Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1730: Phantom Crow King

The Phantom Crow King’s true form was massive.

When it entered Sein’s Ashen Fortress, it immediately drew the attention of many nearby.

Sein directly led the Phantom Crow King to his private living room.

Upon entering the Ashen Fortress, the creature instinctively compressed its massive body, shrinking to just a few meters in size so it could meet Sein at eye level.

It had been over a millennium since Sein and the Phantom Crow King last met during the Magus Alliance Conference.

Clearly, the Clash of Civilizations, along with the Phantom Crow King’s prolonged involvement within the Magus Alliance, had brought about a profound change in the creature.

Sein noticed battle scars across its body, talons, and beak.

As a Rank Six being within the alliance, the Phantom Crow King had remained active on the frontlines of civilizational battlefields in recent years.

The legion under its command had likewise completed countless combat missions assigned by the Magus Alliance.

This time, the Phantom Crow King had arrived at the subspace battlefield under a direct deployment order from the Magus Civilization’s high command.

It did not come alone. Accompanying it were more than a dozen Phantom Crow deities and a massive legion numbering over ten million.

Among the many medium-sized planes within the Magus Alliance, Phantom Crow World occupied a relatively small star domain. Even so, the overall combat strength of these Phantom Crows was anything but weak.

Moreover, the Magus Alliance prided itself on being inclusive, open-minded, and committed to fairness.

Resources and benefits were allocated in direct proportion to one’s strength and contributions.

By that standard, Phantom Crow World’s current allocation of just over thirty planes clearly fell short of the Phantom Crow King’s tireless efforts and achievements on the alliance’s battlefields over recent years.

The higher authorities of Magus World had already informed the Phantom Crow King that, in time, several vassal planes from Submerged Wave World would be reassigned to it.

“Oh? Has the Rank Six Sea Emperor Shark of Submerged Wave World fallen in battle?” Sein asked in surprise after a brief exchange with the Phantom Crow King.

“Yeah, it died long ago,” the Phantom Crow King replied. “Several Rank Five marine creatures under its command fell alongside it, all on the Netherworld Star Domain battlefield. I heard Submerged Wave World is in complete chaos now.”

The Phantom Crow King and the Rank Six Sea Emperor Shark were long-standing rivals.

Before joining the Magus Alliance, the two medium-sized world civilizations had gone to war multiple times.

Remarkably, in every conflict, Phantom Crow World was the one that took the offensive, despite controlling fewer planes.

Submerged Wave World, though seemingly stronger on paper, was repeatedly forced onto the defensive. At one point, it even suffered an invasion led by the Phantom Crow King itself.

The Phantom Crow King and Sea Emperor Shark had once sought each other’s complete destruction. Yet upon hearing of Sea Emperor Shark’s death in battle, the Phantom Crow King felt an unexpected sense of melancholy.

When it mentioned its rival’s demise now, there was no trace of joy in its tone—only a hint of wistfulness.

“I see, so it fell on the Netherworld Star Domain battlefield...” Sein murmured.

The Sea Emperor Shark’s death there was likely not due to any lack of strength.

Sein had heard of the Magus Civilization’s disastrous losses during the early stages of the Netherworld Star Domain war.

Countless Magus Alliance legions had been wiped out. Even beings as formidable as Sea Emperor Shark could only suffer defeat after defeat under the relentless pursuit and encirclement of the Gallant Federation’s overlord-class vanguard fleet.

The deaths of Sea Emperor Shark and others like it could only be attributed to poor positioning and indecision.

By contrast, the worlds Sein had personally visited, such as Phantom Crow World and Eternal Sand World, were now thriving.

Their success was not the result of luck, but of clear alignment and an early, decisive show of loyalty to the Magus Civilization.

Submerged Wave World, on the other hand, only joined the Magus Alliance on the eve of the 25th Magus Alliance Conference, under pressure from surrounding star domains.

Yet anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the Rank Six Sea Emperor Shark had been reluctant from the start—both to join the Magus Alliance and to lead its people into the war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

Since the Sea Emperor Shark had proven so uncooperative, it was only natural for Submerged Wave World to find a new leader.

Moreover, after suffering such a crushing defeat, Submerged Wave World no longer had enough law-wielding beings to support its existing number of planes.

How could the Magus Civilization allow valuable alliance resources to be wasted under such circumstances?

It was only reasonable that some of Submerged Wave World’s more prosperous planes would be reassigned to Phantom Crow World.

Likewise, neighboring alliance planes, such as Eternal Sand World, that had performed well on the battlefield would also be rewarded by the Magus Civilization.

The Phantom Crow King cawed and added, “A Rank Six knight named Johnny Deep told me that I’ll also be allocated a few life planets within the Gallant Federation later.”

What the Phantom Crows valued most was absorbing the life force and soul energy of living beings.

The Gallant Federation’s life planets were homes to not merely millions, but billions of native inhabitants, exactly the kind of resource the Phantom Crows craved above all else.

It seemed that over the years of civilizational war, the Phantom Crow King, much like Sein, had built quite a few connections within Magus World.

Unlike the widely despised God of Decay, the Phantom Crow King enjoyed a relatively favorable reputation within the Magus Alliance, largely due to its formidable combat strength as well as its relatively “honest” and “straightforward” fighting style.

Of course, the only reason the Phantom Crow King could even be associated with words like honest and straightforward was the overwhelming power of the Magus Civilization, which kept it firmly in check.

Moreover, during the 25th Magus Alliance Conference, witnessing hundreds of thousands of powerful Magus Civilization beings and numerous overlord-level beings firsthand had forced the Phantom Crow King to recognize its own insignificance and limited worldview.

Seeing the vastness of the world naturally tempered its earlier arrogance.

The news of the Sea Emperor Shark’s death centuries ago had also deeply shaken it.

“I hear that the Rank Six mage overseeing this subspace battlefield is your grandmaster, Master Sein. It seems we’ll be fighting side by side once again. The Phantom Crows will faithfully carry out the missions assigned by the Magus Alliance,” the Phantom Crow King declared solemnly.

No wonder it had come to visit Sein. It had already learned in advance that the Magus Civilization powerhouse overseeing this subspace battlefield was none other than Sein’s grandmaster.

There was a reason the Phantom Crow King had managed to thrive within the Magus Alliance for so many years.

In response to the Phantom Crow King’s respectful declaration, Sein smiled and said, “I also look forward to fighting alongside you.”

“However, there is one thing you are mistaken about. This subspace battlefield is not under my grandmaster’s sole command,” he corrected.

“Besides the overlord-level psychic of the Rosen Dynasty, who commands psychic and mobile suit legions, another Rank Six mage will soon arrive at this battlefield. He will also hold significant command authority.

“There are also a few Rank Six knights deployed here in support of this battlefield, and they have authority in quite a few areas,” Sein added with a chuckle, careful not to overstate his grandmaster’s role.

The Phantom Crow King rolled its round eyes before replying, “Either way, nothing will go wrong as long as I follow the orders of the Magus Civilization powerhouses. Caw, caw, caw.”