Sovereign of the Ashes

The stone cave was no larger than a hundred square meters, with several stone tables, chairs, and a notably larger stone bed in it.

These were the only furnishings behind the stone door.

The space inside the cave, while small, felt even more vacant due to its sparse furnishings, making it seem desolate.

This was the chosen habitat of the most gifted individual the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan had ever known.

Emerald, the slender Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly, was also Lantz’s grandmother.

Emerald had chosen this secluded life, believing that she could only delve deeper into the Verdant Law in this quiet space.

While most demigods in the Verdant Leaf World referred to the power of law as “Verdant Truth”, Emerald had coined the term “Verdant Law”, which was a foreign word in their world.

Her use of this term demonstrated her extensive journey on the demigod path, far surpassing others.

However, all this was meaningless now.

The theoretical lifespan of a demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly was two thousand years, and Emerald was already 2,371 years old.

She had secluded herself in the stone cave not only to delve deeper into the Verdant Law but also as an attempt to decelerate her aging process.

With the stone door now open, her impending demise loomed ever closer.

Currently, the green scales on her slender body shimmered with life and vitality. Yet, within the next two or three years, they would darken to pure black.

In the ancestral land of the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan, among the enshrined remains of their ancestors, two sets bore a metallic black sheen.

These were the remains of two demigods in the clan’s history.

Emerald was on the brink of joining these ancestors, leaving only her demigod remains for future generations.

No, she might not even have the privilege of leaving her remains behind.

For the mages of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, demigod-level materials were a rarity, typically destined for use in their experimental research.

“The otherwordly devils have invaded our motherworld. The Green Cypress Pine has fallen, the Blazing Sunflower has surrendered, and the World Legion assembled by our Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan lost battle after battle. I am to blame for all this!” Lantz, the demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly, fell to its knees before Emerald’s stone bed, weeping with its head bowed.

Although both were demigods, Lantz could show its vulnerability to Emerald as it was its grandmother.

Lantz’s anguished cries caught Emerald somewhat off guard, after being in seclusion for so long.

Though it sensed that the Verdant Leaf World was undergoing great strife, it had not grasped the full severity of their plight until today.

Emerald comforted Lantz by caressing the kneeling demigod’s back as it had done over a thousand years ago.

Although the situation was worse than Emerald had expected, it remained composed and asked calmly, “What are you going to do now?”

As the clan’s most gifted member, it knew Lantz had not come here merely to weep.

Regaining its composure, Lantz lowered its head and replied gravely, “The foreign evil army has already marched to the gates of Royal City. Given the city’s defenses and the gap in strength between us, it will fall within a few months, and we may even lose our ancestral land.”

“I have come to see you today in hopes that you can move from this place as soon as possible and lead our surviving forces south, Grandmother,” Lantz explained.

“To the south? And where would we go?” Emerald asked neutrally.

“The guardian in the south still holds some power and the plant creatures there have been mobilized. I am guilty of leading our forces to defeat repeatedly, losing millions in the process. I will live and die with the Royal City! I’ll stop running!” Lantz declared through its gritted teeth.

Insects were not devoid of blood, and this demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly was resolved to sacrifice its last drop above the royal city, despite facing defeat in every battle.

“Please go south, Grandmother. Take the last fire seed of the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan, and our hope, Quetzal, with you,” Lantz pleaded once more.

Emerald’s puzzled gaze prompted Lantz to quickly add, “Quetzal is the most talented member our clan has seen in the past five hundred years, reaching the Verdant Rank[1] a year ago. That’s twenty-seven years earlier than even you did. Unfortunately, it lacks the royal blood but the current Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly King has betrothed his daughter to it.”

Emerald sighed. “Twenty-seven years earlier than me, huh? A promising seedling indeed. But even if we take refuge with the guardian, what then? Where can we hide?”

“Can the guardian truly protect us?” Emerald asked, looking at Lantz.

Emerald’s question highlighted the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan’s gravest reality—they were too powerless to resist and there was no possibility of escape.

Those exotic-looking devils could detect even creatures hiding nearly a thousand meters underground through their crystal ball.

This was undoubtedly a one-sided war.

Ignoring the despair in Lantz’s eyes, Emerald continued asking, “Do you know where those otherworldly devils come from?”

“They seem to come from beyond our world, according to the guardian. When the war first erupted, a terrifying force shattered our skies,” Lantz replied, struggling with its words.

“Beyond our world, huh? Do you know what it is like beyond the sky, then?” Emerald pressed, her inquiry hanging in the silence that followed.

“When I was younger, I ventured beyond the Verdant Leaf World’s sky. The external realm was pitch black, and I reached only the nearest large, grayish-white rock. I stood on that rock and looked at our world, only to realize that it is spherical,” Emerald reflected.

In the Magus World, only entities of Rank Four or higher traditionally possessed the ability to traverse the void and explore the Astral Realm.

Lower-ranked creatures might survive briefly in the Astral Realm, but the vast expanse was far beyond their capacity to fully explore.

Even in the Magus World, those below Rank Four only visited the planes under the Magus Alliance’s rule via teleportation arrays, space fortresses, and airships created to navigate the Astral Realm.

Solo travel in the Astral Realm was a formidable challenge, even for demigods.

The site Emerald visited in its youth had now become the demiplane where the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army established their vast teleportation array outside the Verdant Leaf World.

In the annals of Verdant Leaf World, this female Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly was a true pioneer, having ventured beyond its homeplane before such thoughts even occurred to others, let alone becoming aware of the Astral Realm’s existence.

Seeing Lantz still lost in thought, Emerald smiled and declared, “I’m planning to explore beyond our plane again and discover the truth of this world.”

1. Translator/Author’s Note: Verdant Rank in Verdant Leaf World is equivalent to almost Rank Three in the Magus World. ☜