Sovereign of the Ashes

“Anything to report?” Sein asked as Yuri flew to his side.

Inside the cockpit, Yuri shook her head. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the immediate area.

That earlier tremor... it likely originated somewhere else.

Sein could contact Master Howard and the others shortly to check whether anything unusual had happened on their end.

He cast another glance at the relentless sandstorm sweeping in from the distance and could not help but marvel at just how hostile the environment inside this subspace ruin truly was.

It was nothing like the Knight Continent within Magus World!

“Does Burning Flame still feel like she’s being watched by someone else?” Sein asked.

Yuri did not answer. She herself had sensed nothing abnormal.

After a brief pause, however, Burning Flame replied, “Yes. From time to time.”

“I think it’s coming from that direction,” she added, pointing toward the west.

To the west of their current position lay a wide expanse that appeared largely untouched by major sandstorms.

That area, however, had yet to be explored by the Magus Civilization’s research teams. Master Howard and the others believed that the true core region of this ruin was also located there.

When Sein had first arrived at this top-tier civilization ruin, the sudden and peculiar vibration from the Magic Cube had already sparked his intense curiosity about the heart of this secret realm.

More importantly, the direction indicated by the Burning Flame Unit matched the source of the Magic Cube’s reaction back then.

Even though Sein found it difficult to believe that any life could still exist within ruins weathered by tens of millions of years, he remained on guard.

Just as he was about to give instructions, a sudden warning transmission from Master Howard and the others caused Sein’s expression to change.

“The Gallant Federation has discovered and is invading this top-tier civilization’s ruins! We must drive them out immediately and protect our findings here!” Master Howard’s voice echoed in Sein’s ears.

As the storm to the northeast gradually died down, Sein indeed spotted two combat units that resembled federal mobile suits.

***

Outside the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization...

Bond extended one hand forward, the bangle on his wrist gleaming faintly. A spatial vortex, like swirling black mist, materialized directly in front of him.

Long ago, the defeated Black Merlot Civilization had launched a desperate final assault against the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization. In doing so, they left behind certain contingency measures within these ruins.

That was one of the reasons Bond and his team were able to pinpoint these coordinates so quickly.

By now, the vanguard units of two mobile suit legions had already infiltrated the site.

The tremors Sein and the others felt earlier within the ruins were caused by foreign forces interacting with the ancient power left behind by the Black Merlot Civilization, destabilizing this secret realm.

At the same time, the three Nyx-class special fleets that had arrived in the area were already engaged with the Magus Civilization legions deployed outside the ruins.

The Gallant Federation’s surprise assault on this site was deliberate, coordinated, and carefully planned.

As Bond initiated his strike, the Gallant Federation also launched major offensives on the Shadowbat Civilization frontlines and the Marvelous Plane battlefield at the same time.

The attack did not stop there. The federal forces stationed in the Chaos Sea and the Golden Rock Worlds also moved in unison.

Faced with such a frontal assault, the Magus Civilization naturally responded with equal aggression.

In truth, the Magus Civilization had been placing enormous pressure on the Gallant Federation all along.

Otherwise, the federation would not have resorted to sending only a small special operations force to infiltrate this region that was technically still within Arid Expanse World’s sphere of influence.

But then again, could the Gallant Federation’s main forces truly reach this place with ease?

Would the Magus Civilization allow it?

Consider what the five-star general had told Bond earlier—that Marshal Rommel would personally lead an Erebus-class war fleet to provide reinforcements here later.

Why later rather than immediately?

The answer was simple: the Magus Civilization maintained dedicated forces that constantly monitored the Gallant Federation’s movements!

In terms of overall strength and the number of overlords, the Magus Civilization clearly surpassed the Gallant Federation.

When Marshal Rommel finally led his overlord-class fleet into this star domain battlefield, the overlord-level powerhouses from the Magus Civilization would surely appear in person as well!

Sein and the others had long sensed that the conflict near this star domain was escalating rapidly. The number of law-wielding beings on both sides had already exceeded a hundred, showing clear signs that the area was evolving into a core battlefield.

Now, it seemed their concerns had become a reality.

On a civilizational battlefield, a Rank Six being like Feylis could effectively command an entire theater of war.

Rank Six combatants were scarce for both sides, and as the strongest forces beneath the overlords, they inevitably became the focus of intense scrutiny.

That was precisely why the Magus Civilization had sent Sein here instead of Feylis—there were simply too many eyes fixed on her.

No matter how bold the Gallant Federation was, so far, they had only committed forces on the level of Bond and a Nyx-class warship fleet here.

They could try to send a Rank Six or peak Rank Six fleet here, but the Magus Civilization’s astrological predictions were not for show either.

The only threat the Magus Civilization’s astrology had failed to predict was that Bond had brought with him an angel-type robot with Rank Six combat power.

Even so, there was no need for undue concern. The Magus Civilization had entered the subspace ruins earlier and established numerous experimental bases within them, many of which possessed defensive capabilities of their own.

More importantly, there were currently large numbers of Rank Four and Rank Five mages stationed inside the ruins.

Academic mages like Master Gilbert, Howard, and the others might not excel in direct combat, but numbers still mattered!

When a dozen Rank Four and Rank Five mages worked together, even a Rank Six angel-type robot would struggle.

And that was without even counting war mages like Sein, who had been dispatched specifically as reinforcements.

The conflict surrounding the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization could be seen as the eye of the storm on the battlefield in this region.

The fighting within this eye might not appear especially intense, likely peaking at clashes involving only a handful of Rank Six beings and perhaps a dozen or two Rank Four combatants.

But beyond it, the storm was growing ever more violent.

Both sides had already committed legions numbering in the hundreds of millions, along with over a hundred law-wielding beings. Overlord-class existences had even arrived in person!

And according to the Gallant Federation’s movements, their main fleet continued to press forward relentlessly toward these core ruins.

Driven by the federation’s aggression, forces from nearby star domains—including Feylis and White Stella—would inevitably dispatch legions or arrive in person at this location.

The core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization were growing livelier.

After watching his entire special operations team enter the ruins, Bond turned to the swarm of over a million angel-type robots pouring out from the lower decks of the battleship.

“It’s your turn to go in now. Once inside, conduct a comprehensive search of the ruins. Find every piece of useful information,” he instructed them.

“Although this area falls within Arid Expanse World’s sphere of influence, judging from the current situation across nearby star domains, the Magus Civilization may actually be the first to arrive with reinforcements. We don’t have much time,” Bond added.

Fermera, the Rank Six angel-type robot, possessed a female form, yet her eyes and expression remained cold and utterly emotionless.

She glanced at Bond, then activated the lightsaber in her hand. “Understood.”

She pointed her lightsaber forward. In the next instant, millions of angel-type robots unfurled their metallic wings and surged toward the black mist vortex Bond had created.

Bond and his team were still unclear about the full situation inside the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

However, based on the feedback coming from within, the mobile suit legion that had infiltrated first appeared to have already engaged the Magus Civilization’s forces.