Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1517: Challenges

The Blue Star lifeforms had probably never even heard of the Magus Alliance before this, so their sudden proposal to join it clearly came from someone’s advice.

Sein immediately thought of Misori, the Rank Four female warrior from Klythera.

Among all of Klythera’s powerhouses, Misori had always been the most eager to make peace with Blue Star’s people, right after Karl.

During past negotiations, she was also the one who kept the most private contact with the Blue Star side.

After spending years at Karazo’s side, and with Kram often visiting Sein’s laboratory, Misori had likely developed a good sense of the Magus Civilization’s strength and level of advancement.

And one thing the Magus World mages were famous for was making magic contracts. The Magus Civilization’s strict adherence to contracts and its unwavering commitment to honoring them was nothing short of legendary.

Whether the Blue Star creatures had uncovered some intel or simply gotten lucky, they insisted that Sein serve as the witness when they signed a binding contract to formalize peace between the Klytherans and Blue Star.

Once such a contract existed, breaking it would not be easy.

If the Klytherans ever tried to harm Blue Star again, they would first have to get past the Magus Civilization...

***

When Sein accepted Karazo’s invitation to attend the peace talks aboard a space station orbiting Blue Star, he had already guessed the Rank Five Klytheran’s intentions.

No one in this world could have everything go their way. Even Rank Five beings had to make compromises.

This round of negotiations was far more formal than the previous one, with more law-wielding powerhouses, witnesses, and civilizations in attendance.

Karazo and Sein entered the conference hall from one side, while Blue Star’s council chairman came in from the other, followed by Darian, Beatrice, Auron, and the rest.

Karl was absent for some reason, but his absence did not hurt the balance of the meeting. Both sides had brought enough weight to the table already.

These peace talks would directly shape the stability and peace around Blue Star for millennia, or maybe even longer.

Both Karazo and the Blue Star lifeforms approached the negotiations with far more seriousness than before.

Every clause, even the smallest details, was discussed with care.

The Blue Star lifeforms agreed to help the Klytherans mine Gray Quartz and provide technological support.

In return, the Klytherans would have to contribute in many ways, such as handling tasks that the physically fragile Blue Star people could not manage despite their advanced technology.

To the lower-ranking Blue Star natives, the entire agreement looked like a perfect win-win situation.

Orric was probably the least happy person in the room.

Right after the long meeting ended, he suddenly challenged Karazo.

It was a completely uneven match. Both were Rank Five beings, but Karazo was late-stage while Orric was only mid-stage.

On top of that, Karazo had grown far stronger in recent years thanks to the Gray Quartz.

Yet, Orric still threw out his challenge without hesitation.

After all, it was not a fight to the death.

And as the strongest Klytheran survivor, Karazo naturally would not back down.

But what shocked the room even more was that right after Orric challenged Karazo, Darian—the Rank Five powerhouse from the Shadowbat Civilization—also issued a challenge to Sein.

How strange. The war had been stopped through careful calculation and compromise, yet everyone still seemed deeply dissatisfied.

This was especially true for the four Rank Five beings who had come all this way to support Blue Star.

After going through so much trouble, doing nothing felt unacceptable to them.

“I accept your challenge on behalf of Karazo and Planet Klythera!” Karl, who had vanished during the peace talks, suddenly reappeared and spoke up the moment the meeting ended.

But Karl was only an early stage Rank Five.

This had originally been Orric’s cross-rank challenge against Karazo, so he definitely had not expected Karl to intervene.

The Aquarian prince was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Fine. Then we’ll settle things between us first. Once I beat you, I’ll fight that Klytheran next,” Orric said arrogantly.

He had also heard rumors that in a previous battle, Karl had single-handedly held Karazo at bay.

Yet, Orric was the type who only believed what he saw with his own eyes.

Having come all the way to Blue Star, he was eager to stretch his body!

The two Rank Five powerhouses who had seemed like allies just moments ago were now casually setting up a duel.

Their fight immediately drew the attention of countless observers.

Not only were the other Rank Four Klytherans curious, but even Beatrice and the other powerhouses were interested.

By comparison, the duel between Darian and Sein was kept far more low-profile.

It was not announced as loudly as Orric’s challenge, but it still attracted a sizable crowd.

Karazo came to spectate, along with Kram and even Auron, the Rank Four Voltaran who fascinated Sein.

When Darian issued his challenge, Sein had accepted with conditions.

“I accept your challenge. But in return, I want the Shadowbat Civilization you represent to join the Magus Alliance afterward,” he said.

“I do not have the authority to decide the Shadowbat Civilization’s fate,” Darian replied. “But I can promise that once our duel is over, I’ll visit the Magus Civilization Star Domain you spoke of,” Darian replied solemnly.

“If Magus World is truly as powerful as you claim, and if it genuinely upholds the ideals of equality, freedom, and coexistence you speak of... then I might consider persuading other Shadowbat Civilization powerhouses to join the Magus Alliance.”

Though Karl and Misori had given him vague descriptions of the Magus Civilization’s size and power, Darian still believed that seeing was believing.

Of course, compared to that supposedly overwhelming civilization, he was far more interested in the man standing before him, especially his mask.

Darian was convinced that Sein’s mask held the key to evolving his Bat Sonic Law.

So no matter what, he was determined to fight him.

“My specialty is sonic laws. You’d better stay sharp,” Darian warned as he pulled his black mask down and shifted into a combat stance.

“Heh. And mine is flame law, though I dabble in a few others too. You should stay sharp too,” Sein replied calmly.