Sovereign of the Ashes

Oneille’s concerns reflected the worries of most Rank Four and above powerhouses from Magus World who had already taken part in the invasion of the Wild Gorilla World.

Yet, there was a contrasting group with different views—those who had not yet joined or were just preparing to seize their share of the plunder.

This latter group was less concerned about how many people were sharing the spoils of this medium-sized plane.

Their main concern was simply whether they were included in the feast at all.

In this war, some had managed to secure a hearty share, others had merely a taste, and still others could only savor the distant aroma of victory.

Even so, they should rejoice; the star domain surrounding the Magus Civilization had limited this top-tier civilization’s expansion and conquest options, making it difficult to find suitable targets for aggression in the short term.

During the battle in the Miseryth City, Sein, who had taken on the role of a “spectator,” ultimately earned thirty magicoins worth of energy crystals and a handful of mission points.

This outcome demonstrated that the sea races had kept their promise, fairly distributing the war gains from the megacity among all knights and mages present on the battlefield.

Although Sein’s share of the magicoins and points was modest, it was a decent gain considering the sheer number of knights and mages involved.

The sea races, being the primary attackers, should have taken the lion’s share.

This equitable distribution of loot, even if modest, did not discourage them. On the contrary, it invigorated them.

One of the key motivators in war was ensuring that every participant saw the potential for profit, fueling their determination to fight on.

The conquest of Miseryth City had sparked the fighting spirit among White Stella’s aquatic army.

Even the magic beast army, which had suffered significant losses in the previous battle, found new vigor inspired by the sea creatures.

“I’m going back to Magus World to muster another army of magic beasts!” Black Oblivion roared.

However, this plan did not come to pass.

Aside from White Stella curbing the impulsive tendencies of her idiotic younger brother, Lorianne and others also offered further compelling reasons.

“We’re not short on frontline legions right now. Another allied foreign god is set to arrive with an army of two million, and we’re expecting two more knightly orders and several divine towers to join the campaign as well,” Lorianne explained.

“That many, huh? Is there even enough spoils in this medium-sized plane to go around?” Black Oblivion grumbled.

“How many Magus World powerhouses have gathered here already? A hundred? Two hundred?” he asked.

“Definitely more than a hundred already; likely close to two hundred,” Lorianne replied with a wry smile.

White Stella alone had brought over a dozen Rank Four or higher Sea Kings to this war.

It was not that difficult to estimate the number of combat legions from the Magus Civilization across the Wild Gorilla World.

The ratio of Rank Four and above beings between Wild Gorilla World and Magus World was nearing dozens to two hundred.

This war was akin to an adult bullying a child.

“One of the reasons Master Feylis allowed so many divine towers and knightly orders to join this war must be to expedite its conclusion. Now that the knights and mages in other war zones are pushing forward, we can’t afford to lag behind,” Lorianne said.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going! I’ll lead the charge this time—” Black Oblivion began, but his eagerness was cut short by a sharp slap from White Stella on the back of his head.

That impulsive streak of his, it seemed, would never change.

The Rank Four and above Sea Kings White Stella had brought were more than capable of handling such tasks without Black Oblivion leading the charge.

***

The Magus Civilization Army pushed deeper into the Wild Gorilla World after leaving Miseryth City.

On the map, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s forces moved steadily northward, where the climate grew increasingly dry and cold.

However, Sein did not feel much of a change himself, as he had spent over ninety percent of his time within the space fortress lately.

With such a diverse and large-scale assembly of forces—magic beasts, Sea Kings, sea races, enslaved creatures, and knights—mages like Sein only needed to step out if they actively applied for combat missions.

Another remarkable advantage was that both the magic beast army and the aquatic legions would share a portion of their war gains with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

This arrangement allowed the mages from the divine tower to experience a period of relative ease and comfort.

Sein used this time to advance his experimental research projects.

However, five months later, as they reached the Tamerra Snowy Range, the comfortable lives of Sein and the other mages came to an abrupt end.

The cold wind and high-altitude terrain made this region an extremely challenging environment for the sea races.

More importantly, reports from the Order of the Fiery Molten Mountain’s scout knights indicated that this area was heavily populated by native gorilla species.

Naturally, these native creatures resented the invading Magus World forces.

The space fortresses in the sky failed to intimidate these snow mountain dwellers.

Taking advantage of the jagged peaks and the expansive, snow-covered plains, these Wild Gorillas, concealed beneath layers of snow, prepared to strike a fierce blow against the Magus World Army on their home turf.

Of course, the battle between the Rank Four and higher powerhouses was not something Sein needed to concern himself with directly.

The mission orders Sein received were to explore and monitor twenty-two specific coordinate nodes within this snowy mountain range and to place an Eye of Surveillance at each location.

This task was not just assigned to him; nearly all Rank Two and higher mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were dispatched.

As the only dedicated mage legion within this multi-racial army, and given the recent establishment of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring with its limited number of Rank Two mages, the burden of such tasks naturally fell upon them.

Despite being Lorianne’s apprentice, Sein received no special treatment for these challenging war missions.

To maintain stealth, Sein opted to leave Kingfisher behind.

The energy fluctuations of a demigod-level creature were too conspicuous. It was best for Sein to act alone to avoid drawing the attention of Rank Three or higher Wild Gorillas.

Infiltration and reconnaissance missions like this were inherently safer when conducted solo.

Besides, Sein was far from defenseless without Kingfisher.

Just recently, Lorianne had given him another pack of Viridescent Seeds.

As Lorianne’s sole apprentice, Sein enjoyed certain privileges.

Whenever his mentor came into possession of valuable resources or tools, Sein often received a share.

He never had to worry about others competing for his mentor’s attention or resources.