Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein had never imagined that one day, he would take part in a siege against a god.

Even if the God of Brute Force was a “weakened deity”, it was still a god!

The mages of the Magus World had always been known for their overwhelming offensive power.

By harnessing elemental energy—sometimes at magnitudes of several times, ten times, or even hundreds of times—mages could wield far greater power than their natural limits would normally allow.

This was precisely why, despite their fragile constitutions, mages possessed terrifying combat strength.

In every interplanar war, the kill count of Magus World mages was often five to ten times higher than that of knights of the same rank—sometimes even more.

Area-of-effect magic was inherently more destructive than single-target spells, making it a key factor in these battles.

However, Sein was not relying on area-of-effect magic today. The wider the range of elemental magic, the more diluted its power became.

Right now, he did not need a wide-area bombardment designed for lesser creatures—he needed a precise, concentrated assault against the formidable God of Brute Force before him.

For that reason, the spells Sein cast were primarily Pyro Ray and Burning Flame Drill.

As Sein unleashed spell after spell, Yuri also opened fire, depleting her ammunition stock without hesitation.

After the upgrade in Sky City, Yuri’s combat prowess had taken another significant leap forward.

While their relentless attacks were not lethal against the God of Brute Force, they were still incredibly aggravating.

Meanwhile, the poison from the Spider Queen’s earlier attacks had now spread throughout the God of Brute Force’s body.

At first, Sein and Yuri’s attacks seemed inconsequential. But over time, the cumulative pressure they exerted began to take its toll.

At last, the God of Brute Force realized the dire predicament it was in.

The Spider Queen’s strength was far beyond what it could handle alone.

Perhaps, on the surface, her divine clone only appeared comparable to a lesser deity.

In reality, her battle experience, combat instincts, and mastery over the laws and divine domain as a Rank Six creature far surpassed those of an ordinary Rank Four.

It was like an adult temporarily transformed into a child. Even when fighting against children of the same size, their superior cognitive abilities gave them a decisive advantage.

This kind of innate superiority could not simply be overcome through effort alone.

Even at the very beginning, when the Spider Queen appeared to be repelled by the God of Brute Force’s ax, it had all been part of her plan.

She had no intention of dragging the battle out, knowing that time was not in her favor.

The more fiercely the God of Brute Force fought at the start, the more it exhausted itself—and the faster it would fall.

The Spider Queen was a seasoned warrior, a veteran of countless battles.

In a place like Blackhaven, only the ruthless could thrive.

***

The battle of Feymous Canyon lasted a total of two months.

For a battle between deities, that was an exceptionally short period of time.

It was, at the very least, the fastest Sein had ever seen a Rank Four creature fall in battle.

Whether it was the Viridian Venom Flame World War, which Sein had fought in during his early years, or the interplanar wars he had joined later, such conflicts typically lasted several years, if not decades.

The endurance of these planes reflected the combat capabilities of Rank Four and above creatures within them.

After all, the first priority in conquering a plane was eliminating its Rank Four or higher beings—the pillars of faith and resistance of the native creatures.

Once the gods fell, the native inhabitants and any remaining resistance forces would soon crumble.

However, the God of Brute Force was not a true Rank Four creature in the fullest sense, which was the first reason for its rapid downfall.

The second reason was that the God of Brute Force was still alive.

At the heart of Feymous Canyon, a massive white cocoon writhed restlessly.

This was a cocoon of divine power, woven personally by the Spider Queen.

Even with her strength, taking down a true Rank Four creature in just two months would have been nearly impossible—especially since she was fighting with only a divine clone, not her true body.

Binding the God of Brute Force within a spider cocoon was the quickest way for the Spider Queen to neutralize its combat strength.

In fact, a month ago, the diameter of Knox’s divine domain had already shrunk to just a radius of a hundred meters.

Now, it was completely suppressed within the silken prison of the Spider Queen’s web.

The Spider Queen, still in her half-human, half-spider form, lounged atop the massive divine cocoon.

At the corners of her mouth, a pair of gleaming, razor-sharp fangs jutted ominously.

She lowered her head, then sank her fangs into the cocoon, injecting yet another dose of law-infused venom into her helpless prey.

As she lifted her head, she remarked, “Looks like this one will take a while before it finally quiets down.”

The cold, cruel delight in her gaze was enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine.

The Spider Queen did not emerge from the battle completely unscathed.

After all, Knox, the God of Brute Force, was no cowardly god who simply accepted death.

At the Spider Queen’s neck, the massive divine artifact ax was still lodged deep in her body, its blade reaching her bones.

The sheer force of Knox’s strike had driven the weapon at least half a meter into her flesh.

Had the Spider Queen not expanded in size upon invoking her half-human, half-spider form, the ax would have cleaved her smaller body in half.

Even so, the sight was gruesome enough!

Of course, she was not the only one injured.

Sein and Yuri were just as battle-worn.

A battle between Rank Four creatures was not something lower-ranking beings could hope to endure.

Even though Sein and Yuri had made a conscious effort to stay away from the heart of the battlefield, providing long-range support from the sidelines, they had narrowly escaped death multiple times.

The sheer overflow of divine power from the clashing deities, combined with the God of Brute Force’s wild, rage-fueled attacks, had nearly wiped them out on several occasions.

Once again, Sein’s magic robe was left in tatters.

This robe had been crafted from the silk of the Spider Queen’s Rank Three spider servant, woven together with rare materials Sein had gathered from the Underworld.

Despite its solid defensive properties, it had offered almost no protection in a battle of this magnitude—just like the last time his robe was pretty much destroyed during his journey through the space-time corridor when he first descended to Faeloria.

Had it not been for the extra magic robes he had stored away, he might have found himself in the humiliating situation of running around naked.

Right now, Sein’s body bore five visible wounds.

Two were unintentionally inflicted by the God of Brute Force, while another two were caused by the overflowing shockwaves of divine combat.

And the last one—a deep puncture wound in his shoulder—was from Spider Queen’s silk...

The Spider Queen had not meant to hit him, but in a battle of this scale, she had little time to concern herself with those fighting on the sidelines—and Sein had simply gotten in her way.

The same was true for the God of Brute Force—from start to finish, it had focused solely on battling the Spider Queen, never once acknowledging Sein as a true threat.

Had it actively targeted him, Sein highly doubted that the two Rank Three plant giants he had catalyzed as guards would have been enough to protect him.