Sovereign of the Ashes

Sabia II was a small star domain located near the Gallant Federation’s frontlines.

It was named in honor of a renowned president in the federation’s history.

During that president’s term, the Gallant Federation did not engage in a single war.

The public happiness index consistently exceeded that of other eras by more than twenty percent, and the federation’s overall economy experienced tremendous growth.

As a result, in comprehensive evaluations of past presidents, this leader ranked firmly among the top ten.

In sharp contrast to President Sabia’s legacy, the current president had been reviled as a pig-headed fool for nearly a millennium.

When the war between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization first began, ordinary federal citizens felt little immediate impact and went on with their lives as usual.

At most, it was those serving in the military who felt the pressure more directly.

Several hundred years ago, however, frequent increases in taxes, tighter conscription, and countless small price hikes on essential goods gradually eroded public patience.

Discontent began to mount, placing growing pressure on the federal government. This was especially pronounced in star domains near the frontlines of the war.

There, many federal citizens bore the war’s effects firsthand. On countless life planets, public anger hovered on the brink of open confrontation with congressional representatives and even the president himself.

Fortunately for the administration, the federal constitution contained a special provision known as the “Wartime Presidential Responsibility System”.

Unless the sitting president became incapable of fulfilling his duties due to unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances, his term would be automatically extended for the duration of the war, ensuring that the Clash of Civilizations could proceed without political interruption.

Many educated federal citizens, especially those from the middle class and above, actually understood that the Gallant Federation’s current situation had little to do with the president himself.

But people needed somewhere to vent their frustration.

The president occupied the most visible position of power. Who else could they criticize if not him?

Those who controlled the federation’s economic lifelines and wielded immense influence even within the military rarely appeared in public at all.

And when they did, they were often nothing more than carefully chosen figureheads.

Since the onset of the Clash of Civilizations, Magus World had remained vigilant against surprise attacks on its homeplane.

Likewise, the Gallant Federation’s high command had been constantly on guard against a “decapitation strike”.

More than anything else, the federation’s leadership feared the Magus Civilization’s ability to strike from afar.

Most high-ranking federal officials possessed life levels below Rank Six. Only a handful of senior military commanders had undergone augmentation to become Rank Six cyborgs.

Yet even Rank Six cyborgs were insignificant in the face of Magus Civilization.

When an overlord personally entered the battlefield, such beings could still be eliminated with ease.

The Gallant Federation’s overlord-class combat power consisted solely of fleet groups, giant mobile suits, and a handful of exceptionally high-specification fortresses.

This was fundamentally different from the Magus Civilization, where overlords themselves represented the highest authority.

Black mages of the Magus Civilization had already infiltrated deep into the Gallant Federation, carrying out scattered sabotage and rear-area operations.

Beyond destabilizing the Federation’s middle and lower strata, they had another covert objective: to uncover the identities and locations of high-ranking officials and carry out decapitation strikes when possible.

While the Gallant Federation had succeeded in making a large star domain and numerous lifeforms defect from the Magus Civilization, the Magus Civilization had established extensive covert networks throughout the federation.

Beyond the frontlines, a “shadow war” was actually unfolding in the depths of both civilizations, entirely hidden from the public.

Leena, now a Rank Four, served as one of the key figures overseeing the Sabie II Star Domain.

Sabie II encompassed seventeen life planets, thirty-two resource planets, and seven industrial planets.

Countless smaller artificial satellites and space stations were scattered throughout the star domain.

The prosperity enjoyed by the federation’s lower and middle social strata was almost unimaginable to many beings from Magus World.

Yet for the black mages operating deep behind enemy lines, the Gallant Federation’s vast star domains were an inexhaustible treasure trove for harvesting souls and flesh.

A single life planet was home to tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions, of high-quality souls, simply waiting to be harvested.

The black mages who had grown accustomed to hardship in Magus World had never experienced such abundance.

Many of them actually rose to prominence on the battlefields in the Gallant Federation’s rear.

Over the past few centuries, breakthroughs to Rank Four and beyond had become increasingly common among them.

Moreover, operating far behind enemy lines meant the Magus Civilization could no longer regulate how many black mages advanced to Rank Four and above.

At that point, breakthroughs depended entirely on individual capabilities!

To the black mages, this was their golden era!

When even lowly Rank Two and Rank Three black mages routinely trafficked in millions of souls, one could only imagine how unrestrained this era had become.

Of course, immense rewards always came with equally immense risks.

In recent years, the Gallant Federation had hunted down and eliminated not just one or two law-wielding black mages.

Even Rank Six black mages, once captured by the federation, faced certain death!

Over the past century alone, reports had surfaced of two Rank Six black mages meeting their end in enemy territory.

Casualties among Rank Four and Rank Five black mages were even more numerous.

By comparison, Leena had been faring quite well in these hostile rear areas as she conducted herself with remarkable caution and composure.

To this day, she had left no trace detectable by the Gallant Federation’s legions.

Her calmness and patience were hardly typical of a newly promoted Rank Four black mage.

As for those arrogant, law-wielding black mages who continued to act recklessly within the federation’s territory, they were swiftly rewarded with death.

After infiltrating a life planet known as Steelwave[1]within the Sabie II Star Domain, Leena did not immediately launch destructive operations or spread plague magic. Instead, she chose to lie low on the planet.

After all, she had to stay alive to spend the souls she harvested.

Over the years, Leena had amassed a considerable reserve of primal capital needed to advance beyond Rank Four. Rather than breeding impatience, this wealth had tempered her, reinforcing the importance of composure during her missions.

In stark contrast, her mentor—Mikaeli, the Rank Five Tower Master of Cinderbones—had recently suffered a major setback after rashly targeting a military resource planet.

As a result, the Gallant Federation had issued a warrant for Mikaeli’s arrest. Dozens of warfleets now patrolled the star domain where she was last seen.

If she dared reveal herself, a thunderous strike would surely follow!

Even Leena had been unable to contact Mikaeli in recent years. She could not help but wonder whether that old hag was already dead.

Of course, Mikaeli did not look her age. She looked about the same age as Leena, who had seen her true form on two occasions.

On this particular day, Leena arrived at a peripheral city on Steelwave, disguised as “Jim”, a second-class male citizen of the Gallant Federation.

Protected by an energy shield, the city housed a population of roughly two million.

When Leena reached the city center, a protest was taking place.

The demonstrations targeted the blockade that restricted daily travel between Steelwave and neighboring planets.

At the same time, the crowds were loudly protesting the recent surge in reports concerning so-called “clones”.

1. Translator’s Note: Steelwave is actually “Steelwave Plains” in the raws. Since that sounded more like a region than a planet name, I removed the “Plains” part. ☜