Sovereign of the Ashes

With reinforcements from the demons, devils, and sea races, the battlefield of Sandstorm World swiftly tipped in favor of the Magus Civilization.

While low-level creatures remained oblivious to the larger shift, every Rank Four and higher Gorilla God could sense the oppressive aura emanating from beyond the plane and the arrival of numerous formidable beings.

Even the strongest Wild Gorilla God had been subdued with minimal resistance. How could the weaker Gorilla Gods like them hope to continue fighting?

Several bloodthirsty Gorilla Gods, unwilling to accept defeat, sought to sacrifice themselves in a final, desperate attempt to deal lethal blows to the Magus Civilization’s exhausted powerhouses in Sandstorm World.

However, their intentions had already been anticipated.

As Lorianne and the others focused on avoiding these crazed Wild Gorilla Gods, the newly arrived Rank Four and higher reinforcements intercepted these deranged foes.

This clash of high-level creatures was undoubtedly the most intense battlefield near Tourmaline and Black Oblivion.

The reinforcements’ primary objective in Sandstorm World was to save both of them.

Compared to Tourmaline, the condition of Black Oblivion was far more dire.

Its scales had been destroyed, its body was now marred with countless scars, and rivers of dragon blood had been spilled—an amount easily measured in tons.

The fact that Black Oblivion had managed to survive until now was nothing short of a miracle.

It was no exaggeration to say that, without this flood dragon, the combined efforts of Lorianne and the magic beast kings would have been insufficient to repel the relentless assault of the Wild Gorilla Clan.

For the past six months, this powerful Rank Four dragon had effectively fought as though it were a Rank Five creature.

Although Black Oblivion had not managed to defeat its enemies outright, its ability to single-handedly hold them at bay for such a prolonged period spoke volumes about its strength and tenacity.

Perhaps this was a unique trait of dragon bloodlines—the younger the member of the family, the greater their potential.

***

When the reinforcements arrived, a wave of relief washed over everyone—Lorianne, Black Oblivion, and the other Rank Four and above creatures. Even Sein and other middle and lower-tier combat legions quickly disengaged with their enemies.

The sheer strength of the guard legion under the command of an overlord was astonishing, while the sea legion brought by White Stella was overwhelming in numbers.

As more and more friendly forces converged on the battlefield, Sein, both physically and mentally drained, made the prudent choice to withdraw.

Although the battered Wild Gorilla Army was still valuable war treasure, Sein knew that it was not worth risking his life to pursue these riches.

Having endured grueling combat for half a year, Sein prioritized recovering from his injuries and checking on the well-being of his allies over chasing after cold, hard magicoins.

***

The Sandstorm World War officially concluded a month after the arrival of reinforcements.

In reality, however, the war had essentially ended even earlier, as resistance from the Wild Gorilla Army had effectively ceased during the final two weeks.

During that period of time, both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army and the remnants of the magic beast legions had shifted their efforts to collecting spoils and capturing enslaved creatures rather than fighting.

There was a limit to what any intelligent creature could endure.

Once all the Wild Gorilla Gods had been either killed or captured by the overwhelming might of the Magus Civilization, even the proudest Wild Gorilla soldiers found themselves disillusioned about their future. As their hope dwindled, so too did their will to resist.

For civilizations built on faith systems, the loss of their spiritual pillars was a devastating blow.

What surprised Sein and the other members of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was the “courteous” behavior of their new allies—the sinister-looking demons and devils—as well as the sea races.

Sein was not privy to what fate awaited the captured or dead Gorilla Gods, but it was clear that the millions of Wild Gorilla soldiers in Sandstorm World were not looted by these foreign legions.

The dead were simply left where they had fallen; no one bothered to harvest their most precious body parts.

Meanwhile, the Wild Gorilla soldiers who had surrendered or lost their will to resist were captured by the sea legions and handed over to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the remaining magic beast legions.

Perhaps these foreign forces were not interested in the meager profits of Sandstorm World.

For the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Black Oblivion, and the other magic beast kings, however, the opportunity to fully claim and process Sandstorm World’s war spoils promised gains far exceeding the costs of the grueling conflict.

“The accumulation of this sea of corpses will eventually cause plagues and unleash large amounts of death energy. We must extract the valuable materials from them as quickly as possible,” Archimedes said during an impromptu meeting at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Thus, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring mages and the remaining enslaved creatures, though weary, promptly returned to work—salvaging loot from the vast battlefield.

Despite the sheer number of magic beast corpses strewn across the battlefield, the Magus World participants exercised restraint.

They only extracted their magic crystal cores, leaving the rest of the corpses intact.

These cores were eventually handed over to Black Oblivion and the other magic beast kings.

After all, these magic beasts were wartime allies and fellow inhabitants of the Magus World, desecrating their remains would have been deeply dishonorable.

Just as the souls of Magus World mages held immense value, and knights possessed extremely resilient bodies, no one ever desecrated the remnants of their own kind, not even in interplanar wars.

Harvesting mage souls or knight corpses would be an unforgivable act, even worse than the practices of black mages.

Such behavior, if discovered, would provoke swift and severe retribution from both the divine towers and the knightly orders.

***

After the war, Sein reached out to Natalya, Reina, Leena, and the others to check on their conditions.

Like him, they had sustained injuries to varying degrees, but thankfully, none of their lives were in immediate danger.

Sein also managed to locate his mother-in-law, Sia, who had been missing for months.

Against all odds, Sia had survived, though her injuries were far more severe than Natalya’s, who was still recovering in the fortress’ medical center.

Sein had found Sia buried beneath a mountain of Wild Gorilla and Yaja corpses. Whatever horrors she had endured during that time remained a mystery.

“The devil bloodline really does have more drawbacks than I thought. Natalya was injured because she couldn’t restrain her impulses during the battle, and it seems like that is the same case for Sia too,” Sein mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Sein was grateful for the rationality instilled in him as a mage, which had allowed him to maintain control over himself.

Even when the power of his bloodline began to stir feelings of irritability and impulsiveness, he managed to suppress them early on.

Natalya and Sia, however, had grown accustomed to fighting with their bloodline-fueled aggression.

“Should I also perform the bloodline purging experiment on Natalya and the rest?” Sein wondered aloud.

“But for knights, a significant portion of their power comes from their bloodline. I can manage the constitution loss that comes with the purge, but Natalya and the others...”

He trailed off, shaking his head.

“Perhaps I should start by experimenting on a devil instead,” he said, shifting his gaze toward the main fortress base.

The remnants of the demon and devil legion had yet to depart from Sandstorm World, even a month after the war’s conclusion.

Outside the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s fortress base, an unsettling number of demons and devils with oppressive auras roamed freely, alongside countless sea creatures.

Although these creatures did not openly antagonize the divine tower mages or the magic beasts, their attention seemed fixed on the enslaved creatures and cannon fodder that had fought in the plane.

Their presence was a source of constant tension, irritating many.