Sovereign of the Ashes

After finishing the treatment and chatting with Gongsun Wudi for a while, Sein finally took his leave.

As for the Golden Silver Potion, of which only a quarter remained, Sein thought it over and decided to take it back with him.

Wastefulness was not in his nature.

A precious potion of this caliber, even after being diluted, would definitely be enough for his next round of healing.

Before he left, Gongsun Wudi informed him that another batch of supplies would be dispatched to his legion.

***

After Sein and his legions joined the fray, the war on Phylis Plane continued for another two years.

As a medium-sized plane that had nearly become a battlefield for overlords, Phylis Plane hosted a considerable number of legions from Myriad Manifestations World. Their overall quality was also quite high.

Unfortunately, they were facing a two-pronged assault from the Dawn Empire and the Insectoids.

On Phylis Plane, the Insectoids displayed even greater legionary strength. Sein had even visited the heart of the plane and discovered that the Insectoid base there was significantly larger than the one on Buros Plane.

The strongest Insectoid in this world was a peak Rank Six Winged Drakon.

Sein could not compare it directly to Gongsun Wudi.

However, based on his subconscious judgment, as well as his analysis of Gongsun Wudi’s past battle record, Sein still believed that Gongsun Wudi would have the upper hand.

During the war on Phylis Plane, Sein only intervened twice.

Since the lower and mid-tier battlefields had already been utterly overwhelmed, there was simply no need for him to step in.

His two interventions were for different reasons. The first was to monitor Gongsun Wudi’s recovery. The second was to visit the Insectoid base at the center of Phylis Plane.

Gongsun Wudi’s recovery was progressing very well. Sein also discovered that, just as they had toward him, the Insectoids on this plane showed clear goodwill toward her.

When they approached the Insectoid base, a squad of Rank Two Winged Drakons flew out to greet them and offered themselves as temporary mounts.

Inside the base, the one who received Sein and Gongsun Wudi was not some bizarre Insectoid, but a humanoid creature.

He possessed a Rank Five life level and claimed to be a member of Her Majesty the Empress’ most loyal guards—an extremely rare Bladeist.

Bladeists were exceptionally well-rounded in every aspect, with no obvious weaknesses.

The one standing before Sein was pretty handsome.

Gongsun Wudi’s expression remained cold. The moment she saw the Bladeist, she went straight to the point.

“This medium-sized plane, along with the 147 low-level and microplanes surrounding it, will be divided equally between our two sides. The Dawn Empire will provide the Insectoids with the necessary war resources. In return, we ask that the Insectoids cooperate with us in carrying out certain operational plans.”

“Also, regarding the upcoming war in Divine Descendants World, will the Insectoids withdraw large numbers of forces from the battlefields across these planes to join the Dawn Empire’s legions?” she asked.

Naturally, there was no issue with military cooperation between the Insectoids and the Dawn Empire.

Even if Gongsun Wudi had not stepped forward to formally negotiate, the Insectoids would have fulfilled their duties. In fact, they would likely have gone above and beyond.

As for Gongsun Wudi’s proposal to jointly deploy forces to Divine Descendants World...

The Rank Five Bladeist smiled and said, “Our great Empress has already personally descended upon that world, accompanied by tens of millions of elite insect swarms and the vast majority of the Bladeists.”

“According to the latest bloodline directive I received, the hive nests scattered across the other battlefields of this vast star domain are not required to divert forces to Divine Descendants World for the time being. The Insectoid legions there are more than enough,” he said confidently.

One of the defining characteristics of the Insectoids was that they grew stronger the longer a battle continued, building momentum like a snowball rolling downhill.

On the surface, the Empress of Blades had not seemed to bring many mid or lower-tier legions with her when she stood atop Fermont’s head and forced her way into Divine Descendants World.

In reality, however, the number of insects stored within Fermont’s body alone was no small figure.

Furthermore, the Insectoids possessed secondary hives and worker units capable of instantly transforming an area into a base and beginning mass production of new swarms.

As long as there were sufficient resources, troop numbers would never be an issue for the Insectoids.

To put it bluntly, gathering the insect swarms from these worlds, repackaging them, and transporting them to Divine Descendants World would likely cost more than simply hatching them directly on Divine Descendants World itself!

Of course, that statement was somewhat exaggerated.

But it did highlight the low cost and explosive growth potential of the Insectoids’ cannon-fodder legions.

Even the Pyrelings produced by a planar world under Sein’s control paled in comparison to the Insectoids here.

“So, once the wars in these worlds are over, what will your mission be?” Sein, who was standing nearby, could not help but ask.

The Bladeist turned slightly toward him and replied, “Gathering resources.”

***

As they left the base, Sein and Gongsun Wudi each received a gift from the Insectoids.

Sein received a Winged Drakon egg. Its was similar in size to the Swiftling egg he had obtained on Buros Plane, though slightly larger.

The Insectoids seemed to know exactly what interested him most.

As for Gongsun Wudi, she received an incredibly precious Rank Six biological crystal.

It had formed within the body of a Rank Six creature from Myriad Manifestations World that had fallen on Phylis Plane.

In the end, that creature had been torn apart by the Insectoids’ Dragon King. Its high-quality flesh and blood essence had been collected by the Insectoids, leaving only this purple crystal behind.

“Among the Insectoids, these Bladeists seem to hold a higher status than even the Insectoid Kings. The strongest in this world is clearly that peak Rank Six Winged Drakon King, but the one truly representing this world’s legion seems to be that Rank Five Bladeist,” Sein said to Gongsun Wudi after leaving the Insectoid base.

Gongsun Wudi gave a soft hum of agreement. After toying with the crystal in her hand for a moment, she tossed it to Sein.

“You healed my wound. Consider this my repayment,” she said.

Sein caught the Rank Six biological crystal and replied in surprise, “There’s no need for this. You’ve helped and looked after me quite a bit in the past. Treating your wound was only right...”

Before he could finish, Gongsun Wudi interrupted him. “I don’t take back what I give away. You know that, right?”

Sein looked back at her for a moment, then put away the Rank Six biological crystal and said, “Then I’ll gladly accept it. As it happens, some of my upcoming experiments will require a great deal of money.”

“Once I return to the main battlefield of the Magus Civilization, I plan to purchase several more space fortresses to experiment with the mechanical principles behind the Magic Cube’s fusion. And right now, I’m rather short on funds,” he admitted.

The more money Sein had, the more he seemed to need.

He had accumulated considerable wealth in recent years, yet he felt more short on money than ever before.

After all, casually purchasing a space fortress, or even preparing a high-grade body-tempering potion, could easily cost millions of magicoins.

Gongsun Wudi looked at him and nodded, saying nothing more.