Sovereign of the Ashes

The negotiations with the two Rank Four mages from the Byrne Empire went quite smoothly.

In truth, there was not much that needed to be discussed—most of the rules and terms had already been set in advance.

The Spider Queen and certain high-ranking officials in the Byrne Empire had already reached a consensus.

Sein and the other two divine tower masters were really just intermediaries helping to finalize the agreement.

This was a large-scale smuggling network spanning the Byrne Empire, Ashenreach, and Blackhaven, with resource flows stretching far beyond Magus World.

It also included the enslaved planes controlled by the Byrne Empire, allied planes it had recruited, and all the foreign planes Blackhaven had conquered and enslaved.

It was clear the connection between the Byrne Empire and Blackhaven had been established long ago and ran deep.

This was not something that only began after Sein built his divine tower in Ashenreach.

The cooperation between these two regions and factions had already been highly synchronized long before that.

The resource exchanges Sein was involved in, worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of magicoins, were just the tip of the iceberg.

Before signing the contract and leaving, the Tower Master of Crimson Golden Dragon kindly offered, "Do you need my help dealing with those annoying fellows?"

He was referring to Crist and his team from the Alveroth Empire.

That Rank Four inspector was still in Ashenreach.

While they had not uncovered anything useful in recent years, their presence had forced the Divine Tower of Ashes to halt its initiate recruitment.

Of course, they did take out quite a few scattered black mages in Ashenreach along the way, which indirectly helped the Divine Tower of Ashes a little.

"No need. Master Crist and his team are just doing their job. They'll leave once they finish their investigations," Sein politely declined the offer with a smile.

If the Tower Master of Crimson Golden Dragon and the others got involved, it would probably mean using the Byrne Empire's pressure to force Crist and the inspection team from Alveroth Empire to back off.

That might work in the short term, but the long-term consequences would not be worth it.

Sein did not wish to go against the Alveroth Empire.

After all, his initiates and the future fresh blood for his divine tower depended on them.

Besides, the involvement of the Tower Master of Crimson Golden Dragon and the others would only make it obvious that something shady was going on in Ashenreach.

That would not be good for both of them.

The Tower Master of Crimson Golden Dragon must have realized this too, so he simply laughed it off and did not bring it up again.

After sending him and the Tower Master of Lava Volcano off, Sein summoned the Goddess of Wealth and the Dark Elf Queen.

He also called for Marie and gave her a few instructions at his residence on the top floor.

From the outside, the Divine Tower of Ashes still appeared to be running normally and in good order.

Whether initiates or full-fledged mages, everyone lived as they had before.

The only real change was that the initiates now talked about the academy war more often among themselves.

The Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War was held every fifty years, with participants ranging from junior initiates to Quasi Mages.

Kayne and Emia had pretty much become idols in the Divine Tower of Ashes Academy.

Their stories would be told until the next academy war, when they would be replaced by the next generation of talents.

***

Crist and his team stayed in Ashenreach for eleven years and six months.

This inspection team from the Alveroth Empire could have stayed for decades if they had been determined to see their investigation through.

But in the end, they left after eleven years because they simply could not keep going.

After the inspection team arrived, their frequent campaigns against black mages in Ashenreach finally provoked a strong retaliation from most of the black mages and even dark creatures living there.

Over the course of just eleven years, there had been no fewer than three hundred ambushes targeting Crist and his team!

Of course, no black mage dared to go after the Rank Four powerhouse himself.

It was the knights and mages under Crist's command who suffered the most.

When Crist finally led his team of over two hundred inspectors out of Ashenreach, only about a hundred and thirty remained.

Fifty had been forced to withdraw due to severe injuries, and more than thirty had lost their lives.

This was not Sein's doing—he was not that extreme. The black mages of Ashenreach had simply been far too ruthless.

Sensing the impending chaos, some restless black mages also took the chance to stir up trouble, leaving the Divine Tower of Ashes in turmoil for nearly a decade.

The Divine Tower of Ashes had suffered immense losses during the past decade.

In Magus World, no newly established divine tower master ever had an easy start.

In terms of financial damage alone, Sein had lost at least two million magicoins.

Even one of the seven floating ports that was nearly finished had been attacked and brought crashing down from the sky.

It felt as if the black mages and dark creatures were venting their frustration, declaring that Ashenreach belonged to them—not to Sein, the Rank Four tower master who had suddenly appeared and built a divine tower there.

When it was time for Crist to leave, Sein personally went to see him off.

Given that most of the chaos in Ashenreach over the past decade had been stirred up by Crist and his team, the Rank Four inspector felt a little awkward facing Sein, whose divine tower had taken such a heavy hit.

If Sein had really only smuggled a few initiates and ended up suffering so much loss, it truly would have been a case of losing more than he gained.

Crist started to feel he might have misjudged this tower master. Sein did not seem as malicious or corrupt as he had imagined.

As for Sein, he had never really cared much about what rules or laws were supposed to mean.

He only believed that strength ruled, and as long as he did not push things too far, he was not really breaking any laws.

Whether he had convinced himself of that over time or had always thought that way, Sein truly believed in his own principle.

And so far, reality had done nothing to prove him wrong.

"I'm truly sorry for causing so much chaos in Ashenreach during this period. I'll report this to the empire and see that you're given some compensation," Crist said apologetically.

"It's fine. I was ready to bear the cost of a campaign against the black mages," Sein replied with a smile.

"Compensation isn't necessary. But I'm hoping the Divine Tower of Ashes can build some ties with a few public magic academies of the Magic Empire. If you have connections, Master Crist, could you introduce me?"

"It'd be my pleasure," Crist said with a nod.