Sovereign of the Ashes

There was no denying that Marduk was a psychopath, but at the same time, one also had to admit that he was a true genius.

Throughout years of purges and the endless elimination of potential threats, Marduk had never grown complacent with the authority he wielded as an overgod.

Instead, he continued learning and strengthening himself.

He was living proof that diligence could truly compensate for a lack of natural talent!

Not only did he wield such a vast and complex array of laws and divine abilities, but his personal power had already reached the terrifying peak of Rank Seven!

Marduk may not have possessed the monstrous talent of certain extraordinary beings, but that did not make him any less of a genius.

In fact, judging by Divine Descendants World’s history and the amount of time it took for the civilization to rise into the ranks of large-sized worlds, it was likely even older than both the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

That deep and ancient foundation also ensured that, despite being repeatedly ravaged by Marduk himself, Divine Descendants World still retained a considerable number of law-wielding beings after more than three hundred thousand years of recovery!

At the very least, their numbers surpassed those of an average large-sized world within the Magus Alliance and were likely comparable to the number of gods in Titan World.

The only difference was that the Divine Descendants World no longer possessed any peak Rank Six beings, though it still retained several ordinary Rank Six gods.

The Astral Realm was vast and strange. The fact that a monster like Marduk had emerged from Divine Descendants World could only be considered a tragedy for the ancient gods who once lived there.

In truth, this also exposed a major flaw within systems built on divine faith—Gods were simply too selfish.

Even those in many of the worlds within the Magus Alliance were no exception.

The Magus Civilization continuously exploited its allied worlds, but the law-wielding beings of those planes were not fools. Given enough time, they naturally realized the problem.

So why did they not resist?

First, because they lacked the strength to do so.

Second, because they themselves benefited from the system.

The ones being harmed were the planes themselves and the countless ordinary lives living upon them—not the gods who ruled above.

Only a handful of world rulers, such as those of Titan World, Elven World, and Amethyst World, still remained true to their original ideals and genuinely treated the growth of their planes as their personal responsibility.

As for most alliance worlds, they were fundamentally all the same.

In essence, they were not much different from Marduk himself—they were simply less extreme.

Take the God of Beastmen, for example. He likely would not welcome the rise of another Beast God capable of challenging his authority as an overlord.

***

At the very center of Divine Descendants World stood the Overgod Temple.

The towering structure radiated Marduk’s unquestionable majesty and authority.

It was the highest point in the entire Divine Descendants World.

As for what had once been the world’s second-highest mountain, Marduk had personally flattened it more than four hundred thousand years ago.

The current second-highest peak was not even one-fifth the height of the one where the Overgod Temple was built.

Standing within this temple truly offered a panoramic view of all the mountains below.

Hovering directly above the Overgod Temple was an enormous blue crystalline square fortress.

This was Marduk’s Ark.

The Ark itself was not unique to Divine Descendants World.

The Gallant Federation, which ruled over Divine Descendants World, also possessed its own Ark.

However, the federation’s Ark was a fully operational overlord-class war fortress that had once clashed against the legions of Titan World.[1]

In comparison, the Divine Descendants World’s Ark was merely a “tool”.

Furthermore, it relied far heavily on the power of faith than the Gallant Federation’s technology.

Marduk would never allow a weapon comparable to an overlord being to exist within his own domain.

He feared the possibility of being overthrown.

Only with tools like this could he feel safe enough to use them.

“War is about to spread across the entire Divine Descendants World. In a conflict of this scale, it won’t be easy to stay out of it.”

Standing outside the Overgod Temple, Marduk gazed at the Ark of unparalleled majesty before him and spoke in a grave voice.

Around him, countless fanatical believers lowered their heads respectfully as they listened to the Overgod’s words.

Among them was a late-stage Rank Six deity—the God of Thunder and Fire—who displayed absolute obedience and humility.

He possessed the purest concentration of Marduk’s bloodline among all his direct descendants.

Throughout his long life, Marduk had slain several gods gifted with prophetic abilities. After devouring their divine relics, he had gradually gained profound mastery over prophecy-related divine abilities himself.

This meant his current sense of unease was likely not without reason.

“Contact Marshal Schmain of the Gallant Federation,” Marduk ordered calmly. “We need more reinforcements and war supplies.”

“Understood,” the God of Thunder and Fire replied respectfully.

Marduk cast one final glance at the Ark before him.

Across the entire Divine Descendants Star Domain, endless streams of faith energy were converging toward the Ark through a special way.

The sight only heightened Marduk’s eagerness.

He wanted the Ark to reach its completed form as soon as possible.

***

At the Dawn Empire’s frontlines...

After breaking through three consecutive waves of blockades and ambushes set by the Divine Descendants World, the Dawn Empire’s vanguard finally linked up with a representative and reinforcement force from the Magus Civilization in a small star domain known as Krim.

Unlike the Quatar Star Pirates and the demons they had encountered earlier, this representative of the Magus Civilization had nothing to hide.

Her name was Belphane, a Rank Six knight from the Byrne Empire.

She was not a beauty, but then again, appearance was never important to knights.

Among the female knights Sein had met, aside from Reina—who had become a beauty after losing weight—even Natalya and Sia could not really be considered stunning beauties.

At most, those two could only be described as healthy, pleasant-looking women.

But this female knight named Belphane was not exactly a healthy, pleasant-looking woman. She carried a distinctly masculine charm.

Her muscles were exceptionally toned and well-defined.

Perhaps for convenience during training, she had tied her hair into two braids that looked like a pair of thick ropes.

In any case, Sein found her appearance somewhat intimidating and had little interest in conducting any sort of experiments with her.

Belphane had arrived bearing the latest orders from the Magus Civilization’s high command.

The orders themselves had been issued by Lady Bev.

After careful deliberation, Bev proposed that the Dawn Empire Army did not need to directly join the war in the Gallant Federation’s star domains. Instead, they only needed to focus on Divine Descendants World for the time being.

Among the Gallant Federation’s large-sized vassal civilizations, Divine Descendants World was considered pretty powerful.

The Magus Civilization still did not fully understand the darker truths hidden within the Divine Descendants World. Their assessment was based primarily on known information—a peak Rank Seven overlord, more than 1,600 complete planes, and nearly a thousand deities.

Among the four large-sized civilizations subordinate to the Gallant Federation, Divine Descendants World ranked second overall in strength, surpassed only by the Tris Civilization while still stronger than both the Zeak Empire and the Grand Apocalypse World.

“Considering that Divine Descendants World’s native overlord remains within its own star domain, its legions will inevitably return to defend their homeland once the war escalates. The Gallant Federation will also likely send reinforcement forces to support them,” Belphane explained.

“Because of that, aside from the hidden forces already involved, our Byrne Empire will also dispatch supporting legions to assist the Dawn Empire when necessary. If your civilization still considers that insufficient, General Hudson of the Byrne Empire is willing to personally enter the battlefield as well.

“For this operation, all military supplies and logistical support for the Dawn Empire will be fully provided by the Magus Civilization. In addition, as a gesture of gratitude for the Dawn Empire extending aid during this critical stage of the war, the Magus Alliance’s market will be fully opened to your civilization.

“All spoils and resources gained from the campaign against Divine Descendants World will belong entirely to the Dawn Empire. The Magus Civilization will only conduct trade with you. We will not claim any share of your war profits.”

“Of course, that doesn’t include the spoils obtained directly by Magus Civilization forces themselves,” Belphane added with a smile.

Despite her masculine appearance, Belphane still displayed a certain feminine tact and refinement.

No wonder the Magus Civilization had chosen her, rather than a mage, to negotiate with the Dawn Empire.

The new orders to focus on Divine Descendants World rather than directly intervening in the Gallant Federation’s core warfront had indeed caught the Dawn Empire somewhat off guard.

However, the Grand Chancellor, speaking on behalf of the Dawn Emperor, quickly gave his response to the female knight.

“Understood.”

1. Translator’s Recap: You can read about this Ark again in Chapter 1625! ☜