Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1570: Help

“Hurry and leave. I’ll open a path for you shortly,” Hippolyta said as she stepped in front of her daughter, spear in hand.

The Amazon Queen wore a brown battle outfit made of animal hide.

It was the standard attire of Amazon warriors. Before ascending the throne, Hippolyta had been the strongest warrior among them.

Yet after becoming queen, she had rarely shown that wild, untamed side of herself. Most of the time, she dealt with others in a warm and gentle manner.

Across the entire Marvelous Plane, Hippolyta’s popularity, along with the respect and affection she commanded, even surpassed that of the Guardians.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Beatrice declared, her resolve unwavering.

Her return had required breaking through a blockade established jointly by Arid Expanse World and Planet Aquaria.

At the time, however, the blockade outside Marvelous Plane had not been especially strong. The two civilizations likely never imagined that anyone would dare force their way back under such circumstances.

That was how Beatrice had managed to lead her small group of female warriors back here.

But escaping from the now-sealed Marvelous Plane would be far more difficult, especially after the Arid Expanse World Army unveiled a new technological weapon: an energy membrane that covered the entire sky!

This membrane was not meant to protect Marvelous Plane, but to prevent its inhabitants from escaping.

Its function was the complete opposite of the natural planar barriers.

While Arid Expanse World did possess technological capabilities, its level of advancement clearly was not sufficient to create something of this caliber.

So where had this weapon come from?

The answer was obvious.

Beatrice’s stubbornness drew a soft sigh from Hippolyta.

As her mother, she understood her daughter better than anyone.

In her youth, Hippolyta herself had been just like Beatrice—fearless and impulsive.

But experience, especially after becoming queen, had taught her to rely on judgment rather than brute force when facing adversity.

Because of that, she had rarely fought in recent years.

If not for this joint invasion, Hippolyta would likely never have donned her armor again.

May my daughter grow and change for the better, she silently prayed.

“For the survival of our people and the protection of the vulnerable, you must take on a greater mission. Sometimes, living is harder than dying!” Hippolyta said, gazing at Beatrice solemnly.

It was the first time in thousands of years that her mother had spoken to her with such gravity.

In those words, Beatrice felt the weight of responsibility being passed to her, along with a desperate hope.

Tears streamed down her face.

***

Across the star-filled expanse, millions of Magus Civilization forces marched under Sein’s command, advancing steadily toward the battlefield of the Marvelous Plane.

Coordinating the movement of such a massive army was no simple matter, especially when it came to the allied legions.

Not all of them possessed space fortresses as transports, which significantly slowed the overall pace.

During the journey, Sein had already learned that the situation on Marvelous Plane was extremely precarious.

Facing three Rank Five beings, more than ten Rank Four opponents, and tens of millions of lower-ranking troops, the enemy forces outmatched Marvelous Plane by more than three to one.

Even with the support provided by its homeplane, the situation remained grim for Marvelous Plane.

Long before Sein and his forces set out, word had already reached them that Marvelous Plane’s planar barrier had been breached, pushing the war directly into the plane itself, where both sides were now locked in brutal close-quarters combat.

Enhanced by a wide array of the Gallant Federation’s technological weapons, the enemy legions were simply too powerful for Marvelous Plane to withstand for long.

Under the relentless advance of Arid Expanse World, Marvelous Plane was not the first low-level world to be consumed and destroyed.

Given the plane’s dire circumstances, the Magus Civilization’s genuine need for an ally with a solid reputation in the surrounding star domains, and his personal connection to Beatrice, Sein made a swift decision.

The slower-moving Magus Alliance legions, except for a small number that could board the space fortresses, continued advancing at their original pace alongside the logistics teams.

Sein personally took command of the space fortresses, pushing toward Marvelous Plane at full speed through space-time jumps.

Throughout the Magus Civilization’s long history of external conquests, expendable forces had always advanced first, drawing enemy fire before the knight and mage legions followed.

This time, however, the Magus Civilization’s forces were leading the charge.

Sein’s decision surprised many.

“Three million troops isn’t that many. If we squeeze a bit, our space fortresses should be able to fit them,” suggested the Rank Four knight Gree.

Three space fortresses, including the Ashen Fortress, were under Sein’s direct command, serving as transports for him and the two accompanying Rank Four knights.

Although Reina and Sia had already advanced to Rank Four, neither had established a knightly order of their own, nor did they possess a space fortress due to their limited funds.

Once they returned to Magus World, Sein might find the time to arrange one for each of them.

“The alliance legions dispatched this time are almost entirely elite forces. Burly otherworldly creatures are common among them. Cramming so many beings into our fortresses on such short notice will take time, and disorder is inevitable.

“Time is critical. In my view, the value of Marvelous Plane far outweighs any minor losses we might suffer in this battle,” Sein explained.

“Understood,” Gree replied, placing a hand over his chest.

Sein held absolute authority over this battlefield. Both the Magus Civilization powerhouses and the allied deities now answered to his command.

The Rank Fives accompanying Sein toward Marvelous Plane were the Huusian King and Karazo.

Such combined strength was more than enough to crush Arid Expanse World and Planet Aquaria’s forces on this battlefield.

For that reason, Sein saw little risk in advancing with a small elite force.

Given the intensity of the fighting around Marvelous Plane, the Magus Civilization might even dispatch additional reinforcements later.

***

After separating from the cumbersome main force, Sein and his companions’ travel speed increased dramatically.

Three space fortresses—one large and two small—space-jumped in quick succession, maintaining a triangular formation.

Aside from the Ashen Fortress, which had undergone special reinforcement and modification, the other two fortresses belonging to the Rank Four knights were standard models.

By the time Sein’s group reached the outer perimeter of Marvelous Plane, the battle within this low-level plane was already nearing its conclusion.

A pale yellow light barrier sealed Marvelous Plane off from the outside world. Even so, through its hazy surface, the plane’s desperate situation was faintly visible.

Wearing the Faceless Mask, Sein almost immediately detected a small breach near the plane’s surface.

There, Beatrice wielded a longsword and a metal round shield, desperately holding her ground against two Rank Four soldiers from Planet Aquaria.

She was badly wounded, wincing in pain every time she forced the arm holding her shield to rise.

Blood seeped freely through the gaps in her relatively simple armor.

Behind Beatrice, nearly two hundred thousand Marvelous Plane warriors were being surrounded and hunted by enemy forces that vastly outnumbered them.

Seeing this, Sein ordered, “Let’s go help them!”

With that, he was the first to fly out of the space fortress.