Sovereign of the Ashes

Veyle was a rookie, but the knights and mages surrounding the Rank One witch were far from inexperienced.

The native creatures of Edelweiss World that had launched the ambush might have made a huge commotion, but their combat strength was only mediocre at best.

Even without Sein, the combined power of two witches and a group of knights would have been enough to handle them.

The voice of Rank Two witch Berlitan echoed through the air as she began her incantation. A group of knights instinctively closed ranks around her, forming a protective barrier.

Yet, before Berlitan could complete her spell, Sein had already acted.

A barrage of Rank One and Rank Two spells was unleashed from the tip of his magic rod, striking down the enemies like a relentless cannon.

This was the advantage of a higher-ranking mage—the ability to cast spells instantly without any incantation.

Sein’s pyro elemental spells were imbued with the power of the Ashen Flame that he had personally developed, making even basic Rank One spells far more lethal than they originally were.

A single volley was enough to overwhelm a Rank Three creature that had not activated its energy shield, let alone the lesser beings bold enough to ambush Sein and the others!

Sein single-handedly suppressed the Edelweiss World native creatures, holding them off from all directions.

Meanwhile, the knights around him did not make the amateur mistake of hesitating in battle.

Mounted knights immediately spurred their beasts forward, crashing into the staggered enemy ranks like a wave of steel and fury.

Unmounted knights roared as they charged, and many of the Rank Two Land Knights even activated their bloodline transformations.

The moment Sein made his move, Yuri followed suit.

If Sein had been the greatest beneficiary of their time in Sky City, then Yuri was undoubtedly the second.

Despite its towering metal frame, the Burning Flame Unit seemed unremarkable in its neutral state.

After all, an alchemy construct lacked a life force or an aura of power, making it difficult to gauge its true strength.

But the moment it entered combat mode, this modified mecha’s devastating capabilities became impossible to ignore.

Unlike the knights who charged directly into battle, Yuri did not rush forward immediately.

Instead, she remained at Sein’s side as his personal guard and activated her shoulder cannons first.

From the shoulder blades of Yuri’s Burning Flame Unit, two metal components emerged, resembling massive beehives.

The densely packed Flame Magic Missiles within them were enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.

For a full five sandglasses[1], the shoulder-mounted cannons rained destruction upon the battlefield.

Its firepower intensity was comparable to that of a seasoned mage like Sein, proving itself as Master Peyton’s greatest creation.

These two Hive Launchers on the Burning Flame Unit’s shoulders were, in fact, miniaturized models of a space fortress cannon.

Master Peyton’s greatest ambition was to develop and design a space fortress of his own.

With his current rank and skills, designing firepower systems for war airships was well within his capabilities.

Yet, when it came to constructing an entire space fortress, his alchemy expertise was not advanced enough to see it through.

Still, this did not stop his passion for innovation.

A space fortress was beyond his reach but a scaled-down model, equipped with just two Hive Launchers, was an attainable goal for him to achieve.

With Sein’s financial backing, Master Peyton was able to partially fulfill his long-held dream through upgrading Yuri’s Burning Flame Unit.

The Hive Launchers were only one part of the many weapons added to Yuri’s mecha.

At full energy output, Peyton had confidently declared that the Burning Flame Unit could go toe-to-toe with any Rank Three creature and even hold its own against a demigod for a short period!

Of course, Sein took this claim with a grain of salt. He was certain that the old man had heavily exaggerated his words.

The Burning Flame Unit was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, Sein was well aware of Yuri’s shortcomings.

Her Rank Two life level and subpar mental focus meant that she could not yet unleash the full potential of this mecha.

To truly achieve the kind of power that Peyton had claimed—or even surpass it—Yuri needed to reach Rank Three.

That was why Sein constantly urged her to focus on her training.

Nevertheless, the enemies before them consisted of only a handful of Rank Two creatures, dozens of Rank One, and nearly a thousand lesser beings.

Against these foes, Yuri was more than capable of handling the fight.

After unleashing an assault so overwhelming it could be described as flashy, Yuri charged toward the strongest creatures on the battlefield with a lightsaber in hand.

Four white exhaust trails streaked behind the Burning Flame Unit.

In terms of raw speed, even Sein was slightly inferior to Yuri.

Such was the power of war airship-grade thrusters!

Once Yuri entered the fray, the battle quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter.

Sein and the other three Magus World spellcasters did not even need to intervene—Yuri and the knights were more than enough to crush the foolish native creatures.

After casting only a few spells, Berlitan stared at Yuri’s mecha in shock.

With the Rank Two witch’s experience, she quickly recognized the four thrusters mounted on the back of Yuri’s mecha as a war airship’s propulsion system!

Meanwhile, Veyle, the rookie Rank One witch, barely had a chance to cast a single spell.

It was not that she was still frozen in shock—rather, the battle had been so one-sided that no further assistance was needed.

This was especially true after Yuri deployed five additional mechas, each towering twenty meters, straight from her storage space into the battlefield.

For Sein, this battle was a field test to gauge Yuri’s true combat prowess.

Apart from her Black Hole Particle Cannon and other resource-intensive weaponry, Yuri had showcased nearly every new capability in her arsenal.

Old Peyton’s mastery of alchemy was also on full display in this battle.

The flame missiles Yuri had launched were scaled-down versions of the Magus World’s standard space fortress ammunition.

Although they were scaled-down versions, as long as the ammunition specifications were properly submitted, Sein could procure them directly from the Magus Alliance through the major divine towers’ supply channels instead of crafting them himself.

With Yuri’s brutal efficiency, not a single Edelweiss World creature managed to flee.

The battle ended faster than anyone had expected.

Unlike the unyielding Edelweiss Spirits, not every native creature in Edelweiss World was willing to die for its homeplane.

1. Reminder: Five sandglasses = five minutes! ☜