Sovereign of the Ashes

It had been only a year since Sein left Thunderfall World, and now he was returning.

Having a Rank Four tower master there certainly made things better!

Upon their arrival in Thunderfall World, the employment contracts between the three knightly orders and the mages were facilitated by the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, sparing the mages any administrative hassle.

Although each mage was independently contracted in this interplanar war, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring acted as their representative.

According to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s higher management, they had rejected the contract templates proposed by the Order of the Steel Fist thrice.

Despite these rejections, the contracts were bound to be signed eventually. After all, participating mages did not come to the Thunderfall World for a vacation.

With the negotiations underway, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring would surely secure ample benefits for all mages involved.

However, the urgency of war waited for no one, and thus the mages were sent to the battlefield without finalized contracts. They trusted that the Divine Tower would protect them from any potential exploitation.

The haste with which the orders dispatched over a thousand mages, even before contracts were finalized, underscored their dire need for the mages’ long-range support.

This dynamic tilted the battlefield in favor of the divine tower mages and indicated that the knightly orders would ultimately have to make significant concessions!

The strategic advantage of having the backing of the divine tower and a Rank Four mage extended beyond immediate benefits.

Sein had spent the last decade of the Thunderfall World War under direct orders from the command center. This time, however, he returned as a tower master’s apprentice.

With his new status, Sein now enjoyed the autonomy to choose his battlefields and the knightly orders were compelled to show him due respect.

After all, Sein had rallied over a thousand warriors to the cause, including the notable Rank Four mage, Lorianne.

Without his efforts, Brendek, the Rank Four knight, would have faced significant challenges in securing Lorianne’s participation.

In Thunderfall World, there were two main battlefields along with several smaller, less critical ones.

Sein naturally chose the Thunder Domain, where his comrades were stationed.

It had been over a year since he last saw Natalya, Gould, and the others.

Assuming they had not encountered extreme misfortune, the attrition rate should not have been devastating despite his year-long absence.

Sein did not travel alone to the Thunder Domain; he led a team.

This time, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had brought more than fifteen hundred mages.

How these mages would be allocated was a decision for both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the three knightly orders.

Undoubtedly, the Thunder Domain and the Thunder Pool were the two battlefields receiving the most focus.

At least twelve hundred mages were required for these key areas alone, with the Thunder Domain seeing a heavier investment due to the intensity of the ongoing battles.

The last resistance force in Thunderfall World had demonstrated remarkable resolve there.

As a Rank Two mage, Sein assembled a team mainly composed of Rank One mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. His team included familiar faces like Grimm, Eileen, Selina, and Daniel, along with Lance, who had previously educated Sein on foreign planes and extraplanar creatures.

Lance, an academy mage drawn to the war by his fascination with Thunderfall World and his prior successes in the Viridian Venom Flame World War, was not alone.

Many other academy mages, sharing similar motivations, joined the fray in this Thunderfall World War.

Sein’s team, comprising nine members including himself, was a standard mage squad.

With him as a Rank Two mage at the helm, and given the familiarity among the team members, smoother coordination in battle was assured.

“Once we reach the Thunder Domain, I’ll find a troop of knights to work with us,” Sein explained to Grimm and the others aboard the war airship.

As the team leader, Sein understood his role and responsibilities well.

The strength of a Rank Two mage was not as important as inspiring confidence and ensuring his commands were followed.

These lower-ranking mages knew that aligning with Sein not only boosted their chances for success but also strengthened their overall combat effectiveness.

Sein had honed his tactical acumen independently during the Viridian Venom Flame World and Thunderfall World wars.

“We’ll follow your lead!”

Daniel was the first to voice his support.

He had fought alongside Sein during the regional academy war.

Once hopeful of matching Sein’s accomplishments, Daniel had given up after Sein ascended to Rank Two, now looking upon him with a mix of admiration and reverence instead.

Grimm, widely acknowledged as a genius, turned his discerning gaze toward Sein, his expression hidden behind a magic mask.

The reassurance of following a familiar Rank Two mage far outweighed the uncertainty of battling alone.

“Let’s head here first!” Sein said, pointing to a location on the magic map.

Their destination was Mount Thunderstone.

After Sein and his team disembarked, the war airship continued north toward a more volatile sector of the Thunder Domain, rumored to be the arena of Rank Four combatants.

Sein suspected that his mentor, Lorianne, was already there.

Although they were not at the front lines, standing on Mount Thunderstone still provided a view of energy beams occasionally streaking across the sky—some launched from the space fortress, others unleashed by the magic towers scattered across the battlefield.

Currently, two space fortresses hovered above the Thunder Domain battlefield.

The silver-gray one served as the war platform for the Order of the Steel Fist, while a larger, bluish fortress belonged to the Order of the Thunder Knights.

At the fortress camp on Mount Thunderstone, Sein reunited with Gould and the others.

They had been withdrawn from the front lines just half a month prior and were due to return in two or three days, even if Sein’s team had not arrived.

The intensity of the battle in Thunder Domain had escalated significantly since Sein’s departure the previous year, making his return a timely boost for Gould and the others.

Sein’s presence, along with the mages accompanying him, provided considerable reassurance.

“The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring is now fully committed to the war. Expect the elemental strikes above us to increase tenfold starting this week!” Sein declared.

Rank Two knight Gould responded with palpable excitement, punching Sein’s shoulder with a hearty laugh. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come!”

Natalya and the others shared his enthusiasm, though Natalya’s attention soon shifted to Eileen and Selina standing behind Sein.

Not only them but even Anna and Berlina—two Rank One female mages who had no close ties to Sein and were merely brought along—also received her subtle glances.

All the other mages are men. Except for the rare dozen or so Rank One female knights scattered among the hundreds of knights present, no one really paid them any attention.