Those two space fortresses were naturally meant for Sia and Reina.

Neither of them had returned to Magus World yet. Once they did, Sein planned to take them to either the Capiche Business Alliance or Steel City to commission their custom-built fortresses.

Tourmaline had not returned either. During his last communication with Lorianne, Sein learned that their father, Baxia, had left Aquaria with Tourmaline, Black Oblivion, and several others.

No one knew where they had wandered off to.

The Goddess of Wealth then mentioned that if necessary, she could raise additional magicoins.

The 120 million magicoins currently on hand were merely liquid funds available for immediate use. Given enough time to prepare, she could mobilize over 200 million magicoins for Sein.

Sein’s personal wealth was separate from the funds managed by the Goddess of Wealth, and he had rarely interfered in her financial operations.

After hearing her report, Sein could not help but turn his head and look at her.

“During peacetime, a low-tier world-class secret treasure of the lowest grade could sell for just over 100 million magicoins,” he said.

“Now that we are at war, the price might rise somewhat, but 200 million should still be enough. You understand the value of a world-class secret treasure, correct?” Sein asked.

“I do. Faeloria also has several greater deities and supreme deities who possess such treasures,” the Goddess of Wealth replied, lowering her head slightly.

“You truly are talented. I can also sense that your divine power has grown stronger since you arrived,” Sein commented.

“And you are only a clone of yourself,” he continued, shaking his head lightly. “Perhaps the Magus Alliance is the fertile soil where you will truly thrive. I look forward to meeting your true form in Faeloria one day.”

Sein’s praise drew an extremely modest nod from the Goddess of Wealth.

Her existence was still firmly in the hands of the Spider Queen, Lorthisra.

The Spider Queen treated the Goddess of Wealth far less kindly than Sein did.

Over there, nearly all the divine power cultivated by the Goddess of Wealth’s clone was seized and absorbed by the Spider Queen.

It was different here with Sein. At least, the Goddess of Wealth could set aside a little “pocket money” and quietly channel it back to her true form.

After offering a few casual words of praise, Sein asked, “Have you been in contact with the Spider Queen recently?”

“No. Her Majesty the Spider Queen has not communicated with this clone of mine for nearly one hundred and thirty years,” Aurelia replied, shaking her head.

The Spider Queen was currently leading her private legion on the frontlines of the Clash of Civilizations, waging war to plunder resources and wealth.

In terms of both personal strength and the scale of her forces, she was no less formidable than Grandmaster Feylis.

The only difference lay in their foundations. Feylis relied on the mainstream military power of the Magus Civilization, while the Spider Queen drew her strength from the shadowy factions of Blackhaven.

Because of this, unless the Spider Queen chose to initiate contact herself, it was difficult for Sein to learn anything about her recent movements.

Thinking of his magic robe, which had been worn for ages and still lacked suitable materials for repair, Sein could not help but let out a soft sigh.

***

Another seventeen years passed.

Although Sein still had not found a way to contact the Spider Queen, she unexpectedly reached out to him instead.

Sein knew nothing about her current situation, yet she seemed to know quite a lot about his recent activities.

The moment their communication was established, the Spider Queen spoke first.

“Impressive. I hear you distinguished yourself again on a subspace battlefield and across multiple star domains?” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Klopp, the overlord of the Western Archipelago, even nominated you for a Sacred Fruit from Hundred-Mile Blossom World,” she added, covering her mouth as she chuckled softly.

Their conversation took place deep within the underground chambers of the Divine Tower of Ashes.

Black flames flared before Sein, and within them appeared the image of the Spider Queen.

Sure enough, when the Spider Queen sought him out, it rarely meant anything good.

Before they had even exchanged a few sentences, she was already hinting at her interest in his Sacred Fruit.

“The Sacred Fruit has not reached me yet. Even if it had, I couldn’t give it to you. I’ve already promised my mentor that I would deliver it to her to refine into potions,” Sein replied calmly.

“If you’re willing to give me some of the spider silk from your real body, I could trade you a vial of Sacred Fruit Potion brewed by her,” Sein offered.

With greater strength came a clear change in his tone and confidence.

In the past, he had been nothing more than a pawn before the Spider Queen—one she could crush at will.

But now... After personally taking down a Rank Six Apocalypse World creature on the subspace battlefield, Sein’s awe toward Rank Six beings had faded considerably.

And not to mention, he now had the eight-winged angel, Fermera, under his command.

With the Magic Cube and Faceless Mask, Sein now had every means to face Lorthisra head-on.

At his reply, Lorthisra’s expression darkened slightly—whether from anger or something else, it was impossible to tell.

Even so, she maintained a faint smile.

“Oh my, you’ve grown, haven’t you? Before, you only dared to ask for the spider silk made of my divine power. Now you’ve set your sights on the real thing? Do you know that spider silk isn’t so easily obtained?”

Against her pale complexion, her crimson lips appeared even more striking.

She slowly licked the corner of her mouth and fixed her gaze on Sein. “Only prey may partake freely.”

Sein certainly had no desire to become the Spider Queen’s prey. He replied evenly, “If the Spider Queen has no interest in a trade, then so be it.”

“I recently acquired some specialty resources from the Rosen Dynasty Civilization. I thought you might be interested. It seems I’ll have to keep them for myself,” he added, with a trace of regret in his tone.

He knew Lorthisra well. Despite following the faith-based system, she also possessed deep knowledge of necromancy and umbra elemental magic of Magus World.

More precisely, she was a hybrid—a Rank Six foreign deity and a Rank Six umbramancer.

As such, she shared certain habits common among Magus World mages, including a fondness for collecting rare specimens.

Sein’s words caused the smile on Lorthisra’s face to widen.

She appeared to have completely set aside the tension from their earlier exchange.

“I hadn’t realized you had established ties with the Rosen Dynasty Civilization, especially since you were assigned to a different warzone than mine. Looks like we have a reason for cooperation now.”

“I can’t give you my spider silk, but I do have some information you’ll certainly find interesting,” Lorthisra added with a smile.

“What information?” Sein asked. His first thought was the request he had made previously—asking her to help locate black mages with expertise in soul study.

To his surprise, Lorthisra did not mention anything about Natalya. Instead, she brought up someone else.

“Your little wifey, Leena, seems to have gotten herself into trouble on the frontlines. I hear she has been locked up in Atlan Interstellar Prison,” Lorthisra said.

“WHAT?!”