Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1529: Reinforce

After leaving the Houllier Star Domain, Sein and his companions were once again greeted by an endless stretch of pitch-black starry void.

According to the star map, they needed to maintain full speed for another seventy-one years before reaching the next medium-sized star domain known as the Hundred Flowers Worlds.

It was neither particularly powerful nor large in scale, since its inhabitants were peace-loving plant creatures.

Because of that, many planes across the Astral Realm preferred dealing with the beings of this star domain.

“Hundred Flowers Worlds... we’re getting closer to home,” Sein murmured as he stood at the bow of the ship.

***

Seventy-one years later, when they finally reached the border of the Hundred Flowers Worlds, Sein and the others were welcomed warmly by its inhabitants.

Sein could clearly sense the sincerity and gentle nature of this medium-sized plane’s creatures.

However, the moment they learned that Sein’s group intended to head toward the Magus Civilization, the plant beings fell into uneasy silence.

Hundred Flowers Worlds lay not far from the Sanok Star Domain, which was currently being crushed under the Magus Civilization’s assault and expected to fall within a century!

Naturally, the Sanok Star Domain continued to deny ever supplying the Gallant Federation with war resources.

Although the Magus Civilization possessed more than enough evidence, not every nearby star domain accepted it as truth.

Because of their proximity to the Sanok Star Domain, the plant beings of Hundred Flowers Worlds feared that the powerful Magus Civilization might soon turn its blades toward them as well.

“I am a mage from Magus World,” Sein said gently once they arrived outside Hundred Flowers World. “Please be assured that our Magus Civilization doesn’t unjustly bully weaker planes or races. As long as you do not collaborate with the Gallant Federation to harm our legions, we will never turn our blades against our allies.”

After so many years wandering the Astral Realm, Sein had gotten used to delivering such diplomatic lines.

Never bullied weaker planes?

What about Pyreling World and White Sand World, which were already conquered by the Divine Tower of Ashes?

Before the Magus Civilization conquered those low-level planes, none of them had ever colluded with the Gallant Federation to slaughter Magus World creatures.

So, truthfully speaking, some words were better heard than believed.

The beings of Hundred Flowers World might be simple, but they were far from foolish. The Rank Four and Rank Five powerhouses, especially, had weathered more than their share of storms.

One major difference between plant beings and other species was that they almost never abandoned their homeplane.

Most plant powerhouses rooted themselves directly into their world, becoming one with it, sharing its blessings and its suffering.

It reminded Sein of the Rank Four Verdant Wilderness God he once encountered in the Verdant Wilderness World.

Medium-sized dendro-attribute planes were extremely rare within the Magus Alliance.

Sein only knew of a few, such as Activator Fairy World.

Such worlds usually produced large quantities of precious plant materials and top-grade restorative resources.

From what Sein understood about the Magus Civilization, the high command would approach this Hundred Flower Worlds not with an urge to conquer, but with a stronger inclination toward peaceful integration.

“As long as Hundred Flowers World hasn’t aided the Gallant Federation, I can guarantee your safety,” Sein said to the Rank Five being before him, one who looked remarkably like a willow tree.

The plant powerhouses exchanged glances. Eventually, a Rank Five being resembling a stalk of peach blossom stepped forward and presented Sein with an aged, bronze-colored vial of condensed flower essence.

“This essence was personally distilled by His Majesty, the Rank Six Snowball Flower King of Hundred Flowers World,” the peach blossom said.[1]

“We swear that we have never colluded with the Gallant Federation. But because the Sanok Star Domain is so close to us, we have conducted resource exchanges with them in the past,” it added honestly.

“I understand,” Sein replied, his eyes lighting up as he accepted the vial of essence. “I will explain this clearly to the Magus Civilization’s leadership. You will not be wrongfully implicated.”

In terms of value, this flower essence was worth less than the Golden Apple, but it was definitely of higher grade than the Amethyst Aphid Honeydew.

Once refined into potions, its value would skyrocket.

After parting ways with the plant lifeforms of Hundred Flowers Worlds, Sein and his companions continued their journey toward the Magus Civilization.

During his years drifting through surrounding star domains, Sein had gained a decent grasp of how other civilizations viewed Magus World.

For most planes, their attitude toward the Magus Civilization came down to one thing—fear.

Hostile forces were actually few and far between, since the Magus Civilization’s foreign policy had been relatively moderate for tens of thousands of years.

Their usual approach was to persuade other worlds to join the Magus Alliance. Only those who refused were met with force and eventual annexation, such as the Neisse Civilization.

Among the surrounding worlds, some actively sought contact with the ever-expanding Magus Civilization.

Others buried their heads in the sand, hiding in remote corners and feigning ignorance, while a few showed quiet, simmering resistance.

Fortunately, Magus World had a powerful opponent to balance things out: the Gallant Federation.

Any plane that truly hated the Magus Civilization had likely already aligned itself with the federation.

Since the Gallant Federation did not expand as aggressively as other civilizations, there was no interstellar organization resembling an “Anti-Magus Alliance” up to now.

Choosing not to turn the entire surrounding star domain into an enemy was one of the smartest decisions ever made by the Magus Civilization’s current leadership, and every generation before them.

A just cause enjoyed abundant support, while an unjust cause found little support.

The Magus Civilization’s edge over the Gallant Federation on the battlefield did not come from some innate superiority, but from the sheer number of allied worlds aligned with it.

In fact, the scale of the Magus Alliance had far exceeded the combined strength of the Gallant Federation and its vassal civilizations.

***

When Sein and his companions arrived at the Sanok Star Domain, several intense battles were already underway.

The Sanok Star Domain was doomed. The medium-sized Sanok Plane itself was on the verge of collapsing under the assault of nearly ten million Magus Civilization troops.

The battles still raging in the Sanok Star Domain were not the result of stubborn resistance.

The only reason the fight had not ended was that, twenty years earlier, the desperate Sanokians had finally received help from the Gallant Federation!

Using long-distance teleportation arrays from undisclosed sites, the federation had sent nearly ten million troops straight into the Sanok Star Domain.

Even so, their arrival could not change the Sanok Civilization’s ill fate. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Still, the Gallant Federation’s actions made it clear that it was not about to abandon its allies without a fight.

The irony, however, was that when the Magus Civilization began its conquest, the Sanok Civilization had sworn up and down that it had no ties to the Gallant Federation.

And yet here the federation was, filling this star domain with its troops.

Without the help of Sanok’s native powerhouses and prior preparations, the Gallant Federation would never have been able to deploy millions of troops to this star domain so quickly.

“We need to be ready for battle. It is time to reinforce the Magus Civilization legions fighting in this star domain!”

Aboard the metal fleet, Sein pointed toward a planet encircled by the Gallant Federation’s forces.

1. Translator’s Note: Chinese Snowball Flower is actually Chinese Viburnum, a large woody shrub native to China with hydrangea-like blooms. ☜