Sovereign of the Ashes

Verdant Wilderness World.

Sein stepped out of the laboratory and stood by the window of the magic tower, surveying the silver skies and icy plains of this dendro elemental plane.

Ever since the descent of dozens of Magus Civilization’s space fortresses and many Rank Four or above powerhouses, the climate of Verdant Wilderness World had drastically shifted.

To the south and east, volcanic eruptions and forest fires had become frequent occurrences, while to the west, a massive chasm—one that could arguably be considered Verdant Wilderness World’s biggest rift valley—had formed.

In the north, heavy snowfall had tripled the size of the ice sheet within a short period, and it was still expanding.

When Sein and the others first arrived, they settled down at the edge of the icefield. Yet now, they found themselves at the heart of this vast icy expanse.

The calamities afflicting Verdant Wilderness World showed no signs of abating; no one knew when peace would finally be restored on this plane.

Sein, who acted as the liaison for Magus World with the native creatures of Verdant Wilderness World, had met multiple times with White Spirit during this period.

Even their Rank Four entity, Verdant Wilderness God, had offered a portion of its heart, pleading for Sein to convey its desire to mitigate the ongoing disasters.

Unfortunately, both the guardian and the Verdant Wilderness God had perhaps overestimated Sein’s influence.

Not even Sein, nor his mentor, Lorianne, could halt a war so fervently driven by the Magus Civilization.

Hence, Sein had to decline Verdant Wilderness God’s generous offer, though he promised to secure as many benefits as possible for the native creatures.

What these benefits would entail, and when they would materialize, remained unspecified since the Verdant Wilderness World’s powerhouses did not ask about them.

“I heard from Master Lorianne that the heart of the Rank Four tree is akin to a ‘divine relic’ found within the so-called ‘gods’ of the Astral Realm. It’s a top-tier treasure imbued with the power of laws. What a pity...” Sein murmured, his gaze drifting to the snowy scenery beyond the window.

Mages adhered strictly to the principle of equivalent exchange; they would only accept offers they could reciprocate.

Given his personality, Sein would never engage in empty or deceitful promises.

He lacked the authority to control the many powerhouses in Magus World, and his appointment as the liaison by Feylis and others was certainly not intended for personal gain.

There were things Sein could accept, such as the valuable materials offered by the Green Spikefur King and many native creatures of Verdant Wilderness World.

However, there were also things he should avoid, like the divine relic fragment promised by the Verdant Wilderness God.

Rumble!

Another surge of violent pyro elemental energy fluctuation erupted in the snowy northern horizon within Sein’s view.

It appeared that Master Feylis and others had begun their forceful entry into Wild Gorilla World.

Yet, for some reason, many of the Magus World Armies, including the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s legion, had not received clear mobilization orders.

What are they waiting for?

Sein gazed northward again.

Soon after, Elisa the mermaid came to inform Sein that his meal was ready.

Although Sein was now a Rank Two mage, capable of transforming his blood and body cells into elemental factors, he had not forsaken the basic human needs of the Magus World.

He still required food and sleep, though his needs were considerably less than those of a Rank One mage or ordinary humans in Magus World.

Everyone in the Astral Realm had their own pursuits.

While Sein was dedicated to pursuing the truth, he had yet to completely abandon the pleasures of worldly experiences.

In addition to indulging in the “way of life” with his women, Sein’s standards for quality in food, clothing, housing, and transportation had noticeably risen in recent years.

Before reaching Rank One, Sein might not have seemed like a proper noble.

Now, post-Rank One, his tastes had grown increasingly refined.

Apart from her training, Elisa spent most of her time learning how to prepare delicious meals for Sein.

As per Sein’s habits, he now ate once every five days, sometimes even less frequently.

The variety of ingredients from different planes allowed Elisa to fully express her culinary creativity.

Occasionally, the fox maiden and Selina also helped her out.

Ultimately, in this household, everything revolved around Sein.

Having lived in the magic tower for a long time, Leena and Faye also became fond of the mermaid’s cooking.

Faye, unfamiliar with mermaids, assumed all of them were great chefs. She even considered acquiring a mermaid slave for herself once she was back in Blackhaven.

“The halflings available in the Magus Alliance’s slave market are known for their culinary skills. Once both of you are back in the Western Archipelago and grow tired of your own cooking, you can consider procuring a few halfling slaves,” Sein suggested during the meal.

“If you need a contact, I can introduce you to someone from House Jobbs on the East Coast,” he added, impressing the women with his knowledge and connections.

Being a member of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein indeed had access to greater resources than Leena and Faye in Blackhaven.

Fortunately, he and Leena shared a unique communication method, allowing them to keep in close touch.

“By the way, you’ve been away for years. Won’t your extended absence cause you any trouble?” Sein asked.

“Black mages are solitary and xenophobic by nature. A few years of absence is trivial. After the last war, the Black Tower of Cinderbones hasn’t really assigned us any new missions,” Faye replied nonchalantly, her demeanor more relaxed than Leena’s.

Sein nodded, about to continue the conversation when another loud rumble outside the magic tower interrupted him.

This disturbance came not from the northern icefields but from beyond the sky beyond the plane.

Sein’s magic tower was equipped with a remote projection feature, allowing him to manipulate the elemental power of the tower to peer beyond the boundaries of the plane.

To his astonishment, he saw a massive mountain, over a thousand meters tall and radiating purple and yellow halos, plummeting from the sky!

It looked unmistakably like a mountain, with steep cliffs and rugged rocks, but the strong energy fluctuations and the aura emanating from it suggested otherwise.

“It’s a... geo elemental creature?” Sein mumbled to himself as he watched the massive form continue its descent toward Verdant Wilderness World.

The land and forests below seemed to whimper—the planar will was crying.

After Feylis and other Rank Six powerhouses of Magus World arrived in the Verdant Wilderness World, yet another peculiar Rank Six geo elemental creature made its dramatic entrance.

And it seemed like this mountain-like creature did not come here alone.

In the sky beyond the plane, no fewer than three hundred thousand yellow and purple figures materialized, heralding the arrival of the Rank Six Geo Elemental Emperor.

Like a meteor shower, they descended upon Verdant Wilderness World.

Among them were several geo elemental creatures of Rank Four or above.

While Sein was puzzling over their origins, his train of thought was interrupted by an urgent crystal ball transmission.

This call was not from his mentor nor White Spirit the troublesome guardian, but from an unexpected source—the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s information exchange center.

“Master Sein, there’s a communication request from the Magus World, subject to a handling fee of twenty magicoins,” a female mage within the fortress informed.

Knights and mages from the Magus World who ventured into interplanar wars often found it challenging to maintain contact with their home world, as interstellar communication was not accessible to everyone.

A space fortress served as a crucial signaling node, which was why so many divine tower masters and grand masters of knightly orders deemed it a critical asset for their organizations.

The importance of a space fortress simply could not be overstated.

While Sein was expecting it to be a message from either House Grantt or House Ernst, he was startled to see Tourmaline’s immense dragon head filling the projection of his crystal ball.

“Hey, Sein, are you fighting in an interplanar war right now?” Tourmaline asked, scratching her head with a claw as this was the first time she had spoken to Sein this way.

Sein confirmed with a nod. “Yes, we’re currently in a low-level plane known as Verdant Wilderness World. When did you wake up? Want to come and ‘play’ too?”

To Tourmaline, even an extremely intense interplanar war was nothing but a “playground” to her.

The dragon turtle’s mental age had always been very low.

Tourmaline chuckled and seemed intrigued, but she had contacted Sein for another reason.

“Uh... my fourth brother woke me up recently. He told me he wanted to bring his friends and their magic beast army to join your war. What war are you involved in right now, Sein?” Tourmaline asked, her confusion evident.

Tourmaline had never truly understood the concept of war; even her participation in the Verdant Leaf World conflict had felt like a mere outing.

Sein was no stranger to Tourmaline’s fourth brother; the black flood dragon he had briefly encountered in the Sage’s Forest had left a lasting impression.

At that time, Black Oblivion had been accompanied by a formidable entourage of Rank Four or higher magic beast kings.

“Your brother is coming?” he mused aloud, recognizing that this development was beyond his control.