Sovereign of the Ashes

The fight with the Rank Five Rongyue creature ended quickly.

That was how battles between law-wielding beings often went. If one side chose to retreat or drag things out, the outcome could remain undecided for years—sometimes even decades.

But when both sides went all in, especially when one refused to back down, the fight could end in an instant.

This reckless Rank Five Rongyue warrior met exactly that fate, collapsing as a lifeless corpse under the combined assault of Sein and Fermera.

Aside from the severed arm Fermera had cut off for Sein’s collection, there was barely anything left intact.

By the time it was over, the body was riddled with holes from energy beams and scorched black by pyro elemental magic.

“This one had real backbone,” Sein commented as he gathered the remains, glancing at Fermera, who had just flown over. “High-ranking beings like this are rare in the Astral Realm.”

Fermera, as usual, said nothing.

Unless Sein asked her directly, she rarely responded to remarks like that. Still, the way she watched him quietly made it clear she had heard him and was thinking about it.

While their battle had ended, another fight was still raging outside the giant mountain city.

A Rank Four commander from the Iron Cavalry was locked in combat with a Rank Four Rongyue warrior, and neither side had gained the upper hand.

The God of Dusk Desire was nearby, but his combat ability was practically negligible.

His real strengths lay in networking and interstellar trade.

Once they returned to the Magus Civilization, he would likely make a useful assistant to the Goddess of Wealth.

Even after finishing his own fight, Sein did not rush in to help the Iron Cavalry commander.

As a mage on a battlefield he was not fully familiar with, his first instinct was to observe—study the terrain, analyze the flow of battle, and understand the strengths of both sides.

From what he had seen so far, the Rongyue creatures relied heavily on cultivating their blood qi to grow stronger.

As for the Dawn Empire’s forces, they likely cultivated a different variation of “qi” as well.

This “qi” shared some similarities with the battle qi used by the knights of the Magus Civilization, as well as the blood qi of the Rongyue creatures.

At the same time, Sein noticed that Dawn Empire soldiers did not rely on qi alone. They placed a strong emphasis on techniques and formation tactics as well.

If the Rongyue creatures represented raw brutality and violence, then the Dawn Empire’s approach to interplanar warfare felt more like an “art”.

Their combat methods were refined and complex.

As he watched the Rank Four Iron Cavalry commander fight, Sein could sense that the techniques he used were imbued with certain laws.

From the contrast in their combat styles alone, it was already clear how this war would likely end.

The Dawn Empire’s cultivation system was clearly more complete, and their understanding of law powers far surpassed that of the relatively primitive Rongyue creatures.

This was a one-sided war from the start.

During the battle, Sein occasionally glanced toward the center of the plane.

The Dawn Empire’s strongest presence here was likely the Invincible General he had encountered earlier, Gongsun Wudi.

As for the Rongyue World, through his Faceless Mask, Sein could only sense a late-stage Rank Six being barely holding on at the heart of the plane.

This interplanar war would probably end in just a few more years.

***

Three years later, in the Primeval Grasslands in the northern part of Rongyue World...

Vast Dawn Empire camps stretched across the land, arranged in neat, orderly rows.

In sharp contrast, the territory once held by the Rongyue creatures had fallen into complete disarray.

Across the grasslands, the beasts they once raised could still be seen roaming freely, scattered in all directions without anyone left to control them.

Corpses and severed limbs were everywhere.

The war on these plains was nearing its end.

Over the past few years, Sein’s cooperation with the Dawn Empire forces had gone smoothly.

To the empire’s powerhouses, this man in a strange magic robe appeared reserved and low-profile.

Still, his presence on the battlefield, especially his large-scale long-range magic, gave many of them a strong sense of reassurance.

Although the Dawn Empire had developed its own long-range weapons, Sein was not particularly impressed after taking a closer look.

Their “Wind-Piercing Crossbow” and “Fire God Cannon” had their own distinct style and showed that the empire had made some progress in magical rune engraving. Even so, they still lagged far behind the Magus Civilization overall.

What truly stood out to Sein instead were the Dawn Empire’s battle formations, their skill in breeding war mounts, as well as their soldiers’ understanding of combat techniques and law power.

That day, a Rank Four Iron Cavalry commander came to deliver a message outside Sein’s tent.

“Mage Sein, the grand general requests your presence at the central command tent.”

The tent itself had long since been turned into a temporary laboratory.

Hearing the message, Sein stepped out and nodded. “Ah, it’s you, General Tuoba. Understood.”

Outside, the land stretched into a vast sea of green. The environment of this medium-sized world was genuinely beautiful.

A tall figure in black armor stood waiting outside the tent, straight as a pillar.

The Iron Cavalry’s Rank Four commander was named Tuoba Hong. He had once pierced a Rank Four Rongyue creature’s heart with a single thrust of his spear.

Sein had a good impression of him. After Sein mentioned that he valued silence and did not like being disturbed, Tuoba Hong always made sure to announce himself from outside before approaching.

It was something Sein had come to notice about the Dawn Empire in general—they were highly disciplined and surprisingly polite.

The “grand general” Tuoba Hong referred to was, of course, Gongsun Wudi.

Before setting out for Rongyue World, she had been granted full authority over the campaign by her elder brother, the current emperor of the Dawn Empire.

Before Sein realized it, three years had already passed since his arrival on this battlefield.

During this period, Sein’s understanding of the Dawn Empire had deepened considerably.

The strongest figure in the empire was undoubtedly the current ruler, known as the “Martial Emperor”.

However, throughout the Dawn Empire’s long history, it was rare for the Martial Emperor to personally lead campaigns.

For the past thirty thousand years, most major wars had been led by Gongsun Wudi. She had carved out a reputation through countless victories across the stars.

As a result, her prestige among both the military and the common people was immense.

Sein guessed that the emperor’s reluctance to take the field was partly due to tradition and partly because the empire had not yet faced an opponent strong enough to require it.

Take Gongsun Wudi as an example. Over the last thirty thousand years, she had led campaigns that wiped out more than ten civilizations and conquered over a thousand complete planes.

Most of those had been small or microplanes.

Medium-sized civilizations, like the current Rongyue World, numbered only a handful—perhaps just four in total.

This was a civilization still in its growth and prosperity.