Sovereign of the Ashes

Wanderer Weiming was not dead.

With the extraordinary regenerative abilities of a Rank Six lifeform, even a severed head could be regrown in a very short time.

Even so, he had definitely been badly wounded.

Sein’s earlier attack had channeled a fraction of the photonic electromagnetic cannon’s power. In theory, it possessed enough force to threaten even a peak Rank Six creature.

After restoring his body, Wanderer Weiming’s face turned deathly pale, and his expression grew savage.

In that split second, he had truly sensed the threat of death.

And that threat had come from a Rank Five mage and a Rank Six robot in a fused state.

No! After the two had merged, the cubic crystal glowing with ethereal blue light between them was definitely no ordinary object!

Wanderer Weiming was still a well-traveled Rank Six being.

Long-distance travel between star domains was already quite common in Myriad Manifestations World, and in his younger years, Wanderer Weiming had visited many places throughout the Astral Realm.

The fear and lingering dread in his eyes gradually gave way to greed.

His gaze locked firmly onto the Magic Cube.

He was not the only one who had noticed Sein and the Magic Cube in his hand.

Another Rank Six being, Wanderer Leipu, was crouched near the planar barrier, his eyes fixed on the scene below.

By now, the planar barrier of this low-level plane had completely shattered. Law-wielding beings from Myriad Manifestations World had begun descending from every corner of the world.

Given the forces Sein and the others had poured into this world, this small battlefield on a low-level plane might eventually devolve into a chaotic melee involving nearly twenty law-wielding beings.

To be honest, it was getting a little crowded.

“Since ancient times, treasures have belonged to the virtuous! Follow me!” Wanderer Leipu, a late-stage Rank Six powerhouse, barked.

***

Back in Magus World, within Blackhaven of the Western Archipelago...

Nergal had paid little attention to the fighting on the frontlines since returning to the Magus Civilization. His days mostly revolved around recovering from his injuries, occasionally fixing his undead chimera beast, and carrying out routine experiments.

The only part of the frontline conflict Nergal truly cared about was the safety of his daughter, Lorthisra.

She was the daughter his closest friend had entrusted to him before dying. Although Nergal usually acted indifferent toward her, he actually cared about her deeply.

Lorthisra had taken a steady, cautious approach on the battlefield in recent years.

The combat style of this alluring Spider Queen differed somewhat from the seductive goddess image she usually projected.

Lorthisra had mainly been making her fortune by transporting resources through a warehouse in a star domain under the Gallant Federation’s control.

That area had only just been attacked and seized by the Magus Civilization. Leading the war effort in that star domain was Nobin, a peak Rank Seven soul overmage who had recently returned to the Magus Civilization.

As a returning powerhouse, Master Nobin had performed exceptionally well on the battlefield.

His overwhelming electro elemental magic had already inflicted devastating losses on the Gallant Federation.

Despite having only recently returned to the Magus Civilization, Master Nobin had already surpassed Master Zenasus on the Gallant Federation’s threat index.

One had to remember that Zenasus had the Pyro Secret Society backing him. Nobin, on the other hand, had established no faction of his own. He had only himself and his lion.

“The Clash of Civilizations is a stage for these young’uns. How much longer can old-timers like us hold out?” Nergal chuckled, running his fingers over the crystal ball in his hand.

As an “evil soul overmage” who had once brought terror and disaster to countless beings of the Gallant Federation, Nergal now looked like nothing more than a gaunt, hunched old man inside his soul tower in Blackhaven.

His injuries had still not healed.

The federation’s Infinity Light had been far too brutal, leaving him with extremely severe wounds.

After all, Nergal was a mage. He was not like Skybearer, the Giant Mountain God, or Wukong, the Great Monkey of Destruction, who all possessed absurdly tough bodies.

The fact that Nergal had survived a direct hit from the Infinity Light, then joined forces with Valter and the others to fight the Amenkha Empire’s Rank Eight Pharaoh again, was already proof of just how formidable he was.

The crystal ball in his hand emitted a mysterious glow once again.

Nergal, who had delved into various mysteries of truths and conducted extensive research in astrology, seemed to have discovered something.

“Huh?” Sensing a faint thread of fate, he could not help but let out a surprised sound.

He had not actively kept in touch with the frontlines in recent years, so he was not entirely sure where the Magus Civilization’s latest reinforcements were coming from.

The most recent information he had was that the Dragon Clan of the Immortal Realm had joined the war, while factions like the Jie Sect had arrived near the Grand Cosmic World.

Although the Magus Civilization’s high command had not discussed the situation in the Grand Cosmic World much on the main battlefield, Nergal knew they were paying close attention to the fighting there. Especially the threat posed by the Amenkha Empire.

As a member of the high command himself, and someone who had personally clashed with the Rank Eight Pharaoh of the Amenkha Empire, Nergal knew all too well just how terrifying those masters of self-sealing techniques truly were.

Yet the information revealed by the crystal ball seemed to indicate that the Magus Civilization was about to experience a new turning point.

“Could it be that Lilith has returned? With her dark summoning magic and an endless undead army to support her, she could indeed change the entire landscape of the Clash of Civilizations,” Nergal murmured.

A powerhouse like Lilith would be of far greater help to the Magus Civilization than Nobin ever was!

Even with Nergal, Douglas, and the other figures hailed as the Magus World’s strongest mages and knights of this era absent from the Magus Civilization, the Clash of Civilizations had still managed to progress this far.

This alone was enough to prove the Magus Civilization’s extraordinary overall strength and its profound reserves.

“The path of fate is not my area of expertise. I’ll leave that sort of thing for that boy, Jehovah Nordin, to explore. I’ll ask Bev about it later.”

Nergal stretched, then mused, “These old bones of mine have rested long enough. Perhaps I should return to the frontlines and take a look.”

With that thought in mind, Nergal did not set out immediately. Instead, he first contacted Valter, one of the knight overlords who was also recuperating in Blackhaven of the Western Archipelago.

Nergal and Valter, one in the east and one in the west, jointly suppressed all troublemakers within Blackhaven.

For nearly several hundred thousand years, the Magus Civilization had maintained internal stability. Large-scale unrest caused by black mages or black knights had been extremely rare.

Was this truly because of the effective suppression carried out by the major divine towers and knightly orders?

In reality, more than seventy percent of the credit belonged to Nergal and Valter.

“What do you want?” Valter asked coldly after Nergal contacted him.

During the last battle, Nergal had more or less set Valter up. After all, that Rank Eight Pharaoh had not been targeting Valter in the first place.

Nergal let out a few chuckles, perhaps to hide his embarrassment, then got straight to the point.

“I’m planning to head back to the frontlines. Want to come with me? It feels like some major is about to happen,” he said.

Valter cast a cold glance at Nergal from the other side of the elemental light screen.

Behind him, several narrow eyes lit up. His mount, the Fanged Evil Dragon, had opened its eyes.

Both master and servant were still recuperating from their injuries.

After sizing up Nergal for a moment, Valter replied, “Not interested.”

He then cut off the communication.

Nergal was not the least bit bothered by Valter’s reaction.

He merely stroked his chin, smacked his lips twice, and muttered, “He actually dared to hang up on me? Could that guy really be on the verge of breaking through to Rank Eight?”

As that thought crossed his mind, Nergal could not help but look toward the southern part of Magus World.

There, within the Marmett Union Alliance, was another peak Rank Seven powerhouse currently attempting to break through to Rank Eight—a portly man named Rogge.

As if recalling something amusing, Nergal chuckled darkly once more.

“It really is great to be young.”