Sovereign of the Ashes

From his position on the combat platform, Sein could get a clearer view of the battle unfolding outside the space fortress through the translucent energy barrier.

The platforms were spacious, allowing for comfortable distances between the more than a hundred mages on Platform Three, where Sein was assigned.

Sein did not pay much attention to the other mages standing next to him. He took a deep breath, then pulled out his yellow magic rod, which gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Although he had plans to craft a new magic rod for himself, it seemed like that project would have to be postponed for now.

A flame tinted with a hint of green soon flickered at the tip of his magic rod.

It was the verdant flame, one of Sein’s most significant achievements over the past two years.

As Sein began chanting, a verdant flame quickly morphed into a large palm in front of him.

Fueled by Sein’s mental focus and mana as a full-fledged mage, his Verdant Fiery Hand spell spanned over a dozen meters in diameter above him. Back in the days when he was only a magic initiate, his Fiery Hand spell spanned only a few meters.

The emergence of verdant flame immediately drew the attention of many full-fledged mages near Sein. Even the Rank Two mage who was overseeing the combat platform, took notice of the large verdant fiery hand that had manifested.

Propelled by Sein’s mana, the massive verdant fiery hand surged upward the energy barrier above the platform. As soon as it passed through the barrier, it expanded beyond twenty meters in diameter, reaching almost twenty-five.

After passing through the barrier, the verdant fiery hand flew toward a seemingly small green dot in the sky.

What appeared as a tiny green dot from the ground was, in reality, a humanoid mecha towering over ten meters tall.

Neisse Civilization was able to thrive and grow to a major civilization thanks to its advanced knowledge in mechas.

Rumors suggested that the Magus Civilization’s aggression toward the peaceful Neisse Civilization, known for its amicable relations with neighbors, was driven not by malice but by interest.

Several forces like Steel City in the Magus World coveted the Neisse’s advanced mecha technology.

This was because alchemy puppets in the Magus World, crafted through alchemy and magitech, shared many similarities with those mechas.

Wars between civilizations often boiled down to the pursuit of strength and advantage, transcending notions of good and evil.

With its formidable strength, the Magus Civilization recognized the strategic benefits of subjugating the Neisse Civilization, leading to the inevitable outbreak of war. The reason was as simple as that.

This conflict exemplified the harsh law of the jungle in the Astral Realm—the survival of the fittest, where strength reigned supreme.

Of course, the war might have been influenced by broader, more complex motivations beyond the grasp of ordinary mages.

Insights into such matters likely required the wisdom of a Rank Six mage like Feylis.

The vast majority of ordinary mages were only privy to the so-called “rumors” and “speculation” about the origins of the mecha army and their sudden appearance here.

Sein, who just came out from his laboratory, was not the only clueless one here. Almost all of the mages engaged in this battle were in the dark too.

For lower-ranking mages, knowing too much could prove to be more of a hindrance than a help.

Their best course of action was to heed the guidance of higher-ranking mages and apply their powers where most needed on the battlefield.

With Sein’s mental focus locked on the target, the green mecha could not escape the relentless pursuit and high velocity of the spell despite its attempts to evade the attack.

Ultimately, it burst into emerald flames and plummeted from the sky.

Sein was not sure what was the specific rank of that green mecha in the Neisse Civilization, but its considerable size suggested that it was not of low grade.

The fact that it could be destroyed by a single Verdant Fiery Hand spell from Sein highlighted the significant enhancement achieved through the verdant flame elemental energy.

The green mecha’s downfall was also witnessed by several mages who had been paying attention to Sein on the combat platform.

It was at this moment, Sein’s crystal ball automatically recorded the destruction of the green mecha.

According to the crystal ball, Sein was eligible for a reward of ten magicoins from the main base for this achievement. This just proved that the green mecha that he just felled was definitely a worthy opponent.

“Wow, it’s really the verdant flame magic!”

“I wonder which of the tower master’s apprentices he is apprenticed to!”

Whispers and discussions via mental focus buzzed around Sein.

In this space fortress, nearly all the mages came from the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, making them somewhat familiar with the verdant flame magic that was invented by their Rank Six tower master.

Furthermore, Feylis had a total of seven apprentices under her wing. Apart from Lorianne, who had only one apprentice for now, her other seniors had accepted many apprentices that also helped to spread the verdant flame magic within the Magus World.

Sein’s demonstration of this magic made him the subject of increased attention and speculation among the other mages around him.

Ignoring the attention on him, Sein assessed his mental and mana reserves, realizing they were at an optimal level.

After unleashing the Verdant Fiery Hand spell, he began unleashing other verdant flame magic spells, seizing the chance to test his newly improved spells in real combat.

The crystal ball, levitating near to his waist, was quietly recording every moment.

Sein did not really care that much about his combat achievement recordings, he was more interested in the properties of the verdant flame magic spells captured by the crystal ball. Those were valuable data for future improvement of his spells.

Indeed, battling within the fortress offered a much safer environment than the battlefields outside.

At the same time, this form of combat could become monotonous and dull over time.

However, no mages were bored at the moment, given the intense conflict unfolding outside the fortress.

The armies of mechas were clearly the aggressors, while Sein and the others leaned heavily on the fortress’ defenses and the main base below them for protection.

Explosions erupted frequently outside the fortress, some resulting from the mechas plummeting from the sky, others from the destruction of magic towers at the base below.

BOOM!

A particularly violent explosion rocked the southern part of the space fortress, tilting it by several degrees and sending shockwaves throughout.

From Sein’s vantage point within the fortress, he was insulated from the shockwave. Since the explosion happened quite close to the combat platform he was on, he was able to get a clear view of the situation.

A huge magic tower had been obliterated, along with over a dozen smaller magic towers nearby.

It appeared the mecha army had probably destroyed them with some kind of blaster-type weapons.

Some of them even had explosives strapped on them and mounted kamikaze attacks against the magic towers.

The destruction of those magic towers created a breach in the southern part of the main base, paving the way for a massive influx of mechas and a tide of native pyro elemental creatures from the Viridian Venom Flame World, all converging on the main base.