Sovereign of the Ashes

Eternal Sand World was a unique sand elemental plane.

A thick, bright yellow sandstorm blanketed the surface of this low-level plane.

Just by observing its planar barrier, one could tell that the strength of its laws far surpassed that of White Sand World!

But the uniqueness of Eternal Sand World did not stop there. Tiny net-winged insects lingered in the sandy sea visible on the surface of the planar barrier.

Upon closer look, it became clear that this sandy sea had also developed a full ecological system of its own.

The sudden arrival of White Sand World's guardian came as a complete surprise to the many creatures of Eternal Sand World.

After all, guardians almost never left their homeplanes.

Even though Orethorn had only sent a clone, it was enough to draw the attention of the strongest being in Eternal Sand World—the Eternal Sand Lord.

It was only thanks to Orethorn's reminder that the Rank Five Eternal Sand Lord finally noticed the elliptical spacecraft outside the plane.

A Rank Five creature's perception was incredibly powerful, and the Eternal Sand Lord was no weakling even among its peers.

Yet even it had failed to detect the spacecraft silently hovering just outside of its own plane.

That alone could be seen as a show of force!

Back then, the guardian of White Sand World had only begun to understand what kind of civilization the Magus World truly was, thanks to the Eternal Sand Lord.

As the most far-sighted being in this medium-sized star domain, the Eternal Sand Lord naturally knew who these "visitors" were.

It had even more or less guessed the reason behind their arrival.

Casting a slightly resentful glance at Orethorn, the Eternal Sand Lord said nothing more and immediately left the plane to greet Sein and the others.

***

The Eternal Sand Lord was far more pragmatic than the Rank Four creatures of White Sand World, and easier to deal with than the Submerged Wave World that the Magus Civilization had approached before.

Sein and the others did not fire a single shot or show the slightest hint of aggression. At the Eternal Sand Lord's invitation, they entered Eternal Sand World.

The Eternal Sand Lord was bold enough to open the planar barrier and welcome a group of powerful foreign beings into its homeplane.

Even the flying vessel, with the combat power of a space fortress, was allowed to enter.

Initially, Sein and the others had considered negotiating from outside the plane to show goodwill on behalf of the Magus Civilization.

But in the end, they accepted the invitation without hesitation, showing no concern that the Eternal Sand Lord might ambush them once they were inside.

That confidence and willingness to trust the other party helped set a positive tone for the meeting from the very start.

When the Magus Civilization straightforwardly proposed that Eternal Sand World join the Magus Alliance, the Eternal Sand Lord did not dance around the issue like the Sea Emperor Shark had.

After a brief pause, it nodded and agreed.

This Rank Five elemental king was impressive—it did not haggle over the terms of joining the alliance.

It did not even voice any demands. It felt as if Magus World had brought Eternal Sand World into the alliance without offering anything in return.

But of course, that was not the case.

The Magus Civilization fully intended to provide significant benefits to both White Sand World and Eternal Sand World, setting an example for the other planes in this star domain and proving that joining the alliance came with real advantages.

During this period, the Eternal Sand Lord would personally act as the local representative of the Magus Alliance, helping to draw in the remaining undecided planes.

And for each successful recruitment, the Magus World would offer it certain benefits.

Of course, these kinds of details were discussed privately, behind closed doors.

There was no need to worry that the Magus Civilization would end up on the losing side of the deal.

Magus World would never commit to something without calculating the long-term return.

Whatever it spent to bring these planes into the alliance, it would recover through other means.

Who could say how many Rank Four or higher beings would still be standing by the time the coming civilizational war was over?

***

Sein took part in the entire negotiation process with the Eternal Sand Lord, but he was not the lead negotiator.

The Magus Civilization's demands, the price they were willing to pay, and the least they expected from the Eternal Sand Lord had all been thoroughly discussed and established ahead of time, so there was no need for Sein and the others to complicate matters.

Their job was simply to act as representatives and to let their presence serve as silent pressure.

For most of the terms proposed by the Magus Civilization, the Eternal Sand Lord agreed without hesitation.

However, two points clearly left the Rank Five elemental king.

One of them was the request for the Eternal Sand Lord to gather and report information on planes within the star domain that refused to join the Magus Alliance, as well as those that might harbor hostility toward the Magus Civilization.

That request clearly rubbed the Eternal Sand Lord the wrong way. Free-spirited by nature, it maintained friendly relations with most planes in the surrounding star domain.

And it was not hard to figure out the real intention behind the Magus Civilization's request.

This Rank Five being, who had a "wide circle of friends", had no interest in damaging its friendships.

Sein and the others understood the concern, but they were not about to budge on their core terms.

"If you can bring most of the planes in this star domain into the Magus Alliance, it might help ease some of the 'misunderstandings' and 'frictions'," Sein said with a smile.

"And... compared to letting the flames of war reach your doorstep, wouldn't it be better for those conflicts to play out somewhere else?" he added.

This was his first time participating in interplanar diplomatic work, but he seemed to be doing a decent job.

Mayne looked at the Eternal Sand Lord with a smile.

With its vaguely humanoid elemental form, the Eternal Sand Lord sat in thoughtful silence.

After a moment of deliberation, it reluctantly agreed to several of the terms it had previously resisted.

Overall, the negotiations went more smoothly than expected.

Meanwhile, Sandy, who had been quietly hiding in the sleeve of Sein's magic robe, seemed to feel safe enough in the Sand Elemental Palace to occasionally come out and play.

The Eternal Sand Lord seemed quite fond of the little creature that usually wrapped itself around Sein's wrist.

It did not take offense at Sein's earlier, slightly veiled threat.

Instead, it raised a hand, and a beam of bright yellow-colored lawful light shot forth, entering Sandy's body.

"What a cute little one. This storm law will help it grow faster," the Eternal Sand Lord said with a chuckle.

"Storm law?" Sein blinked in surprise. That was a seriously valuable gift.

The Eternal Sand Lord had only been able to infuse such a strand of lawful light into Sandy's body so effortlessly because it, too, was a sand elemental creature.

After receiving the gift, Sandy lost interest in playing. Growing drowsy, it slowly transformed into a yellow ring of sand and quietly wrapped itself around Sein's wrist once more.

The Eternal Sand Lord's generosity did not go unappreciated, and Sein made sure to respond in kind, looking for a chance to build deeper working ties with this flourishing plane.

He did not immediately raise the topic of strategic cooperation. Instead, he casually mentioned, "When I was younger, I completed an interplanar trade with Belbacor, the lord of the Mount Lava in your world. I wonder how Belbacor has been doing all these years?"

"Oh? You know Belbacor?" the Eternal Sand Lord asked, clearly surprised.