Sovereign of the Ashes

After returning to the Kales Star Domain, Sein soon issued the order to march.

Aside from Sein himself, Belphane, Ximen Feixiao, and the three native deities who had recently defected—including the God of Black Mist—would also join the expedition.

Sein also ordered them to gather a legion of one million followers.

Reaching that number would not be difficult. Whether those followers were actually useful in battle, however, was another matter entirely.

Black Mist World had first been attacked by Sein and his forces, only to be ravaged afterward by the federal fleet.

The God of Black Mist’s core followers had been nearly wiped out. The newly promoted followers were loyal enough, but their combat ability was questionable.

Fortunately, Sein did not have many expectations in that regard.

Whether there were one million of them or two million, their role was simple—they were there to serve as cannon fodder.

After finalizing the deployment arrangements, Kigard was ready to leave. He had already received a reply from the Dawn Empire.

In the upcoming war, his main role would be to act as a messenger between the two armies.

Before leaving, Kigard said, “If you need anything in the future, feel free to ask me for help.”

Spatial magic experiments were notoriously complex and demanding.

Since Kigard had already offered, Sein accepted his goodwill with a smile.

Ah, another free Rank Six test subject—and a living one, at that.

***

The sight of millions of troops marching out on campaign was truly magnificent.

The legions of native followers from the Kales Star Domain were all packed into Sein’s planetary fortress.

These lowly native creatures had no idea that the fortress beneath their feet could transform. During the previous experiment, the creatures left behind inside had been crushed into a bloody pulp by the violent power of laws.

The angel robots under Sein’s command had all returned to the Magic Cube to rest and recover.

As for the plant giants, they were essentially a one-time resource. Since it had been some time since Sein parted ways with his mentor and the others, his supply of Viridescent Seeds was steadily dwindling with every use.

The upcoming war would primarily depend on the Dawn Empire’s legions.

After all, a mere few hundred thousand plant giants would not be enough to change the overall situation.

Thankfully, Belphane mentioned that the Arriba Chamber of Commerce had established increasingly stable supply channels around the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

The rare materials Sein needed, which were produced only in Magus World and the Magus Alliance, would soon begin arriving in shipments.

It was even possible that Sein might receive a letter from the Verdant Flame Faction soon.

Looking at Belphane, whose braided hair hung like two thick ropes, Sein said, “I’ll introduce you to a friend next time. I think the two of you will get along well.”

“Who?” the muscular female knight asked. Her current appearance was purely for the sake of convenience in battle.

Whenever Sein looked at Belphane, he could not help but think of Reina from the past.

Back when Reina was still chubby, she always wore her hair in a braid that pointed skyward and carried an octagonal hammer.

In both style and physique, she truly did bear some resemblance to Belphane.

“Her name is Reina. She’s also a knight,” Sein replied.

“Sure,” Belphane said.

Outside the planetary fortress, the three remaining deities of the Kales Pantheon—the God of Black Mist, the God of Twilight, and the God of Rotten Soil—met briefly before setting out on the campaign.

The God of Rotten Soil was a Rank Four deity who inspired instant revulsion at a single glance.

The laws he wielded were geo-based, but they leaned heavily toward corruption, so he was constantly emitting a foul stench.

As a result, after the God of Black Mist had defected, the God of Rotten Soil became the deity with the least access to useful information.

At least the God of Twilight had managed to learn something by befriending a Rank Four powerhouse from the Dawn Empire. The God of Rotten Soil, on the other hand, was still completely in the dark.

“Where are we heading next?” the God of Rotten Soil asked.

“To the Divine Descendants Star Domain,” the God of Twilight replied, stating the obvious.

“Oh. What about the God of Scorching Wind? Has anyone seen him?” asked the God of Rotten Soil, who had been on fairly good terms with him.

The God of Twilight shook his head.

When the God of Rotten Soil turned to the God of Black Mist, the latter hesitated for a moment before saying, “The God of Scorching Wind... seems to have... fled with the Gallant Federation’s fleet.”

“What?!” the God of Rotten Soil exclaimed in surprise.

Although they were all members of the Kales Pantheon, they had ultimately chosen different paths.

The next time they met, it would likely be on the battlefield.

***

The Boundary Rocks were a cluster of law-imbued stones scattered across the border region of the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

They were numerous and extremely difficult to move.

Anyone who approached them would feel a strange force radiating from within.

For many mid and low-tier beings, the region around the Boundary Rocks was a forbidden zone.

Only Rank Four and above beings could resist the corrosive effects of the Boundary Rocks by activating their law-powered shields.

When Sein and his group arrived at the target star domain, he flew over to the vicinity of the Boundary Rocks to investigate.

On the surface of these clearly law-imbued rocks, Sein observed numerous special divine inscriptions.

“Someone deliberately amplified the radiation of these Boundary Rocks. Was it meant to keep external enemies away?” Sein murmured, running his fingers over the rough surface of the rocks.

Rank Four beings had to activate their shields to resist the radiation. Sein, however, was Rank Five and possessed a body-tempered physique, so he could touch the surface of the Boundary Rocks directly without a problem.

In the surrounding star domain, some of the Boundary Rocks had been forcibly shattered by an external force.

It was clearly the work of the Dawn Empire’s legions.

Wreckage from the Gallant Federation fleets and the Divine Descendants World legions still drifted through the surrounding starry sky, clear proof that a fierce battle had taken place here.

Aside from the legions under Sein and his companions, an ever-growing number of Dawn Empire forces was also converging on these star coordinates.

When Sein and his forces set out on their campaign, the army of over a hundred million troops dispatched by the Dawn Empire was merely the vanguard of this large world civilization.

The Dawn Empire might not have many law-wielding combatants, but its lower-tier forces still held enormous untapped potential.

Now that the Magus Civilization’s stable logistics supply lines had been established, the Dawn Empire could deploy troops from the rear with far fewer restrictions.

With the Crown Prince holding the rear and the Emperor personally leading the charge on the frontlines, the Dawn Empire was bound to reap a massive windfall from this war in support of the Magus Civilization.

They did not even need to enter the Magus Civilization’s main battlefield. Taking possession of the Divine Descendants Star Domain alone, with its more than 1,600 complete planes, would be enough to leave them well-fed!

“Our next targets are Reebos World and Green God Plane. Let’s move out!” Sein ordered after collecting a few fragments of the Boundary Rocks as specimens.

Reebos World, also known as Night Plane, was the home world of an Intermediate Deity named Reebos.

Unlike the God of Black Mist, who possessed a special talent for cultivating followers, Reebos was best known among the Divine Descendants Star Domain for his combat ability and stealth.