Sovereign of the Ashes

After stepping out of the laboratory, Sein quickly recomposed himself, equipping himself with various battle gear and magic items.

At the same time, Natalya emerged from the training room across the hall, clad in a form-fitting red training suit.

The residence Lorianne allocated to Sein was spacious and well-equipped, so Natalya and the other women often gathered there when they had free time.

However, they had seen little of him lately, as Sein had spent the past month secluded in his laboratory.

Unsurprisingly, Reina followed behind Natalya, also dressed in white training attire.

Both women were drenched in sweat from their workout, their commitment rivaling Sein’s dedication to his research.

Perhaps it was this discipline that allowed them to achieve a level of strength uncommon among Rank Two knights.

“What happened in there? Another explosion?” Natalya asked curiously, grabbing a towel to dry herself off.

The fortress’ shock-absorbing function had dampened the blast impact. Since Sein’s laboratory was a few rooms away, neither woman had felt the full force of the accident while working out in the training room.

Sein did not respond to Natalya’s casual question; he was irritable and not in the mood for conversation.

Had the war mobilization order not just been issued—and had Reina not been standing there—he might have given Natalya’s rear a playful squeeze and vent his pent-up frustrations right away.

From Natalya’s demeanor, Sein recognized her subtle invitation.

This powerful female knight’s needs and desires in “that” regard far exceeded those of mages like Leena and Selina.

She unabashedly removed her clothes in front of him and began drying herself off, her movements deliberately seductive.

However, Natalya’s flirtation went no further; with the war already underway, both she and Sein understood what took priority.

She was just being mischievous and teasing Sein.

Sein’s eyes were drawn to her chest first before he shot her a hard glare and promptly turned away to change into a fresh set of magic robe, cleaning himself up with a quick water spell.

Reina was more reserved than Natalya. She quickly collected her armor and slipped back into the training room to change.

With Reina gone, Natalya’s movements became slower and more teasing.

Sein had no idea where she had picked up such behavior, but she teasingly flicked her tongue at him.

By now, Sein had changed into a clean magic robe and was ready to leave, while Natalya was only half-dressed in her armor.

Seeing her partially exposed form ignited a spark of heat in his lower abdomen.

Stepping forward, he gave her a playful slap on the rear.

The impact caused a loud noise.

Sein noticed that the muscles on Natalya’s rear had become softer and more supple, likely the result of the body tempering experiments he had devised for her.

He recalled how firm and tough Natalya’s muscles had been back when they first met.

Ignoring her reaction, Sein exited his residence.

When he reached the space fortress’ combat zone, Leena, Eileen, Selina, and others had already arrived, as had his mage friends like Grimm and Daniel.

Over the decades, Daniel had not changed much, but Grimm seemed ready to advance to Rank Two after participating in several interplanar wars.

Perched on Grimm’s shoulder was his potty-mouthed parrot—many from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had been its victim.

Sein, however, was one of the few whom the green-feathered parrot dared not provoke.

Currently, Sein’s companion, Sev, was not present on his shoulder.

Due to the owl’s limited strength, Sein had left it under the care of Eileen, Faye, and others.

For this campaign, Sein had a new partner—the beautiful and elegant-looking Kingfisher.

The Kingfisher was not currently with him either; it was assisting the Green Spikefur King in commanding plant creatures from the Verdant Wilderness World and would rejoin Sein when the battle commenced.

Not long after, Natalya and Reina arrived in their heavy armor.

By this time, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s mages were already gathered in their familiar social circles.

Sein’s group was particularly lively, with Daniel, Grimm, and other Rank Two mages stopping by to greet him.

As the majority of mages gathered, the combat mission was relayed to each of them through their crystal balls.

This time, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was tasked with defending an important line in the north of the Flaming Sparrow Range alongside the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain.

Based on the situation in the Wild Gorilla World’s territory, it was clear that the Magus Civilization had secured a foothold in the southwest corner—a relatively barren area.

If not for the space-time rift that had appeared there, this area would have seen minimal activities from the Gorilla Gods and their combat legions.

The richest region in Wild Gorilla World lay at the center.

While Sein’s unit was initially advancing into the northwest region, all routes were expected to converge toward the heartlands of this world.

Though their current target was off the primary advance, it came with a significant advantage: the intensity of battle here would likely be lower than for Magus World’s main forces, which were advancing northeast under heavier resistance.

The battle front was led by Grandmaster Feylis’ Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, supported by a geo elemental legion under the command of the Amethyst Emperor and several other Rank Six powerhouses from the Magus World.

Reviewing the combat orders, Sein was pleased to see that Bernice’s Divine Tower of Floating Flame was positioned on the right flank of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s formation. Her strategic presence was vital for supporting the main assault from that side.

Similar to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, the Divine Tower of Floating Flame collaborated closely with a knightly order, the Order of Green Bounty.

Each mage was assigned a specific role—Selina handled logistics, Eileen provided long-range fire support from behind, and Sein, alongside other strong mages from the divine tower, was preparing for frontline engagement instead of casting spells from a safe distance.

This time, they were to work directly with the knights from the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain to break through enemy lines.

The Wild Gorilla World had spent months fortifying a defensive line across the entire frontline to hold back the Magus Civilization, hoping to contain their legions within the barren southwestern corner of this world.

In turn, the Magus World’s forces were determined to breach this defensive line and advance into the most prosperous central region of the Wild Gorilla World.