Sovereign of the Ashes

“Both the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization have already reached the status of top-tier civilizations, huh?” Karazo murmured thoughtfully.

It seemed the Klytherans had been away from the star domains controlled by the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation for far too long.

They did not even know that both worlds had already risen to the level of top-tier civilizations.

Sein had no idea how outdated the Klytherans were.

Was it from the time when Magus World was still a medium-sized planar civilization, or after it had already grown into a large one?

According to the information Sein had gathered from Sky City, Planet Klythera had only been a medium-sized world civilization in those days, at best, one at its peak with great potential.

Unfortunately, that potential was destroyed by the Gallant Federation.

The Rank Five Klytheran leader did not make any commitments based on Sein’s words or on the hostility between Klythera’s survivors and the Gallant Federation.

He simply told Sein that he would not stand as an enemy of the Magus Civilization and asked for more details about the Gallant Federation.

While Karazo clearly harbored a desire for vengeance, he was also rational enough to weigh his people’s future if their enemies’ strength exceeded his own.

For him, the greater burden was the welfare and survival of his race.

This Rank Five Klytheran leader had not allowed hatred to cloud his judgment.

Watching him, Sein quietly evaluated both Karazo’s mindset and the current state of the Klytherans.

He then explained that it was the war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation that had accidentally cast him adrift into this unfamiliar star domain.

He invited Karazo to lead his people in joining the Magus Alliance and to raise the banner of resistance together against the Gallant Federation.

But Karazo did not immediately accept Sein’s offer.

Instead, he invited Sein to join his people in another war.

“Oh? A war against Blue Star?” Sein asked in surprise.

***

The star domain where Sein found himself was far from both the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization.

According to Karazo, even at full speed, a spaceship would take more than two hundred years to reach the border regions of those two top-tier civilizations’ territories.

The Astral Realm was a vast, three-dimensional expanse filled with countless dangerous zones and strange star domains that were best avoided.

Karazo had asked Sein for more time. He was genuinely intrigued by Sein’s proposal for the Klytherans to join the Magus Alliance.

The Blue Star Civilization was a peculiar, low-level technological civilization that the Klytherans had discovered roughly ten thousand years ago.

The Klytherans were extremely particular about the environments needed for their growth and development.

After their homeworld was destroyed by the Gallant Federation, the survivors who fled to this distant star domain had never been able to find a suitable place to recover or rebuild their lives.

The Klytherite embedded in their chests was indeed the source of their power. Yet, in a way, it was also a shackle that limited how strong they could get.

Because the Klytherans had never found a proper, complete plane to inhabit, their population had been steadily declining.

Their current strength, especially among those of Rank Four and above, was only a shadow of what it had been when Planet Klythera still existed.

The fact that Sky City in Magus World had recorded such detailed information about Planet Klythera showed just how remarkable this species once was.

The Blue Star the Klytherans discovered ten thousand years ago was a planet whose biological makeup almost perfectly matched that of Planet Klythera, and one that produced abundant quantities of inert crystals.

Seizing Blue Star would allow the surviving Klytherans to rapidly regain much of their former strength.

However, things took an unexpected turn when a “traitor” appeared among them.

Karl, an early-stage Rank Five Klytheran and one of the first powehouses dispatched to Blue Star, abandoned the original plan to seize the planet’s core by force and plunder its inert crystals.

Instead, he chose to cooperate with the inhabitants of Blue Star, hoping to turn the planet into a second homeland for all surviving Klytherans.

Karl’s actions could hardly be called outright betrayal; his philosophy simply diverged greatly from that of the older generation of Klytheran powerhouses.

And Karl was not alone. He had gathered a small following of lower-ranking Klytherans who shared his vision.

Fortunately, the other higher-ranking powerhouses remained firmly loyal to Karazo, united in their pursuit of a new era of glory for the survivors of Planet Klythera.

The fleet was now heading toward the Blue Star battlefield.

Its objectives were to seize the abundant resources of that low-level planar civilization and capture Karl, the traitor.

“The strength of the Blue Star Civilization is impressive, even for a low-level plane. It’s a technological civilization that has learned to harness Rank Five power and has even created multiple inhabited and resource-rich planets.”

“If Master Sein is available, we hope you’ll lend us a hand when the time comes. We Klytherans will never forget your assistance,” he added sincerely.

In terms of strength, it was clear that the survivors of Planet Klythera and the Blue Star Civilization were about evenly matched.

The Klytherans might even be slightly stronger, since Karl was not a complete renegade. He was unlikely to turn his weapons against his own kind on the battlefield.

With Sein joining their ranks, the surviving Klytherans’ combat power would undoubtedly increase.

Karazo was not the kind of Rank Five powerhouse who clung to pride at the cost of practicality. He did not live in the shadow of Klythera’s former glory.

With Sein’s help, the Klytherans could minimize their losses in the coming conflict.

Karazo also had a fairly good idea of what Sein wanted and what his goals might be.

Like the Huusian King, the leaders of these remnant civilizations were shrewd individuals who should never be mistaken for fools.

In temperament and willpower, they were far tougher than most Rank Five beings born on medium-sized or low-level planes, for they had tasted the bitterness of defeat.

That same experience had made them more pragmatic and focused on long-term gain than most law-wielding beings from other worlds.

“We’d best win over this remnant race from Planet Klythera. They are far stronger than the Huusians,” Sein said to Yuri through mental focus.

“Besides, the Klytherans hold immense potential. Many powers within Magus World would surely take an interest in them. In our effort to return to the Magus Civilization’s star domain, we’ll inevitably need their help too.”

Yuri tilted her head slightly. “Master, are you also interested in the inert crystals produced by the Blue Star Civilization?”

Sein glanced at her and smiled.

“You know me well.”