Sovereign of the Ashes

Streams of energy rays streaked across the sky above their heads.

By the time Sein left the space fortress and entered the frontline, the battle had begun, and it was clear that things had quickly reached a white-hot intensity.

The colorful energy beams cast an unnatural hue on the sky.

Half of these rays originated from Wild Gorilla World’s frontline defenses, while the other half came from the magic cannons on the Magus World’s space fortresses.

What struck Sein as unusual was the sheer scale of it all.

In previous battles with the Wild Gorilla Army, this medium-sized world civilization had shown some level of energy-based technology, but never to this extent.

Now, it seemed they could hold their own against Magus World’s space fortresses, prism forts, war airships, and other war platforms.

If Wild Gorilla World had demonstrated this level of power earlier, the Magus Civilization Army would have faced far greater resistance in capturing the space-time rift.

At the far end of Sein’s line of sight, a massive silver steel wall gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Absorbed in experimental research over the past month, Sein had not realized that the Wild Gorillas had constructed such a formidable steel defense line in such a short time.

No wonder the Magus World Army had decided to strike swiftly.

Had they waited a few more months and allowed these defenses to strengthen, the once seemingly simple-minded Wild Gorillas could have become formidable opponents.

The long metal wall, combined with the relentless energy beams streaking across the sky, reminded Sein of his battle with the Neisse Civilization’s mecha army during the Viridian Venom Flame World War.

The Neisse Civilization was heavily invested in technological advancement.

With their large number of fortresses and deployed mecha units, they were notoriously difficult for ordinary civilizations to overcome.

In comparison, the Wild Gorilla World had mostly relied on raw constitution and brute strength during last year’s war.

But now, with these powerful gorillas fortified within resilient metal defenses, the Magus Civilization’s army would have to pay a steep price to breach them.

Yet no matter the cost, the Magus World Army would push through without hesitation.

A stirring surge of elemental energy rose behind Sein as the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s mages unleashed their spells.

When thousands of full-fledged mages chanted in unison to cast spells, their combined elemental energy was enough to alter even the color of mountain rivers.

At first, energy rays crisscrossed the sky in a balanced exchange, but as the concentrated magic intensified, it became clear that Magus World’s firepower was overwhelming the opposition.

The long-range attacks of the Wild Gorillas appeared limited, with a shorter range and weaker sustained combat ability.

Using mental focus to aim, the Magus World mages concentrated their assaults on the areas from which the energy rays were fired.

Consequently, the intensity of the Wild Gorilla’s counterattack began to wane.

As the sheer force of magic dominated the battlefield, the order for an all-out assault was issued to the Magus World Army.

The first wave consisted of enslaved creatures from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain—a decision most likely made through prior coordination between Lorianne and Oneille.

The cannon fodder of this initial charge was composed mostly of the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain’s enslaved creatures, who advanced under a crossfire of magic and energy rays.

Following closely behind came a legion of centaurs from Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, alongside an additional, more elite group of enslaved creatures.

After the battle at the Flaming Sparrow Range concluded, Sein had informed Lorianne of the Maya Tribe’s request—Hephaes, their Centaur God, wished to join the war, promising to bring at least two million elite centaur warriors to aid the war efforts.

Although Lorianne had acknowledged the request, she hadn’t given Sein a definitive answer at the time.

The centaurs, along with the elite enslaved legions from the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain, surged forward, clearly outpacing the initial wave of cannon fodder.

By the time three waves of magic bombardments had passed, the centaurs at the front had already advanced beyond the heavily damaged cannon fodder legion.

It was unclear whether Lorianne had promised the centaurs something specific, but their fighting spirit far exceeded anything seen in the past.

As the centaurs approached the Wild Gorilla Army’s defensive line, the third wave of Magus World’s forces finally began their assault.

This time, over three million magic beasts, the largest combat legion under the control of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain, charged forward to bolster the offensive.

Although these magic beasts were under the direct command of their respective kings, Lorianne and the others had reached a strategic consensus with the beast kings long before.

Knowing they were newcomers to interplanar warfare, the magic beast kings recognized that Lorianne and Oneille’s experience in battlefield command far surpassed their own.

Moreover, the loot distribution during the previous battle at the Flaming Sparrow Range had been fair, and the magic beast kings had reaped ample rewards.

With this level of mutual benefit, they were willing to follow Lorianne and Oneille’s lead in the current campaign.

As millions of magic beasts launched into a roaring charge, their movement far surpassed the earlier cannon fodder and even the centaur legion.

It was clear to any observer that these magic beast armies were the elite core of Magus World Army.

From a strategic standpoint, the joint assault by the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain represented the focal point of the northern battlefield.

In comparison, the Divine Tower of Floating Flame and the Order of the Green Harvest on the right flank, along with the Order of the Blackrock and the Divine Tower of Netherflame Spirit on the left, served as supportive forces for the primary offense led by the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Initially, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was relatively weak.

However, with the addition of millions of magic beasts and the allegiance of several beast kings, it had become the shining force on this battlefield.

To the surprise of many informed figures from the Magus World, even more impressive reinforcements were on the way—White Stella, the giant mermaid with her Rank Four Sea Kings, would soon arrive to strengthen the Magus World offensive against Wild Gorilla World.

“Let’s go!” Sein urged the Green Spikefur King beneath him.

As the more than a hundred thousand knights from the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain advanced, supported by the vast magic beast army, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring also prepared to strike with its elite mages.

The priority of the nearly two thousand mages led by Sein was to advance to the center of the battlefield to launch intense elemental strikes against the defensive lines and combat legions of the Wild Gorilla Army at close range.

If possible, this elite group of mages seasoned in interplanar warfare, endeavored to press forward to the nearest metal fortress line constructed by the Wild Gorilla forces.

With the concentrated power of their close-range magic, these two thousand mages could potentially inflict more devastating damage on the enemy than the millions-strong magic beast legion or the hundred thousand knights.

In addition to Sein, five Rank Three grand mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring co-led this mage legion.

Lorianne had made a bold gamble—these two thousand mages represented the core strength of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

If they were to fall, the loss would be one that the Divine Tower could scarcely bear.