Sovereign of the Ashes

Sethlevin’s petition for war had caught the attention of the Luminarian King.

Although the Luminara Civilization had never formalized a written alliance with the Magus Civilization, the two had developed a tacit understanding through their shared need to confront the Amenkha Empire, a common enemy.

The Luminara Civilization needed the Magus Civilization, which had risen to prominence nearly two hundred thousand years ago, to help shoulder some of the pressure imposed by the Amenkha Empire.

In truth, the Luminara Civilization faced far greater strain from the Amenkha Empire than Magus World ever did.

Its overall strength had remained stagnant for nearly three hundred thousand years due to the Amenkha Empire’s relentless suppression.

By contrast, the Amenkha Empire had never stopped expanding and advancing over the centuries.

This was why the Luminara Civilization’s predicament is often described as a slow death.

They desperately needed a breakthrough!

In recent years, the Luminara Civilization had focused on establishing friendly relations with the Magus Civilization and the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce—a network encompassing diverse civilizations and backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the Luminara Civilization lay even farther from Magus World in a straight line than the Amenkha Empire.

On top of that, its efforts were further complicated by the Amenkha Empire’s interference.

To this day, the Luminara Civilization had not succeeded in speaking with any Magus World overlord-level beings.

However, not long ago, it had dispatched its own Rank Four and Rank Five operatives. Using the Arriba Chamber of Commerce as cover, they bypassed the Amenkha Empire’s reconnaissance blockade and made their way to the Magus Civilization’s combat star domains.

With this olive branch, carried by the Rank Four and Rank Five Luminarians, the leadership of the Magus Civilization should be able to grasp Luminara’s intentions.

As a longtime rival of the Amenkha Empire, the Luminara Civilization closely monitored the empire’s frequent mobilizations.

When the Amenkha Empire sent its vast armies—including numerous overlord-level entities—on decapitation strikes deep into Magus Civilization territory, the Luminara Civilization could track their movements, even if the opposing forces had been away for only a short period, perhaps a decade or so.

The Luminara Civilization also knew that the Third Pharaoh had left Luminara’s border battlefields to personally lead a massive campaign against the Grand Cosmic World.

Faced with the Amenkha Empire’s moves to turn the tide of war, the Luminara Civilization could not stand idly by!

If one were to judge civilizations in the Astral Realm as either good or evil, and if the Amenkha Empire represented absolute evil, then Luminara would inevitably fall on the side of good.

In fact, most powerful beings from other realms who had encountered the Luminara Civilization held a very favorable view of its people.

Had the Amenkha Empire not nearly severed Luminara’s channels of external communication, the civilization might have prospered far more.

“What are your plans? Do you intend to call on Dyrska for support?” the Luminarian King asked Sethlevin, who stood before him.

The king’s strength was not particularly impressive for a Rank Eight being, but he held the right to use one of Luminara’s two civilizational treasures—the Spark Tower.

Every law-wielding Luminarian was bathed in the light of the Spark Tower during their breakthrough.

For the giants of Luminara, their ability to fuse highly concentrated lumen elemental energy into their bodies was closely connected to this treasure.

Compared to the Luminara Heart, the other civilizational treasure, the Spark Tower was the very foundation of Luminara Civilization.

Without it, the civilization’s overall strength would drop by half!

The Luminarian King might not have been overwhelmingly powerful, but he had one virtue: he listened.

The harmony that had long characterized Luminara’s leadership was closely connected to the king’s ability to hear and consider others’ opinions.

Faced with the king’s inquiry, Sethlevin—who had already devised a general strategy before arriving—paused briefly before replying.

“In the initial stage, we should focus on probing attacks,” he said. “There is no need to call on Dyrska. I will personally lead a portion of our forces to test the Amenkha Empire’s defensive lines. Zoffrey and Jerrick will join me on the offensive.”

Both Zoffrey and Jerrick were overlords of the Luminara Civilization.

Zoffrey’s age and prestige earned him wide respect throughout Luminara.

Though he was an early-stage Rank Eight overlord, combat was not his strongest suit.

He was chosen for his skill in large-scale military coordination and his reputation for caution and composure.

Throughout years of war with the Amenkha Empire, Zoffrey had suffered only a handful of setbacks when facing overlords of his own rank.

However, the legions under his command had not sustained any significant losses against the Amenkha Empire.

With Zoffrey directing the frontlines, the Luminara Army’s combat effectiveness was always higher than usual.

As for Jerrick, he was a late-stage Rank Seven overlord personally nurtured by Sethlevin.

In terms of combat skill, Jerrick was among the elite of the Luminara Civilization.

He had once severed the arm of a late-stage Rank Seven monster king from the Amenkha Empire all on his own.

For Sethlevin, having Jerrick and Zoffrey accompany him in the initial probing attacks was more than enough.

When Sethlevin requested to go to war, the Luminarian King did not hesitate long before nodding in agreement.

The Luminara Civilization moved with remarkable speed.

Once the decision was made during a high-level meeting, they swiftly launched an offensive against the Amenkha Empire along their shared border.

The Amenkha Empire had spent over a thousand years preparing to retaliate against the Magus Civilization, largely because of the vast distance between the two powers.

In contrast, over the past hundred thousand years, the Luminara Civilization had come into direct contact with the Amenkha Empire numerous times.

To this day, vast numbers of the Amenkha Empire’s Monster Legions continued to rampage through Luminara’s star domains.

Law-wielding Luminarian giants rarely had a moment’s rest even after advancing in rank. They were constantly called to battle across countless star domains.

While the intense pressure from hostile neighbors had slowed Luminara’s development, it came with a hidden benefit: the mid- and lower-tier members of the civilization—especially the younger generation of powerful warriors—remained in peak combat readiness.

Constant engagement was one of the foundations of the Luminara Civilization’s biological evolution.

They were completely different from the Magus Civilization mages, who could advance through research in their laboratories alone.

The probing offensive quickly produced the results Sethlevin had anticipated.

By withdrawing a significant portion of its overlord-level forces, the Amenkha Empire left its vast border thinly defended against the Luminara Civilization’s sudden assault.

While the garrisoned overlord forces could have resisted a direct clash, Sethlevin did not choose a head-on engagement. Instead, the Luminara legions employed hit-and-run tactics, constantly shifting their frontlines.

The Luminara Civilization also had specialists trained in spatial tactics.

Some time ago, the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce had breached the Amenkha blockade, bringing Luminara access to items from distant star domains. This had added new versatility to their combat strategies.

One particularly prized item was the “Teleportation Crystal”, which had become widespread among Luminarian forces.

The only drawback was that these items could be used up after just a few battles.

For this reason, establishing more stable communication channels with civilizations of other star domains remained the Luminara Civilization’s top priority.