Sovereign of the Ashes

With their feet planted firmly on the solid metal floor inside the space fortress, Sein and the others were finally returning to their home, the Magus World.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s space fortress had been remarkably fortunate this time.

Not only had it managed to avoid the intense fighting in the Sandstorm World War, but it had also escaped the devastating raid by the Wild Gorilla God Army on Luther Planet—a critical operational hub.

In contrast, several space fortresses belonging to other divine towers or knightly orders were destroyed.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was lucky to have completed its resupply and departed the area just before the Wild Gorilla Army’s arrival.

Of course, even their space fortress had not emerged entirely unscathed from the multiple interplanar wars.

The damage, however, was within acceptable limits, especially since Lorianne’s space fortress was a recent purchase and still under the maintenance warranty of the Capiche Business Alliance.

The massive fortress docked at a public port outside Magus World.

Although Lorianne was still recovering from her injuries, she cheerfully made her way to another starport.

Sein soon learned that her next destination would be the Capiche Business Alliance and Steel City, where she planned to shop for prism forts and war airships.

She was also considering buying a batch of magic metal golems.

The fortune Lorianne had amassed from the war now enabled her to afford these extravagant purchases.

Sein was not expected to accompany his mentor on her shopping spree this time.

Once the space fortress docked at the public port, he boarded an airship along with the other mages and returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

***

Returning to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring alongside Sein was Tourmaline, the dragon turtle that had recently been promoted to Rank Four.

Black Oblivion had returned earlier than Tourmaline and the others. His army of magic beasts had also returned to Sage’s Forest in organized batches.

The resilience and strength of these creatures had been thoroughly proven during the interplanar war.

It remained unclear whether Black Oblivion had deliberately left a group of magic beast subordinates to guard Tourmaline or if this arrangement had been made at Lorianne’s request.

Approximately a hundred thousand high-level magic beasts did not return to Sage’s Forest, located near the Marmett Union Alliance. Instead, they settled in Viridescent Land.

While Viridescent Land had no Rank Four or higher magic beast kings, it was home to dozens of magic beast forests of varying sizes.

These one hundred thousand high-level magic beasts were divided into groups and dispersed among the forests across the region.

The sudden arrival of so many high-level magic beasts was bound to promote the growth of Viridescent Land’s magic beast population and increase its overall biodiversity.

As the tower master’s apprentice and a close ally of Tourmaline, Sein naturally took steps to protect the interests of his family and the Lysian Alliance.

Ultimately, about three thousand magic beasts settled in the forests within the Lysian Alliance, while nearly ten thousand pyro elemental magic beasts took up residence in the volcanoes to the east of the region.

Even the small forest near Grantt Castle, where Sein’s family resided, gained a new addition—a family of Manticores numbering just over a dozen members.

The highest-ranking the Manticore Family was a Rank Two female lioness with a scorpion tail.

Her male counterpart had perished during the interplanar war.

Sein saw this as an opportunity for his great-grandfather Julius’ mount, the Reverse Winged Lion King.

As for whether the loud-mouthed Reverse Winged Lion King could win over the Rank Two female Manticore, that would be up to him.

After returning to Magus World, Sein did not immediately head back to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

In addition to arranging for the settlement of the magic beasts, he took the time to visit his home.

House Grantt had undergone significant growth and change during Sein’s absence, spanning decades that included the Verdant Wilderness World War, the Verdant Leaf World War, and his intensive years of research at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The children he once remembered were now old men and women—it seemed that the rise of a Rank One being was indeed a rare and difficult achievement.

In recent decades, only one of Solon’s grandsons had made steady progress at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, eventually advancing to the rank of senior initiate.

At his age, he had about a fifty-fifty chance of being promoted to Rank One in the future.

As for the other members of House Grantt, particularly the younger generation who had chosen the path of knighthood, a few had reached the level of senior squires.

However, none of them possessed the exceptional talent of Sein’s father, Kelman, in his prime.

The limited achievements among the younger generation were likely tied to the lack of proper instruction.

The Lysian Alliance lacked a proper knight academy, which posed a significant challenge for aspiring knights in the region.

While the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring provided initiates with a systematic and scientific education, the knights of the Lysian Alliance had to rely heavily on family training.

For a small family like House Grantt, which had been established for just over a thousand years, producing three knights was no small accomplishment.

In recent years, House Grantt’s knights had also participated in various wars.

While Sein had now returned to Magus World, the knights of House Grantt, as registered members of the Order of the Steel Fist, remained scattered across the Wild Gorilla Star Domain, seeking opportunities in its hidden corners.

Without the guidance of experienced family elders and relying solely on their own trial and error, the success or failure of these younger generations hinged largely on luck.

Before departing with Selina and the other women, Sein formally greeted the current head of House Grantt and left behind a batch of valuable magic potions left behind a batch of valuable magic potions.

Natalya, Reina, and Sia did not follow Sein back to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. Instead, they returned home to their respective families.

The three were registered knights of the Order of the Steel Fist, but during the interplanar war, they had fought alongside the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Hence, their war proceeds, including rewards, were also issued directly by the divine tower.

While Sia’s husband and other family knights were still in the Wild Gorilla Star Domain, she had returned with Sein’s group.

Still, when the final war gains from Sandstorm World were distributed, even the demigod-level knights of her family would likely envy the rewards she had secured.

After parting ways with Natalya, Reina, and Sia, Sein and his group headed back to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Not long after that, Leena and Faye, the black mages, decided it was time to take their leave.

The only ones who remained with Sein were Selina, who lived with him; Eileen, who visited occasionally; and his three assistants, who attentively managed Sein’s daily life and helped with his experiments.

“The two of us have been away from Blackhaven for years. Even with my special status as the black tower master’s apprentice, I’m sure our prolonged absence has drawn attention from certain people in the Black Tower of Cinderbones. It might not be easy for us to visit you for a while,” Leena said.

“That’s fine. You two don’t have to visit me, I’ll come to you,” Sein replied with a teasing smile.

“Go back and focus on your training, stop conducting those strange experiments,” Sein then said to Faye, slapping her on the rear.

Faye had recently become fascinated with the Mirage’s Almanac of Souls in Sein’s possession and had borrowed the tome from him.

She also expressed interest in the two Ice Gorilla mother and daughter pair that Sein had brought back from the Wild Gorilla World battlefield.

However, Sein refused to hand them over.

These Ice Gorillas, who possessed unique divine powers, were critical to Sein’s next research on the energies of Rank Four creatures.

During the war, Sein had not had the opportunity to study them properly. Now, back in Magus World, he had the time and resources to focus on unlocking their secrets.