Sovereign of the Ashes

“Crusade?”

The mightiest being of the Arid Expanse World, seated high upon his black throne, slammed his massive foot against the black crystal floor.

Ceylon was infamous across the nearby star domains.

Ever since ascending to Rank Six, he had led Arid Expanse in conquering hundreds of planes, bringing ruin to countless sentient races.

It was a brutal and formidable world, one with enough potential to rise into a large-sized plane someday!

While Arid Expanse was ruthlessly domineering in its dealings with outsiders, the Rank Four powerhouses under Ceylon’s rule were known for being sly and treacherous.

In the early days of their civilization, they never dared provoke stronger civilizations or even those on equal footing.

Instead, they preyed on the weak, targeting only smaller worlds that could not fight back.

After hundreds of thousands of years of this ruthless expansion, Arid Expanse had finally run out of easy prey.

In recent millennia, they had often clashed with the Shadowbat Civilization and even engaged in occasional skirmishes with Aquaria.

These growing conflicts hinted at an inevitable war between them and these medium-sized civilizations.

After all, every large-sized world civilization was built upon the ruins of fallen medium-sized worlds.

So far, Arid Expanse had conquered only a single medium-sized world.

Yet by its current rate of growth, the energy it had gained was still far from enough to push itself toward becoming a large-sized plane!

The Shadowbat Civilization, Aquaria, Marvelous Plane, Blue Star... Every world within the surrounding star domains had become a target for Arid Expanse.

That included Voltara, which was recently discovered after one of Arid Expanse’s Rank Five powerhouses intercepted a Rank Four Voltaran.

In fact, Voltara now stood as the next stepping stone for their civilization’s ascent to greater heights!

And now, at such a pivotal moment in its growth, a Rank Six being from the Grand Apocalypse World dared to invite them into their so-called crusade?

What a joke.

Given Ceylon’s personality, the very idea of serving as a pawn for the Gallant Federation or the Grand Apocalypse World was laughable.

He had, of course, heard whispers of the war between those two supreme civilizations, just like most planes that existed around them.

Once one reached a certain level of strength and had access to reliable intelligence, it was generally possible to learn about the ongoing war between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization.

Over a thousand years ago, when the war first began, the Gallant Federation had the upper hand. Their forces were said to be unstoppable, driving the Magus Civilization into one defeat after another.

But several centuries ago, the tide began to turn. This time, it was the Gallant Federation that suffered heavy losses.

As for how the war currently stood, only a handful of law-wielding powerhouses from medium-sized or low-level planes had any idea, and even then, their knowledge was limited.

Perhaps a few large-sized, neutral civilizations deep within the surrounding star domains knew more, but they remained tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal their stance until the final outcome of this Clash of Civilizations became clear.

The Grand Apocalypse World was one of the staunchest supporters of the Gallant Federation, holding a position in its hierarchy equivalent to the Tris Civilization and the Zeak Empire.

Ceylon, however, had no interest whatsoever in joining the crusade proposed by the Grand Apocalypse World.

How did one define justice and evil? Did calling it a crusade somehow make it righteous?

The Grand Apocalypse World certainly liked to believe the wars it waged were righteous. It even branded nearly every campaign it launched as a crusade.

Yet before Ceylon could even refuse, the Rank Six envoy from the Grand Apocalypse World made an offer so tempting it gave even him pause.

“The Gallant Federation has expressed its intention to assist Arid Expanse World in ascending to the level of a large-sized plane. To prove our sincerity and the Federation’s unmatched technological power, we will first help you reach the very peak of Rank Six—free of charge,” he said.

“Even if you decide not to join the war between the two supreme civilizations, there’s no harm in accepting our offer,” he added smoothly, his tone dripping with temptation.

Ceylon’s jet-black nails drummed lightly against the metal armrest of his throne. For once, the ruler of Arid Expanse did not respond right away.

***

Fierce battles raged without pause across the Netherworld Star Domain’s battlefield.

Since completing their encirclement centuries ago, the Magus Civilization had launched relentless assaults from all directions against the Gallant Federation’s vanguard fleets that were now trapped within the Netherworld Star Domain.

This star domain was vast, and countless overlord-level entities had descended upon it.

Even with their overlord-class fleets, war forts, and giant mobile suits capable of tearing through space itself, the Gallant Federation found it nearly impossible to escape the sealed space.

On the frontlines, retreat was never a decision to be made lightly.

Both the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation referred to such actions as withdrawals, not flights or routs.

Routs and flights were acts of desperation. These were moments when defeat crashed down like a mountain, leaving legions annihilated and inflicting catastrophic losses on the Gallant Federation.

And so, over the past centuries, the federal fleets trapped in the Netherworld Star Domain had held their ground with grim resolve, rarely choosing to retreat.

Of course, the Magus Civilization would never allow them to escape anyway.

The Gallant Federation had redeployed forces from other star domains in a desperate attempt to rescue their stranded vanguard.

Even neutral planes and those that had once rejected the Federation’s calls to arms were now being drawn in through relentless persuasion and costly sacrifices.

But the Magus Civilization and the forces of Netherworld stood united, refusing to yield. They were determined to annihilate every last ship of the Federation’s trapped vanguard fleets!

As time dragged on, the Gallant Federation’s fighting strength in the Netherworld Star Domain continued to dwindle, but their desperation only grew more ferocious.

The most dangerous among them were the fleets whose power rivaled law-wielding beings, or those with advanced technology capable of challenging even overlord-level entities. Even when battered to pieces, they remained deadly threats.

According to the Magus World’s plan, the federation’s remaining forces in the Netherworld Star Domain would be wiped out completely within another four hundred years.

In other words, from the start of containment to the final eradication, this massive encirclement operation would take roughly a millennium to complete.

It was a colossal undertaking. Over the centuries, the Gallant Federation’s vanguard fleets had already suffered two catastrophic explosions and crashes, each comparable to the fall of an overlord-level being.

Beyond Netherworld...

Commander Blood River Naeverynk and Kampas, the God of Beastmen, stood side by side, their expressions grim as they watched the endless waves of the Gallant Federation’s fleets approaching from the distance.

“My luck is truly rotten. Why did I have to end up stuck here with you?” Kampas muttered darkly.