Sovereign of the Ashes

This time, Sein could not get in touch with Leena.

Since his promotion to Rank Four, communicating with her had actually become much easier.

Sein furrowed his brow, but was not too worried about her safety. She had left him no warnings of danger, so the most likely reason was that she was either in the middle of a critical experiment or training in seclusion.

Besides, the Spider Queen in Blackhaven had agreed to watch over her on his behalf.

Because of this, Sein considered the Spider Queen more reliable than Leena’s own mentor, the Tower Master of Cinderbones.

Leena’s talent was the highest among all the women Sein had slept with.

Back during the Knight Continent’s trial, her abilities had been on par with Grimm and Angreas.

Now that both Grimm and Angreas had advanced to Rank Four and earned the honor of attending the Magus Alliance Conference, Leena should not be far behind.

However, life for Blackhaven’s black mages was far harsher than for ordinary mages in Magus World.

For example, peak demigod-level black mages were not free to break through whenever they pleased.

Sein had not given it much thought before, but after spending more time with the Spider Queen and dealing with other powerhouses in Ashenreach, he came to understand an unspoken rule: the number of Rank Four or higher powerhouses in Blackhaven was always kept within a fixed limit.

If their numbers grew too high, it would inevitably cause unrest in certain parts of Magus World.

Those in the higher echelons of the Magus Civilization found it hard to control the constant influx of lower-level black mages and black knights, but they could keep a tight leash on all Rank Four and above beings in Blackhaven.

Those powerhouses, in turn, enforced a set of rules from the top down, keeping the entire region in line.

This arrangement was what allowed Magus World to maintain peace and stability, without being thrown into chaos by black mages or black knights.

Failing to reach Leena, Sein went straight to the Spider Queen to find out what was going on.

From the Spider Queen, he finally got the answers he was looking for.

“Your little girlfriend’s quite talented. She only just reached demigod, yet she’s already trying for Rank Four. I lent her one of the black volcanoes under my control to help her along. If she really succeeds, she’ll be a great asset to me,” the Spider Queen said.

The black volcano that Lorthisra was willing to lend out had to be a planar node rich in law energy.

When Sein thanked her, Lorthisra added, “She’s also lucky to be attempting this right before the Clash of Civilizations. If she’d been ten or twenty thousand years later, even I would have struggled to get her a breakthrough quota.”

“Will Leena have a chance to establish her black tower in Blackhaven?” Sein asked curiously.

Advancing to Rank Four and building a black tower were two different matters.

Some Rank Four black mages preferred to remain carefree rather than sink time and effort into constructing them, while others wanted to build black towers but simply could not.

Black towers were the equivalent of divine towers in other parts of Magus World.

Though serving under the Spider Queen was far from a bad situation, it would still be best for Leena to have a tower of her own if she wanted to grow further in the future.

“Hard to say. Remember that Rank Four black mage you guys sent to Atlan Prison last time? His black tower was snapped up by some old-timer from another region as soon as he was taken away,” Lorthisra replied.

“Building black towers in Blackhaven can be a real headache. But if you guys impress me, I might consider helping you,” she said.

In Blackhaven, getting Lorthisra’s backing was more reliable than turning to many of the Rank Five or even Rank Six black mages and knights.

As for “impressing her”, Sein hinted, “Ashenreach’s trade volume has been climbing in recent years. I’m worried it might draw the Magus Alliance’s attention.”

“Hmph. Do you think all of it ends up in my hands?” she said with a smirk.

“I can’t handle that much on my own, especially not when it comes to producing space fortresses and certain war machines. Don’t worry. No matter what happens, you won’t get dragged in. There are other old-timers and higher-ups to cover you,” she assured.

The old-timers Lorthisra spoke of were at least Rank Six black mages, on the same level as her.

As for the higher-ups, Sein had no interest in them at all.

Knowing too much was rarely a good thing.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief at her assurance. It was clearly for the best if he would not get dragged into it.

Sein then asked Lorthisra to deliver the rare materials he had brought back from Pyreling World to Leena.

In this interplanar war, Natalya and the others had gained a great deal, so naturally, Sein was not about to forget Leena.

Many of the unique materials from Pyreling World left Lorthisra impressed.

Of course, she was not interested in keeping them. She was more amazed by how quickly Sein had grown.

“Last time at the alliance conference, you definitely left an impression in Blackhaven with your proposal to give black mages a chance to reform. Maybe you could’ve secured a spot for your little girlfriend to break through to Rank Four without my help,” Lorthisra remarked.

“Is that so? I thought I’d end up offending a lot of black mages. If that motion passed, plenty of the lower-ranking ones would probably leave,” Sein said casually.

“Haha, black mages of Rank Four and above wouldn’t care whether the lower-ranking ones survive or disappear. It’s not as if black mages or black knights could ever vanish completely. As long as darkness and evil exist, there will never be a shortage of new ones,” Lorthisra said.

“But you’re right about one thing—most Rank Four and above do look at you favorably, since your proposal could boost their influence within the Magus Alliance. Still, some despise you. Maybe it’s because you stood out too much at the conference and rubbed them the wrong way, or maybe they just dislike you meddling in Blackhaven’s affairs. Either way, black mages are never easy to deal with. You shouldn’t expect them to thank you for speaking up for them,” Lorthisra said.

“I never expected anything in return, and I don’t know most of them anyway. I only spoke up at the alliance conference for one person, or maybe a few at most,” Sein replied.