Sovereign of the Ashes

The dispersal of the gray fog caused the undead horde before them to surge forward.

These creatures, likely slumbering in this subspace for eons, were rudely roused by the intrusion of outsiders, naturally souring their mood.

At that moment, Angreas appeared the most troubled.

Based on past experiences with the undead, they normally would not awaken simultaneously.

However, it seemed his infrasonic waves had stirred every last one of them within this graveyard.

What they were faced now was merely a fraction of those buried here.

From beneath the gray soil of the graveyard, white bony arms and decaying claws emerged one by one.

The true number of undead in this vast graveyard remained unknown.

Leena, standing beside Sein, was the calmest in the group.

Having escaped the Catacomb Chasm of the Black Magic Academy, the horrors she faced as a magic initiate paled only slightly in comparison to the scene before her.

Trapped underground back then with limited room to escape, she and her fellow black initiates were forced to withstand the relentless onslaught of the undead.

Now, armed with greater strength, Leena harbored no fear of these undead creatures; instead, she felt a burgeoning curiosity.

These creatures differed from those she encountered in the Catacomb Chasm under the Black Tower of Cinderbones, though she could not pinpoint exactly how.

It was this peculiar intrigue that sparked a gleam in her eyes as she peered deeper into the horde of undead.

To Leena, these grotesque creatures were no different than ordinary cats and dogs.

For a true mage, appearances were irrelevant—only the essence and truth mattered.

“Undead creatures often yield resources such as soul crystals. With a bit of luck, we might even find the more valuable soul essence. If we stay here, the loot from this undead graveyard alone could cover our entire earnings in this subspace secret realm,” Leena commented.

Her remarks were actually directed toward Angreas.

Over time, both Sein and Leena realized that the reserved and stoic Rank One warlock was keen on gathering resources.

While Sein himself was not in urgent need of resources, he was fully prepared to support Leena’s explorations of this area.

However, the overwhelming number of undead presented a significant risk to just the two of them should they face the horde alone.

Convincing Angreas to stay would at least provide additional support in managing the threats.

Angreas was already familiar with soul crystals and soul essence.

Soul crystals were more valuable than the souls of ordinary creatures. They could only be produced by undead creatures of a certain caliber.

These crystals served as a power source for the undead, akin to magic crystals.

Soul essence, in contrast, was an exceedingly rarer and more valuable commodity than soul crystals. It was so rare that the chance of finding one was less than one in a hundred.

The production of this essence depended not only on the life level of the undead creature but also on several stringent conditions.

In the Magus World, certain necromancers with exceptional could consistently produce both soul crystals and soul essences. They reaped souls like farmers harvesting wheat in their fields.

Of course, no humans of the Magus World were harmed during the soul harvesting.

Necromancers were different from black mages.

Although many black mages could wield one or two necromancy spells, necromancers were fundamentally akin to other elementalists in their practices.

Hence, it was unjust to view them with prejudice simply because they frequently dealt with dead bodies and souls.

In reality, many necromancers are individuals of high moral standing.

Historically, they had played crucial roles in the development of the Magus Civilization and in interplanar conflicts, at times even changing the course of the war.

Many planes in the Astral Realm often regarded undead creatures as some of the most expendable forces.

The Magus Civilization not only employed these creatures as cheap cannon fodder in its conflicts but also occasionally sold excess undead creatures to other star domain civilizations.

Angreas did not hesitate for long. As the horde of undead approached, he activated his bloodline powers to express his stance to Leena.

Sein and Leena, seizing the opportunity, unleashed their full powers too.

The three Rank One mages delivered a series of magic spells with their hands.

Leena pulled a gray crystal ball from her spatial storage equipment.

“I never thought I’d need to use this,” she murmured, gazing at the orb before soaring into the sky above the graveyard.

Although numerous undead creatures were awakening in the graveyard, their combined strength had not yet reached formidable levels.

While Sein and the others had detected energy fluctuations from several Rank One undead creatures, these were situated at the rear of the horde.

Undead creatures typically exhibited simpler thought processes, with higher-ranked ones naturally exerting authority over their lower-ranked counterparts.

Despite the large numbers in the first wave, they were mostly small fries.

Unless Sein and his group found themselves completely surrounded by tens of thousands of them, this cannon fodder would pose little threat in a direct confrontation.

Fierce elemental flames swept through the graveyard, relentlessly consuming the weaker undead.

A gray, hazy mist rose from these fallen creatures and was absorbed into the gray crystal ball in Leena’s hand.

It was actually collecting the souls!

The battle had only just begun, yet the initially dull crystal ball was already beginning to glow brighter.

Beyond the souls harvested, the true treasures were scattered across the battlefield—soul crystals embedded within their skulls and, even more valuable, the rare soul essences.

The bones and various organs of these undead creatures also held some value, though materials from the lower-level ones were generally less prized.

Although they hardly interested Rank One mages like Sein, the sheer volume of such materials could shift their perspective.

It was truly a feast of harvested souls, and not long into the battle, Rank One Warlock Angreas was visibly excited.

Every gray sparkle on the ground indicated the presence of soul crystals or soul essences.

This surprising abundance made them question whether the caliber of these undead creatures was higher than previously believed.

Most of them possessed soul crystals, suggesting this subspace might be connected to the Knight Continent, drawing upon its rich elemental energies to effectively nourish the slumbering undead creatures.

Of course, with danger came opportunity.

To this point, Sein and his allies had eliminated a significant number of undead creatures. However, compared to the vast numbers populating the sprawling graveyard, they had barely made a dent.

As time passed, more undead creatures crawled out from the soil.

They seemed inexhaustible, leading Sein to wonder if there was a vast pit of corpses beneath this seemingly ordinary graveyard.

Suddenly, a series of powerful hisses and low roars erupted from the rear of the horde.

They were the voices of newly awakened Rank One creatures, expressing their displeasure at the ongoing slaughter of their kin.