Sovereign of the Ashes

“All of you can head to the teleportation array at the border of the Grand Eye Demon World Star Domain and stand by. I’ll catch up shortly.” Sein said to Sia, Reina, Marie, and the others gathered before him.

“Benjamin, the Rank Four Knight from the Alveroth Empire who’s taking over my post here, will be arriving a bit later than expected. I still need to finish handing over a few tasks.”

Marie and the others had no objections to his orders.

The fully prepared Divine Tower of Ashes Army boarded the space fortress and set off into the depths of the starry sky.

By Sein’s side, only Yuri remained, with her Burning Flame Unit.

Seriously, what the hell is Benjamin doing?

The Rank Four knight’s main legion has already arrived at the logistics base right on schedule.

Only Benjamin himself, along with his space fortress and his small elite legion, had yet to show up.

According to a demigod-level knight who had arrived ahead of him, Benjamin’s space fortress had supposedly suffered a minor malfunction and was undergoing emergency repairs on a nearby demiplane.

This particular logistics base was not exactly a major or high-priority one, but Sein could not just leave before Benjamin’s arrival.

He had that much sense of duty!

With the knight commander absent, Sein had no choice but to step in temporarily, directing the majority of the Alveroth Empire’s knight legions who had arrived first to reinforce the base’s defenses.

Orders from a Rank Four mage were not to be disobeyed, and the several demigod-level knights present knew that the situation ultimately stemmed from their grand master’s blunder.

Arriving late for the handover, even by a little, was a slip-up that could be taken as either serious or trivial.

At worst, it could be seen as a dereliction of duty on Sir Benjamin’s part, potentially leading to impeachment within the Alveroth Empire.

At best, it was just a minor delay. Given the current state of the logistics base and the nearby battlefields, the impact was minimal.

Still, it was an inconvenience for Sein, who now had to wait a little longer before he could depart.

After decades of handling logistics, Sein assigned tasks to the knights with effortless precision.

A small contingent of Alveroth Empire mages had accompanied the knight legion, and under Sein’s direction, they quickly took up positions in the various towers and forts.

His meticulous approach to command soon earned the respect of several demigod-level knights from the Magic Empire.

Outside the logistics base, Sein lifted his gaze to the starry sky.

The Divine Tower of Ashes Army had departed some time ago. Given the Ashen Fortress’ spatial jump capabilities, they were likely already far from this sector.

Once again, Benjamin and his space fortress failed to show up at the newly promised time.

Had it not been for Sein’s strict sense of duty, he might have gone to the demiplane where the knight’s fortress was supposedly repaired, just to see what was really going on!

“I heard this Benjamin is from House Donald,” Sein muttered. “That family’s one of the Alveroth Empire’s top merchant houses. Surely he’s competent, right?”

As if in response to his words, a faint spatial ripple nearby.

Lower-ranking knights or mages might not have sensed it, but Sein—wearing the Faceless Mask—picked up the disturbance immediately.

“Huh?” He looked toward the source of the fluctuation.

At first, nothing appeared.

Then, as he furrowed his brow, another faint ripple of spatial energy appeared.

Sein’s eyes widened at once.

“ON YOUR GUARD!”

“IT’S AN AMBUSH!”

Two sharp commands boomed across the entire logistics base, transmitted by Sein’s Rank Four mental focus.

Every knight and mage on duty snapped to attention.

Meanwhile, Sein immediately activated his lawful form!

Beneath the pitch-black starry sky, a two-hundred-meter-tall Flame Demon burst into view, beating its blazing wings.

The logistics base where Sein and the others were stationed was not located on a complete plane. It had been converted from an asteroid belt.

As the frontlines pushed farther forward, its strategic value had gradually waned.

Years of constant warfare across the Grand Eye Demon World Star Domain had left many pyro-attribute planes in ruins.

In fact, the darkness above the base was due to the complete absence of any nearby light sources.

Yet that same darkness had become the perfect cover for the federal fleets.

Unbelievable!

Sein only detected the enemy’s presence through the Faceless Mask when they were already close.

Before this, none of the Magus Civilization’s patrols or stationed legions anywhere in the star domain had picked up the slightest trace.

When Sein alerted the knight legions to prepare for battle, many were confused.

Even the mages stationed within the magic towers had detected nothing unusual in their scans.

The difference in perception between a Rank Four being and lesser lifeforms was simply too vast. Sein did not have time to explain—he would let the truth speak for itself!

A vast expanse of blue elemental arrays flared into existence as Sein extended his right hand.

Hexagram, octagram, and decagram arrays overlapped in intricate layers, each representing the culmination of his recent breakthroughs in magic spells.

Whoosh!

As the arrays reached their peak resonance, they roaring beams of pure magic, tearing forward in the direction Sein pointed.

The power he released in that instant rivaled that of a Rank Five mage!

Of course, that also meant he was now fighting at full strength.

The enemy’s sudden appearance, their boldness, and the sheer oppressive force they exuded pressed heavily upon him!

He had to respond with everything he had!

As the barrage of energy beams shot into the seemingly empty void ahead, they suddenly struck something solid.

The false darkness was revealed to be a vast, densely packed fleet of Federation warships!

By combining lumen elemental energy with the Azure Flame, Sein’s attack ignited brilliant blue fire across the hulls of several ships at the front of the fleet.

Even the reinforced hull materials of this elite fleet could not suppress the Azure Flame quickly enough, catching both the fleet commander and the captains of the vanguard ships completely off guard.

Sein’s sudden attack and the unexpected appearance of the Gallant Federation’s elite fleet left both sides momentarily stunned.

The federation had not expected Sein to detect them so soon. Many of their warships had not even taken up their positions yet.

Meanwhile, the knight legions stationed at the logistics base had never imagined the Gallant Federation could have slipped this deep into their territory without being noticed.

Then, after only a few seconds of silence, both sides opened fire!

The Magus Civilization forces held the advantage of terrain and solid defensive fortifications. As a logistics base, their energy reserves were vast.

Having lost the element of surprise, the Gallant Federation had to rely on sheer numbers and overwhelming firepower.

In terms of raw combat strength, they completely outclassed the Magus World defenders!

Sein could even sense one of the ships building up a power output on par with a Rank Six being. This realization sent a chill down his spine!

BOOM!

From somewhere beyond the logistics base, another deafening explosion tore through the void.

That was the direction Benjamin’s space fortress was supposed to arrive from, but Sein had no time to dwell on it now.

He could not tell whether that explosion meant Benjamin’s fortress had come under attack.

Maybe Benjamin had not been deliberately late after all. Perhaps his side had already run into trouble long before this battle began...