Sovereign of the Ashes

The war in Lush Verdant Forest had long since come to an end following the negotiations between Sein and the guardian.

This vast forest, which had endured the torment of war and the ravages of elemental energy, finally received the long-overdue respite it desperately needed.

The Magus Civilization’s forces had slain over eight hundred thousand wild gorillas and nearly three million slaves during the conflict.

Additionally, around two hundred thousand were captured by the Magus Civilization.

The Magus World was not a bloodthirsty civilization; its mages preferred not to expend their time and energy on pointless killings when higher returns were possible.

War was never their purpose; it was merely a process for the Magus Civilization to amass wealth.

Albeit injured, the millions of otherworldly creatures represented the first windfall for the Magus Civilization in this interplanar conflict.

Having signed a contract with the native beings of Verdant Wilderness World, the Magus World was obliged to refrain from exploiting these vulnerable, native plant creatures.

The guests from the Magus World had their aspirations set higher and further—they desired more.

In the end, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring received nearly three hundred thousand of the millions of otherworldly slaves.

It was a fair distribution, perhaps even excessively so.

The wild gorillas were not magic beasts, as neither magic nor energy cores were within their bodies.

Based on their appearance, the Wild Gorilla Clan was likely classified as a humanoid race within the Astral Realm.

As a medium-sized world civilization, the evolutionary level of these wild gorillas was indeed higher than many extraplanar creatures Sein had encountered in the past.

Although they lacked magic or energy cores, the hearts of the wild gorillas were as valuable as any crystal cores of the same rank.

With his expertise in synthesizing undead beasts, Sein identified that these hearts would serve as exceptional raw materials for synthesis.

After discussing with Leena for a while, the two concluded that transporting specimens of these wild gorilla corpses back to Blackhaven would undoubtedly attract the attention of black mages eager to practice corpse synthesis.

The value of the wild gorillas extended beyond just their hearts. From their fur to their nails and even their eyeballs, every organ in their bodies was considered a treasure.

Despite being humanoid creatures, these gorillas still adhered to passive evolution and focused on honing their physical prowess.

Sein, possessing notable apothecary skills, recognized that even their blood could be used to refine several types of strength-enhancement potions.

However, overreliance on these potions could inevitably lead to developing a certain level of resistance.

Once the blood of Wild Gorillas—a newly discovered special race—entered the Magus Alliance’s market, it was bound to provoke a significant reaction.

The number of knights in the Magus World far exceeded that of the mages, and these knights constituted the primary market for such potions.

Additionally, extraplanar creatures from the alliance with affluent backgrounds, possessing sufficient magicoins, would find the mages of the Magus World eager to sell them their goods.

The Magus World had always prided itself on being a civilization that valued fairness.

In a way, this was true.

If a foreign god in the alliance could offer millions of magicoins as payment, even the most arrogant mages of Rank Four and above would conditionally serve them.

The Magus World’s magicoin system had been deeply ingrained in everyone’s heart.

Meanwhile, millions of enslaved creatures trampled through blood and mud, slowly marching toward the west of the forest where a massive spatial gate stood open.

As soon as the guardian of the Verdant Wilderness World relaxed the planar laws, every knight and mage felt a sense of lightness wash over them, as if the invisible shackles that had bound them had been unlocked.

Even the interplanar spatial passages, which were notoriously difficult to maintain in the past, could now remain open at a significantly reduced cost.

A drizzle began to blanket the surrounding forests and plains, including Lush Verdant Forest.

This large coverage of rainfall exceeded the natural laws of the Verdant Wilderness World itself. Even demigod-level mages would find it challenging to achieve such extensive coverage with their hydro elemental forbidden spells.

This phenomenon was the handiwork of White Spirit.

As a dendro elemental plane, water was the essence of life.

The demise of countless beings and the loss of the plane’s origin energy could not be instantly replenished.

The refreshing drizzle that enveloped such a vast area not only washed away the scent of blood and death energy from the heart of the Verdant Wilderness World but also prompted resilient green plants to push forth new shoots through the gaps between the corpses and cracks in the stones.

However, after this drizzle, the guardian appeared even more withered, as countless white feathers fell from its increasingly hunched body.

Sein could not help but wonder how much longer this guardian could survive.

As the war in the heart of the Verdant Wilderness World drew to a close, a gentle drizzle began to fall, and lush greenery started to emerge once again in the once-ravaged land.

However, the conflict continued unabated in the rest of the world.

Three months later, another earth-shattering energy fluctuation erupted in the Twilight Forest at the navel of the plane with the intensity of a giant volcano eruption.

Sein, who was still far from the epicenter as he traveled north, looked up to see a pillar of fire rising in the eastern sky.

Everyone was boiled! No, it would be more accurate to say that the Gorilla Gods were boiled!

After unleashing a forbidden spell that day and forcing two otherworldly Gorilla Gods to flee, Gregory and Lorianne did not pursue them all the way north.

Halfway through the chase, the Rank Five and Rank Four mages from the Verdant Flame Faction turned back, heading directly toward the Twilight Forest in the east.

The navel of the plane was too important; if pressed, the Gorilla Gods might destroy it, leading to the complete annihilation of the Verdant Wilderness World.

Thus, safeguarding that place and using it as a springboard for the Magus Civilization Army’s attack on the Wild Gorilla World became a top priority.

It was uncertain how much power Gregory and Lorianne still had left after battling for days and casting forbidden spells.

Even if they traveled north, they would not be able to provide Feylis with much assistance. Instead, it would make more sense for them to head east to the Twilight Forest to support Bernice.

As it turned out, the three tower masters of the Magus World joining forces was indeed beyond the capacity of any average Gorilla God to withstand.

The pillar of fire—witnessed by Sein, along with billions of beings in the Verdant Wilderness World—was an ominous sign marking the fall of a Rank Four creature.

This was likely the first Rank Four creature to perish in Verdant Wilderness World. The joint efforts of Feylis’ three apprentices were truly formidable.

Their convergence also proved a point—their immense confidence in the strength of their mentor, Feylis.

Besides, what threat could an injured Rank Five and Rank Four Gorilla Gods pose to Feylis?

At this moment, Feylis was engaged in more than just keeping the space-time rift behind her from closing; she was also preventing the two otherworldly Gorilla Gods from attempting to escape this interplanar battlefield through the rift.

As for the Fire Gorilla God that had initially sought trouble with Feylis, it was caught off guard and ambushed at close range by the Rank Six grand mage, marking it as the first Rank Four creature to fall on this battlefield.

However, Feylis did not kill it.

As a formidable and affluent Rank Six mage, only specimens of Rank Four or above were worthy of gracing her collection room.

Hence, this unfortunate Rank Four Gorilla God would likely spend the rest of its life confined within her laboratory.