Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 441: Located

Unlike the war between the Lysian Alliance and its two neighboring human nations, where civilian massacres and plagues are virtually unheard of, the situation here is distinctly more brutal.

This may be because the orders of the knights charged with managing this area are failing in their duties, or perhaps due to the proximity to Blackhaven.

Sein pondered atop his horse.

A burly, bearded man approached Sein on his warhorse and asked, “My lord, are we entering the city?”

“It seems like the Geyzes City has no plans of opening their gates,” he added cautiously.

Sein was currently leading a group of twenty to thirty men.

During wars, old powers were dissolved and new ones were forged.

The men following Sein were underdogs who had rallied to his side three days ago after Sein was swept into a skirmish.

Sein’s formidable prowess pushed his charisma to its peak. Even without doing anything, the ragged men naturally gravitated toward him.

In the chaotic unpredictability of the conflict, aligning with a strong leader like Sein was the only way to their chances of survival.

The bearded man who approached Sein possessed the strength of a junior squire. Yet, amidst the fierce turmoil of a war among three nations, his impact was minimal.

His allegiance to Sein was cemented after witnessing the latter cleave a senior squire in half with a single sword slash.

This decision was not driven by ambition for rank or riches. It was a simple, primal need to survive.

The bearded man was merely a blacksmith, conscripted against his will.

The prolonged war had transformed him from a physically strong blacksmith to a squad leader and a junior squire.

Yet, this ascent came at a high cost—his home was destroyed, and he suffered the loss of vision in his right eye.

The bearded man held no grievances about the harshness of life, partly because he had never ventured beyond his immediate surroundings. Unaware that his “continent” was merely an island, he remained ignorant of the broader world.

Apart from the noble lords who seemed to live in a separate, more privileged sphere, everyone around him faced similar hardships as him in life.

Nevertheless, the bearded man fared relatively well. At least, his strength comparable to a junior squire spared him from starvation.

Many were less fortunate—they were either killed in battle, succumbed to starvation, or perished from the plague.

If adult men faced such hardships, the plight of women and children was even more dire...

Thousand Leaf Coral Island, as vast as three Lysian Alliances, was sparsely populated in comparison. The combined population of its three kingdoms was less than that of a single Lysian Alliance.

During his more than two months on the island, Sein had rarely encountered anyone over the age of fifty.

Despite his strength, Sein was powerless to alter the broader situation.

Although he could change the outcome of a conflict on Thousand Leaf Coral Island, this area was just one of many similarly troubled regions in the north-central part of the Western Archipelago.

Even the Order of Star Knights—the nominal authority in the region—struggled to manage the widespread chaos, let alone Sein.

It was a terrible situation, especially for the inhabitants of Thousand Leaf Coral Island.

Sein looked up at the stone walls he could easily scale with a slight leap but did not immediately respond to the burly man with the beard.

Sein arrived in Geyzes City with no intention of causing a scene while searching for his late mentor’s family. He believed that Master Morsidor would not have approved of such actions if he were still alive.

Turning to face the bearded man, Sein said, “I have no intention of joining this war, nor can I provide any further protection to all of you. You should rely on yourself rather than depend on the charity of others.

“Let’s part ways here. If I were to offer you one piece of advice, it would be to become as strong as possible. When you are strong enough to influence the lives and deaths of others, you won’t have to worry about your own safety.”

“My lord, you...” the bearded man started to say in haste, but Sein had already vanished along with his warhorse before he could finish.

An intermediate geo-attribute energy crystal fell onto the ground with a clatter—a reward for the bearded man who had guided Sein for the past three days.

A young man with gray hair approached the bearded man and asked, “Big Brother, what do we do now?”

He had also witnessed Sein’s abrupt departure. Unlike the others who were still stunned, this young man was quick to respond.

The young man’s question finally snapped the bearded man back to reality.

He bent down to pick up the geo-attribute energy crystal Sein had left him, which would be valuable given his geo-attribute battle qi.

He carefully weighed his options while surveying Geyzes City in the distance.

“We are all civilians from the borderlands between the Delton Kingdom and Joseh Kingdom. The war has destroyed our homes, but we must choose somewhere to settle,” he stated thoughtfully.

“Go to the city gates and tell them we want to join the Delton Kingdom!” he commanded decisively.

The bearded man and his group were a mix of war-displaced stragglers. Most were from the Delton Kingdom but a few, including the bearded man, hailed from the Mainner Kingdom in the south.

Since the majority of the group were former soldiers of Delton Kingdom, they encountered no difficulties in aligning themselves with it.

The bearded man, the young man beside him, and a few others from the Mainner Kingdom shared a tighter bond, given their common origin.

But given the current amicable relations between the Mainner Kingdom and the Delton Kingdom, and their joint efforts in the war, the bearded man and his companions should have no trouble integrating into the Delton Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Sein found his target as soon as he entered Geyzes City.

As a border city within the Delton Kingdom, Geyzes was overseen by the nobility.

Instead of visiting Earl Hank, the most powerful figure in the city, Sein made his way towards a baronial residence.

Two severely weathered stone statues flanked the grand entrance, their presence a silent testament to the residence’s former splendor.

Sein tightly clutched the magic medal he had received from Master Morsidor upon becoming his apprentice, which granted him access to his late mentor’s residence.

The emblem on it matched the crest of House Sneller exactly.

Back when Sein was a mere magic initiate, he had mistaken the pattern for a complex magic array.

It was only today that he finally realized the significance behind it. It was clear that Master Morsidor held his lineage in high esteem.

At this moment, Sein also uncovered the full name of his late mentor—Morsidor Sneller.