Sovereign of the Ashes

A massive crater nearly ten kilometers across appeared in the middle of an ancient, barren plain.

A powerful blast of energy had transformed the land into a giant basin, leaving a purple flame that slowly burned at its center.

The fallen was Violet Radiance, second only to Void Eater among the Pyremperors, and the first native deity to fall to the Magus Civilization’s expeditionary force.

Three powerhouses from the Magus Civilization had taken part in the siege: Vlad the Rank Four mage, Murg the Rank Four knight, and Ancient Moonfang, a Rank Five alliance creature.

Ancient Moonfang was a wolf that stood nearly five hundred meters long in its normal form, with brownish-gray fur and a faint crescent mark on its forehead.

Though it had only recently joined the Magus Alliance and attended just two conferences, the wolf had quickly earned a good reputation.

Despite its higher life level, it showed genuine respect toward Rank Four powerhouses like Vlad and Murg.

Its homeplane was one of the rare few that had voluntarily joined the Magus Alliance.

Since then, it had made a point of befriending Rank Four and above powerhouses from Magus World, which had made it well-liked within the civilization.

When Marcus called for aid, the Ancient Moonfang did not hesitate. It brought an army of hundreds of thousands of wolves to join the conquest of this low-level plane.

Though it followed the path of passive evolution, Ancient Moonfang’s origin laws were related to strange occult arts.

During the ambush on Violet Radiance, it was the wolf’s abilities that located and temporarily pinned down the Pyremperor, opening the way for the late-stage Rank Four combatants to land the killing blows.

Although it was Vlad, Murg, and Ancient Moonfang who killed Violet Radiance, the spoils would not belong to them alone.

Grimm, Angreas, and others had weakened Violet Radiance earlier, so all gains would be calculated and divided after the war.

Still, the final killers were entitled to an early share, and no one—including Sein—would object.

Vlad claimed one of Violet Radiance’s eyes and a claw. The pyro elemental law essence in its eye was especially valuable to him as a fellow Pyromancer.

Murg received half a ton of Violet Radiance’s divine blood. It was tinged purple, possibly due to the nature of its law power. As it flowed across the ground, faint illusions of flickering flames danced within it.

Ancient Moonfang did not want any spoils, as it was hired at three million magicoins.

However, at Murg’s offer and with Vlad’s silent approval, the wolf devoured the mangled lower half of Violet Radiance’s hind leg.

The flesh and blood of a Rank Four creature made for a powerful tonic. Considering the wolf had played a crucial role in the ambush, this extra reward aligned perfectly with the Magus Civilization’s long-standing principle of equivalent exchange.

Once Violet Radiance’s life was fully extinguished, the illusory form of its purple flame law faded, revealing its true body—a hideous insect corpse.

After collecting the remains, Vlad let out a weary sigh. “That was quite a hunt. Let’s go help the others.”

With the fall of their Rank Four powerhouse, the surrounding Pyreling World legion, already under heavy pressure, was bound to suffer a collapse in morale.

If all went smoothly, the tide of battle in the region would keep swinging in favor of the Magus Civilization.

Even so, the Magus World Army preferred to keep casualties among the Pyrelings to a minimum.

Many of these lower-tier yet battle-hardened creatures could become their most valuable cannon fodder in the future.

***

While Violet Radiance fell here, battles were raging elsewhere across this low-level plane.

In truth, the war had already been decided the moment Sein and his allies broke through into Pyreling World.

The only real chance for Void Eater and the others to turn the tide had been to destroy the portal before the spatial vortex fully formed, but that chance had long passed.

Now, three heavy hitters were engaged in the siege of Void Eater: the Phantom Crow King, Marcus, and Sein himself.

For Sein, this was an opportunity to gain firsthand experience against a Rank Five opponent and to refine his grasp of law power, particularly in the hope of deepening his mastery of pyro elemental law.

Yet, battle breakthroughs tended to favor knights over mages. Sein had gained some insights, but only a little.

What did ignite his curiosity, however, were the rare origin flames he had collected in Pyreling World.

If he could merge those into the Ashen Law he already commanded, it might elevate his origin power to the next level.

The Phantom Crow King spread its lawful form to its full span, stretching nearly a kilometer above the vast sea of molten lava.

The five million magicoins Sein offered to invite the Phantom Crow King to help in Pyreling World meant little to it.

Truthfully, the Phantom Crow King was not short on funds. It had barely touched the tens of millions of magicoins it had earned from the Magus Alliance.

The real reason it accepted the invitation was the lingering impression left by what it had witnessed at the Magus Alliance Conference.

Of all the beings in Magus World, the Phantom Crow King was most familiar with Sein. So when Sein asked for help, it agreed without a second thought.

The Phantom Crows were a species that thrived on plunder and slaughter, feeding mostly on the souls of other beings.

The million-strong crow army it brought had gorged themselves in Pyreling World, feasting to their hearts’ content.

The souls they devoured alone were enough to cover the army’s expenses.

A scorching firestorm spread out from Sein’s position, sweeping across the battlefield.

Countless lesser creatures of Pyreling World were caught in it, meeting their end without ever knowing why.

Aero elemental laws were not Sein’s specialty, but with the help of the White Sand Fan, he had gained far deeper insight into that field of magic in recent years.

It was yet another gain from his time fighting on the Phantom Crow World battlefield.

The raging firestorm eventually condensed into a pair of wings, flaring into existence behind him.

Under the boost of these blazing wings, Sein’s flight speed surged.

This was less a battle and more careful maneuvering to keep Void Eater from escaping or lashing out in desperation.

Its odds of survival were shrinking fast.

After sensing Violet Radiance’s fall, Void Eater, with several of its compound eyes already pierced by Marcus, sank into deep despair.