When Sein left Lorthisra, he did not return empty-handed.

Then again, he had not arrived empty-handed either.

Nearly two million “blood slaves” from the Lumette Star Domain were sent back with Sein by Lorthisra as gifts for the Verdant Flame Faction.

Of course, that was only the portion Lorthisra had personally given him as a gift.

As for the total number of slaves to be handed over to the Magus Alliance, it likely numbered in the tens of millions.

As a medium-sized star domain, the Lumette Star Domain was pretty vast.

The Magus Civilization was certainly lucky that the Gallant Federation had done a fairly decent job protecting this star domain in recent years.

As the main force attacking the Lumette Star Domain, the Spider Queen’s legions had no interest in anything like sustainable development.

Lorthisra clearly preferred to make a quick and massive profit!

As for rebuilding the Lumette Star Domain afterward and repopulating it with new inhabitants, those were matters for the Magus Civilization to deal with later.

Those low-level blood slaves were of little value to Sein.

What interested him most was the blood essence extracted from the dozen or so law-wielding Lumetteans that Lorthisra had entrusted to him before he left.

The Spider Queen was truly ruthless. Was she not worried about draining those law-wielding creatures dry?

Most precious of all was the blood essence taken from a Rank Six Lumettean. Its blood had shifted from blue to a violet-golden hue, giving off a breathtaking glow.

The value of that blood essence was comparable to, or perhaps even greater than, the Amethyst Aphid Honeydew once provided by the Rank Six Void Aphid King.

For Sein, the best use of it was not personal study, but handing it over to Lorianne so she could refine it into potions.

Naturally, Lorthisra had not given Sein such a valuable gift for free.

According to the Magus Alliance’s usual arrangements, Sein would continue working with Lorthisra in the future, carrying out various supply and transport operations.

On top of that, Sein had also presented Lorthisra with many of his own recent gains.

The spoils he had obtained from the Arid Expanse Worlds and the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization had left Lorthisra thoroughly satisfied.

***

After leaving the Lumette Star Domain, Sein continued carrying out the missions assigned to him by his grandmaster and the Magus Civilization as usual.

His duties were not limited to delivering supplies to Lorthisra. He also traveled through several different star domains after that.

It seemed Feylis was giving him chances to gain experience and broaden his connections within the Magus Civilization. Many of the assignments she gave him had already gone far beyond the range of the star domains under her command.

For example, Feylis once sent Sein all the way to a medium-sized star domain called Warrendall.

Although Warrendall was also located near the edge of the civilizational battlefield, it lay in a completely different direction from the battlefield where Sein and the others were usually stationed.

By the time Sein reached that star domain, the distance he had crossed was nearly equal to half the territory of a top-tier civilization.

Still, the rewards were worth it.

In the Warrendall Star Domain, Sein witnessed the Magus Civilization’s Dragon Warlocks fighting in coordinated formations and personally experienced the overwhelming presence of an overlord-level Dragon Warlock.

In that star domain, the Magus Civilization seemed to have already destroyed nearly two-thirds of an overlord-class federal fleet.

In the starry sky, Sein saw a terrifying crimson dragon ripping apart a massive federal fleet with its own claws.

The weapon it wielded appeared to be a flaming furnace gripped between its claws.

Its enormous body was comparable in size to Tourmaline’s father, whom Sein had seen years earlier.

Sein knew this crimson dragon was not an actual dragon but the transformed state of a Magus World Dragon Warlock.

Among spellcasters, Dragon Warlocks were most similar to body-tempering mages like Sein.

To witness an overlord-level Dragon Warlock fighting at close range was an opportunity few beings would ever have.

As someone who also studied the deeper mysteries of the pyro element and possessed formidable physical strength, Sein gained a great deal from watching that overlord-level powerhouse in battle.

It was also in this star domain that, through Feylis’ connections, Sein met a Rank Six Dragon Warlock named Kruiz.

Kruiz was a close friend of Feylis. It was said that the two had even fought together in several interplanar wars in the past.

After learning that Sein was Feylis’ grand apprentice, Kruiz showed him special favor and gifted him many specialties from the Warrendall Star Domain, including a particularly unusual type of yellow crystal.

However, right after that, Kruiz turned around and began barking at the short violet-haired Rsnk Four female Dragon Warlock standing behind him.

Her name was Mel. Sein had once seen her transform on the battlefield into a violet-golden dragon with a wingspan of more than two hundred meters.

She was most likely not Kruiz’s apprentice, but a direct descendant of his bloodline.

Dragon Warlocks were among the few mages in the spellcaster system who cared deeply about preserving their bloodline.

Mel looked very young, but after asking around, Sein learned that she was only a little over a thousand years old.

Kruiz’s scolding was more a way of pushing her to improve and aim higher.

Still, Sein could tell Mel was upset. Perhaps Kruiz was being a little too harsh on her.

As a Rank Five mage who was also older than Mel, Sein counted as her senior.

Seeing this, Sein stepped in and persuaded Kruiz to go a little easier on her. He also gave Mel a vial of Blue-Blooded Lumettean Potion, refined from the blood essence of a Rank Four Lumettean.

Sein himself practiced body tempering, and this potion had been specially developed for those who followed the same path.

Sure enough, the moment Mel received the Blue-Blooded Lumettean Potion, a flicker of interest appeared in her eyes.

“Hurry up and thank Master Sein!” Kruiz said, smacking Mel on the head. Fortunately, Dragon Warlocks were tough by nature, so she only stumbled a little.

Sein quickly waved it off generously.

When the conversation turned to Mel’s background, Sein curiously asked, “Is she your... granddaughter?”

Kruiz seemed taken aback by the question. After a brief pause, he shook his head and said, “She’s my daughter!”

Kruiz’s answer immediately filled Sein with respect.

For a Rank Six Warlock to leave behind a direct heir, his vitality and power had to be extraordinary.

On top of that, Mel was only a little over a thousand years old, while the Clash of Civilizations had already lasted more than three thousand years and was now approaching its fourth millennium.

In other words, she had been conceived during the war itself, yet had still managed to grow to Rank Four amidst all that chaos.

In terms of natural talent, she might even surpass Sein.

Taking the opportunity afforded by the Blue-Blooded Lumettean Potion, Sein asked if he might collect a single drop of Mel’s blood.

He assured them that he would sign a magic contract guaranteeing that her blood would never be used for anything beyond ordinary research purposes and that her bloodline information would never be disclosed.

Still, both Kruiz and his daughter politely refused his request in the end.

“It’s not that we do not trust you, Master Sein. Mel’s situation is simply rather special,” Kruiz explained.

“Aside from inheriting the bloodline of both her parents, she has also awakened a trace of an ancient bloodline from a powerful ancestor of our family. That is the main reason behind her rapid growth.”

“Oh no, I was making a very personal request. I’m just relieved I didn’t offend you, Master Kruiz or Miss Mel,” Sein replied at once.

“When it comes to rare and unusual truths, mages like us simply cannot resist the urge to study them. It’s practically a common flaw among our kind,” he added apologetically.

Kruiz laughed in understanding. “Haha, that’s true. Dragon Warlocks can be like that too.”

“Although I can’t give you Mel’s blood, I can still give you one of her scales as a keepsake,” he offered with a smile.

The next moment, Sein received a violet-golden dragon scale.