Chapter 1435: Deployment Considerations

Sein met Reina on one of the upper floors of the Divine Tower of Ashes when she returned from battle.

She looked noticeably gaunt, not from lack of food but from having lost interest in eating for the past few years.

Like Natalya, Reina had long since left the Order of the Steel Fist and had been living in the Divine Tower of Ashes for quite a while now.

Members of House Grantt, along with several from House Ernst, had followed them in their departure.

Sein once joked that he had poached a large portion of the Order of the Steel Fist’s strength. Yet that was also the very reason House Grantt was spared from annihilation.

On their latest garrison mission, the Order of the Steel Fist lost more than three-quarters of its knight legion!

It was a staggering loss. Rumor had it that even their leader, Steel Fist, had narrowly escaped death.

Had he not been a Rank Four knight with exceptional defense, and had the demiplane they guarded not been away from the main war zone, the entire order might never have returned.

Natalya had suffered grave injuries when she recklessly charged the Philan Demiplane frontlines in a rage after learning of her father’s death.

She was never the type to use her brain in battle, and without Sein there to support her, this outcome was inevitable, considering the Order of the Steel Fist’s heavy losses.

Reina, however, remained on the frontlines even after Natalya was sent back to Magus World.

She was not alone. Almost every knight of the Order of the Steel Fist refused to retreat despite the brutal toll of the war.

No matter how severe their losses, they carried out the mission given to them by the Magus Alliance.

Near the Philan Demiplane, they held the line against the rebellious forces of the Grand Eye Demon World, buying precious time for reinforcements from the Magus Civilization to arrive.

Though their casualties were immense, the Order of the Steel Fist had earned great merit in Magus World!

And across the frontlines, countless knights and mage legions quietly and dutifully did the same.

Reina still wore the brass-colored shoulder armor Sein had forged for her back then, but the constant battles had left it covered in scratches.

Since she had lost a lot of weight now, Sein noticed that the bulky design of the shoulder armor no longer suited her.

If time allowed, he would design a new metal battle skirt—one better suited to her current physique.

“Take off your armor. I’ll tend to your wounds first. And while we’re at it, tell me exactly how things are going on the frontlines you fought,” Sein said.

Reina had already shared more intimate moments with Sein, so she no longer felt awkward around him.

She quickly removed her armor and followed him into a laboratory.

Her wounds were not severe. The more serious ones had already been treated, as the Magus Civilization provided ample medical resources to the frontline legions.

Lumimancers, Hydromancers, and Dendromancers skilled in healing magic also accompanied the troops into battle.

What remained on her body were only minor external wounds that would likely heal on their own in time.

But Sein did not want to see his woman walking around covered in cuts and scrapes.

He had her lie on an experimental table and began treating her himself.

His attentive care brought a faint flush to Reina’s cheeks and warmed her heart.

But soon after, guilt welled up inside her.

She had fought near the Philan Demiplane alongside Natalya, yet her best friend had fallen and returned to Magus World as a corpse, while she survived.

All these years, she had not returned to Magus World with Sia because she was not sure how to face Sein and Natalya’s family.

Besides, she had vowed to avenge Natalya by slaying as many creatures of the Grand Eye Demon World as she could.

The ointment Sein applied took effect quickly, leaving a cool, soothing sensation across her skin.

Among all of his women, Reina had once possessed the most flawless skin. But years of brutal warfare had dulled it, leaving behind faint scars.

Restoring it to its former condition would likely take a long time.

Sein listened as Reina recounted her battles on the frontlines while he worked on her wounds.

The battlefield where she and Steel Fist had been stationed was not part of the main warfront between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

According to Reina, at least around the Philan Demiplane, Gallant Federation legions were scarce.

The Magus Civilization’s forces there were primarily locked in combat against the Grand Eye Demon World and its vassals from nearby star domains.

In truth, not all of those vassals had joined the rebellion willingly.

The power of the Magus Civilization had long been instilled into the minds of countless worlds.

The power of the Magus Civilization had long been etched into the minds of countless worlds.

But once the Grand Eye Demon World rose in revolt, its vassals had little choice but to follow.

The Magus Civilization, however, had no sympathy for traitors. Whatever those followers truly felt, they were to be exterminated without mercy—made into an example for all to see!

The strength of the vassals was hardly worth mentioning. It was the Eye Demons themselves who posed the real threat.

The Order of the Steel Fist had suffered its heaviest losses when several legions, led by Rank Four Eye Demons, suddenly defected.

Even within the Magus Alliance, the Grand Eye Demon World had only ever been considered mid-tier in strength.

It had joined the alliance not long ago, siding with the Magus Civilization before the Neisse Star Domain War.

At the time, its seemingly loyal attitude and the personal efforts of the Evileye Tyrant Monarch had won it favor with the alliance’s leadership, sparing its native troops from total destruction..

No one in the Magus Civilization expected it to turn around and sink its fangs into their backs.

The war against the Grand Eye Demon World still raged on.

After knightly orders like the Steel Fist completed their garrison duties, the Magus Civilization quickly rotated in other divine towers, knight orders, and allied legions to hold the line.

By now, battles were breaking out across nearly every star domain bordering the Gallant Federation.

Sein had originally planned to lead the Divine Tower of Ashes’ legion to whichever front they were assigned after a period of rest and recovery.

But now, he was seriously considering requesting deployment specifically to the Grand Eye Demon World front.

How could he stand by and do nothing after his wife and her family had suffered such a devastating blow at the hands of the Eye Demons?

Toward traitors, Sein would show not a shred of mercy!