Sovereign of the Ashes

The knight’s battlefield instincts and extraordinary perception were certainly impressive.

Not only that, he was clearly stronger than an ordinary full-fledged mage!

The metallic spear vibrated audibly as it lodged into the ground.

Despite having the capability to strike Sein down in a single blow, the knight intentionally struck the spear into the ground less than half a meter away from Sein.

Sensing that he was the target, Sein decided to step forward and reveal himself.

The knights, responsible for maintaining order outside Mystralora City, clearly outclassed Sein in terms of strength. Sein was nothing more than an initiate who had recently reached the level of a senior initiate with a repertoire of almost entirely intermediate magic spells.

He realized that any attempt to challenge them was futile, especially considering that even the fully-fledged black mages had been defeated.

Sein’s sudden appearance caused a stir among the knights outside the city.

Not all of them had detected Sein, who was lurking in the shadows.

In fact, Sein had positioned himself quite a distance from Mystralora City. Amidst the darkness and the surrounding noises, even full-fledged mages would find it challenging to spot Sein without relying on detection magic.

This explained why Sein believed that the knight who had detected him possessed strength far surpassing that of an ordinary full-fledged mage.

“I’m impressed that Brother Baldor could even spot the little black magic initiate hiding so far away.”

“Of course, Brother Baldor is a Rank Two Land Knight who has experienced several interplanar wars!”

“I heard that the bloodline power Brother Baldor has mastered is quite rare. It’s a shame that we don’t get to witness it in this battle against the black mages. There are simply too few worthy opponents for him to activate his bloodline transformation.”

Conversations unfolded among the group of knights.

The pressure exerted by the surrounding knights on Sein was comparable to the presence of the black mages from the academy.

They were all formidable individuals who had attained Rank One life level.

It seemed that the surface forces had been planning to destroy Mystralora City for quite some time.

In addition to the mages from the Divine Tower, they had enlisted quite a number of knights.

Among them, the knight who exerted greatest pressure on Sein was the leader of the group, clad in full silver armor.

He was by far the mightiest human Sein had ever encountered.

Standing at nearly three meters in height, he resembled a silver mountain.

The knight’s immense stature was entirely natural and not a result of the size-increasing effects of bloodline magic like Stenson’s.

Sein suspected that this silver-armored knight could easily send even Stenson flying with just a casual flick of his fingers...

Despite being surrounded by a group of knights and facing a Rank Two Land Knight, Sein remained unfazed.

After all, his encounter with a creature of Rank Four had steeled his nerves.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Sein maintained a relatively composed and collected demeanor.

It was this demeanor that earned him the respect of the silver-armored knight confronting him.

Even powerful creatures of Rank One from other worlds would often cower in his presence, but not this young initiate.

The silver-armored knight had encountered countless individuals. While he could not read minds, the impression that this young, blond initiate left on him was stronger than most of the little scoundrels accompanying the black mages.

Finally, the knight in silver armor asked, “Are you a black magic initiate from this underground city?”

His deep voice matched his immense stature.

As soon as the knight spoke, the chatter among the surrounding knights ceased, highlighting his authority among them.

“Yes,” Sein calmly replied.

In this situation, Sein found it difficult to lie. His focus exceeded that of an ordinary person, and these individual knights could undoubtedly discern his identity as a magic initiate.

Regarding whether or not he was a “black” magic apprentice, what other kind of initiate could there be in this underground world?

“We should restrain him, Brother Baldor! Let’s not forget how Zeke was wounded by a sneaky black magic initiate two months ago. Poor guy. Instead of being injured by a black mage, he was hurt by a black magic initiate. He’ll be the laughing stock in the Order of the Knights when he returns,” a knight in yellow armor remarked.

The knight had his helmet visor up, allowing Sein to see the playful and teasing smile on the knight’s face.

The others gathered around him erupted into laughter as soon as they heard his comment.

The silver-armored knight remained silent and waved with his right hand. Another yellow-armored knight, who was already waiting with a pair of shackles, approached Sein.

These shackles bore distinct magic inscriptions, along with a row of sharp barbs on the inside.

Sein, with the trained eyes of an alchemy initiate, suspected that these shackles had the function of restraining mages.

His suspicion was right. These shackles were indeed specifically designed to restrain full-fledged black mages.

Sein was treated with such “honor” likely because of his focus level, which was comparable to that of a senior initiate.

Advanced magic spells seemed to pose some threat to these full-fledged knights.

While they were not enough to kill them, it would certainly be embarrassing for them if Sein managed to get the better of them.

What truly alarmed Sein was the way the yellow-armored knight was eyeing the rod and the space ring in Sein’s possession.

It was a gaze filled with greed.

Before the yellow-armored knight could shackle Sein, Sein urgently declared, “I’m an initiate who has just returned from the Sand World. I have vital information to report to the esteemed mages from the Divine Tower!”

Sein’s words surprised the group of knights, and halted the yellow-armored knight.

“The Sand World? Didn’t Master Rhomwald from the Divine Tower of Dawn and that peak Rank Three black mage fight near its spatial passage two years ago?”

“An initiate actually came out from there?” one of the knights exclaimed in disbelief.

Not far from Sein and the others, a commotion arose among the civilians, but the exact cause was unclear.

The silver-armored knight appeared to be deep in thought with his head bowed. However, the yellow-armored knight approaching Sein remained undeterred.

As the shackles neared Sein’s hands, the metal-gloved right hand of the yellow-armored knight was also on the verge of making contact with Sein’s space ring.

It was at this moment, a loud chorus of voices from the residents of Mystralora City reached the knights’ ears.

As the knights who had maintained order before had gathered around Sein, the residents outside the city seemed to be in turmoil.

Upon a quick glance, there were hundreds of residents moving toward this area.

To Sein’s surprise, the first voices speaking up in his favor were from the residents that most seldom interacted with.

“Sir knights! That magic initiate is a kind-hearted soul! A few years ago, he saved us from starvation by offering charity and assistance!” an elderly and somewhat hoarse voice cried out.

Following that, the hundreds of residents dropped to their knees in unison.