Sovereign of the Ashes

After a brief stay in the western temporary fortress, a new advancement mission was issued.

The central fortress' command center ordered a siege mission against the Green Cypress Pine, a demigod-level plant creature located west of the Verdant Leaf World's main continent.

The Green Cypress Pine was one of Verdant Leaf World's three demigod-level plant creatures, and it was not much older than the Ancient Verdant Banyan.

Standing three hundred meters tall with a canopy spanning five hundred meters in diameter, this ancient tree appeared slightly shorter than the Ancient Verdant Banyan, but its root system was believed to be even more extensive.

In addition to this demigod-level giant tree the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had deployed specialized knights and mages to scout out the high-ranked creatures of this world upon its arrival.

According to their investigation, aside from the demigod-level Green Cypress Pine in the west that needed to be eradicated, four other Rank Three plants that could pose a threat had also been identified.

All of these Rank Three plants were enormous; none of them were less than a hundred meters tall, and their root systems were even more developed.

Their massive size, complex root systems, and limited mobility made these giant plants formidable obstacles in the path of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring's advancement, like fortresses waiting to be torn down one by one.

Rooted deep in the ground, these Rank Three plants absorbed energy and nutrients in the soil through their extensive root systems, making them far superior to ordinary Rank Three creatures.

However, their inability to move collectively also made it relatively easy for the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army to besiege them.

It was impossible to find plant creatures of the same life level around the high-ranked giant trees.

According to evolutionary theory, these giant trees absorbed vast amounts of nutrients and sunlight from their surroundings during their long growth, which led to the elimination and suppression of other plant life in the area.

It was no wonder that despite Verdant Leaf World having the highest number of demigod-level plants, the dominant creature group was actually the Bamboo Leaf Dragonflies, an insect species.

If not for the appearance of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army, the Verdant Leaf World's numerous plant creatures would have continued to live, grow old, and die without knowing the concept of hierarchy.

However, with the invasion underway, these plant creatures heeded the guardian's call to unite and resist the advance of the Magus World Army.

For this assault, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had deployed four Rank Three knights and mages, as well as Maya the demigod-level centaur.

Some Rank Three beings were sent to the northern battlefield, while others remained at the central fortress to guard against a potential retaliation from the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly Clan.

There was little suspense in this battle—at least, that was what Sein and most of the knights and mages believed.

Before the conflict, Lorianne was concerned and took extensive precautions.

However, once the war began, it became clear that the battle was proceeding more smoothly than expected.

Perhaps when the Verdant Leaf World war concluded, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring could soon turn its attention to launching an invasion into the low-level plane on the other side.

***

As a Rank Two mage, Sein was assigned to advance westward.

Due to the urgency of the combat mission, Sein had not had the time to fully study the newly discovered Everburning Violet Flame in recent weeks.

Instead, he made a few simple modifications to his existing verdant flame spells, incorporating the properties of the Everburning Violet Flame into them.

The Verdant Flame Sein had mastered had an extremely strong corrosive burning ability, along with considerable toxicity.

Aside from special mages like Sein, who regularly practiced the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique, ordinary Rank Two creatures—even knights with exceptional defenses—could not withstand his flames.

With the addition of the Everburning Violet Flame, Sein's magical destructive power was noticeably enhanced.

The inextinguishable property of the Violet Flame did not clash much with the corrosive nature of the Verdant Flame.

Although Sein had yet to succeed in fully merging the two flames, the increase in destructive power from his slightly modified spells left him excited.

The primary spell Sein currently wielded could be renamed to the Verdant Violet Flame.

The core of the flame remained verdant, but its edges, which were once green, now showed a faint purple hue.

While this subtle change in color might go unnoticed by extraplanar creatures and less perceptive knights, mages like Sein could sense the profound transformation within.

During the second month of advancing westward, Sein received feedback from the central fortress regarding his private gathering quest.

There had been three submissions of the particular purple meteorite that Sein was currently in dire need of.

Through his inquiries, Sein learned that one of these three batches of purple meteorites was discovered by a Rank One mage on the western battlefield.

The other two batches came from the recently expanded northern frontline.

Interestingly, one of the quest submitters from the northern battlefield was a centaur.

The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the purple meteorite on the northern front were quite unusual.

A low-intelligence minotaurling had accidentally swallowed this special ore. Violet flames consumed its body and eventually incinerated it, drawing the attention of other centaurs.

Sein was not concerned about how much the fortress had rewarded the centaur for the find.

However, the frequency with which these purple meteorites appeared, along with the quantity collected from the three sites, suggested that more of them were being found on the northern battlefield.

The purple meteorites discovered on the western battlefield had already been delivered to Sein, but those from the northern battlefield would take a little longer to arrive.

Sein did not have much time to ponder whether these meteorites differed slightly from the ones he had previously found, as he had just been assigned a special combat mission by Sia the Rank Three knight—his mother-in-law.

"Moonlit Willow Tree, a Rank Three plant, stands as the final obstacle before we reach the vicinity of the demigod-level plant, the Green Cypress Pine. The other Rank Three Plants to the west of Verdant Leaf World's main continent are located in very remote areas," Sia explained.

"You should join us in the battle plan discussion to besiege the Moonlit Willow Tree. You won't need to face the target directly. Instead, you'll help us anticipate the ground impacts from the Green Cypress Pine in advance and assist in cutting off some of its roots during the battle," she said to her son-in-law.