Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein led his legion northward without issues until he finally encountered a difficult battle in the third month.

His opponents consisted of a wild gorilla legion numbering about a hundred thousand soldiers, accompanied by nearly three hundred thousand minions.

The battle unfolded in the Artemisia Forest, one of the nine forests of the Verdant Wilderness World.

This forest, previously visited by Sein, was located just north of the Emerald Forest and was the largest forest nearest to it.

The two were separated only by a few medium and smaller forests and several plains.

The sovereign of the Artemisia Forest was a demigod-level Silver Fir.

The resources of this low-level plane supported the emergence of demigod-level beings far surpassing those in Verdant Leaf World.

Although Sein had never encountered this particular Silver Fir during his infiltration, his mount, the Green Spikefur King, was familiar with it; they had even clashed five hundred years earlier.

Now a devout follower of Lorianne, Green Spikefur King harbored no fear of the god in its world.

At its zenith, the Silver Fir was said to stand about seven hundred meters tall and was a loyal servant of the Verdant Wilderness God.

Yet, when Sein and his legion arrived, it had been reduced to a mere hundred meters in height, little more than a stump.

The cracked ground, upturned roots, and scattered leaves throughout the forest bore witness to the giant tree’s defiance against the invading Wild Gorilla Legion.

It seemed that all plant creatures in tree form were prideful by nature.

During the Verdant Leaf World War, both the guardian and the demigod-level giant tree that had wounded Sein chose death over submission.

Only some flower-like plant creatures eventually submitted, unable to withstand the intense suppression. Perhaps this was due to their inherently softer body structures.

After standing before the lifeless Silver Fir for a long time, Sein commanded the native legion to attack the wild gorilla forces on the other side of the forest.

The Silver Fir was as dead as it could be, with its root system showing signs of violent removal by external forces.

Noticing the sharp teeth marks on the roots, Sein realized that if not for the sudden invasion by Wild Gorilla World, the Magus World Army might have been the one clashing with these plant creatures.

The mages of Magus World were far more civilized than those wild gorillas.

Instead of directly draining the life forces of these plant creatures, they would dissect these rare specimens for research, harvest their parts to concoct elemental potions or craft magic equipment.

In fact, the magic rod Sein wielded was carved from the core of a demigod-level plant guardian.

At Sein’s command, the legions from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring clashed violently with the Wild Gorilla Legion and their minions.

Lorianne’s foresight in assembling a legion of Verdant Wilderness World natives, led by Green Spikefur King, proved invaluable.

These natives, unmarked by slave brands, exhibited a ferocity and fearlessness in battle that surpassed even the soul-tormented enslaved creatures!

Though numbering only in the tens of thousands, Sein’s legion fought with an intensity that would dwarf the efforts of over a hundred thousand centaurs.

They fought back fiercely against the invading wild gorillas, using teeth and roots if necessary.

As the battle for Artemisia Forest reached its climax, some weaker natives, previously hidden in the forest and tormented by the Wild Gorilla Army, spontaneously joined the fight!

The Magus Civilization’s extensive war experience and advanced societal structure typically deterred them from committing uncivilized acts of burning and slaughtering in interplanar wars.

This restraint stemmed from their purposeful approach to warfare—they sought only the resources and specific materials of the world, not the wanton destruction of lives.

Any chaos and tragedy that did occur were usually the actions of bored knights or starving enslaved creatures acting against mage orders to satiate their hunger.

The Wild Gorilla World was not as advanced as the Magus World; this medium-sized world was still aggressively expanding, much like the Magus Civilization during ancient and primordial eras.

In the primordial era, the magi represented malevolence, brutality, and madness, often acting far more egregiously than these wild gorillas.

The magi’s eccentricity and strange personalities had brought unimaginable suffering to the creatures of neighboring worlds during their conquests.

Every strong civilization was built on countless corpses.

Many saw only the bright side of the Magus World’s advanced civilization system but not the darkness behind it.

The hundreds of thousands of creatures in the Wild Gorilla Legion gathered in Artemisia Forest comprised nearly the entire force from this and several neighboring forests, including some that had been driven out of the Emerald Forest.

Among these wild gorillas, four had reached the demigod status, evidencing the group’s significant evolutionary potential.

However, their more numerous subordinate legion lacked Rank Three creatures, let alone demigods.

These wild gorillas were not foolish; they seemed to have reservations about their subordinate legion.

When they clashed with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army, these subordinate forces served as merely cannon fodder devoid of any rights.

This was a confrontation of a million against four hundred thousand—a battle with little suspense.

Despite the enemy boasting four demigod-level wild gorillas, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring possessed superior power.

Thus, the battle in Artemisia Forest was merely “tedious” but did not pose any substantial obstacles to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army.

“The Divine Tower of Verdant Flame’s main army has begun advancing straight to Lush Verdant Forest months ago to join the multi-million troop assembly there. How can we, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, lag too far behind?

“Let’s quickly dispatch the Wild Gorilla Legion here and clear the path to Lush Verdant Forest, even if we have to pay a relatively high cost. Time is of the essence.”

Sein, privy to certain secrets, told a few Rank Three grand mages who were the top brass of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Meanwhile, the Green Spikefur King and Maya, the demigod-level centaur, also received Sein’s strict orders.

The Rank Three grand mages exchanged looks, and after a moment of silent communication, they nodded in agreement with Sein.

Hence, after pestering the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army for nearly a month, the Wild Gorilla Legion in Artemisia Forest faced an unforgettable large-scale elemental magic strike.

Thousands of mages performed incantations for ranged offensive magic spells that would rain down on the entire forest.

The robust centaurs, leading legions of minotaurlings, charged forward bathed in the elemental light of magic, trampling the wild gorillas underfoot.

In this conflict, the performances of the lesser aquatic races were the most ordinary among the groups, yet their key advantage lay in their sheer numbers.

Given that Verdant Wilderness World and the star domain where the Wild Gorilla World was likely included oceans and hydro elemental planes, these aquatic races would undoubtedly find their moment to shine.

Ultimately, the battle in Artemisia Forest, which had initially slowed the advance of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army, lasted only a month and a half.

Sein, exhibiting traits typical of black mages, displayed more decisiveness and ruthlessness than the usual divine tower mages during the battle.

He even commanded the centaurs and minotaurlings to charge through the enemy lines under the relentless assault of the elemental wave at the climax of the magic attacks.

His harsh demeanor and demanding command style caused even Maya’s breath to hitch when she met Sein’s steely gaze.