Sovereign of the Ashes

Gilbert, Ralph, Prand, and the other Rank Four mages of the Magus Civilization all possessed deep expertise in inert energy crystals and mineral exploration.

Exploring and excavating ancient ruins, however, was not their specialty.

Finding an ancient civilization site buried deep within Blue Star’s core was pure coincidence.

That was why Gilbert insisted that Sein report the discovery to the Magus Civilization immediately and wait for a more specialized investigation team.

“Ancient ruins like these rarely exist on their own, especially when those of a top-tier civilization. Once you find one, you’re bound to discover a second, third, and many more in the surrounding star domain...

“Given this, we suspect there are more waiting to be uncovered in the neighboring star domains. Perhaps this is even connected to the inert crystals we found around this region?” Gilbert wondered aloud.

“Inert crystals are extremely rare. Our Magus Civilization spans a massive territory, overseeing tens of thousands of complete planes and countless ordinary planetary planes under our influence.

“Despite all that, the number of inert energy crystals we have found within our own domain is shockingly small. Once in a while, we discover a small vein, but the reserves are always meager. There’s definitely a deeper problem and a secret hidden here,” another Rank Four elder added excitedly.

Their words hit Sein one after another like a barrage of blows, leaving him momentarily dazed.

His mission with Master Gilbert and the others had simply been to survey Gray Quartz veins in the nearby star domain. This task was clearly of great importance to the Magus Civilization’s leadership.

Yet now, before they even properly began mining, they had stumbled upon a strange secret realm that appeared to be the ruins of a top-tier civilization?

Sein swept his gaze across the site again, focusing especially on the faint energy membrane overhead, then took a slow, steady breath.

“I understand,” he said.

“Then, what about all of you...?” he asked.

Gilbert gestured toward the companions beside him. “Valerie and I will head back out and continue surveying the major Gray Quartz veins in Blue Star’s deep-sea regions.”

“Prand, you and the others stay here. Guard the site and keep working on breaking the barrier of this ancient civilization’s secret realm,” Gilbert instructed.

As the mage with the most knowledge of inert crystals among the Magus Civilization’s exploration team, and the one appointed by the higher-ups to lead this operation, Gilbert naturally held the authority to assign tasks.

The elderly woman named Valerie was the only female Rank Four mage in the team.

None of the Magus World powerhouses raised any objections.

Ralph, the Rank Four mage with extensive experience researching ancient civilizational ruins, now had a wild, almost feverish gleam in his eyes.

The Magus Civilization was itself a top-tier civilization. They understood better than anyone the immense value hidden within the ruins of this level.

Who knew what they might uncover here? Ancient epic artifacts... or even world-class secret treasures?

And more importantly, the knowledge left behind by that ancient civilization—a top-tier technological civilization at that!

With that realization, Sein finally understood why Gilbert and the others wanted to keep all information about the ruins.

The Gallant Federation was also a technological civilization. If they learned there were ruins of a top-tier technological civilization here...

The federation would want to inherit and exploit the technology found here, since civilizations using the same power system could absorb and utilize each other’s advancements most efficiently.

After exiting the secret realm, Sein returned straight to the Ashen Fortress. Using encrypted private channels, he contacted Grandmaster Feylis and reported everything that had happened.

Not only had Sein been caught off guard by the turn of events, but even his grandmaster Feylis was taken completely by surprise.

However, she managed to recover very swiftly.

Without waiting for Sein to explain further, she ordered, “Seal the entire perimeter of Blue Star immediately. I’ll have Gregory and the others rush over at once.”

“Understood,” Sein replied.

***

Around two months had passed since the ruins were first discovered.

Led by Gregory, millions of Magus Civilization troops arrived at the perimeter of Blue Star.

They arrived far sooner than Feylis had expected.

The discovery of what seemed to be a top-tier civilization’s ruins threw everyone’s plans into complete disarray.

Upon reaching the region around Blue Star, Gregory and his forces did not press forward to other star domains. Instead, they immediately began establishing defensive lines on the spot.

The sudden movement of such a massive army startled the civilizations scattered throughout the surrounding star domains.

Worried that the Magus Civilization might intervene in the coming war, Arid Expanse World intensified its assault on the Shadowbat Civilization.

The scale of the offensive had now grown to more than three times what it had been before.

Creatures of the Shadowbat Civilization were suffering miserably under the onslaught.

Aquaria soon dispatched additional forces to formally join the coordinated campaign against Arid Expanse World.

Even the newly crowned Rank Six Ocean King, Orven, personally led troops into battle.

Officially, Aquaria’s goal was not to confront the Magus Civilization, but to purge Orric, the rebel king, and his followers.

Meanwhile, Feylis uncovered another piece of intelligence. Despite still being stationed in the Chaos Sea, she was somehow well-informed about unfolding events.

The Gallant Federation’s main fleet remained near the Golden Rock Worlds.

However, behind Arid Expanse World, the Grand Apocalypse World—a large world civilization under the Gallant Federation—had already dispatched millions of troops to provide support.

It seemed the battles about to erupt in this star domain would be as large-scale as the Wild Gorilla World battlefield Feylis had originally planned to join.

For Feylis, this was both pressure and motivation.

The good news was that, thanks to Feylis’ relentless urging and the discovery of what seemed to be top-tier civilization ruins, the Magus Civilization had dramatically accelerated its troop deployment to the Blue Star sector.

Half a year later, Rank Six knight Kuggo arrived in the Chaos Sea Star Domain, commanding nearly ten million Magus Civilization troops.

He was accompanied by a group of mages with extensive expertise in exploring ancient ruins.

During this time, Gilbert and his team had not been idle.

They had located several large Gray Quartz veins deep within Blue Star’s oceans.

Worried that mining those deposits might interfere with the ongoing investigation of the ancient ruins, they refrained from excavating them for now.

Fortunately, outside of Blue Star itself, Gilbert and his team also discovered Gray Quartz deposits of varying sizes in several demiplanes and ordinary planets scattered throughout the surrounding region.

These discoveries confirmed at least one thing: significant reserves of inert energy crystals did exist around Blue Star.

Gilbert and his team had essentially completed their initial mission.

Before the Magus Civilization’s specialized ruins exploration team arrived, Gilbert quietly handed over a strange crystal to Sein.

“What’s this?” Sein asked.

“The purest inert crystal Prand found in the ruins. Its energy purity is at least a hundred times higher than the essence you got from the Blue Star natives last time,” Gilbert whispered via mental focus.

“Whoa...” Sein drew in a sharp breath.