Sovereign of the Ashes

At the navel of the plane on the white planet below, Orethorn looked up at the sky and murmured, "A disaster will soon be upon White Sand World."

Standing beside it were the other two Rank Four beings of White Sand World—the White-Winged Bird King and the Sandworm Queen.

The elemental maelstrom stirred up by the forbidden spell was still sweeping across the heavens.

To coordinate with Sein's forbidden spell, Penetrating Eye, both space fortresses had deliberately held off from firing their cannons.

The fact that the White-Winged Bird King and the Sandworm Queen had been summoned to the guardian's side so quickly spoke volumes about the unity of White Sand World.

Both Rank Four beings clearly held Orethorn in high regard.

Many native creatures across the plane had also begun to organize regional self-defense legions at the guardian's call.

"We cannot just sit back and wait for the crisis to strike. Let me drive off this evil invader who dares to covet our world!" the White-Winged Bird King cried out.

This Rank Four being had once traveled to Submerged Wave World and fought against the invading Phantom Crow Legion. It was no weakling among Rank Fours by any means.

In fact, the White-Winged Bird King was the strongest powerhouse in White Sand World. Its power far surpassed that of the Sandworm Queen and even the guardian!

Orethorn did not immediately respond to the White-Winged Bird King.

The guardian might not have reached Rank Four, but its experience and wisdom far exceeded that of most beings at that level due to its long life.

The unfamiliar legion now stationed outside White Sand World was no ordinary threat.

Even the sheer pressure coming from Sein's forbidden spell surpassed what Orethorn and the Sandworm Queen could match together.

At this moment, only the White-Winged Bird King could hope to stand up to it.

And that did not even account for the two looming space fortresses...

The guardian did not know what they were, but it could grasp their immense power just by observing the scale of those steel constructs.

There were no highly advanced technological civilizations nearby, and Orethorn had never seen such constructs before. But instinct alone told it that they were not to be taken lightly.

The guardian fell into deep thought. It was searching for any possible way to avert this crisis that was about to befall White Sand World.

It did not wish to start a war on its homeplane, but the elemental pressure from the distant sky continued to intensify.

Despite its seventy thousand years of accumulated wisdom, Orethorn found itself without a better answer in this critical moment.

As Sein's forbidden spell was halfway to completion, the impatient White-Winged Bird King could no longer endure the overwhelming pressure weighing down on it.

With a piercing cry, it shot forward like an arrow, launching straight into the sky.

At that very moment, hundreds of thousands of birds across White Sand World took to the skies, their colorful wings beating as they followed their white-winged king into the air.

Not all the birds in this world belonged to the White-Winged Bird tribe, but the White-Winged Bird King was undeniably the "King of All Birds."

With it leading the charge—and the largest, most powerful members of its tribe forming the core—the swarm of birds surged forward, blotting out the sky as they flew toward the area beneath Sein and the two space fortresses.

Since the White-Winged Bird King had taken action, the sandworms and the guardian had no choice but to follow suit.

With the knife already at their throats, they could only fight back.

Even though sandworms below Rank One could not fly, the White Sand World was home to countless insects that could.

In fact, the number of flying insects in this world far exceeded its bird population.

While these insects were usually smaller, under the command of the Sandworm Queen, they surged forward like a tide.

Their numbers and momentum even surpassed that of the aerial forces led by the White-Winged Bird King.

The guardian moved as well, rallying the few aero and geo elementals scattered across White Sand World.

A torrent of dense planar energy surged into its body.

The once hunchbacked geo elemental rapidly grew, transforming into a towering elemental giant over a thousand meters tall.

A layer of condensed geo elemental energy rippled across its rocky body as it raised a massive fist and hurled it skyward with thunderous force.

***

Beyond the plane, the Magus World Army had not expected that the native creatures would actually dare to come out and confront them directly.

Nevertheless, this was a good development.

Compared to slowly cracking open the "hard shell" of White Sand World and then grinding down its life force bit by bit, it would be far more efficient to strike now and crush the strongest native forces in one swift move.

Doing so would make the rest of the conquest go much more smoothly.

Besides, it was Magus World that wanted a decisive battle as soon as possible.

Sein was still in the middle of chanting the forbidden spell, and the process made it impossible for him to withdraw from the casting state.

So, it fell to the two Rank Four knight and mage at Sein's side to meet the charge of the White Sand World's native army first.

Berecca moved first, charging straight toward their fastest and fiercest opponent—the White-Winged Bird King.

Although she had already drawn her longsword to guard Sein earlier, the moment she faced the White-Winged Bird King, she swept her right hand outward and conjured a verdant green longbow.

An arrow appeared in her other hand, radiating a dense pyro elemental aura.

The longbow pulsed with the power of the dendro elemental law. It was clearly a high-grade weapon.

The flaming arrow, infused with what looked like the power of verdant flame, seemed specially forged for her by Bernice.

She let loose the arrow, sending it streaking across the sky before piercing the bird king's right wing.

Even with all its divine power, the Bird King could not block the shot in time. The hit startled it mid-dive.

Without missing a beat, Berecca discarded the longbow and charged in with her verdant green longsword in hand.

Trying to fight in close combat with a bow would not have been a wise move, and Berecca's swordsmanship was more than up to the task.

Meanwhile, Lorianne flew out from Sein's side as well. She cast two layers of thorny shields over both him and Berecca before beginning to unleash her offensive magic.

Sein had already prepared several layers of defense before starting his forbidden spell. Lorianne's shield was just an extra precaution.

Her spellcasting was just as impressive as Sein's.

But while Sein usually fought like a battle mage on the frontlines, Lorianne took the role of a traditional rear-guard mage.

Dendro elemental spells and even some strange, rare poison spells were launched one after another, each executed with practiced ease.

Though positioned behind Berecca, her presence on the battlefield posed an even greater threat to the White Sand World's native creatures than Berecca herself.

As countless winged and insectoid creatures surged through the planar barrier, the two space fortresses hovering in the starry sky opened their weapon decks along the flanks.

The number of cannon barrels revealed was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

At the same time, the mages stationed inside the fortresses received their orders and began preparing for battle.