Sovereign of the Ashes

While Sein was busy with his own affairs in the Divine Tower of Ashes, a meeting that would shape the course of the Clash of Civilizations had quietly begun in Sky City.

“Shouldn’t we close the net now?” asked one of the knight overlords in the spacious circular conference hall.

“I believe there’s no rush. We can wait a little longer,” another soul overmage replied.

Compared to the Prelim Council before the Magus Alliance Conference, only a few Magus World knight overlords and overmages were present in Sky City at this moment.

Many powerhouses had already rushed to the frontlines.

After the war against the Gallant Federation began, Magus World’s leadership clearly felt uneasy relying solely on the overlord-level creatures in the Magus Alliance.

Rank Seven powerhouses like Zenasus of the Pyro Secret Society had already arrived on the border of the critical Netherworld Star Domain battlefield.

Even Klopp, the Rank Seven knight whom Sein had met earlier, was still absent from Magus World. He was stationed in Drifting Cloud World, managing the alliance’s resources and legion deployments on that medium-sized plane.

The most influential figure present in Sky City now was Bev, the peak Rank Seven soul overmage.

Yet Lady Bev showed great respect toward the mature woman in a purple dress who was seated at the round table in Sky City’s conference hall.

“Lady Regalis, what do you think?” Clad in a pristine white mage’s robe, Bev humbly asked the woman beside her.

“Technically speaking, I’m no longer part of Magus World’s leadership. I have also mostly stepped back from the affairs of the Dragon Warlock Clan. This time, I’m merely killing time. With the Clash of Civilizations underway, I thought I would stretch my legs—unlike some of the other old timers who have either left or gone into hiding,” said the woman in the purple dress.

She covered her mouth with a soft chuckle and added, “Just assign me a mission, but I might not even be stronger than you.”

“Your contributions to the Magus Civilization are beyond anything we could ever compare to. For over a hundred thousand years, you’ve guarded the borders of our alliance’s star domains, fending off threats from the distant Netherworld. Your service will not be forgotten,” Lady Bev declared solemnly.

“Heh, Locke raised a fine daughter. We old-timers have all witnessed your leadership of the Magus Civilization over the years,” the woman said with a smile.

“Go ahead and take charge. When it comes to the war preparations against the Gallant Federation, I trust you are far more familiar than I am. I have only just returned from the border star domain.”

This time, Bev did not beat around the bush. She nodded and replied, “I agree. I think we can try to expand the net we have cast in the Netherworld Star Domain.”

“Currently, three overlord-class war fleets from the Gallant Federation have entered the Netherworld Star Domain. While we have already expected this, I believe we can strive for more. This will put greater pressure on Commander Blood River Naeverynk and his forces. But if we drag it out too long, we risk alerting the Gallant Federation,” Lady Bev stated.

“Then we should launch an attack first to test the waters,” a knight overlord suggested. “Show the Gallant Federation our resolve to reclaim the Netherworld Star Domain. That will likely force them to reinforce their presence.”

“I’ll lead the force!” he quickly added.

“No, let me,” the mature woman named Regalis said, rubbing her wrist.

Not a single person present raised an objection, not even the knight who had just volunteered.

This fair-skinned woman might have looked delicate, but probably none of the knight overlords could rival her in close combat.

Regalis was Magus World’s first soul-level Dragon Bloodline Warlock and the founding ancestor of the Dragon Warlock Clan.

In a sense, the entire bloodline warlock profession in Magus World had flourished largely because of her.

***

The conference in Sky City addressed numerous matters.

Beyond the broad strategic layout of the frontline battlefields, even important minor and mid-level issues were brought before these overlord-level powerhouses.

Sein’s name was even mentioned briefly during the round-table discussions. They were not discussing him, but rather the unfinished world-class secret treasure he had brought back.

“Master Viktor, the soul-level mechanic of Steel City, has yet to find a way to fully control all of the Gallant Federation’s lower-tier robot legions through the Magic Cube,” one of the mages said.

“According to him, it’s possible to control robots across one or two planes. But for that alone, we wouldn’t even need the Magic Cube. Rank Four and higher mechanics of our Magus World could accomplish the same with their forbidden spells. Even so, Steel City has made significant progress in this field in recent years.”

“That Magic Cube seems to have developed sentience to awaken other robots?” Lady Bev asked, tapping a delicate finger against her brow.

It was remarkable that Lady Bev, who oversaw the entire Clash of Civilizations, could recall the functions of a mere unfinished world-class secret treasure.

“That’s correct. But its sentience is still very vague, and its ability to spark other robots’ intellects is flawed,” the mage replied.

“Send it to Master Douglas. Let the Wisdom Light try to unlock its full potential,” Bev said. “If the Magic Cube’s capabilities can be enhanced, Viktor might just achieve a breakthrough.”

Viktor, Magus World’s first Rank Seven mechanic, was a direct subordinate of Bev and the foremost expert in the mechanical arts.

If even he could not find a way to fully control the Gallant Federation’s lower-tier robots, then it was unlikely anyone else could.

The federation’s cannon-fodder robotic troops in the Clash of Civilizations likely numbered in the trillions.

If the Magic Cube could only influence one or two battlefields, that would amount to just a few million robots at most—hardly enough to make a real impact.

Sending the Magic Cube to the Wisdom Light was merely an attempt on Bev’s part. It might not work, but the outcome was worth anticipating.

The Wisdome Light was one of Magus World’s supreme treasures, a civilization-level artifact!

Such objects surpassed even world-class secret treasures in grade.

This supreme artifact, beyond even the reach of most overlord beings of large-sized planes, was said to contain a trace of the origin essence of the Astral Realm.

Across the billions of planar civilizations in the Astral Realm, only superworlds that had reached the pinnacle of civilization qualified to possess such an artifact.

The Magic Cube discussion was merely a minor interlude in the Sky City’s conference. Lady Bev and the others went on to address numerous other matters.

As the meeting drew to a close, Regalis, the soul-level Dragon Bloodline Warlock, called Bev over before leaving to prepare for battle.

“The situation within the Amenkha Empire Civilization has been rather unsettling in recent years,” she commented softly.