Sovereign of the Ashes

Belphane’s joy was understandable.

Aside from the vast wealth and resources she had gained during the war in Divine Descendants World, she had also seized a peak Rank Five geo-attribute secondary divine relic during the final battle.

The divine relic complemented the battle qi laws she had mastered, while the war itself had given her new insights that would help her grow even stronger.

Mel, on the other hand, had returned empty-handed.

She had actually been quite happy throughout most of the war in Divine Descendants World.

Although she was relatively weak, Sein and Belphane had always made sure to include her whenever they divided their spoils.

After all, Mel was kind of like Belphane’s younger sister and had once served as the envoy to the Dawn Empire.

During the final battle, Mel had set her sights on one of Marduk’s secondary divine relics, only to be defeated by one of his divine consciousness clones.

Had two demon kings not arrived on the battlefield in time, Mel might have lost her life!

Not only had Marduk’s divine consciousness severely wounded her, but she had also failed to secure the divine relic.

In the end, Mel returned to her legion seething with frustration.

Ever since missing out on such a major opportunity, she had been in a terrible mood. At the slightest provocation, dragon flames would flare from her violet hair.

After listening to Belphane’s lighthearted account of Mel’s humiliating experience, Sein studied her for a moment before saying, “You haven’t been at Rank Four for very long, yet you targeted a secondary divine relic that had reached the peak of Rank Four...? Not only that, it had even fused with a native Rank Four Divine Descendant.”

“It’s only natural that you failed. If you lowered your standards by two levels and targeted divine relics in the early or middle stages of Rank Four instead, your chances of success would be much higher,” he advised.

Upon hearing this, Mel puffed out her cheeks and snapped, “Not you too! You’re making fun of me as well!”

“I heard that the God of Black Mist and his group obtained two secondary divine relics as well, and one of them suits me quite well. Can you convince them to trade it to me? I’ll give you a reward you’ll be satisfied with.”

Since Mel needed Sein’s help, she quickly relaxed her puffed-up cheeks and leaned closer, speaking in a sweet, pleading tone. She even tugged gently at the hem of his magic robe.

Sein did not answer her immediately. Instead, he turned toward the God of Black Mist and the others accompanying him.

“You guys also managed to seize two of Marduk’s secondary divine relics?” Sein asked in surprise.

“Luck. Yes, it was all luck,” the God of Black Mist, the Rank Five representative of the group, replied hastily with a sheepish smile.

***

The two secondary divine relics seized by the God of Black Mist and his companions were both Rank Four.

One was hydro-attribute, while the other possessed both aero and pyro attributes.

Including the spoils obtained by the God of Black Mist’s group, the small contingent of Magus Civilization powerhouses led by Sein on the Divine Descendants World battlefield had secured a total of ten secondary divine relics!

That amounted to nearly one percent of all the secondary divine relics Marduk had possessed. This achievement alone made their journey to participate in the war across this large-sized star domain more than worthwhile.

Of course, Marie was the unluckiest among them.

After looking into how the two divine relics had been obtained, Sein learned that the hydro-elemental divine relic had been seized by the God of Black Mist himself. This Rank Five native deity, who had defected to Sein’s side, clearly possessed sharp instincts and had shown excellent judgment on the battlefield.

The dual-attribute divine relic had been obtained through the joint efforts of the God of Scorching Wind, the God of Rotten Soil, and the God of the Black Dog.

The God of the Black Dog had sustained severe injuries during the battle.

After learning the details and following repeated requests from the God of Black Mist, Sein temporarily took “custody” of the two Rank Four divine relics.

Mel watched longingly as the two divine relics fell into Sein’s hands.

The Dragon Warlock, who appeared to be around the same age as Tourmaline, could barely conceal the longing in her eyes.

Sein first acknowledged the contributions made by the God of Black Mist and his companions during the war in Divine Descendants World.

He then promised that they would be rewarded according to their merits in due course.

“Our Magus Civilization upholds the principle of equivalent exchange. Although you have kind of joined my forces, I won’t treat you unfairly or regard you as enslaved creatures,” Sein told the God of Black Mist and his companions.

“I’ll study these two divine relics, but they’ll still be yours. I won’t claim your spoils for myself, and you’ll receive additional rewards as well. If you have any specific requests, feel free to bring them to me.”

The native gods exchanged glances.

Having witnessed the overwhelming might of the Magus Civilization and the strength of its affiliated civilizations, they would not dare make any unreasonable demands even if they were given ten times the courage.

The God of Black Mist stepped forward to speak on their behalf.

“It’s our honor to contribute our strength to Master Sein and the Magus Civilization. We also hope to continue serving both you and the Magus Civilization in the future, and prove ourselves useful!” he declared with passion and conviction.

Sein nodded. After a brief pause, he continued, “As for recommending you for membership in the Magus Alliance, I’ll take care of it as soon as the war in the Divine Descendants Star Domain officially concludes and I return to the Magus Civilization.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t allow those who follow me to be treated unfairly,” he said.

He did not particularly enjoy this sort of social interaction, nor was he especially skilled at it. So, he simply chose to speak plainly.

And that kind of direct reassurance was exactly what the God of Black Mist and the others needed from him!

Compared to reclaiming the two divine relics they had “presented” to Sein, securing membership in the Magus Alliance was far more important and much easier to achieve.

During the war in Divine Descendants World, the God of Black Mist and his companions had witnessed quite a few native gods attempt to defect to the Magus Civilization.

Without exception, they had all been rejected. Some ended up as food for the Insectoids, while others fell beneath the weapons of the Dawn Empire’s powerful warriors.

If they failed to seize this opportunity now, there might not be another chance in the future!

The Magus Civilization was hardly filled with saints. The God of Black Mist genuinely feared that Sein and the civilization behind him might exploit them until they had nothing left, then kill them for their flesh.

Before the overwhelming might of the Magus Civilization, the God of Black Mist and his companions were little more than insects that could be crushed at any moment.

However, after interacting with Sein for some time, the God of Black Mist had come to regard him as one of the more reasonable and trustworthy Magus Civilization powerhouses.

The sooner their membership in the Magus Alliance was confirmed, the sooner they could stop lying awake at night, gripped by fear.

Being a god was not easy either.

One had to wonder whether the ordinary people of the Kales Star Domain could even imagine the hardships endured by the deities they worshipped.

The God of Black Mist and his companions respectfully took their leave one after another. Belphane also had matters of her own to attend to.

Only Mel remained behind and refused to leave.

She desperately wanted one of Marduk’s pyro-attribute secondary divine relics, but she was not wealthy enough to purchase one from either the Dawn Empire or the Insectoids.

With no other choice, she could only pin her hopes on Sein.

Mages were always broke. Experiments cost money. Specimens cost money.

Sein might appear immensely wealthy, but even he constantly felt that it was never enough...

Once Belphane and the others had left, Mel flapped the dragon wings on her back, flew over to Sein, and clung tightly to his thigh.

“Give me a pyro-attribute divine relic, and I’ll do anything you ask!” she begged.

Sein lowered his gaze to her delicate face and asked with interest, “Anything?”

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Mel shuddered slightly.

However, Sein was merely studying the contours of her body and her Dragon Warlock form. He harbored no inappropriate thoughts toward her.

Mel nodded seriously. “I can work as your laboratory assistant for a while.”

“I often help my father with his experiments. Having a Rank Four mage as your assistant should make many of your experiments much easier, don’t you think?” she added, doing her best to sell herself.

Meanwhile, the image that appeared in Sein’s mind was of Mel lying on an experimental table while he conducted a full-body examination and drew samples of her blood.

To be honest, having a living Rank Four Dragon Warlock serve as his “assistant” sounded like a pretty good deal.

“How long are you willing to serve as my assistant?” Sein asked. “After all, Marduk’s secondary divine relic is extremely valuable. If you only intend to help me for a short while, then...”

Mel’s eyes widened. She quickly raised one finger. “One hundred years! How about that?”

Sein slowly shook his head. “At least a thousand. Our agreement will only end after you’ve spent a full thousand years working in my laboratory.

“Law-wielding mages often live for tens of thousands of years, and your potential is certainly not limited to Rank Four. You would merely be spending a thousand years assisting me with my experiments. You could participate in many of them and benefit from the research as well,” he reasoned.

“I don’t think my request is unreasonable. Who knows? This divine relic might even help you advance to Rank Five someday,” Sein added with a smile.

Once this opportunity passed, there might not be another.

Mel could probably rely on her family’s wealth, or simply borrow money from her father, to purchase a suitable divine relic from the Insectoids or the Dawn Empire. However, that would have to wait until she returned home.

Who knew whether any suitable relics would still be available by then?

Even if there were, their prices might have already skyrocketed!

Besides, Sein was right about one thing. Not just anyone was qualified to serve as the laboratory assistant of a mage like him.

Despite being only Rank Five, Sein had repeatedly demonstrated his ability to contend with Rank Six powerhouses. That alone showed how far his attainments in unraveling the mysteries of truth had advanced.

Remaining by his side would undoubtedly be a valuable learning experience for Mel.

With that in mind, the Rank Four Dragon Warlock finally nodded.

What she did not realize was that serving as Sein’s laboratory assistant would occasionally require her to lie on an experimental table and cooperate with his research.

Noticing that Mel still seemed somewhat hesitant despite agreeing, Sein added, “I also have one of Marduk’s peak Rank Six pyro-attribute secondary divine relics in my possession. If you perform well, I may allow you to participate in the research on it.”

“It’s a deal then!”

Mel immediately leaped up and high-fived Sein, sealing their agreement.