Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s experiment was interrupted by a disturbance from outside.

The source was none other than the Divine Descendant Overgod, Marduk.

Few would have expected Marduk to be the first to falter. After all, he was a peak Rank Seven overgod fighting within his homeplane.

The reason was actually simple—his opponent was the Empress of Blades.

The moment Marduk showed signs of imminent defeat, the entire Divine Descendants World trembled.

When Sein stepped out of the laboratory, the laws and energies of the world were already in turmoil. Far in the distance, an endless sea of fiery clouds gathered across the sky.

Even the enormous, magnificent jet-black figure of Fermont the Deathspawn was partly obscured by the apocalyptical scene.

Throughout Divine Descendants World, countless living beings wailed without end.

Some weaker native creatures had already abandoned their faith out of fear of death and voluntarily defected to the Magus Civilization.

However, the vast majority of the lower-ranking natives still clung to their humble yet precious beliefs.

As the thread of faith connecting them to Marduk neared its breaking point, every devout believer sensed that something was wrong.

Then again, perhaps those cries were simply the collective wails of a world falling into despair.

Its only overlord-level being was about to perish. More than ninety percent of its gods had already fallen. The entire world had suffered unimaginable destruction and relentless plundering. Could the situation possibly grow any worse?

“No! We must fight for our world until the very last moment! Even if we die, we shall die standing!” the God of Lightning, an early-stage Rank Six being, roared from within the Land of Trapped Gods.

Crackling bolts of lightning flashed continuously around his body as he spoke.

Sadly, the other native deities surrounding him did not share his resolve.

Some stared blankly at the sky, eyes filled with confusion over their fate and future. Others lowered their heads in silence.

An air of decay and despair hung heavily over the entire region.

This was the Land of Trapped Gods.

Just as its name suggested, it was where the last resistance forces of Divine Descendants World had been cornered and confined.

The name had not been given by the Dawn Empire or the Insectoids.

The native deities of the Divine Descendants World had named the region themselves. Perhaps back then, they had already foreseen the fate awaiting them.

The God of Lightning had only broken through to the early stage of Rank Six recently during the defense of their homeplane.

Before his rise, nearly all the older and more experienced native deities of Divine Descendants World had already been eliminated.

Without enough late-stage or peak Rank Six beings to hold the line, the rapid collapse of the middle and lower-tier battlefields could not be blamed entirely on the situation at the overlord-level battlefield.

In the Magus Civilization’s past wars of conquest, there had been many cases where the enemy’s top powerhouses were wiped out, yet the fighting among the lower ranks dragged on without end.

In Divine Descendants World, however, the opposite had happened.

After the God of Lightning stepped forward, another deity soon followed. It was the God of Blazing Fire, a young intermediate deity with peak Rank Five strength.

Flames burned at the tips of his hair as he agreed in a deep voice, “That’s right. Even if I must perish, I will become the final sun of Divine Descendants World and leave behind one last glow before night falls.”

His right arm had been severed at the shoulder. A strange demonic energy lingered within the wound, preventing the lost limb from regenerating.

Yet despite having only his left arm remaining, the fighting spirit in his eyes had not weakened in the slightest.

As his words echoed across the Land of Trapped Gods, many of the surrounding deities turned toward him.

With the first two taking the lead, a third and fourth soon stepped forward. More followed after them...

Even after so many years of brutal warfare, more than a hundred native deities still remained within the Land of Trapped Gods.

That number already surpassed the usual number of law-wielding beings found in an ordinary medium-sized plane. More than half of them had only achieved their breakthroughs during the past few years.

Beyond the Land of Trapped Gods, a small number of native deities were likely still holding out in the other resistance zones of Divine Descendants World.

If even one-tenth of the remaining deities chose to make a final desperate stand, they could still cause trouble for the Magus Civilization’s legions.

But that was all it would be. Trouble was not enough to change the final outcome of the war.

Led by three Rank Six greater deities, the newly rallied forces of Divine Descendants World began flying out of the Land of Trapped Gods one after another.

Every one of them carried the resolve to die in battle.

Some still feared death.

But when the God of the Green Fields, the oldest and most severely wounded Rank Six deity among them, struggled to his feet, no one chose to retreat.

He was deeply respected throughout Divine Descendants World. Over the course of his long life, he had helped many deities along their paths to godhood.

Because of his gentle and approachable nature, he was often called upon to mediate whenever conflicts arose among the world’s various pantheons.

He also possessed a deep understanding of godhood.

Although he had advanced to Rank Six many years ago, his strength had remained stagnant at the early stage.

This was because he rarely concerned himself with maintaining his temples, followers, or subjects. At times, he even abandoned them altogether.

Without a steady supply of faith, his divine power naturally could not advance any further.

Perhaps the God of the Green Fields had already seen through some fundamental truth hidden within Divine Descendants World.

Marduk knew the old man as well.

Logically speaking, an old fossil who had lived for so long should have been eliminated ages ago.

Yet the God of the Green Fields was neither particularly powerful nor ambitious. He kept a low profile, treated others with kindness, and posed no threat to anyone.

Even Marduk had never found a reason to strike him down.

But now, Divine Descendants World stood on the brink of collapse, and Marduk himself was about to perish on the battlefield.

The God of the Green Fields did not speak of the old stories he knew, nor did he reveal the suspicions buried deep within his heart. He merely said, “As Divine Descendants, we ought to do something.”

One of the main reasons the Land of Trapped Gods had managed to hold out for so long was that the God of the Green Fields had fused part of his lawful body into its defenses. That was also why his injuries were the most severe.

As the Divine Descendants mobilized for their final battle, the God of the Green Fields knew full well that the outcome would likely be grim. Even so, he could not help sighing inwardly.

If Marduk had not killed Vugaru and Goddess Venagu back then...

If the Divine Descendants World had been ruled by three overgods together...

Would this war have ended differently?

The God of the Green Fields let out another deep sigh.

That question would soon be buried forever along with him.

After the Divine Descendants trapped within the Land of Trapped Gods charged out one after another, each prepared to die, the ten or so law-wielding powerhouses of Myriad Manifestations World exchanged glances.

Then they, too, chose to break through the encirclement.

With the Divine Descendants gone, their small group could not possibly hold the position alone.

Whether Marduk lived or died, whether that battle ended in victory or defeat, had nothing to do with them.

The wounded Myriad Manifestations World powerhouses intended to break through the encirclement and make their way toward the battlefield where Venerable Muge was fighting.

They knew they might be intercepted and killed by the Magus Civilization’s powerhouses along the way, but what other choice did they have?

As for the Gallant Federation legions, not a trace of their technological forces remained within the Land of Trapped Gods.

During the early and middle stages of the war, the federal legions had already been torn apart by the Insectoids.

Their frail bodies and heavy reliance on technology left these Gallant Federation soldiers among the first to be eliminated.

Even their generals, whose strength and status rivaled Rank Four beings of the Astral Realm, were little better than ordinary soldiers once they lost the warships and giant mobile suits they depended on.

Still, one thing was worth noting—not a single Gallant Federation troop on the Divine Descendants World battlefield had surrendered.

They had originally belonged to an overlord-class war fleet. Faced with an overwhelming enemy offensive, every one of them had fought until the very end.