Sovereign of the Ashes

These green gorillas generally stood about five meters tall.

Their fur appeared dyed, and their chest and abdominal muscles were extremely developed.

There were about forty of them in total.

Sein had never encountered such species during his previous travels around the Verdant Wilderness World.

Remarkably, each of these gorillas possessed a life level of Rank One or above, with the strongest among them being Rank Three.

This particular gorilla, distinguished by a circle of white chest fur and towering over seven meters, seemed to be their leader.

With Aura Restraint Spell and Lorianne's protection, Sein remained undetected by the gorillas who were a short distance away.

In the forest's center lay a deep, excavated pit.

At its edge, one of the gorillas wielded a crystal spear, its tip a demonic crimson.

This weapon appeared to be the tool these gorillas with green fur were using to destroy the planar nodes.

"Hohoho! This low-level plane will soon be another conquest for our Wild Gorilla World! My name, Bruno, shall be etched into the history of the Wild Gorilla World!" exclaimed one of the Rank Two green-furred gorillas, brandishing the red crystal lance and laughing excitedly.

"Hurry up! We need to destroy at least three planar nodes to welcome the descent of the great Gorilla Gods," grumbled the Rank Three gorilla with white fur on its chest.

***

"Shall we strike?" Sein asked through mental focus.

Although there were a number of green-furred gorillas, there seemed to be only one at Rank Three.

Relying solely on his own strength would certainly be challenging.

At best, he could only hold off three to five gorillas of the same rank. Without enslaved creatures or his other companions, tackling so many extraplanar beings was beyond Sein's capability.

However, Sein's limitations did not extend to his mentor.

The presence of a few dozen green-furred gorillas was hardly a concern; even if their numbers were to increase tenfold, Lorianne's abilities would still allow her to annihilate them effortlessly.

The overwhelming superiority that Rank Four creatures held was something Sein, still at Rank Two, could scarcely comprehend.

While Lorianne remained silent, the group of gorillas in the distance had sprung into action.

The Rank Two gorilla tightened his grip on the crystal spear and thrust it into the ground.

The ground instantly erupted into a burst of red light.

A column of intensely bright light, with tremendous penetrating power, shot straight into the sky, visible even to those far beyond the forest.

A violent tremor shook the world.

At that moment, every creature of Rank Three and above in Verdant Wilderness World could almost hear a pained cry emanating from their homeplane.

"We need to leave, now!" a white-furred Rank Three gorilla yelled. Without hesitation, the group of gorillas quickly began their evacuation.

Left behind in the soil was the crystal spear with its broken tip, while the red pillar of light lingered in the sky.

"We should leave as well; the Rank Three creatures from Verdant Wilderness World are approaching," Lorianne advised just in time.

Sein glanced toward the western part of the forest, where the two demigod-level plant sovereigns were engaged in combat.

Choosing a route slightly different from the gorilla's evacuation path, he swiftly moved away.

Approximately four sandglasses later, the first Rank Three creature of Verdant Wilderness World arrived at the scene.

It was an unusual being, with green branches and leaves sprouting from its upper body and a lower body resembling that of a deer—a hybrid plant and flesh creature akin to the Green Spikefur King.

"WHO?!" The sharp cry of a deer reverberated through the forest.

A rustling sound filled the air as tree branches trembled, and countless leaves cascaded from the canopy.

The world around them seemed to take on a layer of somber, melancholic hues.

***

"Master Lorianne, why didn't we strike?" Sein could not help but ask after they had left the site of the incident.

Lorianne paused before replying softly, "Even if we fought and killed those gorillas, do you think that's enough to stop another world from invading Verdant Wilderness World?"

Sein fell silent. The answer was clearly no.

An invasion involving one world was not something a few people, or even dozens, could reverse.

After all, it was a clash between two worlds!

The Wild Gorilla World's bold invasion indicated its strength was likely superior to that of Verdant Wilderness World.

With only limited information available, Sein and Lorianne could not accurately gauge the power of the foreign world that now contested them.

Lorianne, more experienced and far-sighted than Sein, was already considering strategies for the impending interplanar war when those green-furred gorillas appeared before Sein.

To her, battle with them was inevitable.

Lorianne's pressing debt crisis left this recently promoted Rank Four female mage with little time to contemplate peaceful development.

The fastest route to acquiring resources and benefits was through direct plunder in war!

Not only did Lorianne have no intentions of sparing Verdant Wilderness World, but her sights were also set on conquering the Wild Gorilla World.

"No matter how meticulously we plan, something unexpected invariably arises. It seems we'll need to postpone our efforts on setting up the planar node weakener for now," Lorianne remarked.

"Compared to using the node weakener to diminish this world's planar will and the power of its laws, what do you think about waiting for a major conflict to erupt between this world and another, and then returning to reap the benefits?" she asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that plan, but we don't know the exact strength of the other world, and we're relying solely on the power of our Divine Tower of Verdant Spring..." Sein hesitated.

"That's why we'll stay in this world for now. We'll observe how this war unfolds, and gauge the true strength of the other foreign plane," Lorianne replied.

"Don't worry, if our Divine Tower of Verdant Spring can't handle them, I'll consult Master Feylis and the others. They returned to the Magus World a while ago, and their divine towers have long since recovered from the last Viridian Venom Flame World war," she reassured Sein.

Hearing that Lorianne had already formulated a contingency plan, Sein nodded in approval.

The pressing issue now was how to quickly gather more detailed information about the invading foreign plane.

"Should I try to find a gorilla away from its group and kill it?" Sein asked.

"Let's not do anything to alarm them just yet. Since these gorillas have begun openly destroying Verdant Wilderness World's planar nodes, it's clear their invasion is imminent," Lorianne explained.

"I'm starting to think that the civil war erupting in the two large forests of Verdant Wilderness World might not be due to the emergence of a new Rank Four creature, but rather these otherworldly gorillas orchestrating it behind the scenes," she added.

She chuckled and continued, "Hehe, just watch. They have thinner patience than us."