Sovereign of the Ashes

While Beatrice agreed with Darian, other powerhouses—including Sein and Karazo—remained doubtful.

Although Aquaria lay within the surrounding star domain as well, Orric paid little attention to the threat posed by Arid Expanse World.

Planet Aquaria, the Shadowbat Civilization, and Arid Expanse World were all medium-sized planes.

Orric genuinely did not see how Arid Expanse World was superior to his own homeplane.

Once he claimed the Ocean King’s throne and received the crown’s blessing, along with the plane’s origin energy to ascend to Rank Six, Orric firmly believed he could lead his civilization into a new age.

By then, Arid Expanse World would become even more insignificant.

That arrogance ran deep in his bones. Whether he would ever change remained to be seen.

Sein, however, believed the wandering races in the Chaos Sea Star Domain were not solely the result of Arid Expanse World’s expansion.

He suspected the Clash of Civilizations had also displaced countless planar worlds across the nearby star domains.

It was entirely possible that many of the wandering tribes drifting into the Chaos Sea Star Domain now harbored grudges against either the Magus Civilization or the Gallant Federation.

A star domain this messy, with so many conflicting causes and agendas, was not something that could be unified with a simple speech.

***

Freedom Star City was built atop a rugged, gray asteroid belt.

Without a planar barrier to support a stable environment, most of the lifeforms visiting there had to be at least a Rank One just to survive.

Sein had once asked how the Klytheran survivors had managed to live in such a hostile region for so many years.

Karazo explained that aside from developing nearby star domains and demiplanes, Klytheran warriors occasionally took on missions issued by Freedom Star City under the leadership of Rank Four powerhouses.

Most of these missions were vendettas; others involved resource collection or mercenary work.

At one point, Arid Expanse World even hired several nomadic races from this star domain to participate in their war campaigns.

Such was the absurdity of reality.

Despite the Chaos Sea Star Domain being home to many nomadic races that held grudges against Arid Expanse World, the promise of resources and wealth had tempted plenty of them, including foreign deities, to side with it.

Because of that, the grand vision Darian from the Shadowbat Civilization had proposed seemed unlikely ever to succeed.

Upon entering Freedom Star City, Karazo sent two Rank Four Klytheran fighters to escort the slaves and cannon fodder they had captured along the way to a designated marketplace.

Slaves and laborers were the most common goods traded in Freedom Star City, but the city’s true hard currency remained energy crystals.

Inert crystals were an indispensable rare element for Klytheran development. Yet, after years of wandering, the Klytherans had somehow adapted to absorb and use ordinary energy crystals as well.

No one could say for sure whether that qualified as a kind of “evolution.”

Naturally, not all three hundred thousand Klytheran fighters could enter Freedom Star City.

In the end, fewer than one-tenth went in, while the rest stayed outside with the metal fleet.

Even Sein, a seasoned Rank Five Magus World mage, had to admit that this interstellar city was impressively constructed.

It could not compare to the grand starports near Magus World, of course, but the blend of Astral Realm civilizations and wandering races gave the city a strange charm that struck Sein and his companions the moment they arrived.

Witnessing such a fusion of races and cultures for the first time, Beatrice, Orric, and the others could not hide their amazement.

Only Auron, the Rank Four electro elemental being, remained calm throughout. Perhaps he was simply well-traveled.

The steady yellow crackles of lightning around him were a clear reflection of his composure.

“The journey from the Chaos Sea to the Magus Civilization’s territory will be long. I need to track down that information broker and get a more detailed star chart before we continue,” Karazo announced.

To Sein, Karazo felt uncannily similar to the Huusian King. Both were leaders shaped by the struggles of their kind.

Perhaps, given time, the two might become friends who shared insights on guiding what remained of their people.

As Karazo set off on his errand, Sein naturally followed.

Beatrice, Orric, and the others, visiting Freedom Star City for the first time, scattered to explore after agreeing on a time to regroup.

As high and mighty Rank Four beings, they were unquestionably at the top of the food chain in this city, so there was no need to worry about their safety.

Leaving the curious wanderers to their sightseeing, Sein followed Karazo into the cavernous lower levels of the city.

In Sein’s experience, the stronger an entity was, the more likely they were to live high above others.

It seemed to suggest the loneliness that came with being at the top, or maybe it was just a way to show off one’s superiority over everyone below.

But the interstellar broker known across the Chaos Sea Star Domain clearly did not follow that pattern.

Not only did he live in a filthy district that looked like a slum, but rumors said that his clients were not limited to Rank Four or higher beings.

Even insignificant nobodies sometimes met him and walked away with valuable intelligence.

In short, the man known as “The Collector” was shrouded in mystery.

Karazo did not even know his real name. He only described him as a white-haired, slightly neurotic Rank Five individual.

After Karazo announced his identity and his reason for coming, the broker called “The Collector” immediately agreed to meet.

The massive stone door swung open abruptly.

Although the exterior of the dwelling looked dirty and messy, its interior told a different story.

Sein’s gaze swept over the enormous chamber beyond the doorway—clearly carved out of a massive meteorite.

Everything inside was meticulously arranged.

He even spotted rows of bookshelves and various strange specimens sealed within transparent crystal containers.

True to his alias, the interstellar broker did not just traffic in information about surrounding star domain civilizations; he also had a deep obsession with collecting oddities of every kind.

Acquiring valuable intel from him did not always require a fortune. Sometimes, an item that looked worthless—but held great value to a collector—was enough to catch his interest.

“Karazo, my friend, back to do business again, I see. And this time... have you brought someone new?”

A silky, almost seductive voice drifted out from behind the bookshelves.

Moments later, a white-haired Rank Five humanoid stepped into view before Sein.