Sovereign of the Ashes

If the Gallant Federation had truly wanted to maximize the impact, their most devastating move would have been to unleash the Infinity Light on the Netherworld Star Domain.

Instead, they targeted the Saitos Star Domain—a battlefield of comparatively lower intensity. The decision ultimately came down to a mix of strategic considerations.

After a few high-level discussions among the soul overmages of Magus World, it became clear that the Gallant Federation was still unpredictable at its core.

With battles still ongoing along the edges of the Netherworld Star Domain, firing the Infinity Light there would have caused devastating friendly fire to their own fleets.

More importantly, it seemed the Gallant Federation did not fully trust the weapon yet.

The Netherworld Star Domain was the stronghold of the Magus Civilization’s most elite forces.

Among the forces that encircled the federation’s vanguard fleet during their last offensive were over ten overlord-level powerhouses, including several Rank Eight beings or others with combat strength comparable to Rank Eight.

And then there was Bev, present on the frontline herself, armed with the civilizational treasure known as the Light of Wisdom.

If the federation’s ultimate quantum computer was truly as powerful as they claimed, it should have predicted that launching an assault there would not have gone as planned.

They had expected that, at worst, Bev would have just countered their Infinity Light with the Light of Wisdom.

However, Skybearer the Giant Mountain God, a Rank Eight alliance overlord, had taken a direct hit from the Infinity Light and still managed to protect a Rank Seven knight on the field.

That alone proved the Infinity Light could indeed wipe out Rank Seven beings, but Rank Eight entities could still survive... though just barely.

Sometimes, taking a hard hit was not necessarily a bad thing.

The Magus Civilization had suffered major losses in the Saitos Star Domain, but in the process, they gained a clearer understanding of the Gallant Federation’s true capabilities and uncovered the upper limits of power in this Clash of Civilizations.

The Infinity Light was truly terrifying.

Even with Skybearer’s defense pushed to the limit, the Rank Eight geo elemental creature was still severely injured by the blast.

Luckily, it quickly retreated without wasting time trying to rescue the scattered Magus legions across the Saitos Star Domain.

If it had stuck around, there would have been no escape, especially once the federation’s overlord-class war fleets and massive mobile suits closed in for the kill.

This had always been one of the Gallant Federation’s weaknesses.

Their superweapons might boast overwhelming destructive force, but at the end of the day, they were just lifeless tools—far too rigid to ever compare to true overlord-level beings.

Even their overlord-class war fleets and mobile suits shared this weakness. It was a common flaw that came from letting beings with weak constitutions wield weapons far beyond their capacity.

As Viktor, the soul-level mechanic, was about to leave, Lady Bev’s earlier mention of the inert crystal veins near Blue Star made him pause.

“Lady Bev, when will the Insectoids return?” he asked.

There was a trace of wistfulness in Viktor’s voice as he continued, “For over a hundred thousand years, Titan World and the Insectoids held the most important positions within the Magus Alliance. It was only after the Insectoids left that Titan World gradually rose to dominate the stage.

“To maintain balance, preserve Magus World’s leadership within the alliance, and prepare for this Clash of Civilizations, we later helped the Elven World and the Amethyst World nurture their own Rank Eight overlords.

“Allied planes like the Beastmen World and the Undead World have also seen steadily increasing resource allocations. These are worlds whose loyalty to the Magus Civilization is absolutely unquestionable.

“If the Insectoids returned, we would be in a much stronger position to face both the war with the Gallant Federation and the looming confrontation with the Amenkha Empire.”

Bev nodded in agreement.

But when it came to answering Viktor’s question, she could only sigh. “I haven’t been able to contact my little sister. The Insectoid Army under her command seems to have entered some sort of isolated space-time realm.”

“But knowing her, the moment she hears about our war with the Gallant Federation, she’ll return, regardless of the inert crystal deposits,” Bev added with quiet certainty.

Her younger sister was the infamous Empress of Blades.

Titan World and the Insectoids were considered the twin pillars of the Magus Alliance.

The Magus Civilization had nurtured them without fear, knowing full well the leaders of both races shared Magus World blood.

Titans and Insectoids were bound to the Magus Civilization by fate. They would rise together or fall together.

The Beastmen, the Elves, the Undead, and the others Viktor had mentioned earlier... All of them were also deeply tied to the Magus Civilization in every possible way.

The Gallant Federation might sway the Netherworld or the Grand Eye Demon World, but these planes would never waver.

Hearing Lady Bev’s answer, Viktor let out a disappointed sigh.

Bev, however, showed little emotion. In her view, the Magus Civilization had already gained a significant upper hand in its war against the Gallant Federation.

Furthermore, the Magus Civilization was larger in scale and more advanced in its civilizational development than its rival.

Even if it suffered heavy losses, those losses were still within an acceptable range.

The Magus Civilization had enjoyed an unusually long era of peace. It had not faced a truly catastrophic, civilization-shaking war in nearly two hundred thousand years.

On one hand, this reflected its immense power and prosperity. Very few worlds were capable of threatening it.

On the other hand, that peace might also be a trap in disguise.

In any case, this clash with the Gallant Federation could be seen as a way for the Magus Civilization to sharpen its blade once more.

At the same time, it also served as a redistribution of resources and power within Magus World itself.

When the war finally ended, those who had survived would mostly be the elite, and only the elite would have the right to claim the spoils.

During this period, Magus World truly had no pressing need for the return of the Insectoids.

Perhaps recognizing this, several of the Magus Civilization’s top powerhouses had not returned. Despite the ongoing Clash of Civilizations, they still wander the realms beyond.

Both Lilith—the strongest Dark Summoner in the Magus World—and Karel, the peerless knight known as the Sword Saint, were currently away from the Magus Civilization.

Both Master Douglas and Nigel, Rank Eight soul overmages, had said that Lilith’s strength likely surpassed even theirs. That pretty much made her the strongest individual in the Magus Civilization today.

Master Douglas’ knowledge might be broader and more refined, and Nigel might be deadlier in the dark arts like Plague Magic, but in the end, true power was proven on the battlefield.

From the messages Lilith had sent back in recent years, she had reached astonishing depths in her pursuit of truth.

That world known as Faeloria... Lorthisra and Sein might have thought they had concealed it well for their future ambitions, but it had not escaped the notice of some within Magus World.

The guardians, of all beings, should have picked up on the space-time disturbance caused by the fragment of the Tablets of Fate that Lilith discarded back then.

If they overlooked something that obvious in their homeplane, then they have no right to call themselves the guardians!