Sovereign of the Ashes

“Huh? I didn’t expect the planar barrier of the Viridian Venom Flame World to be so fragile. Or has Gregory’s Verdant Flame Body become so formidable that it can effortlessly tear through ordinary low-level planar barriers?” Bernice, the Rank Four mage, wondered aloud in the space fortress.

While Bernice marveled at Gregory’s might, Feylis, more attuned to elemental energy and being the creator of the Verdant Flame magic, sensed that something was amiss. She knew Gregory’s elemental body should not be this overpoweringly strong.

Shaking his head, Feylis explained, “The planar barrier of this low-level plane is probably fragile, allowing Gregory to breach it with a single blow.”

“Well, that’s great news for us. Does this mean we can now land the three space fortresses directly on the Viridian Venom Flame World and begin our invasion?” Bernice asked.

Feylis hesitated as her experienced mind deeply contemplated the peculiar nature of the plane. With age often comes a tempered sense of courage.

This was not to suggest that Feylis was scared, she was just being cautious. Having witnessed many unusual phenomena in the Astral Realm, something about the Viridian Venom Flame World struck her as odd.

The planar barrier of a low-level plane, regardless of their inherent weakness, should not be this fragile.

Feylis did not doubt the strength of her apprentice. She only suspected there might be an undisclosed secret at play.

Mages, unlike knights who often rely solely on brute force, tend to delve deeper when faced with phenomena that defy common understanding.

After pondering for a while, Feylis shook her head and mumbled, “Could the rampant actions of that foreign Rank Five creature in this plane have severely disrupted the ecological balance of the Viridian Venom Flame World, leading to its overall decline? Yes, it wasn’t obvious when the planar barrier was still intact but with it breached now, the planar will of this world appears to be extremely feeble.”

With a wry smile, Feylis remarked, “I didn’t expect that bird to be a reckless foreign creature that had unwittingly sabotaged its own homeplane.”

“Fortunately, the resources we need appear to be unaffected. Otherwise, this compromised plane would hardly compensate for the price I paid to the Pyro Secret Society,” she said while shaking her head.

“What’s our next move, Master Feylis?” Bernice asked.

“Proceed with the offensive! I’ll remain stationed outside the Viridian Venom Flame World for six months to address any unforeseen developments. For now, the only anomaly seems to be the world’s weakened planar will,” Feylis responded.

“Understood,” Bernice replied.

The three-dimensional hologram of Bernice, the Rank Four mage, vanished quickly. Following this, the three space fortresses hovering in the sky above the Viridian Venom Flame World began their slow approach toward the planar barrier of this lower-level plane.

During their flight, Feylis turned to her youngest apprentice, Lorianne, and said, “Your strength doesn’t match that of your seniors yet. Furthermore, the power of dendro law you wield is constrained by the unique laws of this world.”

“It’s best for you to enter last. Let your seniors open the way for you first. After all, this interplanar war is merely a part of your training,” Feylis suggested with a doting look on her face.

Lorianne, dressed in an emerald green mage robe, replied with a respectful nod, “Understood.”

***

As the three space fortresses neared the Gregory in his elemental giant form, the formidable and physically fit Rank Five Mage struggled to widen the breach in the planar barrier of the Viridian Venom Flame World.

With the initial gap already created, the process of fully opening the barrier progressed relatively smoothly, especially since the Venom Flame Demon King Anridar was temporarily in hiding.

Assuming there would be no external interference, it was estimated that within two or three days, Gregory would be able to create an opening large enough to allow passage for a Rank Five creature like himself.

“Gregory, let me assist you!” Bernice’s voice echoed in the starry sky through her mental focus.

In contrast to Gregory, who had immediately assumed his elemental form, Bernice retained her human form, appearing as minuscule as a grain of rice next to Gregory’s gigantic stature.

Yet, the formidable elemental vortex that emerged around the tip of her magic rod made her presence impossible to overlook.

Bernice, the founder of the Divine Tower of Floating Flame and a Rank Four mage, had not delved as deeply into elemental magic as her senior, Gregory. However, her expertise spanned a broad spectrum.

Aside from mastery over traditional pyro magic spells, she was also proficient in geo and lumen magic.

Furthermore, having inherited the Verdant Flame magic from her mentor, she was considered a rare all-rounder in the realm of multi-disciplinary magic.

As Bernice extended her magic rod, accompanied by a chorus of murmurs and incantations, a colossal vortex of red, yellow, white, and green elements materialized before her.

The elemental vortex, growing with each rotation, expanded to an astonishing size.

To the inhabitants of the Viridian Venom Flame World, it resembled a bizarre, four-colored moon looming in their sky.

As the vortex expanded, the entire planar laws and environment of the Viridian Venom Flame World were thrown into tumultuous upheaval.

Volcanoes erupted, rivers of lava surged, mountain ranges shifted, and the ground quaked...

These occurrences were the world’s natural reaction to the sudden onslaught and foreign invasion, shattering years of tranquility.

“A dark presence looms over the Viridian Venom Flame World. People of flame, we must stop them!” A voice resonated across various regions of the world.

The voice did not belong to Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, but from the guardian of the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Outside the plane, both Gregory and Bernice frowned upon hearing this voice.

Meanwhile, Feylis, who was observing the developments below within the space fortress, identified the voice’s origin.

“It’s hiding there! Notify Andres and prepare to activate the space fortress’ main cannon,” Feylis instructed Lorianne, pointing toward a vast molten lava lagoon in the eastern region of the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Lorianne swiftly relayed the message to Andres in the fortress’ main control room.

The fortress, representing the pinnacle of Magus World’s technological advancements, featured a main cannon whose theoretical power matched that of a Rank Six entity at full strength.

Inside the fortress, a massive roar and charging sound resonated.

In the starry sky, the metallic deck at the front of the fortress began to unfold to either side.

A daunting black barrel, thousands of meters in diameter, slowly emerged!

At the muzzle, reddish energy particles ominously gathered like the harbingers of destruction and suppression.