Sovereign of the Ashes

Nicholson did not bring his legion stationed in Arbitor World when he set off in pursuit of Wild Gorilla God.

With a massive number of Wild Gorillas in this world, the departure of their Rank Six powerhouse did not signify the end of the conflict on this plane.

While battles between Rank Four and above creatures were awe-inspiring and breathtaking to lesser lifeforms, the true bloodshed and cruelty of interplanar war were most vividly displayed in the clashes between the vast armies of low-ranking creatures.

“I’ll leave this family legion of mine here. Just hold on for a while longer, reinforcements from the Magus World should be arriving soon,” Nicholson informed a Rank Four Kermoine Serpent Warlock named Harry before leaving.

For Nicholson, supporting Arbitor World had been purely coincidental.

None of the other Rank Four or higher Black Viperfish Serpent Warlocks from his clan were present.

Although Wild Gorilla God had left, the two other Rank Four Gorilla Gods stationed on Arbitor World remained.

Unlike their leader, these two Rank Four Gorilla Gods were far more cautious.

They were well aware that the war in Sandstorm World was about to escalate to new heights, potentially becoming a chaotic clash of Rank Six powerhouses.

Whether these two Gorilla Gods would muster the courage to head to Sandstorm World remained uncertain.

For now, abandoning the millions of elite Wild Gorilla soldiers stationed in Arbitor World seemed unthinkable.

These purebred Wild Gorilla soldiers were not just soldiers—they were devout followers.

In the vast majority of planar civilizations that embraced the path of faith and godhood, the relationship between Rank Four or higher gods and their believers was not a strict master-servant dynamic.

Instead, these gods provided significant contributions and aid to their people, earning their worship and devotion.

It was a reciprocal relationship, with the strength and purity of the believers’ faith directly influencing the gods’ divine power and abilities.

This mutual dependency formed a system of fairness and reciprocity, and no true Astral Realm god would abandon their followers without a good reason.

Nicholson left Harry, the severely injured Rank Four Kermoine Serpent Warlock, to contend with two powerful Gorilla God opponents and the vast Wild Gorilla legion stationed here.

It was fortunate that Nicholson had not taken the warlock legion under his command when he left Arbitor World.

Had he done so, Harry might have seriously considered abandoning the Arbitor World altogether.

In his Kermoine Serpent form, Harry’s body was only slightly smaller than Nicholson’s.

His enormous snake pupils were fixated on Nicholson as the Rank Six warlock gradually disappeared from Arbitor World’s skies.

When comparing the transformation of the Kermoine Serpent and the Black Viperfish Serpent warlocks, it became evident that the Kermoine Serpent bloodline was more powerful.

The former had a larger body size, potent venom, and superior mastery over unique sonic elemental laws than the Black Viperfish Serpent bloodline.

Even as a Rank Four warlock, Harry’s serpent form was only slightly smaller than Nicholson’s.

If the peak Rank Five head of the Kermoine Serpent Clan were to transform into his full form, the difference between his and Nicholson’s complete transformation would likely be negligible.

The real disparity between the Kermoine Serpent and Black Viperfish Serpent warlock clans lay not in their bloodline potential but in their historical legacy and accumulated wealth.

In terms of future potential, the Kermoine Serpent bloodline still surpassed the Black Viperfish Serpent bloodline.

The tension between the two West Coast serpent warlock clans had stemmed largely from the differences in their evolutionary mechanisms.

Bloodline Warlocks derived half their power from knowledge and the other half from their inherited bloodlines—a distinction that set them apart from Magus World’s traditional mages.

More than a hundred millennia ago, the West Coast warlocks were fortunate to encounter an overlord, Jormungandr the “World Serpent”, during a Magus Alliance Conference.

While the Kermoine Serpent and Black Viperfish Serpent were among the most elite serpent bloodlines, neither lineage had yet to produce an overlord.

This might be a limitation that marked the upper boundary of their genetic potential.

As with all draconic creatures, their ultimate evolutionary endpoint was the pureblooded dragon.

The emergence of the giant serpent overlord, Jormungandr, had reignited hope for serpent bloodline warlock families like the Kermoine Serpent and Black Viperfish Serpent clans.

If they could shatter the genetic shackles holding them back, transcend their limits, and elevate their bloodlines, they might one day rise to break through the overlord class themselves.

Given Jormungandr’s ties to the Magus Alliance, it should not be difficult for peak Rank Six serpent warlocks in the Magus World to one day acquire a portion of its blood to catalyze their breakthroughs.

The West Coast was home to thousands of warlock clans, among which twenty to thirty branches belonged to the serpent bloodline warlocks.

However, among all these serpent warlocks, only the Black Viperfish Serpent Warlock Clan and the Kermoine Serpent Warlock Clan possessed the potential to reach the highest realms of power.

This rivalry was the cause of tension and occasional hostility between the two clans.

Of course, this was likely also influenced by the cold-blooded, reclusive, and xenophobic nature of serpent-like creatures.

These warlocks not only inherited the immense innate strength of their respective bloodlines but also the inherent flaws and limitations that came with them.

This was the same for Sein who had inherited the Flame Devil bloodline.

Absolute advantage or unearned power did not exist in the Astral Realm.

The successive departures of the two Rank Six powerhouses caused a brief lull in Arbitor World, but it was not long before large-scale skirmishes erupted once again.

There were still millions of Wild Gorilla soldiers and two Rank Four Gorilla Gods on the battlefield.

On the Magus World side, two Bloodline Warlock legions and the Rank Four Kermoine Serpent Warlock named Harry remained.

As long as Harry could still hold on for a bit longer, reinforcements from Magus World would arrive soon.

Both sides had reasons to continue the fight, and the intensity of the war barely diminished despite the absence of the two Rank Six powerhouses.

***

Far beyond Arbitor World and Sandstorm World, deep within the Wild Star Domain, the scene was eerily quiet.

This desolate region was peppered with empty asteroid belts and broken planes devoid of development value.

Across the vast expanse of the starry sky—variously known as the Astral Realm, the Void, or simply the universe, depending on the civilization—more than ninety-nine percent of its immensity was filled with this cold, lifeless silence.

Truly complete planes governed by an established set of laws, or even resource-rich demiplanes worth exploiting, were exceedingly rare.

On an otherwise unremarkable black asteroid with a diameter of a hundred meters, a cubic metal frame, standing about 1.5 meters tall, stood motionless.

The faint cosmic light reflected off its silver surface.

To call it merely a metal frame would be inaccurate—it was, in fact, a robot. Two circular lenses at its top, resembling eyes, glowed faintly.

“Our jamming light waves are failing. The Magus World Army has detected the battles in those planes and is sending reinforcements. Notify all intelligent robots to retreat. Ensure they leave no traces for the Magus Civilization to find. Then again, based on our calculations, they have likely known about our interference in this war long ago.”

The cold, emotionless commands were transmitted via a specialized wave frequency, reaching every hidden metal device lurking in the Wild Star Domain.