Sovereign of the Ashes

Although the conflict near the navel of the Viridian Venom Flame World was drawing to a close, the battles within the world never stopped completely.

Part of the remaining mechas from the Neisse Civilization still lurked in various regions in this low-level plane, and the Magus Civilization Army was intent on eliminating their remaining hiding places.

Besides, not all pyro elemental creatures of the Viridian Venom Flame World had submitted to the Magus Civilization.

Despite the capture of Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, and the defeat of most rebellious pyro elemental creatures, a handful remained defiant toward the guardian.

It was no surprise as pyro elemental creatures were known for their impulsive and fierce nature.

As the Magus Civilization Army pressed eastward, asserting control over the entire sea of molten lava and the eastern continent, confrontations were inevitable.

Two months after the battle at the navel of the plane concluded, Sein was dispatched eastward by the space fortress.

Instead of a combat mission, he was tasked with marking down the verdant glaze deposits along with a selected group of mages wielding the power of the verdant flame.

Those deposits were the main objectives of the Magus Civilization Army’s invasion into this low-level plane.

In terms of value, these verdant glaze deposits rivaled even the Anridar, the Rank Five creature.

The Magus Civilization’s interest in the verdant glaze prompted a visible sigh of relief from the guardian.

If it were the other resources in the Viridian Venom Flame World, it might feel a little bit of heartache.

Although the verdant flame was no inferior to other products of the Viridian Venom Flame World, the guardian harbored a distinct aversion to it. It even wished for its complete removal by the Magus Civilization!

However, this was an unlikely outcome. The Verdant Flame Faction and the other divine towers had already outlined plans for the verdant glaze’s sustainable extraction.

The special resource was expected to thrive in the Viridian Venom Flame World for the foreseeable future, much to the chagrin of its Guardians.

This reality underscored the plight of the less powerful—the guardian had no say in this matter despite its preferences.

After the conclusion of the battle at the navel of the plane, Sein and the other mages remained busy due to the missions assigned to them by the space fortress.

Even so, the risk and complexity of their missions were significantly lesser compared to a few years ago.

Many of the mages knew that the war on this plane was coming to an end, and they would be able to return to the Magus World soon.

With only eight years elapsed since the commencement of the war on the Viridian Venom Flame War, this rapid progress was notable compared to the other Magus Civilization’s interplanar wars over the recent millennia.

***

In the ninth year following Sein’s arrival in the Viridian Venom Flame World, the space fortress announced that the first group of mages who had participated in the conflict would soon be returning to the Magus World via space fortress.

The Divine Tower of Floating Flame’s space fortress was designated as the first to make the journey back, as the initial group of returning mages predominantly comprised those from the Divine Tower of Floating Flame.

The war saw the involvement of nearly two hundred thousand mages, with the Divine Tower of Floating Flame contributing only around ten thousand.

The first wave of mages returning numbered nearly fifty thousand, including significant numbers from both the Divine Tower of Whisper Flame and the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame.

Sein was not among those returning in the first group, not due to a lack of desire or misfortune, but because his ongoing mission required him to remain behind.

With the conclusion of the war in the Viridian Venom Flame World, the responsibility of identifying and mapping the verdant glaze deposits fell to the Verdant Flame Faction.

Given the critical importance of these verdant glazes for the future growth and success of the faction’s members, it was no surprise that Grandmaster Feylis assigned this task to their own ranks.

Besides, Sein also learned a piece of confidential information from Master Lorianne.

While he and the others were not among the first to return to the Magus World, Grandmaster Feylis had promised to grant them access to the small interstellar teleportation array within the space fortress.

The small interstellar teleportation array was a feature within the space fortress that demanded extensive energy for its operation, and the process of setting it up was extremely complex.

Hence, it was seldom activated, except under exceptional circumstances.

This opportunity was likely a perk for the members of the Verdant Flame Faction.

With the interstellar teleportation array, even if Sein were to depart from the Viridian Venom Flame World two years later, he might arrive in the Magus World simultaneously with, or possibly even before, the first group of mages that made their way back.[1]

After learning this from Master Lorianne, Sein felt less eager to return to the Magus World early.

Moreover, prolonging his stay in the Viridian Venom Flame World presented several benefits.

Beyond the task of mapping the verdant glaze resource points, the Viridian Venom Flame World was home to a variety of unique pyro-attributed resources.

As a low-level plane capable of nurturing a Rank Five creature, the Viridian Venom Flame World was surely a treasure trove of resources.

The chance to collect these abundant pyro-attributed resources and pyro elemental creatures at such low cost might not come again.

Eileen was part of the second group of mages to return to the Magus World.

Their transport was facilitated by the space fortresses from other divine towers, not those stationed in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

It was obvious that Grandmaster Feylis had a good network, as she could even secure other space fortresses for their return journey.

Most of these space fortresses actually served in the recent conflicts at the Neisse Star Domain.

Before her departure, Eileen actually expressed her desire to remain in the Viridian Venom Flame World alongside Sein.

However, once Sein hinted that he could also make his return to the Magus World around the same time as her, she decided to depart, albeit with some reluctance.

Over years of living together, Sein and Eileen had grown significantly closer.

Even Sev came to bid Eileen farewell. Perched on Sein’s shoulder, they watched as the majestic space fortress departed from the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Following Eileen’s departure, Sein spent another two years in the Viridian Venom Flame World alone.

Well, he was not exactly alone since his mentor, Lorianne, was still in this world. Besides, he kept in contact with Selphy and his seniors from the same faction.

However, Selphy was stationed quite far away from the region Sein was in.

Sein was based in the southern part of the eastern continent, whereas Selphy roamed the northern expanse of the lava sea, placing them nearly half a world apart.

1. Author’s Note: Upon arriving at the battlefield of the Viridian Venom Flame World, the three space fortresses utilized an interstellar teleportation array arranged by the Pyro Secret Society, enabling their swift arrival in this distant star domain. The return journey to the Magus World, however, is expected to take longer, as it won’t involve the use of the Pyro Secret Society’s interstellar teleportation array.☜