Sovereign of the Ashes

A dull crash soon echoed from the center of Lush Verdant Forest, followed by a wave of energy that swept through, causing countless trees to be uprooted or flung skyward.

Sein and his companions were still on the outskirts of the forest.

However, the relentless hurricane winds and elemental waves had already lifted numerous short plant creatures and fragile undead skeletons into the air.

Not far from Sein’s legion, there was another group of Magus Civilization’s enslaved creatures.

Sein knew that this group belonged to the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame and comprised about a hundred thousand units.

Even a mere legion of enslaved creatures under the command of Master Feylis far surpassed those from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring in both number and strength.

This army of enslaved creatures hailed from the Beastmen World and was not a mercenary force hired last-minute.

Apart from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, the other divine towers within the Verdant Flame Faction were well-established; these enslaved creatures were all purchased.

Within Sein’s view, the group nearest to him consisted of robust beastmen over three meters tall, with some reaching up to five meters.

These were the centaurs from the Haos Tribe of the Beastmen Plane.

Unlike the centaurs of the Maya Tribe, known for their archery skills, the centaurs of the Haos Tribe were not adept at using bows and arrows.

Their immense size and strength rendered most bows inadequate; even a strong bow made of fine steel could be snapped by them with a single pull.

The Magus World mages had no time to craft magic bows and arrows for these enslaved creatures from the Beastmen World either.

These centaurs were, more accurately, potamocentaurs—half hippopotamus and half-human.

Nevertheless, they were part of the great centaur family, which explained their size and strength.

Interestingly, the centaurs of the Beastmen World were proficient with bows and arrows, with the best among them surpassing even those from Centaurworld.

However, the wealthy and powerful Divine Tower of Verdant Flame chose to purchase potamocentaurs instead as these creatures stood among the top ranks of the enslaved beings from the Beastmen World, prized for their formidable physical capabilities.

Aside from potamocentaurs, there were also giant elephantmen from Olefin Tribe, lionmen from Lyon Tribe, and tigermen from Tigre Tribe among the legions of beastmen enslaved by Grandmaster Feylis.

There were also quite a number of minotaurs, which Sein had encountered during his time in the Underworld, within Feylis’ forces.

However, compared to other formidable beastmen races like the potamocentaurs, giant elephantmen, and lionmen, these robustly built minotaurs did not stand out as much.

Sein was impressed by Grandmaster Feylis, as even a mere fraction of the forces under her command far surpassed those of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring by an immeasurable margin.

This time, the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame had mobilized most of its troops, demonstrating the importance that Feylis placed on this conflict and the subsequent war.

The potamocentaurs from the Beastmen World were quite interesting.

These large, burly creatures, averaging between three and five meters tall, were neckless, with their massive heads sitting directly on their shoulders.

Sein had always been fascinated by the Beastmen World.

He even considered using Lorianne’s connections to acquire a few beastmen enslaved creatures from the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame Army once the war concluded.

Regrettably, Sein noted the absence of priests among this beastmen legion of nearly ten thousand strong.

In the Beastmen World, priests were the devoted servants of Beast Gods. Hence, they belonged to the privileged class and were not typically sold as slaves.

Azelia, the fox maiden, was the only exception Sein knew of.

Apart from her, the other priests in the Beastmen World normally led a pretty good life on their homeplane.

After all, not even one among a thousand beastman warriors might qualify as a shaman priest. This underscored their rarity and esteemed status.

The great commotion caused by the forbidden spell lasted a total of three hours.

Sein speculated that Master Gregory had pulled a massive meteorite beyond the Verdant Wilderness World into the Lush Verdant Forest.

Sein felt a deep admiration for the immense power wielded by a Rank Five mage.

The mana required to alter the trajectory of such a colossal meteorite was beyond his current comprehension, not to mention the profound magic knowledge embedded within this single-target forbidden spell.

Two and a half hours after the forbidden spell tide, the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame’s beastmen legion, flanked by Sein’s legion, took the initiative to launch an attack into the depth of the forest.

The aftermath of the forbidden spell continued to ravage the Lush Verdant Forest, with the spell’s effects profoundly impacting the entire Verdant Wilderness World.

Despite the ongoing violent elemental tides, the beastmen legion’s ability to execute precise offensive strikes and other commands without fail earned Sein’s nod of approval.

On the other hand, both the group of native plant creatures led by the Green Spikefur King and the centaur legion led by Maya performed worse.

The only ones that could match the beastmen in terms of morale and bravery were probably the undead legion.

Unfortunately, the undead legion under Sein’s command consisted mostly of less powerful soldiers.

Despite standing at 1.8 or 1.9 meters tall, the skeleton warrior’s physique was no match for that of a potamocentaur.

Sein suddenly heard a chanting voice with a clear accent—it was Azelia, his fox maiden, singing a war song.

As Sein’s servants, the frail maiden enjoyed the privilege of protection under the body of the Green Spikefur King.

The halo of Azelia’s War Song covered only about two or three hundred square feet.

It conferred a Stone Skin buff that moderately toughened the skin of the potamocentaurs, improving their defense.

The familiar war song from their homeplane caused many potamocentaurs, who had been away from their homeland for a long time, to turn their heads in recognition.

The neckless burly giants, with large, round eyeballs bigger than a fist, were filled with unexpected emotions.

ROAR!

Aragorn, the giant thunder beast beside the fox maiden, let out a loud cry.

Bound to the fox maiden’s soul, the thunder beast shared the excitement in her heart.

Seeing her kin from the homeplane again and fighting alongside them in battle after so many decades, her emotions were understandably intense.

Rumble!

Several huge mechas simultaneously took to the skies.

As Sein’s most capable subordinate, Yuri was ready to join the fray.

Her sole duty was to protect Sein.

Sein glanced at the reddish tide of the forbidden spell that still lingered in the sky before issuing a command to the surrounding Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s enslaved creatures.

“All troops, attack!”

Sein’s order was absolute.

Even the smallest native creatures of Verdant Wilderness World stepped forward bravely, spurred on by the enslaved creatures around them.

The centaurs also mobilized, their hooves powerfully pounding the ground.

Driven by their momentum, legions of minotaurlings in great numbers, flanking the adjacent beastmen legions, advanced deeper into the forest.

After the magical strike, the land legions pushed forward relentlessly—a typical tactic of the Magus World in interplanar warfare.