Sovereign of the Ashes

Dozens of people, destroying an entire planet within two months...

It sounded wildly exaggerated, yet it was possible.

Unless the Gallant Federation could swiftly extinguish the Death Plague magic spreading like a rampant virus across the planet of Steelwave, the entire world would inevitably become a paradise for the undead.

Of course, such devastation was only possible because Leena had spent well over two months planning and preparing in advance.

Moreover, life planets within the Gallant Federation fundamentally differed from ordinary worlds of the Astral Realm that had planar barriers and were governed by a highly complete set of laws.

Under such conditions, the achievements of these black mages were hardly surprising.

At this critical moment, turmoil erupted across Steelwave. Almost simultaneously, several other life planets within the Sabia II Star Domain also suffered large-scale outbreaks of Death Plague.

Two industrial planets were even struck by sudden assaults from powerful alien forces.

This was no coincidence. It was a coordinated operation orchestrated by black mages who had infiltrated the Gallant Federation.

Although black mages were normally at odds with one another, operating deep behind enemy lines required cooperation among peers.

Leena maintained communication channels with several Rank Four and Rank Five black mages.

Whether because she was the Tower Master of Cinderbones’ apprentice, or because some black mages had learned she completed her breakthrough within the Spider Queen’s territory—suggesting possible ties to the Spider Queen and Blackhaven’s soul towers—Leena was treated with a certain degree of courtesy.

After the large-scale plague spread and the undead hordes emerged, Leena remained on Steelwave for only another month before departing.

The Gallant Federation was not made of clay, and Leena had little confidence in completely destroying Steelwave.

A massive concentration of federal warships and mobile suit forces was already converging on the Sabia II Star Domain.

Given its proximity to the frontlines, a pretty vast federal fleet already guarded Sabia II, and drawing reinforcements from neighboring star domains was remarkably easy.

If Leena did not leave now, she might not be able to escape next week.

By the time she departed Steelwave, Leena had nearly seven million soul crystals, along with a vast quantity of necromantic materials.

Had she stayed longer, her gains would undoubtedly have been even greater.

But one must live long enough to spend what one earned.

Leena left the planet of Steelwave without a trace of regret.

Only a handful of black mages of Rank Three and below left the life planet alongside her—barely a dozen in total.

Most of the others could not bring themselves to abandon the tens of millions of souls still trapped on the planet, nor the seemingly inexhaustible supply of necromantic materials that could be harvested in the short term.

Gritting their teeth, they stayed behind and continued their struggle against the Gallant Federation Army.

The soul crystals personally forged by Leena allowed these low-ranking black mages to command thousands, even tens of thousands, of undead cannon fodder infected by Death Plague magic with ease.

Perhaps they believed that the vast undead legions spawned from the dense population on Steelwave could withstand the federal fleet’s purging campaign.

Or perhaps many of them told themselves to hold out just one more day before leaving.

After all, every additional day promised even greater rewards. It was a temptation few could resist, even as the danger mounted with each passing day.

Leena paid no attention to those unwilling to abandon Steelwave.

She had not yet established a black tower in Blackhaven. Even if she did someday, she could not afford to manage or protect the lives of her registered mages as carefully as tower masters of conventional divine towers like Lorianne or Sein.

Everyone walked their own path. Fate lay in the hands of heaven.

Relying on her Rank Four strength, Leena had already reaped enormous gains during the initial chaos on Steelwave.

Now, her thoughts turned to where she would go next.

Staying in Sabia II was no longer an option.

Although it remained extremely chaotic for the moment, with even two Federation military-industrial planets under attack by powerful black mages, Leena knew this state would not last.

Black mages of her rank and above would not openly confront a federal fleet.

Once the federation’s main forces arrived, the turmoil in Sabia II would be suppressed in no time.

Leena considered moving into the neighboring Adham Star Domain or heading toward the Mobius Asteroid Belt.

Adham was very similar to Sabia II in nearly every respect. Going there would essentially mean repeating her recent operations, though she expected to run into other black mages.

The Mobius Asteroid Belt, by contrast, was a dangerous and seldom-visited region within the Gallant Federation’s territory. Federal commercial vessels were known to vanish there with alarming frequency.

Upon arrival, Leena and her group discovered that Mobius frequently erupted with strange “light rings”. Anyone struck by these rings risked being flung into a subspace or a warped space-time rift.

In recent years, many black mages who had finished their operations in nearby star domains chose to retreat to the Mobius Asteroid Belt to lie low.

Leena herself had been there once before and had even set up a temporary laboratory, so she personally leaned toward this option.

Over the past two years, she had earned more than enough and saw no reason to continue taking unnecessary risks.

While Leena had once specialized in umbra elemental magic, the abundance of resources and conditions in recent years had allowed her to delve far deeper into necromancy.

Beyond these two, she had also inherited Mikaeli’s Cinderbone Flame.

In short, Leena’s expertise now spanned multiple areas, many of which lay far outside Sein’s usual field.

When it came to undead chimera synthesis, Sein could not come close to matching Leena’s current level.

Aside from these two options, Leena and the other black mages had one more choice: return to the frontlines and coordinate with Magus Civilization forces, striking from within to sow chaos in the federation’s rear.

Almost no one chose this path.

It was tantamount to suicide!

Even a Rank Four black mage like Leena would amount to little more than cannon fodder on the frontlines.

Just as Leena prepared to depart for the Mobius Asteroid Belt, a strange black flame ignited along her arm.

Within the flickering fire, there was a tiny line of words—this was how Mikaeli contacted her through the Cinderbone Flame.

She instructed Leena to head to where she was immediately. A “major operation” was about to begin, and it urgently required the expertise of a skilled Rank Four mage like Leena.

Leena frowned slightly as she read her mentor’s message.

She was reluctant to go. The coordinates Mikaeli had sent were dangerous, and federal fleets had been patrolling the area heavily lately.

Leena had previously suspected that her mentor might be dead because of the recent surge in the federation’s activity there.

Over the past few years, more than a few Rank Fours and Rank Fives had perished, and Mikaeli was not a particularly outstanding Rank Five black mage.

In the end, Leena let out a soft sigh and decided to head there anyway.

Mikaeli was her mentor, after all. Since joining Blackhaven, she had benefited greatly from her guidance.

Although respect for mentors had long since faded among black mages, Leena was not someone who repaid kindness with ingratitude.

Perhaps she had been able to hold on to that because of her frequent interactions with Sein in the past.