Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 624: Deployment

Sein’s intensive studies at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were abruptly concluded after just over half a year.

On the eve of deployment, the divine tower had amassed a total of 1,579 full-fledged mages ready to participate in the Thunderfall World War.

While the number of mages might seem small compared to older divine towers, which boasted over ten thousand registered mages and a history spanning tens of thousands of years, it was a considerable achievement.

Considering that the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was established merely three hundred years ago, its rapid growth was remarkable.

In such a short time, it had registered more than two thousand mages, and for a single battle, could rally over fifteen hundred to fight.

This made it the fastest-growing among all the newly built divine towers in the Magus World!

Sein suddenly grasped the underlying importance of the divine tower base loans.

Pressure, indeed, created motivation.

Without the burden of substantial loan debts, the esteemed knights and mages of Rank Four and above might not have been as driven to explore the outside world, seeking to plunder wealth and benefits to expand the Magus Civilization.

Had the Magus Alliance provided divine towers unconditionally to all mages of Rank Four and above from the start, it would likely have extinguished the combative spirit of these formidable powerhouses.

Sein could tell that Master Lorianne was not fond of warfare; she preferred peace and liveliness.

If not for the intense pressure from magicoin loan, she would have chosen to focus solely on her research in the laboratory.

Recently, Sein noticed a significant change in Lorianne’s “world laboratory” from what it had been decades ago, marking her greatest achievement yet.

Regrettably, Sein himself had not been deeply involved in dendrology and lifeology, the fields in which Lorianne excelled.

He wondered who would eventually inherit her legacy, as he had not heard of any plans from her to take on a new apprentice.

As her apprentice, seasoned with ten years of experience in Thunderfall World, Sein was naturally compelled to join the war effort.

However, his employment contract with the three knight orders would need to be revised.

With Lorianne at the helm, the participating mage from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring believed could secure a satisfactory war contract.

This interplanar war would, as expected, include the participation of two women close to Sein—Eileen and Selina.

Eileen, having experienced an interplanar war, was expected to handle the pressures of battle more comfortably this time around.

This would be Selina's first experience with conflict on such a grand scale, so in addition to enlisting Eileen’s guidance, Sein also planned to keep a watchful eye on her.

Decades ago, Sein only had himself to consider, but now he found himself responsible for many others.

He walked on the path of truth alone, yet in life, he was surrounded by friends.

Among those assembling with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring's deployment group, Sein recognized several familiar faces.

Those he had known when he was still an initiate and had remained until now had all become full-fledged mages.

They were the most energetic ones in the group, eager to test their mettle in the upcoming Thunderfall World war.

One friend in particular caught Sein’s attention—Grimm.

Like Sein, Grimm had weathered an interplanar war and was the direct apprentice of Dean Archimedes.

He wore a distinctive mask adorned with white patterns similar to Sein’s Verdant Flame Eye Mask and had a foul-mouthed parrot perched on his shoulder, leaving a memorable impression on all who encountered it.

With his own companion, Sev, on his shoulder, Sein took the initiative to approach the old friend he had not seen in years.

At the same time, Grimm also noticed Sein approaching.

***

As the departure of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s mage troop drew near, Sein was busy reconnecting with old friends.

Meanwhile, Lorianne received a magic transmission from a star domain under the Magus Alliance’s control.

It was from her mentor, Feylis, the Rank Six mage.

The war in the Neisse Star Domain had ended.

Although sporadic resistance lingered, the major conflicts were over.

Forces like the Pyro Secret Society and Steel City now had full control over the large star domain.

Feylis and the others had disengaged from the battle two years ago and had commenced their return to the Magus World.

With their life levels at Rank Four or higher, their journey back would not take long, especially since the Magus World had set up several teleportation arrays within its controlled star domains.

Initially, Feylis and the others were supposed to return half a year ago via teleportation arrays.

However, Feylis delayed her return to give her fifth and sixth apprentices, Andres and Holfson, another chance to advance their ranks in one of the medium-sized pyro-elemental planes.

On the other hand, Master Gregory and Bernice had recently returned to the Magus World.

After the Viridian Venom Flame World war concluded, they did not immediately return to the Magus World, intending instead to accompany their juniors.

However, both had sustained considerable injuries during the conflicts around the Neisse Star Domain.

Years passed, and Feylis urged them to return promptly.

Although members of the Verdant Flame Faction had not seen each other in years, they maintained regular contact.

Feylis’ close relationship with her apprentice also contributed to fostering a harmonious atmosphere within the faction.

Gregory and Bernice were among the first to be informed about the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s participation in the Thunderfall World war.

Having just returned to the Magus World and without taking any breaks, they immediately offered their assistance to Lorianne.

However, Lorianne did not require help from her mentor or seniors for the Thunderfall World war, as it was not a conflict directly affecting the interests of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Essentially, they were merely well-compensated external support for the war effort.

After politely declining offers from her seniors, Lorianne found herself consulting with Feylis more frequently.

Within the flaming screen, Feylis rubbed her brow beneath her dark green bangs, feeling an impending headache. Her hair was a shade darker than Lorianne’s.

“Why have you been asking so much about verdant flame magic lately?” she asked.

Despite being a Rank Six mage who had lived for over a hundred thousand years, Feylis was among the younger members of her rank in the Magus World.

Instead of looking like an old witch, Feylis maintained a youthful appearance.

However, compared to Lorianne, Feylis exuded more maturity and composure than youthful energy and beauty.

At first glance, their relationship could be mistaken for that of mother and daughter, or sisters, rather than mentor and apprentice, as both appeared remarkably young.

Feylis’ question stemmed from her awareness that Lorianne’s master of the pyro elemetal magic and grasp of the verdant flame was... not particularly impressive.

This was why Feylis had taught her dendro magic, which was more suited to her talents, instead of verdant flame magic.

The concepts that had once perplexed Lorianne as a Rank One and Two mage were now much easier for her to understand. With her advanced knowledge, she could effortlessly draw inferences from a single example.

As mages approach the ultimate truths of magic, many principles begin to converge. Therefore, higher-ranked mages found it easier to grasp a wide range of concepts.

Of course, Lorianne was not inclined to disclose the whole truth to Feylis.

Facing her mentor’s question, she stammered, “W-Well, I’ve developed an interest in this area of knowledge recently because I’m conducting an experiment that relates to it...”