Sovereign of the Ashes

The outbreak of the Verdant Wilderness World War had compelled the forces of this low-level plane to unite against the invasion.

The only exception in this global conflict was the Emerald Forest, ruled by the Green Spikefur King.

It had long pledged allegiance to Lorianne, the "foreign evil god".

Despite the guardian's call to arms, the Green Spikefur King had chosen to ignore it, focusing solely on protecting its own territory.

From the perspective of Verdant Wilderness World, the Green Spikefur King's action was undoubtedly selfish.

However, the native inhabitants of the Emerald Forest believed that this conservation of power was what made this forest the safest and most peaceful area in the plane.

Even the Twilight Forest, home to the guardian, had been destabilized due to the relentless assault from the invading legions of the Wild Gorilla World.

Despite occasional incursions by gorilla armies and their otherworldly minions, the Green Spikefur King had successfully repelled these threats, preserving the tranquility of its territory.

As a result, more and more native inhabitants were fleeing toward the Emerald Forest, seeking refuge.

Over the last two years, the species population in this forest in the southwestern part of the main continent had nearly tripled.

As Sein watched the black beetles depart, he murmured a question only he could hear.

"Master Lorianne, do we still need to remain in this world?"

Lorianne silently pondered Sein's question.

Over recent years, the mentor and disciple had collected almost all the intelligence they could.

Even six months ago, with Lorianne's assistance, Sein had captured a severely injured Rank Three Wild Gorilla.

It was during that encounter that Lorianne channeled a burst of powerful elemental energy through Sein's hands, allowing him to experience the formidable power of a Rank Four being, albeit through Lorianne's clone.

"Your infiltration mission is essentially complete, and there really isn't anything more of value left in this world. The Magus Alliance's delayed response is starting to test your grandmaster's patience too," Lorianne replied.

"Prepare to return to Emerald Forest. In addition to a direct attack using the space fortress, your grandmaster is considering opening a large spatial gate directly within that forest," she shared.

Sein looked toward the north, then nodded in understanding.

***

When Sein returned to Emerald Forest, he found the once exotic forest noticeably more crowded than it had been at the beginning of his descent several years ago.

Creatures from every corner of Verdant Wilderness World had migrated here, adding to the population.

Despite the Verdant Wilderness World being a dendro elemental plane rich in resources, the influx of so many new inhabitants had pushed the local ecology and resources to their limits.

Following Lorianne's instructions, Sein began constructing the initial node for a teleportation array in Emerald Forest.

This array, a one-time use model provided by the Magus Alliance, was well within Sein's capabilities to set up, thanks to his knowledge in spatial and teleportation technologies.

Besides, Lorianne was there to guide him.

However, as Sein neared completion of the teleportation array, he sensed Lorianne's consciousness beginning to withdraw from him.

He could still feel her presence, but her focus was now probably on coordinating legions in the Magus World.

Although navigating strange planes alone before had hardened Sein's resilience, he still found having Lorianne's presence around highly enjoyable.

During his free time, he often found solace in a black crystal bracelet given to him by Leena.

While the bracelet contained minimal elemental energy, it offered him a profound sense of peace.

During his years in Verdant Wilderness World, Sein had neglected his body tempering experiments.

While he diligently pursued other types of his research in his spare time, body tempering experiments were particularly challenging.

He lacked a suitable, well-equipped laboratory, and most importantly, Sein was uncomfortable with presenting his naked body during the body tempering process in Lorianne's presence.

With Lorianne's consciousness now occupied elsewhere, Sein seized the opportunity to resume his body tempering experiment.

He established a small underground laboratory in the heart of Emerald Forest.

The space conch that Tourmaline gave him provided more than enough room for him to store his equipment.

While awaiting the arrival of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Army, Sein continued his pursuit of truth in this foreign world.

His experiments and thoughts were periodically disrupted by violent tremors from the surface—signs that the Wild Gorilla World was intensifying its invasion of Emerald Forest.

Although these disturbances did not directly impact his experiments, they significantly soured his mood.

One day, after completing a session of body tempering experiments, Sein felt an uncontrollable surge of anger. Fueled by frustration, he considered stepping out of the forest to teach those simple-minded gorillas a lesson.

It was then that Lorianne's transmitted voice finally echoed in his mind once again after a long absence.

"The space fortress has departed. This time, three space fortresses are descending simultaneously. Given that they are heading there at full speed, they should arrive at Verdant Wilderness World within a year at most," she informed him.

"The space passage also needs preparation. Your grandmaster will be descending to Verdant Wilderness World this time, so make sure you impress her!" Lorianne advised.

Sein nodded and snapped his fingers, causing a black elemental cloth to float around his body.

Lorianne, perhaps as an afterthought, complimented, "Nice body!"

"Which towers do those three space fortresses come from?" Sein asked curiously.

"From our Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Floating Flame, and Whispering Flame," Lorianne replied.

"It wouldn't be wise for your grandmaster to mobilize too much power for a direct intervention until a definitive counter-attack strategy against the Wild Gorilla World is decided," she continued.

"However, she has already reached out to all members of the Elemental Gate council and many of her allies in the Pyro Secret Society. Nearly every Magus World powerhouse who has learned of this medium-sized world civilization we've discovered is eager to get involved. Even the Tower Master of Land Academy mentioned it to me recently," Lorianne added with a chuckle.