Sovereign of the Ashes

Due to the urgency of their mission, neither of the two space fortresses lingered in the cosmic storm to "take advantage" of the situation.

Aside from that medium-sized storm, Sein had also observed several other unusual phenomena throughout their journey across the Astral Realm.

A milky-white elliptical vortex, a pale purple cloud of mist, and even a colorful meteor that held significant research value.

Unfortunately, by the time Sein reacted, the meteor had already streaked across the sky and disappeared into the distance.

Sein had a strong interest in studying the phenomena scattered throughout the Astral Realm.

Despite having traveled widely within the Magus World, this was the first time he had embarked on a proper journey through the starry sky.

The Astral Realm was indeed vast.

Compared to it, even a top-tier plane like Magus World might be no more than a drop in the ocean.

No one truly knew how many unimaginably powerful civilizations or mysterious phenomena it contained.

"After this war ends, you should take some time to explore the star domains within the Magus Alliance. When I first advanced to Rank Four, I was curious about everything in the Astral Realm, just like you," Lorianne said with a smile.

Traveling through the Astral Realm and crossing between star domains was a privilege reserved for beings of Rank Four or higher.

The dangers hidden within those anomalies could only be handled by those at that level.

Beings below Rank Four were better off not fantasizing too much about the wonders of the Astral Realm.

After all, the more beautiful something was, the deadlier it tended to be.

"I will, Master Lorianne." Sein nodded in reply.

***

With the help of the fortress's interstellar spatial jump ability, Sein and his group finally arrived at the edge of White Sand World two years later.

It was, without a doubt, an uncharted, low-level plane that had not yet been conquered by the Magus Alliance.

Even within Lorianne and Berecca's space fortress, there were no accurate maps of the surrounding star domain.

Once the war was over, the updated star map they created would earn Sein and the others a share of the alliance's rewards upon their return.

As for White Sand World, it seemed blissfully unaware that it had already been marked as the next target.

When two massive space fortresses hovered outside this low-level plane, most of the creatures within still had no idea what was about to happen.

White Sand World was located at a remote corner within a star domain that had not yet been fully explored.

There were no other complete planes nearby, but several resource-rich demiplanes existed in the surrounding region.

The native creatures of White Sand World are primarily aligned with aero and geo elements.

The dominant aero-attribute creatures were white-winged birds, each with an average wingspan exceeding two meters.

They had large black membranes connecting their armpits to their feathered wings, which helped them fly faster, and they also possessed a pair of pale blue claws.

Those that had reached Rank One and above were considered exceptional and could grow to sizes ranging from five to thirty meters.

Among the two confirmed Rank Four creatures in White Sand World, one was the White-Winged Bird King, which measured nearly a hundred meters in length.

For a Rank Four creature, its size was actually on the smaller side.

The dominant geo-attribute creatures were a species of worms that lived beneath the sands. They resembled the sandworms Sein had encountered during his initiate years.

However, these white worms were not herbivorous. They fed on underground minerals and only resorted to consuming meat in extremely rare circumstances.

Because of this, the white desert worms were considered a relatively gentle species.

In this low-level plane, where sand covered more than seventy percent of the surface, much of the thriving ecosystem owed its existence to these worms.

Measuring just a few centimeters to around ten centimeters in length, these worms secreted a semi-transparent mucus from their tails. This was produced through a process involving mineral consumption and sunlight exposure.

This sweet-tasting mucus made up more than eighty percent of the food consumed by most organisms in White Sand World.

However, for the sandworms, this mucus was simply excrement... and occasionally, nesting material.

The Sandworm Queen was the other Rank Four creature in White Sand World.

Although she could not compare to the White-Winged Bird King in terms of raw combat power, she was the matriarch of the entire sandworm population.

Hence, the sandworms and their queen were the highest-priority targets for Sein and the Magus World's invasion forces, given their sheer numbers and key role in the ecosystem.

Aside from these two dominant species, White Sand World was also home to various other native creatures.

However, their low population numbers and limited combat strength had kept them from being included in the primary threat assessments.

White Sand World had always been a peaceful, stable, and isolated plane, with little contact with the outside world.

Throughout its long history, this plane had never really seen war.

The vast population of sandworms had taken on the role of "providers", ensuring that most creatures in White Sand World would never go without food.

The White-Winged Bird tribe, which lived primarily in the skies, fed on a species of black insects native to this low-level plane.

They did not favor the sweet-tasting sandworms as prey.

As a result, the two dominant species had coexisted peacefully for tens of thousands of years.

That said, the native creatures of White Sand World had not been completely cut off from external contact.

For instance, the White-Winged Bird King was aware of the strongest world in this star domain, Submerged Wave World, and had once accepted an invitation from the Sea Emperor Shark to help defend against an invasion by the Phantom Crows.

Orethorn—the guardian of White Sand World that was a geo elemental who had lived for more than seventy thousand years and was the oldest being on the plane—had also once made contact with the Eternal Sand World, another plane in this domain.

Through the Eternal Sand Lord, it traded for a batch of rare geo elemental essences, which improved soil quality in the southern region of White Sand World and helped slow down the plane's over-sandification.

It was also said that the Sandworm Queen's advancement to Rank Four was largely thanks to this guardian's support.

But seclusion did not guarantee lasting peace.

The laws of survival in the Astral Realm were harsh—strength always reigned supreme. Sometimes, even staying low did not guarantee safety.

Now that Sein and other powerful beings from Magus World had set their sights on the resources of White Sand World, who was going to defend it?

The Eternal Sand World, which was only slightly stronger? Or Submerged Wave World, the medium-sized plane?

The Astral Realm was that brutal.

If one day, the Magus Civilization found itself facing a far more powerful world, its fate might not look so different from White Sand World's.

That was why the creatures of Magus World must grow stronger!