Sovereign of the Ashes

The trial for the God of Half-Beastmen had come to an end.

Eugene had successfully passed.

In fact, the moment Eugene ascended to Rank Five, the other beastman gods of Beastmen World knew that this God of Half-Beastman had secured his place among the gods.

As a large-sized plane, Beastmen World could afford to lose a Rank Four beast god. But when it came to a Rank Five beast god, no one dared to challenge their position.

After all, Rank Five beings were already part of Beastmen World’s higher echelon, trusted aides of none other than the God of Beastmen himself, Kampas.

Many beast gods assumed Kampas had come to Eugene’s aid only because he saw Eugene break through to Rank Five.

But in truth, only a handful of gods—like Jackal God—truly understood Kampas’s intention.

They could see clearly that the God of Beastmen had come for the sake of the strange-looking dragon turtle.

After all, the first thing Kampas did upon arriving was crush and cripple the Rank Five Phantom Crow battling Tourmaline, before casually swatting away the Rank Six Phantom Crow King.

These might have been small details, but none of them escaped Jackal God’s sharp eyes.

Rank Five Jackal God was one of the beast gods who had arrived at Bouldrak Plane—and he happened to be the one who disliked Eugene the most.

Rather than rushing to Eugene’s aid or helping the half-beastman legions, he darted straight to Tourmaline’s side, eager to offer his help like a loyal lapdog.

During all this, Jackal God also cast a curious glance at Sein, who was still chanting his forbidden spell.

It was rare to see anyone bold enough to cast a forbidden spell on such a chaotic battlefield.

Even more interesting was the magic rod in Sein’s hands, set with not one but two Rank Four divine relics!

As a beast god who had long dealt with Magus World, the Jackal God understood just how treacherous that world could be.

Unlike the arrogant Rank Four Black Tower Master of Bone from Blackhaven, who had tried to snatch the relics at first sight, Jackal God knew better.

Though he certainly coveted the divine artifact in Sein’s hands, he was shrewd enough to recognize that anyone who casually wielded a magic rod embedded with divine relics was not someone to provoke lightly.

By now, the Rank Five Black Phantom Crow was already teetering on the brink of death after being crushed into a bloody ball by Kampas only moments ago.

Against Tourmaline, who had mastered the strength law, the battered Phantom Crow stood no chance, let alone now, with an additional Rank Five beast god at her side.

The Jackal God’s appearance was, frankly, a bit odd.

Jackals were a relatively rare breed among Beastmen World’s wolffolk—far more cunning and sharp-witted than ordinary wolffolk.

Judging by their facial features, they resembled the foxfolk of Beastmen World.

Still, Jackal God showing up was, at least on the surface, a proactive gesture of goodwill.

But Tourmaline did not recognize this guy—she only assumed Jackal God was here to snatch part of her loot.

After all, dragons were greedy creatures, and this Rank Five black-feathered Phantom Crow was pretty much loaded with treasures.

Tourmaline’s massive body shifted forward, like a child guarding her prized candy.

That Rank Five Phantom Crow was as good as finished. Once she killed it, Tourmaline would probably keep a few treasures for herself and offer the rest to Sein.

After all, he had brought her all kinds of rare gifts from Faeloria when he returned from that world.

Sein had even offered to give her divine relics from the Goddess of Waters and the God of Brute Force.

Those relics would indeed have been useful as they aligned with the laws Tourmaline wielded.

But she had politely declined Sein’s generous offer, settling only for the dazzling collection of gems he had brought back from Faeloria.

“My big sister says it’s not good to rely too much on external power, and that I’m still young, so I should work to excavate my own potential,” Tourmaline had told Sein at the time, eyes wide as she explained.

Given Tourmaline’s family background, they could likely acquire any divine relic she wanted.

Besides, the law power infused in the divine relics of weaker gods was often very diluted.

To truly powerful beings, absorbing the strength of divine relics was often seen as forcing growth, like yanking a sapling out of the soil to make it taller.

“My lady, I am here to help you without asking for anything in return! Beastmen World will not stand by and watch one of our friends fight alone!” Jackal God said hurriedly.

He had crossed paths with enough dragons from the Magus Alliance to know their quirks extremely well.

As expected, Tourmaline’s ears twitched at his words.

While slamming her massive dragon claws down in front of her, she turned her head slightly toward Jackal God and asked, “Without asking for anything?”

“Without asking for anything!” the Jackal God repeated firmly.

If not for the fact that several beast gods were already joining the Bouldrak World battlefield and the God of Beastmen himself was watching over it, there was a good chance the slick Jackal God would have already been buttering up Tourmaline with gifts and flattery on the spot.

That was just how the Jackal God was.

He was humble and generous now because he knew that if he could get close to Tourmaline, he was confident he could double his gains later.

Truthfully, Tourmaline disliked this Jackal God who had suddenly jumped into the fight.

When it came to deciding whether she liked or disliked someone, Tourmaline could usually make up her mind in an instant, just by following her instincts.

Sein, for example, had earned plenty of goodwill from her over time, but whenever he did something thoughtful, it was never calculating or self-serving.

He had approached Tourmaline from the beginning with genuine respect and friendship, unlike the opportunist standing beside her now.

Tourmaline might be naive, but she was not stupid.

Still, the Jackal God’s assurance was enough for her to grudgingly let him fight at her side.

What really lightened her mood, though, was how the Jackal God had addressed her earlier—“lady”.

For Tourmaline, who had only just reached adulthood, it was the first time anyone had called her something so... grown-up.

The Jackal God’s words gave her a new experience, a small reminder that she was, in fact, no longer a child.

With the Jackal God’s help, “Lady” Tourmaline tackled the heavily wounded Rank Five Phantom Crow in front of her with renewed energy.

Meanwhile, Sein’s forbidden spell was inching closer to completion.

High above the battlefield, crimson fireclouds and clusters of asteroids were gathering in the sky.

Compared to the forbidden spell Sein had unleashed in Boubor World, the “Everfire Hellscape” he summoned here on Bouldrak Plane was slightly smaller in scale.

Part of that was because Sein had not pushed the asteroids to their full limit, and part of it was due to the sturdier planar laws of Bouldrak World itself, which inevitably suppressed the destructive potential of a forbidden spell of this magnitude.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, several other beast gods had arrived.

Among them, the most formidable Lionfolk God gripped a gleaming golden sword as he charged straight at the Rank Five gray-feathered Phantom Crow, which, still in fairly intact condition, was now scrambling frantically to flee this world.

The Drunken Panda Immortal’s technique of splitting into three was clearly not something that could be sustained for long.

Facing a Rank Five Phantom Crow desperate to escape, even the Drunken Panda Immortal struggled to hold it back.

The Lionfolk God’s arrival could not have been more perfectly timed.