Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 281: Rejection

Half a month ago, the main base was in disarray, but it had since returned to a state of order and tranquility.

The base’s restoration was swiftly achieved thanks to the labor of numerous enslaved creatures and the oversight of knowledgeable and wise mages managing every aspect. In the aftermath of the war, recovery was rapid.

The group of enslaved creatures that accompanied Sein back to the main base seemed very excited.

Their excitement was partly due to the surrounding heaps of pyro elemental creature corpses, which had not decayed thanks to the creatures’ unique nature and the magic prohibition arrays set up by the mages in the fortress.

These undecayed corpses provided a valuable source of nourishment for the enslaved creatures.

During the war, the mages from the Magus World might have regarded these enslaved creatures as mere unintelligent creatures, yet in times of peace, these creatures were treated quite decently.

Other than the valuable remains of pyro elemental creatures, the mages generously rewarded the enslaved creatures with the less valuable meat and carrion.

The enslaved creatures who had served as cannon fodder for the Magus Civilization Army possessed remarkably resilient digestive systems.

Cultures like the Magus Civilization, where intelligence and mental focus catalyzed life’s transformation, remained rare.

Most creatures across various planes and civilizations still adhered to the basic principles of passive evolution.

For these creatures, eating was not only a necessity but a preferred activity.

Even the knights of the Magus World were, in essence, part of this system of passive evolution.

Sein recalled Earl Grantt having a huge appetite, a trait shared by his younger brother Solon, who could also consume astonishing amounts of food.

Apart from the prospect of a feast, the enslaved creatures were also excited due to the assurance of safety that came with their return to the main base.

Despite their status as slaves, these beings from diverse planes possessed a certain level of intelligence.

Those entirely lacking in intellect were invariably the first to perish in the chaos of interplanar wars.

Being able to survive multiple wars and battles was proof of their cunningness and resourcefulness.

These enslaved creatures accompanying Sein did not belong to him but the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, marking them as assets of Grandmaster Feylis.

This dozen or so enslaved creatures hailed from different planes.

With the war temporarily concluded, Sein’s curiosity about the other planes under the governance of Magus Civilization led him to inquire about the origins of the enslaved creatures in his company. From their conversation, he learned that they originated from five different planes.

These planes had all been conquered by Sein’s Grandmaster Verdant Flame tens of thousands of years prior.

Among these enslaved creatures, the antelope creature carrying the engineer on two legs was deemed the most astute, making it more manageable for Sein compared to the reptilian slaves that crawled on all fours.

Upon reaching the heart of the main base, Sein dismissed the other enslaved creatures, retaining only the antelope creature who was carrying the engineer, before heading to the quest hall to report his mission completion.

The quest hall was relatively quiet, with only a few mages present due to ongoing conflicts in the east and patrols in the other three directions.

After swiftly reporting his mission completion and noting his crystal ball’s tally increased by over two hundred magicoins, Sein promptly exited the hall.

The magicoins tallied in the crystal ball would be distributed to all mages by the divine tower post-war.

Nevertheless, Sein could claim his share immediately, albeit with some inconvenience, given the impracticality of transporting substantial magicoins by the divine tower.

Despite having amassed hundreds of magicoins during his years in the Viridian Venom Flame World, Sein recognized that finances could not solely be assessed through earnings.

Mages, including Sein, incurred significant expenses during interplanar wars, from the treatment for injuries sustained in battle to the consumption of energy crystals and potions.

In fact, the resources invested in Sein’s research on verdant flame magic over the past two years within the laboratory had probably exceeded the earnings he made in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Thus, the net gain for most mages from an interplanar war was minimal, with the real value lying in looted specimens, cores, and rare resources. These were assets not quantifiable by magicoins alone.

Due to the varied harvests made by each mage, tracking individual total earnings was challenging for the fortress. They could only average the magicoins distributed for combat missions.

Upon exiting the quest hall, Sein noticed several mages scrutinizing his trophy in the square.

Beads of sweat formed on the forehead of the antelope creature, whose strength neared that of a quasi-ranked creature, under the scrutiny of Rank One and Two mages.

However, the focus of these higher-ranked mages was not on the lowly enslaved creature, who had not yet reached Rank One, but rather on the engineer from the Neisse Civilization that it was carrying.

Following the destruction of several mechas from the Neisse Civilization, many mages found the dead bodies of engineers within them.

The number of engineers found alive, such as this one, was exceedingly rare.

There was only one Rank Two mage among the onlookers, and he was currently observing the bound female engineer with a keen, inquisitive look.

As Sein approached, the Rank Two mage struck up a conversation without waiting for Sein to speak first.

“Is this your trophy?” he asked while gesturing with his pine-colored magic rod toward the engineer in the antelope creature’s grasp.

Sein, masking his displeasure with a composed expression, responded, “Yes, she’s a valuable living specimen I secured during the war.”

The Rank Two mage then proposed, “How about a trade for a Grade Two pyro-attribute energy crystal?”

A Grade Two pyro-attribute energy crystal held a significant value. In fact, it was nearly equivalent to Sein’s entire earnings from his time in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Sein, with unwavering resolve, declined the Rank Two mage’s offer. He shook his head and stated, “This specimen is of great importance to me, and I am not interested in selling her at this time.”

The refusal visibly upset the Rank Two mage, yet he refrained from using his superior strength to coerce Sein.

This restraint highlighted the prevailing ethos of freedom and equality among the Magus World’s knights and mages, safeguarded by the divine tower’s regulations, which deterred higher-ranking mages from overtly oppressing their lower-ranking counterparts.

This principle of conduct was a key factor in the allegiance of countless low-ranking mages to the divine towers.

If they had followed the example of the black mages, valuing power and selfish desires above all, chaos would have engulfed the Magus World much earlier!