Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 445: Blackhaven

Leaving Thousand Leaf Coral Island on his journey north to Blackhaven, Sein had to navigate through several blockades.

Although the northern black mages had heavily infiltrated Thousand Leaf Coral Island and other nearby islands, the Western Archipelago still maintained stronger defenses thanks to its knights and mages.

The major divine towers and orders of the knights in the Western Archipelago had also established outposts and observation stations in a few strategic locations.

Sein’s task was to skillfully avoid these checkpoints by passing through their blind spots.

Fortunately, the magic map left by Zorro detailed the safe paths between these points.

The native knights and mages of the Western Archipelago stationed at various forts and magic towers typically limited their patrols to their immediate line of sight and rarely ventured beyond their posts.

This lax surveillance provided significant maneuvering room not only for individuals like Sein but also for the black mages and black knights from the north.

After crossing three islands roughly the size of Thousand Leaf Coral Island, along with more than ten smaller islands, Sein finally reached Mordoron Island within the Blackhaven’s territory.

Mordoron Island was five times larger than Thousand Leaf Coral Island, straddling the size between a medium and a small island in the Western Archipelago.

Known for its craggy reefs, the surrounding sea teemed with a large number of unusual aquatic beasts.

They appeared predominantly savage and brutal, as if subjected to some special concoction.

During Sein’s passage through these waters, the sea monsters remained concealed within the depths.

Sein speculated that their unusual behavior might be related to the invisible shields cast by Tourmaline and White Stella, though he had yet to determine if these shields had additional effects.

Sein believed that Zorro and Faye were currently living on Mordoron Island, but he was unsure if Leena was also here.

To gather information about Leena, he would need to start with Faye and Zorro.

Since they had fled to Blackhaven together, along with the full-fledged black mages from Mystralora City, it was likely they maintained communication.

***

Upon arriving at Mordoron Island, Sein immediately noticed the sparse population.

Despite its size being five times that of Thousand Leaf Coral Island, Mordoron Island had an even lower population density, which was surprising given the frequent conflicts on Thousand Leaf Coral Island.

The landscape was dominated by dense forests and bushes. At the heart of the island, Sein could see a large cluster of volcanoes, with plumes of black smoke rising into the sky.

The island was not only sparsely populated but also poor in resources. Both magic beasts and wild game were notably scarce as well.

It was a continental island that could be described as “barren”. Most mages would hesitate to settle here long-term.

“No wonder the black mages keep raiding southward into the central Western Archipelago. If all the islands in Blackhaven’s territory are as barren as this, they wouldn’t have sufficient resources for their experiments and training, let alone for unraveling profound mysteries of truths,” Sein mused, shaking his head as he surveyed Mordoron Island.

The two locations marked on the magic map were in the central and northern parts of the island respectively.

Having just landed on the southern part, Sein was unsure if the rest of the island mirrored what he had seen so far.

His first destination was the central area noted on the map.

As Sein moved northward, the landscape of Mordoron Island gradually began to change.

Sparse, relatively barren farmlands started to emerge. He observed no large human cities, only several small villages and scattered settlements.

He also noticed lower-class civilians laboring in the fields. Unlike other regions of the Magus World, these grassroots civilians seemed numb and devoid of vigor.

Additionally, Sein observed a conspicuous absence of magic beasts. This led him to wonder if the black mages of Mordoron Island had hunted them to extinction.

Before Sein could ponder this further, a dark yellow ray shot violently from below. Thankfully, a red pyro elemental shield blocked the attack.

A faint pungent odor of acid in the air indicated that the ray was some type of acid magic.

Launching a surprise attack without warning was typical of the black mages. Sein remembered how he had swiftly retreated after failing a surprise attack during an academy quest in Mystralora City.

Since arriving in the Western Archipelago, he had kept his aura hidden.

Sein’s ability to fly in mid-air clearly demonstrated that he was no weakling.

Yet, despite this display of strength, there were still those who dared to launch sneak attacks against him, which clearly indicated that the attackers possessed significant confidence in their own abilities.

Although the black mage failed to ambush Sein, they did not flee.

Sein’s attention was drawn to a wooden cabin on a nearby slope.

"Where did you come from, little one? You've crossed a line! This is Master Bhabaluka’s territory. If you don’t want to incur his wrath, you'd better leave behind three advanced energy crystals!" An arrogant voice rang out from the wooden cabin before a Quasi Mage emerged.

Sein wondered whether his Aura Restraint Spell was exceptionally effective, or if it had simply been too long since a Rank One mage had visited this region.

The magic initiate did not recognize Sein as a Rank One mage and mistook him for a reckless initiate just passing through.

This misunderstanding was not due to the initiate’s arrogance but because Sein had not yet fully adapted to the ways of Blackhaven.

Had he projected his Rank One aura more during his flight, the initiate likely would not have dared to confront him.

The robbery attempt was typical in Blackhaven, a barren and fiercely competitive region where survival, growth, and advancement often necessitate a brutal climb over the corpses of others—both kin and foreign creatures alike.

It was fortunate that Sein had demonstrated his ability to fly upon arriving at Mordoron Island. Had he traversed the island on foot, even intermediate and junior magic initiates, or ordinary humans, might have taken their chances against him.

In Blackhaven, conventional morality and rules were irrelevant. Only strength commanded respect.