Sovereign of the Ashes

Had the White Sand World legion kept up its relentless, high-speed charge, it would have taken heavy losses.

But since that could have interfered with Sein's casting of the forbidden spell, the Magus World Army would definitely have taken countermeasures.

The elite knight legion, already on standby, would have stepped in to form a solid defensive line in front of Sein.

At the same time, the cannon fodder legions made up of enslaved creatures would have rushed into the native forces of White Sand World, locking them in fierce combat.

However, because the native creatures of White Sand World focused on defense instead, they avoided heavy casualties but also missed their best chance to disrupt Sein's forbidden spell.

The two space fortresses still floated silently in the starry sky, releasing steady streams of energy beams. These steel giants had not yet revealed their full strength.

This time, Sein's forbidden spell—Penetrating Eye—was a single-beam spell focused on local impact rather than wide-range destruction.

Because of this, its casting time was shorter than that of most large-scale, area-of-effect forbidden spells.

On top of that, Sein's magic rod was powered by two divine relics that served as energy sources for forbidden spells, making his casting speed faster than that of ordinary Rank Four mages.

Thanks to precise timing and overwhelming force, the entire battle had followed Magus World's rhythm from the very beginning.

The truth was, no matter what choices the native creatures of White Sand World made or how hard they resisted, all they could do was delay the inevitable...

Red and white energy beams intertwined and shot directly toward the White Sand World legion.

The beam was so wide that it vaporized an enormous hole straight through the center of the enemy formation.

Even after cutting through the legion, the Penetrating Eye spell did not lose momentum. It slammed into the planar barrier of White Sand World with full force.

Ripples spread across the surface of the sturdy planar barrier.

Under Sein's confident gaze, the thrilled faces of the Magus World Army, and the despairing looks of the White Sand World natives, the Penetrating Eye finally pierced through the planar barrier of the low-level plane with a sharp whoosh.

The energy beam had visibly shrunk after piercing the barrier compared to when it was unleashed from Sein's magic rod.

With the planar barrier compromised, White Sand World's law strength had weakened, and its defenses were no longer airtight.

And this was only the beginning. The Magus World Army's power was not limited to forbidden spells alone!

The two space fortresses, which had been charging their energy for quite some time, unleashed their terrifying energy pillars right after Sein's Penetrating Eye spell struck White Sand World.

However, unlike Sein's magic, the space fortresses' charged attacks lacked flexibility.

As a result, while their beams from their main cannons did graze the White Sand World legion, the actual damage they caused was not as devastating as the forbidden spell cast by Sein.

Still, with one beam from the front and two from the rear, the three overwhelming light beams pierced through the planar barrier and crushed the last bit of resolve among the native creatures resisting the Magus World Army.

An agonizing cry came from the heart of the insect legion.

It was the Sandworm Queen. Sein's Penetrating Eye spell had struck her directly, right at the core of their defensive formation.

It was not entirely by chance.

Thanks to the Faceless Mask, not a single secret within the dense insect legion could escape Sein's eyes.

The Sandworm Queen, though hidden within layers of protection, stood out clearly in his view. She radiated energy like a beacon, impossible to miss.

Truthfully, Sein had intended to cripple White Sand World's guardian instead. But the guardian's true body had never left the plane.

Even the elemental projections it had sent beyond the barrier had merged into the mist-like shield formed by the geo elemental creatures, making it hard to pinpoint the guardian's actual energy nodes.

Strategically, severely wounding the guardian would have had a far greater impact than injuring the Rank Four Sandworm Queen.

To Sein, the Sandworm Queen was unimpressive.

This native Rank Four creature seemed to have reached its level through some external means.

The Faceless Mask detected massive reserves of energy within her, but the nature of that energy... it was more like milk stored inside a cow.

Its purpose was not to fight, but to breed.

In truth, the Sandworm Queen was not a warrior.

She was the mother of the swarm—her only function was to lay eggs.

Among the insect legions, every demigod-level sandworm and a portion of the stronger insect races carried her bloodline.

In terms of actual combat power, she was barely on par with a newly advanced Rank Four creature.

She was probably about the same as one of the weakened gods of Faeloria, maybe even weaker.

And so, in Sein's eyes, she was an inferior being.

The agonized screams of the Sandworm Queen sent waves of tension rippling through the insect swarm of White Sand World, plunging the native creatures into even greater chaos.

To Sein, they were little more than a disorganized mob despite their passion and dedication.

"All forces, advance! Conquer this low-level world!" The elemental voices of Sein and Lorianne echoed across the surrounding cosmos.

Energy beams continued pouring down from the two space fortresses, while they slowly advanced toward White Sand World.

Blasts of dense energy and heavy magic bombardment from the fortresses once again tore through the native legions, leaving carnage in their wake.

When the fortresses reached a certain range, the lower decks slowly opened. From within, tens of thousands of enslaved creatures poured out.

To keep their battle instincts sharp, the Magus World Army had intentionally starved these soul slaves ahead of time.

The insect creatures and winged bird species of White Sand World would become their first feast upon setting foot in the plane!

However, the breach in the planar barrier, blasted open by Sein's Penetrating Eye spell and the combined firepower of the space fortresses, was not yet wide enough.

As a result, the entire legion could not surge through all at once.

Had the gap been wider, the number of troops spilling out of the fortress would have been even greater!

After casting the forbidden spell, Sein took a brief moment to rest before soaring toward the breach in the planar barrier with his magic rod in hand.

Having already transformed into his lawful form and drawn power from the divine relics embedded in his rod to cast the forbidden spell, Sein's body had not been significantly drained.

This casting experience was far beyond what it had been before he reached Rank Four, and his combat strength remained largely intact.

As he approached the breach, Sein recalled the example set by Master Gregory during his first interplanar war.

He struck his chest with his magic rod, and with a furious roar, his lawful form began to swell and expand once more.

The once-handsome young Rank Four mage turned into a towering, terrifying giant flame demon.

Verdant green and deathly pale flames surged from his hands as they reached toward the torn edges of White Sand World's planar barrier!