Sovereign of the Ashes

The betting booth at the fortress camp had opened.

Most bets favored Natalya, with Sein as the clear underdog.

Sein and Natalya’s battle mirrored the fervor of the knights gambling with abandon.

Both were prideful and refused to back down, unleashing their full power almost immediately upon engaging.

On one side stood Sein, a fiery giant enveloped by the power of verdant flame, and on the other, Natalya, a formidable female warrior clad in scarlet battle qi.

Their clash resembled the explosive collision of two fiery meteors, causing not only a massive surge of energy but also a considerable commotion within the Thunder Marsh camp.

Strangely, no one from the camp came to intervene since the onset of their battle.

Everyone seemed to be watching the battle eagerly.

The number of magicoins wagered quickly surpassed ten thousand, proving that knights were not inherently poor; they simply tended to spend heavily when they did have money—unlike mages, known for their frugality.

This spending habit often left knights with less cash on hand than their mage counterparts.

During the battle, Sein showcased his mastery over the verdant flame magic and his powerful constitution.

After attaining Rank Two, he was able to wield elemental energies even more skillfully,

Their battle was proving to be an extraordinarily rare Rank Two battle, drawing awe even from the few Rank Two knights on guard duty, who acknowledged that both Sein and Natalya were exceptionally powerful among their peers.

With his robust constitution and enhanced pyro elemental body after being promoted to Rank Two, Sein’s close-quarters combat skills became even more formidable than they were at Rank One.

He epitomized what it meant to be a Battle Mage, challenging conventional perceptions of a mage’s fighting style.

As a result, despite the duel’s initially balanced start, the crowd quickly shifted their support to Sein, captivated by his command of the verdant flame.

This shift infuriated Natalya, who had yet to make Sein flinch.

Natalya, surrounded by scarlet pyro elemental battle qi particles, growled from mid-air, “Hmph! I’ll show you my strength!”

Before Sein’s eyes, Natalya, wrapped in the same fiery energy, began to transform.

Her already towering figure, over two meters tall, stretched and expanded even further.

Her skin shifted from its original wheat color to a dark red, and her eyes darkened to an inky black.

Beneath her armored gloves, her delicate fingers morphed into pale red, sharp claws.

Most strikingly, two horns sprouted from her forehead.

Natalya’s transformation dramatically intensified her aura and presence, while the surrounding pyro element particles grew more volatile.

As an erudite mage, Sein instantly recognized what was happening to Natalya.

This was a common bloodline transformation ability among Rank Two Land Knights, similar to a warlock’s activation of their ancient bloodline, though it stemmed from a different source of power.

During his two-year campaign in Thunderfall World, Sein had witnessed many such transformations on the battlefield.

From the characteristics of Natalya’s transformation, Sein could roughly discern her bloodline origin, mainly because he had once harbored a curiosity about that species and had amassed a collection of related books and information.

This was undoubtedly a “devil” bloodline.

There were many pyro-attribute devil bloodlines; Sein was uncertain which Natalya had inherited.

His top suspects were the Inferno Devil, Flame Enchantress, Baator Devil, and Flame Armored Reaper—all notable pyro-elemental devils.

The Flame Reaper bloodline typically resulted in a transformation featuring a layer of heavy armor, altering one’s appearance significantly.

It was unlikely Natalya’s, as her original features were still discernible.

The Flame Enchantress bloodline typically had minimal impact on physical appearance but was known to bestow a seductive aura and proficiency with long whips upon female knights.

According to the texts Sein had studied, this bloodline appeared to carry a trace of the Succubus lineage.

However, the transformed Natalya exhibited none of the charm typically associated with the Flame Enchantress. Instead, the pyro elemental particles around her became even more volatile.

Additionally, her weapon was a massive black sword, not a whip.

Considering these factors, it seemed more likely that she had inherited the Inferno Devil or Baator Devil bloodline.

These thoughts flashed through Sein’s mind as Natalya charged at him again.

Knights were truly masters of close-quarters combat!

The Magus Civilization had dominated countless planes and races, not only through its magical prowess but also through the unmatched close-quarters skills of its knights.

Having completed her bloodline transformation, Natalya, now towering between five and six meters, lunged at Sein with her massive sword.

Under the influence of powerful battle qi, her blade gleamed even more menacingly.

Flaming footprints marked her path, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

For a moment, Sein felt as though he was facing a formidable Rank Two devil, augmented with battle qi and magical equipment!

CLANG!

Metal clashed loudly as Natalya’s sword met Sein’s Verdant Flame Heart Rod, sending sparks flying.

Sein was not the first to wield his magic rod as a weapon. He remembered watching Master Gregory do the same on the battlefield of the Viridian Venom Flame World and decided to follow in his footsteps.

Crafted from the finest materials and reinforced with an engraved elemental array, Sein’s magic rod was significantly superior in quality to Natalya’s massive black sword.

After blocking Natalya’s vicious strike with sheer strength, Sein’s features twisted into a sneer as he declared, “You’re finished.”

“Huh?”

Confused, Natalya, still in her devil form, looked up just in time to see a blinding bright light explode from the tip of Sein’s Verdant Flame Heart Rod, which was locked against her sword.

The Radiant Heart spell was fired in an instant!

Sein could cast this spell far quicker than when he was a Rank One mage, having eliminated many of the complex incantations.

Another reason was that Sein had not unleashed the full destructive potential of his Radiant Heart spell.

Aware that they were fighting within the confines of the fortress camp, Sein was cautious, striving not to harm bystanders inadvertently.

Moreover, he had sensed that Natalya’s initial assault was not meant to be lethal.

Therefore, he released the spell at only thirty percent of its maximum power.