Sovereign of the Ashes

When Sein finally went to meet Eugene, an esteemed guest was already standing beside him.

Sein recognized the guest immediately—it was none other than Mayne, the Rank Four knight who had arranged their free passage to Beastmen World at the start of their journey.

Compared to a few decades ago, Sein had changed a lot.

Mages rarely stayed the same for long, and Sein’s rate of growth had been astonishing by anyone’s standard.

“Long time no see, Master Sein,” Mayne greeted him warmly, giving him a polite nod.

It was clear that Mayne and Eugene had been in the middle of a discussion before Sein arrived.

What surprised Sein, though, was how respectful the Rank Four knight was being toward him.

In Sein’s mind, Mayne’s past friendliness had mostly been for Tourmaline’s sake.

But today, Tourmaline was not with him. It was just Sein, coming to visit Eugene alone.

“Looks like our Magus World may soon have another Rank Four mage. Master Sein, I heard that you’ve unleashed two forbidden spells during the interplanar war,” Mayne commented smilingly.

That was one of the reasons Mayne addressed Sein as “Master” with such respect. In his eyes, Sein was already a “quasi-Rank Four mage.”

Even just the magic rod in Sein’s hands, set with two divine relics, was enough to make anyone think twice about provoking him.

“You flatter me, Sir Mayne. Honestly, I’m still a ways off from reaching Rank Four,” Sein replied with a smile.

It was not false modesty—Sein truly did not see a clear path forward to Rank Four yet.

Over the years, his progress had been remarkable, especially in his study and application of laws, and coming to Bouldrak World had only accelerated that growth.

But when it came to the exact breakthrough process and the risks involved, Sein knew he would need to consult his mentor again.

Blindly pushing ahead was not a wise path.

Sein’s answer made Mayne chuckle softly.

No matter what, with Sein’s connections and strength, he had reached a level that even a Rank Four knight like Mayne had to take seriously.

“No wonder my grandfather has his eye on you. When you’re done with your travel in Beastmen World, please visit my order, Master Sein,” Mayne said with a smile.

“Your... grandfather?” Sein asked, surprised.

Mayne simply nodded, not offering any more details on that topic.

Only after Sein finished speaking with Mayne did Eugene step forward.

The Rank Five half-beastman, still recovering from his serious wounds, carried a heavy air of sorrow.

His sadness was not over the injuries dealt by the Bouldrak King, but over the devastating losses his people had suffered in the interplanar war and the deaths of his children.

As both a leader and a father, Eugene had led his people to victory in the Bouldrak World War, but the scars it left behind ran deep.

“I heard about Tosk and the others. All I can say is—they inherited your spirit and gave their lives for the future of the half-beastmen,” Sein said quietly, meeting Eugene’s gaze.

The truth was, as a demigod-level half-wolffolk and Eugene’s heir, if Tosk had not been willing to sacrifice himself, he likely would not have fallen in the war.

But it was precisely because he inherited Eugene’s will that he led from the front on the battlefield.

Tosk had fallen when the Phantom Crow legions descended, buying precious time for the rest of the half-beastmen to escape.

Nearly all of Eugene’s children had died in similar ways—there were no cowards among them.

Sein’s words brought a silent stream of tears down Eugene’s weathered face.

This time, his tears were for his children.

Yet as a remarkable leader, Eugene did not let his grief cloud his mind or resolve.

After composing himself, Eugene turned to Sein and began, “I’ve heard that Master Sein’s mentor is the renowned Tower Master of Verdant Spring—a powerful dendromancer.”

He continued, “I wonder... would the half-beastmen be able to establish a connection with her? We could trade the spoils of war for rare plant seeds from her collection.”

“Especially grain seeds... our people are in desperate need of food right now,” Eugene added earnestly.

“I can’t make any promises right now, but I can introduce you to my mentor. She’s a warm and nice person. I believe she’ll be kind toward the half-beastmen and help where she can,” Sein replied, smiling gently.

Back when Lorianne had hired the centaur tribe to help fight her own interplanar war, one of the main forms of payment she had offered afterward was a large supply of grain.

Developing high-yield crops was one of Lorianne’s special talents.

Since she had once secured the loyalty of the centaurs through grains, it likely would not be too difficult for her to form an alliance with the half-beastmen who were now struggling with food shortages.

Besides, the half-beastmen were even stronger in numbers and combat power than the centaurs had been back then.

Not just Lorianne—if Sein himself were to one day establish his own divine tower...

Before Sein could even bring it up, Eugene took the initiative.

“I heard from Sir Mayne that you’re about to break through to Rank Four? Please, do keep in touch with us after you establish your divine tower in the future. We’ll never forget the help you gave us when we needed it most!” Eugene said, meeting Sein’s eyes with a sincere gaze.

Eugene was truly the perfect example of an exceptional leader.

With his ability to read the room and seize the right moments, it was no coincidence that Eugene had climbed to where he was.

That gift of his had been a blessing for the half-beastmen.

At the very least, Sein had no issue with Eugene’s ways of doing things.

However, one of Eugene’s later requests was something Sein had to firmly decline.

Eugene had expressed a desire to establish trade channels with Magus World’s sea races—clearly, he was hoping to tap into Tourmaline’s connections.

Sein had no ties to the sea races of Magus World; as Lorianne’s apprentice, he could introduce Eugene to her, but he had no say over any sea race’s affairs.

It made much more sense for Tourmaline to handle anything related to the sea races.

And so, Tourmaline was brought in to meet Eugene.

When Eugene started talking about free trade and deeper cooperation, Tourmaline looked completely lost.

Glancing left at Sein, then right at the Drunken Panda Immortal, she gave a small, hesitant nod without really understanding much of what was going on.

When they returned to Magus World, Tourmaline’s sister, White Stella, would be the one handling these matters.

Behind every plane that joined the Magus Alliance, there were always one or more factions from within Magus World quietly backing the deal.

For the half-beastmen, securing ties with both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the sea races was definitely an enormous win.

And with the sheer numbers and decent combat power of the half-beastmen, it was not hard to imagine that, in the future, Sein’s own divine tower might one day have a whole legion of well-trained half-beastmen serving as its vanguard.