Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1812: Pinnacle of Combat Power Below the Overlord Realm

What Celloza had mastered was not a self-sealing technique, but a passive method of sealing and tempering himself.

As early as twenty thousand years ago, after realizing that his strength could no longer break through its current limits, Celloza paid an enormous price to commission a Rank Six Magus World mage skilled in alchemy to forge a set of equipment specifically designed to restrain him in his daily life.

The clothes he wore and the ornaments he kept on his body were not only unimaginably heavy but also severely hindered the flow of law and elemental energies within him.

It was precisely under the suppression and tempering of this equipment that Celloza, who had felt no progress for many years, was able to once again experience that fleeting sensation of breaking past his limits through battle after battle.

“You’re the first being in the past ten thousand years to force me to remove these restraints.”

After stretching his wrists for a bit, Celloza charged straight at Kazaskey.

At this moment, the peak Rank Six Apocalypse World powerhouse had fully transformed into a molten volcano that radiated terrifying heat, with dense pyro elemental law power seeping from his skin.

This was Kazaskey’s full-power form. The moment he stood on the battlefield, the temperature of the entire world rose because of him alone!

Even so, Kazaskey still seemed slightly outmatched when facing the now-unrestrained Celloza.

That alone clearly revealed the gap between their current levels of strength.

***

When Celloza and Kazaskey fought, Sein and his forces were not far from the center of the battlefield.

Because of this, Sein could clearly sense the terrifying combat power possessed by those two peak Rank Six beings.

He had seen his Grandmaster in action before and had to admit that Feylis still fell short of matching the explosive peak combat power Celloza and Kazaskey displayed.

However, mages excelled at using the least amount of elemental power to produce the greatest effect through magic.

Whether it was Celloza or Kazaskey, neither could possibly endure sustained bombardment from Feylis’ long-range magic.

Throughout this battle, Feylis had repeatedly ordered the Magus Civilization powerhouses on the surrounding battlefields not to provide Celloza with any support.

Sein could not help wondering if she intended to use this dangerous, high-intensity battle to temper Celloza and help him find an opportunity to break through to a higher realm.

No one answered his question, but one thing was certain: the battle between Celloza and Kazaskey represented the very pinnacle of combat power below the overlord realm on this civilizational battlefield.

***

As Celloza and Kazaskey fought fiercely in the distance, the forces facing Sein were none other than an old enemy—Orven, the former Ocean King, and his troops.

Orric had not brought his own legions to Arid Expanse World to settle matters with his younger brother.

When faced with the choice between securing Aquaria’s future and resolving a personal grudge, Orric had chosen the former.

Taking part in the campaign against the Arid Expanse Worlds did not really serve the interests of Planet Aquaria under Orric’s rule. Only by joining White Stella’s sea race legions could he lead his people to gain greater benefits.

As time passed, Orric began proving himself to be a worthy Ocean King.

According to the latest intelligence Sein had received, the legions led by White Stella were already moving toward the front where the Magus Civilization had pushed deep into the Gallant Federation’s heartland.

Orven, meanwhile, no longer carried the spirit and confidence he had back then.

Now he looked weary and disheveled. Perhaps the scorched, desolate environment of Arid Expanse World simply did not suit an oceanic creature like him.

Even his Ocean King’s Crown, the world-class secret treasure, sat crooked on his head.

Watching the violent energy tides raging in the distance, Orven had long since lost count of how many times he had bitterly regretted getting involved in the war between these two top-tier civilizations.

A Rank Five merman stepped forward and bowed. “The Magus Civilization legions are advancing on us again. Your Majesty, should we continue retreating?”

On the battlefields of the Arid Expanse Worlds, the only forces truly capable of fighting were the legions of the Grand Apocalypse World.

Other forces, such as the remnants of Orven’s Aquarian legions and the natives of the Arid Expanse Worlds, basically collapsed the moment they came into contact with the enemy.

Earlier, Kazaskey’s elite Apocalypse World legions, with their overwhelming combat power, had managed to halt the advance of several Magus Civilization assault legions and temporarily stabilize the situation in this medium-sized star domain.

But now Kazaskey had been suppressed by Celloza, while most of his elite Apocalypse World legions were also pinned in place.

Under those circumstances, the forces on the surrounding battlefields were naturally being overrun once again by the Magus Civilization’s advancing armies.

Watching the distant front continue to crumble, Orven, who had already withdrawn from the main battlefield, let out a sigh. He adjusted the crooked crown on his head and said, “We’ll leave.”

The moment Orven led his legions in retreat, the collapse of the Gallant Federation’s position on this front only accelerated.

Given the situation, no one on the battlefield could really blame him for it.

After all, the Gallant Federation had deployed very few fleet units to this star domain, and the legions of the Grand Apocalypse World had no spare strength to devote to this area.

Orven and his followers did not need to accomplish any particular objective in this war. All they needed to do was run faster than everyone else.

Having already lost their homeplane, they no longer cared about anything except staying alive.

***

“What a pity. Orven got away. The Ocean King’s Crown on his head and that other technological artifact in his possession are both fine treasures. And he is the very opponent Orric has wanted to face for years,” Sein muttered.

He let out a sigh as he looked toward the retreating Aquarian legions on the distant battlefield. “Forget it. Let them run. I want to see just how far they can get.”

While Orven’s front crumbled the moment the pressure mounted, the elite legions of the Grand Apocalypse World stationed on the Arid Expanse World battlefield stood firm like an unshakable wall against the Magus Civilization’s assault.

Even so, this battle soon shifted from a one-sided offensive into a four-sided encirclement.

After securing the starfield coordinates in front of him, Sein did not continue pressing forward. Instead, he remained where he was and waited for new orders from the Magus Civilization’s command.

If Sein and his forces were to turn around now and strike at the rear of the Grand Apocalypse World legions, then no matter how formidable Kazaskey and his Apocalypse World legions were, they would inevitably be pushed into a desperate position.

The other Magus Civilization legions that had already completed their assigned objectives were also waiting for further orders, like Sein.

Not long afterward, the God of Decay, who was on fairly good terms with Sein, led the Decaying World legions to the flank of the battlefield where Sein was stationed.

It had been quite some time since they last met, and the God of Decay’s body seemed to have grown much larger.

It looked as though life under the Rosen Dynasty Civilization had been treating him rather well.

At least on the surface, Sein could not see any sign that this creature had been wounded by Kazaskey earlier.