Sovereign of the Ashes

Although Rogge and his group dealt a crushing blow to the Amenkha Empire overlords, they also paid a heavy price for it.

The Amenkha Empire’s overlords were difficult opponents, especially when they came fully prepared!

The Rank Six and peak Rank Six extraplanar powerhouses Rogge had summoned suffered severe casualties.

Fighting overlords was simply too much for them.

Fortunately, Rogge’s side was strong enough to hold the line, and their overlord-level forces were roughly on par with the enemy’s.

Even so, nearly half of them had already fallen.

Among the survivors, two stood out in particular: the Black Samurai Emperor and the Skeleton of Despair. Both were peak Rank Six beings, with combat power approaching that of an overlord.

The Black Samurai Emperor was the supreme ruler of an exceptionally powerful medium-sized plane far beyond this star domain.

In both personal strength and the overall might of his world, he surpassed even Seiron, the former strongest being of the Arid Expanse Worlds. After all, he had truly reached the peak of his current life level.

Across the Black Samurai World and its surrounding star domains, many believed this emperor would lead them into a new era.

The Skeleton of Despair, on the other hand, was a rare lifeform born by chance in a remote and desolate wasteland.

From the moment of its birth, it had grown by feeding on the despair of sentient beings.

In appearance, it resembled a massive moth. Fine, eye-like patterns spread across its wings and body.

When it flapped its wings, it emitted a strange resonance of the laws—one that instilled fear and despair in all nearby lifeforms.

Even Rank Four and Rank Five beings could not resist its influence.

Like the Black Samurai Emperor, the Skeleton of Despair possessed immense potential to ascend to the overlord status.

In fact, if it ever did reach Rank Seven, its unique nature and the strange origin law power would make it a formidable presence even among its peers.

Rogge had only come into contact with it by chance during a certain experiment, eventually forming a contract with the creature.

He still remembered that first encounter clearly—its strange law power had forced him onto the defensive from the very beginning.

At this moment, Rogge’s skeletal companion and summoned creature were focusing their attacks on a scorpion-like monster king.

From the very start of the battle, Rogge had locked onto his target—so much so that he was willing to take out his own mammoth chimera beast, a creature he had poured a fortune into creating.

Although the mammoth chimera beast possessed overlord-level combat power, it was still far from a true Rank Seven being with an Overlord Soul.

At the very least, in terms of endurance, they were in completely different leagues.

Now, that massive beast was already showing signs of collapse.

In contrast, Rogge’s White Jade Skeleton remained in peak condition with terrifyingly high combat power. She was a genuine undead entity capable of going toe-to-toe with overlord-level opponents.

The peak Rank Seven Pharaoh cast a glance at Amenkha Scorpion King, who was currently being overwhelmed by the White Jade Skeleton, the Black Samurai Emperor, and the others.

With a subtle motion, he then released a strand of specialized law energy into the surrounding starfield, setting off minute shifts in the microscopic particles around them.

Rogge, just as sensitive to fluctuations in elemental and law energies, caught the move almost immediately.

His eyes narrowed into slits.

“Planning to leave already? Don’t be in such a hurry. Stay a while longer,” he said. “I think we could explore the deeper applications of necromantic laws together for another few hundred years. I’m only just getting started...”

As he spoke, Rogge condensed a palm of necromantic energy and drove it straight toward the Rank Seven Pharaoh.

His taunts only fueled the Pharaoh’s anger. Though he had not suffered much at Rogge’s hands over the years, his inability to suppress him had already become a constant source of frustration.

Worse, during their battles, the Pharaoh could not shake off the absurd feeling that he was nothing more than a sparring partner to Rogge.

Rogge was not entirely wrong in saying that this battle was an exploration of the deeper applications of necromantic laws.

The Amenkha Empire had its own unique methods of wielding negative powers like death and darkness.

These were areas the mainstream Magus Civilization had not yet fully explored.

As an expert necromancer, Rogge found those methods irresistibly fascinating.

If circumstances had allowed it, he would have gladly ventured deep into the Amenkha Empire to pursue those studies further.

“Looks like they are ready to leave. I don’t care about the others, but keep that scorpion here for me. If you can help me secure that overlord-level specimen, I’ll reward you well in the future!”

Rogge’s voice transmission was directed primarily at Roland, the peak Rank Seven knight.

Knights valued loyalty above all else.

It was Rogge’s timely arrival that had saved Roland in the first place.

Since the plump mage had made his request clear, Roland would see it through—no matter the cost.

The Amenkha Scorpion King was only a mid-stage Rank Seven.

Compared to the White Jade Skeleton, it was clearly weaker; otherwise, it would not have been beaten so badly.

Roland’s greatsword flared once more, erupting in a dazzling rainbow glow.

With a powerful swing, he forced back the imperial general in front of him, then turned and brought his blade down with full force toward the Amenkha Scorpion King.

***

Meanwhile, on the battlefield where Bev and the others were...

A massive crater had formed within the demiplane.

The entire demiplane had been crushed inward, its structure warped and caved in.

Dense, oppressive elemental forces churned both inside and around it, lingering like a storm that refused to fade.

The Magus Civilization Army continued to unleash relentless volleys at the Pharaohs of the Amenkha Empire, but in the end, their efforts had little impact.

The one who fell was Clair, a soul overmage of the Alveroth Empire.

He was not the first overlord to die on a Magus Civilization battlefield, but he was the first native overlord of the Magus Civilization confirmed to have fallen.

The one who killed him was the Amenkha Empire’s imperial general, a Rank Eight powerhouse.

Mages, by nature, had far weaker bodies than knights. Despite being a soul overmage, their ability to withstand direct attacks was nowhere near that of knight overlords.

In truth, it was not just the Rank Eight imperial general who brought Clair down. Nearly every Amenkha overlord present had played a part.

The Fifth Pharaoh, for example, had used a world-class secret treasure to land several devastating strikes.

Still, it was the Rank Eight imperial general who delivered the final, fatal blow.

Hudson had been forced to fend off attacks from all sides, his primary duty from the very beginning being to protect Lady Bev.

Even after Odin entered the battlefield, though he mainly engaged the Fifth Pharaoh, he also kept part of his attention on shielding Bev.

As for Tamberina, the Ice Phoenix, she was clearly struggling in a melee of this scale.

Under such circumstances, facing the overwhelming pressure of the Amenkha Empire’s superior forces, Clair’s fall seemed almost inevitable.