Sovereign of the Ashes

When words failed to resolve conflicts, armed violence often became necessary.

Reina’s fighting style was crude, but Sein had already expected this ever since he discovered that she had the ultimate truth of body tempering.

In battle, Reina pushed violence and raw power to the extreme.

With her octagonal hammer, capable of breaking a dragon’s spine, she delivered a crushing blow to the Rank Two Thunder Lizard’s head.

The impact caused significant swelling near the lizard’s eye socket and left its brain reeling, briefly erasing its short-term memory.

Remarkably, despite her size, Reina emitted no energy fluctuation until the moment of impact.

Sein speculated that her substantial mass helped absorb much of the recoil’s force.

Only those skilled in close-quarters combat could truly appreciate the skill Reina demonstrated!

Her strength was unmatched, her control over the battle meticulous, her ability to exploit her opponent’s weaknesses swift, and her offense was relentless and impenetrable.

If not for her slightly reduced speed and agility, Reina would be the epitome of a perfect fighter!

However, considering the Thunder Lizard’s robust physique and large size, it was not any better than Reina in terms of speed or agility.

From start to finish, the battle was a one-sided, brutal affair.

It was at this moment that Sein finally understood why the Rank Two knights within the Order of the Steel Fist feared Reina. He was also convinced of her capability to overpower Rank Three beings.

In the center of the clearing, the originally ten-meter diameter octagonal hammer had now shrunk to just four meters.

With this reduced size, Reina could handle it more deftly, making it perfectly suited to target the Rank Two Thunder Lizard’s head.

The towering, six or seven-meter tall Reina climbed onto the back of the Rank Two Thunder Lizard.

With one hand, she pinned the creature down to prevent it from rolling over.

With the other, she swung her heavy hammer, repeatedly smashing it down.

Sein could hear the sounds of bone cracking, accompanied by the faint odor of blood and constant howls of misery.

The surrounding Thunder Lizards, previously on the brink of rioting, fell silent.

The Rank Two Thunder Lizard that Reina had subdued was the second strongest among them, second only to the old chief.

Leadership among the Thunder Lizards was always determined by strength.

If even the second strongest among them had been subdued, none would be able to stand a chance.

After pounding it senseless for some time, the resistance of the Rank Two Thunder Lizard beneath her weakened.

Perhaps losing interest in her subdued opponent, Reina ceased her onslaught.

Reina took a deep breath, and her body size increased from six or seven meters to about ten meters.

The octagonal hammer in her hand also returned to its maximum size.

Coated in the light blue blood of her opponent, it glittered under the sunlight.

She raised her hammer high. It seemed inevitable that the head of the Rank Two Thunder Lizard would burst open like a watermelon at her next strike.

At this critical moment, Sein finally intervened.

“That’s enough!” he said.

Reina, already in motion, could not withdraw her full force but managed to redirect the blow at Sein’s call.

The hammer, originally aimed at the Rank Two Thunder Lizard’s head, smashed into the ground beside it, missing by mere inches.

The impact created a massive crater, and the resulting shockwave sent the blood foam in the lizard’s mouth spraying.

Since this was a negotiation, it was not appropriate to involve violence.

Besides, Sein noticed that this Rank Two Thunder Lizard seemed to share an unusual bond with the old Rank Three Thunder Lizard.

Though she had stopped the attack, Reina did not withdraw immediately.

Likely fatigued and hungry from the fight, she sat down heavily on the still-breathing Rank Two Thunder Lizard, effectively pinning it firmly beneath her.

The octagonal hammer was cast aside with a loud bang.

Reina reached out and dragged over the corpse of a large Thunderfall World creature that had just died in the skirmish with the Garths.

With her muscular arm, she ripped off the creature’s hind leg with raw strength.

Her teeth, originally flat, turned into sharp fangs as she stuffed the flesh into her mouth.

This gruesome sight instilled fear in nearly all the Thunderfall World creatures watching.

They were instantly reminded of the Magus World Army’s might.

Could all Magus World’s knights be as terrifying as this imposing figure before them?

No wonder the Thunderfall World Army had suffered repeated defeats on the frontline!

This negotiation ended amidst the sounds of Reina chewing and the faint howls from the Rank Two Thunder Lizard pinned beneath her.

The Rank Three Thunder Lizard chief looked at its son under Reina with a complex expression before approaching Sein to sign the magic contract prepared by him.

The contract was not particularly strong, primarily because Sein lacked the expertise to craft a powerful magic contract.

It contained no detailed clauses; Sein had merely filled in the mission objectives as dictated by the command center.

The finer details of the contract and the obligations of both parties would be hashed out later by representatives from the Order of the Steel Fist and the Thunder Lizards in a new contract.

This temporary agreement merely established the groundwork for future cooperation between the two parties.

“We’re sorry for beating up your clan member like that. We’ll pay for its treatment,” Sein offered, stepping forward.

“We also wish to avoid any further senseless bloodshed in the Thunder Range. Since this area is now under our control, we’ll strive to maintain ‘peace’ here,” Sein declared to the Rank Three Thunder Lizard chief.

After signing the contract, a semblance of weariness seemed to overtake the old chief.

Facing Sein’s lofty assurances, the Rank Three Thunder Lizard simply replied, “I hope so.”

***

After completing their mission, Sein and his team did not linger in Thunder Range and quickly returned to the main fortress base.

Accompanying them were fifty ranked Thunder Lizards, over four hundred adult lizards, and more than three thousand creatures from various Thunderfall World species.

These numbers fulfilled the troop requirements stipulated in the contract.

Additionally, a small contingent of Thunder Lizards and Thunderfall World creatures remained behind to aid in Thunder Range’s revolt against the Garths’ purge, as per Sein’s request.

The arrival of these fresh faces at the Order of the Steel Fist’s main fortress base certainly caused quite a stir.

While many other knights had also undertaken similar missions, none had returned as early or executed their objectives in a manner that surpassed the command center’s expectations.

Their success even caught the attention of a certain Rank Four knight.

For their outstanding performance and nearly perfect mission execution, the order did not hold back on rewards.

More importantly, Sein’s team had set a strong precedent.

Their mission would now serve as a pivotal reference for the three orders’ subsequent efforts to dominate and occupy the plane.