Sovereign of the Ashes

“Those Insectoids are moving far too fast!” Belphane’s booming voice rang through Sein’s planetary fortress the moment she arrived.

The Rank Six knight had recently taken command of Sein’s legions. Sein had even placed several angels and lower-tier robot cannon-fodder legions under her command.

According to the intelligence she had gathered, the Insectoids of Divine Descendants World were not only sweeping across the Eastern Continent at an astonishing pace, but had also begun spreading throughout the Western Continent.

They were truly a terrifying race.

Although the Insectoids were allies of the Magus Civilization, Belphane had never encountered such an extraordinary species in her nearly one hundred thousand years of life.

Her thunderous arrival interrupted Sein’s experiment.

Fortunately, the current phase was already nearing completion, so the disruption did not affect him much. After swiftly wrapping up the remaining work in the laboratory, Sein headed to the fortress’ main control room to meet her.

It had been some time since their last meeting, and Sein once again gave Belphane a subtly different impression.

Still reeking of blood from the battlefield, the female knight studied him intently.

Sein stood before her in a magic robe wreathed in translucent blue flames.

Despite their intensity, the flames did not leave so much as a scorch mark on the surrounding metal, revealing Sein’s exceptional control over the pyro element.

Deep within those flames, Belphane also sensed a faint trace of law power unlike anything she had felt before.

“Is that what you’ve been working on lately? Looks pretty good!” the female knight said before striding over to a metal recliner and sprawling across it.

“We’re out there fighting a bloody battle while you sit back here leisurely tinkering with your experiments,” she muttered with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Still, she was only joking around.

Sein merely shook his head with a smile. “This is the Cobalt Flame. It’ll still be some time before I fully unravel its mysteries. For now, I’ve only achieved a basic level of mastery.”

He looked at Belphane and asked, “Seems like the advance on the frontlines is going well. Did you mention the Insectoids just now?”

Belphane nodded, deciding not to continue teasing Sein for “slacking off” during the war.

“Those Insectoids are advancing with crazy momentum. Their performance has far surpassed the combined forces of the Dawn Empire and the Demon Legion,” she replied.

“I may not be a mage, and I can’t analyze the overall war situation as precisely as you can, but I have a feeling this war will end much sooner than we expected,” Belphane added.

Sein paused, then retrieved the latest war intelligence from his crystal ball. As he scanned the battle reports, he said, “The Insectoids have deployed no fewer than six overlord-level beings to the Divine Descendants Star Domain. The Dawn Empire and the Demon Clan of the Quatar Star Pirates have only three overlords between them.”

“In terms of overlord-level combatants alone, the Insectoids have twice as many as the Dawn Empire and the Demon Clan combined. And judging by our recent encounters, their performance across the mid and lower-tier battlefields is even more impressive.”

He lowered the crystal ball and concluded, “Given all that, it’s hardly surprising that the war in Divine Descendants World will end sooner than expected.”

Belphane nodded in agreement. Stretching lazily, she said, “The sooner it ends, the better. I’m sick of being stuck here!”

After a brief pause, she added, “I wonder how those youngsters in my knightly order have been doing these past few years...”

Hearing her wonder aloud, Sein found himself thinking of his own family and the elders of the Verdant Flame Faction.

As for everyone at the Divine Tower of Ashes, they should be fine with his mentor and grandmaster watching over them.

After discussing the latest battlefield developments with Belphane for a while longer, Sein handed her several potions he had recently concocted. He cautioned her against taking unnecessary risks, then personally saw her off.

For the time being, Sein still had no intention of joining the fighting.

He was far more eager to begin the next phase of his research into the Cobalt Flame.

The sooner he could integrate it into his Ashen Flame, the sooner he could reach the peak of Rank Five.

For that reason, he could only leave the frontlines and the command of his legions in Belphane’s hands for the time being.

After the female knight departed, Sein was about to return to his laboratory when he unexpectedly received a package delivered through the Arriba Chamber of Commerce.

Upon unlocking it with his own magic seal, Sein discovered that the package had come from his mentor, Lorianne.

It contained a wide assortment of items—several letters, numerous ready-to-drink potions, a handful of crystal balls, and various pieces of magic equipment radiating obvious spatial fluctuations.

Each spatial device was filled with high-grade magic ingredients Lorianne had sent him.

Most of the letters had been written by Lorianne herself. In them, she updated Sein on her own situation and the recent affairs of the Verdant Flame Faction. She also mentioned the latest developments concerning Sein’s family and the Divine Tower of Ashes.

The timing could not have been better. Sein had only just been wondering how things were going at the Divine Tower of Ashes when Lorianne’s letters arrived.

The potions she had sent were all of exceptionally high quality.

At the very least, they were noticeably more effective than the ones Sein brewed himself. A few were so rare that their value was second only to a Golden Apple Potion.

It seemed like Lorianne had been doing quite well in recent years. Otherwise, she would not have had so many high-grade potion ingredients to spare.

Knowing that his mentor and the others were safe brought Sein a sense of relief.

The crystal balls contained some of Lorianne’s recent insights into dendrology and apothecary.

Among them was also a detailed explanation of Grandmaster Feylis’ profound understanding of Verdant Flame magic. Lorianne had clearly gone out of her way to get that for him.

Even while fighting on a distant foreign battlefield, Sein could not afford to neglect his pursuit of truth. That was the earnest reminder Lorianne had left for him.

Although the profound mysteries of the dendro elemental law were of little practical use to Sein, Lorianne’s apothecary insights and Grandmaster Feylis’ knowledge of the Verdant Flame were more than enough to occupy his mind for quite some time, even on this remote battlefield.

As Sein gazed at the letters and crystal balls before him, he could almost feel Lorianne’s concern reaching him across the distant stars.

The spatial magic equipment contained materials he might need for his upcoming experiments.

Lorianne had truly thought of everything.

“Master...”

Sein unconsciously raised his gaze toward the sky beyond the planetary fortress, as though trying to peer through the boundless starry expanse and glimpse his mentor on the other side.

After receiving Lorianne’s package, Sein prepared one of his own and sent it back through the Arriba Chamber of Commerce.

It contained various specimens and rare experimental materials he had recently collected throughout the star domains he had visited.

Lorianne would undoubtedly be interested in the dendro and hydro-attribute materials originating from the Dawn Empire and the Myriad Springs Worlds. Many of them could be put to good use in her daily experiments.

Sein also sent the few Blood Crystals he had left to Feylis and his other elders in the Verdant Flame Faction.

Since the faction specialized in body tempering, they would undoubtedly be interested in such a rare and valuable resource.

A healthy relationship went both ways.

Sein had received countless benefits, along with no small amount of warmth and comfort, from the Verdant Flame Faction. It was only natural for him to give something back.

“I’ll reach the peak of Rank Five as soon as possible and give Master Lorianne and the others a surprise!”

After taking one last look at the scenery beyond the planetary fortress, Sein turned away. His resolve was now burning brighter than before.