Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 590: Soul War Song

Wilson Ernst was his full name, but numerous titles filled the space between his first and last names due to his lineage within the ancient and powerful House Ernst.

House Ernst boasted over a dozen Rank Three beings and several demigod-level experts throughout its history.

In fact, Wilson’s name would also likely be included between the first and last names of House Ernst’s future descendants.

Wilson’s concerns in recent years centered around his daughter, Natalya, who had been slow to choose a partner to continue the family lineage.

In response to the pressure, Natalya had brought home a female knight from the Order of the Steel Fist years earlier.

That female knight was also considered one of the order’s finest women.

Knowing her reputation and family background, Wilson was so stressed that his short, platinum-blond hair began thinning.

Sein was speechless upon discovering that the Sky Knight was Natalya’s father.

Wilson’s prior curiosity about him now made sense; he had likely been assessing Sein as a potential son-in-law.

Wilson proceeded to speak at length to Sein, mostly requesting Sein to look after Natalya.

He noticed a magic potion in his daughter’s hand and surmised it was likely Sein’s creation.

Wilson saw Sein as a potential means to preserve his family lineage—a task that, if successful, would greatly relieve him.

To him, Sein was an ideal son-in-law—handsome, strong, and with a considerable background—a truly rare find.

Conversely, Natalya’s ill temper and her negative reputation from a past scandal with another female knight placed House Ernst at a disadvantage.

Thus, Wilson feared losing such an excellent prospective son-in-law.

Wilson expressed his wishes subtly, though Sein paid little attention.

Soon after, Wilson excused himself to join the pursuit outside the fortress—the only detail Sein had bothered to listen to.

The demigod-level Thunder Beast King had assaulted the fortress base, and the Order of the Steel Fist had no intention of letting it slide.

Given its immense size and weight, it was unlikely the beast could flee the battlefield easily.

As a Rank Three Knight who could still fight, Wilson was expected to rejoin the battle.

After Wilson departed, Natalya was the only one left in Sein’s presence.

Gould and the other knights had already scattered, having heard about Sein and Natalya’s relationship, and dared not linger to intrude on their privacy.

With no one else around, Natalya’s demeanor softened noticeably, perhaps due to her father’s words earlier.

It was almost strange to see the typically rough and ill-tempered female knight now behaving like a delicate girl.

Sein cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “Umm, I think I spotted a few experimental materials over there. I’ll go take a look at them.”

With that, he quickly headed east.

***

To Sein’s surprise, not all the undead creatures he had summoned from the Undead World perished in the conflict. Many were still alive, including those with a life level of Rank One or above.

Among them was the Undead Knight. Despite being scorched black with only half its body remaining, its aura was stronger and more formidable than before.

Tucked under its right arm was the skull of its mount, a skeletal warhorse.

The warhorse was likely not dead either, as a faint soul flame still flickered within the skull.

Sein was truly impressed by the resilience of undead beings. It was difficult to believe they could survive with only half a body or merely a skull.

The bond between the Undead Knight and its mount was evidently deep, for in the heat of battle, the knight had shielded the horse’s head with its own body.

Only a few dozen of the three thousand undead summoned survived the carnage.

While this might seem a heavy toll, it was actually a net gain from a higher perspective—particularly for Sanchez, the skeletal dragon.

All survivors, including the Undead Knight, showed clear signs of advancement.

Once returned to the Undead World and nourished by its rich necromantic energy, they would undoubtedly gain a surge in strength.

For Sanchez, such outcomes were highly desirable.

To an undead sovereign like it, these undead creatures were mere numbers—expendable resources.

Trading three thousand low-level undead creatures for dozens poised to break through to Rank One or higher was a calculated, profitable exchange for Sanchez.

The reason these undead showed signs of advancement was not due to inherent talents. In fact, the typical advancement rate for the lower echelons of the Undead World was low.

Instead, it was the sheer scale of casualties on both sides—totaling millions—that fueled their growth!

The deaths of higher-ranked beings caused necromantic energy to accumulate on the battlefield to unprecedented levels.

If left unattended, these corpses might spontaneously transform into natural undead, apart from decaying rapidly and sparking a large-scale plague.

During the war, the undead creatures, including the Undead Knight, had absorbed a significant amount of necromantic energy, peculiar particles produced during the transition from life to death.

Sein, with his background in necromancy, had some understanding of this phenomenon.

“After I return, I’ll surely be promoted to Rank Two. I look forward to our next meeting,” said the Undead Knight, clutching the skull of its white skeletal warhorse, despite missing half of its body.

Perhaps bloody warfare was what such an undead creature truly sought.

Sein nodded but said nothing further as he escorted the remaining undead to the vicinity of his ruined magic tower, where a special magic array had been etched into the ground.

In his hand, he held a Dark Crystal Rod.

As he chanted his magic spells, a ghostly song resonated behind him.

It was the voice of Azelia. Sein had released the fox maiden earlier to help him organize the large number of materials he harvested from the battlefield.

Azelia’s ethereal voice, imbued with a trace of elemental energy, carried through the air.

Although not a high-ranked being, she was a shaman priestess of a beastmen tribe, a Wind Whisperer on top of that.

In the Beastmen World, Wind Whisperer was akin to that of a fresh initiate in the Magus World.

Priestesses of her level had minimal offensive capabilities. The songs they mastered, known as “soul war songs”, served primarily to soothe the souls of the dead.

Perhaps the sheer number of deaths in the area and the accumulation of souls had stirred something within her, prompting her to sing the war song instinctively.

Azelia’s voice was youthful, attracting the attention of many surrounding knights.

While they could not grasp the full meaning of the war song, they were drawn to its melody and Azelia’s singing voice.

The dark clouds lingered in the sky, yet the soul-soothing song drifted farther and farther away...

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