Sovereign of the Ashes

After Sein and the others departed, the battles across the starry sky dragged on for nearly another month.

The federal fleets had been ordered to completely wipe out every robot still on this battlefield.

In the end, even the unawakened ordinary robots were destroyed.

Four-star General Mareo arrived aboard a Stellar-class federal war fortress.

Unlike the standard planetary fortresses sold to friendly vassal civilizations, the Gallant Federation understood the value of technological superiority and monopolistic control, potentially more than the Magus Civilization in that regard.

The fortress under General Mareo’s command was as powerful as a peak Rank Six biological entity.

But interstellar fortresses were too clunky, lacking both speed and pursuit capabilities.

While their firepower might rival that of a peak Rank Six lifeform, they could never truly compare to one.

Otherwise, they would not have let Skyhold and the others escape...

When choosing their escape route earlier, Skyhold, Sein, and the others had deliberately steered clear of the federation’s primary fortress zones, knowing they were packed with heavier defenses and far denser firepower.

Emerging from his fortress, General Mareo first turned his gaze toward the distant explosions.

Fierce battles were still scattered across the starry sky as the federal forces hunted down the remaining Rank Four or higher Nexon intelligent robots that had not yet been destroyed.

Several of them had already been captured.

Some within the high command believed these rebellious units might hold clues to the mysteries of their awakening, offering a path to preventing such uprisings in the future.

But that was not Mareo’s concern. His sole duty was to carry out the orders of military command.

After observing the scattered skirmishes for a while, he shifted his gaze to the wreckage of a federal battleship burning nearby.

Most of its bow had already been consumed by flames, leaving only a portion of the stern intact. The fire devouring its surface burned with an eerie, pale-blue glow.

Mareo had noticed this strange flame during earlier reports.

It was the sudden rampage of the Rank Six robot Titanfang, along with the spread of this Azure Flame, that had torn open the federation’s defensive line.

Without it, part of the Nexon survivors would never have broken through.

General Mareo was a federal commander who had undergone extensive mechanical augmentation.

Though born into a technologically advanced civilization, his combat ability was strong enough to rival that of a typical Rank Five lifeform.

Pushing past his personal guards, Mareo flew straight toward the wreckage of the destroyed warship.

He reached out and touched the Azure Flame still smoldering there. His solid metal right hand began to soften, and a droplet of silver molten alloy trickled from between his fingers.

Sein’s Azure Flame had naturally weakened after burning for so long, no longer as potent as when it was first unleashed.

Mareo pinched the remaining cluster of azure flame between his fingers, studied it briefly, then placed it into a specialized glass container before tossing it to a nearby guard.

“Send this to the headquarters for analysis. Our warships need constant adaptive upgrades to keep pace with the Magus Civilization,” he said.

Top-tier civilizations survived by advancing continuously. Those that stagnated in complacency could only remain as large-sized worlds, never reaching the top tier.

Sein’s Azure Flame had proven frighteningly effective against the Gallant Federation, who relied heavily on metal warships.

But relying on that single edge would not guarantee survival in the Clash of Civilizations.

The Gallant Federation would surely develop new alloys to resist the Azure Flame. And in turn, Sein would need to keep refining his magic further.

Civilizations and individuals alike lived in a state of constant evolution. The only question was who advanced faster.

After securing the Azure Flame sample and sending it to headquarters, Mareo dusted his hands and boarded a smaller but far faster patroller to meet an old friend.

General Lambros, a fellow four-star general, had also arrived in this star domain.

Among the more than two hundred generals dispatched here, Mareo and Lambros stood as the highest-ranking officers.

When they met, they exchanged a meaningful look.

Both had commanded major campaigns against Nexon’s intelligent robots and inflicted heavy damage on them. Yet, a handful had still managed to slip through their fingers.

And worse, neither of them had yet managed to capture the Magus Civilization’s infiltrator.

This failure was a stain on both their records.

“The rebel robots’ target is almost certainly the Alpha-007 Star Domain. That’s a vital interstellar transit hub for the Gallant Federation in this sector. If we let them slip through that wormhole, it’ll greatly complicate our pursuit and subsequent operations,” General Lambros told his old friend.

Unlike General Mareo, Lambros had not undergone full-body augmentations. Though he was a little younger in actual years, he now looked considerably older.

At least Mareo still looked like a middle-aged man, while Lambros looked more like a sallow-faced old man.

“Don’t worry, we already have deployments in Alpha-007. They won’t get away!” Mareo assured him.

“Let the younger ones handle the battles here. We should head directly to Alpha-007 and crush what remains of this force. Our forces in this sector has been moving too slowly, and most of the recent unrest within the federation has already been quelled one after another.

“The high command’s focus is still on the main frontline, where I hear we’ve already gained the upper hand. We need to move faster. I want to see the frontlines myself. I can’t afford to be stuck here for long,” he added.

General Lambros only nodded at that, saying nothing.

***

By the time they finally reached the Alpha-007 Star Domain, Sein had recovered about seventy percent of his strength.

He was still reluctant to use the Golden Apple Potion. His injuries were not severe enough to warrant a life-saving potion that could restore him instantly to peak condition.

Titanfang was recovering remarkably well too.

Sein had not seen it actively repairing its own body, yet its metallic frame was visibly regenerating at a steady pace.

Part of him suspected the Rank Six robot leader had some kind of self-recovery system. Another part thought it might be linked to the Magic Cube.

After all, Titanfang had admitted earlier that it had absorbed too much energy from the cube, leaving it nothing more than an ordinary metal block.

Sein could not reactivate it either.

He figured they would have to wait until they returned to Magus World, where the higher-ups of the Magus Civilization could analyze it properly.