Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1803: The So-Called Genius

When Sein arrived at his grandmaster’s space fortress to report in, Feylis was in the middle of a long-distance call with Fathis.

In recent years, Master Fathis seemed to have developed quite a bit of resentment toward Feylis.

By the time Sein stepped into his grandmaster’s chamber, Fathis was still on the other end of the screen, grumbling about Feylis coming to get a share of the spoils in this war.

Feylis, however, only smiled, completely unbothered by the tirade. Instead, she beckoned Sein over.

The moment Sein appeared on screen, Feylis pointed proudly at her grand apprentice and said, “Look. This is the Sein you’ve been grumbling about all this time.”

Her smug smile, paired with the awkward look on Sein’s face, only made Fathis even more exasperated.

The moment she saw Sein, Fathis clutched her waist and exclaimed, “If I had known, I never would’ve helped reunite the two of you! All these years, you’ve done nothing but give me trouble!”

Master Fathis was a lumimancer, and her appearance carried a holy, serene air. But anyone who actually knew her would quickly realize that this Rank Six mage had a rather short temper.

As for that gentle and graceful image she usually presented, more than half of it was probably just an act...

Then again, anyone close to Feylis was unlikely to be truly mild-tempered.

After all, birds of a feather flock together.

Of course, neither Feylis nor Fathis exposed too much of this undignified side of themselves in front of Sein.

Once Feylis had teased Fathis enough, she turned to the serious matter at hand. “This coordinated assault on the Golden Rock Worlds has already been reported to the Magus Civilization, and Steel City is also taking this war in the medium-sized star domain very seriously.”

“As for the favors I owe you, along with the mission rewards, I’ll make it up to you in other ways later. The important thing right now is that we can’t afford any mistakes in this battle. Out of the four legions, yours currently looks like the weakest link,” she said.

“Do you want me to divert some forces to support you? Don’t worry, I won’t take a share of your war profits this time,” Feylis said.

Among the four legions, both Feylis and Celloza were peak Rank Six powerhouses.

White Stella, though newly advanced to Rank Six, had powerful family backing and also wielded the Royal Trident, an overlord-level weapon.

With all that taken into account, Fathis’ forces did indeed seem to be at a disadvantage.

Feylis’ seemingly kind concern left Fathis speechless for a moment.

Just as she was about to object, Feylis went on, “As for White Stella’s side, I heard Magus World has already sent two additional Rank Six sea kings to serve under her command.”

“Although you also have a Rank Six alliance deity and a Rank Six knight assisting you, I still think it’s better to be cautious,” Feylis added.

This time, her sincere tone finally eased the lingering irritation in Fathis’ heart.

“Then who are you planning to send?” she asked.

The moment the question left her mouth, Fathis regretted it, because she saw a sly smile appear on Feylis’ lips.

Sure enough, Feylis simply patted her grand apprentice on the shoulder and said, “This boy!”

“Don’t let the fact that Sein is only a Rank Five mage fool you. He actually has a—”

Before Feylis could finish, Master Fathis abruptly cut off the long-distance call.

Sein and Feylis were left staring at each other in the fortress chamber.

Sein had originally come to report in and ask Feylis about his next combat assignment.

“So... what am I doing next...?” he asked.

“Didn’t you hear everything just now? You’re still going to Master Fathis’ side!” Feylis replied, smacking him on the shoulder.

“Her sector is a weak point in our battlefield within this medium-sized star domain. The orders from above are clear—they don’t want too many federation legions breaking through and escaping successfully,” she explained.

“Although I’ve heard that Master Viktor’s apprentice will also be heading to Fathis’ sector, things will be more secure with you there too,” Feylis said thoughtfully, stroking her chin.

Sein knew that serving in the sector under Master Fathis’ command would be anything but easy. But since his grandmaster had already spoken, he could only grit his teeth and accept the assignment.

Before leaving, however, he asked Feylis, “By the way, who is Master Viktor’s apprentice?”

“Welks, I think. He’s a mage with tremendous potential. During the Clash of Civilizations, he developed a few magnetic-type forbidden spells and made quite a name for himself on the battlefield.”

“Oh? Him?!” Sein said in surprise.

If Sein remembered correctly, he had met this Rank Six mechanic named Welks before.

Back then, Sein had only just returned to the Magus Civilization with the Magic Cube and had even managed to turn the Huusian Legion against its former side on the battlefield.

At that time, Master Welks was at the peak of Rank Five.

Unexpectedly, after just over two thousand years, he had already advanced to Rank Six.

Clearly, Sein was not the only one who had grown stronger during the war!

The Clash of Civilizations truly was a stage where exceptional geniuses could display their talents.

***

After the deployment plan was finalized, Sein led the Divine Tower of Ashes legion toward the designated frontline.

Grandmaster Feylis had been quite generous.

Before Sein departed, she fully replenished the resources his legion needed, likely worried that Fathis might give him a hard time once he got there.

In addition to Sein’s core forces, Reina, Sia, Gin, and several Magus Alliance legions that maintained close ties with him were also placed under his command.

He was reunited there with Karazo, the Rank Five Klytheran warrior, and even Kram, with whom he had conducted many experimental collaborations.

In Fathis’ eyes, Feylis sending Sein over could only mean one thing: she was trying to secure a larger share of the war profits.

That woman already had her fingers in many pies, and now she was even setting her sights on Fathis’ share?

With a force as large as the one Sein commanded, Fathis would be obligated, both in reason and by duty, to give them the share of rewards they deserved.

That was, unless she was shameless enough to ignore the help Sein and his group provided.

But clearly, she was not as shameless as Feylis.

Gritting her teeth, Fathis ultimately assigned Sein and his group to a southern sector under her command. That area covered roughly three or four planar battlefields, all of which would now fall under Sein’s responsibility.

At least judging from her initial arrangements, Master Fathis did not seem intent on making things difficult for Sein and his group.

She even provided them with a batch of war supplies.

Still, what drew Sein’s attention far more than Fathis’ resource support was Welks’ arrival in this medium-sized star domain war zone not long after his arrival.

In recent years, Master Welks had built a formidable reputation for himself, and not just because he had a soul-level mentor.

Take Sein’s battlefield as an example. When the call for the general assault rang out, the Magus Civilization’s elites across the surrounding fronts were all abuzz over Master Welks’ modified mechanical beast, the Molten Steel T-Rex, whose combat power was nothing short of astonishing!