Sovereign of the Ashes

Despite both being Rank Four creatures, the White-Winged Bird King's body was less than one-tenth the size of Tourmaline's.

Despite her colossal size, the White-Winged Bird King—exhausted from its frantic escape—had completely failed to notice her massive presence in the asteroid belt near White Sand World, thanks to her well-restrained aura.

Tourmaline appeared to have just woken up and was a little grumpy.

The battle between Sein's group and the White-Winged Bird King had stirred up quite a commotion near the planar barrier—there was no way Tourmaline would not have heard it.

With one massive claw, the dragon turtle swatted the bird king back down.

The sheer force behind her casual blow was not something the exhausted Rank Four bird king could withstand.

What truly stunned the White-Winged Bird King even more was not the difference in strength, but rather the terrifying realization that such a powerful creature had remained completely silent this entire time!

In that moment, the White-Winged Bird King felt its skull deform. The powerful impact had crushed its hopes just as thoroughly.

And what truly filled it with despair was the realization that it was doomed.

***

The war in White Sand World ended with Tourmaline's devastating blow.

All the Rank Four powerhouses Sein brought here had fully demonstrated their strength.

The winged creatures of White Sand World, led by the White-Winged Bird King, were thoroughly reduced to slaves after the battle.

The White-Winged Bird King did not die but was captured alive.

The power gap between both parties had been so immense that the bird king could not even mount a resistance.

Sein took its right wing, as he had already planned before the battle even began.

Berecca, still covered in the bird king's feathers after the fight, claimed the left wing.

Those wings were likely the most valuable parts of its entire body. In fact, the bird king had mostly relied on them to wield its aero elemental law power.

Mayne took nothing. Once the war ended, he returned quickly to Magus World with the law contract signed by the guardian.

He would be back though, as his next mission would take him to Eternal Sand World.

By that time, he would come with another contract.

After losing both wings, along with its claws and beak, the White-Winged Bird King ended up in Lorianne's collection.

Technically, the bird king had been defeated by Tourmaline, but since Sein was the one who started the White Sand World campaign, the biggest war prize should have gone to him.

Even so, he gifted the White-Winged Bird King to Lorianne.

After so many years as a Rank Four mage, Lorianne finally had her own living Rank Four specimen.

Bound in layers of binding bines and several magic spells, the White-Winged Bird King would likely spend the rest of its life inside Lorianne's laboratory.

Of course, there was always the possibility that she might sell it if she ever ran low on funds.

After all, a Rank Four enslaved creature usually fetched a hefty price.

For now, the bird king had not submitted. Its vengeful gaze would remain a lasting presence in Lorianne's laboratory.

At least it would not be lonely, as Lorianne kept plenty of other living specimens.

Maybe, just maybe, these creatures that could only communicate through eye contact would become friends one day.

***

After seeing Mayne off, Sein and the others did not immediately depart from White Sand World.

Even though this world had officially joined the Magus Alliance, there were still plenty of resources left to develop.

Orethorn turned out to be more useful than Sein had expected—but it also showed some dangerous, no, downright foolish behavior at times.

Take, for instance, its attempt to beg for mercy on behalf of the "innocent" winged creatures of White Sand World.

The Rank Four White-Winged Bird King had already been captured and dewinged. Yet, the guardian still wanted to protect the rest of the winged tribe.

In response to the guardian's naive appeal, Sein patted its rocky shoulder and said, "That's enough. From now on, the winged tribe will no longer be one of the dominant races of this world."

"I think the sandworms did a great job in this war. You should focus your attention on them going forward," he added.

While he was speaking, the Sandworm Queen happened to be nearby.

This massive, white, plump worm was far more submissive than the guardian, and she had gained the most from the war.

With the winged tribe effectively wiped out, the future allocation of White Sand World's resources would clearly favor them.

And on top of that, the five million magicoins in incoming aid were all essentially hers to manage.

"Oh, by the way, come to the space fortress later with the Sandworm Queen, I'd like to run some tests on both of you," Sein told the guardian casually.

Both Sein and Lorianne were deeply curious about the secrets and untapped potential hidden within those two creatures.

***

The war in White Sand World was, overall, a success.

While it was not possible to completely overexploit the world's resources, long-term sustainable development would still yield a considerable amount.

The Magus Alliance would also compensate the two divine towers and the knightly order that took part in the conquest.

Mayne had not specified the exact figures before his departure, but he hinted that each party's share would be no less than four million magicoins.

That was a very fair number.

This interplanar war alone had earned Sein nearly ten million magicoins in pure profit.

No wonder warfare was known to be lucrative.

Just two more wars like this, and Sein could finally afford that space fortress.

But beyond the resources and wealth, what truly delighted Sein was something he discovered unexpectedly while exploring White Sand World.

At the navel of the plane, Sein spotted a thin wisp of fine sand in the very center.

It was a rare elemental lifeform still in the process of forming—most likely a sand creature.

Despite being a variant of geo elemental creature, it also carried traces of aero elemental power.

The faint but refined law energy it radiated made it clear how rare this creature would be.

It could be considered both a lifeform and a precious lawful material.

For an alchemist like Sein, this was the best kind of find.

Even the materials he had obtained back in Faeloria's Purgatory paled in comparison.

The difference was not in the intensity of law power, but the fact that this fine sand wasalive!