Sovereign of the Ashes

The total strength of the Magus Civilization legions gathered in the Sanok Star Domain had surged past thirty million.

And that number was still rising, with the rear lines continuing their mobilization.

Shortly after Aelid, the last member of the Verdant Flame Faction, arrived, Feylis finally issued the order to advance toward the nearest Hundred Flowers Worlds.

For this maneuver around the Shadowbat Civilization, Feylis’ forces consisted not only of her own apprentices and the Magus Alliance legions, but also several members of her Elemental Gate.

Through introductions by his mentor and elders, Sein recently met several powerful Rank Four and Rank Five Magus World mages within the Elemental Gate.

It seemed these individuals had formed a strong sense of camaraderie through working closely together during the previous Netherworld Star Domain War.

Though Sein had met many friends and foreign beings over the years, the network he had built still fell far short of Grandmaster Feylis’.

He also heard that a large contingent of Magus World knight legions would soon be sent to reinforce the battlefield he and his allies were fighting on.

By then, even Rank Six knights might appear.

When it was time to depart for the Hundred Flowers Worlds, foreign powerhouses like Darian, Orric, Karazo, and the others were all invited aboard Sein’s Ashen Fortress.

The fortress was large enough to accommodate over twenty thousand members of the Klytheran Legion without issue.

Recently, Sein’s mentor had done something that won the Klytherans’ hearts instantly.

Using the Gray Quartz Potion Sein developed as a base, she created several upgraded versions tailored for the Klytherans. They had stronger healing effects, simpler recipes, and lower material costs.

Then, she selflessly shared the base formulas with the low-ranking mages of both the Divine Tower of Ashes and the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

This meant even injured Rank One or Rank Two Klytheran fighters could simply go to familiar low-ranking mages from either tower to have the potions they needed brewed for them.

Lorianne’s approach greatly strengthened relations between the Klytheran Legion and the two divine towers.

Naturally, Darian of the Shadowbat Civilization and Orric of Aquaria noticed this as well.

Once they officially joined the Magus Alliance, they wished they could receive similar benefits.

While Sein chatted with Darian and the others aboard his fortress, Feylis parted ways with Fathis at the border of the Sanok Star Domain.

Feylis and Fathis were indeed close friends. In their early years, they had fought side by side countless times.

Feylis had always been the one charging straight into danger, while Fathis supported her from behind with lumen elemental magic.

Their bond was forged through time, blood, and battles.

But friendship aside, the two were also fierce rivals.

Master Fathis, despite her gentle and noble demeanor, had a fiercely competitive side.

As for Feylis... no one in Magus World had ever seen her bow her head to anyone.

“Hmph. Your luck is really something. Because of your grand apprentice, you managed to get the mission to investigate the inert crystal. I heard Master Bev is quite interested in this too,” Fathis remarked, arms crossed as she stood in the open starry void, her blonde hair neatly pinned into a bun.

“Heh, my luck goes beyond that. You know that grand apprentice of mine holds another world-class secret treasure, right? It’s the Faceless Mask,” Feylis bragged with a smile.

“Oh?” Fathis lifted her head, glancing toward the distant void where the Magus Civilization’s war legions and the Ashen Fortress were slowly withdrawing.

“So, me getting the exploration rights to those star domains is not purely just luck. Lady Bev and Master Zenasus had other considerations in mind,” Feylis added.

Fathis looked at her friend speechlessly, thinking bitterly, Why do you always end up with the promising ones? Several of your apprentices have already surpassed Rank Four.

“The two apprentices I took in back then died prematurely. My faction has almost withered away,” Fathis said quietly.

Feylis shot her a sidelong look and said bluntly, “That’s because you never mentored your apprentices properly.”

Fathis almost choked on the spot.

It was the truth.

When it came to taking on apprentices, Fathis had no right to compare herself to Feylis.

After a brief pause, Fathis said, “It’s good that you’ll be working with me this time. If you had gone to the Wild Gorilla World battlefield, I was honestly worried you might not make it back. The fighting there is brutal. Even if you went, there’s no guarantee you would come out on top. Here, at least I can keep an eye on you.”

Feylis rolled her eyes.

Let’s see who will be keeping an eye on whom.

In the distance, the vast Magus Civilization legions continued their steady advance into the depths of the starry void.

Meanwhile, in a quieter corner of the cosmos, two Rank Six powerhouses silently watched everything unfold.

***

Compared to the time Sein had spent returning from the region near Blue Star back to the Magus Civilization’s territory, the advance of the Magus Civilization Army this time was slightly faster.

Even so, moving tens of millions of troops was nothing like escorting the three-hundred-thousand-strong Klytheran Legion.

Aside from transporting an overwhelming amount of war supplies, the Magus Civilization also had to establish multiple teleportation arrays and transfer nodes along the route.

All of this inevitably slowed their march.

Throughout the journey, Sein’s Ashen Fortress remained at the very front of the vast Magus Civilization Army.

Since he was more familiar with the route from their previous journey, he essentially served as the expedition’s guide.

Traveling across the quiet, endless stretch of starry void felt monotonous to some, but for mages immersed in their research, time slipped by without notice.

Inside the Ashen Fortress, Sein’s main research focus over the past few years had been a peculiar emotion flame known as “Lustfire”, thanks to having an excellent experimental subject at hand.

Jessica, the dean of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, visited him often.

Sein’s broad knowledge and his deep understanding of demon and devil-related physiology had indeed helped Jessica resolve many of her physical and mental issues.

The Magus World’s culture was not as open-minded as one might assume.

Among lower-tier human society, some noblewomen certainly indulged in very sexual lifestyles.

But for lifeforms above Rank One, especially mages, they tended to stay quite conservative when it came to such matters.

Had Jessica’s condition not escalated to the point of disrupting both her daily life and her pursuit of truth, she probably would not have had the courage to approach Sein at all.

In Sein’s laboratory, Jessica often felt as though she had exposed every hidden, shameful part of herself.

Oh, not “felt”, but “truly had”.