Sovereign of the Ashes

The powerful figures of the Immortal Realm had sensed the overlords falling one after another at the heart of the Grand Cosmic World.

Naturally, Vivian and the other Magus Civilization powerhouses sensed it as well.

“How much longer before the Scales of Conservation can be activated again? I think it would be nice to conserve an overlord from the Grand Cosmic World,” Regalis asked.

Vivian glanced down and replied, “Right away.”

The Scales of Conservation were a treasured artifact belonging to the Capiche Business Alliance, a commercial alliance within the Magus Civilization.

Their primary function was to measure and maintain balance.

Many major transactions, both within and outside the Magus Alliance, required the Scales of Conservation to ensure fairness.

Even the members throughout the Magus Alliance had gradually come to recognize their impartiality.

These scales represented a beam of light symbolizing balance within the Astral Realm.

The reason the Magus Civilization had been able to recall Aeberton so quickly from the besieged overlord-level battlefield was naturally because it had paid a price equal to his value.

Just moments ago, an immense amount of wealth, including energy crystals worth hundreds of billions of magicoins, had vanished into thin air as the Scales of Conservation took effect.

At the same moment, Aeberton returned.

Was it worth spending such a vast fortune merely to support Aeberton in his battle against Makhast, the Third Pharaoh of the Amenkha Empire?

For Aeberton and the Magus Civilization, it was undoubtedly worth it!

Now, the Scales of Conservation were being activated once again. This time, their target was the Gluttonous Snake Overlord.

The decision to rescue the Gluttonous Snake Overlord and bring it back to the rear of the star domain was naturally made because the Magus Civilization believed the value it could provide would outweigh the cost of saving it.

More importantly, with the imminent collapse of the Grand Cosmic World, the Magus Civilization needed a native overlord from that world to help seize the abundant spoils of war being carried away by its fleeing forces.

***

In the Grand Cosmic World...

Wispy strands of black mist seeped from countless corners of the world and slowly spread outward.

At the center of this large-sized plane lay an enormous crater basin left behind by the fall of a Rank Eight overlord.

When deciding how to fight, the Third Pharaoh ultimately chose not to rely on his civilizational treasure to enter his third unsealed state.

Instead, in only his second unsealed state, he struck down the Rank Eight Cosmic King with a single punch!

This state was Makhast’s true strength.

Although his third unnsealed state was even stronger, it relied on the unbalanced power of a civilizational treasure and could not be sustained for long.

Moreover, as an overlord devoted to exploring higher realms and pushing the limits of power, Makhast had never been content to rest on his laurels. He was always striving to become stronger.

The First Pharaoh of the Amenkha Civilization had been much the same. After reacihng the pinnacle of his strength, he had rarely relied on the Sealing Chains again.

Even when facing the Magus Civilization’s Rank Nine Supreme Knight Overlord, the First Pharaoh had willingly sacrificed an arm simply to personally experience the might of Rank Nine. Only by doing so could he hope to find a path toward an even higher realm.

Below the battlefield, at the very center of the Grand Cosmic World...

In the middle of the boundless, pitch-black basin, all that remained of the Cosmic King was his face.

Under Makhast’s peerless might, the creature had been flattened into the ground!

Crimson-purple Overlord blood seeped from his remains.

As Makhast gazed upon his fallen opponent, countless black threads shot from his arms. The moment they reached the Cosmic King’s corpse, they began slicing away its skin, slowly and methodically.

This was yet another trophy for him!

The skin of this Rank Eight creature would become another ornament adorning Makhast’s menacing, demonic form.

However, the purpose of an overlord’s skin went far beyond mere decoration.

Through the Amenkha Empire’s unique self-sealing technique, when Makhast next entered his second unsealed state, his power would become even greater!

This was another reason behind the Amenkha Empire’s immense strength. To a certain extent, its powerhouses could be said to possess the innate ability to “grow stronger with every battle”.

As long as they defeated an opponent and personally flayed their skin to use as a vessel for their self-sealing technique, they were bound to become even stronger the next time they unsealed themselves!

This cycle would continue until the day they encountered an opponent they still could not defeat even after unsealing—an opponent they could barely escape from, only to eventually fall at their hands.

This was the path of power followed by the beings of the Amenkha Empire, as well as the path of evolution championed by Makhast and the other Pharaohs.

Compared to the mages of Magus World and their pursuit of truth, this path seemed far simpler and more direct.

However, only after truly embarking upon it would one understand just how difficult it really was.

“So, that guy managed to escape, huh? Oh well. He’s still an overlord with tremendous potential for growth, and the Imperial Blade seems capable of unleashing its true power in his hands. I hope he’ll be even stronger the next time we meet. That should make the battle a little more interesting,” Makhast muttered as he gazed toward the distant edge of the star domain.

The reason he had not killed Aeberton was not only because of the Scales of Conservation. It was also because Makhast had directed most of his offensive power toward the Cosmic King.

As for allowing a tiger to grow stronger and become a future threat, Makhast was not concerned in the slightest. It had been far too long since he had encountered a worthy opponent.

Makhast was not afraid that he might become too strong. He only worried that his opponent would not become strong enough.

At that moment, another wave of strange law fluctuation erupted from the area to Makhast’s left.

That was the western region of the Grand Cosmic World, where the Gluttonous Snake Overlord was battling two Pharaohs of the Amenkha Empire and the monster kings.

Before long, the Gluttonous Snake Overlord’s presence suddenly vanished, along with a small portion of the Grand Cosmic World’s elite legions gathered around it.

Soon afterward, a Rank Eight general of the Amenkha Empire appeared before Makhast.

This general served as the highest representative of the imperial military, just as Makhast represented the Pharaohs’ Temple.

As the embodiment of the Amenkha Empire’s imperial will, the Rank Eight general still showed the utmost respect before Makhast. Even though Makhast’s second unsealed state had yet to end, the imperial general kneeled before him on one knee.

This was not merely because of the difference in their status. Makhast’s power had already won the respect of everyone in the Amenkha Empire.

After all, what the Amenkha Empire valued above all else was power, not rules.

“All projections of the foreign overlords that descended upon the Grand Cosmic World have been completely eradicated! The Rank Eight foreign overlord, Violet Thistlestar, fled after suffering severe injuries. Meanwhile, the native Gluttonous Snake Overlord escaped under the guidance of a special law power, shortly after the Rank Eight knight overlord of the Magus Civilization. We estimate that both of them are still somewhere near the edge of the Grand Cosmic World’s star domain,” the imperial general reported

“Pharaoh, shall we pursue them?” he asked.

The jet-black gun barrel in his hand was still dripping with Violet Thistlestar’s thick, viscous overlord blood.

That foreign overlord had been quite powerful. Unfortunately, it had encountered the even more formidable Amenkha Empire.

The Third Pharaoh did not respond immediately. Instead, he first turned his gaze toward the final overlord-level battlefield still raging across this plane.

There, the Rank Seven Whispering Plume, said to hail from the top-tier Sky Plume World, was still fighting.

That guy had barely arrived at the battlefield before daring to wade into the murky waters of the Amenkha Empire’s battlefield.

It was a reckless move.

And judging by how things were unfolding, he was about to die here.

Unlike Aeberton or Violet Thistlestar, he had no hidden trump card to save himself.

Makhast cast an indifferent glance toward the battlefield, where Whispering Plume was still struggling desperately in a final, futile resistance. He had absolutely no interest in such a weak Rank Seven Overlord!

In Makhast’s eyes, Whispering Plume had nothing of value to offer him aside from a slightly more abundant Overlord Soul.

“Finish that guy off quickly, then seize the wealth of the Grand Cosmic World.”

Makhast turned his gaze away from Whispering Plume and looked out toward the starry sky beyond the edge of the Grand Cosmic World’s star domain.

Although no obvious power fluctuations came from that direction, Makhast could faintly sense an enormous force gathering there.