Sovereign of the Ashes

Silvashade World.[1]

This was the first resource transit plane Sein was assigned to guard upon arriving in the star domain where the Grand Eye Demon World was located.

The deployment situation of the Magus Civilization’s legions in this region appeared genuinely strained.

A large number of war legions had been redeployed to other battlefields within the Netherworld Star Domain, where the fighting was especially fierce. Perhaps that was why even the defensive forces stationed here were stretched so thin.

After Sein’s Divine Tower of Ashes legion arrived outside Silvashade World and completed a brief defense handover, the Magus World knight legion originally stationed on this low-level plane immediately set out for the frontlines of the Grand Eye Demon Star Domain.

The conflict raging across that vast star domain was far more intense than expected.

“Over the coming period, several batches of the alliance’s legions and important war supplies will arrive. Master Sein, you only need to verify them against the manifests issued by the alliance,” explained a Rank Four knight stationed on Silvashade World.

“It’s usually pretty safe here. The only thing to watch out for is the federation’s special operations fleet. They like to launch surprise attacks on our logistics planes throughout this star domain. I haven’t seen them myself, but I know of two brothers whose entire combat legion and supply bases were completely wiped out by that Gallant Federation fleet.

“Rumor has it that thirty years ago, a Rank Six mage from the Alveroth Empire joined forces with two other Rank Six allied deities renowned for their pursuit skills. They set a trap to destroy that fleet, but in the end, the main force escaped. Since then, the fleet has become even more elusive.

“We all call them the Shadow Fleet. Please remain vigilant, Master Sein,” the knight warned before departing.

“Got it,” Sein replied solemnly.

He had already heard of the federation’s special fleet targeting supply bases when he was leaving Radbow World back then.

He never imagined that, a century later, this problem would still remain unresolved across the rear lines of the Grand Eye Demon World battlefield.

It was not that the Magus Civilization had ignored the issue; three Rank Six powerhouses had once joined forces to hunt the fleet down.

Yet their failure proved only one thing: the enemy was far too cunning.

It was unclear whether the Magus Civilization had deployed other forces to secretly track the so-called Shadow Fleet.

Judging by the fleet’s past record, including its swift capture of a supply plane guarded by a Rank Five entity, it clearly possessed combat capabilities on par with Rank Six beings.

After seeing off the Silvashade World’s garrisoned knight legion, Sein and his Divine Tower of Ashes legion immediately settled in to take over the post.

The Ashen Fortress was docked within Silvashade World itself, while the prism forts were dispersed to various positions outside the low-level plane.

The process of securing this logistics hub was, in truth, fairly simple.

Barring any sudden enemy assaults, holding this outpost was practically a matter of collecting mission rewards without lifting a finger.

Besides, Sein considered it unlikely that Silvashade World would become a target for the Gallant Federation’s Shadow Fleet—the same group that had stirred up chaos across the Grand Eye Demon World’s star domain for years without being rooted out.

As a geo-attribute plane, Silvashade World naturally granted strong defensive advantages to any force stationed there.

On top of that, several major Magus Civilization teleportation arrays were located not far from the plane.

Sein’s Divine Tower of Ashes legion had even arrived through one of them.

New reinforcements from the Magus Civilization also passed through these arrays regularly.

If the Shadow Fleet ever did attack this location, Sein believed it would not take long for those reinforcements to appear right behind them.

That would be the perfect opportunity to surround and destroy the elusive fleet.

Of course, Sein could not assume that the Gallant Federation’s commander saw things the same way.

So, upon arriving on Silvashade World, he wasted no time in meticulously reinforcing the defenses on every front.

***

Not long after Sein settled on Silvashade World, multiple Magus Alliance combat legions and massive shipments of war supplies began arriving one after another, just as the Rank Four knight had said.

A colossal eight-nosed beast, its body stretching thousands of meters and its skin a deep slate gray, slowly emerged from the teleportation array.

Behind it, nearly two million smaller gray, multi-nosed beasts poured steadily through the portal.

The massive being, known as the Eight-Nosed King, was a Rank Five powerhouse of the Magus Alliance.

After crossing the teleportation array, the Eight-Nosed King made a brief stop on Silvashade World, where it was inspected by Sein’s garrison forces.

The mages of the Divine Tower of Ashes handled the audits of supplies and creature legions with far more composure than the knights.

Many knights had the courage to face the enemy legions of the Grand Eye Demon World head-on, yet they grew visibly uneasy when confronted with long lists of logistical data.

The ratio of knights to mages of the same rank in the Magus Civilization had always hovered around three to one, which made mage legions all the more valuable.

It was no wonder the alliance had prioritized sending Sein’s Divine Tower of Ashes legion here.

“Excellent. Your legion numbers exceed the alliance’s requirements by two hundred thousand. After a short rest on this plane, you’ll proceed to the frontlines,” Sein told the Eight-Nosed King.

When accepting deployment orders from the Magus Alliance, law-wielding beings across the allied planes usually brought additional troops with them.

This not only demonstrated their loyalty to the Magus Civilization but also helped offset the inevitable losses among weaker troops during the long migration to the frontlines, thereby preventing any criticism from the higher authorities of the Magus Civilization.

The multi-nosed beasts, for instance, lacked war platforms such as space fortresses for transport.

The Eight-Nosed King sat atop a massive gray stone platform, crowded with the other multi-nosed beasts.

When these creatures departed from their homeworld, their numbers totaled 2.4 million. Yet by the time they reached Silvashade World, more than a hundred thousand of the lower-ranking beasts had already perished en route.

The harsh environment of the Astral Realm, the cosmic radiation, and the temporal distortions experienced during teleportation were the main causes of these casualties among the weaker ranks.

After all, the Eight-Nosed King could not ensure that every subject possessed a life level of Rank One or higher. Some cannon fodder simply could not survive the journey.

“Understood, Master Sein,” the Eight-Nosed King replied, swinging its eight long gray trunks.

Following it, the Fire-Scythe Blood Beetle Queen, the Radiant Fairy King, the God of Vinebeetles, the Flowing Ice Elemental Lord, and other allied deities from various worlds arrived one after another with their legions in tow.

At the same time, vast shipments of war supplies continued to pour in.

1. Translator’s Note: Silvashade World literally is “Gray Wood Dusk World” in the raws. I chose “Silva” because it’s Latin for “forest” and it sounds close to “silver”, which is non-shiny gray. “Shade” represents the dimness of “dusk”. ☜