Sovereign of the Ashes

Faced with the stark disparity in strength and the grim reality of their situation, the Sea Lizard elder found himself without alternatives.

Bowing his head in acquiescence, Sein turned to Yuri, instructing, “Ask Kurt and the rest to wait a bit for me. I’ll be back soon.”

Sein’s intention to venture into Sea Lizard’s territory alone reflected his unshakeable confidence in his abilities.

The trench where the Sea Lizards had inhabited for generations was surprisingly close. Should any danger arise, Yuri’s swift flying abilities ensured she could quickly come to Sein’s aid.

With minimal hesitation, Yuri flew back to the ship to relay Sein’s message.

Kurt and the goateed elder, still nursing the wounds from their recent battle, were not ready to depart immediately either.

During the turbulent storm season, the seas were anything but calm.

The recent clash with the Sea Lizards suggested the potential for encounters with other aquatic races that were also struggling to survive like them. Among them were aggressive intermediate-level races which loomed as bigger threats.

The ship owners were seasoned seafarers. They would not risk sailing into further danger until they had adequately recovered.

Yuri executed Sein’s orders, while Sein himself, standing on a metal disk, followed the Sea Lizard into the depths of the ocean.

Sea Lizards were amphibious beings, with higher-ranking Sea Lizards even developing fleshy wings, enabling them to navigate land, sea, and air.

However, it had been over a millennium since a higher-ranking Sea Lizard emerged in the “Komorra Clan”. Only a Rank Two Sea Lizard could evolve to possess such wings.

Presently, the Komorra Clan only had only two Rank One Sea Lizards.

The Sea Lizard elder was more cunning than he initially let on. He had referred to their clan as the “Kunala Clan” when they assaulted Kurt’s ship but now referred to themselves as the “Komorra Clan” in Sein’s presence.

The true name of their group remained ambiguous, leading Sein to suspect the “Komorra Clan” might just be another random name made by the elder.

Given the ignoble nature of sea banditry, any complaint by Sein, a divine tower mage, to the Sea King Palace could spell disaster for the Sea Lizard tribe.

After all, eliminating a small community of fewer than a hundred thousand members was effortless.

As amphibians, Sea Lizards did not dwell in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Despite their scaly armor and cold-resistant blood enabling them to withstand the seabed’s frigid temperatures, they yearned for sunlight and warmth.

The small “Komorra Clan”, lacking the resources to claim the undersea volcanic vents ideal for Sea Lizard habitation, opted for the Fissure Trench with decent light conditions and slightly warmer temperatures.

The subtle temperature difference played a crucial role in the development of Sea Lizard offspring.

While their chances of survival were high, the strength they demonstrated upon hatching depended significantly on the environmental temperature and the presence of microelements.

For nearly all creatures undergoing passive evolution, strength was the foundation of their existence in this world.

The Sea Lizard’s territory in the nearby waters was modest. It only took less than fifteen sandglasses for Sein and the Sea Lizard elder to reach the Fissure Trench.

This small trench spanned five hundred meters in width and stretched no more than two thousand meters in length, serving as the ancestral home for generations of the Sea Lizard tribe.

Despite its limited surface area, the trench’s depth was considerable, plunging nearly seven to eight hundred meters and hosting the dwellings of numerous Sea Lizard families.

Sein observed that only the mightiest Sea Lizards could claim the upper layers of the trench as their home.

Upon reaching the trench’s summit, the Sea Lizard elder employed a unique technique to part a patch of coral reef, revealing to Sein a vast cluster of white eggs covered by fine greenish-blue veins.

Among these eggs, some were close to hatching, allowing Sein to discern the silhouettes of the Sea Lizard hatchlings within under the sunlight.

Others were freshly laid, so the hatchling inside had yet to form and the visible veins on the eggshell were sparse.

In truth, Sein’s interest in the Sea Lizard eggs was minimal.

The Sea Lizard species, lacking any remarkable racial abilities or attributes, did not offer anything particularly noteworthy to his research.

His willingness to pay a high price for the eggs stemmed from his strategic considerations when he was on the sea—he foresaw that these Sea Lizards and other lesser aquatic races would be pivotal allies of the divine tower in future interplanar wars.

Facing thousands of eggs, Sein selected the four most healthy-looking eggs in an area bathed in the most sunlight.

His choice immediately incited the Sea Lizard chief’s fury.

Were it not for the Sea Lizard elder’s intervention, the chief, who was all brawn but no brain, might have attacked Sein on the spot.

Sein’s discerning eye effortlessly identified the finest among the thousands of Sea Lizard eggs before him.

A near-perfect Sea Lizard egg required not just ample light and microelements but also a potent parental bloodline.

Coincidentally, the four eggs Sein selected were offspring of the strongest Sea Lizards in the tribe, and one of them was the Sea Lizard chief’s child.

The fertility of Rank One creatures was far inferior to those below the life level of Rank One, this was a natural limitation the Astral Realm imposed on higher-ranked beings.

Given the Sea Lizard tribe’s limited resources, acquiring fertility-enhancing potions from certain mage councils in the Magus World was beyond their means.

The egg Sein selected, closest to perfection, was crystal clear and without any veins, resembling a piece of fine art. Such quality was precisely what Sein expected from the product of a Rank One being.

Sein had already anticipated the Sea Lizard chief’s fury but snorted coldly and said, “Surely, you didn’t think I’d pay a magicoin for an ordinary Sea Lizard egg, did you? Moreover, the mother of this egg is merely an ordinary female below the life level of Rank One, yes?”

His dismissive snort nearly provoked the chief into impaling him with his trident.

Meanwhile, the Sea Lizard elder, who had been intervening, stayed silent throughout the exchange. His eyes, however, occasionally betrayed his sadness and reluctance to part with the Sea Lizard eggs.

Unbeknownst to Sein, the elder was actually directly related to the Chief.

In an environment where resources were scarce, only ancestors of great strength could produce powerful descendants.

Despite his connection to the eggs that Sein picked, the elder wisely prioritized the tribe’s welfare over familial ties.

Knowing that nothing good would come of going against Sein, the elder reprimanded the chief in their native dialect.

All offspring in this tribe were equal—that was what he said.

The deal of four Sea Lizard eggs for four magicoins represented a significant exchange, the equivalent of a year’s rations for thousands of Sea Lizards.

This did not signify the extraordinary value of magicoins but rather the Sea Lizards’ unselective dietary habits.

Four magicoins could indeed secure a substantial supply of the cheapest rations of the lowest grade!