Setting A Plan
âGood! Iâll be there then!â Leylin nodded.
âOf course you will, because youâll have the greatest chance!â Gilbert chuckled.
âOh? Whyâs that?â Leylinâs thoughts were lightning quick as he immediately came up with a reason. âCould it beâ¦â
âHehe⦠thatâs 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, youâll get the most opportunities to sneak into his residence.â Emma revealed.
âNo wonder Iâve been thinking Schiker has a very solid backing and very powerful connections. So heâs the illegitimate child of the head of the unionâ¦â Leylin spoke in understanding.
âHehe⦠This is called an opportune moment. Weâd 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, weâd only be at the bottommost level. Youâre different. Not only is your Emberwing aura unbelievably pure, youâve even improved in Fireplume up to the ninth level. What a genius!â
Gilbert praised. He was now feeling heâd 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.
âAlright! Iâll do my best and follow Schiker back to the capital!â Leylin nodded, watching these two Kemoyin Dukes. Before heading to the Lava World, heâd 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.
âBy the way, thereâs someone called Loke under Schiker. Is he also someone you arranged for to be there?â Leylin suddenly thought of something and asked.
âLoke?!â Suspicion flashed on Emma and Gilbertâs expression as they exchanged a glance. Even Leylin, who had been observing their facial expressions, could not tell if these expressions were genuine.
âNo, I donât know him! Heâs not a spy we sent out. Is there something wrong?â
âA little. I suspect heâs from another race who feigned an identity to enter the Special Task Force!â Leylin casually brought this up.
âIn that caseâ¦â Gilbert rubbed his shiny bald head, âYouâll need to be more wary of him. Heâs most likely someone from the Mobius Organisation!â
âMobius Organisation? Do you know that organisation well?â Leylinâs interest was piqued at this. Or rather, at the large amount of resources and firasource stones that this organisation had stolen.
âThough this is just a guess, we are almost certain that itâs Jupiterâs Lightningâs organisation here!â
Emma looked grim, âDue to the suppression from Atlan, Zegna of Jupiterâs Lightning does not dare come to this world. Heâs only dispatched a few Morning Star Magi here to secretly build up an organisation!â
âZegna?â Leylin touched his chin. It was only now that he found out the name of this rank 5 Magus who had been opposing him.
âIn this case, Loke is probably a spy or something to that effect sent out by Zegna?â Leylin chuckled.
âJust a mere pawn. It doesnât matter even if thatâs true. As long as heâs not a Morning Star, he wonât be that vital in this game hereâ¦â
Ruthlessness flashed in Gilbertâs expression, âIf you really think heâs annoying, then dispose of him. If itâs not convenient for you, just tell us, and weâll handle itâ¦â
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 Lokeâs death wouldnât be that significant anyway.
âLetâs 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?â
âWhy? You want to know where he is?â Emma and Gilbert both had on something that seemed like a smile.
âOf course! I donât really care about other resources, but I must get those firasource stones!â
Leylin answered decisively, âBesides, I can gain more of Schikerâs 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?â
âActually, weâve been trying to track him down and seem to have found some trailsâ¦â
Emma exclaimed, âJust as well! That is Collins of Jupiterâs 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!â
âThatâs fine!â Leylin immediately thought of Collins, who heâd disciplined at his ceremony, and the corner of his lips quirked up in a smile.
â¦â¦
*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.
âCollins, hand over everything you have on you, and we can let you off!â 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.
âLord Zegna wonât let you offâ¦â The energy undulations from Collinâs body were all over the place. The battle with Morning Star Arcane Arts had already landed him in a critical state.
âZegna? Hmph! Even if he doesnât look for us, weâll look for him. We canât just forget about what happened with the First Elder.â 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, Jupiterâs 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!
âAlright! I can give you all the firasource stones, but youâll need to swear on the astral plane that you wonât harm or imprison me!â
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.
âYou donât have any leeway to bargain over this!â Leylinâs tone was firm. With his opponentâs life in the palm of his hands and unable to escape, there was no space for negotiation.
âAlright. In that caseâ¦â 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.
âItâs a rank 5 magic scroll!â Emmaâs expression instantly changed, countless blood-red rays exploding forth.
A giant black snake that spanned across the horizon appeared, charging in his direction.
âKemoyin Serpent Transformation!â 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.
âHissssâ¦â 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, Collinsâ 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.
âThe firasource stones are all here, as well as my collection. Donât go too far!â 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.
âWhat do you think of this?â Leylin spoke first.
âSince weâre acting, we need to seem genuine. Iâm going to chase him for a while longerâ¦â Gilbert nodded, before dashing towards the black streak.
âWell then, Madam Emma, Iâll head back now!â After keeping the portion of firasource stones that belonged to him, Leylin was in an exceptionally good mood and bowed to Emma.
âMm! Take care of yourself. I donât want Freya to become a widow at such a young age,â Emma hummed, though there were hints of concern in her tone.
âI understand!â Leylin was slightly touched, nodding as he turned back into Ley the Emberwing. He returned to the Special Task Force encampment in Wox City.
âBoss, the energy undulations just now?â The moment he entered, Mies rushed over hurriedly, his expression grim.
âItâs probably a fight between Star ranks!â Leylin obviously knew the reason for the change in his expression.