Sovereign of the Ashes

A torrent of flames suddenly erupted from the space gates, engulfing the sky of the demiplane.

Murg, who had already pushed halfway through, pulled back just in time.

He was no fool. Faced with a Rank Five Pyremperor who was clearly far stronger, he did not try to fight it head-on.

Pyreling World was simply too powerful, with an incredibly solid foundation.

If Murg had tried to force his way in, he would be dealing with the plane’s repulsive force, a hostile environment that weakened him, and a Rank Five native all at once...

Under those conditions, retreating was the smartest choice.

Now the real question was whether the other side would come after them. If they did...

Murg returned to the demiplane in bad shape. But seeing his condition, none of the other Magus World powerhouses present blamed him for anything.

Sein had been quick enough to retreat earlier, having sensed the danger before it arrived.

Thanks to that, he got away unscathed—only knocked back a bit by the flames blasting out of the space gates.

The environment of this demiplane, though, had once again been wrecked.

Dust and flame swirled through the air, while shockwaves rippled outward in every direction.

Angreas’ “second-hand space fortress” let out sharp metallic groans under the impact, but it held together and stayed intact.

Looking at the state of this demiplane, it was easy to understand why Sein and the others had not opened the space gates from within Magus World itself.

If this kind of disaster had hit inside Magus World, they probably would have had to pay a massive fine to the overseers of the nearby regions before even reaping any profits from the interplanar war.

Sein, who was knocked back by the impact, now flew back to the space gates. Together with Angreas and the others, he held his breath and focused on the biggest gate in front of them.

The massive curtain of light finally calmed down after releasing wave after wave of energy.

With the earlier flame tidal wave and Murg’s report, Sein and the others were now certain that this foreign plane had a Rank Five creature.

And it seemed there were several Rank Fours too!

This might turn out to be an even tougher nut to crack than Bouldrak World had been.

Now the only question was: would the enemy come after them?

***

Pyreling World...

Having crushed its enemies in a single strike, the Pyremperor fluttered its elytra and was just about to give chase.

But the guardian blocked its path.

The guardian was a crimson centipede-like Pyreling with a sleek body, delicate antennae, and a fiery red carapace.

She was visually terrifying to outsiders, but by Pyreling World’s standards, she was considered a “rare beauty”.

Yes, she was a female Pyreling.

She was only Rank Three, but no one questioned her deep connection and sensitivity to the will of the world.

Whether it was Murg’s earlier retreat or the feedback from the world’s will, both were clear signs telling them not to pursue!

The guardian’s intervention gradually calmed Void Eater.

It glared hard at the spatial vortex still expanding in the air, then turned toward the guardian and asked, “Can you seal and repair the breach?”

Being attacked and not retaliating was not Pyreling World’s usual way of doing things.

But this Rank Five Void Eater was far more composed and experienced than the younger Rank Four Pyremperors. It had no intention of acting rashly before figuring out the true strength of their opponents.

“Yes, but it’ll take time, and I’ll need help from all of you,” the guardian centipede replied, nodding.

“Why waste time repairing it? Why not just hit them back? That hideous Rank Four from before didn’t look much stronger than me,” Ghost Slayer, the young Pyremperor, cut in.

This was another Pyreling, entirely black in color, with an appearance similar to Void Eater. They were likely from the same species or shared a related bloodline.

However, when it came to size and presence, Ghost Slayer was clearly a weaker version.

Among the four Pyremperors currently present, Ghost Slayer’s was only slightly stronger than Blue Lotus. It was a mid-stage Rank Four at best.

Void Eater completely ignored Ghost Slayer’s protest. It had lived far longer than this youngster and had seen far more in life.

A deep scar still ran along the inside of Void Eater’s left wing. It was a mark left long ago by an enemy.

It knew better than to provoke what it did not fully understand.

Even though Pyreling World now ruled over five subordinate planes, Void Eater had always prepared thoroughly before invading each one.

***

On the desolate demiplane...

After waiting a long while with no movement from the space gates, Sein and the others exchanged glances.

Just then, Grimm suddenly picked up on something and exclaimed, “They’re trying to close the space gates! We need to move fast and stop them!”

Among them, Grimm was the one most familiar with the spatial magic arrays. Based on the feedback from the arrays, he quickly understood what the enemy was trying to do.

The conquest of Pyreling World was never going to be passive.

And now, the choice lay before them once more.

Marcus, the oldest and most experienced in the group, made a swift decision. He turned to Sein and said, “We’ll have to rely on the main cannon of the space fortress to punch through to Pyreling World. Your fortress is the strongest one here, and with the gap that Murg opened earlier, we should be able to squeeze through.”

“My space fortress will support yours. We can’t give the enemy too much time to recover or prepare,” the Rank Five knight added gravely.

Sein did not care what kind of damage the assault might cause to his fortress. He knew that the more he invested, the greater the return.

He had no intention of turning Marcus down.

He nodded, then immediately ordered the Ashen Fortress to move toward the massive space gate at the center of the demiplane.

Up close, the huge space gate looked surprisingly small compared to the sheer size of the Ashen Fortress.

After all, Sein’s fortress was roughly three to four times larger than a standard space fortress!

Marcus’ fortress was enormous, but still a size smaller than the Ashen Fortress.

As it closed in on the gate, the Ashen Fortress’ firing systems began powering up.

Magic cannons and other weapons locked onto the gate ahead.

Even before Sein had modified it, the Azure Starbane had already been known for its heavy firepower across Magus World.