Sovereign of the Ashes

By the time Gongsun Wudi heard about Sein and the others’ situation, nearly half a year had already passed.

As expected, the princess and her group had also encountered reinforcements from the Gallant Federation.

In fact, the number of federation legions the Dawn Empire encountered was even greater!

The Gallant Federation’s reinforcements to the Divine Descendants Star Domain included over seven hundred combat-ready task forces alone, each possessing combat power at Rank Four or above.

What Sein and his group had encountered was merely a tiny fraction of this massive army.

However, after these federal fleets arrived at the border of the Divine Descendants Star Domain, most of them did not engage the Dawn Empire’s legions right away.

Instead, they used various methods to bypass the Dawn Empire’s blockade and entered the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

The federation reinforcements and Divine Descendants World were indeed formidable. However, if considered separately, neither side could match the might of the Dawn Empire’s main force!

Since the Emperor himself was leading this campaign, the Dawn Empire had mobilized over eighty percent, perhaps even close to ninety percent, of all its Rank Four and above martial warriors.

The presence of more than two thousand law-wielding powerhouses from the Martial Civilization showed just how much its mid to high-tier combat power had grown over the past hundred thousand years.

By contrast, in some relatively underdeveloped large-sized world civilizations, the number of law-wielding deities within an entire star domain might not even exceed a thousand.[1]

The Astral Realm was three-dimensional. Because of this, when the federal fleets attempted to break through the blockade and penetrate deeper into the Divine Descendants Star Domain, the Dawn Empire’s interception efforts were largely ineffective.

Marshal Schmain was a cunning man. Although he did not personally lead an overlord-class fleet to reinforce this sector, before leaving, he had already outlined his strategic vision to his two most trusted subordinates—two five-star federal generals—and ordered them to carry it out.

“The pressure on our Gallant Federation is growing greater as this multi-front war continues. Your mission is not to annihilate the enemy, but to coordinate with the beings of Divine Descendants World and stabilize our rear as much as possible.

“Marduk, the overgod of Divine Descendants World, is indeed powerful, but he is far too calculating and may not be willing to follow us to the bitter end. Remain on high alert around him once you enter the Divine Descendants Star Domain. Now that Divine Descendants World has come under direct attack, that guy will likely put up fierce resistance.

“In any case, remember this: your primary mission is to ensure your own survival and secure the rear lines. Above all, do not get carried away by the battle or become too fixated on fighting!” Schmain told his two subordinates.

Both five-star generals were renowned commanders who had fought alongside Marshal Schmain for many years.

Naturally, they would carry out the marshal’s orders without hesitation.

Besides, this federal fleet was currently not strong enough to clash head-on with the Dawn Empire’s legions.

The absence of their own overlord-class warship alone had greatly weakened their strength.

“Sein’s group has encountered a sizable federal fleet?” Gongsun Wudi asked, glancing at the battle report before her.

“Right Guard General, take your men and reinforce them,” she ordered right away.

“Yes, Your Highness!” Ximen Feixiao replied.

Although Gongsun Wudi and Ximen Feixiao had different surnames, they were essentially family.

Gongsun Wudi’s late mother had carried the surname Ximen.

The previous emperor, father of both Gongsun Wudi and Gongsun Wuji, had only two wives throughout his life.

One bore the surname Li, while the other bore the surname Ximen.

At present, these two noble clans were also the most powerful factions within the Dawn Empire.

After Ximen Feixiao took his leave, Gongsun Wudi gazed at the dazzling star chart before her. Her finger unconsciously moved toward the border region of Divine Descendants World.

They had been near this star domain for some time now, and the Dawn Empire’s scouting forces had already gained a general understanding of its surroundings, including much of the situation within Divine Descendants World itself.

On the three-dimensional star chart, a ring of white markings stood out clearly.

They surrounded the entire outer perimeter of Divine Descendants World.

In Divine Descendants World, they were known as Boundary Rocks.

These ancient rocks naturally contained exceptionally powerful law energy, and they appeared to have been specially refined later by Overgod Marduk.

In terms of grade, this complete set of rocks could arguably be considered a world-class secret treasure.

An artifact imbued with special divine law power that surrounded the entire outer region of a massive star domain...?

Gongsun Wudi had never seen anything like it before.

Truly, the Astral Realm was boundless and resplendent.

Even though Gongsun Wudi had reached the peak of Rank Six and stood unmatched beneath the overlord realm, there were still far too many things she had never encountered.

After leaving the star domain where the Dawn Empire was located, an even grander and more magnificent cosmos had gradually unfolded before these warriors of the Dawn Empire.

Gongsun Wudi finally pointed toward a corner of the Boundary Rocks outside the Divine Descendants Star Domain, where the rocks were unevenly distributed, and issued her order.

“Notify the General of the Raging Tiger Army. We will break through here!”

***

A region beyond the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

Kigard, a Rank Six being, continuously shuttled through space as he made his way toward the designated area.

The powerful being he was about to face was exactly the type Kigard least wanted to encounter.

But he had no choice. Ever since he pledged his life to the Magus Civilization, many things were no longer within his control.

Before long, Kigard finally arrived at the outskirts of a battlefield, where an entire plane had been reduced to ruins.

Deep crimson hellfire engulfed the world, while an atmosphere of scorching heat and savagery spread both inside and outside the plane.

This was a medium-sized world, yet it had already turned into a paradise for demons!

Dozens of massive gates of flesh and blood, built from piles of corpses, stood in various corners of the world.

Drawn by the summoning power of these flesh gates, more and more demons and devils were appearing within the plane.

At last, Kigard made his way uneasily toward the throne outside the plane.

Seated upon it was a demon overlord with an exceptionally calm demeanor.

A sharp sword hovered beside the throne’s armrest.

At the sword’s hilt, a lifelike purple eye with a vertical pupil kept shifting its gaze.

The eye seemed almost alive. The moment Kigard appeared, it fixed its stare directly on him.

Even Kigard, who had seen more than his fair share over the years and earned the title of Phantom Thief, felt a chill run down his spine beneath that gaze.

Taking a deep breath and forcing down his unease, Kigard said, “Lord Gustavo, I have brought the latest orders from the Magus Civilization’s high command.”

The demon overlord lightly tapped the armrest of his throne before extending a demonic hand toward Kigard. His fingers were tipped with jet-black nails.

1. Author’s Note: Among the large worlds within the Magus Alliance, most alliance planes had relatively few law-wielding beings, with only a handful of exceptions. This was not because they lacked potential or development, but rather because the Magus Civilization had deliberately suppressed them. It also indirectly revealed just how deeply the Magus Civilization exploited the resources of all its alliance planes. After all, if the Magus Civilization did not plunder the resources of its allied planes, how could it possibly support so many native law-wielding knights and mages? ☜