Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s new residence was a twenty-five-meter-tall cylindrical magic tower, topped with a conical roof.

There were five floors in the tower, each remarkably spacious.

Initially, the basement comprised three levels, but Sein expanded it to five shortly after moving in.

The tower’s builder was exceptionally skilled; the second basement even came with a small elemental reactor.

Although its energy output could not rival that of a proper elemental pool, constructing it under the harsh conditions of this planar battlefield was no small feat.

More importantly, Sein was able to draw and convert different types of elemental energy without heavily depleting his own energy crystals.

“The outcome of this interplanar war remains uncertain. Although I’ve been promoted to Rank Two, and the Order of the Steel Fist holds a slight edge over the native creatures of Thunderfall World, it’s wise to make some preparations in advance,” Sein thought to himself.

“This is also a good time to verify the results of my previous summoning experiments,” he added, mumbling to himself at the lowest basement of the newly expanded magic tower as he surveyed the pile of magic ingredients he had just acquired.

He had exchanged these ingredients at the main fortress base using the mission points earned over his two-year tenure on the Thunderfall World battlefield.

These points could also be traded for magicoins, as many knights did.

However, after some calculations, Sein realized that directly exchanging them for various magic ingredients was more cost-effective.

The Order of the Steel Fist’s reserves of magicoins were limited. If all the knights were to convert their points into magicoins, the order could face financial ruin.

The war gains and significant wealth accrued in the Thunderfall World war were to be eventually transported back to the Magus World. There, they would be traded directly with neighboring divine towers or allied businesses in exchange for a significant number of magicoins, enabling the payment of knights’ wages in magicoins.

Hence, this discrepancy in exchange rates was strategically designed to motivate the knights to trade their points for higher-value resources rather than converting them directly into magicoins.

The knights clearly understood the economics—by bringing these materials back to the Magus World, they would certainly earn more than if they simply exchanged them for magicoins now.

This practice was not unique to the Order of the Steel Fist. Divine towers like Verdant Flame, Whispering Flame, Floating Flame, and all other entities in the Magus World also implemented a similar exchange system during wars.

Sein had neatly arranged the resources he had exchanged at specific spots across the lowest basement.

An extremely huge and complex magic array gradually took form as Sein worked.

Thankfully, Sein had amassed a collection of necro elemental materials during his travels before arriving in Thunderfall World.

Without these, Sein might not have been able to successfully construct the “Death’s Door” with the Thunderfall World’s abundant electro elemental resources alone.

***

“How bad is the war on your side? Maybe you should keep the Dark Crystal Rod for now?” Leena asked, her concerned face appearing within the elemental light screen.

Apart from the screen in front of Sein, an enormous grayish-white vortex churned. Dense necromantic energy roiled within and the air was filled with the faint whimpers and murmurs of the undead.

“No need, I’m just being cautious. If the situation escalates, I’ll call for your help,” Sein replied, shaking his head.

“By the way, I’ve made some progress on my research on the interplanar portal. Perhaps it won’t be long before we can meet again,” Leena said, smiling on the screen.

***

The necromantic energy at Sein’s magic tower had intensified significantly over the past month.

The ground itself, once normal, had now turned pitch black, casting an oppressive air over the area. This unnerved the knights who either patrolled or passed by the tower.

More than half a month ago, Jeremy and Samson had visited Sein to collect a few magic potions and alchemy items.

This would be the last time they could come for a while. With tensions rising in the northeast and battle orders imminent, they no longer had the luxury of time to visit Sein.

Julius was notably absent. His responsibilities had increased, so he was busier than ever, leading a squadron of knights of his own.

His absence might also have been due to the tension from a previous disagreement with Sein, who had refused to marry the daughter of House Ernst.

Since arriving at the fortress on the Thunder Plains, the female knight, Natalya, possibly stung by Sein’s indifference, had kept her distance.

However, as Sein inspected the elemental wards around his tower today, he noticed Natalya standing in front of a supply warehouse nearby, accompanied by a squad of fifteen knights.

She was likely on patrol, her mission overlapping significantly with Sein’s territorial responsibilities.

Upon catching Sein’s gaze, she turned away and departed, her expression stoic.

Sein merely frowned slightly at this.

“Take these elemental array disks and move fifty meters forward,” Sein directed several enslaved creatures, their heights ranging between one and three meters.

The fortress had assigned a few of them to Sein, though they had initially planned to provide him with three Rank One enslaved creatures.

Given the notoriously fragile constitution of mages, these enslaved creatures would have served as effective cannon fodder, ensuring Sein’s safety.

However, Sein declined the offer of those Rank One enslaved creatures from the fortress, opting instead for command over two nearby small magic towers.

With his formidable mental focus, Sein maintained absolute control over five surrounding magic towers.

Compared to the less dependable enslaved creatures, Sein had greater faith in his own strength.

Furthermore, with the construction of Death’s Door completed in the basement of his main magic tower, Sein could now summon a substantial number of qualified cannon fodder from the Undead World whenever needed.

In fact, he already did. The lowest two levels of his tower were already teeming with undead creatures, their presence rotting the soil and turning it pitch black.

“This battle should influence the overall dynamics and direction of the Thunderfall World war, shouldn’t it? I wonder if the Rank Four beings will fight during this conflict,” Sein mused, gazing northeast.

At that moment, a disturbance nearby caught his attention. The enslaved creatures quickly bowed their heads in submission.

It appeared that a Rank Three Sky Knight had arrived for inspection.