Sovereign of the Ashes

After successfully organizing the Divine Tower of Ashes' first general assembly, Sein turned most of his attention to the conquest of White Sand World.

Over the years, he had not neglected infiltration and reconnaissance efforts on this low-level plane.

Even Sein's mentor had requested her close friend, Tower Master of Cipher, to perform a divination on the situation in White Sand World.

The Order of the Green Bounty had also sent scouts into the surrounding regions to gather a wide range of intelligence.

Overall, White Sand World was located at the edge of the Magus Alliance's territory, in a relatively unfamiliar star domain that the Magus Civilization was only just beginning to make contact with.

Before Sein reached Rank Four, the last interplanar war he fought on Bouldrak World had taken place in this same star domain, just on the far side.

The Magus Civilization's efforts to establish contact with White Sand World and its neighboring planes had only begun in recent years, but the results so far had been disappointing.

Since Bouldrak World fell, many planes within this star domain had responded to the Magus Civilization with a complicated mix of reverence and resistance.

What Sein still did not know was that the Magus Civilization had already sent a group of envoys to this star domain more than a century ago.

Instead of visiting White Sand World, the group went to Submerged Wave World, a medium-sized plane with considerable prestige and influence.

There, they made contact with the Sea Emperor Shark, a Rank Six powerhouse.

In response to the Magus Civilization's invitation for Submerged Wave World and its neighboring planes to join the Magus Alliance, the Sea Emperor Shark politely replied that it needed time to consider the proposal.

It also emphasized that it could only speak on behalf of Submerged Wave World.

As a peaceful and neutral plane, Submerged Wave World had never—and would never—interfere in the decisions of the weaker planes around it.

In other words, the Sea Emperor Shark's reply was a polite refusal.

Not only had it declined the invitation, but it also made it clear that it had no intention of representing the Magus Civilization in persuading nearby planes to join the Magus Alliance.

The impending war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation was no longer news to the well-informed civilizations scattered across nearby star domains.

Many large-scale and even top-tier civilizations deep in the cosmos had already begun quietly observing this unprecedented conflict that could erupt within the next few thousand years.

Submerged Wave World was merely a medium-sized plane, and the Rank Six creature known as the Sea Emperor Shark only recently became aware of the growing tension between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

It was precisely because of this awareness that the Sea Emperor Shark was even more unwilling to join the Magus Alliance at such a critical time.

Joining the alliance now offered little benefit. Once war broke out between civilizations, it would almost certainly be sacrificed as cannon fodder.

As the leader responsible for the fate of an entire civilization, how could the Sea Emperor Shark possibly send its people into the fire pit?!

In truth, the Sea Emperor Shark had already heard of the Magus Civilization for ten thousand years.

Its opinion on the Magus World was anything but favorable, especially after seeing how it had conquered and absorbed the Neisse Civilization.

Still, in this world, some things could not be avoided.

The star domain where Submerged Wave World was located shared a border with territory controlled by the Magus Civilization.

For the Magus Civilization, allowing a medium-sized plane in such a strategic position to remain noncommittal is unacceptable.

With the war against the Gallant Federation looming, this star domain could still cause trouble if it chose to side with the Federation, even though it was not on the frontlines.

But given the Sea Emperor Shark's cautious nature, it was unlikely to side with the Gallant Federation before the situation became clearer.

However, as a powerful top-tier civilization, the Magus Civilization paid little heed to Submerged Wave World's viewpoint.

In the face of overwhelming power, there were only two possible outcomes for a world: submission or annihilation.

That said, the Magus Civilization had no intention of adopting an overly aggressive stance, at least not at the outset.

After all, both the Magus World and the Gallant Federation were still trying to win over allies.

However, if Submerged Wave World continued to resist, then the Magus Civilization would have no choice but to send a clear warning.

White Sand World would be the perfect target to make that example.

The impending war in White Sand World and the diplomatic maneuvering around Submerged Wave World were not isolated incidents.

Similar developments had been taking place across the vast star domain under the Magus Civilization's control.

Looking further outward, it was not just the Magus World making moves. The Gallant Federation had also been working to consolidate its power, rallying nearby civilizations to its side.

According to intelligence reports from the Magus Civilization, the Gallant Federation had forcibly annexed a medium-sized world on the outer edge of its territory two hundred years ago.

Apparently, the Federation believed a massive, well-organized counterfeiting ring for Federal dollars was operating in that world.

Just as the Magus World used magicoins to unify and manage the resources of the Magus Alliance, the Gallant Federation and its affiliated factions relied on Federal dollars as their universal currency.

In terms of economic systems, the Magus Civilization had once studied and drawn inspiration from the federation's practices.

At that time, the relationship between the two world civilizations was still friendly—they had even dispatched troops to assist one another in joint operations.

But all of that belonged to the distant past.

Many ancient beings alive today, even those who had lived tens of thousands of years, might not have even heard of those days.

Accusing a world of counterfeiting Federal dollars... Such a claim made it clear that the Gallant Federation no longer cared about preserving its image.

On a side note, the Federation's currency differed significantly from that of the Magus World. Federal dollars often functioned on credit.

In a highly advanced technological civilization, streams of encrypted data could represent vast sums, unlike magicoins, which still existed in tangible, physical form.

In recent years, both the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization had been quietly building up their strength, like two boxers pacing the ring—neither had thrown the first punch, and neither was fully ready.

Yet, the tension was palpable.

Eternal peace was never possible between two powerful world civilizations occupying adjacent star domains.

After all, no two tigers could share the same mountain.

Making distant allies and striking nearby enemies had become a common mindset among many planar civilizations in the Astral Realm.

On top of that, both the Magus World and the Gallant Federation would need to annex equally powerful rivals if they hoped to evolve and grow stronger as civilizations at this point.

***

"The expeditionary force will depart in three years. You can notify your cannon fodder legions to begin their preparations."

In the top-floor laboratory of the Divine Tower of Ashes, Lorianne's voice came through the elemental light screen in front of Sein.

Since Sein still lacked a space fortress to serve as a war platform, his legions would need to borrow his mentor's fortress for this expedition to White Sand World.