Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 896: Law Array

Silver-colored blood sprayed into the sky as the Moknu High Priest’s still-beating heart was wrenched viciously from his chest.

In terms of environmental adaptation, the Moknu were far inferior to the Guran Lizardmen, covered in scales, or the Goul Groundworms, which thrived deep underground.

As a result, over a decade of interplanar warfare had struck the Moknu hardest, claiming the lives of hundreds of millions.

With such a monumental grudge to bear, it was no surprise that the High Priest would sacrifice his own life in a desperate attempt to seal his enemy away forever.

But one had to wonder—what would become of the surviving Moknu, leaderless and deprived of the High Priest’s protection after the war?

The Moknu High Priest had already negotiated with the other Rank Four god and the guardian of this world, forging a solemn pact of laws.

The Guran Lizardmen and the Goul Groundworms agreed to support the survival of the Moknu for the foreseeable future.

For at least the next ten to twenty thousand years, these two allied races—comrades-in-arms in a shared resistance—would honor their agreement and refrain from open hostility.

From a moral standpoint, these native creatures of Gumo Plane were undoubtedly the righteous ones.

Despite knowing their strength was insufficient, they waged a valiant war of resistance against invasion.

The High Priest, preparing to sacrifice himself for this cause, would become the brightest hero in Gumo Plane’s history.

Future generations would remember his name, for he was the savior of hundreds of millions.

Unfortunately... absolute good and evil did not exist.

For the victors, righteousness was theirs to claim, as history was written by the conquerors.

The Astral Realm remained a domain of survival of the fittest. Predators cared little for the thoughts of their prey.

If the Magus Civilization ultimately won, who would remember the Moknu High Priest?

History would reduce him to a naive fool—someone who had dared to resist the inevitable assimilation of Gumo Plane into the Magus Alliance.

Even the native creatures of Gumo Plane, including future generations, would feel no reverence for the High Priest.

He would evoke only scorn and contempt, his legacy reshaped by the destructive power of propaganda.

For more than a hundred thousand years, the Magus Civilization had expanded relentlessly.

This top-tier civilization gradually replaced the “Demon Realm” and “Hell” of the Astral Realm as the new embodiment of terror, despair, power, and invincibility!

To those unfamiliar with the Magus Civilization, the name “Magus World” and its associated rumors easily marked it as an evil and malevolent world!

Even the most powerful otherworldly figures—those who understood the Magus World with exceptional clarity—struggled to agree that it was a “kind and wonderful” place.

To those extraplanar creatures, the Magus World was undeniably evil.

Yet to its native beings, it was a thriving civilization that embodied ideals of goodness, freedom, peace, prosperity, and greatness.

Every knight and mage took pride in their homeplane.

Two completely opposing values—each shaped by perspective—naturally led to different conclusions.

Although the Rank Five Tower Master of Dark Flame dismissed the Moknu High Priest’s sacrifice with a sneer, he could not help but secretly draw a sharp breath.

His arrogance was not just bravado—it was also a calculated strategy to disorient his enemies and bolster the morale of his own forces.

He could not possibly show panic in the face of the trap the High Priest had painstakingly designed, sacrificing his vitality to create. Such a display would only reveal his vulnerability and demoralize his army.

The Tower Master of Dark Flame was no fool; he remained unnervingly composed!

A ball of black flame appeared in the spot where the tower master once stood, blazing like a second sun in the sky.

His transformation into a sun demonstrated a mastery of elemental magic far beyond that of lesser mages. Compared to the elemental bodies of Rank Two mages, his was incomprehensibly superior!

From the black sun, burning dark flames rained down on the battlefield below, unleashing destruction comparable to the might of a forbidden spell.

It was an astonishing display of power!

Even Master Lorianne required magic spices and time to chant and cast a forbidden spell. Yet the Tower Master of Dark Flame achieved the same in mere moments at full strength.

Despite being outnumbered three to one, the Rank Five Tower Master of Dark Flame still possessed overwhelming power.

The resilience of his enemy only fueled the Moknu High Priest’s fury.

As he surveyed the battlefield, his gaze fell on the corner where at least a hundred thousand Moknu soldiers had been reduced to charred remains by the raining dark flames.

A single, tear of silver blood slid from the High Priest’s eye.

The rapid loss of vitality, combined with the anguish caused by the deaths and injuries of his people, drove the Moknu High Priest to channel his hatred directly at the Tower Master of Dark Flame before him.

Thump, thump!

The heart he held in his hand beat faster and faster. At the same time, the radiant glow of the massive silver array, covering a tenth of the entire battlefield, grew ever brighter!

From above, the massive array could be seen encircling the Rank Five mage, trapping him at its very center.

Ensnared alongside the Tower Master of Dark Flame were four to five thousand mages, half of whom were registered members of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

It was clear that the High Priest had deemed not only the Tower Master of Dark Flame but also the thousands of mages accompanying him as sacrifices.

Transformed into a black sun, the Tower Master of Dark Flame focused his area-of-effect spells on the surrounding silver array.

The Magus World mages’ knowledge of elemental array diagrams far surpassed the native extraplanar creatures.

With his vast knowledge, the Tower Master of Dark Flame easily identified the critical nodes of the array that needed to be destroyed in order for him to escape the trap.

Unfortunately, these critical nodes were buried twenty thousand meters below the surface, along the molten river flowing deep underground.

To make matters worse, two native Rank Four gods charged forward, determined to intercept his every attack.

Even with his exceptional talent and boundless power, the Tower Master of Dark Flame found it nearly impossible to dismantle the law array buried so deeply in the ground within a short amount of time.

His expertise in law arrays also made him acutely aware of the terrifying destructive power that this massive silver array possessed.

In truth, no extraplanar creatures should ever be underestimated.

The Moknu, as the dominant race of the Gumo Plane, had unparalleled creative abilities and unique cultivation techniques. They defied gods and revered only their ancestors.

In fact, their High Priest—embodying the race’s highest wisdom—was among the most formidable Rank Four beings in this world!

As the silver array grew ever brighter, surging with ominous energy that signaled its impending activation, even the Tower Master of Dark Flame—accustomed to facing immense challenges with unshakable composure—could not help but feel a flicker of anxiety.