Sovereign of the Ashes

Six months later, just outside the Viridian Venom Flame World...

Five years ago, Feylis departed this world to join the war in the Neisse Star Domain.

Now, she had returned to propel the conflict in this low-level plane toward its conclusion.

From her vantage point, Feylis gazed upon the Viridian Venom Flame World, ablaze with its verdant flames before her. For a brief moment, a sense of contentment washed over her.

“The young ones have managed quite well. Even in my absence, they could probably conquer this world within the planned time frame,” Feylis remarked with a low chuckle.

The world before her had significantly weakened since her departure five years ago.

This decline might elude Rank One and Two mages, but not Feylis. As a Rank Four and above being capable of harnessing the power of laws, she could discern the essence of this plane’s transformation through various changes.

Taking a deep breath, Feylis descended into the Viridian Venom Flame World.

The planar barrier, once a formidable defense, now seemed as fragile as an eggshell.

It offered no resistance against the forced entry of a Rank Six being like Feylis.

A dazzling greenish-purple light radiated from Feylis.

For countless creatures of the Viridian Venom Flame World, Feylis was a purple sun in the sky.

Although the planar barrier was significantly weakened, the Viridian Venom Flame World was still resisting Feylis in its own way.

Feylis could still detect a trace of oppressive pressure and constriction. It felt like the world was too small to accommodate a Rank Six being like herself.

Such sensations were not present for Feylis five years ago. The shift over the years could be attributed largely to the impacted laws of the world, and its overall fragility.

The drastic changes of the environment and the extensive loss of lives had only exacerbated the decline of the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Should this persist, particularly with the potential downfall of key figures like Anridar or the world’s guardian, this low-level plane might face the dire consequence of overall shrinkage.

Advancing from a microplane to a low-level plane was definitely a boon for all its inhabitants, granting benefits regardless of their life levels.

However, a regression from a low-level plane to a microplane promised cataclysmic disasters that could devastate all life within, such as evaporating oceans, collapsing lands, or fracturing continental plates.

Such an outcome was undesirable, both for the Viridian Venom Flame World’s guardian and for invading forces from the Magus Civilization, including Feylis.

Feylis had not led her apprentices into war with the Viridian Venom Flame World aiming to reduce it to ruins.

Preserving the world’s status as a low-level plane aligned more closely with the objectives of the four divine towers.

To achieve this, Feylis was prepared to make compromises.

The appearance of the purple sun in the sky was a sight seen by all within the plane, from native pyro elemental creatures and remaining mecha armies to the invading Magus Civilization Army.

Shortly after her descent, the Rank Four and Five mages across three war zones heard Feylis’ transmitted voice.

“Cancel the bounty on the guardian of the Viridian Venom Flame World and halt the siege on Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King. I intend to capture them alive!”

Gregory, Bernice and Lorianne naturally heeded the orders of their mentor.

In addition to decelerating the conflict, the Magus Civilization Army also began to consolidate their three main forces.

Aside from significantly boosting the morale of the Magus Civilization Army, Feylis’ return to the Viridian Venom Flame World also brought about a great impact on the native creatures of the Neisse Civilization.

At this moment, within a concealed undersea base in the southeastern region of the lava sea, pessimism had overtaken the executives of the Neisse Civilization.

Their numbers had dwindled from over two million mechas to less than a million, halving the Neisse Civilization’s presence in this world.

The loss of their silver mecha, in particular, had snatched away their last hope to escape this world.

Among the people gathered in the base, the youngest engineer with the smallest stature, expressed deep regret, “I should have heeded Alan’s advice sooner and led our people to escape this world.”

“It’s not your fault, Ander. The Neisse Civilization is just unlucky,” another senior engineer said with a sigh.

Following his remark, the atmosphere in the conference room turned heavy and a sense of pessimism slowly emerged among the engineers of the Neisse Civilization.

Eventually, Ander, who acknowledged his error, was the first to break free from this cloud of pessimism.

Waving his fist in the air, he declared, “If escape is no longer an option, we’ll stand and fight them in this world! The engineers from the Neisse Civilization are no cowards. If we must fall, we’ll take as many mages from the Magus Civilization with us as possible!”

His words ignited a fire within the other engineers.

Indignation lingered in the hearts of these engineers from the Neisse Civilization.

Despite their defeat, the civilization had not seen its members turn traitors or abandon their homeplane. Such treachery was virtually non-existent among them.

This was a stark contrast to entities like Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, who contemplated desertion at every opportunity.

This unwavering loyalty could explain why the Magus World encountered substantial resistance during its conquest.

Their victory was built upon the ruins of countless lives, a fact often overshadowed by the spectacle of the Magus Civilization’s triumph.

Throughout the thirty-thousand-year-long war, more than thirty planets fell to destruction by both sides—some by the hands of the Magus Civilization, others by the desperate acts of the Neisse Civilization itself.

Indeed, the Neisse Civilization was one worthy of respect.

This likely influenced the Magus World’s decision against annihilating the Neisse World.

Beyond the invaluable knowledge of mechas and the countless factories, the Magus World intended to fully conquer this world.

This notion of “conquest” extended beyond mere occupation, aiming for absolute suppression and command over the world.

Many worlds within the Magus Alliance had fought against the Magus Civilization before joining it.

Had the Neisse Civilization shown a willingness to submit in the first space, the Magus World might have preserved Neisse World as a more intact plane, and possibly including even a mecha with combat prowess comparable to that of an overlord.

However, given the current circumstances, realizing such a vision remained a challenge.