Sovereign of the Ashes

Maybe it was because his Faceless Mask had been fully charged, or perhaps the Magic Cube had partially activated its shielding function against metallic robots... whatever the reason, Sein passed through the border checkpoint without incident, even slipping past the notice of the overlord-class fleet.

Once across the border, the Huusian fleet and the surrounding federal legions set course toward the Magus Civilization’s star domain.

Sein soon realized his earlier assumptions had been flawed.

The battlefield was not within the federation’s space at all, but rather inside the Magus Civilization’s territory.

Accompanying the Huusians toward the Transversa Star Domain were two federal fleets and several legions from vassal civilizations.

The small number of federal troops revealed that this particular star domain was not a primary strategic focus for their military.

Though Sein remained unaware of the exact situation in the Transversa Star Domain, he found himself looking back at the dazzling starry sky from the hidden compartment in the ship’s stern after departing from the federation’s border.

Leaving that place filled him with complex emotions that were hard to put into words.

His current situation was still far from safe, but at least he had escaped the most perilous danger.

Now, all that remained was to find the right moment to reveal his identity and link up with the Magus Civilization’s legions, so he could return deeper into their territory.

But he still had to decide when that moment should be.

Returning alone would fulfill the mission assigned to him by Klopp, yet Sein felt he could do better to make a greater contribution to the Clash of Civilizations.

To him, the Huusian mercenary legion was a target worth pursuing. If he could win them over, the impact on the local battlefield could be significant.

And as a member of the Magus Civilization, now that his own safety was gradually more secure, he wanted to contribute more to his people’s cause.

***

Before reaching the Transversa Star Domain, the Huusians and their two accompanying federal fleets first stopped at an artificial planet known as Nocchi.

Nocchi served as a forward operating base established by the federation in this war zone, managing massive logistics transfers and troop deployments.

It was here that Sein discovered the imprisoned high-tier Nexon robot had finally been left behind by the two federal fleets after being transported all this way.

After completing their final resupply, the Huusians and the federal fleets departed Nocchi and set course for the combat planets within the Transversa Star Domain.

Sein stared at Planet Nocchi for a long while.

He felt nothing positive toward this artificial planet the federation had planted within the Magus Civilization’s original territory.

He believed that other powerhouses of the Magus Civilization would feel the same. They had no desire to tolerate a foreign creation taking root on their home turf.

The departing Huusian fleet was only one of several that Nocchi had recently served.

As a forward operating base created by the Gallant Federation, Nocchi’s main role was to support the battlefield in the Transversa Star Domain.

Just two months earlier, it had even handled logistics for another minor star domain known as BH303. But that supply line had since been cut.

The Gallant Federation legions had pulled out of BH303, driven back by the overwhelming counteroffensive of the Magus Civilization.

Not only BH303, but perhaps even Transversa itself was...

***

In the central laboratory of Nocchi’s T4 Base, Joseph, a federal scientist, had just finished his work when he noticed a group of soldiers wheeling in a Rank Four advanced intelligent robot with yellow metal plating.

After completing their task, the soldiers left quickly, leaving the handover paperwork to Joseph’s assistant.

After confirming the robot’s origin and the mission assigned by the federal military, the assistant returned to Joseph’s side.

“What’s with that?” Joseph asked, pointing at the malfunctioning machine.

“This one’s a rebel robot from Nexon. The headquarters wants us to pinpoint the reason behind their rebellion and develop firewalls for the lower-tier robots,” the assistant explained.

Hearing this, Joseph let out a bitter laugh. Scientists were often temperamental, and Joseph was no exception.

Shaking his head, he said, “I’m already buried in data collection and upgrades for the frontline robot legions. Where am I supposed to find the time or energy for this?”

“Those in the headquarters are really slavedrivers,” he muttered.

His assistant, who had worked under him for years, nodded in agreement. Though also a scientist, his rank was far lower than Joseph’s, who was the chief of the T4 Experimental Base.

“Yeah, with this kind of workload, how are we supposed to handle more?” the assistant agreed.

“The federation’s orders have been all over the place lately. Looks like the Clash of Civilizations is throwing everything into chaos. These rebel robots should be sent to a rear lab instead.” He paused, then lowered his voice, “Even our base... who knows when we’ll have to abandon it.”

Stationed at T4 Base, the assistant had access to a steady stream of intel about the war raging in the nearby star domains.

Although scientists in the Gallant Federation did not hold much sway among the top echelons of power, their status still ranked well above that of ordinary soldiers.

For example, if the personnel on Nocchi were forced to evacuate, the scientists would undoubtedly be among the first to leave.

His assistant must have caught wind of something.

Joseph, however, did not overthink it. He was simply venting about his heavy workload.

He was one of the federation’s leading robotics researchers. This time, he had been dispatched to the frontlines to oversee an experimental base.

His primary mission was to observe the combat performance of robots and, with the Magus Civilization’s legions as the target, figure out whether the Federation’s robotic cannon fodder could be improved.

The Gallant Federation had even sent him a malfunctioning high-tier Nexon robot, most likely because of his academic reputation in the field.

What they overlooked, though, was the awkward position of Nocchi and the unstable battle situation in the surrounding star domain.

Most likely, Joseph and the other scientists would soon have to retreat deeper into the federation’s space along with this newly delivered robot.

That was a totally pointless trip!

Orders like this had been common ever since the Clash of Civilizations began.

Many high-ranking officials blamed these on the federation’s quantum computers, which were said to be operating at the edge of their limits, leading to errors.

Fortunately, the errors so far had been minor. No fatal mistakes had yet been made in wartime decision-making.

On top of that, the federation’s systems were constantly being upgraded.

Since the start of the Clash of Civilizations, their computational processing power had already improved dramatically compared to the past.

Joseph did not dwell on the issue any longer. His eyes caught a string of identification codes on the mechanical arm of the robot in front of him.

“Huh? This is Dr. Bell’s creation. Oh, right. Nexon was his project. Did a robot rebellion break out there?” he wondered aloud.

Joseph temporarily set aside his current work and stepped forward to examine the robot more closely.

He then turned to his assistant and said, “Go activate Lab 2 for me.”

“And boot up this guy’s original program,” he added, patting the robot’s arm.

“Yes, sir,” the assistant replied.