Sovereign of the Ashes

The battle for Cloud Dragon Stream Plane lasted nearly twenty years.

For a war involving a medium-sized plane, that was actually a relatively short time.

Back when the Verdant Flame Faction invaded Wild Gorilla World, the campaign had dragged on far longer.

During his most recent written exchange with his elders in the faction, Sein had learned that among the many battlefronts in the war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation, one of the few regions where the Magus Civilization remained at a slight disadvantage was the area surrounding Wild Gorilla World.

For some reason, the war in that medium-sized star domain had always progressed at a frustratingly slow pace.

Feylis had casually mentioned that the main reason seemed to be the Feral Beast Star Domain near Wild Gorilla World, which had stubbornly resisted every attempt at conquest despite repeated assaults.

However, the situation on that distant front was none of Sein’s concern for now. His current responsibility was the war in the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

During the interplanar war for Cloud Dragon Stream Plane, Sein’s towering fortress robot had left a deep impression on both sides of the conflict.

In fact, the ones most shaken by Sein’s display were not his enemies, but his allies from the Dawn Empire.

At first, the Dawn Empire warriors had regarded Sein as an ordinary Rank Five mage.

Then, Sein revealed his ability to merge with Fermera.

After that, he unleashed a forbidden spell.

And now, he had modified an entire planetary fortress and transformed it into a colossal metallic fortress robot under his control.

How could anyone possibly continue treating him as a mere Rank Five mage?

At this point, nearly every Dawn Empire powerhouse who had come into contact with Sein, including Ximen Feixiao, who was closest to him, had begun regarding him as a Rank Six powerhouse!

Such was the power of knowledge.

As a representative mage of Magus World, Sein had given the martial warriors of the Dawn Empire their first glimpse of the Magus Civilization’s spellcasters.

And what they saw filled them with awe and respect.

A giant federal mobile suit lay sprawled beneath the feet of Sein’s colossal fortress robot.

Although both were “gigantic metal constructs”, this Rank Six mobile suit from the Gallant Federation did not even reach the knee of Sein’s fortress robot.

The fortress robot’s heavy right foot came down upon its hull, crushing it firmly into the ground.

Standing atop the Rank Six mobile suit were Fermera, her eight metallic wings spread wide, and Belphane, who had activated her lawful body and held her twin maces in both hands.

Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

Electrical sparks flickered across the surface of the Rank Six mobile suit.

Sein’s colossal fortress robot had also sustained some damage. However, as the victor, and the far larger of the two metal constructs, the damage to its exterior was barely noticeable.

Within the head of the colossal fortress robot, Sein gazed eastward beneath the blood-red sunset hanging over Cloud Dragon Stream Plane.

The Rank Six battle raging there was also nearing its conclusion.

A dragon’s agonized roar echoed across Cloud Dragon Stream Plane, lingering for a long time before fading.

Of the two native Rank Six dragon gods, the Azure Cloud Dragon King had already been firmly subdued by Gongsun Wudi.

She had torn the dragon tendons from his neck while he was still alive.

His agonized roars were so piercing that even Sein, half a plane away, could hear them clearly.

Aside from the dragon tendons, the Azure Cloud Dragon King’s horns, pearl, heart, scales, bones, and eyes were all priceless treasures. Naturally, the Dawn Empire powerhouses had no intention of letting any of them go to waste!

It was truly a feast.

Dragon-type creatures possessed extraordinarily powerful bodies. Naturally, the materials harvested from them were far more valuable than those of ordinary lifeforms.

The other dragon, the slightly more powerful White Jade Dragon King, turned out to be Dragon Queen.

She, too, had been firmly subdued by Gongsun Wudi.

However, Gongsun Wudi clearly had different plans for this Rank Six dragon.

She did not tear out the White Jade Dragon King’s tendons. Instead, it seemed she intended to subdue the dragon and force her into submission.

With the Azure Cloud Dragon King already serving as a gruesome example, the White Jade Dragon Queen would naturally have to think twice before continuing to resist.

Through extensive research, the spellcasters of the Magus World had long since discovered that female beings of the Astral Realm tended to be far more level-headed and less willing to throw their lives away than their male counterparts.

In a distant civilization beyond countless star domains, there was even an interesting saying—men were always thinking about how to die, while women were always thinking about how to live.

Admittedly, neither this saying nor the research could be considered universally true.

Even so, in many cases, they did contain a certain amount of truth.

The White Jade Dragon Queen’s resistance gradually grew weaker.

Her mournful dragon cries seemed to foreshadow the coming fate of Cloud Dragon Stream Plane itself.

As for the Gallant Federation legions, Gongsun Wudi and the Dawn Empire Army had no intention of sparing a single one of them.

Every federal combat unit they encountered was mercilessly wiped out.

Gongsun Wudi alone personally destroyed at least three main destroyers belonging to the Gallant Federation’s Rank Six fleet!

Their flickering DF fields were utterly incapable of stopping her iron fists.

During the battle, Gongsun Wudi was nowhere near as reckless as Belphane. Yet every attack she unleashed was nearly impossible for the enemy to withstand.

One after another, massive warships came crashing down from the sky on either side of her.

After largely shattering the resistance of the Gallant Federation legions across the surrounding battlefield, Gongsun Wudi raised her head and looked westward.

Her long hair streamed behind her in the wind, her bearing bold and heroic.

Across the vast battlefield, her gaze seemed to meet Sein’s as he stood within his colossal metallic fortress robot.

***

As the interplanar war for Cloud Dragon Stream Plane in the Divine Descendants Star Domain drew to a close, a major development unfolded on the Magus Civilization’s battlefield.

Following the arrival of the Dragon Clan from the Immortal Realm, the massive army of the Jie Sect, the first Immortal Realm faction to agree to participate in the Magus Civilization’s Clash of Civilizations, finally made its long-awaited appearance.

For nearly a hundred thousand years, the Immortal Realm had primarily relied on its various immortal courts and immortal emperors when engaging in external wars between civilizations.

The same was true this time.

In this campaign to support the Magus Civilization, the main army was personally led by Great Emperor Chen Gou of the East Pole!

Hundreds of millions of immortal court soldiers descended upon the target star domain, riding auspicious clouds and wielding all kinds of weapons. Celestial drums thundered through the void as their grand procession swept across the stars.[1]

In terms of elite forces, these immortal court troops far surpassed the ordinary soldiers previously brought by the Dragon Clan.

As for high-ranking combat power, the Jie Sect had deployed every overlord under its banner this time!

Celestial Venerable Duobao had descended in person. Golden Spirit Mother had also arrived, bringing numerous phoenixes from the Immortal Realm into the war.

Among them were two phoenixes who had only recently ascended to the Overlord Realm—Jiaoming and Youjiu.[2]

Both were early-stage Rank Seven beings.

Their individual strength might not be particularly outstanding, but the Phoenix Clan’s ability to produce overlords at such a rate was astonishing.

It was no wonder they were regarded as a rare and formidable race on par with the Dragon Clan!

Youjiu, in particular, was a phoenix aligned with both the dark and poison attributes. Its Venomfire Rain could blanket vast battlefields in poisonous flames, making it exceptionally deadly in a large-scale Clash of Civilizations.

Celestial Venerable Duobao and his companions arrived at the border of the Grand Cosmic World Star Domain.

The Magus Civilization had set up an enormous interstellar teleportation array there.

Vivian and her forces had previously withdrawn to this region primarily to safeguard these massive long-range teleportation arrays capable of crossing entire star domains.

Now that the main forces of the Immortal Realm had finally arrived at the border of the Grand Cosmic World Star Domain, Vivian could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

When Celestial Venerable Duobao and the others emerged from the teleportation array, the soul-level witch personally went forward to greet them.

In response to Vivian’s questions, Celestial Venerable Duobao said, “My master’s mount, Kui Niu—the Bull King who is also known as the Great Sage Who Pacifies the Heavens—has returned to gather his troops and generals. He’ll arrive on this battlefield within a matter of days.”

“He also asked me to deliver a message. Two of his sworn brothers are prepared to join the Magus Civilization’s war effort. They may even arrive before he does.”

“Oh?” Vivian’s expression immediately brightened. “When will they arrive?”

“Very soon,” Celestial Venerable Duobao replied.

Vivian pondered briefly, then said, “Instead of coming to the Grand Cosmic World, have them proceed directly to the main battlefield of the Magus Civilization!”

Translator’s Notes:

1. Auspicious clouds, known as 祥云 (Xiángyún) in Chinese, are traditional Chinese stylized cloud motifs. Symbolizing good luck, peace, and the heavens, these vibrant, swirling patterns have been used in Chinese art, architecture, textiles, and clothing for thousands of years. Here’s a picture of Son Goku, the Monkey King, depicted as riding on an auspicious cloud:

☜

2. Fun fact: These names may be references to the Divine Birds of the Five Directions in ancient Chinese mythology: Faming of the East, Jiaoming of the South, Sushuang of the West, Youchang of the North, and Fenghuang of the Center. Jiaoming is said to have a long beak, sparse wings, and a rounded tail. Its appearance is believed to herald floods. Youjiu may be inspired by Youchang, which is described as having sharp eyes, a small head, a large body, slender legs, and toes resembling scaled leaves. Its appearance is believed to herald drought. ☜