Sovereign of the Ashes

The melee that erupted between six Rank One creatures raged through the jungle over the course of a day and a night.

Each combatant was a Rank One mage, blessed with an abundance of mana.

Apart from Leena, the other five boasted significant prowess in physical combat, which prolonged the intense battle significantly.

As dusk fell, the elemental bombardments ceased, and the combatants resorted to grappling with brute strength alone.

Leena, however, did not participate in this final bout of physical struggle melee.

Angreas managed to hold back the strongest of the Anolis Warlocks, while Sein faced two opponents at once.

Armed with the Verdant Flame Heart Rod and an array of magic items, Sein’s resilience was unmatched.

Indeed, equipment played a crucial role in a mage’s strength.

The three Anolis Warlocks were unfortunate to encounter the daunting Sein and the equally formidable Leena.

Neither Leena nor Sein were fighting at their full strength. Sein did not even employ his Verdant Flame Eye Mask.

This skirmish differed significantly from Sein’s previous confrontation with the three knights of the Ylli Knight Alliance.

In that earlier battle, Sein had fought desperately to rescue Leena, even going as far as to decisively confront the knights with lethal intent.

However, this clash with the Red Flamed Anolis Warlock family was, at most, a heated skirmish rather than a desperate battle.

The purpose of the Knight Continent hosting a trial every thousand years was not to identify talent through elimination.

Even if that were the goal, the Magus World would not risk wasting the emerging talents of its new generation.

The harsh survival laws prevalent in Blackhaven were not applicable across the vast expanses of the Magus World.

Outside Blackhaven, knights and mages always maintained a certain degree of restraint during conflicts.

This restraint was a result of the strict rules and regulations enforced by the divine towers and knightly orders. Apart from the black mages, no one dared to act recklessly in the Magus World.

Furthermore, as inhabitants of the same world, there was little justification for straining relationships over mere resources.

The rise of the powerful beings in the Magus World was built upon the domination, enslavement, and suppression of tens of thousands of otherworldly planes.

These planes, teeming with billions upon trillions of extraplanar beings, sustained the Magus Civilization.

Hence, most full-fledged mages, with a modicum of diligence, could receive the necessary resources they needed.

Instead of engaging in internal strife, they would benefit more from demonstrating their skills in interplanar wars.

Thanks to the Magus Alliance’s generosity, the rewards from external conquests often far exceeded those from internal conflicts.

Thus, the battle lasted only a day and a night before it waned.

Instead of animosity, the combatants experienced a sense of friendly rivalry.

Had it been a real fight, this battle among Rank One creatures would not have lasted this long.

Even with strategies yet to be deployed, such a battle under normal circumstances would not last beyond half a day.

In the end, it was Pablo, the Rank One Red Flamed Anolis Warlock, who chose to retreat first.

Despite being a mage, Pablo was muscular. He was also a warlock who could afford a strategic withdrawal.

He simply could not match the Agreas, the Rank One Kermoine Serpent Warlock.

Over the course of a day and a night, he had also clashed with Sein and Leena, yet failed to gain the upper hand against either.

Pablo’s decision to retreat prompted the other two Rank One Warlocks, who were slightly less powerful, to do the same.

These three warlocks, having activated their ancient bloodlines, now resembled humanoid T-Rexes of varying heights.

Pablo was the most formidable among the three, yet he suffered the most injuries.

Sticky blood dripped from his wounds, scorching the grass below to black with its unnaturally high temperature.

”You’re definitely no match for me without that magic rod,” Pablo declared, facing Angreas but pointing at Sein.

Among them, Sein was the strongest and most resilient.

No wonder Pablo remained somewhat unconvinced by the outcome of the battle.

Seeing his opponent withdraw, Sein stowed his Verdant Flame Heart Rod and remarked, “I have only been promoted to Rank One less than twenty years ago. Give me a few more decades, and even without the Verdant Flame Heart Rod, you still wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

These words caused Pablo, the Rank One Anolis Warlock, to twitch visibly.

Sein’s performance in the battle was comparable to that of any peak Rank One mage, so that revelation shocked Pablo.

Had Pablo not engaged Sein in combat for a day and a night and grown familiar with his combat style, he would have certainly dismissed the claim as mere bluff!

This encounter highlighted how knowledge could dramatically enhance a mage’s strength!

Slowly accumulating mana and focus like an ascetic monk was one way to reach a higher realm of strength.

However, that was not the true path for the spellcasters of the Magus World to enhance their strength.

Armed with the right knowledge, they could tap into the mana of a higher plane.

This capability was the definition of an exceptional mage.

Although Sein’s base mana and focus levels were over two hundred points, he could temporarily boost them to over eight hundred points with the power of the verdant flame.

Leena’s focus and mana base were slightly lower than Sein’s, yet she could amplify her mana two to three times.

Thus, one should not assess a spellcaster’s strength solely by their focus and mana levels.

If focus and mana were akin to batteries, then the knowledge and spell models that spellcasters possessed were the core components of a railgun.

In a final act of defiance, Pablo glared at Sein and the others, then slammed the ground with his lava rock-clad tail and said, “We’ll see about that. No one knows what will happen in the future!”

With that, he turned and left, followed closely by the other two Anolis Warlocks.

After the departure of the three Red Flamed Anolis Warlocks, Sein and Leena approached Angreas at the heart of the battlefield.

Throughout the recent skirmish, Angreas had fiercely guarded the Dragon Core Fruit behind him, regardless of the battle’s intensity.

This large, reddish fruit seemed to hold great allure for him.

He was unwilling to relinquish it, even if it meant facing three Anolis Warlocks at the same time.

Having witnessed Sein’s prowess firsthand, Angreas recognized that the couple before him was not to be underestimated.

Without further schemes, Angreas deactivated his ancient bloodline and reverted to his original form which was much more slender than that of Pablo and the others.

Nevertheless, he still stood three to four meters tall. His arms and cheeks bore light green snake scales, though their subtle hue did not significantly alter his appearance.

For now, the most striking change in Angreas was his green, snake-like pupils.

It remained unclear if Angreas had a tail like Pablo and the others.

Given that his magic robe was quite loose and he did not move as wildly as the three Anolis Warlocks, his clothes remained intact.

Agreas was a calm and rational mage, perhaps influenced by the Kermoine Serpent bloodline, which not only augmented his strength but also seemed to imbue him with the calmness of a serpent.