Sovereign of the Ashes

The number of legions under Illusion Spring’s command was indeed fairly small—probably only around ten million troops.

Destruction Spring had already noticed those forces earlier, fully assembled beside the teleportation springs and ready to depart.

But where exactly were Kun’s forces?

The spring overlord searched for quite a while without spotting a single Immortal Realm combat legion.

Eventually, his gaze slowly drifted toward Kun’s enormous abdomen...

Under Destruction Spring’s command, and with the various Spring Lords leading the way, the Myriad Springs Worlds’ vassal legions entered the teleportation springs in orderly waves.

For this expedition into the Magus Star Domain, the Myriad Springs Worlds had mobilized at least one-third of its total military strength.

And the forces sent out this time were all the most battle-hungry and aggressive entities within the entire star domain.

Although only a third of their overall legions had been deployed, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Destruction Spring had taken away the majority of the Myriad Springs Worlds’ actual combat power!

After all, many Spring Lords and their followers simply were not good fighters.

As Destruction Spring and the others gradually passed through the teleportation springs and departed one after another, the Rank Eight being known as the Spring Ancestor stood silently at the very center of the Myriad Springs Worlds, gazing toward the direction they had left.

After a long while, the Spring Ancestor let out a quiet sigh.

Standing beside him at that moment was Life Spring, a Rank Seven overlord.

As the Spring Ancestor’s eldest son, he had always been the firmest supporter of his father’s ideals and philosophy.

“They’ll probably be fine. I’ve already gathered information from several friendly overlords in neighboring star domains. At the moment, the Magus Civilization still maintains the upper hand in its war against the Gallant Federation,” Life Spring assured softly.

“Even the Amenkha Empire, which launched a surprise attack some time ago, still hasn’t truly pushed into the Magus Civilization’s core star domain.”

Because the Myriad Springs Worlds advocated peaceful development, it maintained friendly ties with numerous large and medium-sized civilizations throughout the Astral Realm.

Some distant and highly unique alien civilizations were so remote that even the Magus Civilization and the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce, which conducted trade across countless surrounding star domains, might not know of their existence.

On the surface, the war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation appeared to be nothing more than a clash between two top-tier civilizations.

But in reality, the conflict had already drawn the attention of countless surrounding planar civilizations, including many that had not directly participated in the war.

Even distant alien civilizations far removed from this region of space were quietly observing the outcome of the conflict.

For Life Spring to speak with such certainty, it was obvious that he possessed a very detailed understanding of the current state of the war.

After hearing those words, the gentle-natured Spring Ancestor remained silent for a long time.

Countless thoughts seemed to pass through his mind before finally settling into another quiet sigh.

***

Magus Civilization...

Since the previous assault by the Amenkha Empire’s Pharaohs, Lady Bev had not relocated the civilization’s primary command base.

Instead, she continued to station the Magus Civilization’s frontline command center along the border of the Netherworld Star Domain.

By keeping it firmly rooted there, she was sending a clear message to the entire alliance: The Magus Civilization had not retreated in the face of the Amenkha Empire’s attacks or the Gallant Federation’s counteroffensive!

As for the war itself, the main battlefields were still concentrated deep within the Gallant Federation’s territory.

Aside from a handful of isolated battle zones that had spread into the Magus Civilization’s sphere of influence, the Magus Civilization as a whole continued to maintain a highly aggressive offensive stance.

This undoubtedly reassured the alliance’s combat legions.

In times of war like this, almost every allied plane and foreign deity hoped to see the Magus Civilization standing strong with nearly inexhaustible resources.

Only a powerful and thriving Magus Civilization could safeguard the interests of the entire alliance at a moment like this!

If the Magus Civilization ever showed signs of weakness or decline because of recent setbacks, the consequences for the entire Magus Alliance would be disastrous.

At this moment, within the frontline command center, Bev was holding a remote conference with the soul overmages and knight overlords stationed across the various star domain battlefields.

Only native Magus Civilization powerhouses were participating in the meeting.

None of the alliance overlords had been invited because the discussion involved several reinforcement legions from foreign civilizations that were soon about to arrive.

Certain information, as well as the Magus Civilization’s strategic decisions, could not be casually shared with outsiders.

“The Dragon Clan’s army should be arriving soon. I have also instructed Tomov and the others to continue coordinating the request for assistance from the Immortal Realm’s three great Daoist sects. We’ll need to make adjustments to our upcoming deployment plans,” Bev said slowly while looking toward the elemental light screen before her.

“The Dragon Clan’s army? Seems like it worked out well for us that those little ones from Baxia’s family were captured,” Seth, a knight overlord of the Jehannah Kingdom, chuckled.

Following Dolon’s death, Seth had become the Jehannah Kingdom’s primary leader on the civilization battlefield.[1]

Seth and Dolon had once shared an exceptionally close relationship, and ever since Dolon’s death, Seth had sworn to make the Gallant Federation pay the price.

Yet despite that, Seth was still widely known within the Magus Civilization as someone with an unusually relaxed temperament and optimistic mindset.

While most of the Magus Civilization’s high-ranking figures tended to discuss military matters with stern and serious expressions, Seth often appeared easygoing and cheerful instead.

Of course, anyone who truly understood this knight overlord knew that his real nature was far more different than his outward demeanor suggested.

Without responding to Seth’s joke, Klopp spoke next.

“Indeed, the deployment of the Immortal Realm’s Dragon Clan cannot proceed according to our original plan. However, we can redirect them to the Gallant Federation’s heavy-industry star domains instead.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “With the Gallant Federation’s energy crystal production capacity, satisfying the appetite of the Immortal Realm’s Dragon Clan should not be difficult.”

Klopp truly deserved his reputation as Lady Bev’s right-hand man. His proposal aligned almost perfectly with her own thinking.

Bev immediately nodded.

“As for the Immortal Realm’s three great Daoist sects, if they agree to send reinforcements, we will follow the original deployment plan and assign them to the Grand Cosmic World battlefield.”

“Seconded,” Rank Seven soul overmage Zenasus agreed.

“Seconded,” said Alice, the soul overmage from the Northern Witches Council.

“Seconded.” Hudson of the Byrne Empire also nodded in agreement.

The major powers of the Immortal Realm were undoubtedly valuable external allies.

However, when it came to borrowing the strength of the Daoist sects, the Magus Civilization did not want those Immortal Realm powerhouses to become too deeply involved in the war against the Gallant Federation.

Because from beginning to end, the Magus Civilization had always viewed this conflict as its own war to fight.

It was only because the Amenkha Empire had suddenly entered the battlefield—sending a Rank Eight Pharaoh to infiltrate and sway a Magus Alliance overlord, while also dispatching an elite force to launch a surprise assault on the Magus Civilization’s command headquarters—that the Magus Civilization had been forced to pull the Immortal Realm Civilization into the conflict.

As for the Immortal Realm’s traditional powers, the Magus Civilization preferred that they engage the Amenkha Empire directly.

As long as the Immortal Realm Civilization could keep the Amenkha Empire tied down, the Magus Civilization believed it would not need outside support to handle the Gallant Federation front.

The reason the Dragon Clan of the Immortal Realm was not deployed there ultimately came down to simple favoritism.

The Magus Civilization maintained relatively good relations with the Dragon Clan, so allowing them to claim a portion of the spoils within the Gallant Federation’s star domains was not an issue.

Meanwhile, the war raging around the Grand Cosmic World would be significantly more dangerous and intense, but the rewards there would naturally be much greater as well.

From the Magus Civilization’s perspective, it had not treated the Immortal Realm unfairly.

After expressing his stance, Seth suddenly chuckled. “That Cosmic King over at the Grand Cosmic World is about to suffer another huge loss.”

“But it shouldn’t matter too much. Given their foundations, they should still be able to satisfy the appetite of the Immortal Realm’s Daoist faction, right?”

1. Translator’s Recap: Dolon was another knight overlord of the Jehannah Kingdom who was killed in action back in Chapter 1839 during his battle in the Kersing Star Domain. ☜