Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s brief respite was abruptly cut short on the evening of the second day as the situation escalated.

He no longer needed to monitor the situation in the northeast; the command center had issued a clear update—nearly half a million Thunderfall World creatures were advancing toward the fortress base.

It remained uncertain which section of the base these creatures were targeting.

However, it was likely that over a hundred thousand of them would be storming the western side where Sein was stationed.

The command center speculated that the primary focus of the Thunderfall World’s assault would be on the northern and eastern sides of the fortress, expecting an onslaught of approximately two hundred thousand creatures.

Meanwhile, about a hundred thousand might reinforce the western side, where Sein was currently at.

The knights and mages stationed at the southern side of the fortress had it easier.

Positioned away from the main battlefield, this side faces the Thunder Marsh—territory that had been secured and occupied by the Order of the Steel Fist.

It was highly unlikely that the creatures of Thunderfall World would be foolish enough to attack here; any attempt would suggest desperation or strategic folly.

If they divert resources to assault the south, it likely means that the outcome on the main battlefield has already been decided.

This prolonged conflict on the Thunder Plains dramatically illustrated to the less experienced knights and mages like Sein the formidable challenge of conquering a world with staunch resistance.

As the conflict on the Thunder Plains neared one month, the scale of the conflict, particularly the number of troops amassed by Thunderfall World, had far surpassed the initial estimates.

Originally projected by the Magus Civilization to be around a million, the number had since surged past 1.5 million and was quickly approaching 1.7 million!

Native creatures from every corner of Thunderfall World were rushing toward the fortress base!

Since the Magus World Army was fighting on a foreign plane, it was a challenge to replenish its troops.

Moreover, the primary forces in this interplanar war—the registered knights from the three orders and the enslaved creatures these orders had amassed—were already assembled. Despite the participation of some external knights and mages, they remained a minor force.

For less experienced mages like Sein, the experience was overwhelming; they were quickly swamped by the sea of native creatures in Thunderfall World.

Fortunately, the creatures of Thunderfall World were not infinite.

While many bloodthirsty electro-elemental creatures inhabited this world, not all were qualified fighters.

Even the well-established Magus World couldn’t turn every inhabitant into a soldier, much less Thunderfall World.

A closer examination of the battlefield revealed that, since the war began, the average strength of Thunderfall World’s creatures had significantly diminished.

The most elite and fearless among them had been largely depleted.

Although the new reinforcements were substantial, many had minimal impact on the conflict, with combat abilities hardly worth mentioning.

Some of these creatures were as weak as a farmer in the Magus World, possessing such minimal strength that the electro-elemental power they could harness probably could not even cook a chicken.

There was no way they could face the elite legions of the Magus World.

The war and confrontation between the two world civilizations represented a collision of comprehensive strengths across all aspects.

Thunderfall World was merely a tough bone to crack; the true predator remained the Magus Civilization.

***

“GAAARTH!” A loud, shrill cry echoed as a thick, visible pillar of lightning from the sky struck a severely injured blue-skinned Garth.

The wounds marring the Garth’s blue skin were evidence of the hard blows it had sustained in the previous battle.

Initially at peak Rank One, the lightning strike elevated its strength to somewhere between mid and late-stage Rank Two.

However, the surge in strength did not fully recover its injuries.

Ultimately, this was still a Garth on the brink of death.

Around it lay piles of corpses. Many were Garths, their small stature and bluish skin distinctly recognizable.

Others were harder to identify—possibly enslaved creatures from the Magus World or other inhabitants of the Thunderfall World.

Before the Garth that had just been struck by lightning, a towering, blood-soaked fortress wall stood majestically.

The relentless assaults by Thunderfall World creatures over the past ten days had left countless cracks in its wall.

Yet, the wall still stood unyielding.

A barely noticeable elemental barrier continuously repaired and strengthened its defenses.

This particular blue-skinned Garth, evidently more intelligent than its kin, did not charge toward the Thunderfall Fortress with the same frantic conviction.

Instead, a look of despair appeared on its face.

Yet from despair came a strong determination.

The immense power it had just drawn from the thunderstrike was unleashed in a furious display.

The Garth’s skin, already drenched in blood and riddled with wounds, radiated an uncontrollable blue-white light.

In just an instant, the blue-skinned Garth transformed into pure light!

BOOOM!!!

The garth, who had just acquired the strength of a mid or late-stage Rank Two creature, detonated itself near the wall on the western side of the fortress.

Despite the protection of the fortress’ elemental barrier, the explosion created a significant breach.

The fortress on the Thunder Plains was vast, accommodating tens of thousands of knights alongside hundreds of thousands of enslaved creatures.

The long defense line at the western wall had been significantly weakened. The Magus World Army was already fatigued, and countless enslaved creatures had been lost to the fray.

It was hardly surprising that the inhabitants of the Thunderfall World managed to breach its wall.

“Hurry up and block that breach!” shouted a Rank Two Land Knight from the rear of the fortress, unable to think of any other course of action.

While he commanded the knights and enslaved creatures to reinforce the gap, he himself took flight.

Outside the western wall, nearly a hundred thousand creatures from Thunderfall World amassed, ready to surge in like a tidal wave.

With the Magus World knights and mages few and fatigued, how could they possibly hold back such a force?

Upon reaching the breach, the Land Knight transformed into a colossal black steel bear, standing nearly seven meters tall.

His roars resonated across the area, and the fluctuations of his battle qi rippled out, extending tens of meters around him.

Yet, this spectacle was merely one segment of the conflict along the fortress’ western side.

Elsewhere on the same side, Thunderfall World creatures opened additional gaps through self-destruction.

But the true intensity and brutality of the battle were yet to be seen.

On the northern and eastern sides of the fortress, where the largest legions of native creatures from Thunderfall World converged, the pressure on the knights and mages was overwhelming.

Explosions—more precisely, acts of self-destruction—were even more frequent there.