Sovereign of the Ashes

This biological warship was discovered and explored through the collective efforts of Sein and the others.

Just because Black Oblivion had acted faster than the others did not mean the bone staff would rightfully belong to him.

After taking the world-class secret treasure from Black Oblivion, Sein studied it with keen interest for quite some time.

The staff was pitch-black, its tip shaped like a skull. Yet after carefully examining the law energy within, Sein determined that it was neither necromantic nor umbra-aligned. Instead, it carried the relatively rare law of blood.

It seemed that countless millennia ago, a powerful figure of the Black Merlot Civilization had wielded this very staff, leading vast legions of war beasts into a desperate clash against the fleets of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

As Sein continued to examine the law energy within the staff, Gilbert, Grethel, and the others began crowding around him.

Just then, a demigod-level mage stepped forward, interrupting their focus.

“Master Sein, take a look at this,” he said.

He presented a strip of black cloth that looked like a headscarf before Sein and the others.

At first glance, the fabric itself appeared unremarkable. Its material was ordinary, and it held no obvious value.

What caught everyone’s attention, however, were the faint runic patterns on the surface of the cloth.

“It’s Black Merlot Civilization script,” Roth suddenly pointed out.

Sein could vaguely recognize the script, but not well enough to translate it as quickly as specialists like Roth and Grethel.

Grethel, who had grown quite familiar with Sein during this journey, appeared youthful, though she was in truth tens of thousands of years old.

She took the black cloth from Roth, muttering under her breath as her right hand traced a hexagram array and began recording something.

“It appears to be a cultivation technique from the Black Merlot Civilization. This top-tier civilization followed a beast-taming cultivation. Their techniques could surely provide valuable insights for our Magus World’s knights, summoners, and magic beasts,” she explained.

Her words immediately drew the attention of Roth and the others away from the bone staff.

A world-class secret treasure was valuable, but to most mages, ancient knowledge and cultivation methods were more interesting.

Sein, however, did not join in deciphering the technique. This was not his field of expertise.

He casually tossed the bone staff back to Black Oblivion for safekeeping, then turned his attention toward the demigod-level mage who had discovered the black cloth.

“You’ve done well, Mussor. Once this expedition ends, I’ll report your contributions to the Magus Alliance, and you’ll receive your share of the rewards,” Sein said with a smile.

Much of what had been discovered within this top-tier civilization’s subspace secret realm did not belong to any single individual.

The black bone staff now in Black Oblivion’s possession was merely one such item.

All the ruin sites, resource vein coordinates, and the accumulated knowledge regarding both the Black Merlot Civilization and the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization identified and recorded by Sein and his group belonged to the entire group.

The only difference was that law-wielding mages like Sein naturally received a larger share.

Lower-ranking knights and mages below Rank Four would ultimately receive smaller portions of the mission’s rewards.

Even so, for knights and mages at their rank, those rewards were still unimaginably vast.

Among them, Mussor had distinguished himself as the most outstanding mage among his peers lately.

Aside from the cloth strip containing the Black Merlot Civilization’s cultivation techniques, which he had just discovered, Mussor had also recently uncovered a fragment of a world-class secret treasure.

Some might have attributed Mussor’s success to mere luck.

But as Sein watched him holding the black cloth strip, he felt that the achievements of this resolute demigod-level mage could not be explained by luck alone.

There was even a small incident surrounding the world-class secret treasure fragment Mussor had discovered earlier.

Having taken a liking to the black cloth, Black Oblivion had attempted to trade for it, offering items from his own collection in exchange.

Whether it was elixirs from the Immortal Realm civilization or Black Oblivion’s considerable reserves of magicoins, either offer should have been more than enough to tempt an ordinary demigod-level mage.

Yet Mussor ultimately refused the offer, even though the Immortal Realm elixirs had clearly stirred his curiosity.

His reason was simple. As a demigod-level mage, Mussor had already begun to touch upon the power of laws and was preparing to advance to Rank Four.

Although Immortal Realm elixirs were rare and Black Oblivion’s wealth was immense, neither could help him unravel the mysteries of laws.

Fragments of world-class secret treasures were coveted by all law-wielding beings.

For most demigod-level knights or mages, simply obtaining a “divine artifact” once used by a law-wielding being, or even a fragment of it, was already an extraordinary stroke of fortune.

After all, what were the chances of them ever obtaining fragments of an even higher-caliber world-class secret treasure in the future?

For the sake of steadier growth down the line, this demigod-level mage chose to forgo the immense wealth Black Oblivion had offered him in the present.

Such resolve and long-term vision drew silent nods of approval from Sein, Grethel, and the other law-wielding mages.

Sein’s words brought a flicker of joy to Mussor’s face.

Yet he quickly suppressed his smile and instead gave Sein a solemn, respectful bow in gratitude.

Not long after, Grethel and the others finished deciphering the Black Merlot Civilization’s cultivation technique.

Though it appeared to be nothing more than an unremarkable strip of black cloth, the cultivation technique it contained was astonishingly complex.

“This is a Black Merlot cultivation technique capable of elevating practitioners to the level of Rank Six Astral Realm beings. In their civilization, such beings are classified as Boar-class entities,” Grethel explained.

“However, the technique is incomplete. The cloth itself has suffered damage from the erosion of time. More importantly, we are missing the inner arts and beast-taming skills typically mastered by the Black Merlot Civilization beings.

“After all, this was a top-tier civilization. Their cultivation systems are far more complex than those of small worlds or microplanes. Even so, an incomplete Boar-class technique is still a Rank Six cultivation method. Its value speaks for itself.”

“Simply organizing and systematizing the fragmented techniques it contains would already be enough to greatly benefit Rank Four and Rank Five beings of our Magus World, especially for knights, summoners, magic beasts, and the like,” Grethel added.

“Once we return to the Magus Civilization, we must report these findings to the Magus Alliance immediately. For now, let us continue our investigation,” Sein said decisively. “We need to determine whether this biological warship holds any other remnants of ancient civilizations.”