Sovereign of the Ashes

Lorianne was stationed at a frontline logistics base, where most of her work over the years had involved brewing potions and treating severely wounded Magus Civilization powerhouses.

As for Sein’s question, she truly did not know the answer.

She had never paid much attention to the situation in the forces of Myriad Springs Worlds.

The only reason she knew anything about the fighting around the Grand Apocalypse World was because Feylis and the others were there.

Across the vast Clash of Civilizations, even Rank Four and Rank Five mages represented only a small fraction of the forces involved.

“When I left Myriad Springs Worlds, I heard the Destruction Spring Overlord mention that Tourmaline’s uncle would be arriving soon. She shouldn’t be in any real danger. I’ll ask the Arriba Chamber of Commerce about her later,” Sein said.

Lorianne gave him a slightly envious look. “All your friends are overlord-level beings now, huh?”

Sein had met not only the Destruction Spring Overlord, but also the Insectoids’ Empress of Blades.

During his diplomatic mission to the Dawn Empire, he had even been granted an audience with the Dawn Emperor.

Seeing the expression on Lorianne’s face, Sein pursed his lips and wisely chose not to mention any of that. Instead, he casually brought up the gifts he had prepared for her.

Six large vials of the Insectoids’ life mucus, Venerable Muge’s overlord blood, Venerable Tianyang’s overlord blood crystal... and also all kinds of experimental materials Lorianne would find useful, gathered from the Myriad Springs Worlds, the Dawn Empire, and the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

The moment Sein brought them out, Lorianne was nearly dazzled by the sight.

Whatever sarcastic remark she had been about to make vanished from her mind. All that remained on her face was sheer astonishment.

“Let’s rent a temporary laboratory, and continue talking there!” Lorianne said, rising to her feet and grabbing Sein by the hand.

Faced with such a vast collection of materials, she had completely lost interest in leisurely finishing her afternoon tea.

Sein froze for a moment when his mentor took his hand, then nodded.

“All right.”

Upon closer observation, one would notice that, aside from a few powerhouses who had come alone to enjoy a moment of peace amidst the chaos of war, most of the customers in the tea house sat together in small groups of two or three.

The ratio of men to women was also surprisingly balanced.

No matter how high one’s life level became, it seemed that members of the opposite sex still tended to get along a little better.

Perhaps this was a subject worth studying from the perspective of lifeology.

***

After spending only a short time at Collector Starport, Sein received orders to proceed to a designated combat base and await an audience with the Magus Civilization’s high-ranking officials.

His main task was to brief them on his experiences in the Myriad Springs Worlds, the Dawn Empire, and Divine Descendants World. In other words, he had to submit a work report.

Belphane and Mel were also expected to do the same.

However, after arriving in the Valthwain Star Domain, the three temporarily went their separate ways.

Belphane had her own social circle, while Mel needed to get in touch with the Dragon Warlock Clan.

Before parting, the three had discussed continuing to fight alongside one another on the civilizational battlefields.

But whether that would actually happen remained uncertain. Ultimately, each of them would be assigned wherever the war effort needed them most.

Mel still owed Sein several hundred years of service as his laboratory assistant, though, so the two would likely have more opportunities to work together in the future.

Before leaving Divine Descendants World, Sein had already given her the Rank Four pyro-attribute secondary divine relic he had promised.

Lorianne had been pretty busy too.

The fighting around the Valthwain Star Domain was exceptionally fierce. At every moment, vast numbers of combatants from both sides were wounded or killed, including law-wielding powerhouses.

The only reason Lorianne had managed to find time to meet Sein was because she had not taken a single day of leave in the past centuries.

After reviewing her request, the command centre granted her ten years of rest and recuperation.

Sein’s situation was considerably better.

He had effectively been carrying out consecutive missions for more than a thousand years, counting from the time he went missing. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

During that period, he had undertaken several important diplomatic assignments and participated directly in the war within Divine Descendants World.

On top of that, he had barely rested after the campaign in the Shadowbat Star Domain came to an end.

Taking all of this into account, Sein should have been entitled to another few hundred years of leave.

“But I already spent nearly four hundred years resting in Divine Descendants World,” Sein said, spreading his hands.

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, who would have known?” Lorianne replied to her only apprentice.

She would have liked to return to Magus World to rest as well, but the situation on the front lines simply did not allow it.

Although Lorianne was stationed at a frontline logistics base and could occasionally make time for her own experiments, conducting research there was completely different from working at a leisurely pace back in Magus World.

“Didn’t you want to conduct more in-depth research into mechanics and the pyro element? Experiments are naturally much easier to carry out after returning to Magus World than they are here on the front lines.”

Lorianne fell silent for a moment before adding, “And advancing to the next rank is also somewhat easier in Magus World than in a foreign environment.”

Although Sein had not said it outright, Lorianne had already sensed that he was preparing to make his push for Rank Six.

Rank Six... that was the same level as her mentor, Feylis.

Given their current strength, perhaps no one would find it strange if their roles as mentor and apprentice were reversed.

Sein nodded. “Still, I plan to visit Grandmaster Feylis first. If I want to advance to Rank Six, I’ll inevitably need her guidance to clear up some of my doubts.”

“I also intend to bring the Divine Tower of Ashes Legion back to Magus World for reorganisation. The Ashen Fortress needs to be redesigned and reassembled as well,” he added, rubbing his chin.

Lorianne was still unaware that Sein could merge several fortresses together, much less transform them into enormous metallic fortress robots.

In fact, even Feylis, the founder of the Verdant Flame Faction, would probably be stunned if she witnessed what her grand apprentice was now capable of.

Those mechanical techniques had already gone far beyond the knowledge of the Verdant Flame Faction. They were certainly not something Feylis had taught him.

Lorianne did not give the matter much thought. After hearing Sein’s plans, she mused, “So you’ll be heading to the Grand Apocalypse World?”

“If time permits, I could accompany you for part of the journey,” she added.

“Huh? You’re coming too?” Sein asked in surprise. He knew full well that Lorianne had only been granted ten years of leave.

Lorianne gave him a smug look. “You brought me so many wonderful gifts. Surely you haven’t forgotten to prepare something as wonderful for your grandmaster and the others as well?”

“How could I possibly miss an opportunity to show off my apprentice?” she said, the corners of her lips curling upward.

“By the way, when are you leaving?”

“I’ll have to wait until the Magus Civilization’s high-ranking officials receive me,” Sein replied.

“I wonder who it will be this time. Is Sir Klopp currently in this star domain?”

“I don’t think so,” Lorianne said. “He seems to have left for another battlefield some time ago.”

***

What Sein did not know was that, around the same time he arrived in the Valthwain Star Domain, several Magus Civilization overlords and Immortal Realm sages had arrived as well.

Among them were the Great Monkey of Destruction and the Great Sage of Demonic Heaven, both of whom had only recently returned from the Teyran battlefield.

On the Immortal Realm’s side, the Lamp-Bearing Buddha of the Buddhist faction, Immortal Emperor Qinghua of the Jie Sect, and Bi’an of the Dragon Clan arrived one after another.

In a sense, this was a high-level meeting between the Magus Civilization and the Immortal Realm.

The Chan Sect had also sent an influential powerhouse to attend, with one of the main topics of discussion being its upcoming military deployment.

With so many overlord-level powerhouses gathered in one place, it was no wonder Lady Bev showed no fear whatsoever toward the Gallant Federation’s threats.

Even if the Gallant Federation unleashed another Infinity Light, it would be difficult for it to pose any real threat to the Magus Civilization’s forces stationed in this star domain.

As for another decapitation plan, that was even more laughable.

With so many Rank Seven and Rank Eight overlords gathered here, the Magus Civilization would have welcomed nothing more than for the Gallant Federation to launch a decisive battle right then and there.

That would be far better than watching the Gallant Federation continue hiding behind its steel defensive lines while the Magus Civilization slowly chipped away at them.