emissary from the Divineflame Empire.

Positioned behind Scarlet Eye were the delegates from several major districts, as well as a large number of high-ranking officials and influential ministers.

Boom! Boom!*

it was as though there was an earthquake. Fire flashed in the distance, and Leylin noticed the arrival of copious amounts of fire elementals.

These fire elementals existed in various sizes, and some were not even humanoid. There were quite a number of beasts, bodies constituted of flames and lava, burning at temperatures that could scorch anything.

Although they moved as a delegation, they left two long burn tracks on the ground. The temperature of the entire plaza started to rise steadily.

It was fortunate that most of the Emberwings practised Fireplume. The high-ranking officials and nobility present in the plaza had all mastered at least three levels of the technique, and thus didn't find it hard to bear.

Creatures that were able to survive in the Lava World had a powerful resistance towards high temperatures.

The officials who were specially put in charge of diplomacy appeared, and engaged in a series of complicated rites and etiquette, something so boring that Leylin yawned multiple times in succession.

Regardless of as a scientist in his previous life or a Magus now, he did not have an ounce of interest in such rituals.

In contrast, he was more willing to perform a few more experiments in his laboratory, or expound upon a few hypotheses, or even meditate!

This was a common understanding between an overwhelming majority of Magi in the Magus World.

In the Lava World, the circumstances were evidently different. As compared to Magi who were much like researchers, the Emberwings who studied Fireplume were more similar to knights. They had a great thirst for the secular benefits of various territories.

The Magi of the Magus World often withdrew to the second line of duty, and manipulated the countries from behind the scenes. Those who held authority in the Lava World, however, were different. They liked to handle things personally, and preferred to take control of the entire system in the foreground.

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The Opening

Leylin obviously did not think that everything done in the Magus World was right, but he did not approve of the methods in Lava World because they were too time-consuming.

Of course, that might have to do with him being a Magus, since he consciously wanted to protect his own interests.

"Greetings to the Atlan Union Leader. I am Saka, the envoy of the Divineflame Empire!"

Walking ahead of the diplomatic mission was a flaming giant who was over ten metres tall, looking like a fire demon from myths. Him bowing down to a tiny Emberwing seemed rather laughable, but nobody would actually dare to do so.

Scarlet Eye merely stood there like an eternal mountain, a sky which people could only look up to.

"Also… Our empire seriously condemns the leader, Scarlet Eye, for killing one of our personnel without reason." Saka's next words caused the atmosphere to turn chilly.

"Condemn?" Scarlet Eye chuckled lightly. "Anything else?"

"The leader has to take responsibility for this matter, apologise and resign! If not, the Holy Solar Festival that is a celebration for the Emberwings will mark the beginning of a war between us!"

"What?" There was a clamour amongst the audience, and even Leylin's pupils shrunk. Never had he imagined that the Divineflame Empire's purpose in coming here was to declare war!

Scarlet Eye's personality was quite open. Was it possible to get him to apologise and resign?

When those words exited the envoy's mouth, Leylin felt a chill down his spine, as if a vicious ancient beast was staring him down. This was the imposing aura that the strong unwittingly gave off, filled with a sense of danger.

"Is that so?" Scarlet Eye narrowed his eyes, and the fire elemental giant opposite him took quite a few steps back. The terrifying energy emitting from his body reached the Morning Star realm.

This member of the diplomatic mission was actually a Star rank, and that was not all. A few of the other fire elementals behind him had an abrupt change in their physiques, their bodies emanating powerful energy undulations.

"With just a few Star ranks? That's hardly enough!" Scarlet Eye's half-closed eyes opened slightly, as if he was stating a fact.

However, all the Emberwings knew that their leader was already at the brink of fury.

"How could we inconvenience the leader to make a move against them? Uncle Bowens!" Schiker was so frustrated that he had flushed red, suddenly standing up.

"The Military Office does not permit anyone humiliating our leader!" Bowens stood up, crimson energy covering his entire body. With a wave of his hand, military officials charged out and surrounded the diplomatic mission.

Seeing Bowens taking the initiative, Scarlet Eye's brows lifted. "Bowens, you should first…"

At this moment, he suddenly turned his gaze north-west. *Rumble!* An immense blast sounded from that area.

The earth swished along like a metal plank that floated on water, drifting up and down. Giant waves rippled, and a large number of cracks appeared, spewing crimson lava and scorching flames.

It was as if there was a large flame demon underground. The cracks that formed were like a spiderweb that extended in the direction of Tylasus City.

The moment these cracks closed in, the tremendous mountain that the city stood on would completely sink, and the city itself would not be spared.

"Haha… Scarlet Eye, do you feel touched that this emperor came to congratulate you personally?" The earth split open, and a large arm that could cover the sky emerged from within, filled with flames and red lava.

Scarlet Eye's expression was the most stern it had ever been. "Archibald…"

Accompanying the large hand was the frightening suppression of power at rank 5, causing the many Emberwings to feel suffocated.

'A rank 5! Could this be the Divineflame Empire's emperor?'

Leylin took a few steps backwards, making use of the shadows from a few buildings to hide. Amidst the terror caused by rank 5 might, his little actions remained undiscovered.

Scarlet Eye's expression was somewhat dark. He knew that if the other party's attack was successful, the entirety of Tylasus City would suffer great losses, and many high-ranked officials and nobles would die. Hence, he had no choice but to make a move!

A high-pitched cry appeared as a phoenix abruptly appeared in the sky, brilliant flames surrounding its body as its scarlet wings collided with the arm.

Boom!* The earth and sky seemed to disappear in that instant, and everyone fell into a daze. When their eyes could finally see again, they saw the giant fire phoenix that Scarlet Eye had turned into circling a flame giant that seemed able to support the skies. The two battled further into the distance, but the residual energy undulations still inspired fear.

"Go!" Bowens' expression was grim as he cried out. Flames with energy at the Star rank blazed on his body.

Swish!* The military officials seemed to act on a conditioned reflex as they headed straight for the diplomatic mission from the Divineflame Empire, with some soldiers and nobles following behind.

Among the Emberwings of the Atlan Union, true nobles trained up to at least the eighth level of Fireplume, the Sky rank. None of them was weak. There were even a few Star rank experts keeping watch, but not revealing their strength.

However, the diplomatic mission of the Divineflame Empire was not a pushover either. There were a few fire elementals who had already broken through the Star rank, and in that instant the two sides had reached a deadlock. Flames and lava flew everywhere, destroying the square where pledges of peace and victory were to be made beyond recognition.

Leylin hid under a gigantic sculpture of the founder of the country. The people nearby had yet to realise there was a military official breaking away from the formation and escaping.

At this moment, the sound of Gilbert's questioning voice sounded in his ear, "What should we do?"

Leylin transmitted back calmly, "Watch the changes in the situation, but don't make a move. Only the fire elementals of the Divineflame Empire have appeared, but there isn't news of the Mobius Organisation which Jupiter's Lightning controls."

He had a feeling that this situation probably had more to it than met the eye. Scarlet Eye was not someone so shallow, and wouldn't have made no preparations. Hence, there could very well be a dramatic change in this situation later on.

In this spectacle, three Morning Star Warlocks like them were not considered top strengths, and definitely needed to conceal themselves and wait for a chance to go in for the kill.

'Besides…' Leylin looked at the screen that showed the A.I. Chip's status.

The bar that signified the progress of fusing Fireplume's concepts with his point mass had reached 99.9%. Only a tiny bit was left.

A large amount of energy from Fireplume condensed within his body, but this time it was being contaminated by great amounts of darkness elemental energy particles. The energy turned darker than its original scarlet red, now tending towards black.

His point mass, as well as the nebula surrounding it had appeared as well, beginning to take in large amounts of the dark red energy from the modified Fireplume, constantly condensing and assimilating it.

With the point mass' purification, the energy of Emberwing had become richer. At the same time, its colour grew increasingly darker, giving it a sinister feeling.

"Ley, what are you doing?" All of a sudden, a stern yell and a piercing gaze swept towards Leylin's location.

Bowens' gaze now could practically kill Leylin, "What are you doing? Trying to desert the army?"

'Damn it, why did he set his sights on me?' Leylin walked out, speechless. Seeing the quick changes in Schiker's eyes, he knew he could not explain this half-heartedly, or he would be attacked.

"Bowens is getting increasingly annoying!" Leylin took in a deep breath, Fireplume at the peak of the ninth level exploding from his body, like a dazzling meteor streaking through the skies.

"Our people have already acted according to plan. All that's left depends on you!"

A distance away from the square, in a residential building. The original owner had long since disappeared. The walls were filled with red runes, revealing a maroon luster. Some of the blood had yet to dry, and droplets of it were still dripping down, causing long blood-red lines to form on them.

Within this building, a few people dressed in black robes were watching the scene in the square from afar through the window.

The fire elemental delegation acted immediately and began to fight many military officials and nobles. Such an act caused chaos among the spectating commoners.

The attacks from the fire elementals were ruthless. If lava brushed across a commoner's body, it would reduce them to ashes in an instant. On top of that, the military officials and the nobles of the union didn't really bother themselves with protecting them. As a result, a huge number of the people watching died, resulting in great casualties. The mix of piercing screams and feeble cries for help were filled with the taste of horror.

Many commoners of the union were wailing, pushing everyone else as they tried to leave the blazing hell that was the square. This resulted in the chaos intensifying, leading to more innocent deaths.

"Hehe… Resent us! Cry out! These souls filled with hatred and fresh blood are the best nourishment for our spell formation…" An aged voice sounded from within the mantle of a black robe.

"Don't worry, my friend. Us of the Mobius Organisation always trade fairly!" The old man's voice was as piercing as an owl's screech, and would cause goosebumps on anyone who listened to him. Yet, the fire elemental opposite him did not seem to mind.

"The chaos we're creating can only last for a while longer. You'll need to make a move quickly!"

"Alright, alright!" the old man cackled, touching a dark green metal bracelet, "How's the set-up on your end?"

White noise sounded from the bracelet, followed by the voice of a middle-aged man, "Enough flesh and blood have been gathered. It's just difficult to obtain vengeful spirits full of resentment. Only 80% of the charging process has been completed."

"That's enough!" The old man laughed coldly. "On my command, begin!"

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Chaotic Battle

"Number 1, order received!" "Number 2, order received!" "Number 3, order received!"

Along with the old man's command, three different voices sounded from the dark-green metal bracelet.

"Begin extraction of aggrieved souls! Start the sacrifice…" The old man's voice was calm, yet held within it a bone-piercing chilliness.

At the same time, all the Star ranks in Tylasus City felt a chill in their hearts.

"This feeling?"

"A spell formation from the Magus World, an undead element spell formation aimed at aggrieved souls!" Leylin, Gilbert and Emma immediately recognised this unique energy.

Seeing the flesh and blood flying everywhere in the square, Emma laughed bitterly, "Such an environment will do wonders for an undead spell formation!"

Even if the Morning Stars restrained themselves, they would still cause major damage to the surroundings. On top of that, it was currently the Holy Solar Day, and those gathered here were not just the residents of Tylasus City. Tourists, followers from different regions, and many others had packed the city to the brim, and the square especially held a large crowd. Now, they had all been turned into minced meat.

Even if they were high-ranking officials or nobles, many had died. Obviously, nobody would bother with the commoners.

"I'm afraid the Magi of Jupiter's Lightning have made their move!" Leylin tangled with a two-headed fire elemental hound as he transmitted to Gilbert and the others.

In front of Leylin was a giant flaming hound about two stories high and with inverted steel spikes on its body. Its savage gaze settled on Leylin through its skull, similar to the Cerberus of the underworld in myths.

This was also one of the members of the delegation, and the energy on its body had already reached the limits of rank 3. Hence, Leylin found 'some trouble' when dealing with it, and even needed to depend on support from other team members to somewhat handle it.

Making use of the chaos in the square, Gilbert and Emma secretly came to Leylin's side. The three Morning Stars made a team that might seem to have been formed by chance, and surrounded the double-headed flame hound.

There were many temporary team-ups like this in the square already. Besides, at this point not many would pay attention to Leylin.

Of course, Bowens was an exception.

"Schiker, do you see that?" Despite the chaotic situation, Schiker was devoted to his duty and was guarding at the centre, with Bowens at his side.

"There's definitely something off about that Ley! One of the nobles near him is an Earl, and the other a Viscount. Both are people on the list for thorough investigation. Furthermore, Loke has pointed out that their existence itself is suspicious…"

"Let me think about it! Let me think…" Schiker clutched at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. At this moment, he was more concerned for his father. As for Ley? That was just a trivial matter. As long as his father was still around, there was nothing that could not be solved.

Just when Schiker had made up his mind, the undead spell formation set-up by Jupiter's Lightning was activated.

"What's that…"

Dark green rays flashed out of the ground, forming a mysterious round symbol in the air. Phosphorescent green lights shone gloriously.

"It's the symbol of the Mobius Organisation. They're here too!"

Many loud cries sounded, and caused the square to descend even further into a state of chaos. This was especially so after many Emberwings found that the green ring of light was absorbing the energy in their bodies, and even their flesh and blood!

Streams of black gas were emitted from the body of a noble. Before he could sense anything was wrong, he had already collapsed to the ground, a strange expression on his face as his body dried up.

The weaker nobles all lost their lives instantly under the mysterious spell formation deployed by the Mobius Organisation. Even experts at the eighth level of Fireplume and above could feel the strength being sapped out of their bodies.

"We can't wait any longer!" A few Emberwings at the peak of level nine exchanged glances and charged into the air, blazing flames behind them forming the phantoms of large phoenixes.

Boom!* The flames and the dark green light collided, but that only resulted in a few of them being sent flying, spraying blood everywhere.

"You guys can't do it. I'll take care of this!" Without waiting for these Emberwings to reach the ground, a pair of large powerful arms stopped them from flying. The streams of black gas being emitted from their bodies were burnt to nothingness by the flames.

"The head of the garrison!" These few Emberwings recognised him. This was the head of the garrison of Tylasus City, and they immediately saluted him.

"Mm!" He was a man of few words. He had a head of long, soft silver hair, his handsome face currently filled with annoyance.

"The Mobius Organisation! Those little mice that only know to hide in the gutters and shadows… Looks like teaching them a lesson by destroying their headquarters wasn't enough!" He snorted, and the force field of a powerful Star rank fighter exploded forth. He soared into the air, a red fiery streak shooting towards the distorted dark green circle of light.

Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The streak of fire was obstructed midway, and multiple human figures appeared. A total of seven Magi dressed in black robes floated in mid-air, unique undulations from their point mass causing this Emberwing to have a huge change in expression.

"So many Star ranks?!" Shock instantly filled his mind. According to his intel, the Mobius Organisation was quite small. Though their sacrifices were bloody and insane, they didn't even have as many as the three patriarchs of the Triserpent Sect.

Now, however, they had deployed seven Star ranks to fight him. How could it not be appalling?

There were likely less than seven Star rank Emberwings in the entire capital! The addition of such a powerful force instantly reversed the situation.

There was one more thing to consider. If the Mobius Organisation had been concealing their strength in the past, what were they planning now?

There wasn't any time left for him to ponder on these things, and ferocious energy was emitted as the seven Star ranks cast their spells.

Their Morning Star domains appeared, overlapping with each other to form a starry sky. This caused the Star rank Emberwing to turn deathly pale. His body had been suppressed.

"Using spells in other worlds is much too troublesome, but thankfully our organisation has prepared and analysed countless spell models. Though our Morning Star Arcane Arts don't suit the rules of this world well, rank 4 spells are enough for now. Prepare the combination spell!" The Morning Star Magus standing in the middle spoke coldly.

A ferocious tide of elemental particles surged towards his palm like a tsunami, forming a terrifying energy spheroid. More condensed into it, and it strengthened continuously.

"Rank 4 spell— Binding Forcefield!" A female on the right pointed at the leader of the garrison.

In that instant, the leader felt like he was stuck inside a rock. The air around him became incomparably heavy, and even just moving was becoming difficult

"Rank 4 spell— Five Sense Severance!" Another Magus spoke up, their voice sounding strange. It was like a continuous shriek, piercing to the ear.

"Rank 4 spell…"

Rank 4 spell after rank 4 spell was cast by these Morning Star Magi, binding the Emberwing tightly and draining all his strength.

The overlay of seven Morning Star domains had practically created an independent space. With the strength of their combination spell, they had even sealed off this region. It left the Emberwings outside with no choice but to watch on furiously, with no way to send help.

"In the name of the flesh of Mobius, I bestow unto you your death…" As if chanting, the Morning Star Magus in the middle passed his judgement.

Boom!* The Emberwing's silver hair drifted in the wind. This garrison head's body now completely lacked any form of an aura, and even his soul had been destroyed, giving him no chance at revival.

Though this was another world and executing spells was slightly troublesome, seven Morning Star Magi had joined hands and even used a combination of rank 4 spells. This strength did not lose out to some Morning Star Arcane Arts!

Indeed, a Star rank had fallen with a single move. The Morning Star Magi from another world showed their sharp teeth in front of the other races once more.

Even as the corpse of the garrison head fell to the ground, many Emberwings stood there in disbelief. Though there had been a large battle from earlier, this was the first time a Star rank had died!

On top of that, this was the Holy Solar Festival, a celebration for all Emberwings. This was the first time a Star rank clansman had died at the celebration, and that was the ultimate ridicule!

In that moment, the Emberwings felt like they were dreaming.

"Haha, friends of the Mobius organisation, you've appeared just in time!" The fire elementals, who had been at a disadvantage, suddenly roared and quickly transformed into tremendous lava giants, beginning to wreak havoc in Tylasus City.

With the addition of seven Morning Star Magi, the Emberwings were put at an immediate disadvantage. Though they won in terms of their numbers, they were at a disadvantage in terms of their Morning Star strength.

In front of Morning Stars, tactics of victory with numbers were a joke, especially with these seven Magi of Jupiter's Lightning specialising in water and ice elemental spells. This caused the many Emberwings who had never encountered such a situation to fall into trouble.

With the retreat of military officials and high-ranking bodyguards, the entirety of Tylasus City collapsed into a mess of blood and fire.

The whole city seemed to be crying and yelling. The flying flesh and blood broke off and burnt many of the banners that had been put up in celebration, mocking them.

Seeing this scene, Schiker's fingernails dug deeper into his flesh, and blood even began to flow. However, he was told by many bodyguards to retreat.

'Father, end the battle quickly and save your people!' Schiker could not help but silently pray in his heart.

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Life Extraction

"Don't mind these people. Our priority is to break into the residence!" The leader of the Morning Star Magi glanced at the many nobles and commoners trying to escape and shook his head. Leaving them to the fire elementals, he darted straight for Scarlet Eye's residence.

"You seem to have other intentions in this joint operation. Is it convenient for you to tell me more? As allies, we hope to provide some support!" At some point, Saka had arrived beside this Magus, and he smiled gently as he spoke.

However, when coupled with his huge stature and fierce face, this smile just seemed horrifying.

"It's nothing much. We just have a few old enemies hidden amongst the Emberwings and need to take care of them," the Morning Star Magus replied politely.

"Oh? Are they Magi from the other world like you?" Saka asked. This topic had him interested.

It had mostly been thanks to them that he was able to break into the capital and cause such huge damage. For this reason, he had a huge interest in these mysterious spells and this rumoured other world.

"Yes. However, they're just a bunch of vile creatures that live off bloodlines, interested in the bloodlines of all living things. They don't mind committing murder for this, they're the source of all sin!" The Morning Star Magus' criticism sounded righteous, as if he hadn't been killing without restraint just a moment ago.

"I didn't expect the situation to turn out this way already. Quick! Back to the leader's residence!" Schiker's hand subconsciously touched the pendant hung at his neck as he issued the command.

Bowens' body was brimming with energy as he flew with Schiker, the flames in the air leaving behind a long blazing tail.

The speed of a Star rank far surpassed that of a chariot. In less than a minute, Bowens had brought Schiker back into the residence.

Schiker looked distracted. Just this morning, he had been in a good mood as he dressed formally to go out and celebrate with his father. Never could he have expected that he would return in such a pitiful state

Even with his many years of military experience, he could not adapt to these changes instantly.

A few military officials that had been left behind as guards immediately rushed forward in salute as they noticed him, "My Lord!"

When they'd heard the explosions in the square and seen the flames, their sense of responsibility as soldiers had told them that they should continue guarding this place.

"Mm! Notify everyone that war has arrived. Activate all defences in the residence!" Bowens exclaimed, and the command was quickly sent down. A golden layer of energy that looked like an overturned bowl covered the entire residence.

"Father…" Schiker touched the pendant on his neck, his eyes glinting with a decisive light.

"So you got here first?" Seven terrifying figures flew in his direction. Even before they arrived, the powerful pressure caused everyone in the residence to feel suffocated.

"Desas' Flying Palm!" With the incantations sounding out, a giant palm with countless runes twining around it appeared in the air, slapping the golden shield.

The golden shield shook, but still stubbornly held on. Yet, cracks had already appeared on its surface.

It was as if an earthquake had occurred the moment the flying palm hit the shield. Multiple buildings cracked, and the sound of glass shattering rang out as cups constantly fell to the ground.

"Uncle Bowens, can you take care of them?" Schiker had turned deathly pale.

"There are seven Star ranks who hold the power of water and ice. Even one on one I wouldn't be confident, let alone against seven. The rest of the commanders either died in battle or are stuck outside…"

Bowens laughed bitterly and then patted Schiker on the head, his eyes full of love, "But don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"Uncle Bowens!" Schiker's voice trembled, his eyes turning red.

"The defence in the leader's residence is rather weak! Just a Morning Star is enough to deal with it…"

Outside the gigantic golden layer, Leylin and two other Morning Star Warlocks had long since snuck in. Seeing this scene, Emma rolled her eyes at Leylin, "From the map you showed me, the defensive spell formation should not be that simple…"

"Yes! Usually, this spell formation can take on one attack from a Morning Star, but can also be recharged and have its strength increased by several times! The key is in Schiker's hands… Of course, I made a copy as well…"

Leylin laughed, retrieving a golden gem from his sleeves. Within it, one could see the image of a flaming phoenix.

Schiker had already trusted him too much, and was not powerful on top of that. With the A.I. Chip's scans and some psychological hints, obtaining information from him was much too easy. Leylin had even found out about this last resort, and made a copy of it.

"You're really quite something!" Gilbert's eyes brightened. "With this, we can sneak into the residence without being discovered. It would be even better if we could take control of the central administration of the spell formation."

"Don't even think about controlling the spell formation. Besides, since Scarlet Eye left it behind for Schiker, he probably hasn't shown all his cards yet. We need to wait longer…"

Leylin saw these two Kemoyin dukes whose eyes were beginning to flare red, and his voice turned cold.

His tone seemed to have some unique power, causing the red in Gilbert and Emma's eyes to dissipate. The two of them began to laugh wryly, "Seeing the situation, I got a little affected. My apologies…"

Immediately after, Emma's eyes were full of astonishment when looking at Leylin, "The emotional instability from your bloodline has such a small effect, and you can even indirectly affect us…"

"With such a concentrated bloodline, it probably surpasses that of all Kemoyin Warlocks in history… Perhaps, the hope of overcoming our bloodline shackles lies with you!" Gilbert was beaming.

"My willpower is just slightly stronger than most others!" Leylin laughed wryly, ruthlessly pushing down the destructive desires inside him.

Even after reaching Morning Star, a Warlock could curb the emotional instability from their bloodline fusing with their soul. It was just that it was much more troublesome. Matters that had to do with the soul could not be resolved with just regular potions or other methods. For now, he could only rely on his own willpower.

Skree!* At this moment, the replica phoenix phantom in his hands began to call out.

"Schiker is about to use this! We'd better sneak in quickly!" Leylin chanted a few syllables, and the scarlet energy from Fireplume poured into a gemstone. It produced a golden yellow layer of energy that encompassed the three of them.

The moment the golden energy layer made contact with the residence, the two began to blend, causing Leylin and the other two's figures to disappear.

At the same time, an even more glorious layer of gold appeared outside the residence. The cries of a phoenix rang out, blocking the attacks of all the Morning Star Magi.

"This level of defence?" The leader of the Morning Star Magi immediately turned grim.

Without being discovered by the Morning Star Magi and officials, Leylin and the two dukes successfully snuck into the residence. While Leylin was leading the way, he seemed to be very familiar with the area.

"Strange. Did you feel that?" Leylin looked absent-minded as he judged the second activation, deep in thought.

"A life extraction spell formation! The second level of this formation is evidently a method to steal life force. It can even defend against the combined attacks of multiple Morning Stars by stealing life force, and even soul force, from a gigantic living creature…" Gilbert nodded.

"On top of that, from the course of the energy, the energy that is being extracted comes not from the energy pool of the residence, but from… underground!" Emma touched the surface of the ground and confirmed.

Those of the Magus world were much more advanced than those from the rest of the worlds, mostly because of their foresight and minds that were suited for research.

After acquiring vast inheritances from ancient Magi, there were few races in other worlds that could surpass these people of the Magus World when it came to knowledge or capabilities at identification.

"In that case, there might be a powerful ancient creature confined underground, and it's the type with a long life…"

Gilbert gave a hollow laugh, his face changing, "The firasource stones can't be connected to this, can they…?"

"That's very possible!" Leylin's expression was serious as he nodded, recalling the time he had followed Loke underground and the red rays that had formed from the heart of the large spell formation.

For some reason, a sense of sadness surged inside as he thought back to that time.

'These feelings?' With the instability from his bloodline, Leylin paid a lot of attention to his emotions. He immediately discovered the source of the sorrow he was feeling.

'Fireplume? If I hadn't changed the nature of its energy, the effects would be even more prominent…'

"This feeling?" Bowens touched his chest, looking gloomy. "What's going on?"

"I- I don't know!" Schiker seemed to sense something as well, and began to sound flustered, "Father gave me this key in the morning, telling me that if there came a danger that could not be handled, I was to escape back into the residence and activate the second layer of defence!"

"Is that so?" Bowens' eyes glinted with mixed emotions, "Since the lord has made preparations for this, then that's great!"

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Sneak Attack

"This is the Northern Duke! I hereby command all residents of Tylasus City to return to their homes. You are not allowed to leave. Anyone outside will be killed without discretion!" While the defensive formation was being reinforced at the leader's residence, a tremendous sound was transmitted to the city.

"I am Kiel, commander of the southern military. Nobody is allowed outside from henceforth!"

"I am the commander of the eastern military. Nobody is…"

"This is an order from the Western Duke…"

Loud sounds echoed continuously throughout the city, and an expression of glee surfaced on Schiker's face.

"It's my uncle the Northern Duke, Turin, and the others…" The dukes and military commanders were the pillars of the Atlan Union. Every single one of them was a Star rank.

This sudden aid had excited him immediately.

Along with the voices of the Star ranks, orders were passed down and the city was sealed. A layer of fiery-red isolation layer kept Tylasus within.

"Scarlet Eye really did have something planned. Is he trying to deal with all of us at once?" The leader of the Magi sized up the spell formation from a distance away as he floated in mid-air.

"A fire-type isolation spell formation and the reckless assault of elite troops truly can stall us. With the attacks from others of the same rank… Scarlet Eye really has a huge appetite!"

Saka seemed rather confident, on the other hand. "Don't worry! Our emperor will come and bring us back!"

"I hope so!" The leader of the Magi laughed. Watching the many troops entering the city in an orderly manner, suppressing the chaos, and taking over the defence, he couldn't help but sneer.

Rumble!* Large amounts of fire energy were emitted from the bodies of the Northern Duke and the rest, fighting against the few Morning Stars.

Fire sparked in the sky above the capital, space itself crumbling as silver storms wreaked havoc on the land.

"The leader knew you were going to do this, and had set a trap in advance. All of you shall die here today." The Northern Duke's expression was firm.

With the addition of the many legions and the participation of the Star ranks, the Emberwings' impending doom was reversed, and the scales had now tipped in their favour.

"Do you think you can stop us just like this? How naive!" The leader of the Morning Stars produced multiple mechanical arms, protecting himself with the mass of steel. Seeing the Northern Duke and the others charging over, his eyes shone with pity.

"In this war, what determines victory can only be a strength above the Morning Star realm!"

"Above… Morning Star? Do you mean?" The Northern Duke and the others glanced towards the outside of the city in disbelief.

A flame giant that towered into the very heavens was contending against a similarly large, terrifying phoenix. Every attack of theirs seemed to shake heaven and earth, destroying their surroundings. It seemed like the end of the world.

This was the battlefield between Scarlet Eye and his opponent, the Divineflame Emperor. In a battle between rank 5s, Morning Star Magi could not even attempt at interfering unless there were enough of them.

SKREEEE!* And at this moment, the winner seemed to have been decided. The giant phoenix's calls sounded out as gigantic sharp claws ripped apart the elemental's breastplate to a shower of lava and fire.

"You've lost, Archibald!" Scarlet Eye's voice sounded from the phoenix's mouth. As they heard this sound, glee appeared on the faces of the Northern Duke's party. The leader that they had placed their hopes on hadn't betrayed their trust!

"Yes, I've lost," the fire elemental giant clutched at his chest, rocks falling out from the huge injury, causing earthquakes as they hit the ground.

"You really are a genius, Scarlet Eye, you've already reached the peak of rank 5… I made the right decision today. If not, you could've been the key to changing the status quo between the Divineflame Empire and the Atlan Union!"

The Divineflame Emperor's voice boomed like a thunder that rumbled throughout the heavens.

"Decision?" Scarlet Eye seemed to be confused, but immediately after the giant phoenix retreated.

However, it was too late! Large amounts of thunder clouds formed in the sky, and terrifying bolts of black lightning struck down. The dark clouds covered the skies, blocking the brilliant sun.

The lightning came together to form a lance, and a Magus suddenly appeared, gripping it.

This Magus' forehead was marked with a rune in the shape of a moon. "Goodbye!" he called out in a low voice as he tossed the lance.

Swish!* As if it was a deity from the World of Gods that had been enraged, a world-extinguishing bolt of lightning shot down from the skies.

This horrifying black lance seemed to transcend the limits of time and space, and even the void was subdued under the tip of the lance, carrying the might of an apocalypse. This terrifying instrument of destruction appeared before the phoenix.

Skree!* The phoenix called out, the sound this time filled with sorrow and suffering.

Ka-cha!* As the dazzling white light formed by the collision dissipated, the Star ranks noticed that the Phoenix Scarlet Eye had transformed into had suffered a gigantic injury. Feather after flaming feather fell to the ground before bursting into intense flame. Within this fire, the feathers somehow seemed even more magnificent.

Leylin's pupils shrank as he saw this scene. Even if this was just a transformation, the parts that left the body still managed to retain their shape. This showed just what level his fire phoenix transformation had reached!

"Leader!" While the Northern Duke and the rest clamoured over this sneak attack, Leylin and the others who were hiding in the residence watched on grimly.

"That Magus is Zegna from Jupiter's Lightning! How did he get here?"

Leylin obviously knew the Magus in the black robe. This Zegna had come to stop him when he had travelled here from the Magus world. However, he'd pitifully been stalled by Wayde.

The rank 5 energy undulations, as well as that face that left a deep impression, were both things he could never forget.

"The Zegna now is different from the one we met before. It's probably just a clone, but why does it have the undulations of a rank 5 Magus? Even if it's much weaker than before, it's still a Radiant Moon!" Gilbert looked to be distressed, evidently unable to make sense of this.

"It should be some sort of ancient secret technique! A rank 5 clone is an exceptionally powerful trump card. I'm more curious about the how he deceived the Lava World's World Will and was able to sneak in successfully!" Leylin stroked his chin.

"Zegna, even you betrayed me!" Scarlet Eye's voice was produced from the body of the giant phoenix, the injuries on its wings quickly regenerating.

"Esteemed leader!" Zegna, who was in mid-air, first bowed slightly to him. "Our relationship only extended to a cooperation between us. Rather, it was but a transaction that consisted of mutual benefits. So then, how could there be a betrayal?"

"Alright! Scarlet Eye, that was the first round. The second round is about to start now!" The towering fire elemental giant roared, and Zegna sprung into action as well. Black lightning and powerful lava encircled Scarlet Eye…

"Leader?!" The Northern Duke, the supporting troops, and the others immediately had a change in expression. Though Scarlet Eye was at the peak of Radiant Moon, his opponent was not weak. This long-time enemy of the Atlan Union, the Divineflame Emperor, had teamed up with a terrifying rank 5 Magus from another world. Even the most stupid person could tell that their leader was in trouble.

"Everyone, this is the day to dedicate yourselves to our country!" The Northern Duke sighed, a rare solemness appearing on his face. It was evident that he was already expecting his death.

"Haha… Vape, Sulu, we're heading off first!" A few Star ranked elders erupted into an insane laughter, their expressions showing their readiness for death.

Seeing such a solemn expression, the leader of the Morning Star Magi began to hesitate.

While the Star ranks of this world had fewer secret methods than Magi, if they really went all out his side could suffer a large number of casualties.

Morning Stars like them, who had been nurtured by Jupiter's Lightning through and through, were few in number. Most of their Morning Stars joined from other races, and only Zegna could keep them suppressed. In the face of great casualties to this core team, he was beginning to hesitate.

The dukes and commanders who were all veterans in battle exchanged glances, all having noticed the strange look in their opponent's eyes.

"Alright! It's been revealed that the Morning Star Magi are afraid of casualties. This battle is going to be fun. Zegna is probably going to cough up blood…" Emma exclaimed, taking joy in his misfortune.

This was reality. Even if the Morning Star Magus leader could harden his resolve, the other Morning Star Magi might not be willing to. After all, they had merely signed a contract and joined Jupiter's Lightning, and there were no rules that stated they had to give up their lives for the organisation.

When the opponent made use of this fact and displayed they were not afraid to sacrifice themselves, and that they would take their opponents down at any cost, then they would be involving themselves in a pointless fight.

"I'm afraid Zegna's already foreseen this. He won't be that enraged." Leylin shook his head, stating his opinion. "The Divineflame Emperor's plan should be to kill as many Star ranks and weaken the Atlan Union as much as possible. However, killing these people won't do Zegna any good, and it could even have the opposite effect, hurting his own forces. Thus, he won't grow mad. His main objective is likely the firasource stones. We need to monitor the residence. I believe Zegna is about to make a move!"

"You're right." Gilbert nodded to acknowledge Leylin's prediction after a momentary silence.

The battle pushed on and things turned out just like Leylin expected. The Morning Stars immediately yielded to the Emberwings who were going all out. Their inefficiency drove Saka insane, but there was nothing he could do about it.

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Identity Revealed

"Uncle Bowens, how's the situation?" Schiker's gaze was set outside the city, at the battle between the Star ranks.

He had not advanced to the Star rank yet, and naturally lacked Leylin's vision. All he could see was space continually being torn apart, the stray energy destroying the architecture. The defensive layer shook continually, and he couldn't help but look to Bowens in his worry..

"Don't worry, they're fine! Morning Star Magi will not act without benefits, and Saka and the other Star rank fire elementals can't match up to you Emberwings." Bowens' expression was slightly strange as he spoke.

"I guess I can relax now." Schiker patted his chest, but his expression quickly changed. He had sensed something off about Bowens' tone.

Bowens was much too knowledgeable about that black-robed person. On top of that, what did he mean by 'you Emberwings'?

As he turned around and saw the strange expression on Bowens' face, his heart sank. "U–Uncle Bowens, you… heart sunk. "Un-uncle Bowens, you…"

Schlick!* Before the words left his mouth, a black scorpion had crawled onto his neck as a black stinger piercing into an artery.

The defence of eighth level Fireplume turned out to be useless. Schiker's eyes rolled up into their sockets, his consciousness lost.

"What's going on? Officer Bowens has attacked Lord Schiker!" The few remaining military officials mental strength crumbled at this sight. If this was a nightmare, all they wanted was to wake up from it as soon as possible.

"This Schiker is a spy who I've discovered long ago. Seize him! Do your duties!"

Bowens' large hand quickly sought out the gem at Schiker's neck, retrieving the key with the phantom image of a phoenix within it. His words caused the minds of the military officials present to short-circuit.

The illegitimate son that their leader thought so highly of, their Lord Schiker, was… a spy?

Many of them felt like they had just heard the joke of the year, but seeing the flame-ringed Bowens, the could not bring themselves to laugh.

"Officer, please let Lord Schiker go!"

Bowens was not completely in charge here. While the remaining Star rank commanders were either trapped outside or dead, their subordinates were still around. Even if Bowens' own subordinates approved of his actions, these people would not.

"What? You want to attack me?" Energy at the tenth level of Fireplume exploded forth, and a large amount of flames formed the terrifying phantom of a phoenix. The energy was similar to a domain of flames, and put the entire area under Bowens' control.

The official who had spoken of his suspicions was merely at the ninth level of Fireplume. Even though he was considered powerful among Sky ranks, he was nothing in front of Bowens.

He took several steps back, face flushing red as he stood straight, "You have restrained Lord Schiker for no reason. Please provide proof that he is a spy, or else…"

"Or else?" Crimson rays flashed, and the official who had just been speaking disappeared. All that was left on the ground was a pile of ashes.

"Did you really think I wouldn't kill anyone?" Bowens sneered, carrying the unconscious Schiker and heading towards the back of the residence. Many officials looked around at each other, but none followed.

Leylin looked at the other two dukes from their hiding spot in the shadows, "What do you think?"

Gilbert spoke slowly. "Bowens is probably Jupiter's Lightning's real spy. Loke was most likely just a bait."

"Mm! And what's more interesting, he's practised Fireplume to the tenth level…" Leylin's eyes glowed with curiosity. He had needed the A.I. Chip to modify Fireplume to harmonize with his point mass. How had this person done it? Furthermore, he couldn't have survived for so long as a spy without even Scarlet Eye finding out if he didn't have an Arcane Art that dealt in bloodlines. That was intriguing as well.

"Whatever it is, Bowens picked a good time. Scarlet Eye is engaged, and the other Star ranks are fighting hard outside the residence. As long as Bowens has the fight outside under control, he had no need to fear for anything…"

Emma did not mention the rest of the military officials within the residence. In a Morning Star's eyes, anyone weaker than rank 4 was an ant. She didn't think that they could stop him.

As expected, once Bowens showed that he was not to be trifled with, many of the officials retreated, unwilling to go forth.

Bowens snorted and went deeper into the residence. Those who dared to hinder him were burnt to ashes under his flames.

"What should we do next?" Emma glanced at Leylin.

She could not make much sense of this young man at all. He was good at tolerating things, for one. Were she here alone, she would have struck out long ago. How could she have restrained herself until now, when the best benefits were available? Furthermore, the techniques he'd used to conceal himself had duped even Bowens, which was amazing.

"We're obviously going to follow him." Leylin chuckled, pointing at Bowens who was ahead.

"He's definitely a spy from Jupiter's Lightning. He can be the scapegoat, taking all the damage from traps and conspiracies. We just need to follow him and get those firasource stones…"

"Haha… As expected of a student of mine. Leylin… you're definitely very sly. I like it!" Gilbert burst out into laughter, looking delighted. Emma rolled her eyes at his response.

Bowens' speed was very fast as he carried Schiker to a place that Leylin was familiar with. This was the area where Loke had used Gaia's Disc that day.

"Could it be…" Leylin watched Bowens' actions, realisation dawning upon him.

Soon enough, he saw Bowens take out a round plate, eyes on its surface formed from countless veins. He shook his head at Loke's previous actions, "This is probably something used specifically to send equipment and confuse others…"

The earth split apart like an ocean, revealing a deep tunnel. Bowens smirked and darted in. Leylin and the two dukes glanced at each other and followed.

Very soon, the scarlet spell formation previously had appeared before Bowens, fragmented and drifting through the air like butterflies.

Bowens was very familiar with this place as he walked up to the huge secret room in the centre. A crimson spell formation in the middle of the room lit the place up, the light flickering at its edges.

A humming sound was produced as the formation let loose a layer of flames to block Bowens' advance.

Bowens' eyes only grew brighter at this. "It's here!The barrier that Scarlet Eye set up himself."

Blue light gathered at his hands, flickering. At the same time, Schiker woke up from this period of unconsciousness.

His eyes were blurred for a moment, but he still immediately raised his guard. "This… The underground saferoom! Uncle Bowens, you actually betrayed us…"

"Look closely, kid. Who's your Uncle Bowens?" 'Bowens' sneered, his muscles and bones shifting. The red feathers that marked an Emberwing disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a completely different person. The energy of a Morning Star domain burst forth.

"So Uncle Bowens is already dead…" With this sight, Schiker heaved a sigh of relief. If it really was Bowens who had betrayed him and his father, he had no idea what to do.

"Hehe… Do you still not understand? I am Bowens, but Bowens isn't me! Whatever, the people of this land won't understand even if I explain it…" Bowens snickered, and that caused Schiker's heart to sink further.

"If not for needing the tenth and higher levels of Fireplume as well as the blood aura of the leader to break through this barrier, do you think I'd have brought you here?" Bowens laughed coldly, preparing to make his move.

Schiker shook his head and closed his eyes.

"It's better to wait!" However, a familiar voice sounded by his ear, giving him the illusion that something was wrong with his ears.

"Ley? Didn't he die in the square?" Opening his eyes, he found 'Ley' in front of him, and somehow, there were traces of… fear, on Bowens' face?

"I knew something was off about you!" Bowens watched Ley, his hands still trembling. Leylin had easily taken care of his attack, which that this person was at the same rank as him.

"Must've been a wild guess. That bait Loke can't have given you that much information!" Leylin answered indifferently. As he was speaking, the characteristics of an Emberwing faded away. By the time he was done, he had morphed back into a black-haired, dreaded Warlock.

"As expected, it's one of the remaining devilspawn of the Ouroboros Clan!" Bowens gritted his teeth.

In the meanwhile, Schiker's jaw had dropped. He was dazed at the sight of this unfamiliar Morning Star Magus.

"So… So you've been lying to me too? Haha… You, Loke, you're all liars! Have you been treating me like a fool?" Schiker roared, large droplets of tears falling from his cheeks. The cold-faced instructor from before had all but disappeared.

"Did his mental wall crumble?" Leylin shook his head, but had no plans of explaining himself.

Whatever the case may be, he'd made use of Schiker and now he'd repaid that by saving the Emberwing's life. In his mind, this act canceled out with all the help and guidance Schiker had given him.

He couldn't care less about Schiker's thoughts. If the man was so dumb as to attack or obstruct him, he would not hold back.

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Open

"How about you? Who exactly are you? How could you progress to the tenth level of Fireplume?" Watching Bowens in front of him, Leylin was filled with curiosity.

"Take a guess," Bowens sneered, "But know this. If I hadn't come and hidden myself here in the Lava World for such a long time, Collins would definitely not be the strongest Morning Star in Jupiter's Lightning!"

A vicious, berserk aura burst forth from Bowens' body. Starlight twinkled behind him, forming a unique Morning Star domain.

Two orbs of golden flames appeared in his hands, emitting the powerful energy of Fireplume.

"Congratulations, you get to see this new spell I came up with after combining the path of a Magus with Fireplume. Fire Phoenix Slice!" Berserk energy from Fireplume was amplified by magic, resulting in a barrage of powerful blades of fire that sliced towards Leylin.

"Indeed, there are no fools among Magi. It's only to be expected that someone would try to fuse the two different systems of power… What a pity, though…" Leylin shook his head, sympathy in his gaze, "A pity that you met me!"

Leylin's knowledge of Fireplume far surpassed that of Bowens. On top of that, he was a Morning Star Warlock whose soul had been strengthened with firasource stones. His current might was incomparable to that in the past..

"Bloodline Shield!" Leylin snapped his fingers, and countless large crimson shields came into existence. The Kemoyin Serpent carvings on the shield looked vivid, lifelike, their eyes shooting out vicious glares.

Clang! Clang!* The blades of fire slammed into the shields, and the result was a piercing noise that sounded like a torrential rain.

"You still don't have enough of an understanding about the two paths… What a disappointment…" Leylin sighed, and a large phantom of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent appeared behind him. The two pupils were like giant stars; the ancient, ominous aura causing Bowens' expression to warp,

Rumble!* Two orbs of dark red fire emerged in Leylin's hands, beating back the energy from Bowens' Fireplume. Leylin darted in front of the man.

"No… How's that possible?" The move that he was most proud of had been defeated so easily by his opponent, and it seemed to have no value at all. Bowens frowned.

"Nothing is impossible!" Leylin extended his right arm, the hand passing through the opponent's defences and grabbing onto his throat. The A.I. Chip began a scan.

[Beep! Scanning opponent's energy pathways. Discovered areas that can be optimised! Recording into database, adding into simulation fusion experiment!]

Details on Bowens' point mass and the operation of his Fireplume appeared in Leylin's mind, and the information gathered allowed the A.I. Chip's simulations of fusing Fireplume into his path grew more complicated.

Though the progress was still stuck at the final bit, the originally dark red energy from Fireplume seemed to have undergone a secret transformation, advancing to form a higher power.

'Fireplume energy with darkness elemental particles fused in can easily break through the defence of the tenth level of the original, even restraining the opponent. What'll happen if I take this a step further?' A look of anticipation flashed in Leylin's eyes. His practice of Fireplume was undergoing a wondrous transformation. Even without advancing himself, he could use it to beat others at the tenth stage of the original, something that cause his expectations to increase.

"Here you are!" Shadow arms emerged, taking all of Bowens' items from his spatial storage as well as Gaia's Disc. When he caught sight of the black copper key, his eyes sparkled.

He had personally seen Loke use this thing to break through the final spell formation, and Bowens had kept it safely himself. It definitely had a special function.

"Let me go, Lord Zegna will offer a good ransom for me… Or we can even sign a contract! After my contract with Jupiter's Lightning ends, I'll side with the Ouroboros Clan!" Bowens had been trounced thoroughly, and had lost all methods to resist. He quietened down, the viciousness in his expression disappearing as he began to bargain calmly.

He did not want to die. As a Morning Star Magus, he believed he could still be of some value to Leylin, and began to look for ways to save himself rationally.

"That isn't a bad deal… The loyalty of a Morning Star is worth letting you off…" Leylin stroked his chin. "What do you think?"

"It'd be more convenient to kill him. We don't have the time to set up any powerful restriction formations on him, and he can probably destroy any regular contract." Ice-cold bloodlust filled the room as Emma's voice sounded out. Space distorted, and she appeared out of hiding along with Gilbert.

"So, all three of you are here!" Bowens resigned himself to his fate. He hadn't even been able to win against Leylin alone, so what could he do when the three of them joined hands?

Hearing Emma's unhesitating words, Bowens began to panic, "Wait! I have a crystal contract in my spatial belt! Even Breaking Dawn Monarchs won't be able to subvert or break it. This way, you can be at ease about me. On top of that, I know a lot of inside information which will definitely be useful…"

Even though he knew Emma had likely said it to frighten him, he didn't want to take the risk.

"Good! Tell us all that you know, and we'll discuss how to deal with you!" Gilbert nodded while grinning.

Leylin agreed tacitly. He was now certain that Bowens was but a vile character. If one could defeat him thoroughly based on what he had been relying on, he would completely be crushed. Not only would his initial arrogance disappear, he would even betray Jupiter's Lightning to survive.

"What do you plan to do? Are you going to kill me?" Seeing Leylin take care of the Star rank Bowens so easily, Schiker seemed defeated. He had not taken the chance to flee during the battle, instead just standing at the side.

Seeing Leylin's gaze turning to him, he laughed wryly.

"I don't like wanton killing," Leylin shook his head. Red rays flashing in his eyes, and Schiker crumpled to the ground.

At this time, Bowens spoke from Leylin's side like a follower, "Scarlet Eye's bloodline is needed to break through this flame defence. Along with the tenth level of Fireplume, our leader acquired an Arcane Art that will allow Schiker to be sacrificed to simulate his aura."

This was the very reason he had even dragged Schiker here.

Leylin shook his head in response to his suggestion. "We have our own methods to replicate Scarlet Eye's aura from Schiker's bloodline." His nail scratched out a bloody line on Schiker's neck, and fresh pearls of blood spurted out, floating in the air.

"Bloodline Trace!" Leylin's eyes flashed and he began to chant a strange, bleak runic incantation.

With his incantations, Schiker's fresh blood began to boil, even forming a phantom image of Scarlet Eye with red eyebrows and hair.

"My lord's techniques are indeed superior, I am impressed. You can even do something as awesome mimicking Scarlet Eye's Aura without using Schiker as a sacrifice!" Bowens took the opportunity immediately, trying to flatter him.

Leylin rolled his eyes on the inside, having no expectations towards the integrity of this Morning Star Magus.

"Tenth level of Fireplume!" Leylin's hand filled with dark red flames, and he pressed it to the layer.

Buzz!* The defensive layer began to tremble.

"Go!" With Leylin's indication, the pearls of Schiker's blood flew to the defensive membrane, a blood-red colour spreading across it.

The dark red flames on Leylin's hands fused with this layer, and the defences gradually fell apart.

At this moment, something odd happened. Scarlet Eye's enraged voice resounded in the basement.

"Despicable robbers, die!" Blood-red light converged in one spot, forming an image of Scarlet Eye.

"Crap, it's a trap! There's a full power attack from him hidden in the defences!" Leylin's pupils shrank.

……

SKREE!* The cries from the tremendous phoenix were unceasing as it fought against the towering giant and the black-robed Magus. The fight had taken them to the boundaries of the Lava World, black spatial rifts opening up all around them as they warred.

Just at that point, Scarlet Eye received some information. "Hm? Someone is breaking into my secret room! Schiker and Bowens! How useless!"

"Scarlet Eye, what's going on? Is there trouble in your nest?" Zegna burst out into laughter, black lightning flashing in his hands.

The Divineflame Emperor, Archibald, roared as he heard the words, blocking Scarlet Eye's retreat.

"You're the ones who forced me!" The phoenix that Scarlet Eye had transformed into shouted with rage.

With his words, terrifying flames spread throughout the phoenix's body, causing the flying beast to turn into a horrifying bird of flame. At the boundary of the world, space itself was set on fire, distorting under this power.

"Flaming Undead Aves!"

"This Arcane Art burns life force for power! He's putting his life on the line!" Zegna and Archibald quickly retreated.

However, it was too late. How could Scarlet Eye let them off? The flaming bird spread its wings and terrifying flames swept through the area, swallowing Zegna and Archibald within…

Boom!* The fierce firestorm wreaked havoc, even eliminating the spatial turbulence and leaving behind an exceptionally ugly black scar at the border of the world.

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Breakthrough in Fusion

Flames flashed, and Scarlet Eye's figure appeared once more. Now, however, his face was filled with fury and his aura was unstable.

He glared at the storm of fire that had burst forth and immediately turned back, his palms opening up a spatial passageway like drawing apart a curtain. He immediately re-entered the Lava World.

Rumble!* Tens of seconds later, black lightning and a large rock smashed into the firestorm, revealing the miserable figures of Zegna and Archibald.

Woosh!* Cracks spread across the rock like spiderwebs, and large fragments began to fall off.

At the end of it all, Archibald's body was much smaller than before, and could even be called 'pocket-sized.'

Zegna was in an even more pitiful state. Not only were their traces of burn wounds all over his body, even a great portion of his hair had been burned off.

"Haha! After this, the injuries on Scarlet Eye's body will probably take at least a hundred years to recover!" Archibald was unusually carefree as he burst into laughter.

He then glanced at Zegna, "So? Should we chase after him?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness! This body of mine probably won't be able to take the intensity of the next battle!" Zegna laughed wryly.

"Then forget it. The losses the Atlan Union suffered this time should be enough to give them a headache for a long while."

Archibald laughed, "My Divineflame Empire should have been the victor in the power struggles, but with Scarlet Eye being an Emberwing, we can't let our guards down…"

"I believe that with your guidance, the fire elementals will remain the leaders of the Lava World!" Zegna had a smile on his face.

Reputation and nice words meant nothing to him. As long as there were enough benefits, calling the other party the leader of the Lava World was not an issue.

"Haha…" Even so, that was enough for Archibald to laugh heartily.

"Alright, based on our previous agreement…" Zegna wanted to continue on, but his expression immediately changed. "Damn it! Bowens and the rest are such trash!" he cursed, turning into a streak of black lightning and disappearing in that instant.

"Hehe… interesting!" Large flames appeared under Archibald's feet, lifting and moving him forward as he followed.

Though he had joined hands with Zegna, he had never let down his guard against this guest from another world.

……

Underground, next to the giant spell formation. Leylin had met with a crisis as well.

The barrier that Scarlet Eye had set up had actually been a trap. The moment it made contact with an external force, it had immediately shown the image of the Emberwing himself, and unleashed an attack.

This was the terrifying attack of a Radiant Moon! It could seriously injure if not kill even the current Leylin.

'Schiker's bloodline can't be fake, and my Fireplume shouldn't be a problem either. Is it Bowens?' Leylin quickly shot Bowens a glance, but found him equally panicked, evidently not expecting this situation.

"Despicable thieves, die!" Scarlet Eye's figure roared, hair and eyebrows seemingly beginning to burn up. Tremendous, fierce flames formed a blazing phoenix that charged towards Leylin's groups.

As if this phantom had a will of its own, its first target was the traitor, Bowens.

"AAAH!" In the face of the suppression from a rank 5, Bowens' Fireplume energy was destroyed quickly despite his desperate attempts at saving himself. He cried out miserably as he burst into flames. In one move, Bowens of Jupiter's Lightning had died at the phantom's hands.

After taking care of the traitor, the phantom looked straight at Leylin and the other two. Leylin seemed to have become the primary target.

Goosebumps appeared on Leylin's body.

'Is there no other way but to undergo Kemoyin Serpent Transformation with the other two? If we do that, the entirety of this underground room will be destroyed!' In a short period, a variety of thoughts passed in Leylin's mind, and he gave up on this plan.

"I can only use Fireplume to fight it out.' A glint appeared in Leylin's eyes as he made up his mind.

[Beep! Simulation of Fireplume at 100%. Mission complete.] The A.I. Chip's prompt sounded out.

The A.I. Chip's progress in fusing Fireplume's energy with his point mass had already reached 99.9% completion before. Scanning Bowens' version of Fireplume was enough for it to take that last step.

"Oh!" Leylin's expression changed, Fireplume energy turning black as it was absorbed by his point mass.

His point mass buzzed as it shook vigorously, rotating at a high speed. Powerful energy undulations were emitted from it.

The nebula surrounding the point mass had increased in area by half a fold before it slowed down and stopped.

The tenth level of Fireplume had been modified to fuse with his point mass. This result was not just an addition of one plus one. Furthermore, this was a perfect fusion, not the bastardised version that Bowens had created. The amplification of power was even greater than Leylin had expected.

[Beep! Fireplume modification complete, point mass is being upgraded. Host body…] The A.I. Chip's voice was intermittent, but Leylin had no plans of listening carefully.

He felt power overflowing in his body, and facing the incoming rank 5 attack he made his move without hesitation.

After the modification, the energy of Fireplume was driven by the force of a Morning Star's point mass. The resulting power was terrifying.

Crackle!* Devilish black flames appeared around Leylin, forming a phoenix wreathed in black fire.

The phoenix cried out, and this screech brought with an aura of devilish power.

"Modified obscure tenth level of Fireplume— Soaring Demonic Phoenix!" Leylin spread his arms like a soaring phoenix, slashing towards the phantom Scarlet Eye with grace.

Chirp!* Melodic phoenix cries were heard, and the blackfire phoenix streaked across the horizon to welcome the phantom.

Confronting this blackfire phoenix, Scarlet Eye's face was tinted with confusion, even fear. The earth rumbled as black and gold flames intertwined, creating a shockwave that spread throughout the area.

Following that, the black flames actually began to devour the other side, becoming even more exuberant as time passed. Soon enough, it had exterminated the other party's phoenix and even drowned out Scarlet Eye's figure.

'This modified Fireplume is this good at absorbing other Fireplume energy as fuel and fusing with it?' Seeing Scarlet Eye's phantom struggling amidst the black flames and gradually disappearing, even Leylin himself was shocked, and he was the creator!

He felt that with the A.I. Chip balancing and fusing the essence of Fireplume into his point mass, the power of this already formidable technique had been furthered and reached a horrifying degree of power.

It was a pity that the A.I. Chip was unique to him, and only he could train in this Dark Fireplume version.

"What… What just happened?" Gilbert and Emma were dazed. What had they just seen? Leylin had wiped out the phantom of a rank 5 Magus in just one move?

That was a full-out attack from a rank 5! In that moment, Gilbert and Emma felt as if they were dreaming.

It took a while before Gilbert spoke. "Ley–Leylin, did you break through to rank 5?"

"No, I just made some progress in Fireplume…" Leylin answered truthfully. Though the fusion of Fireplume energy with his point mass had immense benefits, it had not allowed him to cross over into the Radiant Moon realm. If this had been an attack by a phantom of Zegna instead, it wouldn't have been nearly as easy.

His easy dispatchment of the Scarlet Eye phantom was most likely to do with the modified Fireplume.

"I have a intensified feeling," Leylin raised his arms and watched the demonic black flames, "that these mutated black flames are the bane of all traditional Fireplume energy."

"Whatever it is, we need to leave after getting the firasource stones! It's a pity we lost Bowens." Gilbert watched the flames piteously. A bright point mass was received by starlight and floated into the astral plane.

Not caring about Bowens, Leylin pointed his hands at the flame shield. "Open!" The membrane began to be burned down by black demonic flames.

No, it was not burning. It was being corroded! The top-grade flames from Scarlet Eye's Fireplume were corroded by the modified flames from Dark Fireplume, gradually revealing a giant hole.

"Let's go." Leylin and the other two arrived before a complicated spell formation.

Emma touched the runes on the ground, looking solemn. "Spatial binding runes. Dormant sacrificial runes and life absorption runes as well! This spell formation is probably used to extract the life force of some being."

"Could that lifeform be at the centre…" Leylin immediately focused his gaze on the red light at the heart of the spell formation. It was weak, flickering like a candle in the wind. And yet, it somehow survived with all tenacity.

'The energy undulations are similar to those of firasource stones! I can somewhat guess what it is!' Recalling the sorrow he had felt before, Leylin sighed and produced the black copper key he had obtained from Bowens.

The large black copper key rose into the air and projected a large number of complex data and light rays.

The spell formation on the ground began to activate, and the sound of a key clicking was heard continuously.

At the same time, the runes on the ground were unsealed one by one, revealing a giant cage.

Rumble!* Scalding red light filled the entire room, and the cage in the middle opened up to reveal a scarlet egg.

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Blackfire Phoenix

"Could this egg be the legendary phoenix egg?" Leylin guessed absent-mindedly.

Only a creature as ancient as that would be able to automatically push Scarlet Eye's progress in Fireplume to an unprecedented thirteenth level. On top of that, it could create amazing soul treasures such as firasource stones!

The reason he thought that way was because the moment this egg that was bathed in scarlet radiance appeared, his own Fireplume began to operate more quickly. A large, demonic version of the blackfire phoenix appeared behind him, and extreme desire filled his heart.

The blackfire phoenix chirped for a long while, extending its wings. The scarlet energy emanated by the egg was continually being absorbed by it.

[Beep! Change detected in host's Fireplume. Energy levels increasing rapidly, currently at peak of level ten.] [Beep! Qualitative change has been detected in host's Fireplume. Entering level eleven.]

[Beep! Unknown essence being absorbed by host. Scans show atomic configuration is similar to that of firasource stones. Soul force is being enhanced.]

[Beep! Density of host's point mass increasing. Affinity with fire elemental particles increasing.]

The A.I. Chip's constant prompts left Leylin stunned for a moment. The egg's great amounts of energy had constantly been absorbed by Dark Fireplume, and with the assistance of the A.I. Chip's simulations he had broken through to the eleventh level!

The eighth and ninth levels of Fireplume marked the Sky rank, while the tenth and eleventh marked those at the Star rank, the Morning Stars. The twelfth and thirteenth belonged to rank 5, the Radiant Moon realm. Scarlet Eye, being at the thirteenth level himself, was at the peak of Radiant Moon.

Now, Leylin's Dark Fireplume had been pushed to the peak of the Morning Star realm at the eleventh level.

'This is definitely a phoenix egg! What other than a real phoenix could propel the progress of Fireplume and enhance one's soul?'

Leylin immediately became incomparably excited. 'I've only just taken in a part of its energy. If I use all…'

He scanned his stats.

[Leylin Farlier, Rank 4 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent(complete form). Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Vitality: 65, Spiritual force: 956.8, Magic power: 956 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Soul force: ???]

"What a terrifying enhancement to the soul! Though I don't know how much exactly it was, just the difference in spiritual force is frightening." As he was mumbling, Leylin took a look at his innate elemental affinities.

The red line that was in second place, the one that marked his fire affinity, had risen by a large amount. Although it still couldn't compare to his darkness affinity, it left the third place far in the dust.

'This isn't bad either. If my darkness affinity was too high, I could easily have been forced under the control of the Snake Dowager, walking the full path of the Kemoyin Serpent. With this fire elemental affinity, I might be able to change my direction…' Leylin's eyes were glistening; the benefits he'd gained from this phoenix egg were immense.

"This egg is definitely the source of all the firasource stones. Let's take it and go!" Gilbert and Emma saw the egg emanating a scarlet radiance, and their voices began to tremble in excitement. With their knowledge, they could obviously tell that this was the egg of some ancient being, and one that was very strong at that!.

Such powerful ancient creatures had been lost to the Magus World for tens of thousands of years. If the Ouroboros Clan could hatch one… Gilbert and Emma couldn't help but immerse themselves in this beautiful fantasy.

"But…" Through the black flames, Leylin could see the energy in the egg falling rapidly, "So sad…" A piteous look flashed in his eyes.

"It's had its life force extracted by Scarlet Eye multiple times. I took some just now myself, and its life energy has become far too weak for it to be hatched. We can only use it as an extremely precious fire elemental treasure." Leylin sighed, moving to stow the egg away.

"YOU DARE…" an enraged voice sounded, the earth cracking apart and rumbling as it spoke. High-pitched phoenix cries sounded, and a whole layer of earth was ripped off, even the rocks and soil burnt to void by the flames.

A rare light illuminated the area, and the trio looked up to see the earth above them being dug up. Scarlet Eye charged down, looking like a sun with the flames he emitted.

"He came this quick? Zegna and that Divineflame Emperor are useless…" Leylin shook his head, but he didn't stop the motion of his hands. "Withdraw immediately, I'll hold him off for a while."

Normally, Gilbert and Emma would have thought Leylin a fool for such a thing. He was, after all, a Morning Star trying to stop an enraged Radiant Moon. However, the series of miraculous breakthroughs in his strength had them thinking it was the opposite way around. They actually believed in him, and even subconsciously listened to his instructions. They took out necklaces that were emanating starlight, preparing to leave.

"Return it to me!" Large flaming claws motioned to grab the egg at the center, fighting the black flames over it.

"Leader Scarlet Eye! It's been a long time." The energy of the black flames increased rapidly as they attempted to devour flames at the thirteenth level of Fireplume. They exploded forth with power.

Leylin grinned as he soared up, the demonic black flames that began fill the area actually rivalling Scarlet Eye's own.

"You're… LEY!" Scarlet Eye's pupils shrank. "Wretched Magus from another world, how dare you deceive me!"

Swish!* Leylin made a grabbing motion with his palm, and Schiker's unconscious body flew into his hands.

"Let's make a deal, shall we? Let us go, and your son won't come to any harm." Leylin felt no guilt in using Schiker to blackmail the Atlan Union leader.

Rumble!* The tremendous flames immediately wreaked havoc on the area, but Scarlet Eye flushed red. Leylin's words obviously had a huge effect on him.

A long while later, he spoke through gritted teeth, "Alright, but the phoenix egg stays."

With the A.I. Chip's scanning and the opponent's own behaviour, Leylin immediately made a discovery. 'Hmm? He's injured?'

This conjecture delighted him. With the suppression of the eleventh level Dark Fireplume alone, he wasn't too confident in his chances. But now?

"No!" As the words left Leylin's mouth, he and Scarlet Eye transformed into huge phoenixes. Two birds, one red and the other black, pounced towards the scarlet egg.

The one Scarlet Eye had transformed into was huge, and had an overwhelming aura. And yet, although Leylin's black phoenix was smaller, it burnt with devilish black flames that could devour all matter.

Yuuu!* *Scree!* Two different phoenix calls sounded as they slammed into each other. Flames of black and gold surrounded the phoenix egg as the two began a bloody battle.

"Don't you care for your child anymore?" Even in the midst of the fierce battle, Leylin did not miss the opportunity to disturb his opponent. Every sliver of fear he caused was an advantage.

"I won't give it up, not even for Schiker! Besides, do you think you qualify to threaten me?" Scarlet Eye's cold expression contrasted heavily with the fire energy he emanated, the flames burning even the air as it formed a giant phantom map of the Lava World. This image trapped Leylin.

He was ambitious and ruthless. He did indeed love Schiker, but it was not to the extent that he could be threatened by Leylin. However, even that slight bit of reservation was more than enough for Leylin himself.

'Damn it! Is this really Fireplume? Why are the flames black?!' Scarlet Eye's expression grew dark. This opposing Magus was also using the Emberwings' Fireplume, and had progressed to the eleventh level in it. However, what was shocking was that his black flames were capable of controlling his own, and if not for him being at a higher level his flames would already have been completely eaten through.

'This Magus cannot remain, his technique is forbidden!' Malice flashed in Scarlet Eye's eyes, and golden flames wrapped around the true body of the phoenix.

"Flaming Undead Aves!" The terrifying attack that had seriously injured two rank 5s appeared once more, its ferocious flames causing the clouds in the sky to be burnt to nothingness.

The gigantic flaming undead aves streaked through the sky, causing all the battles to cease. The Emberwings began to revere the undead aves as if they had seen their god.

"This attack would have forced me into retreat at your peak power, but what a pity…" Leylin laughed madly, black flames engulfing everything as his entire person turned into a terrifying blackfire phoenix.

"Mutated Obscure Fireplume— Soaring Demonic Phoenix!"

The Emberwings in the capital of the union saw a unique scene in the sky that day. A demonic black flaming phoenix rammed into their leader's own phoenix form. Even the sparks from that battle would cause most Star ranks to quiver in fear.

The leader's entire residence was burnt to ashes by the flames, and besides a few Star ranks who coughed up blood and retreated quickly, everything was incinerated.

"Haha… Scarlet Eye, the Atlan Union leader, doesn't amount to anything much!" Arrogant, hearty laughter sounded as a figure covered in black flames withdrew, his face filled with an insane smile.

"The leader… was defeated?" The Northern Duke who had met Leylin once flew backwards as he mumbled in disbelief.

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Terrifying Battle

The Northern Duke had never expected that the kid Ley, who he had once met and had a good impression of, was actually of another race!

Furthermore, the Dark Fireplume that Leylin used gave him a sense of fear. Perhaps if not for his dignity and resolution as a soldier and someone with power, he might have fled.

This was especially true since he did not seem to be losing against his most revered leader. Instead… he was winning?

"Great Mother Phoenix! Could I be dreaming? Please help me wake up as soon as possible." While the Northern Duke's will was strong, even he was beginning to find this situation absurd.

"Phoenix egg!" At this moment, two other powerful auras descended. Zegna observed the giant red egg at the middle of the battlefield, unable to conceal his desire.

Archibald could not stand it either. This was the peak of all fire elemental beings!

"It's mine! The phoenix can only exist in our Divineflame Empire for all eternity!" he roared in rage, and the earth began to shake. He charged forward, large hands grabbing towards the large scarlet egg.

Swish!* Zegna was even faster than him as he turned into a streak of black lightning, heading right for it.

"So this is the source of the firasource stones. This phoenix egg must be mine! With it, I'll be able to advance to rank 6…"

"Go away!" A black wall of flames obstructed Zegna's path, the boiling temperature causing him to subconsciously slow his steps.

"Warlock Leylin! A mere Morning Star dares stop me? Aren't you afraid I'll eliminate your Ouroboros Clan? Give me the phoenix egg right now, and I guarantee your Ouroboros Clan shall be greatly rewarded!" Zegna's expression was sinister.

What answered him, however, was a wave of fire that covered the skies.

"Soaring Demonic Phoenix!" A large phantom of a blackfire phoenix sent Zegna flying. Black flames constantly devoured the radiation energy from their opponent, causing him even more serious harm.

"Hmph! A gravely injured clone still dares say such things to me. Do you have a screw loose?" Leylin snorted. Noticing Scarlet Eye and Archibald fighting. He could not help but turn back.

With him shielding them, the undulations from the battle did not spread to this side, and the arrangements of Gilbert and Emma weren't interrupted. A door came into existence, one wreathed in starlight.

"There's not much time left, I need to finish this quickly. The black flames on Leylin's body gradually weakened, and substituting them were four horrifying rings of blood coloured light.

The energy rings that signified his innate spells flashed one after another and gradually fused, forming a terrifying spell— the Morning Star Arcane Art, Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!

Rumble!* An ancient vicious beast appeared in Tylasus City, one that was thousands of metres long. Just its descent alone caused the destruction of a great amount of architecture. Even if Scarlet Eye could hold onto his position today, he would have to relocate his capital.

The Giant Kemoyin Serpent hissed, a terrifying aura emanating from its body. Regular Star ranks could not help but tremble in fear.

These low-ranked beings all shared the common fear that came from being placed in front of a top level predator.

Compared to his previous times, Leylin's current Giant Kemoyin Serpent transformation at the peak of Morning Star was vastly different. Not only was it much larger in size, there were now more red patterns on the scales, with darkness and fire elemental particles surrounding the body and forming a mist around it.

"A Giant Kemoyin Serpent of this size…" Even as Morning Star Kemoyin Warlocks themselves, Gilbert and Emma were stunned by Leylin's Morning Star Arcane Art.

"How did this kid get so large? It's about three times the size of my transformation…"

Gilbert sized up the body of Leylin's transformation that spanned hundreds and thousands of metres, absolutely astonished. It was obvious that he was envious as well. Even amongst the bodies of real ancient Kemoyin Serpents, Leylin was definitely the king.

"I'm afraid… Leylin can be considered the strongest Kemoyin Warlock in history!" Emma sighed.

"Eye of Petrification" Two amber pupils that were like stars stared hard at Zegna who was flying backwards.

"Crap!" Before Zegna could react, his magic equipment had already exploded, and a layer of petrified skin appeared on his face as his movements ground to a halt. A petrification cast by an ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent would affect even Radiant Moon Magi.

Boom!* With a flick of its tail, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent struck the petrified Zegna. The earth shook wildly, and many buildings collapsed. Cracks spread in the shape of a web.

Boom!* The petrified Zegna exploded, being obliterated into dust that flew around in the air. A huge pit was formed in the ground.

In front of the enhanced Giant Kemoyin Serpent, the clone of a Radiant Moon Magus had died just like that.

"Let's take care of him first, or it'll do us no good!" Scarlet Eye roared as he stopped his fight with Archibald upon witnessing this scene. Archibald halted his movements as well, fear evident on his face.

Hss!* Leylin obviously would not let two rank 5 Magi attack him together. He took the initiative and spewed out a few large black flame blades.

Boom!* The giant flame blades did not move in Scarlet Eye's direction, but instead, headed towards the phoenix egg in the middle of the battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom!* In the midst of immensely powerful explosions, the giant scarlet egg had cracked apart into countless fragments. Under the disbelieving gases of everyone else, a boiling heat spread in all directions.

"HOW DARE HE… How could he do that?" Scarlet Eye almost vomited blood in his fury. Never had he expected Leylin to destroy such a precious treasure.

However, he unconsciously headed towards the remains. Archibald did the same, and really, all the other Star ranks had the same thought.

This way, the recently formed forces against Leylin was dispersed.

Leylin was obviously unwilling to damage such a treasure, but he saw the big picture and knew that it was very difficult to leave safely with all their enemies watching. It was even more impossible to get the phoenix egg.

Though this treasure was precious, Leylin could still make the decision when met with issues of his own safety. Besides, he could take advantage of such a chaotic situation.

Hsss!* The Giant Kemoyin Serpent charged around violently, and the Star ranks were forced away. They could only stare wide-eyed at its defensive scales. Leylin did not hesitate as he swallowed the remaining third of the egg into his belly, pulling back until he was in front of Gilbert and Emma. He had returned to his human form.

"Let's go!" Leylin shouted.

"Let's go!" Gilbert and Emma knew they had to leave no matter how unwilling they were. After all this chaos and contest was over, they would immediately be sieged by the entirety of the Lava World, and while they were reluctant they immediately made their decision.

The gigantic door of light expanded and swallowed the three of them, dissipating with grace.

Boom!* The moment after that door disappeared, a streaking flame turned that region into a sea of fire. Atop this sea of fire was Scarlet Eye's body, but now his eyes were bloodshot.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" He looked at the sparkling, beautiful red gemstone in his hands that was emanating warmth. After the phoenix's egg had been smashed apart, it had turned into this state.

He had not obtained even a quarter of the gains. Everything had been taken by Archibald and the other Star ranks.

Even if they were Star rank Emberwings, it was impossible to make them return something they had taken.

"AAAH…" Scarlet Eye, who had suffered massive losses, began to cry out hysterically…

……

Jupiter's Lightning headquarters, Magus World.

At the same time, Zegna was shouting as well.

Black lightning flashed and wrecked the palace, turning it to ash.

"LEYLIN! I won't let you off!" Zegna could feel his heart bleeding. That was a phoenix egg! If he'd obtained that, he could have immediately advanced to become a Breaking Dawn Monarch! Now, however, all his dreams were ruined.

First, his secondary clone had been killed, "LEYLIN! I won't let you off!" His secondary clone had been killed by Leylin, so he had no chance to contest for the fragments of the egg. In that sense, he'd gotten no returns for all the work he'd put in.

Even the surviving Morning Stars of Jupiter's Lightning had been fortunate enough to get part of the fragments, and they would definitely not give it to him unless there was a trade of equivalent value. However, where would he go to find something comparable to a treasure like the phoenix's egg?

If he used violence, he would force all the Morning Stars away.

"Ah… AAH…" After thinking for a long while, Zegna's face contorted as he roared, "Leylin, Leylin, Leylin. I won't let you get away with this, I swear!"

"Impulse is the devil's emissary!" The mysterious female voice sounded once more.

"It's all your fault. If my main body had gone over, how would my secondary clone have been killed?" Zegna thundered.

"Hehe… Can your true body go over?" The female voice asked, and Zegna immediately became quiet.

"I taught you the method of making a secondary clone without any compensation, and even told you about my experiences. This is how you repay me?" The female's voice turned cold.

"Alright! Forgive me for that. Tha kid made me lose my calm."

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Return

Zegna was a Radiant Moon Magus after all. Even if he was enraged, it would only be for a short period of time.

"The key now is to deal with this Leylin Farlier! I have a feeling that he'll hinder my advancement to Breaking Dawn." Zegna looked fierce as he muttered softly.

"Oh? Has he risen to rank 5? Bloodline shackles aren't so easily broken." The woman's voice now held a trace of curiosity, her interest in Leylin having been piqued.

"He didn't break through, but he's reached the peak of Morning Star. With some strange techniques from the Lava World and other methods, I'm afraid…"

Zegna wore a sour look. He had to acknowledge that Leylin really was a genius seen once in thousands of years. He had gained such strength even with the low-levelled bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent and its inheritance.

Now, even if his main body were to act, defeating him wouldn't be a problem but it was just a dream if he wanted to kill him.

That was, unless he could find his opponent's weak point. He would then have to wage a life-and-death battle.

But was that possible? Zegna recalled the intel on Leylin and gave up on that. He knew that, to some level, they were the same type of person, and would not risk their lives for anyone or anything.

Enemies who were powerful and lacked any weaknesses that could be exploited were the most frightening!

Zegna rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming.

After being silent for a while, the female spoke again, "In that case, let's engage our previous plan. How about it…"

"Do you mean…" Zegna's eyes brightened.

……

"Finally home!" At Phosphorescence Swamp, Gilbert and Emma stood behind Leylin, watching the familiar surroundings with eyes full of an indescribable fondness and emotion.

"What should we do next?" Gilbert asked.

Emma glanced at Leylin. They were now treating Leylin as their main pillar of strength.

After witnessing Leylin's strength, the two Warlocks would not protest even if Leylin used them as mere figureheads. With the yielding of these two Morning Star Warlocks, the real power of the Ouroboros Clan now completely lay in Leylin's hands, and his authority was even more solid than before he had left. Such a result would cause anyone to be astonished.

"We don't have to do anything, just maintain our current stance!" Leylin shook his head.

"Leylin, have you risen to rank 5?" Fervent hope could be seen in Emma's expression. In her eyes, if Leylin could break through to rank 5 and had a method of circumventing the issue of bloodline shackles, that would be the best.

"How's that possible?" Leylin smiled wryly. "I'm only at the peak of Morning Star and only have a few cards up my sleeves!"

This was the truth. Leylin was quite exact when it came to evaluation of his strength, and while he'd seemed invincible in the Lava World as he defeated Scarlet Eye and even obliterated Zegna's clone, he was aware of his own situation.

Scarlet Eye's main body had been gravely injured in the battle before, and had also been constrained by his technique. That was he had been unlucky enough to be defeated.

And when it came to Zegna, not only was it just a clone but it had also been seriously injured in his fight with Scarlet Eye. Faced up against Leylin's all-out Morning Star Arcane Art, his Kemoyin Serpent Transformation, it could do nothing.

When Scarlet Eye and Archibald looked like they were about to cooperate, Leylin rushed to escape, because he knew he would meet his death if he did not leave at that moment.

However, Leylin would not belittle himself either. With his current strength, he might not win against a rank 5 Radiant Moon, but he had a large chance of survival.

"Just a few cards up your sleeve?" Hearing his words, Gilbert and Emma rolled their eyes inwardly. Those frightening black flames and the strange Kemoyin Serpent Transformation were 'a few cards up his sleeve'? What did that make them? From the beginning, they had only stood at the side like cheerleaders, unable to make any moves.

"But our Ouroboros Clan is now unafraid of external threats, and can start a new journey!" Leylin beamed as he gazed at the sun, the golden rays wrapped around him in radiance.

There were few in the central continent who were unafraid of Radiant Moons. Those rank 5 Magi would not want to provoke an enemy that could contend against them. Hence, with the Ouroboros Clan in Leylin's hands, they were definitely going to expand well.

Emma and Gilbert were aware of this fact, and their gazes towards Leylin were full of hope…

"Your Graces, Gilbert and Emma, it is the fortune of our Warlock Union that the two of you could return safely!"

Within the headquarters, Leylin and the other Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks were in discussion with Paul, Philip and the helpers they had called over.

The Crystal Phase Warlock, Freya, stood respectfully behind these few Morning Star Warlocks, her eyes full of indescribable emotion.

Though even the First Elder's side had smiles on their faces, they could not conceal the sorrow in their hearts.

Leylin's abrupt rise to power, as well as the return of the other two Kemoyin dukes meant that they would lose a large portion of their benefits. There was no Morning Star who would support them anymore.

Of course, there were few Warlocks with this mindset. The students and clansmen of Gilbert and Emma were now full of glee, and extremely grateful to Leylin.

Due to her relationship with Leylin, Freya was wedged between Leylin and Emma. Her eyes glanced past Leylin, Emma and Gilbert occasionally, and she came to a conclusion that made her gasp.

'Mentor Emma and Duke Gilbert are now letting Leylin call the shots!' Though Leylin was a newly-advanced Morning Star, he was the one taking charge of receiving all these Morning Star Warlocks, and he was even seated right in the middle in the Master's seat. Freya, who had astutely discovered this, was astonished.

This meant that even Emma and Gilbert acknowledged Leylin's rule!

For some reason, Freya sighed with relief as she found this out, even though her seniors and juniors were unwilling and perplexed.

She was Emma's student and they were on very good terms, but that still lost out to her relationship with Leylin. If the two began to vie for strength, she really had no clue about where she would stand.

Now, however, all was solved! Freya sneaked a peek at her husband, the reverence in her eyes unable to be hidden.

Seeing his wife adopting a childlike behaviour, Leylin laughed inwardly. If Gilbert and Emma did not know how to act even after he displayed his strength that was comparable to rank 5s, he would probably have to employ certain other techniques.

However, Morning Stars were no fools. Gilbert and Emma especially understood the situation, which made things easier for him.

"Yes! When we first found out the two of you were lost in another world, we were extremely shocked. Next was the battle with the allied forces, but thanks to Leylin…"

Regardless of the Crystal Phase Magi's thoughts, the Morning Star Warlocks discussed amongst themselves.

Philip was observing Leylin, but could not make sense of his sitting at the master's seat. He glanced at Gilbert and Emma, and could not help but sigh.

The magnitude of the events in the past few years had exceeded that in the past few centuries. Under crisis after crisis, many Morning Star powers in the continent had gone through a round of reshuffling.

Spirit Circle and Wind Wolf Lair had lost most of their Morning Star forces in the Scarlet Ruins, and now only had one Morning Star maintaining their organisation each. Their losses were massive.

The Ouroboros Clan had been on the brink of destruction, but a terrifying genius had suddenly appeared and successfully saved two of the dukes. Now, their strength had not diminished, and was instead increased.

'I'm afraid the situation of our three organisations in the alliance with equal power will be broken. In the next hundreds of years, Duke Leylin of the Ouroboros Clan will be calling the shots..'

Philip watched Leylin whose aura was even more profound than that of the previous First Kemoyin elder, and a thought rose in his mind.

'Whatever it is, our Wind Wolf Lair had been on good terms with the Ouroboros Clan, and my personal relationship with Leylin is more solid than his with Paul. As long as I stay cautious, nothing will happen. With Leylin as an external support, I'll be able to protect my Wind Wolf Lair until the next generation grows up…' Philip might be hot-headed, but he was no fool. Having understood this, he treated Leylin with more respect, and this attitude left Paul rather annoyed.

"Alright! Based on the contract in the Morning Star area, here are your rewards!" With a wave of his arms, three streaks of light shot towards Paul and the other Morning Star Warlocks, black light shining on a spatial item.

After Paul and the others used their soul force and checked, looks of satisfaction appeared on their faces.

"The Ouroboros Clan being safe is all thanks to all of you, and you've chased away a few people. Hence, I'm giving you thirty percent more on top of the promised rewards." Leylin's smile was very gentle. It was like a breath of fresh air for Paul and the others.

This was obviously feigned, but when feigned by Leylin who had a rather unique status, he seemed more amiable and mysterious.

Paul and the rest were solemn, but their facial expressions displayed their thanks, and seemed touched.

Leylin shook his head inwardly, though the smile on his face remained, "Also, our Ouroboros Clan is planning to launch a war campaign and retrieve our lost territory. Please bear witness to it!"

Upon hearing Leylin's words, the Morning Star Warlocks all carried different expressions.

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Contend

If not for Leylin's appearance, the Ouroboros Clan would probably have been annihilated in the attack by the allied forces.

Even if Leylin showed off his terrifying battle might and talent, and used various methods to get the other side to withdraw their troops, all the land and resources that had been occupied would not be taken back easily.

Leylin had merely been a newly-advanced Morning Star then. How could he request a territory as large as that of the other three Morning Star Warlocks? If they were to be attacked again, he would not be able to suppress it alone.

The amount of strength he possessed dictated the treatment he could command. Leylin was very clear on this fact. Now, with the return of the two dukes and the rise of his battle power, Leylin felt that he had enough under his belt to request this.

As for whether this would offend Jupiter's Lightning… Hadn't Leylin already done so in the past? Since he had completely offended them, doing anything more wasn't a huge issue.

"Mm! The Black River Domain used to be one of the territories of the Ouroboros Clan, and it being occupied by some other organisation is an insult to us Bloodline Warlocks!" Philip stood up, looking indignant, "I'll definitely tell the union!"

Seeing him acting this way, Paul and the other Warlock rolled their eyes inwardly but did not retort against him. Rather, they were in favour of that decision.

Those territories had initially belonged to the Ouroboros Clan, and they were merely recovering them. In addition, they would at most show their support verbally and not actually act, unless the Ouroboros Clan was willing to make more compromises for their benefits.

However, Leylin was only requesting that they be witnesses, and was not planning on having them act.

Not considering his current strength, just Gilbert and Emma working together would be enough to handle this.

Hearing that Leylin had intentions of reclaiming their old land, the Crystal Phase Warlocks around did not speak, but they were very emotional.

The allied forces still occupied their lands and ruled their people. That was the ultimate humiliation!

The fact that the battle had come all the way to the headquarters and they had almost completely been uprooted was still fresh, and was deeply carved into the minds of these Warlocks. With these seeds of hatred planted, they were stirred up on hearing that Leylin was going to lead them to enact their vengeance.

Seeing this, Leylin nodded.

The reason for this expansion was to increase the size of the pie so as to avert dissent. With three Morning Stars now in the Ouroboros Clan, the resources of the area they controlled were not enough to divide amongst all of them, leave alone the rest of the people under them.

Furthermore, by leading them to take revenge, Leylin's reputation would reach an unprecedented level, which would make it more convenient for him to take control of the organisation.

This was an open conspiracy. Even if Gilbert and Emma could tell, they would not be able to say much.

Having agreed on the time, Philip and the others took their leaves, and even Freya and other high-ranked Warlocks left automatically. Only Leylin and the other two were left.

"Are you going to declare war on Jupiter's Lightning now? Didn't you say to maintain the current state?" Emma asked worriedly.

"When I said to maintain the current state, I meant our current state of preparing for battle!" Leylin laughed grimly, a tyrannical aura emanating from his body. "Besides, Jupiter's Lightning is probably too busy with their own matters…"

"Oh? How is that?" Gilbert was interested. He was always elated when there were methods to trim Jupiter Lightning's strength. From Leylin's perspective, this was a deeply embedded enmity.

"When I went to the Lava World, I asked the rank 5 'Golden Lion' Warlock, Lord Wayde, to help hold up Zegna. He accidentally let a rank 5 clone go, but the main body did not descend. For that reason, I'm going to hold to our agreement!"

"What agreement?" Gilbert and Emma exchanged a glance. Ever since they had known Leylin, they had never seen this kid at a disadvantage before. There must definitely be some deep meaning for him to do this.

"He helped me hold Zegna back, so in return, I will give them the coordinates to the Lava World!" Leylin laughed. "Just now, Wayde received my message…"

"What?" Gilbert and Emma stood up abruptly, "That's a world! Do you know what you've done?"

A large alternative world meant unprecedented benefits. Just the strength systems and paths to power they had were extremely helpful for Magi, and could help them progress rapidly.

Not considering other matters, those Breaking Dawn Monarchs had taken over entire large worlds before advancing. The fact that Leylin had obtained such benefits was also proof of the value of a world.

Hence, organisations would guard these coordinates with the highest security. If not for Zegna being absolutely confident and having been bewitched by somebody else, he would not use these coordinates to trap the three Kemoyin dukes.

A world that had not been exploited yet was very attractive. It was not as if the three Kemoyin dukes didn't have their suspicions, but they still fell into the trap. The fact was that the benefits were immense, to the point that it affected their rationality!

Of course, it was Zegna who had lost everything. Not only had he gained nothing, he had also suffered greatly.

Now, Leylin was giving such a huge secret away? Emma and Gilbert could not comprehend this.

After all, in their eyes, only they and Jupiter's Lightning knew of the Lava World's coordinates. At this point, it was best to keep this secret to their death and when the time was right, they could destroy Jupiter's Lightning and completely take over the Lava World!

"You guys…" Leylin shook his head helplessly, "How could another world be so easy to take control of? Besides, there are numerous rank 5s there, as well as Jupiter's Lightning eyeing this strength."

"What we need the most now is not another world, but enough time to rest and regain our strength."

"Wayde is part of our Warlock Union. By luring him there, Jupiter's Lightning will definitely launch an intense battle for control of the Lava World. That will give us ample time for developments." Leylin spoke frankly and assuredly, tone full of confidence and eyes emanating an incomparable vigour.

"There are rank 5s on both ends. How could the Lava World be so easily taken over? In this period of time, it's enough for us to take advantage of the chaos and gain benefits!"

"On top of that, once we obtain more strength, it's not like we can't forcefully retrieve the Lava World from the other party's hands!"

Not only did Leylin make the final decision, he even presented a pretty picture for Emma and Gilbert.

"If you say that…" Gilbert and Emma looked each other in the eye begrudgingly.

Seeing them acting this way, Leylin was laughing inside.

He obviously didn't care much for the Lava World, because he'd already gotten the most benefits from there. Not only had he obtained the mutated Fireplume and caused his Morning Star point mass to grow to the limits, he'd even gotten a third of the essence from the phoenix egg.

These were basically the greatest treasures of the Lava World, and Leylin was obviously satisfied with his gains.

After the matter with the Holy Solar Festival, he had offended the heads of the two largest organisations in the Lava World, Scarlet Eye and Archibald, and it could only be resolved by the death of a party.

Just the knowledge that he had obtained fragments of the phoenix's egg would be enough to cause the strong ones within the Lava World to hunger after his gains.

The reason Leylin had handed over the coordinates to the Lava World was because he had considered this as well. With Wayde in control, he could still hold onto what he had. Besides, he'd already handed the coordinates over already. If Wayde or others wanted some? It was simple, they could go to the Lava World themselves and contend with each other for it!

"That Zegna from Jupiter's Lightning is probably coughing up blood right now, given that I threw these coordinates away." Leylin stroked his chin, a malicious grin about his lips.

……

He sent the two dukes away after their discussion. Following that was a conversation with Freya over dinner before Leylin finally returned to his Morning Star Magus Tower.

The place was as towering as always, full of archaism and grandeur. As he entered the tower, the intelligent tower genie flew out, "Master!"

"Hmm. Show me all the recent records, as well as the current state of operation of the Magus Tower," Leylin commanded.

"In the time that master has been away, the astral gate has been operating at the lowest energy level. Astral stone storage has been completely used up. Magus Tower is now running on minimal energy required. 3.78% of the Host's health is injured. Supplies-wise, …."

The tower genie was expressionless and began to send in the reports methodically. It was extremely meticulous, as if he was the most thorough of butlers.

"Keke… I've practically used up all the astral stones I've accumulated as well as the power source of the Magus Tower." Leylin sighed, feeling his heart ache.

"But in comparison to such a huge harvest, this investment is very worth it. The profits were immense! Of course, that's because I have the A.I. Chip and can unearth the resources of foreign worlds to the highest degree."

Back in his study room, Eternal Flames emitted heated light. Seated behind the study table, he began to compare his gains.

"I've successfully met my goal and brought the two Kemoyin dukes back. The Ouroboros Clan's strength has risen rapidly, and just this alone means that I've gotten more than I invested."

Leylin's eyes were twinkling as he spread out a black notebook on the table and began to scribble on it.

"In terms of resources, there's the essence of the phoenix egg. That is definitely a world-class treasure. Not only can it accelerate progress in Fireplume, it's remarkably useful for a Magus' soul and point mass. The resources that I especially collected from the Emberwings can also be considered to be abundant!"

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Vitality Bottleneck

"In terms of techniques, the mutated Fireplume is probably comparable to a top-grade meditation technique…"

Leylin checked on the point mass in his sea of consciousness. After devouring the essence of Fireplume, the point mass had not only become more concentrated, with the nebula outside expanding by half, it now emanated a trace of fiery-red amongst the darkness.

After obtaining Fireplume, his aptitude had changed. Previously, his darkness elemental affinity was the main element. Now, his fire elemental affinity had been raised, and while it was still not up to par with the darkness element, it was catching up.

"My Kemoyin's Pupil is no longer a meditation technique solely for Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks, but a top-grade one infused with Fireplume." Leylin obviously would not start training in Fireplume all over again. He was, at his roots, a Magus, and a bloodline Warlock at that. Hence, while running its simulations, the A.I. Chip had fused the essence of Fireplume into his point mass.

Fireplume fused with Kemoyin's Pupil. The two had been made compatible with previous simulations, and they now fused together to form a slightly mutated meditation technique.

The effects of the technique far surpassed that of the fourth level of the original Kemoyin's Pupil, and even allowed Leylin to see hope of simulating the fifth level!

Once simulation of the meditation technique was complete, Leylin only needed to solve the bloodline issues and he would be able to rid himself of the bloodline shackles of rank 4, and pry open the realm of the Radiant Moon!

"Kemoyin's Pupil doesn't have a fifth level anyway. I'll just continue calling this upgraded fused meditation technique the same thing." Leylin very continued to use the already given name with no intention to think of a new one.

Whether it was the twelfth and thirteenth levels of Fireplume or the fifth level of a meditation technique, they all enabled one to enter the Radiant Moon realm. Even if Leylin had some rough ideas about that, it would require a large period of time for him to comprehend them all.

Even so, it was still much better than having no hope at all.

"Besides Fireplume, I've recorded a lot of information regarding the culture, technology and geography of the Lava World. The A.I. Chip's database is much more complete, and I've benefited quite a lot!" Leylin stroked his chin.

The advantage of having the A.I. Chip meant that he could leave Magi far behind in the dust in terms of his learning speed. In other worlds, he was basically like a fish in water, recording even the most complicated information with just a sweeping scan by the A.I. Chip. He could analyse and understand everything quickly, and was much faster than Magi who had to study one book after another.

For this reason, he could rapidly gain clarity on the path of strength in other worlds and fuse it into his own body, a unique advantage for himself.

"In general, the harvests were so immense during this trip to the Lava World, that my absorption is bursting at the seams…" Leylin glanced at his stats.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 4 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (Matured Body). Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Vitality: 65, Spiritual force:956.8, Magic power: 956 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Soul force: ???]

"The lowest numbers for spiritual force among Morning Star is 500 and above, and I've almost reached 1000! However, soul force has yet to be enumerated."

Looking at the numbers, a wry smile appeared on his face.

He had obtained much in the Lava World, especially with a few advancements in his soul that allowed his soul force to rise sharply in power. While the A.I. Chip could not show the numbers, just the difference in spiritual force implied that there was a large change.

Soul force was a higher-grade version of spiritual force. Hence, advancements in the soul could be seen through advancements in spiritual force.

"However, an increase of around 400 is already beginning to exceed the limits of what my body can handle!"

The wry smile at the corner of Leylin's lips grew even more obvious. Fireplume and the phoenix egg were treasures that put emphasis on the elements, but did not do much for strength.

While he had a large increase in spiritual force at one go, his body had already begun to show signs of an inability to endure.

This was because there was too much water in the cup, and the cup was too small. Though there weren't any obvious residual effects yet, Leylin could only turn into a spirit and walk the path of a spirit Magus if he did not treat this in time.

"To solve this, the essence is to strengthen my vitality and allow the body, as well as the spiritual force that suddenly increased, to grow harmonious once more, and get everything done once and for all."

Leylin commanded, "A.I. Chip, with my current control, how much vitality do I need to sustain my spiritual force?"

[Beep! Mission established, scanning of stats of host body. Beginning construction of model. Beginning deduction…]

The A.I. Chip's robotic voice was heard as it formed a blue human figure in Leylin's mind. Terrifying spiritual force undulations were emanated from the model.

[Deduction completed. To completely match with spiritual force, host must have a vitality of 100 or above!] The A.I. Chip intoned loyally.

"A vitality at 100 or above?" Leylin touched his chin.

As the body was a vessel for spiritual force, Magi took vitality rather seriously. They even had some techniques and body-tempering spell formations just for this.

With Leylin's current state, with a vitality as high as 65, 90% of the techniques for increasing vitality were useless to him.

However, with his knowledge and the accumulations from his explorations in the past, he immediately had an idea.

"Not considering those remote techniques, Multilimb Strength is very suitable for me right now. Even in the worst situation, I can control my current condition and prevent it from getting worse!"

Leylin stood up with a flash of understanding and headed to another training room.

Ka-cha!* His body suddenly contorted in a strange manner, arranging himself such that he looked like a strange rune. Bizarre joints and muscles could be heard vibrating within him.

These vibrations combined and gradually formed a slightly hoarse voice.

The voice seemed to be chanting some sacrificial text, full of a great, ancient feeling that also held within a barbaric air.

"Multilimb Strength!"

"Aoooo!" A shrunken six-armed figure appeared behind Leylin, and with his chanting, more runes appeared from the Multi-Armed Race figure and disappeared into Leylin's back.

When the ceremony was over, the rays of light from the Multi-Armed Race member disappeared into Leylin's back and formed a strange golden image of the Multi-Armed Race, looking like a vivid tattoo.

Multiple golden threads scattered on Leylin's skin and muscles, and everything quickly quietened down.

Leylin got up, looking at his palms. The skin was pale, bones slender, and there didn't seem to be much of a difference. Occasionally, though, faint flashes of gold would be seen flashing within.

There seemed to be a layer of dense armour on his body, which made it heavy. This was nothing to Leylin. More importantly, the instant the tattoo was completed, the pressure from having his spiritual force straining his body at all times, while not completely dissipating, had reduced.

Seeing this result, Leylin heaved a long sigh of relief.

"Though Multilimb Strength can't increase my vitality, it has an effect of sealing and reinforcing the body, which can maintain my current state. When I find more body-tempering spell formations…"

"Now, I need to quickly take care of the allied forces who are still occupying the territories that belong to the Ouroboros Clan. I'll then make use of the Ouroboros Clan's forces and get them to help me find treasures, potions, or spell formations and the like that can increase my vitality…"

Leylin made plans for himself, feet continuing to move until he reached another secret room.

On the door, there were many seals that formed a chain, locking the door tightly. However, a boiling heat could still be felt.

Buzz!* A black flame automatically appeared from Leylin's body, and it absorbed all the heat.

"Pretty good level of heat! It's like another form of the phoenix's flames!"

"A.I. Chip!" Leylin commanded inwardly.

[Beep! Limits to authority opened! Passed scanning!] Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, two blue streams of data flashed from Leylin's eyes, millions of ant-like golden words flickering and entering the seal.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* The runic chain broke open, and terrifying golden flames surged out from behind the door.

Skreeee!* As if provoked or challenged, the black flames on Leylin's body grew more exuberant, forming a black layer of isolation that kept the door tightly shut.

Large amounts of golden flames were eaten into and devoured by the black flames as they strengthened themselves.

Such a devilish process left Leylin in shock.

After entering the secret room, one could see a giant world of ice and snow. At the heart, however, a golden sun was emanating rays of light. Numerous ice runes formed chains that restrained the sun, but it still produced a boiling heat.

In that moment, there was a deadlock between the icy blue and fiery gold.

"The bloodline of the rank 6 Sun's Child!" Leylin's eyes were unfocused, the black flames automatically forming the figure of a devilish black bird. Crimson eyes were glued onto the little sun in the middle, looking fearful.

"It's a pity…" Leylin sighed once again. This was the highest-ranked bloodline he had gained thus far.

After the phoenix egg had broken, it automatically formed a dense crystal and there were no traces of its bloodline remaining, leading Leylin to start wondering if the phoenix was a bloodline creature at all. There was no way to refine any ancient bloodline in this case.

"I have a feeling that the bloodline of the Sun's Child is very compatible with Fireplume, but it's a pity… I already have another bloodline…"

Leylin sighed. If he had the bloodline of the phoenix, he would change his bloodline no matter how difficult it would be. However, the bloodline of the Sun's child? That was only rank 6, and wasn't powerful enough to motivate him to take this risk.

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Commencing Counterattack

"It's too wasteful to use the Sun's Child's bloodline for an ancient bloodline ignition experiment. Besides, the Ouroboros Clan is about to wage a war against the allied forces of Jupiter's Lightning. After that, I still need to look for body-tempering spell formations and explore the Icy World. I need exceedingly powerful methods that can inspire terror!" Leylin stroked his chin.

With his current strength, he could escape from a Radiant Moon, but he had nothing that would be able to threaten them. Hence, he needed powerful, intimidating trump cards.

Kemoyin Serpent Transformation, being a Morning Star Arcane Art, was indeed one, but people would learn to counter it if he used it too often. Leylin was looking to prepare a few other killing techniques.

"Using a rank 6 bloodline to create a one-time bloodline imprint should be enough to threaten the life of a Radiant Moon, right?" Leylin predicted, "Though it's a pity, there's no other choice."

A bloodline imprint could be able to display the strength of certain ancient beings when they were at their peak. Even one attack at such strengths was frightening.

In the past, Leylin could do nothing with the bloodline of the Sun's Child even if he had these thoughts.

Now, however, not only had he risen to the peak of Morning Star and gotten a huge boost in strength, he had also gained control over the phoenix flames, which could rival this sun's flames. For that reason, creating a bloodline imprint was a real possibility.

"Let's begin…" Leylin watched the golden flaming sun at the heart of the secret room and took a deep breath. Dense, demonic black flames were emitted from his palms, and burst forth in the form of a thin thread…

The creation of the bloodline imprint took a few days. When Gilbert and the rest in the Magus Tower outside were beginning to get impatient, Leylin appeared before them.

They could feel something was different about him, but Gilbert and the others could not pinpoint it.

"I've made my decision. Gather the army, and we shall begin reclaiming our lost territory!" Leylin wore a platinum Magus robe and had on white gloves. His temperament was full of dignity, and upon hearing his declaration, multiple Ouroboros Clan Warlocks began to cheer. They had been waiting for this day for far too long.

After showing himself and setting the hearts of everyone at ease, Leylin sent Gilbert and the rest away and took off his gloves. Observing the back of his hands, his face could not hide the ecstasy he was feeling.

Complicated runes in the form of a sun occupied the backs of both his hands. The outermost layer was a ring of black flames, as if a seal to store the power of the sun in his hands.

'With the support from the A.I. Chip and the suppression from the phoenix flames, I finally moulded the bloodline of the Sun's Child into a bloodline imprint!' Leylin paid close attention to the bloodline imprints. After a long while, he sighed deeply and wore the gloves once again.

'I didn't expect for the blood to be sufficient to form two imprints. And I can even feel that Fireplume is nourishing these imprints on my hands, altering them in some way. They seem to have been upgraded. If I were to activate this suddenly, even a rank 5 wouldn't be able to withstand the attack!'

Leylin's Fireplume and the bloodline of the Sun's Child had some mysterious response to each other, and the bloodline imprint's power was being nourished and amplified. The A.I. Chip estimated that each of these two bloodline imprints was as strong as two all-out attacks from the ancient rank 6 Sun's Child!

With such a great killing technique with him, Leylin now had something to count on, and was utterly confident in waging this war.

Greenflame City. This stronghold which acted as the bridge between the allied forces and Phosphorescence Swamp, was also a key strategic region for the Ouroboros Clan.

Since the Sky Legion had taken over this place, this stronghold had been in the hands of the allied forces. Even the commoners there had accepted this fact.

Gradually, after a few years, they had recovered from the fires of war before, and were now showing signs of prospering.

"No matter which Magus organisation governs them, none would attack regular humans for no reason. Hence, their loyalty is not guaranteed. Practically all leaders will be easily accepted, or should I say, this is the survival instinct of people with low social status?"

Above Greenflame City, Leylin and a few other Morning Star Warlocks stood in the air. Seeing the prosperous city, there was little they could say.

The Ouroboros Clan had occupied this area for thousands of years, but they never expected the people to react this way.

"We've never had much of an interest in this area. It's fine as long as they can provide a certain amount of provisions and materials, as well an annual influx of fresh blood." Gilbert stood aside, slightly red in the face.

"Oh well! At least, we won't have to feel bad about dragging them back into war once more!" Emma sneered, eyes completely red. The news that the allied forces had attacked the Ouroboros Clan brazenly after she had disappeared had completely riled her up.

The fury of a Morning Star could only be eased with fresh blood!

"If you don't make a move, I'm going to do it!" Emma watched Leylin and the others who had been invited such as Paul, who were unmoving. Laughing coldly, her robes began to sway and make sounds with the breeze.

"The flame elf of the immemorial times, please listen to my decree and descend, turning into a rain of flames!" Emma chanted loudly as terrifying elemental particle emanated from her body like a black hole. Endless elemental tides formed a surging tsunami.

A bit of red appeared in the sky, and it accumulated to form a layer of dense flaming clouds.

"Rank 4 spell— Descent of the Heavenly Flames!" Large amounts of flames streaked down like meteors, leaving splendid long tails as they descended upon Greenflame City.

Soon enough, successive sounds of an explosion could be heard, and a large amount of black flames formed that spread everywhere.

"Enemy attack! These energy undulations… Morning Star!" Within the residence of the city's mayor, a sentry yelled in disbelief at the data they had seen on the screen.

At the same time, he hung his head, closed his eyes and prayed, "Great Lord! Has the war between Morning Stars begun once again…"

He knew how terrifying wars between Morning Stars were. If Greenflame City was going to be the battlefield, none of the low-ranked Magi like him would be able to escape. Just the stray spells and large amounts of horrifying radiation could easily take their measly lives.

"Crap! The base of the airship forces!" After praying, this alarm watcher suddenly recalled something, and his expression changed as he activated a secret imprint in his hands.

"Hello? Is this the base of the airships? This is the mayor's residence. This is a rank 4 warning. I repeat, this is a rank 4 warning. A Morning Star is attacking!!"

No matter how much he shouted, there was no reaction from the imprint. Knowing things were bad, he darted out of the surveillance room and immediately saw the shower of flames. The violent sounds of explosions that accompanied them meant that the airship base stationed beside Greenflame City was now caught in the blazing flames.

"It's too late!" He laughed bitterly, about to leave the battlefield.

Rumble!* Boiling hot meteoric flames fell and wrapped around him, the fierce flames burning violently.

"Warning, warning! Energy from the barrier has been consumed. Unable to maintain energy defence!"

The piercing sounds of alerts could be heard everywhere in the base. There were panicked Magi and technological staff everywhere, and the interior of the airship base was in chaos.

Occasionally, a few airships would take flight, and would then be ruthlessly smacked to the ground by a few gigantic black arms, causing large sparks in the base.

"These airships aren't half bad, but it's a pity they're useless to me!"

Leylin sighed, but his hands did not stop moving. Large black Giant Kemoyin Serpent figures streaked through the skies, absorbing life force without care. All enemies in the vicinity of these figures had their life force sucked up and turned into dry corpses, with not even a bit of moisture left within.

The Ouroboros Clan was unable to handle so many airships, and besides, arrangements after the war were going to be very troublesome. Leylin could not be bothered to wrangle with the Morning Stars over this, and found it simpler to just obliterate the fleet.

"Stop!" Such unbridled actions immediately gave rise to the fury of other Magi. A streak of blue light shot out and appeared before Leylin and the others, revealing the figure of a young Magus.

The undulations of a Morning Star were also being emanated from this young Magus' body. From his bright eyes that had seen through the ways of the world, there was now merely rage. However, after seeing Leylin, Paul and the others, which came up to six Morning Stars working together, his pupils shrank slightly, and fear appeared on his face.

"Duke Farlier, are you planning on destroying the peace treaty from before?" Leylin knew this Magus. He was one of the Morning Stars that had besieged Ouroboros Clan, and was one of the leaders of the organisations that depended on Jupiter's Lightning.

Of course, to the current Leylin, he was as weak as an ant.

"Peace treaty? Hmph! That was just a temporary armistice!" Emma took a step forward, a snake-shaped spore landed in Greenflame City below.

Bang!* The spore clung onto the body of a Magus, and fear was apparent on his face as many warts appeared on his body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!* Seconds later, the warts broke open, and even more spores flew out.

In a short period of time, the entire Greenflame City had sunk into an abyss of suffering.

"You-!" The Morning Star Magus was anxious but did not raise his hand. With six Morning Star Warlocks here, he would be the one in trouble the moment he made a move.

Hence, he could only glare at Emma with hatred, "His Highness from Jupiter's Lightning will not let you off!"

"I'll wait!" Leylin chuckled and stepped forward while he continued the conversation.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, he had gone completely insane! Even with three Kemoyin dukes joining hands, as well as support from the Warlock Union, it was naive to think they'd be able to challenge a Radiant Moon!

This Morning Star began to snicker but immediately realised something was odd.

"Only Leylin out of all the Warlocks here has recently advanced. It's understandable if he doesn't understand the gap between them, but how can Gilbert and the others not know the power of a real Radiant Moon? Why do they look so relaxed?"

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Retrieving Land

Every Magus possessed knowledge and wisdom that far surpassed that of ordinary men. How could any such person knowingly provoke a rank 5?

There were only two ways that such a thing would happen. They were either absolutely confident in victory, or had a trump card that guaranteed them their lives.

Though this Morning Star couldn't guess what trump card Leylin and the rest had, he could tell that the situation today was not in his favour.

"Alright! Give me five minutes, and I'll order all my Magi to withdraw. I'll leave Greenflame City to you," he relented, albeit grudgingly.

The city and territory were all small matters to him. His Magi were what truly mattered, and he did not hesitate to make this choice even if he was unwilling.

"There's no need for that. Whatever the Ouroboros Clan lost, we will retrieve it with our own strength." Gilbert shook his head and rejected the other party's suggestion.

"Also, even if it's you, whoever dares offend our Ouroboros Clan will need to pay the price," Leylin added from the core of the group of Warlocks.

"What?" The enemy Morning Star Magus was enraged. "The nerve! You dare threaten me?"

He had been infuriated. Morning Star Magi lorded over the central continent. With their Morning Star Arcane Arts, they had trump cards capable of taking their opponents down with them, and they'd thus developed a pride rooted in the belief that they were unrivalled.

He acknowledged that he had been defeated, and taking the initiative and withdrawing was already giving his opponent face. However, the Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan wanted him to pay a price?

"Lunatics! You bunch of Kemoyin Warlocks are all lunatics!" The Morning Star's expression turned frosty.

If he knew of Leylin's previous battle achievements, he wouldn't dare say things like this.

Now, however, the Magus was determined to teach Leylin a lesson, and terrifying elemental energy gathered on his body as rings of light formed one after the other.

"Morning Star Arcane Art!" Paul and the others exclaimed in shock.

"That's right… Since you don't know what's good for you, then let this area be completely destroyed!" The Morning Star Magus yelled maniacally. If a Morning Star were to disregard everything, the Ouroboros Clan's territory would be ruined.

"Stand down. Let me do this."

Unexpectedly, the Warlocks opposing him had not withdrawn from his threats. Instead, Leylin had stepped out.

"A mere newly-advanced Morning Star is going to stop me?" This Morning Star suddenly had the urge to laugh.

Soon enough, though, this smile turned stiff.

Hsssss!*" Along with large amounts of demonic black flames, the giant phantom of a serpent appeared behind Leylin's back. This large serpent was quite similar to the Giant Kemoyin Serpent of the Ouroboros Clan, but there were red patterns on the scales and large amounts of black flames twining around its body. It was as if it was wreathed in a layer of flaming armour.

A forcefield even more terrifying than those of ancient rank 4 beings spread out, covering him.

Crack!* The rings of light broke, and the energy of this Morning Star Magus' point mass began to seep out and enter the black flames.

"Wha– What monster is this?!" The Morning Star Magus' expression changed, regret filling his mind. He now knew that this newly-advanced Morning Star was the most terrifying of this group of Warlocks!

"Hssss!" The huge serpent snarled and devoured the Morning Star…

Rumble!* Air shook and created shockwaves. Gilbert, Emma and the rest shot glances at each other and began to stabilise the space around them.

Whoosh!* A moment later, a blue figure escaped from the giant phantom serpent, making a strange sound as he fled pitifully.

Leylin stood quietly where he was, not even a wrinkle in his clothes or a strand of stray hair jutting out. He did not proceed to give chase.

"Why did you let him go?" Gilbert and Emma asked. They knew it was intentional on Leylin's part, after all they had personally seen his prowess.

"Our goal right now is to regain our territory. Now isn't the time to start wars with others. Battles between Morning Stars would attract the attention of Breaking Dawn Monarchs."

Leylin shook his head, "Besides, the injuries to his body will take a few hundred years to heal. There's no need to take notice of him in the future!"

It had to be said that Leylin was very meticulous in some matters. Gilbert and Emma looked to give him their approval.

"Ley– Leylin, you're so amazing? Goodnes! That was a Morning Star!" Philip was gaping. He had to admit that what he had seen today was just too amazing, and something rarely seen even in his long life.

Leylin could actually forcefully suppress a Magus by interrupting them while they were performing their Morning Star Arcane Art. He had even gravely injured his opponent, and was confident in killing them!

This was not a strength that belonged to rank 4s. It was the might that only great rank 5 Magi possessed!

"Leylin, Your Grace. Have you advanced to rank 5 already?" Paul asked a question that Gilbert and Emma wanted to enquire about as well.

"Of course not!" Leylin shook his head, but that only gave Paul the feeling that he was enigmatic and unmeasurable.

"Alright! Since the Morning Star has already been chased off, Greenflame City shall return to the arms of our Ouroboros Clan!"

Gilbert said a few words to a secret imprint, and soon enough troops formed of multiple high-ranked Warlocks arrived at the place.

Having already been attacked by a rank 4 spell and seeing their Morning Star flee in defeat, the high-ranked Magi of the enemy had no plans of fighting on. Teleportation portals flashed and people flew away as they fled.

Greenflame City returned to the Warlocks' control in less than an hour.

"I remember that this place once belonged to the Mair Family, right?" Emma spoke, implying something.

"Yes! As the Mair Family did not guard their territory properly, I suggest we reduce their land and take Greenflame City, giving it to other bloodline nobility!" Gilbert immediately spoke.

This was a reshuffling of power. With Leylin's powerful, abrupt rise, as well as the fall of the original First Elder, there were definitely conflicts of interest when it came to the allocation of benefits. The war was a perfect excuse to make changes to this.

Leylin stood silently at the side, not seeming to have any intentions of seizing power. However, even outsiders like Paul and Philip could tell that most of the territories that were being reclaimed would definitely be placed under Leylin's Farlier Family and Freya's Blood Serpent Family.

After the war, the Blood Serpent and Farlier Families would immediately rise in power. There was no doubt about that.

"Alright, let's get to the next area!" Once all affairs at Greenflame City were taken care of, a few Warlocks immediately continued on a new journey.

With Leylin along with Gilbert and Emma as support, the organisations that relied on Jupiter's Lightning and had merely one or two Morning Star Magi were swept through.

While Philip and Paul did not do anything, just their presence represented the stance of the Warlock Union. Even Rank 5 Magi had to reconsider the consequences.

Hence, the frontlines were pushed forward smoothly. In less than a month, all the land that had been occupied had returned to the high-ranked Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan. Of course, there were naturally changes when it came to allocation, but no Warlock dared complain.

"Hah… Onyx Castle! I'm back!"

Leylin stood above Onyx Castle in his territory, and was speechless.

The Magus Tower not far away had long since been overturned by the Oakheart family. Of course, they had immediately compensated Leylin with a brand new Morning Star Magus Tower.

The Onyx Castle below had obviously been destroyed and reconstructed. That must have been the Oakheart Family trying to curry favour with him since they were already here.

"Are you very familiar with the Azure Mountain King? The moment you arrived, he immediately withdrew his troops, and even looked impatient in doing it!"

"I just have something on him, so we're temporary allies." Leylin shook his head and chuckled.

"Temporary?" Emma observed Leylin's profound smile, suddenly feeling like the breeze in the skies was slightly chilly. She began to mourn for the Oakheart Family.

"News has come in that the Green Snake Marshes have been taken back. Our Ouroboros Clan has now regained all its past territory!" Gilbert's figure appeared by Leylin side, a sigh in his tone. "What should we do next?"

"Nothing. Just work on consolidating our original territories."

Leylin knew when to stop. Though he did not know if it was his existence or the intimidation of the Warlock Union, Jupiter's Lightning had displayed a high degree of tolerance towards the Ouroboros Clan's recent activities, and practically did not interfere at all. This was also why Leylin and the rest had been able to reclaim their territories so quickly.

Of course, Leylin did not believe that they were afraid of him or the union.

Zegna probably had something more important to focus on, which was why he was temporarily enduring his activities. As long as he killed Leylin, the Ouroboros Clan would quickly fall apart even if they took up half of the central continent.

Leylin always had his guard up against this Radiant Moon.

……

"The Ouroboros Clan has completely expelled our organisations and restored their territories!"

"In the Lava World, Wayde has brought a group of high-ranked Warlocks and is going around annihilating the Mobius Organisation!"

"Damn it, Damn it, DAMN IT! Leylin, Wayde… One day, I'll bury your skulls under my palace's steps, and have your souls wailing within the flames of my lights…"

Zegna's eyes were bloodshot as he sent the reporting Morning Star Magus away. Recently, all that was being delivered to him was bad news.

Wayde had actually gotten the coordinates to the Lava World, bringing a whole group and vying for territory with him. His previous actions had lost him his friendship with Scarlet Eye, and Archibald had become hostile with him after this matter as well.

While Zegna was in terrible shape worrying over these, Leylin had meanwhile reclaimed all the territory that had once belonged to the Ouroboros Clan!

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Pond of Lamentation

"It's all your fault, Narsha! Didn't you say that as long as we make use of the Lava World's coordinates as a trap, we can get rid of them and make them disappear into a spatial rift? You said nobody would know!"

The moon rune on Zegna's forehead dimmed as he narrowed his eyes.

"How would I know that three Morning Star Warlocks, when teamed up, were as powerful as a Radiant Moon Magus…" The mysterious female voice sounded like that of a spoilt little girl.

"Are you calling me useless?" Veins surfaced on Zegna's forehead.

"What? How could I do such a thing? You're my student, after all!" The little girl's voice was suddenly replaced by a mature one.

"All we have is a trade, an exchange of benefits." Zegna was breathing heavily as he stated this fact.

"Alright, alright! I know what you want. Wayde is fighting you over the Lava World, and Leylin is challenging your might in the central continent… But all this does not matter. As long as we succeed in our plan, you can advance to Breaking Dawn and become a King! Even wiping out the entire Warlock Union would be a piece of cake, let alone just them." Her voice was very gentle and extremely easy to be caught into it.

With the comforting words from the female voice, Zegna gathered his composure and returned to a dark secret chamber in his Magus Tower.

Passing through layers of restrictions, one would find nothing in the room except a circular fountain in the centre. A large amount of turbulent black air was boiling within it, and a few expressionless, pale human faces were floating on the surface.

"Wuuu Wuuu!"

A little white stream of air rose up, before forming into a few tall human figures that moved slowly around Zegna.

"How is it? I spent all my treasures for this, and even…" Zegna's voice lowered.

"It's looking good. The Pond of Lamentation configuration is almost complete, all that's left is a few last steps…" The female voice turned a little cold.

……

[Beep! Reserves of the Sun's Child bloodline imprint strengthened!] [Beep! Host's fire elemental resistance has increased!]

Along with the timely prompts from the A.I. Chip, Leylin's mind wandered off for a bit as he stared at the sun-shaped runes on the back of his hands.

'I prepared this specially for Zegna, but he didn't even show up!' Leylin had to admit that he hadn't predicted the opponent's reaction. Zegna was a narrow-minded villain, but he had remained composed under such provocation. This was out of Leylin's expectations.

'Or maybe someone else persuaded him not to act!' Leylin stroked his chin, 'If that's the case, it must be someone holding a prestigious status in Jupiter's Lightning. Which one is it?

'Eh, it's better like this anyway. We got back all our territory, and I didn't even have to use one of my bloodline imprints…' These bloodline imprints were almost as strong as rank 6 spells. They were definitely a trump card of Leylin's, and it was best that he continued to hide them.

Also, Leylin could feel that the bloodline imprint in his skin resonated with the modified Fireplume, and they complemented each other. With the passage of time, this resonance became more and more obvious.

'Could it be that the ancient Sun's Child was related to the phoenix?' Leylin dismissed his own thought with a laugh.

"Mentor! These are all the documents related to the body tempering in the Ouroboros Clan!"

The door to the study opened, and Snoopy entered with tons of black documents and crystal ball recordings.

All the documents had been piled up on Leylin's desk, forming a small hill.

"Mm, great job!" Leylin nodded his head in encouragement to this handy student of this. He sent him off as he started on the documents.

There were many different types of recording apparatus in the Magus World, and they came in different shapes, sizes, and materials. Books made of real paper were very scarce. In fact, Leylin had even seen a book made entirely out of bronze before, as well as books made of bone.

After all, the Ouroboros Clan was one of the top organisations in the central continent, and the very first thing Leylin had thought of after browsing through the documents was to find a way to improve his vitality.

The side effects of the massive increase in his soul force had yet to be resolved. Moreover, judging from his current health, there were very few spells and refining methods that would be of use to him.

Leylin casually flipped opened a thick dictionary-like book. On the pale yellowish page was a brightly-coloured rose, the leaves and petals seeming to tremble a bit.

"Ah…Dearest Trivish! I adore you, adore your eyes which are so pearl-like, and…"

As he flipped through a huge amount of mixed content, he found what seemed to be like short lines left behind by a bored bard. The phrasing was poor and the text somewhat incoherent.

Yet, Leylin browsed through the thing without much thought. He placed his fingers on a piece of paper with raised markings on it, gently sliding across every letter. It was then that something bizarre happened.

A line of fire appeared at the part Leylin touched, and the rest of the letters started to twitch. There were even little black feet growing on them as they started to rearrange themselves.

"The following text contains information on the initial stages of the reformation of Hodo Worms. Only official Magi and above can attempt to…"

Another instructional line appeared, and the A.I. Chip sounded at the same time:

[Beep! Object letting out inductive radiation detected, based on the activity rate of the detected radiation, it can be transferred into the Host's vitality. Probability: 0.000000001%!]

Leylin closed the book, feeling rather speechless.

Such hidden techniques and methods of induction could only be created by those at rank 3 and above. Rank 1 or 2 Magi who practised this would have their vitality stimulated, and would begin to improve.

However, such a thing was way too weak for Leylin.

"Reform through Hodo Worms? There's a maximum increase of 3 vitality, and added resistance against poison!" Leylin's eyes glowed blue as he stroked his chin, "But the new look would be simply too ugly… And it's useless for me currently anyway…"

He shook his head and moved on to the next source.

With his position in the Ouroboros Clan, he could use any resources he wanted. He'd finished browsing through all the documents in a few days.

No other Magus would have been able to accomplish much after one quick browse through. They would have to spend time to understand and memorise the information. Unlike them, however, all the information was now in Leylin's memory, never to be forgotten.

"A.I. Chip, scan through the new data and look for methods that can improve my current vitality," Leylin ordered.

Not only had he looked through all the documents about body refinement spell formations, he had also organised all the rumours and legends that related to improvements in vitality, giving it all to the A.I. Chip to analyse.

Even though he did not have much faith in the Ouroboros Clan's library, just a few clues were good enough for him.

[Beep! Search complete. Found 3 methods that suit the host.]

Along with its report, the A.I. Chip projected some information into Leylin's mind.

[1: Conversion into Adoforke. Will result in a one-time increase of 40 vitality.] [2: Acquire the title of Virtuous Sky Sage and come in contact with the Endowing Scepter. Will assist in advancement of host's physical strength by two ranks at once.] [3: Consume the Giant Dragon Potion together with Hades' Blood Sacrifice. Will result in an approximate increase of 10 vitality.] These were the three methods the A.I. Chip had found, the methods most suited to Leylin himself.

Of course, they were deduced from rumours and scientific content. Leylin would have to do his own work to get all the resources required to proceed with them.

Even so, it was much better for him than for those Magi who were clueless when they encountered problems, having to try all methods one by one.

"Conversion of Adoforke? Where on earth am I going to find such an ancient spell formation for the conversion of vitality?" Leylin smiled bitterly.

"Let's leave that aside for now. As for becoming a Virtuous Sky Sage…" he muttered as he touched his chin, sinking deep into thought. The Sky Castle was under the control of the Monarch of the Skies, but it was open to all scholars. The title of Virtuous Sky Sage was an honorary title in that place.

For strictness of the Magi, those were able to get the titles, were all the masters of the scholars. Coming into contact with the Endowing Scepter would be the benefit of the entitlements. Rumours had it that it could increase Magus's physique without any side effects.

Of course, with the help of the A.I. Chip, Leylin was quite confident in passing the tests. However, the Sky Castle was located in a Monarch's territory, and he was not sure of the attitude of the Monarch of the Skies held towards bloodline Warlocks. Hence, he wasn't confident in that plan.

"As for the last thing, the Giant Dragon Potion and Hades' Blood Sacrifice are quite simple to get. I can use a bunch of kobolds to refine some dragon blood, and I also have a spell formation for Hades' Blood Sacrifice…"

Leylin's eyes flickered with light. "The increase is a little on the low end, but it's good enough!"

He had finally realised how hard it was for Magi to advance. His vitality was already great as a Warlock, and he still faced so many difficulties in advancement. Imagine how hard it would be for Morning Star Magi?

There were probably many Magi stuck in the Morning Star realm due to a stagnation in their soul force and vitality.

"Let's do this for now. I'll prepare the Giant Dragon Potion, use it to increase my vitality, then proceed to the Sky Castle!" Leylin had made up his mind.

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Giant Dragon Potion

"Leylin!" Gilbert and Emma had come over while Leylin was deep in thought. Their eyes were twinkling with joy.

"What's this? You've acquired an interest in body tempering?" Emma had immediately made the connection after glancing at the mess of materials on the table.

"Mm. My soul has strengthened too much recently, and my physical body hasn't been able to keep up." Leylin nodded. This wasn't any information worth hiding after all.

"Seriously," Gilbert sat down speechlessly, "Us bloodline Warlocks have the advantage of increased vitality due to our inheritance of ancient genes. We're ahead of Magi in this field, and normally we only have to worry about how to increase our soul force. There are practically no other people in your situation!"

Leylin's monstrous growth rate was something Gilbert found difficult to digest.

Leylin laughed, and asked the two dukes some other questions about body tempering. However, both of them knew even less than he did, and could hardly give him any useful information.

In the end, Leylin could only ask, "How much do you know about Sky City?"

"What?!" "Don't tell me you're going there!?" Both Warlocks stood up in shock.

"Why? What's the matter?" Leylin asked with a smile.

The Endowing Scepter kept in Sky City was a treasure that only Virtuous Sky Sages could come in contact with, and it had the ability to increase his physique by two levels without any side effects. To the present Leylin, that was a huge temptation.

Two levels was roughly twenty points of vitality. With the additional ten points from the Giant Dragon Potion, his vitality would grow very close to a hundred points. The remainder could be increased slowly through Fireplume or Multilimb Strength.

Therefore, if he couldn't find other methods to substitute for it, he had to go through with this.

After a moment of silence Emma spoke. "Leylin… Even though the Monarch of the Skies hasn't targeted Warlocks before, you know the situation with our Warlock Union…"

Due to unknown reasons, bloodline Warlocks had been rejected and were treated as enemies by the regular Magi of the central continent. They had even reached the verge of extinction. Despite the tremendous efforts of the few Radiant Moon Warlocks, most Warlocks still felt quite unsafe. This was why the Morning Star Area had come up.

If the Monarchs hadn't given the suppression of Warlocks their tacit approval, this would have been impossible.

In Emma's eyes, Leylin was an up-and-coming talent who she had high expectations for, even someone who she considered a son-in-law. She naturally wouldn't want Leylin to leave and expose himself to danger.

"Mentor Gilbert, what do you think?" Leylin could only laugh wryly inside, his eyes focusing on Gilbert.

"Let's not talk about the Monarch of the Skies. Sky City is a holy land for Magi in the central continent, and is considered the Palace of Truth. Countless top-grade masters, artisans and scholars gather there, calling it the cradle of knowledge. In terms of innovations and advancements in spells, rapid progress is made every single day!"

Gilbert scratched his bald head, recalling some fond memories from the past as his eyes shimmered.

"If you hadn't already become a Morning Star Warlock and the pillar that's propping up our Ouroboros Clan, my very first recommendation would be to go to Sky City if you intend to travel across the continent!"

"If this is the case, I'm even more interested in going there!" Leylin stroked his chin, yearning evident in his expression.

"Alright then, but you have to be extra careful. It's best to hide your true identity." Gilbert and Emma smiled wryly at each other. They knew Leylin well enough. He was the stubborn type, and now that he had already made his own decision, he would not change his mind easily. He just wanted to listen to their suggestions.

"I know!" Leylin crossed his arms, leaning slightly forward.

"Well then, is there any reason for you to come all the way here now?"

"Oh yes, of course! We'd even forgotten about that!" Gilbert slapped his forehead. He passed Leylin a recording crystal.

"After a month of hard fighting, we have finally regained all our territory. This is the new map we've drawn out."

Leylin sent his soul force into the crystal, and immediately perceived a giant map. Different colours were used to divide the regions that belonged to the different bloodline nobles.

Compared to the previous map, there was not much of a change on the whole, but much of the nobles' territories had been greatly modified.

Primely, the territory that belonged to the nobles under the previous First Elder's wings had been greatly reduced, reallocated instead to the Blood Serpent Family and more significantly the Farlier Family.

'On the whole, both the dukes' rights and benefits remain the same as before, while I get a hold of the territory and resources that originally belonged to the First Elder?' Leylin pondered over this in his mind, though on the surface, just nodded, "I think this is fine! Let's go with this redistributed map!"

Only after Leylin agreed to this redistribution did Gilbert and Emma feel as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. After all, Leylin was far too crucial to the Ouroboros Clan, and if he was dissatisfied with the distribution and left the clan they would be in deep trouble.

Leylin laughed and shook his head as he saw both of these 'senior' Morning Star Warlocks in fear and trepidation before him.

……

"Master! I've captured a third batch of Kobold Warlocks, and placed them in the binding room." Tanasha bowed to Leylin as she reported. This Magus who was currently wearing a black dress had afforded him even more respect since his advancement, She had become very cautious with her work as well. At Leylin's command, she had captured large numbers of Kobold Warlocks in the blink of an eye.

"Mm, good job!" Leylin knew exactly what she wanted.

He laid lazily on the couch, waving his right hand slightly. A demonic dark flame formed on her forehead, leaving behind a distinct brand in the shape of a black snake.

Hss! Hss!* Surrounding the snake were hazy flames. The snake looked as if it was alive, about to break through the thin membrane of skin at any moment,

"Master!" Tanasha knelt down in trepidation. She could feel terrifying power from the mark, enough to crush her into powder!

"This is my secret imprint, and is representative of me. I've also stored within a one-time attack from my own hands. Normal Morning Stars won't be able to withstand it…." Leylin closed his eyes slightly as he spoke slowly. In the meanwhile, Tanasha was thrilled by his words.

"I'd once promised you at Quicksand Castle that once I was strong enough, and not afraid of retaliation, I would grant you your vengeance." Indeed, this was the reason that Tanasha had chosen to serve under him.

"Yes, Master! It's just that I never thought this time would come so soon…" Tanasha sounded a little unsteady. Leylin's rate of advancement was far beyond her expectations.

"The family that you are going to take revenge on has no Morning Star. I have also talked to their backing organisation, and they won't get in your way. You should be able to handle everything. The secret imprint I've left on you is your last resort!"

"Thank you, Master!" Tanasha's choked as she sobbed, her eyes red as the memories of her being harmed and chased after came up. It was still extremely vivid in her mind, how she'd even have to hide in the wilderness to survive.

"Go!" Leylin waved his hand, and Tanasha exited respectfully.

After exiting the Magus Tower, Tanasha felt the secret imprint on her forehead, especially the immense power within it, and her eyes glinted with strength. "How have you been, Dove? I will be back soon…"

Most would think Tanasha and this Dove were very good friends from her words, but they would be frightened upon looking at the terrifying expression on her face.

"Deeply buried hatred that hasn't dissipated over time. It's instead fermented and grown…" After Tanasha left, Leylin stood up slowly, and announced something that sounded like a prophecy.

He had a feeling that Tanasha's trip back would be accompanied by a great amount of bloodshed and pain. The misery of being forced to leave home and the experience of hiding for survival was enough to turn Tanasha into a terrifying goddess of vengeance.

But the history between them didn't matter to him. No matter what had happened, Leylin would surely side with Tanasha, and for a very simple reason. He had no relationship with the other party, whereas Tanasha was his subordinate.

Leylin had always favoured people of his own. He followed his own set of rules, and would definitely side with his own people if they were engaged in conflict with outsiders. Were Freya to fight his subordinates, for example, he would support her. But in case the two of them fell out, he would choose to protect his own benefits.

His personal benefits was in the core of his set of rules. The closer an external circle of benefits was to the centre, the more priority it received.

As for fairness? Justice? To things like that…Haha.

"Tower genie! Begin the modulation of Kobold Warlocks based on the bloodline operation sequence I had entered earlier on!"

Take now for instance. Leylin's interests were in conflict with those of the Kobolds, so he would not hesitate to sacrifice them.

[Beep! First stage of modulation beginning, increase in activity of bloodline…] The tower genie's voice sounded. Meanwhile, sounds of mournful cries could be heard from the multiple cages under the Magus Tower…

……

After days of experiments, Leylin held a purplish red bloodline potion in a test tube, his face filled with satisfaction, "Even though there were some failures in between, the Giant Dragon Potion is finally ready!"

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Vitality And Formation

Leylin had tremendous achievements in Potioneering, to the extent that he'd even surpassed the realm of Grandmasters, reaching a higher level.

Even though the Giant Dragon Potion was rare and difficult to make even during ancient times, it was only a matter of trial and error for Leylin.

Even these few failures were not due to his technique, but because experiments were prone to failure themselves.

"Since the Giant Dragon Potion is done, I can begin now!"

Leylin took a glance at the surroundings. It was a huge public square located in the Morning Star Magus Tower, created with the help of the tower genie. On the ground were complex designs and magic runes, and even vicious totem images.

Surrounding the entire spell formation were four gigantic pillars, every single stone pillar the thickness of three men combined. Above them was something like a huge hollow tunnel, it seemed to be split open by sharp weapons, full of a wild ancient aura.

[Hades' Blood Sacrifice spell formation, progress 99.9999%] the A. I. Chip responded after scanning through.

"Hades' spell formation, what an affinity between us!" Leylin laughed.

Hades was one of the most terrifying dark Magi of ancient myth. His level of dark magic was said to be unreachable, and rumour had it that he had even completely grasped the rules of death. He possessed eternal youth, and was full of desire for flesh and souls.

But of course, Hades was nothing more than a super powerful dark Magus in the eyes of Leylin and other Magi, and some even looked up to Hades as a motivational target and tried to surpass him.

When Leylin was trying to advance to rank 2, he had made use of the opponent's spell formation to harvest spirits.

Of course, the current blood spell formation was a few levels higher than the one back then, it could even absorb the sacrificial offerings' bloodlines by force in order to increase the Morning Star Magus's vitality.

Leylin took a look at his current status:

[Leylin Farlier, Rank 4 Bloodline Warlock: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (complete form) Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Vitality: 65, Spiritual Force: 956.8, Magic Power: 956 (magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force) Soul Force: ???]

"I have more than enough spiritual force, but vitality is so hard to increase!" Leylin smiled wryly. This was the side effect for his sudden, huge advancements recently.

Moreover, if his vitality still could not reach 100, it would be a huge problem once the Multilimb seal was broken.

"Begin!" Leylin's eyes shimmered with crimson light.

Crack! Crack!* Under the manipulation of the tower genie, the entire square started shaking, and grieved howls could be heard from a near distance.

That was the mourning of the strengthened Kobold Warlocks. After the bloodline extraction, these creatures were being treated as waste material and processed by Leylin

Waves of a terrifying aura rose continuously within the spell formation. Once the mourning of the Kobolds weakened, the whole spell formation started to change.

The four gigantic stone pillars surrounding the square began to shake. From the tunnel up above, a huge amount of sticky liquid that was blood red in colour dripped down. Mixed in were white objects that looked like crushed bones.

The red liquid first filled the pillars to the brink, before it slowly spilled out like blood flowing in veins, causing the pillars to turn crimson.

The liquid flowed all the way down, finally reaching the runes of the spell formation.

The concentrated blood red liquid filled the runes in order. The entire process was full of a certain solemnity, and the stagnant atmosphere was stifling.

The spell formation kicked into action, and an enormous layer of crimson light shot up from the runes.

Under the attraction of the crimson light rays, the vacant void above the spell formation was broken. Light took on the form of symbols seen in sacrificial rites, as it began to radiate waves of summoning.

Awooooo…*The phantom of a monstrous two-headed wolf hovered in the sky above the spell formation, howling ferociously. Greed filled its green eyes as saliva dripped down its jaws.

'I've never seen such a summoning technique before, is it a summoning from a foreign world or from a different time and space?' Leylin's eyes flashed blue. He had ordered the A.I. Chip to record the scene down into his database for future use.

Awooooo…* The two-headed wolf did not start to feast on the pulp of flesh, bones and blood immediately. Instead, it turned to Leylin, a ferocious look in its eyes as it glared at him as if he was one of the offerings.

'It has a certain level of intelligence? Could it be a clone of Hades?' Leylin stroked his chin, started as he sized up this two-headed wolf. This carefree behaviour of Leylin greatly irritated the phantom as it howled and aimed to pounce onto Leylin.

Sssssii* A malevolent phantom of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, this one with crimson scales, appeared behind Leylin and bared its jaws at the wolf.

A magnificent aura emanated from the Kemoyin Serpent, causing the wolf to waver.

"The summoning of a creature from another world is indeed troublesome!" Leylin snorted, started to activate a spell.

Rumble!* Eye piercing white flashes of lightning struck the phantom, causing it to howl as it lost some of its dark form.

After the lightning passed, each of the two wolf heads now had a collar on, with spikes that faced the neck.

The two-headed wolf was threatened by the spikes, and dared not rebel. It then dashed into the crimson light before starting to feast on the flesh hungrily. The formation grew silent except for the bone-chilling munching noises.

After a few minutes, the flesh and light inside the spell formation were both devoured by the two-headed wolf. It then roared to the sky, the sound waves travelling far and wide as it howled loudly.

The spell formation started to warp once more under these terrifying howls.

Starlight shone down through the Magus Tower, revealing the image of a bright moon.

Under the howls of the wolf, the moon gradually turned red before it stretched into the sides and formed the shape of a human eye.

An icy gaze swept across, causing Leylin to shudder in fear. He felt as if he had called upon a disaster and his body tensed up. 'This pressuring aura must surely belong to a high levelled Magus!'

Leylin inhaled deeply. Fortunately, the crimson eye did not fix its gaze on him. Instead, it only spared him a short glance and focused on the two-headed wolf.

An eerie scene formed as the two-headed wolf howled continuously under the gaze of the crimson moon-eye.

Pop!* The sound of a bubble bursting was followed by a crisp explosive sound, and the phenomenal sights in the area disappeared without a trace.

The two-headed wolf, the full moon and the starlight suddenly seemed to be an illusion, and a tinge of purple light twirled around the spell formation.

[Conscient of greed from a foreign world has been attracted, summoning of ancient Hades phantom is complete!] A notification from the A. I. Chip sounded, reminding Leylin that what he had seen just now was not a hallucination.

"Phew…what a weird spell formation! Hades, the king of the ancient dark Magi, is truly a powerful elite!" Leylin let out a long breath and stepped into the spell formation.

Boom* The rumbling of the formation acted like a signal, and a huge amount of purple olight converged on Leylin as it entered his body.

"Argh!" Leylin let out a stuffy groan and started to spasm.

After the purple light rays entered his body, they started wriggling like earthworms. This feeling was indescribable; if not for his superb vitality and great endurance, he would have passed out or even died due to the pain!

"The Giant Dragon Potion!" Leylin kept himself composed, using the purplish red medicine which he had long since prepared in his hand.

Pow!* There seemed to be a chemical reaction when the potion entered his stomach, and the amount of pain increased tenfold.

Leylin's vision turned pitch black, but he managed to persevere through it with his strong will.

[Beep! Host is undergoing Hades' sacrificial rites! Muscle fiber strengthening in process.] [Beep! Host is absorbing quintessential materials, vitality increased.] [Beep! Giant Dragon Potion has taken effect. Radiation is creating the best environment for absorption.] The notifications from the A. I. Chip sounded continuously.

After the last wave of pain had passed, Leylin felt a stream of boiling heat gushing all over his body.

[Beep! Host vitality increasing, currently at 66.7! 67.5! 68.3! 69.9!]

The value showing Leylin's vitality kept on increasing in the A. I. Chip's database, and surpassed 70 within a split second before continuing on.

71! 72! 73! 74! 74.5!

In almost an instant, the number had rocketed up by ten. It only stopped upon reaching 74.9.

Leylin straightened his body after the effects of the potion passed, and crackling sounds rang throughout it.

[Host data changed, readjusting!]

Leylin took a look at his stats and discovered a huge change in them.

[Leylin Farlier, Rank 4 Bloodline Warlock: Kemoyin's Serpent (complete form) Strength: 50 Agility: 45 Vitality: 74.9 Spiritual Force: 956.8 Magic Power: 956(Magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force) Soul force:???]

"Hmm! Vitality had increased by 9.9 units! Pretty close to the estimated data from the A. I. Chip!" Leylin nodded in satisfaction.

Right now, he had reached a monstrous value in terms of his vitality.

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Setting Off And Apprehension

Based on Leylin's understanding, vitality represented defence as well as regenerative abilities. His value of 74.9 was very close to the terrifying numbers that ancient creatures possessed.

With his current body, regular rank 1 and 2 spells could not break through his defences. Even rank 3 spells would only give him tiny injuries, and he would recover instantly. His frightening vitality gave him an equally terrifying healing ability.

After checking everything once over, Leylin nodded in satisfaction.

"With the strength of my body, even if the seal of Multilimb Strength suddenly gives way, I can still hold on for a period of time. Next, if I can gain the title of a Virtuous Sky Sage and receive the blessing from the Endowing Scepter, I'll be able to solve the issue of the repercussions from having my soul force rise too rapidly!"

Leylin had to go to Sky City no matter what.

Though that was the territory of the Monarch of the Skies, and a Warlock like him going alone could be troublesome, it was already the simplest method that the A.I. Chip could come up with.

Techniques and body tempering spell formations that could increase the vitality of Morning Stars was very rare in the central continent. On top of that, Leylin's strong foundation as a Warlock made things more difficult.

The A.I. Chip had summed up all of Leylin's knowledge and used the Ouroboros Clan's large database to find these three methods. They were already the best out there.

However, Leylin had yet to find any clues on the transformation spell formation in Adoforke, and only knew it was in some ruins in the central continent from a legend. To him, taking the risk to explore ruins was too troublesome and dangerous.

He had already used the third method, and could not repeat it within a short period. If he tried, leave alone getting results, he would only face possible side effects.

Hence, the most reasonable choice to make was the second. He would head for Sky City and the Endowing Scepter.

Of course, Leylin was rather confident in his travels. He was a peak Morning Star and could escape with his life even if he met with a Radiant Moon Magus.

The two bloodline imprints from the bloodline of the Sun's Child gave him more than enough confidence.

Sky City was the home to the Monarch of the Skies. He did not wish for there to be a rank 6 battle at that place!

'Besides, I haven't provoked the Monarch of the Skies at all. I just have to be careful of Jupiter's Lightning…' Leylin stroked his chin and sank into deep thought.

……

A few days later, in the area surrounding Phosphorescence Swamp.

A completely black private airship that looked like a water droplet soared into the skies. In just a few minutes, it disappeared into the horizon.

Atop high towers, countless figures stared at the floating airship in a daze until it disappeared.

"Relax, Freya!" Emma patted the back of Freya's hands, looking at her lovingly, "Leylin is now comparable to a rank 5 Warlock. He'll be fine!"

"Indeed. Leylin is very powerful. We just have to do our duty here at the Ouroboros Clan," Gilbert consoled her.

"Your Graces are right!" Freya bowed slightly, the concern in her eyes still not completely gone.

After all, Leylin was going to the territory of a Monarch. What if something happened? Freya did not dare think further.

"Haha… Ever since little Freya got married, she doesn't listen to her mentor!"

Emma grabbed Freya's hands and began to repeat, "You don't have to care about other things right now. What's most important is to spread the bloodline of the Farlier Family. Leylin has a lot of secrets on him, and his Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline is the best I've seen… No! It's THE best Kemoyin bloodline! If you don't spread it, it'll be a true waste…"

"Mentor, what are you saying?" Freya protested coquettishly, two attractive flushes of red rising in her cheeks. Yet, that had eased her worry.

……

Bang!* The Colossal Serpent parted the clouds and shook off the winds, breaking through the troposphere and reaching a higher part of the sky.

One could see intense sunlight shining down through the glass windows. Below was a seemingly boundless white sea of clouds, the scenery incomparably beautiful.

The private airship was very quick, but it was not obvious from the scenery which seemed to be still.

After he finished setting up the automatic navigation system, Leylin sat alone on the sofa with red wine in his hands as he watched the scenery on both sides through the windows. He looked on absentmindedly.

A long while later, he sighed. "I'm not treating Freya well!"

Ever since Leylin had returned from the Lava World, he had extremely busy with reclaiming territory and contacting other bloodline organisations. He had basically given Freya the cold shoulder.

Now, he was going on a solo journey to Sky City. Though Freya had been strong and not displayed it, Leylin could feel her worry as she sent him off.

Whatever it was, Leylin would definitely not bring her along. He was going to take a risk here, and this was no holiday. If he were alone, it would be easier to escape, but if he had someone else around, things would get difficult.

'I'll make it up to her in the future!' Thinking this through, Leylin focused on other things.

"A.I. Chip, how much longer till I reach Sky City?"

[Beep! Based on the speed of Giant Serpent, estimated time of arrival: 45 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, 19 seconds!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

"That's really quite far. If not for me having my personal airship, it might have been even more troublesome!"

Leylin was speechless. If it required such a long time with the speed of his personal airship, it was quite obvious how vast the central continent was.

'This is a great time to meditate! Besides, there are still some more improvements to be made to the fusion of the Fireplume and Kemoyin's Pupil…'

Leylin sunk deep into thought, eyes glowing a blue that was indicative of the workings of the A.I. Chip. Numbers, letters and runes from different worlds were processed by the A.I. Chip. The A.I. Chip operated continuously, calculating and deducing information, forming a wondrous cycle of numbers…

……

Within a hidden Magus Tower.

This was a Magus Tower constructed by a Radiant Moon, filled with black thunder and lightning. It gave off a dark atmosphere that would cause one's heart to palpitate. These flashes of lightning constantly flickered around, causing the Magi walking along the passageway to break out in cold sweat.

"The feeling of this area really gives me the chills…" The Morning Star who spoke was one of Jupiter's Lightning.

After the incident during the Holy Solar Festival, Wayde had brought along a group of high-ranked Warlocks to attack them. The Mobius Organisation lost time and time again in the Lava World, and quite a few Morning Stars were either killed or heavily injured. This led to a lack of manpower in Jupiter's Lightning.

At such a critical time, the leader of Jupiter's Lightning, the great Radiant Moon Magus Zegna, had suddenly announced he was going to seclude himself in meditation, which had given rise to protests and confusion. Of course, that was only in the hearts of his subordinates. Those that would dare oppose Zegna overtly had been turned to ashes hundreds of years ago.

Passing through the alley, the Morning Star Magus arrived at a bronze door. The uneasiness he felt had reached its peak.

"Your Highness, this is Loki seeking an audience!" he transmitted after a momentary silence.

"Come in!" Zegna's voice was heard. It was the same old voice, but there was something oddly jarring about it.

While wondering about it on the inside, Loki showed the utmost respect as he bowed and entered.

Behind the large brass door was a giant secret room. The walls were full of binding and summoning runes, as well energy isolation spell patterns.

At the heart of the room was a large pool where streams of black gas surged, producing bubbling sounds.

Zegna stood by the pool, clad in black and gold. His eyes were fixed on the current of the black gas.

"Your Highness!" Loki bowed, watching the pool with some curiosity. This was what had caused his uneasiness!

Yet, he would not dare to ask Zegna about it. He did not even have the guts to probe it with his soul force.

"What is it? You even used the emergency communicator to contact me." Zegna's hands were behind his back, but Loki knew that this meant His Highness was beginning to be enraged. If his next words were unsatisfactory, he would be in trouble.

"Your Highness had put me in charge of information about the Ouroboros Clan, and in particular the Warlock named Farlier. I've acquired some intelligence!"

Zegna was paying close attention to Leylin, and hence he turned back to stare at Loki. "Speak!"

"Leylin of the Ouroboros Clan left Phosphorescence Swamp yesterday. His destination is most likely Sky City!" Loki hastily reported, but strangely enough, Zegna merely listened quietly and did not do anything special.

"Your Highness?" Loki raised his head and saw the dazed look on Zegna's face. There were a few distorted spirit bodies hovering around him, pale, crooked palms grabbing at his collar.

Loki felt his heart lurch, but after sneaking another glance at Zegna, everything seemed like it had been an illusion.

This discovery had him sink deeper into fear.

"Your Highness, do you need me…" Loki asked as he tried to sound out.

"I'm conducting an exceptionally important spirit body experiment. I'll take care of Leylin myself. Don't bother with it anymore!" Zegna answered coldly.

"Yes, sir!" Loki bowed once more and left. Only after leaving the Magus Tower did he let out a long sigh. He felt like his entire top half was drenched in sweat.

His Highness, who had always been very enthusiastic about destroying the Ouroboros Clan, had been reduced to this state. The scene just then even had Loki in shock.

"Could that just now have been…"

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Conjectures and Arrival

Within the Magus Tower's secret room, at the side of the Pond of Lamentation. The silent Zegna was in a daze, only turning back after he left and lifting up the sleeve on his right arm.

On his right arm, crests and troughs formed on what should've been smooth skin, taking on the shape of a mysterious female face.

"What should we do about the Ouroboros Clan?" Zegna asked.

Two cracks opened in the skin, rolling apart to form a vivid pair of eyes. "You are now at the advanced stage of the transformation. Your main body will probably not be able to…" the mysterious woman's voice sounded.

"You mean we should let go of this opportunity?" Zegna raised his eyebrows.

"No! We…" The woman's voice grew softer and was quickly concealed by the waves of water in the black pool.

……

Above the troposphere. The large amounts of white clouds gathered to form a boundless white sea.

A black streaking was soaring through this see, a private airship with a smooth structure. Currently on its surface was a faint layer of defence, allowing the interior to be silent.

Leylin sat cross-legged on a platform in the bedroom, a phantom Kemoyin Serpent slowly taking form behind him. Light flickered on the phantom causing it to seem illusory, and it looked more regal as fine red stripes appeared on it.

Meditation was something Leylin did every day. Even though he'd already reached the peak of Morning Star, he would not set this task aside.

After he absorbed a large amount of darkness and fire elemental particles, the phantom behind him shrunk down and entered his body.

Whoosh!* Leylin's eyes opened, and it seemed like large amounts of lightning streaked past the room.

"Mm. With the A.I. Chip's optimisation, the fusion between Fireplume and Kemoyin's Pupil is now half a fold more effective than before!" This was the most precise number he could come up with through his own personal experiments.

Having a top-grade meditation technique such as the Wing of the Sun for reference, Leylin knew fully well that other than not having enough levels, Kemoyin's Pupil was rather similar to a top-grade meditation technique.

At this thought, Leylin could not help but focus on the A.I. Chip, "How is the progress on the fifth level of Kemoyin's Pupil?"

[Beep! 76.5% completed! The remaining path is being optimised.] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice intoned loyally.

"It seems like the fifth level will be completed soon." A hint of glee appeared on Leylin's expression.

The bloodline shackles had ensured that no Kemoyin Warlock had ever broken past the Morning Star realm. Hence, Kemoyin's Pupil which was specialised for his bloodline only had four levels to it.

This was a type of bloodline shackle. The meditation technique itself would hinder a Kemoyin Warlock from breaking through!

Now, Leylin could hope to destroy these shackles! The meditation technique may be just one part of them, but it had a hole in the bloodline shackles. Now, all he had to do was pry it open.

Leylin believed that, one day, he would manage to break through these shackles as long as he persevered.

'Meditation techniques are only one tiny aspect of the Warlocks' bloodline shackles. The fundamental issue is still the bloodline, as well as restrictions on the spirit…' At this thought, Leylin turned gloomy. Though he was confident in his future, that did not mean he thought the troubles ahead of him were easy to deal with.

'The limit of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent is rank 4. I, who have fused with its blood and soul, am now bound to rank 4 as well.' The limits imposed by a bloodline would extend to the soul once one reached the Morning Star realm. This was the true issue of the bloodline shackles.

The soul was just too complicated. Even Morning Stars could only graze the surface in researching it.

'How do I break through the restrictions on the soul?' Leylin touched his chin, 'Do I have to begin experimentation on synthesising and altering bloodlines?'

Leylin, equipped with large amounts of information from the ancient Quicksand Organisation, was no stranger to all this. He also had much experience under his belt.

Leylin was perhaps the only one in the central continent in altering Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline or form a new one!

'However, artificially-constructed bloodlines always have defects. They are less lively in comparison to those that have gone through the order of survival of the fittest, shaped by nature and history.'

This was the disadvantage of artificially-made products. The only other option was if Leylin was willing to expend much time and wait, allowing the formed bloodline to grow in nature for up to several tens of generations and slowly ripen. However, the amount of time required far exceeded Leylin's lifespan.

Besides, though altering bloodlines could result in the creation of more powerful types of bloodlines, the chances of failure were equally high. Leylin was not going to gamble on his future.

Hence, this very attractive train of thought lingered in Leylin's mind but was eventually abandoned.

"If this doesn't work, I can only rely on the plan the ancient Wisdom Tree came up with! It's a pity… At my level, I can't use it yet…" A deep wrinkle appeared on Leylin's forehead.

In terms of just intelligence and knowledge, it was impossible for him to measure up to the Wisdom Tree which had lived since time immemorial. He knew that it's suggestion was definitely viable.

The A.I. Chip had also performed many simulations and verified its feasibility.

It was a pity that these plans were still far away for Leylin. His current strength was insufficient for him to carry them out.

"Besides, the method it gave me can take care of this issue once and for all. If I use it now, the effects definitely won't be as good as me employing it in the future! I must use it as a trump card, because this might be the only thing I can count on when I meet the Snake Dowager!"

Leylin's eyes glinted. "Perhaps… My ideas were wrong from the start. Rather than finding other forces to contaminate the bloodline, I should focus on developing my own bloodline. I might even get some results from that!"

Leylin made up his mind.

[Beep! Reached vicinity of Sky City! Arrival in 1h, 24min, 13s.] the A.I. Chip prompted.

"Hm? A month has already passed?" Leylin was puzzled, but then looked through the time records the A.I. Chip had created and could not help but burst out in laughter as he shook his head, "I've long since heard that high-ranked Magi have experiments that go on for years or even decades. When they come out, nothing will seem to have changed but that would be untrue. I never expected to find myself in this situation. Just meditating a few times and going through a few conjectures and proofs on experiments had time passing so quickly…"

To outsiders, Magi possessed great strength as well as an enviably long life. Even rank 1 and 2 Magi could live for hundreds of years, which seemed endless.

However, Leylin knew that their time was short, much too short. Besides meditating, they had to conduct experiments and embark on explorations. Each incident of these could take up decades, even centuries! Hence, even after reaching rank 4 and acquiring a lifespan of over a thousand years, he still felt that there wasn't enough time.

'This is why so many Magi transform into undeads or become spirit bodies. However, that's merely struggling at death's door. The body cannot do anything about the death of its soul, and there will be huge side effects, even going so far as the degeneration of their intelligence.'

Leylin could not help but shiver at that thought. Even if he was at the end of his lifespan anyway, he would not choose to use this method. While he could live for a longer period of time, the price to pay for that would be becoming slow-witted, a fool or lunatic. He would rather return to the astral plane with a clear mind.

Buzz!* At this moment, the Colossal Serpent began to tilt upwards.

'Am I finally there? Sky City, the holy land of the Magi of the central continent, said to be the cradle of truth and knowledge!' Anticipation glinted in Leylin's eyes as he walked to the deck of the airship.

The great wind and atmospheric pressure did not affect the defence of the Colossal Serpent at all. Leylin, who was inside, felt nothing.

At this moment, the head of the airship tilted further, climbing upwards rapidly.

From the troposphere where the weather was peaceful, he had broken through the stratosphere, arriving even higher than that.

[Beep! Air pressure around host has dropped, oxygen supply dwindling.] The A.I. Chip prompted.

"Hehe, not yet!" Leylin shook his head, and the Colossal Serpent became a flaming arrow as it began to shoot up almost vertically.

[80 km altitude. 200 km. 500 km!] The A.I. Chip rapidly refreshed its prompts.

"If I was in another world, I'd probably have broken through the warm layer and arrived above the ionosphere, right?"

Leylin looked at the A.I. Chip curiously. He noticed that besides the strange reduction in temperature and a change in the behaviour of ions, there were no other changes.

"No!" Leylin looked up. He did not see a universe, but just the sky from before. However, the sunlight seemed more vast and dazzling.

"The Magus World it just a world amongst many others. It naturally can't be the same as in my previous world!" Leylin seemed to mock himself as he laughed.

At this moment, dark clouds appeared above the Colossal Serpent, as if shrouding the whole sky.

When he got closer, he realised that these gigantic dark clouds even had lightning snakes within, thunder booming constantly inside.

"The thunder layer of Akev! Sky City's first line of defence!"

Leylin chuckled, piloting the Colossal Serpent and charging straight in.

Whoosh!* The lightning seemed to be enraged and struck downwards suddenly!

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