Sovereign of the Ashes

Instead of dampening Sein’s resolve, the raging storm spurred him to move faster toward it.

The convergence point of the storm that Yuri had discovered was larger and more perilous than anticipated.

Initially, when Sein was at a distance, he had not fully grasped its magnitude.

As he drew closer to the storm’s eye, the ferocious storm force nearly swept even a Rank One mage like him away.

Beneath the tumultuous sky, the sea roiled with swirling currents and whirlpools that mirrored the overhead chaos, compounding the danger of the area!

In addition to Yuri, Sein was accompanied by two gray-white mecha units on the verge of being scrapped.

These grayish-white mechas had shielded Sein from harm earlier, absorbing the brunt of the attacks from the Rank Two black mage.

Although the strange, sharp arrows of the black mage were lethal against creatures, they seemed somewhat less effective against mechanical beings.

After withstanding an attack from the Rank Two black mage, the two grayish-white mechas did not immediately fail. Guided by Yuri’s control, they swayed but persisted in following Sein. However, it was clear that these mechas were almost done serving their purpose.

Amidst the storm’s growing intensity, these two battered mecha units struggled to keep pace.

Even Sein struggled to advance through the storm, and after a while, the energy source inside the two mecha could no longer power them through the tumultuous conditions.

“Leave them here and see if we can slow that black mage down. We need to get to that island as soon as possible!” Sein instructed Yuri.

Without hesitation, Yuri set the faltering mecha units to autonomous combat mode, then left them adrift amidst the storm-ravaged seascape.

Meanwhile, she and Sein pressed on against the storm’s ferocity, aiming for the lush green island visible in the distance.

Reaching the island was critical. With the Viridescent Seeds given to him by his mentor, Sein could at least ensure a defensive stronghold.

However, the prospect of defeating the black mage remained uncertain.

The Viridian Venom Flame World war had exposed some weaknesses in these plant creatures—while effective as cannon fodder, they were less suitable for individual combat due to their bulkiness, slowness, and inability to fly.

Sein’s success in capturing Yuri had been largely due to fortuitous circumstances. Without the forbidden spell cast by Master Lorianne, the plant creatures would not have been so formidable in battle.

Nevertheless, survival was Sein’s immediate concern and preparation was the key.

If Sein could quickly deploy and was willing to use a significant number of the Viridescent Seeds gifted by his mentor, he believed he could “surprise” the black mage.

***

Van Basten had just returned to the ship, hovering above it with a severed head that was glaring defiantly from his grasp.

Thatch fought fiercely in his final moments, doing his utmost to ensure that his body was not left intact for the black mage.

As a result, the value Van Basten might have gained from killing him was significantly reduced.

Even so, Van Basten was not inclined to let his efforts go unrewarded.

With soul magic, he captured as much of Thatch’s residual soul as possible into his skull before death.

That way, even the head alone would fetch a high price in Blackhaven.

Van Basten knew several black mages skilled in synthesizing undead chimeras with human corpses and carcasses of beasts.

This high-quality head of a Rank One creature would serve well, whether integrated into a chimera or used as the main material to refine a skeleton mage.

This excursion from Blackhaven had proven exceptionally lucrative for Van Basten, with the gains far surpassing his initial expectations.

After selling these materials upon returning to Blackhaven, he could begin preparing for his advancement to Rank Three.

Although his focus and mana levels were still at the late stage of Rank Two, Van Basten felt his strength and knowledge reserves matched those of any peak Rank Two expert.

His assessment was indeed accurate.

As a conceited and self-assured black mage, Van Basten was quite confident about his promotion to Rank Three.

He also believed that his return would stir significant upheaval within a certain area of Blackhaven in the Eastern Archipelago.

Now, he was ready to collect the last piece of his “trophy”.

“What an energetic little fellow. He has already traveled so far,” Van Basten mused, gazing southeastward from beneath his black, tattered robes.

For over half a year, Sein had been under a vague but persistent sense of crisis and pressure.

It was unclear how Van Basten had managed to mark Sein, but he was able to pinpoint Sein’s current location accurately.

Splash!

With Van Basten’s magic power, the bodies of two Rank One knights—one missing a heart and the other a head—shot out from the seawater and into his grasp.

With two more Rank One corpses in his possession, Van Basten had indeed secured a substantial profit this time.

The stench of blood lingered in the light red seawater below. The two humpback whales, previously towing the ship, were floating lifelessly in the water with their bellies turned up.

The surrounding waters were eerily silent; the only signs of life were the ordinary humans and magic initiates trembling on the deck.

While the senior initiates might have mastered the basic Levitation spell, escaping by flight over the vast ocean was impractical given the limited mana reserves of an initiate.

Besides, most of the remaining people on deck were intermediate initiates. The Rank Two black mage merely glanced at them, then sneered disdainfully.

His focus remained undeterred from his main target. Once he captured Sein, who had already fled, the black mage would have ample time and energy to deal with these weaklings.

The black mage also intended to seize the sizable alchemy ship.

Although the ship’s cargo consisted only of low-end, common alchemy materials, these could still fetch a significant sum once shipped back to Blackhaven.

The terms “low-end” and “common” were only relative to the standards of the Magus Continent. In resource-scarce Blackhaven, this shipment could still fetch a high price.

Van Basten’s only concern was that the journey back to Blackhaven from the Boundless South Sea would be fraught with difficulties and obstacles.

Despite his strength, he was only a Rank Two black mage. He lacked the overwhelming power and resources needed to traverse the Magus World’s seas unchallenged.

Hence, he planned to take things one step at a time and abandon the effort if it proved unfeasible.

In any case, he had already made a substantial profit on this venture.

Sparing the group of ordinary humans and magic initiates for the time being was a strategic decision. After all, a large alchemy ship like this required skilled personnel to navigate.

Despite being a Rank Two black mage, he could not teleport this ship back to Blackhaven with a single spell.