Sovereign of the Ashes

When extravagant Arriba Chamber of Commerce reinforcements appeared outside Arbitor World, tears welled up in Harry’s eyes.

The Rank Four Kermoine Serpent Warlock had been pushed to the brink of despair, his battered and exhausted body barely holding up against the relentless aggression of the two Rank Four Gorilla Gods opposing him.

Unfortunately, Harry’s moment of hope and excitement was fleeting.

Without so much as a pause, the Arriba Chamber of Commerce’s troops and fleets zoomed past Arbitor World entirely, heading directly toward Sandstorm World.

Neither the unruly devils and demons nor the impeccably organized cosmic battleships spared even a moment to intervene.

Harry’s hopeful expression froze as his excitement quickly turned to bitter disappointment. The two Rank Four Gorilla Gods of Wild Gorilla World, though, were similarly unsettled and shaken.

The overlord clad in a splendid violet outfit had not bothered to mask his overwhelming aura when he appeared in this starry sky.

As seasoned warriors who had served Wild Gorilla God for tens of thousands of years, the two Gorilla Gods possessed the fundamental skills to observe energy and sense power.

If the gap between a Rank One creature and a Rank Four powerhouse was akin to that between an ant and an elephant, then the difference between these two Rank Four Gorilla Gods and an overlord was like comparing mud to the clouds.

Even if there were two hundred Rank Four Gorilla Gods, they would not necessarily stand a chance against a single overlord!

When the disparity in life levels reached such extremes, sheer numbers could no longer compensate for the difference in quality.

The Magus Civilization had yet to deploy a single overlord to Wild Gorilla World.

After all, it would have been an overkill to send such a powerful figure to conquer a medium-sized world civilization.

The war in the Wild Star Domain had been brutally fierce, with several Rank Four creatures from the Magus Civilization already fallen. Yet, to their civilization’s upper echelons, this conflict was nothing more than a minor skirmish.

So what if they had lost a few Rank Four creatures?

With the Magus Civilization’s vast reserves, even the loss of hundreds of Rank Four creatures would not pose a significant problem.

To grow into a truly dominant force, one had to endure the tempests of war.

If every war required the intervention of Magus Civilization’s top powerhouses to secure a decisive victory, how could future generations ever grow strong?

There would be no motivation to strive for greatness if everything was handed to them on a silver platter.

Besides, the overlords and overmages of the Magus Civilization were not full-time babysitters.

One must never confuse the perspective of those at the bottom with the broader view of those standing at the pinnacle.

To Sein, the Sandstorm World War—a conflict that had already claimed millions of lives—was an unfathomable bloodbath, unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Yet to the powerhouses of the Magus World, such a scale of casualties hardly piqued their interest.

The deaths of hundreds or thousands were nothing new to a civilization that had endured wars involving billions, if not trillions, of lives.

For instance, during the Neisse Star Domain War, which concluded over a century ago, the Magus Civilization had deployed well over a hundred million troops.

Now that was a war worthy of their attention.

To put it bluntly, the Wild Gorilla World War would have hardly warranted attention were it not for its proximity to the Gallant Federation border and the involvement of the Blue Violet Star, a medium-sized civilization long coveted by the West Coast Dragon Warlock Clan.

At best, this medium-scale interplanar war was just another expansion campaign led by the Pyro Secret Society, a prominent faction within the Magus Civilization.

Zenasus, a peak Rank Seven Soul Overmage, might spare the war a fleeting glance, but he would never intervene directly.

The only scenarios that might draw his involvement would be if the Gallant Federation deployed forces of equivalent strength or if the Pyro Secret Society suffered catastrophic losses—such as the simultaneous fall of hundreds of Rank Four powerhouses.

Even Zenasus would be hard-pressed to remain indifferent to such a scenario.

While the Magus Civilization as a whole could easily absorb the loss of a hundred or even two hundred Rank Four beings, the Pyro Secret Society could not.

The Pyro Secret Society lacked the resources and wealth of the older, more established top-tier forces, which was why Zenasus made a point of protecting the Rank Four knights and mages under his command.

In a medium-scale interplanar war, losing a few Rank Four or higher beings was considered inevitable.

However, if casualties climbed into the triple digits, that would be a shocking development—unless Wild Gorilla World suddenly transformed into a large-sized world civilization capable of summoning overlords to intervene.

The Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce’s imposing fleet moved on without hesitation, showing no regard for the fierce battle raging in Arbitor World.

Their cold indifference dealt a heavy psychological blow to the warring factions in Arbitor World.

However, it would be unfair to say their appearance had no impact on the ongoing conflict.

Setting aside the grief and despair in the heart of the Rank Four Kermoine Serpent Warlock, the appearance of this powerful fleet had helped him to a certain extent.

This extravagant and overwhelmingly powerful force delivered a significant blow to the confidence of the Wild Gorilla Army in Arbitor World.

Even the two Rank Four Gorilla Gods, who had previously radiated an unyielding fervor for battle, now appeared visibly deflated—like flowers wilting in the snow.

They dared not even gaze at the man dressed lavishly as he gradually receded into the distance, flanked by his legions of demons and devils.

For the first time, these Wild Gorilla soldiers, sworn to follow their god into a desperate battle in their home star domain, found themselves entertaining thoughts of escape or surrender.

Every intelligent creature had the right to pursue survival and freedom.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to prove one’s bravery, but when faced with certain death and an incredibly overpowered opponent, surrender became the only viable choice.

***

Beyond Sandstorm World...

The various Magus Civilization legions that had just arrived gazed at the middle-aged man in awe. Arms folded, he radiated an air of absolute confidence as he wielded incomparably strong spatial power to freeze and seal the Rank Six Wild Gorilla God.

Wild Gorilla God had become a familiar name to nearly all the Rank Four and above creatures participating in the Magus Civilization’s campaign over the years.

After all, it was the mightiest being in Wild Gorilla World, wielding a world-class secret treasure coveted by countless divine tower masters and grand masters.

Even powerhouses like Feylis or Amethyst Emperor, despite their extraordinary strength, could not guarantee victory over it in solo combat—let alone outright killing it.

For powerhouses of this rank, the most reliable tactic was to gather superior forces and encircle the enemy.

However, Wild Gorilla God’s ability to escape Wild Gorilla World and evade capture already demonstrated its formidable prowess.

But now, this Rank Six creature, who had dominated three nearby medium-sized star domains for tens of thousands of years, looked utterly powerless—a captured beast, frozen in an alternate space by the middle-aged man in violet.

Spatial laws were widely regarded as one of the rarest and most difficult to counter among the many powers of law.

Overlords of ordinary laws were already fearsome enough, but this terrifying entity before them, who had mastered spatial laws, defied all conventional understanding!

While Feylis and others might have been able to overpower and kill Wild Gorilla God after an arduous fight, capturing it alive this effortlessly was unthinkable.

Given Wild Gorilla God’s fiery temperament, it would have been more in character for it to self-destruct rather than allow itself to be captured. Such a violent and spectacular end would have been a fitting culmination to its chaotic and untamed existence. Even among powerhouses of its caliber, preventing such an act would typically be a near-impossible task.

Yet, the sheer disparity in power between it and this overlord made even the act of self-destruction difficult.

Even if Wild Gorilla God managed to detonate itself, the overlord’s unparalleled mastery of spatial laws would have rendered the explosion meaningless. With a mere thought, he could have banished the detonation to an entirely different space or star domain.

In the presence of this overlord, Wild Gorilla God’s desperate plan to take its enemies down with it, was rendered utterly useless.

Moreover, given the profound background of the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce and the immense resources at the disposal of the middle-aged man in violet, his arsenal of trump cards extended far beyond his mastery of spatial laws.