Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1434: Good News

The Dark Elf Queen was just a brief diversion in Sein’s daily life after returning to Magus World.

After releasing his pent-up frustration, Sein soon received several pieces of good news in succession.

The first was the long-awaited arrival of his mission reward—the Golden Apple.

Even in wartime, the Magus Civilization maintained an impressively high level of efficiency.

From harvesting the Golden Apple in Titan World’s Golden Apple Orchard, through the alliance’s paperwork, to its final delivery into Sein’s hands, the entire process took surprisingly little time.

Upon receiving it, Sein promptly sent the Golden Apple to Lorianne at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Consumed on its own, the Golden Apple would yield the maximum benefit.

However, Sein was only a Rank Four mage. If he had already reached Rank Six, he might have considered keeping it for himself.

While the Golden Apple’s life essence would be diluted when Lorianne refined it into potions, Sein would gain more than ten of them.

For someone at his life level, these potions were more than enough!

Besides, Sein was not the type to forget kindness.

The Golden Apple potion used on Natalya had been Lorianne’s, and he could not allow his mentor to bear any loss because of him.

Besides, refining the Golden Apple into potions was also a rare chance for her to improve her skills in apothecary.

With the experience she had gained from the previous refinement and her deeper grasp of the Golden Apple’s properties, Lorianne might succeed in producing potions of even higher quality and in even greater number this time!

***

In addition to the Golden Apple, Sein received another piece of good news: the top-tier mecha components he had ordered from Sky City, Steel City, and the Capiche Business Alliance had all arrived.

Steel City had even assigned several Rank Four mechanics to work alongside scholars from the Neisse Civilization in designing Yuri’s new mecha frame.

Meanwhile, Sky City took on the development of the firepower and propulsion systems for her mecha.

As for the Capiche Business Alliance, they handled all resource coordination, securing every material available within the Magus Civilization’s reach for Sein.

This was the benefit of having money!

With Sein’s wealth funding the project, Yuri’s next mecha would not only match the combat strength of a Rank Four creature but also far surpass the old silver mecha in both performance and adaptability.

Yuri herself had been in seclusion since their return to Magus World.

During Sein’s experiments, he avoided distracting her and relied on the fox maiden to assist him in her stead.

From the way things looked, once Yuri’s new mecha was assembled, her own strength should reach a new height as well.

***

Neither receiving the Golden Apple nor the progress on Yuri’s new mecha could compare to another piece of good news Sein had recently received.

Leena, who had been out of contact for so long, had finally sent word!

She had successfully advanced to Rank Four and was now preparing to establish her own black tower in Blackhaven!

Her advancement came not only from her own relentless training but also with significant help from the Spider Queen.

The planar node she used during her breakthrough to Rank Four had not been secured through her mentor, the Tower Master of Cinderbones, but through Lorthisra.

Reaching Rank Four was easier than constructing a black tower.

After reconnecting with Sein, Leena eagerly shared her recent breakthroughs and the obstacles ahead.

Though she usually projected strength and coldness, she only dropped her facade and showed her true feelings in Sein’s presence.

She was not seeking his help; she only wanted to share.

In a place like Blackhaven, there were very few people Leena could actually confide in.

Sein also shared with her his own experiences and struggles from recent years.

When he mentioned the dangers he had faced in the Gallant Federation, Leena showed genuine concern for him.

She also comforted him when he told her that Natalya was gravely injured and that her consciousness was fading.

Just as Leena’s body could now shift freely between that of a mature woman and her teenage form, so too did her feelings toward Sein.

At times, she was a delicate woman in need of his care; at others, she was strong, offering him comfort instead.

After so many years, their bond had never wavered, and both were willing to give everything for the other.

Speaking with her eased the weight on his heart.

Death was inevitable; no one could stop it.

He had learned this long ago, from the deaths of his late mother and his first mentor, Morsidor.

Sein had participated in quite a number of interplanar wars, witnessing deaths that numbered in the millions.

But Natalya was not dead yet—there was still a sliver of hope she might awaken.

Sein also reminded himself to focus more on those around him who were still alive.

When he mentioned seeking Lorthisra’s help, Leena told him that she had not seen the Spider Queen recently.

Lorthisra seemed absent from Magus World, and Sein could not reach her through the silver spider ring.

With the Clash of Civilizations underway, it was also about time for Lorthisra and the black mages of Blackhaven in the Western Archipelago to make a move.

Leena also mentioned that immediately after her breakthrough, she had been summoned by her mentor.

It appeared that the Black Tower of Cinderbones would soon undertake a special mission of its own.

***

Twenty years later...

Sein was in the middle of a body tempering experiment inside the Divine Tower of Ashes’ laboratory.

This time, however, the subject was not himself, but Sia.

After her daughter’s severe injury and the death of her ex-husband, Sia seemed to place even greater importance on strengthening herself.

In the past, she had always been reluctant or embarrassed when it came to body tempering experiments.

But this time, she had taken the initiative to ask for Sein’s help.

Tempering her body and battle qi in the training room while undergoing these experiments with Sein produced far better results!

The knight profession itself had always evolved by drawing on the profound knowledge of mages.

Especially before reaching Rank Four, a knight’s growth could be made much smoother and faster with the help of a skilled mage.

By the time the experiment reached its halfway point, Sia was already drenched in sweat. Her Baator Demon transformation also activated on its own.

Natalya’s bloodline transformation was also that of a Baator Demon.

Looking at the female knight before him, who bore such a striking resemblance to Natalya, Sein’s thoughts wandered to certain absurd moments he had once shared with his wife in this very laboratory.

He shook his head and pushed those distracting thoughts aside.

Sein instructed the fox maiden beside him to add the measured ratio of body tempering potions into the experiment chamber, then turned around and stepped out.

The fox maiden gave a clumsy response. She was drenched in sweat too, though hers came from nervousness.

Yuri was usually the one who assisted Sein in these experiments.

With Yuri unavailable, the fox maiden had been asked to fill in.

She was inexperienced and awkward, but at least her mistakes were few.

Leaving the stifling body tempering laboratory behind, Sein was on his way to the alchemy laboratory when he suddenly received a message.

The Order of the Steel Fist had withdrawn to Magus World to regroup.