Sovereign of the Ashes

Unable to escape in time, the God of Black Mist and his followers chose to surrender without hesitation.

In truth, law-wielding beings from this faith-based system were generally unwilling to abandon the worlds under their control unless they had absolutely no other choice.

After all, the living beings within those worlds were high-quality faith pastures that these native deities had cultivated over tens of thousands of years, or even longer.

Once they left their faith pastures, not only would it become difficult for these deities to advance any further, but even maintaining their current level of divine power would become extremely challenging.

Establishing a foothold in a new plane was by no means easy either.

“You are the God of Black Mist, correct?” Sein asked after the battle ended, rubbing the ornament at the tip of his magic scepter without even looking up.

“Yes, that is correct,” the God of Black Mist replied respectfully.

He had already realized that, of the two Rank Six beings present, one was absolutely loyal to Sein.

As for the other Rank Six knight, she clearly was not the type to take charge.

Hence, the fate of Black Mist World and its surrounding affiliated planes would ultimately be decided by the Rank Five mage standing before him.

“Take me to your core factories. I want to see whether the components produced by your star domain have any value on their own,” Sein said.

At that moment, smoke and the flames of war still covered every corner of Black Mist World.

Although the God of Black Mist had surrendered, the destruction caused by the war could not be undone so easily.

After receiving their orders, the angel legion and the Dawn Empire’s legions had stopped fighting and were now working to restore order to the world.

In many of the major battle zones, the remains of plant giants that had ceased fighting could still be seen.

The fighting spirit of this world’s lesser beings was quite impressive.

For the sake of the gods they believed in, they were willing to give up everything and fight to the end.

Furthermore, due to factors such as their deep cooperation ties with the Gallant Federation, Sein noticed that a very small number of divine emissaries from Black Mist World were actually using technological weapons in battle.

These native creatures, who knew nothing about technology, handled particle cannons, kinetic combat suits, sonic shock grenades, and other Gallant Federation equipment with surprising ease.

Led by the God of Black Mist, Sein and his group arrived at the Thomas Industries’ Production Plant Number Two.

This vast technological factory stretched across an enormous area and was located at the foot of the Black Mist Temple.

The previous battle had left one-third of the facility out of operation.

But since Sein wanted to see it, the God of Black Mist was determined to get the factory running again as quickly as possible, no matter what it took.

Before long, the Thomas Industries’ Production Plant Number Two roared back to life.

Thick black smoke billowed from the factory’s exhaust stacks, darkening the sky above.

Sein glanced up at the sky of this world but said nothing.

A short while later, the technological products manufactured by this heavy industrial complex were presented before him one by one.

The main products produced by the Thomas Industries’ Production Plant Number Two were related to drones.

However, the Thomas Industries did not have the capability to assemble drones independently at this location.

Without even realizing it, the native lifeforms of this world had been producing vast quantities of drone wings, ammunition, and fuselage components.

However, the most critical power units and sensitive components involving core technologies were beyond what these lifeforms were allowed to manufacture.

According to the God of Black Mist, these components were ultimately sent to the Gallant Federation’s border star domain.

The Thomas Industries operated more advanced smart factories there, and the final assembly was also carried out there.

“Lord Ashen Mage, are we planning to launch an offensive against that federation border star domain next?” the God of Black Mist asked cautiously.

Sein chuckled softly and glanced at him, but said nothing.

He merely said, “Among the drone components produced by your Black Mist World, the most useful part is the manufacturing process for those projectiles.”

“However, those projectiles are only the lowest tier of weaponry. You’re not even qualified to produce ordinary laser weapons,” he continued, shaking his head.

Sein’s assessment left the God of Black Mist nodding awkwardly.

Not long after, a demigod-level officer of middling rank from the Dawn Empire came over.

“News has arrived from the other battlefields. Lady Mel has defeated the God of Twilight in Twilight World. After receiving word of Black Mist World’s surrender, the God of Twilight has also ceased resisting,” he reported to Sein.

“However, on another planar battlefield, the God of Dusk Desire from the Ashen Star Pirates failed to hold back his opponent. That foreign god broke through and fled. After hearing this, Lady Belphane has already set out in pursuit.”

After hearing this, Sein turned his gaze toward the God of Black Mist.

The God of Black Mist hurriedly said, “The one who escaped must be the God of Scorching Wind. I’ll have him return and surrender immediately.”

The Kales Pantheon had originally consisted of five deities: the God of Black Mist, the God of Twilight, the God of Scorching Wind, the God of Rotten Soil, and the God of Ironwood.

Aside from the God of Scorching Wind, who had fled, and the God of Ironwood, who had been smashed into a bloody pulp by Belphane, the other three native deities had all wisely chosen to surrender.

Moreover, all three of them were badly injured.

The God of Twilight, who had been fighting on another planar battlefield, was probably not in much better shape either.

Despite her youthful appearance, Mel fought with shocking brutality.

And once she unleashed her true form, there was nothing “petite” about her.

“Not only the God of Scorching Wind. Have all the microplanes in this star domain that have not yet been swept up by the war cease their resistance immediately. I will send legions to occupy and garrison them,” Sein ordered.

“Yes,” the God of Black Mist hurriedly replied.

His combat abilities might not have been particularly impressive, but he was quite skilled at reading people and judging the overall direction of events. In other words, he had excellent foresight.

The reason he had surrendered to Sein so decisively was likely because of the war intelligence and analysis he had gathered over the years. He had already concluded in advance that the Gallant Federation was no match for the Magus Civilization!

Sein nodded. He glanced again at the list of resources the God of Black Mist had offered from Black Mist World, as well as the total foreign exchange earnings accumulated by the Kales Pantheon under his leadership over the years.

A faint smile spread across Sein’s face almost involuntarily. Even the icy demeanor that had previously terrified the God of Black Mist and his followers softened considerably.

“Not bad, not bad,” Sein praised.

It seemed the Kales Pantheon had made quite a fortune over the years.

The sheer amount listed was enough to tempt even Sein, a Rank Five mage who was rarely short on funds.

Of course, Sein would not keep all of it for himself. In addition to sharing it with Belphane and Mel, he would also set aside a portion for the Dawn Empire’s legions.

As for the God of Black Mist and his followers, they had no choice but to hand over the money. For them, this was practically ransom for their lives!

Of course, this also showed just how much profit the God of Black Mist and the other deities had gained by colluding with the Gallant Federation to “exploit”, “oppress”, and “enslave” their own followers and subjects!

These resources and riches were the hard-earned savings of the ordinary native beings of the Kales Star Domain, accumulated over tens of thousands of years!

And yet, under the guidance of their faith, these native beings remained completely unaware that they were being exploited.

Sein stroked his chin, pondering the matter carefully.

The Magus Civilization’s use of magicoins to plunder the alliance’s resources has already proven to be an extremely efficient method of expansion and resource acquisition. But it seems there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Our Magus Civilization has only plundered the natural resources and various specialties of those federation planes. We have not fully utilized the labor of the billions of ordinary beings living on those planes.

In the past, our exploitation of ordinary beings was mostly limited to the secondary development of their corpses and remains, or the harvesting of their soul energy.

However, most native deities on alliance planes would never resort to mass slaughtering their own people just to obtain such crude resources. After all, they still need to consolidate their rule and maintain the foundation of their faith.

This model of cooperation between the Black Mist World and the Gallant Federation might be worth exploring for future implementation within the Magus Alliance.

Our Magus Civilization also has industrial-scale magitech factories, especially in the Capiche Business Alliance and Steel City!

As for concerns about leaking profound truths and advanced knowledge, we could follow the example of the Gallant Federation’s enterprises in this star domain by modularizing various industries and breaking them down into separate components for manufacturing and processing.

The broader Sein’s horizons became, and the more he witnessed the splendor of civilizations across distant star domains and foreign planes, the more his thoughts began to drift beyond magic and the mysteries of truth.

At times, he found himself unconsciously pondering vast, abstract matters like these.

The ideas that had just crossed his mind were certainly beyond what a Rank Five mage should normally be thinking about.

Matters such as resource extraction and wealth plundering across the entire alliance were things only soul overmages of the Magus Civilization, such as Lady Bev, should be considering.

But after thinking it over carefully, Sein realized that his idea actually had a solid foundation for implementation!

Human resources were indeed a unique resource that the Magus Civilization had historically overlooked.

Although the Magus Civilization often gathered armies of enslaved creatures from Alliance planes to use as cannon fodder, those who qualified to serve such a powerful civilization were still anything but ordinary.

Compared to the standards of Magus World, they had to be at least intermediate-level magic beasts, intermediate initiates, or intermediate squires.

But what about the far more numerous, yet much weaker, ordinary beings of foreign worlds?

How could their value be tapped?

Sein could not help but glance at the God of Black Mist, who was standing cautiously beside him.

For some reason, the more Sein looked at him, the more he felt this fellow was a rare talent worth recruiting.

Noticing Sein’s gaze, the God of Black Mist lowered his head even further.

This fellow was clearly a deity himself, yet he had adopted such a humble posture. It seemed years of dealing with the Gallant Federation had truly polished his survival skills.

Just as Sein opened his mouth to offer a few words of warning, another demigod-level soldier from the Dawn Empire hurried into the factory and stopped before him.

He had come with an urgent military report!

“Lord Ashen Mage, a massive otherworldly technological legion has appeared outside the Kales Star Domain! Lady Belphane has already rushed ahead,” the soldier reported.

Hearing this, Sein could not help but curse inwardly.

How had they arrived so quickly?

The God of Black Mist, who was standing before him, also looked deeply distressed.

They had only just surrendered, and the Gallant Federation’s reinforcements had already arrived!

But once surrender was declared, it was almost impossible to take it back.

If the God of Black Mist tried to play both sides, he would end up pleasing neither.

Sein gave the God of Black Mist a brief glance, then put away the resource list and the divine space ring he had offered. Inside the ring were vast quantities of energy crystals and other riches.

“Come with me,” Sein said. “Let’s go take a look.”