Sovereign of the Ashes

After leaving the Wild Gorilla settlement, Sein continued his flight northward.

Originally, Sein had only intended to stop briefly to observe this settlement, which was under the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain’s control.

However, from a distance, he spotted a familiar figure.

Sein flew forward and greeted, “Lady Sydney, I didn’t expect you to be the one stationed here.”

When Sein spotted her, she also noticed him and the group of plant creatures he led.

Given their past acquaintance, it would have been impolite for Sein to leave without at least greeting her.

The settlement Sydney guarded was just one mountain away from Eri’s, the Rank One mage Sein had just parted ways with.

The vast Flaming Sparrow Range was populated by tens of millions of native creatures. To be able to meet Sydney twice was a stroke of fate.

Sydney looked slightly surprised to see him.

A hint of sorrow and loneliness lingered on her face but she quickly masked it when Sein approached her.

It seemed like the loss of her husband in battle had been a huge blow to her.

“It’s been a while, Master Sein.”

The armored female knight returned his greeting.

Sein was not one for lengthy conversations, and Sydney, subdued by grief, did not have much to say either.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, an awkward silence settled between them. Sein bid her farewell and got ready to leave.

Sydney did not try to detain him, but as he turned to leave, she kindly gave him a reminder.

“Your wife, Natalya, and the others should be in that direction. I saw them about half a month ago,” she said, pointing northwest.

This Wild Gorilla settlement, where Sydney was stationed, bordered the territory the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring controlled.

It was no surprise that Natalya and her group would see her when they were out for their combat missions.

Unlike the aloof Sein, Natalya was adept at making friends and building connections, especially with fellow female knights.

Unbeknownst to him, she and Sydney had already formed a meaningful friendship.

Sein nodded and replied, “Thank you.”

He then led his army of nearly a thousand plant creatures away.

Perched on his shoulder, the Kingfisher remained silent, grooming Sein’s hair as if it were a mere mascot.

Yet only people like Sydney, who had fought alongside it, knew the true strengths of this small, unassuming bird.

Over the past few months, the Kingfisher had gradually recovered from its previous injuries, thanks largely to Sein’s potent recovery potions.

He had even used a few rare herbs and plants growing on Tourmaline’s back as key ingredients in the brew.

After leaving Sydney’s garrison, Sein resumed his flight northward.

In the sky above, a massive war airship, nearly a kilometer long, zoomed past.

It belonged to the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain.

While Sein was accustomed to these war vessels, the sight of such formidable machinery in the Wild Gorilla World still stirred deep awe in the Kingfisher and other native creatures of the Verdant Wilderness no matter how many times they had seen them.

“The Verdant Spring Space Fortress should have received a few of these war airships along with its purchase. Why haven’t I seen any of them yet?” Sein murmured, casting a thoughtful gaze toward the distant fleet.

“Could it be that Master Lorianne has made other arrangements?” he continued musing aloud.

With the Kingfisher perched silently on his shoulder, Sein watched the airships disappear into the horizon.

***

The war in the Flaming Sparrow Range raged for six months.

In reality, once the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army arrived, accompanied by millions of magical beasts, the battles among the middle and lower-tier creatures only lasted about two and a half months.

It lasted a full six months due to the drawn-out struggle among the highest-level powerhouses—beings of Rank Four and above.

During this time, Sein led part of his plant creature forces to explore the domestication of native creatures, as well as the development and utilization of local resources throughout the Flaming Sparrow Range.

Suddenly, a bright yellow meteor blazed down from the heavens, finally crashing into the western reaches of the range.

The ground shook, and the volcanoes erupted.

This was no mere celestial phenomenon or the descent of an ordinary being.

Having fought in multiple interplanar wars, Sein understood the implications of this meteor well.

In its wake, millions of Wild Gorillas across the plane—alongside countless gorilla subspecies and other subordinate species—lost their connection to the divine.

Their prayers to their gods went unanswered, even the most fervent among them received only silence.

This collapse of faith was not unique to this area of the Wild Gorilla World.

With the Magus Civilization’s invasion, five Gorilla Gods had fallen from their altar within these six months.

This was not the end, but only the beginning!

Sein had not witnessed the fall of a powerful Gorilla God up close, but when the meteor crash-landed in the western part of the Flaming Sparrow Range, he, along with numerous knights and mages turned their gazes toward the impact site.

The fall of a Rank Four creature unleashed a shockwave powerful enough to obliterate any creature below Rank Three.

In response, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s command center immediately established a cordon.

Standing outside this boundary, Sein looked toward the west of the Flaming Sparrow Range.

There, a vast basin, several kilometers in diameter, had emerged from the impact zone.

Flames raged outward from its center, suggesting that the fires in this area were being intensely compressed by external forces.

Watching the inferno from afar, Sein spotted three familiar figures amidst the swirling clouds and sea of fire—Fenrir the two-headed giant wolf, a white-feathered pelican, and his esteemed mentor, Lorianne.

The three Rank Four powerhouses did not remain in Sein’s view for long.

After handling the remnants of the fallen Gorilla God within the fiery basin, the three of them vanished just as quickly as they had appeared.

But before leaving, Lorianne did not forget to cast a spell.

With a wave of her magic rod, a soft green glow enveloped the western Flaming Sparrow Range, descending like a gentle rain.

This green elemental light stabilized the fissures in the ground, preventing further eruptions or geological disasters in the region impacted by the meteor strike.

Two months after the fall of this Rank Four Gorilla God, an even greater upheaval appeared in the eastern part of the Flaming Sparrow Range.

At that time, Sein was handling some affairs in the Verdant Spring Fortress.

From the vantage of the space fortress, he witnessed the slow descent of a massive, blazing meteor from the sky, hurtling directly toward the heart of the Flaming Sparrow Range.

The previous meteor had carved a basin into the western region, causing significant localized geological changes.

Should this more powerful meteor strike with full force, its devastating impact could potentially claim the lives of tens of millions in the Flaming Sparrow Range.

The meteor targeted the very center—an area not only fraught with geological instability but also home to the range’s largest active volcano.

It was also one of the planar nodes in the Wild Gorilla World.

If a Rank Five creature were to detonate itself in such an area, the resulting explosion would wreak irreversible havoc across the Wild Gorilla World.

It was clear that only dire circumstances had driven the Rank Five Firewool Gorilla God to take such a drastic measure.

As the meteor descended, both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain issued emergency evacuation orders.

Millions from the Magus World Army quickly evacuated from the Flaming Sparrow Range.

Although the legions of magic beasts received no warning, their acute sense of danger, surpassing that of knights and mages, prompted them to flee with remarkable speed.

Meanwhile, as everyone scrambled for safety, only the native creatures of the Flaming Sparrow Range remained in place.

Devout followers of the Firewool Gorilla God kneeled in prayer with tears streaming down their faces as the meteor plummeted toward the main peak.

The “giant meteor”, which posed an imminent threat to the nearby Magus World forces and struck fear in the hearts of millions of native creatures, did not ultimately reach its mark on the main peak of the Flaming Sparrow Range.

The Verdant Spring Space Fortress had already withdrawn beyond the range of the impact zone.

From his vantage point within the colossal structure, Sein saw a massive, pitch-black flood dragon intercepting the meteor’s descent.

The colossal flood dragon had stretched nearly ten thousand meters in length, its body rivaling the fortress’ diameter.

Twisting and coiling its long body, Black Oblivion unleashed torrents of water from its maw, reducing the meteor’s speed of descent and forcefully altering its trajectory.

However, Black Oblivion was not alone in this feat. It was simply the first to act, making the initial—and greatest— impact.

Emerging from the dark clouds, a massive white tiger with a silver crescent mark on its forehead and wings of light on its back joined the fray.

It was much smaller than Black Oblivion in physical size, standing at only about a thousand meters.

After the dragon and tiger intervened, they were joined by a towering flame giant wielding a massive ax, an elemental light holding a green magic rod, a great white bird with its wings spread wide, and a two-headed gray wolf.

Each of these formidable beings exerted their considerable power.

Together, they managed to redirect the meteor, steering it away from the main peak toward an area in the eastern Flaming Sparrow Range.

As the meteor struck, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions devastated a third of the region, unleashing cataclysmic destruction that surpassed the understanding of lower-tier creatures.

The scale of destruction dwarfed anything Sein had previously witnessed, exceeding even the forbidden spell Lorianne had cast in the Viridian Venom Flame World, perhaps because the spell had been of a comparatively minor scale.

Amidst this apocalyptic scene, a “drizzle” began to fall near the main peak of the Flaming Sparrow Range.

Sein suspected this to be the water Black Oblivion had spewed.

As it fell, geothermal heat rose, turning the Flaming Sparrow Range into a surreal landscape with thick, white vapor billowing from every corner.