Sovereign of the Ashes

“According to my observations, there is a total of five demigod-level creatures in that microplane. One of the creatures’ soul flame appears quite dull and likely won’t live long,” Lorianne calmly announced from her seat at the head of the table.

“Another is the guardian of that microplane, dwelling in the southeastern part of the Verdant Leaf World,” she added.

No matter how stressed out and worried Lorianne felt about the interplanar war, she maintained a stoic and indifferent demeanor in front of other divine tower mages and outsiders.

This facade undoubtedly helped to calm the minds of the less experienced mages within the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Even the Rank Three beings in the magic tower never even considered the possibility of losing this microplane war.

Losing was inconceivable!

Over the past several tens of thousands of years, the major divine towers and knightly orders of the Magus Civilization had experienced only a handful of defeats in interplanar wars.

How could such a rare occurrence happen to them?

Lorianne’s worries stemmed largely from her tendency to overthink and the pressures of leadership.

This being her first time leading an interplanar war, her apprehension was understandable, though she anticipated that her nerves would settle with more experience.

First times were always nerve-wracking.

Her remarks prompted several Rank Three grand mages to exchange glances.

Five demigod-level creatures... For a microplane, this placed Verdant Leaf World above average.

Its slightly superior strength suggested that the resources there were quite abundant.

She gestured toward a lush microplane visible in the distance, brimming with plant creatures and wealth.

It was a piece of honey cake, surrounded by barbs and resistant forces that needed to be dealt with.

Before the mages could say anything, Lorianne began laying out the plan.

“I will personally break the planar barrier of this microplane and open a safe passage that lasts three hundred sandglasses. Your task is to quickly establish a firm foothold here and create a spatial passage connecting this plane to the outside.”

“In addition, I will create a clone of myself through the power of law and accompany the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Legion into this microplane. If we encounter resistance from two or fewer demigod-level natives, I will handle them myself. But if three or more appear...”

She paused, her gaze shifting to Maya the Centaur and the other mages.

The demigod-level female centaur, Maya, was ready to demonstrate her loyalty on the spot.

However, before she could speak, Master Archimedes cleared his throat and advised, “There’s no need for that, Tower Master. As far as I know, clones created by creatures of Rank Four and above can jeopardize the main body if they suffer any significant harm or are destroyed. Tower Master, you’ve only recently been promoted to Rank Four. You don’t need to participate directly in this microplane war; it would be safer to coordinate from the rear.”

“Besides, I believe the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring has sufficient resources to take down a microplane of this scale. Based on the intelligence we gathered before the war, aren’t the majority of this microplane’s Rank Three creatures, including the guardian, mostly immobile plant beings?” he asked.

Being the oldest and wisest, Old Dean Archimedes immediately pointed out all the crucial points.

It was no secret within the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring that Dean Archimedes had an apprentice on the verge of being promoted to Rank Four and establishing his own divine tower.

Dean Archimedes possessed an extensive knowledge of Rank Four creatures, likely surpassing that of many newly ascended demigod-level mages.

Lorianne nodded and replied, “Indeed, they are predominantly plant creatures, largely immobile.”

If the majority of Rank Three beings in this microplane were truly plant creatures, the initial phase of the invasion by the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring would likely face minimal resistance.

Since these creatures are deeply rooted in the ground, their movement was significantly hindered—if they could move at all, they would be very slow. Some might be completely immobile.

Facing such stationary adversaries, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring would simply need to eliminate them one by one during the battle.

At the onset of the conflict, it would be exceedingly difficult for these rooted creatures to collectively inflict any significant damage on the advancing troops of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The exchange between Lorianne and old Dean Archimedes significantly eased the atmosphere within the magic tower.

Even Sein and the other Rank Three grand mages were convinced that these otherworldly natives would not pose much of a threat in the early stages of the war.

Thus, during the subsequent discussion, several other Rank Three grand mages also expressed confidence in managing the native creatures of this microplane without the tower master’s direct involvement.

If the demigod-level plants were also immobile plant creatures, the Rank Three grand mages present had various means to subdue them.

They could lay out expansive magic arrays, employ specially bred wood-eating worms, or alter the elemental composition of the surrounding soil.

Could an opponent truly be considered a threat if they couldn’t move?

These Rank Three grand mages were contemplating more than just the elimination of these demigod-level plants; some were already planning how to dissect and study their characteristics.

The atmosphere in the conference room quickly grew more animated.

Lorianne seized the opportunity to reassure everyone, announcing that she had also prepared two demigod-level Viridescent Seeds that could be grown into demigod-level plant giants to join their efforts.

This revelation significantly relieved the grand mages present, bringing a touch of joy to even Maya, the demigod-level female centaur, as if the spoils of war were already within her grasp.

***

After the meeting in the magic tower concluded, Lorianne asked Sein to stay behind.

Trusting him the most for this interplanar war, she intended to give one of the demigod-level Viridescent Seeds to him for discretionary use, while the other would be allocated to Dean Archimedes.

When Lorianne held the milky-white Viridescent Seed in her pale hand, Sein was slightly taken aback. He quickly retrieved an almost identical seed from his space bangle.

The master and apprentice looked at each other, astonished.

“Uh, you haven’t used that Viridescent Seed yet?” Lorianne asked.

“I thought you would have used it by now, considering your experiences in the Viridian Venom Flame War, the Thunderfall World War, and your travels across the Magus World, including the Western Archipelago’s Blackhaven and Knight Continent,” she added, looking away.

“Well, there were several close calls where I almost used this seed as my last resort. But by some stroke of luck, it was never needed,” Sein replied.

“Deploying it this time in the Verdant Leaf World war will truly demonstrate its value!” he added, looking up at Lorianne.