Sovereign of the Ashes

“Are you displeased with your marriage arrangement?” Kelman asked Sein as they traveled west.

The relationship between the father and the son was never overly close.

While Sein acknowledged Kelman as his father, he mostly acted independently. Kelmon seldom imposed his will on Sein in any significant manner either.

At his father’s question, Sein fell silent for a moment before responding, “I am already in love with someone.”

“Oh? Who might that be? A colleague from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring? Which family does she belong to?” Kelman pressed curiously.

His questions reminded Sein that Leena was not of noble birth but a true commoner. She lacked close family ties, with Sein being her nearest confidant.

Sein’s continued silence led Kelman to also fall silent, understanding it was best not to probe further.

From his perspective as a father, Kelman supported Sein’s feelings.

Yet, from the standpoint of House Grantt, he sighed softly and said, “This marriage is important to your great-grandfathers. I hope you won’t hold it against them too harshly. To the elders of knight houses, the family’s interests prevail above all else.”

“However, as your father, I support your decision,” Kelman added, offering Sein a look of understanding.

Sein met his father’s gaze and slowly nodded.

***

It took a month to travel from Thunder Marsh Camp to the heart of the Thunder Plains in the west.

Unlike the modest Thunder Marsh camp, the fortress base at the heart of the Thunder Plains was a towering, imposing structure.

Hovering above the fortress was a massive space fortress with a diameter of over ten thousand meters.

The Order of the Steel Fist’s space fortress, with its grayish-white exterior, presented a simple yet majestic appearance from the outside.

Powerful knights were frequently seen entering and exiting, and Sein observed combat weapons like magic cannons installed at various corners of the fortress.

In past conflicts on the Thunder Plains, this space fortress had played a crucial role, delivering vital firepower for the order’s efforts.

Upon arriving at the main base of the Thunder Plains, Sein looked up at the gray fortress in the sky and sighed in amazement.

“Although it’s much smaller than Grandmaster Feylis’ space fortress and seems to have fewer magic cannons than those of Master Gregory and Bernice, it appears to have a much larger capacity on its lower levels. Is this to accommodate a larger number of enslaved creatures?” he mused.

As the main battlefield, the area was patrolled by a significantly higher number of knights than any of Sein’s previous postings.

However, the real crowd consisted of the enslaved creatures gathered at the outskirts of the fortress, whistling and jostling.

Maintaining hundreds of thousands of these creatures as cannon fodder was no minor investment for the Order of the Steel Fist.

Sein had learned a lot about the Order of the Steel Fist during this time.

Among the knightly orders in the Magus World, it was slightly below average in strength, only marginally more formidable than the newly established Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The majestic gray space fortress looming overhead was undeniably eye-catching. However, it was also the reason Steel Fist, the Rank Four knight, was burdened with a significant magicoin loan.

The Order of the Steel Fist should not have participated in this ongoing Thunderfall World War in the first place.

Winning would result in a costly victory at best; losing could force the three orders of the knights to retreat to the Magus World in disgrace.

It was unclear what would happen to the Order of the Thunder Knights or the Order of the Green Gale, but the Order of the Steel Fist would definitely face dire consequences.

Therefore, the Order of the Steel Fist could not afford to lose this war!

Before entering the center of the fortress, Sein had already received his assignment.

As expected, powerful Rank Two mages like Sein were considered the hotshots of this interplanar war, highly valued by the fortress command center.

Mages of his caliber served as extremely valuable high-output firepower units.

Given such importance, it was completely reasonable to deploy five knights of the same rank to ensure Sein’s safety on the battlefield!

In the Thunder Marsh battlefield, Sein had been able to fight on the front lines.

However, in the larger-scale confrontations on the plains, such opportunities would be rarer.

Sein had little interest in fighting at the frontline, amidst millions of fierce combatants—that would be tantamount to risking his life needlessly.

In a melee of this scale, even a Rank Three grand mage might struggle to survive, especially given the presence of Rank Four creatures and several demigod-level beings on both sides of the battlefield.

As a mage who had only recently been promoted to Rank Two, it was wiser for Sein to maintain a low profile.

Sein’s assignment from the fortress was to manage the operation of three magic towers on the west side of the base.

This was considered a relatively easy mission.

According to his understanding, the primary conflict between the Order of the Steel Fist and the native creatures of Thunderfall World was occurring to the northeast of the fortress.

Unless these creatures mounted a large-scale assault on his position, Sein would face minimal pressure.

However, the unpredictable nature of the battlefield meant that nothing was certain.

A transfer order from the command center could reassign Sein to a far more dangerous post at any moment.

Having signed the war contract, Sein was fully committed to the Order of the Steel Fist.

To secure ultimate victory, he was prepared to be a cog in the machine, dedicating his utmost effort on the battlefield.”

“Kelman’s mission is to patrol Zone 2, west of the base. It’s the nearest and relatively safer area. It just so happens that your assignments are near each other, so you can look out for one another,” Jeremy explained as he approached Sein.

“I’ll be heading to the northern part of the fortress base with Julius and Samson. Once the battle starts, it might be difficult for us to meet,” he added.

They were here for the war, not for a vacation. The risks Jeremy, Julius, and Samson would face were significantly higher than those of Sein’s assignment.

According to the plan, they were slated to be part of the second or third wave of knight troops to charge into the center of the battlefield.

“I still have a few magic potions and disposable magic artifacts left, so come and see me before the battle begins,” Sein told Jeremy.

Since Sein had become more powerful than Jeremy, the old man felt a little awkward around him.

Nevertheless, he nodded and graciously accepted Sein’s offer.