Sovereign of the Ashes

After the Green God Plane War concluded, Sein and his forces waited for their next combat assignment.

During this period, the spare parts Sein had ordered for the Burning Flame Unit through the Arriba Chamber of Commerce finally arrived.

Delivered along with them was a letter from the Verdant Flame Faction.

Grandmaster Feylis and the others had already learned that Sein was safe and sound. In her letter, she advised him to proceed with caution while operating alone in this region.

Feylis also shared her current view of the Clash of Civilizations with him.

As more and more foreign civilizations and powerful factions joined the Magus Civilization’s war effort, Feylis remained optimistic about the prospects of this Clash of Civilizations.

However, she also warned Sein not to let his guard down.

The overall direction of the Clash of Civilizations was one thing. An individual’s fortune was another.

Even overlord-level beings still faced the risk of perishing, let alone those below the Overlord Realm.

Lorianne, on the other hand, did not bother with grand strategic matters in the letter. She was more concerned with Sein himself, urging him to take good care of himself.

Along with the letter came more than a hundred vials of potions, all personally brewed by Lorianne.

These potions covered a wide range of uses, including body tempering, mental focus restoration, healing, and cultivation. Every one of them was of the highest quality.

Looking at the diverse array of potions before him, Sein could almost picture Lorianne busily working away at her dimly lit experimental table.

Taking advantage of the Arriba Chamber of Commerce’s network, Sein paid a shipping fee and had them deliver some of the new materials he had acquired in recent years to Grandmaster Feylis, Master Lorianne, and other elders in the faction.

Lorianne, who was an expert in apothecary, would surely be very interested in the various types of law-infused spring waters Sein had sent her.

Since the items Sein was sending were relatively high-grade, the Arriba Chamber of Commerce ultimately dispatched a Rank Four steward to meet him in person.

The short, peculiar creature resembled a green jujube. After appraising Sein’s shipment, it smiled and said, “Actually, Master Sein, these law-infused spring waters have gradually made their way into the Magus Civilization’s market in recent years.

“It’s just that their prices are extremely high. Given the considerable wealth of your faction, Grandmaster Feylis and the others may already have channels to purchase them,” it added with a chuckle.

“Oh?” Sein uttered in surprise.

The steward continued, “The Myriad Springs Worlds has now joined the Magus Civilization’s sphere of influence. As for the various resources abundant in the Myriad Springs Worlds, we at the Arriba Chamber of Commerce have already taken the initiative to make contact and have applied for exclusive distribution rights.

“If all goes according to plan, it won’t be long before the Divine Descendants Star Domain also benefits from Arriba’s more comprehensive resource network,” it said proudly.

Sein asked about the price, and the estimated selling price of these law-infused spring waters from the Myriad Springs Worlds far exceeded his expectations.

It was even higher than the intrinsic value of the materials themselves!

As expected, there was no such thing as an honest merchant.

The Arriba Chamber of Commerce was indeed a valuable ally to the Magus Civilization, but during this Clash of Civilizations, its primary goal was still to make money.

It was nothing like the Capiche Business Alliance.

Sein shook his head and said, “Buying directly from you is too expensive. If my mentor and grandmaster found out, they would surely reprimand me harshly for such wasteful spending. I’ll just have them shipped instead. They’re meant as gifts for my mentor and grandmaster.”

The steward looked slightly awkward at Sein’s words.

Still, it remained professional and assured Sein that the long-distance shipping service would be carried out smoothly.

After seeing off the steward from the Arriba Chamber of Commerce, Sein found himself thinking about Tourmaline.

She should be with the Spring Lords of the Myriad Springs Worlds right now. With her social skills, I wonder if she’ll be able to obtain rare law-infused spring waters from them later.

The various types of law-infused spring waters of the Myriad Springs Worlds were undoubtedly coveted treasures for hydromancers and apothecaries in Magus World.

Sein was not concerned with their commercial value. He only wanted to obtain them for his own use.

***

Inside the laboratory within the planetary-class war fortress...

Thanks to Sein and his Magic Cube’s modifications, this secondhand war fortress from the Gallant Federation had been transformed beyond recognition.

The shrines and useless spaces originally set up by the God of Black Mist had all been demolished, rebuilt, and converted into Sein’s various laboratories.

Since they incorporated principles of spatial magic, each of them was exceptionally spacious.

On this day, Sein was conducting an experiment to “reconstruct” the Burning Flame Unit.

Under the guidance of a mechanical arm, Burning Flame’s head was slowly lowered onto the mecha body below.

The new body had been personally crafted and modified by Sein, using an abundance of high-grade materials and far more advanced mechanical principles than before.

According to Sein’s assessment, the Burning Flame Unit’s true combat power after this reconstruction would be comparable to that of a Rank Five unit.

Of course, this increase in power was also closely tied to Burning Flame’s own will, as well as her pilot, Yuri.

Although only her head remained, Burning Flame’s awakened will had opened up new possibilities for her growth.

Every intense battle Burning Flame had gone through had been recorded in her central database.

The continuous integration of technological elements, along with frequent tempering using Energy Amethysts and the Magic Cube, had also brought significant improvements to her.

Yuri’s growth had also surpassed even Sein’s expectations.

At this point, her mental focus had already reached the level of a peak Rank Four being. On top of that, Sein had also been performing body-tempering experiments on her.

It was precisely because of this that Sein had crafted a new body for the Burning Flame Unit, one with combat power comparable to that of a Rank Five entity.

Yuri’s achievements and rapid growth reflected the effort Sein had spent training her over the years.

“With the materials we have left, we can create three additional Rank Four vassal mechas for Burning Flame, excluding the core hub. Would you like to try?” Sein asked.

“If you’re interested, I still have a few divine relics and Star Core fragments that can serve as core energy sources for those vassal units,” he added.

An expenditure of tens of millions of magicoins was now barely enough to make Sein’s eyelids twitch.

After surviving a life-or-death ordeal, Sein had come to understand one thing clearly—rare resources and wealth were only meaningful if they could be converted into real combat power!

Even if he did not have that many magicoins on hand, Sein could always take out a loan or sell some of the rare resources he was not currently using.

In any case, Sein’s current mindset was simple. He would first push his own strength to the limit, fully prepare his trump cards, backup plans, and other contingencies, then consider everything else afterward.

Faced with Sein’s question and concern, Yuri was visibly moved and delighted.

In the end, however, she shook her head and politely declined his suggestion.

“Piloting the upgraded Burning Flame Unit will already be extremely difficult for me. I think we should wait until I become familiar with all of her new parameters before considering the vassal units. Coordinating several Rank Four or higher units at the same time is still too much for me right now.”

“However, with my current abilities and the Burning Flame Unit’s auxiliary control functions, controlling thousands, or even ten thousand, of low-tier units below Rank Four should not be a problem,” she added.

Having stayed by Sein’s side for so long, Yuri’s personality and approach to life had been greatly influenced by him.

Like Sein, she would not blindly push herself or accept tasks beyond her capabilities.

Sein also knew that controlling a single Rank Four and above mecha was entirely different from controlling several Rank Four units at once.

The path Yuri had chosen for her growth and evolution was different from his own.

As Yuri’s master, all Sein could do was help her plan that path and provide whatever support she needed.

“If you need anything, just tell me,” Sein said, ruffling Yuri’s hair.

Yuri’s cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head and gave a soft hum in response.