Sovereign of the Ashes

When Sein arrived directly above the Amazon Rainforest, a bizarre sight greeted him.

A divine domain of raging flames and sand elements enveloped the heart of the jungle, while a water divine domain shrouded the rainforest’s outer edge.

The two opposing divine domains clashed. The violent opposition between fire and water was far beyond what any natural environment could endure, accelerating the devastation of the Amazon Rainforest.

Sein ignored the divine domains below and plunged straight into the heart of the rainforest, which had become a forbidden zone for low-level creatures.

As far as the eye could see, not a single living being remained.

Marvelous Plane was rich in water vapor. By all logic, such a world should have been able to resist large-scale fire.

The fact that the rainforest had been reduced to this state meant only one thing: the enemy it faced was far stronger than it could handle.

Sein headed directly toward the area radiating the most intense battle pressure.

The moment he arrived, the surrounding pyro and sand elements were forcibly dispersed by the Faceless Mask. Space itself seemed to open up, revealing a scene of brutal dominance.

The massive bone blade of the Rank Five sand crocodile had already torn through the Amazon Queen’s leather armor, leaving a vivid streak of crimson across Hippolyta’s pale skin.

This creature actually managed to strike her!

The sheer brutality of the scene froze Sein for a brief instant.

At the same time, his sudden arrival caught the Rank Five sand crocodile off guard.

A spear was lodged deep in its flank, where blood was steadily seeping from the wound.

Yet compared to Hippolyta’s injuries, this was just a scratch, no worse than a toothpick prick.

“How did you get here so fast? Where’s that merman?” the sand crocodile demanded, staring up at Sein in surprise.

It was only then did it realize that the Rank Five Aquarian merman had been absent for some time.

Sein did not bother answering the question. Recalling the water divine domain at the edge of the rainforest, he could already guess what had happened.

The alliance between Arid Expanse World and Aquaria was nothing more than a partnership of convenience, with each side pursuing its own interests.

Unless the Gallant Federation’s fleets appeared on the battlefield, true cooperation between the two civilizations was unlikely—especially once the tide of battle began to turn against them.

Sein’s Ashen Demon form radiated immense pressure, bearing down on the sand crocodile before him.

Yet instead of suppressing it, that pressure reignited the creature’s bloodlust, which had only just begun to settle.

The sand crocodile was not without cunning. When it saw Sein charging straight at it, it did not rush forward to meet the attack. Instead, it swung its massive bone blade diagonally downward.

Had that strike landed cleanly, the Amazon Queen beneath its feet would have met a gruesome end.

Hippolyta’s condition was even worse than Beatrice’s.

“Hmph!” Sein snorted coldly. With a beat of his demonic wings, he shot almost instantly to the sand crocodile’s lower flank.

The sand crocodile had mastered both pyro and sand laws, and its physical evolution was clearly exceptional. Speed, however, was one of its weaknesses.

Sein had arrived on Marvelous Plane in near-peak condition, armed with a world-class secret treasure. There was no way he would allow a Rank Five extraplanar creature, already badly drained, to run rampant under his nose.

Several solid magic barriers formed in midair before Sein, blocking the sand crocodile’s downward slash. At the same time, he detonated more than ten magic bombs he had crafted recently.

Thunderous explosions tore through the air, each blast carrying power on par with Rank Four and even Rank Five attacks, leaving the sand crocodile heavily wounded.

A furious roar burst from the creature’s maw.

As the Rank Five sand crocodile opened its massive jaws, Sein aimed his magic rod at its lower jaw.

Whoosh!

A surge of dual-colored elemental light shot out from the tip of his weapon, smashing into its target.

The fate of the Rank Four Aquarian creature Sein had struck earlier remained unknown. Now, the sand crocodile became the second unfortunate victim of his magic here on Marvelous Plane.

Yet to Sein’s surprise, even after enduring both the magic bombs and his direct strike, the sand crocodile showed little sign of weakening. Instead, it only grew more frenzied.

“Interesting,” Sein murmured with a soft chuckle as he moved to pick up the Amazon Queen from the ground.

Though Hippolyta was a Rank Five being, her strength had been drained to the point where she could no longer fight back. Even so, she remained conscious and fully aware of who had come to her rescue.

Blood trickled from the wound near her eyebrow, lending her a pitiful, vulnerable look. She gazed at her savior’s face through half-lidded eyes.

The Amazon Queen was as weak as she looked. Every bone in her body had been shattered under the sand crocodile’s assault.

Her breastplate had been slashed open, leaving her inappropriately exposed in Sein’s arms.

Fortunately, neither Sein nor she could spare any attention for such details.

The sand crocodile’s fury left Sein with little choice but to deal with it first.

The creature was arrogant. Even after the Magus Civilization army arrived, it showed no hesitation or intent to retreat, choosing instead to clash head-on with Sein.

A violent sandstorm erupted once more beneath the Rank Five sand crocodile’s feet. Hippolyta had fallen swiftly to the same brutal assault earlier.

Blood and pain only pushed the creature deeper into madness. The crescent bone blade in its grasp gradually shifted from silver to crimson.

“Look out,” Hippolyta warned weakly.

Sein studied the Rank Five creature before him with interest.

“What a splendid specimen. Your head would make an excellent centerpiece in my laboratory,” he remarked.

Those words only drove the sand crocodile into even greater fury. With reckless abandon, it charged straight at Sein.

From afar, it looked like a raging firestorm of sand, intent on crushing him.

By the time Sein fully engaged the sand crocodile, the Magus Civilization legions that had arrived at Marvelous Plane had already clashed with the hostile forces across the world.

The descent of three space fortresses placed overwhelming pressure on the countless creatures of Marvelous Plane.

Like a tidal wave, the Magus Civilization troops poured out of the fortresses, unleashing a fresh storm of slaughter across the lower-tier battlefields.

The law-wielding beings each sought out opponents of their own rank.

The two Magus World knights, along with Yuri—who had escorted Beatrice back to the fortress—naturally headed toward the Amazon Rainforest, where Sein was fighting.

Although numerous Rank Four creatures were present in the area, Sein had ignored them and rushed straight to the queen’s rescue. Besides, none of them dared make the first move against someone as terrifying as him.

The Huusian King set his sights on a Rank Five merman attempting to break through the encirclement.

Sein’s father-in-law had a keen eye for the situation. He immediately identified the merman, whose fighting spirit was already faltering, as the easiest target.

Meanwhile, Karazo arrived on the eastern reaches of the Amazon Rainforest. There, he found the final pair of Rank Five enemies still active on this battlefield.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Crab King,” Karazo said, folding his arms and looking down at the Rank Five creature lurking in the muddy swamp below, with a cold smile on his face. “Why are you here?”

This Rank Five being was an Astral Realm powerhouse hired at great cost by Arid Expanse World.

In recent years, the crab-like creature had led its tribe to carve out a foothold in the Chaos Sea.

It seemed like Karazo harbored a personal grudge against this particular opponent.