Sovereign of the Ashes

The assembly area where Sein arrived was located on the western side of the fortress camp.

Despite the magus tower he had temporarily joined being named “Merilyn’s Little Coven”, the scale of the war waged by this faction was anything but small.

Sein could not accurately determine how many witches were stationed throughout the fortress camp. However, judging by the sheer number of knights gathered in the western assembly area alone, there were no fewer than twenty thousand.

In addition to the large number of knights, Sein also observed over a hundred thousand enslaved creatures of varying appearances.

Since Edelweiss World was a frigid and icy low-level plane, the deployed forces primarily consisted of cryo, hydro, and geo elemental enslaved creatures.

For now, Sein had yet to spot pyro elemental cannon fodder among the frontline forces. Even dendro elemental creatures seemed scarce in this battle.

The hundreds of knights who had originally been assigned to Sein and the others had arrived at the gathering point ahead of time.

Now, however, the number of knights set to follow Sein and his group into battle had grown exponentially—reaching into the thousands.

This was because apart from the three spellcasters—Sein, Veyle, and Berlitan—two more witches had joined their ranks.

It appeared that there were not many traveling Magus World spellcasters like Sein within the Northlands.

More specifically, Sein seemed to be the only male external mage currently participating in the interplanar war launched by Merilyn’s Little Coven.

With five spellcasters providing ranged firepower while thousands of knights charged forward, the situation might have seemed absurd—but it was not with Sein in the mix.

After all, a Rank Three grand mage’s capability in an interplanar war was easily several hundred times greater than that of a Rank One or Rank Two spellcaster.

Yuri had also demonstrated her combat prowess in the previous battle, making a strong impression on both the knights and witches.

Sein did not doubt that the war command at Merilyn’s Little Coven had already made a thorough assessment of his true combat capabilities.

The addition of hundreds more knights and two extra witches to his unit was likely a subtle acknowledgment of his strength.

***

During the first battle, Sein had been so focused on the battlefield that he was unable to grasp the exact combat style of the Northern Witches Council’s witches.

However, in the subsequent battles, he finally had the chance to witness firsthand how these witches fought.

Endless streams of sorcery spells, the enigmatic and unpredictable applications of occult magic, the commanding presence of powerful summoned units, the imposing elemental golems, and the seamless synergy between knights and witches—all of it left Sein in awe.

The sheer complexity and versatility of the witches’ battle tactics opened a new door for him.

Sein had always considered himself exceptionally well-rounded.

He wielded pyro and lumen elemental magic, invested significant effort into alchemy and apothecary, and even pushed the body-tempering technique passed down in his faction to its limits.

Yet to his surprise, these cold and ethereal witches were also masters of multiple disciplines.

In the Northlands, there seemed to be no such thing as a witch who specialized in only one field.

Every single one of them was multi-talented.

Even Veyle, the Rank One witch whom Sein had initially dismissed as a “rookie”, demonstrated significant mastery over both hydro and cryo elemental mysteries.

She was also a Puppeteer, capable of summoning four five-meter-tall ice giants, though their combat duration was relatively short.

Sein had also noticed her frequently pulling out red potions from her magus robe and drinking them during battle.

The sheer amount she consumed hinted at another possibility—she might also be an apothecary.

From ancient times, the profession of a magus had never been limited to a single branch of magic.

In the archaic era, Magus had been synonymous with scholarly mastery and boundless knowledge.

These witches embodied that ancient principle and their wide range of magic abilities made them particularly formidable opponents in battle.

For instance, in elemental combat, a witch’s versatility meant that her enemies could not easily exploit her weaknesses.

Moreover, Sein noted another peculiar trait among them—they all had a personal means of flight.

Every single witch in battle wielded a unique flying artifact: brooms.

The sheer erudition and adaptability of the witches left even Sein, a Rank Three grand mage, speechless with admiration.

It was then that a random thought struck him—perhaps this was why the purest witches never married.

With so many elemental mysteries to master, how could they possibly have time for love?

Even Sein himself had to specifically schedule time to be with his wives—and that was considering that his physical needs surpassed those of most mages due to his Verdant Flame Body Tempering experiments.

Unlike Sein, these witches had never undergone body-tempering experiments that left lingering effects.

It was no surprise, then, that they had gradually freed themselves from such primitive urges.

No wonder the older witches became increasingly cold and aloof with time.

This was also why Sein had been able to sway Veyle, a freshly promoted full-fledged witch—before she became like the others.

Beyond his direct observations, what left the greatest impression on Sein about the Northern Witches Council was their highly coordinated warfare between witches and knights.

This style of collaboration was unlike any interplanar war he had ever participated in.

The knights of the Northlands far surpassed the knightly orders in the rest of the Magus World when it came to battlefield synergy with spellcasters.

In other parts of the Magus World, knights and spellcasters were considered nearly equal combat units.

Knightly orders operated independently, and there was no strict chain of command between knights and mages.

The divine towers, too, did not hold absolute authority over knights in battle.

Yet the Northlands were different. The knights here were accustomed to being guided and commanded by witches.

This did not mean the knights lacked bloodlust. Rather, through long years of development and real interplanar warfare, they and the witches had refined a combat system that suited them perfectly.

Knights had always been retainers of magi, and these witches, with their extensive knowledge, had mastered how to maximize the effectiveness of their knightly forces.

Sein quickly noticed an astonishing fact: nearly every knight, regardless of rank, had undergone some form of bloodline modification or limb enhancement experiment.

It was impossible for ordinary knights to conduct such experiments on themselves—only the highly knowledgeable witches could have carried out these enhancements, whether through bloodline stimulation, purification, or neural augmentation.

Sein was well-versed in body tempering experiments, and his expertise in human physiology was on par with any Rank Three grand mage.

With just a glance at these knights and their combat stances, he could roughly deduce which specific enhancements they had undergone.

The Northern Witches Council’s mastery over body enhancement techniques was precisely the kind of knowledge Sein sought.

If he could gain insight into their systematic strengthening techniques, then this trip would have been more than worth it!