Sovereign of the Ashes

Inside the command center, the main discussion surrounding the upcoming war involved a group of Magus World powerhouses, including Sein.

Although members of the Magus Alliance were also present, most of them acted merely as observers.

Those seated closest to Sein, such as Karazo and the Huusian King, remained almost entirely silent throughout the meeting.

Both the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation were paying increasing attention to the war situation in the surrounding star systems.

However, the overall scale and intensity of the battlefield where Sein and his group were fighting still paled in comparison to the Shadowbat Civilization frontlines, where Grandmaster Feylis was currently at.

Reports indicated that the conflict there was nearly twice the scale of the battles around Marvelous Plane.

With Feylis and several other Magus Civilization powerhouses lending their support, the Shadowbat Civilization had managed to reclaim numerous previously occupied planes or planets.

At the same time, vast swathes of Shadowbat territory had also been reduced to scorched lands.

Due to the Shadowbat Civilization’s greater territorial scale, it could not immediately receive the same level of preferential treatment and resource allocation that the Magus Alliance had granted to Marvelous Plane.

Instead, Feylis and the Magus Civilization powerhouse promised to petition the Magus Alliance for a magicoin loan to assist the Shadowbat Civilization once the war with the Gallant Federation concluded.

The discussions in the command center were quite boring.

The most active participants were White Stella and three newly arrived Rank Five knights.

Knights, it seemed, possessed an almost instinctive fondness for the battlefield.

These three Rank Five Knights were staunch proponents of aggressive warfare.

In recent engagements with the Aquarian legions, they had repeatedly pushed for direct, head-on confrontations.

Having stepped away from frontline command for some time, Sein found his thoughts drifting.

His mind remained preoccupied with his latest experimental research.

Sein’s usually cool, composed demeanor—combined with his frequent use of the Faceless Mask—made his inner thoughts difficult for others to read.

After a Rank Five knight named Agathis delivered a lengthy and impassioned speech, she suddenly turned toward him and asked, “Master Sein, what do you think of my proposal?”

Agathis was one of the very few female knights stationed on this frontline. With her Rank Five strength, she naturally drew considerable attention.

In truth, Sein had no idea what Agathis had just said, yet his composure did not waver in the slightest.

“I find your deployment proposal quite appropriate, Lady Agathis,” he replied calmly.

Using the Faceless Mask’s live-recording function, Sein quickly reviewed her earlier speech. Then, after a brief pause, he added two minor supplementary suggestions of his own.

Sein’s response greatly pleased Agathis.

After all, earning the approval of a Rank Five mage was no small honor for them.

Agathis flipped her shoulder-length chestnut hair and smiled. “Master Sein, your addition was most apt. I had overlooked those points earlier.”

After the exchange of mutual praise between the two Rank Five Magus World powerhouses, White Stella declared, “Then it’s settled. We’ll proceed with this war plan in the near future!”

Sein’s brief lapse in focus had been subtle, but those who knew him well likely noticed it.

Both Sia and Kram caught on. Sia shot him a strange look, while Kram, standing behind Karazo, gave him a knowing wink.

Sein paid them no mind. Instead, he turned to Black Oblivion, planning to have him assist with two upcoming experimental projects.

Black Oblivion, who had been standing not far from Sein, had somehow already made his way in front of Hippolyta, the Rank Five powerhouse of Marvelous Plane.

Standing beside him were his cousins, Qixiu and Hanliu.

It seemed these two Rank Four dragonkin did get along with Black Oblivion solely because of blood ties.

The infamously lustful nature of dragonkind was on full display in their expressions at this very moment.

To their credit, they behaved reasonably well—though perhaps a little too “attentively”.

Hippolyta maintained a polite but slightly strained smile. Faced with their enthusiasm, she did not dare dampen it outright.

Sein’s arrival came as timely salvation.

“Hey, I have an experiment you three can help with,” Sein said as he stepped forward. “Same arrangement as usual. You’ll be paid in full.”

Sein found it rather strange. Beatrice was quite attractive—and more importantly, she was young, seemingly not much older than Black Oblivion and the others.

Yet the three dragon beasts showed Beatrice no interest at all, instead showering Hippolyta with attention.

Sein’s appearance allowed Hippolyta to seize her chance.

“Oh, I need to discuss the recent restoration efforts of Marvelous Plane with the guardian,” she said quickly. “Please excuse me.”

Black Oblivion’s disappointment was written plainly across his face as he watched the queen leave.

“Fine, let’s go to your laboratory,” he said, turning to Sein.

One good thing about Black Oblivion and his cousins was that they behaved like gentlemen. They never threw their weight around or relied on their status or lineage to bully others.

Of course, it might also be that Black Oblivion did not dare to.

After all, White Stella was standing right there. Unless he had a death wish, he knew better than to push his luck.

***

The conflict with the Gallant Federation around Marvelous Plane resumed as scheduled.

After fighting too many wars, anyone would inevitably grow weary of them and find them monotonous.

Many Magus World mages developed war fatigue after spending enough time in the Clash of Civilizations.

Knights, however, rarely suffered from such a condition. On the contrary, they often reveled in it.

For many knights, only by standing on the battlefield and teetering on the edge of danger could they truly feel the meaning of life.

Such individuals were often labeled war maniacs.

Sein’s recent insights into the civilizational battlefield came largely from studying the deployment of divine tower legions and cultivating a broader strategic view of localized war zones.

For law-wielding knights and mages of Magus World, establishing divine towers and knightly orders offered benefits far beyond resource acquisition or personal prestige.

On the battlefield, mages affiliated with divine towers and lower-ranking knights of established orders could exert tangible amplifying effects against law-wielding enemies.

In the past, Sein’s Divine Tower of Ashes had very few members, and his own advancement to Rank Four had been relatively recent. As a result, he had not explored these mechanisms in depth.

However, recent battles near Marvelous Plane, combined with demonstrations by other divine tower masters and Sein’s own experimental observations, had revealed a method of amplifying his elemental output through his divine tower army.

At first glance, this amplification technique resembled the group spellcasting commonly employed by Magus World mage legions.

Unlike traditional group spellcasting, however, when thousands of full-fledged mages synchronized their elemental power, the focal point of the elemental surge was no longer an area-of-effect spell, but a Rank Four or higher mage.

The mage most adept at using this, and the one Sein had studied most closely lately, was Chakra, the Rank Four mage from the Divine Tower of Dark Wind.

Being a late-stage Rank Four mage, Chakra was pretty impressive among his peers.

When amplified by the elemental power of over twenty thousand full-fledged mages from the Divine Tower of Dark Wind on the battlefield, his total output could easily reach the peak of Rank Four.

Sein even suspected that, under these conditions, Chakra might be capable of holding his own against a Rank Five creature in battle.

However, his long lifespan and increasingly cautious temperament kept him from taking unnecessary risks.