Sovereign of the Ashes

As Sein closed in on Marvelous Plane, Karazo and the Huusian King caught up to him as well.

Sein had not been the only one engaging the small Aquarian pursuit force. The other Rank Four and Rank Five powerhouses of the Magus Alliance joined in as well, and their combined might was nothing short of terrifying.

The joint forces of Arid Expanse World and Aquaria within Marvelous Plane had clearly sensed the arrival of Sein and the Magus Civilization Army. What they had not expected was just how quickly Sein’s group would arrive.

As a result, no proper countermeasures had been readied. They had only managed to set up a faint yellow energy membrane over Marvelous Plane.

“Activate the main cannons,” Sein ordered.

Moments later, three blinding white lights erupted in succession across the starry void.

The brightest beam came from Sein’s Ashen Fortress. An enormous main cannon slowly extended from the metal deck.

Although it outshone the light gathering at the main cannons of the other two space fortresses, their radiance was still striking enough to draw the eye.

The charging time for all three cannons was brief. After all, Sein’s only objective was to pierce the artificial energy membrane surrounding the Marvelous Plane, not damage the natural planar barrier or the world itself.

A planar will possessed awareness—she could distinguish intent.

Those who came as saviors would not be suppressed. In fact, they might even receive buffs from the plane itself.

Of course, given Marvelous Plane’s battered condition, no one expected too much help from its weakened will.

The three beams fired from the main cannons tore through the star-filled expanse.

Compared to the elemental torrent Sein had unleashed earlier, these cannon beams were far more effective at breaking large-scale energy shields and planar barriers.

The Magus Civilization’s space fortresses had been refined through countless upgrades, with specialized designs meant to breach foreign planar barriers or counter the Gallant Federation’s DF force fields.

Sein had seen and experienced this firsthand more than once.

The unique dissociation properties of the elements within the fortress’s main cannon beams once sparked great research interest from Sein.

Unfortunately, the core principles behind them were far too complex. His research ultimately led nowhere.

After all, his focus had never been fortress weaponry. As long as something worked, there was no need to understand every detail behind it.

The three main cannon beams slammed into the pale yellow light membrane surrounding Marvelous Plane.

The cage that had sealed the world and prevented escape began to buckle almost immediately under the bombardment from the Magus Civilization’s space fortresses.

Queen Hippolyta had already exhausted every last ounce of her strength to carve out a narrow escape route for Beatrice and the others.

Now, under the focused fire of three Magus Civilization fortresses, the pale yellow membrane shattered completely and dissipated.

The instant it vanished, all three fortresses cut their energy output.

With a wave of his rod, the powerhouses who had followed him into Marvelous Plane, along with the three space fortresses, began descending toward the world below.

The once lush and vibrant plane had transformed into a sea of fire.

The Arid Expanse World Army was especially adept at incendiary destruction. Vast stretches of the plane had been reduced to scorched wasteland, with the stench of blood and death hanging heavily in the air.

Sein did not know Hippolyta personally, but he was aware that she was Marvelous Plane’s only Rank Five powerhouse.

The Faceless Mask scanned the battlefield below. In the south-central region of the plane, where the forests were thickest and the flames burned fiercest, Sein detected faint energy fluctuations of a Rank Five being.

He transformed into a streak of gray flame, plunging from the sky like a falling meteor and heading straight for the Amazon Rainforest.

Multiple battlefields were still raging across Marvelous Plane. Some of the Magus Alliance’s powerhouses who had entered alongside Sein followed him toward the rainforest, while others split off to reinforce different fronts.

Sein and his allies’ objective was to wipe out all hostile forces within Marvelous Plane and secure this low-level world as a forward bridgehead in this star domain battlefield.

From there, the Magus Civilization forces under Sein’s command would steadily push deeper into Arid Expanse World and Aquaria.

Their ultimate goal was to link up with the legions led by Feylis in the Chaos Sea Star Domain and Master Fathis in the distant Sanok Star Domain.

For the foreseeable future, Marvelous Plane’s position and strategic value would remain crucial.

Sein’s aid to Beatrice had never been about friendship alone.

“The Magus Civilization’s army has arrived! Multiple Rank Five beings and countless Rank Four powerhouses have been detected! We must evacuate immediately!”

Deep within the Amazon rainforest, a Rank Five merman from Aquaria shouted in panic as he watched the energy membrane in the sky shatter, wave after wave of Magus Civilization powerhouses descending from above.

“Shut up! If it were not for you insisting on capturing that Amazon Queen alive, we would’ve finished this fight long ago! So what if the Magus Civilization’s army has arrived? We’ll wipe it out too!”

The furious roar came from a Rank Five Sand Crocodile. Wielding a crescent-shaped bone blade, its savage aura eclipsed even that of the merman.

This was a Rank Five creature who had mastered both the laws of sand and fire. Its body was covered in gray scales, and sharp fangs jutted from its massive maw.

It served as a fearsome general under Seiron, the peak Rank Six powerhouse of Arid Expanse World.

On this battlefield, though, it held the highest authority.

When this Rank Five Sand Crocodile refused to withdraw, even the merman dared not oppose, despite sharing the same rank.

As one of the powerhouses near the top of Aquaria’s hierarchy, the merman understood that although Arid Expanse World and Planet Aquaria appeared to be equal allies on the surface, the reality was very different.

In most major wartime decisions and deployments, Aquaria’s troops were expected to comply with Arid Expanse World’s directives as much as possible.

This campaign against Marvelous Plane was no exception. Even King Orven himself had instructed them to follow the Rank Five Sand Crocodile’s judgment when it came to troop movements.

A low hiss rumbled from the Sand Crocodile’s gaping maw as violent currents of sand and fire churned around its feet.

Gripping the massive bone blade with hands already drenched in the blood of Marvelous Plane’s natives, the Rank Five creature strode relentlessly toward the sea of flames ahead.

“Hehehe... you can’t hold on much longer, can you? I wonder how it would feel to slice you clean in twooo...” Drool dripped from between its jagged fangs.

As the Sand Crocodile shifted into a charge through the flames, an Amazon warrior entered its line of sight, half-kneeling on the scorched ground and struggling to steady herself with her spear.