Sovereign of the Ashes

Before finalizing the details of the expedition, Sein spent some time shut away in his laboratory.

His main task was processing the flame ore Gongsun Wudi had given him.

The immense flame law power contained within the ore far surpassed the pyro-elemental enhancement properties of the scepter tip Sein had previously crafted using a low-level planar heart.

Fortunately, the modification itself was not too complicated. He only needed to embed the ore into the scepter rather than dismantle and rebuild the entire weapon from scratch.

As for the two planar hearts originally set into the tip, Sein did not remove them either.

Instead, he retained them as auxiliary components while replacing the scepter’s primary enhancer with the massive ore.

Extraction, refinement, embedding, stabilization...

When these processes were finally complete, Sein smiled in satisfaction as he looked at the upgraded Ashen Scepter’s sturdy shaft that was covered in countless magic runes and the ornament at its tip.

Only a scepter of this caliber could truly complement Sein’s current strength and mastery.

And after learning his lesson from the last incident, Sein had intentionally reinforced the scepter’s durability this time.

In other words, if he ended up swinging this scepter around in close combat on the battlefield again, there should not be any major problems.

By the time Sein stepped out of the laboratory within the magic tower, everyone else at the Princess Guardian’s residence had already completed their preparations for departure.

Gongsun Wudi herself was nowhere to be seen. She was currently at the military barracks.

Still, she had sent word through one of the maids at the residence, informing Sein that he could head directly to the Raging Tiger Army’s camp to meet her.

At that moment, Mel also appeared before Sein.

Diplomatic missions to friendly civilizations like this usually came with plenty of benefits and were considered highly desirable assignments.

Since arriving in the Dawn Empire, Mel had received a considerable number of gifts as well, though naturally, the rare materials she obtained were nowhere near the level of what Sein had acquired.

After all, she had not participated in the Rongyue World War.

The Dawn Empire was simply offering gifts as a gesture of goodwill rather than out of any intention to curry favor.

“Ah, Master Sein, you’re finally out! We should hurry and set off already. The Dawn Empire’s army has been gathering outside the plane for quite a while now,” Mel said as she flew over to him.

Sein nodded.

Before leaving, he turned back for one final glance at the magic towers where he had stayed for some time, along with the residence’s surroundings.

Although Gongsun Wudi was a decisive and capable woman, the atmosphere she cultivated within her residence was refined and elegant, with a touch of warmth.

Even Sein, a Rank Five mage who normally cared little about his living environment, felt a trace of attachment and reluctance to leave the place.

Perhaps he had spent so many years wandering foreign star domains and constantly involving himself in the Clash of Civilizations that he had begun to feel somewhat weary lately.

Deep down, he genuinely wanted to spend some time living in a calm and peaceful environment like this.

Unfortunately, reality gave him little chance to stop and rest.

“Starting to feel reluctant to leave this place, Master Sein?” Mel teased. “The atmosphere here really is nice. Maybe one day I should create a space like this in my Divine Tower of Violet Dragon.”

She then covered her mouth and giggled. “Or perhaps... you’re already missing being trained by the Princess?”

Whenever Sein sparred with Gongsun Wudi, Mel would secretly peek from her own magic tower.

In the past, Sein had always been the one training others. But when it came to Gongsun Wudi, he was the one getting schooled instead.

In response to Mel’s teasing, Sein merely shot her a glare before flying out of the plane ahead of her.

***

Outside the Dawn Empire, thick Dragon Qi churned violently amidst the clouds.

A massive golden Dragon of Fortune coiled in the sky, lifelike and imposing, baring its fangs and claws as it radiated overwhelming ferocity and majesty.

Amidst the deep, majestic sound of war horns, Emperor Gongsun Wuji of the Dawn Empire appeared at the heart of the army, riding atop a golden-white dragon beast.

This overlord-level golden-white creature was unlike any dragon species Sein had encountered before.

It resembled a flood dragon like Black Oblivion to some extent, but its horns were longer and slimmer, its body far more robust, and tufts of platinum fur grew along both sides of its head.

Embedded in the creature’s forehead was a massive verdant dragon crystal that radiated immense energy.

In terms of sheer presence and intimidation, this overlord-level dragon beast actually felt slightly more imposing than Tourmaline’s father.

Of course, that did not mean it was stronger than Baxia. Rather, Baxia was simply too gentle by nature and rarely displayed anger.

Among the dragonkin, Baxia would definitely be considered one of the most mild-tempered.

Still, even the most good-natured creature became terrifying once truly enraged.

The fact that the Immortal Realm Civilization, the Dawn Empire, and the Myriad Springs Worlds had all come to aid Magus World at this critical moment was directly tied to Baxia.

“Advance!”

Gongsun Wuji raised the golden sword in his hand and pointed it toward the distant starry sky.

Amidst the rolling Dragon Qi, the vanguard legions of the Martial Civilization charged through the spatial barrier and charged straight into the depths of the cosmos.

Unlike the Dragon Clan of the Immortal Realm, who were still waiting for the Magus Civilization to reimburse the cost of the teleportation arrays, the Martial Civilization was joining the war in the Magus Star Domain entirely at its own expense.

The total number of troops mobilized by the Dawn Empire this time had already exceeded one hundred million.

Leading the charge were the Dawn Empire’s renowned Valiant Dragon Army and Raging Tiger Army.

The Invincible Valiant Dragon Army!

Long live the Dawn Empire!

Countless battle banners bearing such slogans fluttered across both flanks of the advancing legions.

For this campaign, Gongsun Wuji had practically committed the empire’s finest forces in full.

Every soldier of the Valiant Dragon Army rode a dragon beast whose strength was at least equal to their own!

In terms of elite status alone, the Dawn Empire’s Valiant Dragon Army truly could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Byrne Empire’s famous Dragon Knight Legion.

And because His Imperial Majesty was personally leading this campaign, another rarely seen elite force had also appeared among the vanguard troops—the Martial Emperor’s Guards!

Compared to the Valiant Dragon Army, the Martial Emperor’s Guards was even larger in scale, numbering in the millions.

For generations, this force had served as the imperial family’s personal guards, stationed on the Dawn Empire’s homeplane to protect the imperial palace for Gongsun Wuji.

This deployment into a foreign star domain marked the first time in at least a hundred thousand years that the Martial Emperor’s Guards had entered active combat.

After arriving beyond the plane, Sein flew directly toward the sector where Gongsun Wudi was.

He was not particularly close with the Dawn Emperor, but his relationship with the Princess was considerably better.

At the moment, Gongsun Wudi was overseeing the command center of the Dawn Empire’s second most elite military force—the Raging Tiger Army.

The Raging Tiger Army was enormous in scale. Once all participating units were counted together, their numbers exceeded ten million.

During the previous war in the Rongyue Star Domain, the Raging Tiger Army under Gongsun Wudi’s command had served as the absolute main force on that medium-sized battlefield.

Wherever they marched, few enemies could stand against them.

This time, with the Dawn Emperor personally leading the expedition into the Magus Star Domain, the Raging Tiger Army had clearly been recalled ahead of schedule from the Rongyue Star Domain, where they had originally been tasked with post-war suppression and cleanup operations.

This army was Gongsun Wudi’s personal force.

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