Sovereign of the Ashes

After Sein entered White Sand World, the Magus World Army quickly set up a fortified base.

Berecca arrived after him. During this time, the native creatures of White Sand World did not make any unusual moves.

Lorianne and the two space fortresses followed shortly after, entering this low-level plane.

When the two massive metallic structures that looked like floating mountains hovered high above the skies of the White Sand World, every weaker lifeform that saw them was gripped by a deep sense of dread.

Lorianne and Berecca both had plenty of experience when it came to conquering low-level planes.

Sein, on the other hand, was still learning the ropes in this war.

While he had the strength to take on Rank Four creatures in one-on-one combat, warfare was a different story... It was better to follow the veterans' lead.

What caught Sein a little off guard was how Berecca, despite being a knight, showed stronger command and planning skills than Lorianne.

For this campaign in White Sand World, Berecca had come up with "eight strategies" and "four principles".

The sea race legions under Sein's command were not a great fit for this battlefield.

So, on Berecca's recommendation, they were reassigned to occupy the remaining seas, defend the fortresses, and handle resource transport.

Meanwhile, Sein's centaur and half-beastman legions proved to be much more effective in this interplanar war.

White Sand World was full of deserts and grasslands—perfect terrain for centaurs to gallop freely.

Their renowned archery skills also made them especially deadly against the winged races native to the plane.

Maya once wielded a golden longbow gifted to her by Hephaes. Infused with a touch of law power, it barely qualified as a "divine artifact".

But after Hephaes fell and Maya was enslaved, that longbow vanished.

When Sein first acquired Maya, he had crafted a few weapons during his downtime. One of them happened to be a silver longbow.

It was made from rare metals sourced from Purgatory, strung with a tendon in the God of Brute Force's leg.

It definitely qualified as a divine artifact and was clearly superior to Maya's old weapon.

Since arriving in White Sand World, Maya had been especially fierce, perhaps eager to prove herself. She led her centaur army from the front with unrelenting force.

So far, one demigod-level insect and several Rank Three creatures from White Sand World had already fallen to her longbow.

The way she charged onto the battlefield now was a far cry from how Sein had first seen her at the auction house in Western Archipelago.

The half-beastmen on the White Sand World battlefield stood out for their toughness and grit.

They were the kind of low-tier legion that would charge ahead with a roar as long as they were given a proper meal.

Leading the half-beastman legion this time was a half-beastman named Ramos—Eugene's son.

Well, not his biological son, but one of his many adopted sons..

Ever since the Bouldrak World War, where Eugene lost several of his own children, he had started taking in half-beastmen and calling them his sons.

Some of these adopted children had already grown strong enough to reach the demigod level, like Ramos.

Others were still infants, wrapped in swaddling cloth.

By treating them all as his own, regardless of their origins or strength, Eugene showed that he truly saw the half-beastmen as his children.

As the God of Half-Beastmen, he believed it was his duty to lead them toward a happy, fulfilling life.

That had always been his deepest wish.

Although Eugene had offered Sein an almost free employment deal this time, Sein still planned to properly reward the half-beastman legion once the war was over.

After all, he was not the type to exploit others.

While Eugene was investing in Sein, Sein was also investing in him.

All in all, the war in White Sand World had gone smoothly since the Magus Civilization Army broke through the planar barrier.

It was not just Sein's legions; even Lorianne's and Berecca's forces were also performing remarkably well on this low-level plane.

Berecca commanded a Hellfire Legion about ten thousand strong. They were semi-flesh, semi-elemental creatures that could barely be classified as part of the giant race.

Titans within the Magus Alliance could crossbreed with Hellfires, producing a new type of giant.

The Hellfire Giants under Berecca's command burned with blazing green flames, a clear sign that they had been specially modified.

They could dive into battle like falling meteors or condense molten lava balls in their hands to bombard enemies—making them a powerful force both in close combat and at range.

"These Hellfires look like the ones modified by Bernice. They must really be close," Lorianne said, raising a brow.

Lorianne and Master Cipher were good friends too, but not close enough to casually lend each other elite legions like this.

***

Half a year later, as the war continued to progress smoothly and the Magus World's vanguard army advanced into the Daegron Expanse in the north and the Blueveil Blossom Basin in the south, Sein received a message.

"Negotiations? What do the native creatures of this world have to negotiate with us? Do they even have the right cards to sit at the table?" Sein chuckled.

"Maybe they want to surrender," Lorianne said, blinking her beautiful verdant eyes.

"Let's hear them out then. The Rank Four creatures of this plane have been avoiding us the whole time. I wonder if they plan to hide themselves away in the navel of the world," Sein said.

"We should also be cautious of any native deities trying to flee," Berecca added. "Given how remote and unfamiliar this star domain is, if any of them escape White Sand World, tracking them down again will be tough."

Sein nodded in agreement. The Sandworm Queen, with her massive body, would probably not get far. But the White-Winged Bird King was another story.

Its flight speed was among the best of all Rank Four creatures.

Even though the lower-tier legions were still fighting, Sein had already stepped forward as the Magus Civilization's representative for negotiations with the natives of White Sand World.

The meeting was set in the Yemison River Basin, located in the central region of the plane.

This area was considered one of the cradles of life in White Sand World. It might not be the navel of the world, but the concentration of law nodes here far surpassed most other regions.

What surprised Sein was that the one representing the natives in these negotiations was none other than the guardian itself.

"Hmph! Are you not afraid I might just kill you right here? Eliminating a guardian would surely speed up our conquest of White Sand World," Sein said coldly.

The guardian did not flinch. It stood its ground and calmly laid out its reasons and terms for the negotiations.

Lorianne had been right. The natives of White Sand World were indeed here to offer terms of surrender.