Sovereign of the Ashes

The Magus Civilization's decision to agree to peace talks with White Sand World came as a bombshell to the native creatures.

Naturally, the guardian still remembered how Sein had tried to kill it the last time they met.

So when the Magus Civilization offered to reopen negotiations, the guardian made one demand: it would choose the location.

The Magus Civilization agreed to demonstrate its sincerity.

The second round of talks was held in the Don River Basin, located in the southeastern region of White Sand World.

The planar node energy there was just as dense as the previous site, giving the guardian significant support.

Holding the talks in this location also served to highlight just how far and fast the Magus Civilization had advanced within White Sand World.

For the native creatures, though, it hardly mattered. They never really had a choice.

Representing the Magus World side in this round, besides Mayne and his team of roughly twenty negotiators, was Sein, who once again attended as the dominant force in this interplanar war.

This time, it was a real negotiation.

The last encounter, when Sein alone confronted the guardian, had been a show of force rather than a peace talk.

The Magus Civilization's attitude now caught the guardian off guard. It was both surprised and slightly flattered.

Beyond the group of experienced negotiators, what truly felt surreal to the guardian was the benefits the Magus Civilization offered in exchange for White Sand World's membership in the alliance.

The terms put forward by Mayne on behalf of the Magus Alliance were more than just generous.

Although the guardian could not yet fully grasp the weight of a five-million magicoin aid package, it did understand the rest of the deal.

The most important clause was that once the guardian signed the contract on behalf of White Sand World and officially joined the Magus Alliance, all Magus Civilization legions within the plane would immediately withdraw.

In addition, the Magus Alliance would open commercial channels with White Sand World, encouraging rapid development and growth.

And as for the five million magicoins, that was just a "small gesture" according to Mayne.

The Magus Alliance's generous and seemingly unconditional effort to recruit White Sand World was, of course, driven by the prospect of even greater benefits.

When the negotiations first began, Sein was still unclear about the exact intentions of the Magus World's higher-ups.

But as talks entered their later stages, Mayne took the initiative to ask how White Sand World had learned about the Magus Civilization and the Magus Alliance in the first place.

After the guardian eventually revealed details about Eternal Sand World and the Eternal Sand Lord, the pieces began to fall into place for Sein.

"Ah, Eternal Sand World. We've heard of that plane before, but have yet to make direct contact with it yet. Seems like this might be a good time to reach out," Mayne mused, stroking his chin.

Back when the half-beastmen invaded Bouldrak World, its king refused to surrender—even in death—and the guardian of that era died in battle alongside it.

The Magus Civilization had no idea that this was all influenced by the secret intervention of the Eternal Sand Lord.

That war had merely sparked their curiosity in the Submerged Wave World and Phantom Crow World.

But this current campaign in White Sand World had formally brought both the low-level plane and the mysterious Rank Five Eternal Sand Lord into the Magus Civilization's direct line of sight.

As for why Orethorn mentioned the Eternal Sand Lord in the first place... it really had no choice.

While it did share a friendship spanning decades with that being, in the face of a potentially successful negotiation, and the fate of billions on its homeplane, the guardian felt compelled to disclose to mention its existence to these Magus Civilization elites.

From the Magus Civilization's point of view, the Eternal Sand Lord was nothing more than a low-profile Rank Five entity.

But according to the guardian, it was a well-respected figure within this medium-sized star domain.

It was a unique sand elemental lifeform who had a fondness for making friends across planes and regularly traded with beings from distant star systems.

Over the years, many planes in the region had come under its informal protection.

Thanks to its influence, creatures of the Eternal Sand World had developed a strong culture of interplanar trade.

The moment Eternal Sand World was mentioned, Sein furrowed his brow.

"That name... sounds familiar," he muttered to himself.

Mages had great memories, and after thinking for a moment, Sein recalled something.

Back when he was still an initiate, he had conducted his very first interplanar communication after the regional academy war had ended.

He remembered how Lorianne had scolded him and called the otherworldly creature he had spoken to a simpleton for casually revealing both its true name and the name of its homeplane.

If he remembered correctly, that creature was called Belbacor. He could not help but wonder how that guy was doing now.

He was pretty fond of that otherworldly creature. After all, he had managed to get some pretty decent stuff from it.

Back then, he had been really young and clueless about interplanar trading.

It was pure luck that he had ended up connecting with Belbacor, a simple-minded Mount Lava lord.

If it had been some malicious, cunning foreign being, Sein—who was still in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring at the time—might not have been in real danger, but he definitely would have landed himself in trouble.

His muttering was overheard by the knight standing beside him.

Mayne smiled and asked, "What's wrong? You know this world, Master Sein?"

Sein nodded. "Years ago, I did an interplanar trade with a lord from the Eternal Sand World. I never thought that plane would be located in this very star domain."

"Oh? What a coincidence," Mayne said, raising his brows slightly in surprise.

Meanwhile, the negotiations with White Sand World continued.

Since the Magus Alliance genuinely intended to recruit the plane, the terms, conditions, and expectations laid out were extremely detailed.

This level of formality finally eased the guardian's nerves, which had been on edge from the start.

At the very least, the Magus Civilization currently had no reason to betray it.

If they truly wanted to seize White Sand World by force, they would not have needed to send someone like Mayne at all. Sein and the others would have been more than enough!

However, near the end of the negotiations, the Magus Civilization put forward two conditions that put the guardian in a difficult spot.

One of them came directly from Mayne. He requested that White Sand World act as an intermediary to establish contact between the Magus Civilization and the Eternal Sand Lord.

Ideally, Orethorn would step down from his current role as a guardian and personally lead a Magus delegation to Eternal Sand World.

"Rest assured. The Magus Civilization has no intention of harming the Eternal Sand World," Mayne said with a calm smile. "All we want is to invite them to join the Magus Alliance as well."

"And you should understand... Not just any world can join our alliance. The sooner they make the decision, the better it will be for them, just like your White Sand World. But if they wait too long..." He paused, casually adjusting his white gloves.

"Well, the Magus Civilization won't wait forever."

He chuckled softly.

That faint smile on Mayne's face made the guardian's body tremble ever so slightly.