Sovereign of the Ashes

The Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory spanned an area larger than both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Divine Tower of Shadow’s territories.

This included not only the number of resource points within their territory but also the overall strength of the extraplanar creatures therein, which seemed to be somewhat more formidable.

This was reflective of the higher overall power of the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder compared to the other two, a superiority that extended beyond mere numbers to encompass the quality and capabilities of its initiates.

Upon entering the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory, Sein quickly noticed that most large resource points had already been claimed by the local initiates.

Four months had passed since the beginning of the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

This duration provided ample time for powerhouses such as the Divine Tower of Land Academy and Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder to claim all resource points within their respective territories.

In contrast, the slightly weaker Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and Divine Tower of Cipher usually required around six months for total occupation of their resource points.

In this year’s regional war, the Divine Tower of Shadow suffered the most.

Sein’s three-month foray into their territory had caused more than just a delay in acquiring resource points. It had also significantly disrupted their ranks of senior initiates.

Had they failed to devise a solution swiftly, the Divine Tower of Shadow would have risked finishing last in the war.

In the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory, Sein observed not only an increased number of initiates but also an improvement in their overall strength.

Four months into the conflict, the initiates from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder had all amassed significant point values.

Even the intermediate initiates accumulated substantial points, presenting Sein with potential targets.

After two days of exploration in the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory, Sein had amassed a substantial collection of their badges.

“I knew it. The Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder badges are similar to those of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Divine Tower of Shadow,” Sein mused, observing the multiple bright points on his crystal ball.

In the beginning, Sein’s movements within the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory were discreet.

After all, he was aware of the tower’s second-place ranking in overall strength. Recalling that the highest-scoring individual from the last regional academy war hailed from this academy, he proceeded with caution.

However, on his tenth day in the region, Sein’s composure wavered upon encountering an initiate radiating a faint golden light.

The radiance was strikingly familiar, nearly identical to the glow of Sein’s Divine Tower of Verdant Spring badge, albeit dimmer and less pronounced.

This golden light marked the elite initiates of the regional academy war.

It signified those with a personal score exceeding ten thousand, a distinction shared by only the top ten initiates.

It also symbolized an unwritten privilege—the power to command and coordinate other initiates within their own academy!

This system, sanctioned and even subtly encouraged by the full-fledged mages from the major divine towers, rested on the belief that under the leadership of the strongest, the initiates could achieve superior results and greater victories in battle.

The initiate Sein had spotted was Cyrus, a prominent figure from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder. Known for his mastery of both hydro and electro magic, he was referred to by his peers as the “Boltwave Adept”.

Cyrus was far from alone. He was accompanied by a sizable group of other magic initiates.

With most resource points in the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territories secured, Cyrus, a leading figure there, had convened with other top initiates half a month prior.

They planned to target the Divine Tower of Land Academy and the comparatively weaker Divine Tower of Shadow soon.

In the offensive against the Divine Tower of Shadow, Cyrus and a top female initiate named Laram were at the helm.

Cyrus’s individual score was higher, placing him within the top ten initiates in the regional academy war.

Consequently, he was granted greater authority than Laram.

The group of magic initiates currently surrounding Cyrus was just the initial assembly for what was planned to be a larger force.

Out of the twenty thousand initiates from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder, about five thousand were expected to converge in the border area near the Divine Tower of Shadow.

The majority of these initiates would be operating under the command of Cyrus.

“I, Cyrus Trum, will replicate the success of Martinez from the last regional academy war! Our offensive against the Divine Tower of Shadow is just the beginning. Once we achieve our initial goals here, we’ll focus on the Divine Tower of Land Academy,” Cyrus declared with a cold sneer.

This time around, the deans from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder refrained from encouraging their students to collectively target the initiates from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. This change in approach was likely influenced by their overly aggressive tactics in the previous war.

This year, the neighboring territories to the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder were the Divine Tower of Shadow and the Divine Tower of Land Academy, making them the primary targets for this year’s academy war.

Recent reports from the west indicated that initiates from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder had already clashed with those from the Divine Tower of Land Academy, with both sides showing aggression.

It was apparent that not only was the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder targeting the Land Academy, but the latter was also eyeing the former.

The specifics of the ongoing battle remained unclear, as the combatants had only recently clashed.

A fresh update was expected to arrive after some time.

Still deeply engrossed in his ambitious war plans, Cyrus Trum was completely oblivious to the looming danger.

He was busy using his crystal ball, urging Laram and other senior initiates and Quasi Mages from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder to converge swiftly at the rendezvous point.

Suddenly, six brilliant golden beams of light appeared in the sky.

“What’s that?” asked a female initiate standing closest to Cyrus. Given their familiarity with each other, it was easy to infer the nature of their relationship.

“Hm? What?” Cyrus finally looked up.

His initial confusion swiftly turned to shock and then to rage.

“Enemy attack! Initiates from another divine tower academy are here!” he bellowed, alerting those around him.