Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s first opponent was a massive mobile suit wielding a double-bladed whip sword, positioned right beside Howard.

He had to admit that the Gallant Federation lifeforms were truly ingenious.

Although they had chosen the path of technological advancement, after absorbing the Rosen Dynasty’s mobile suit systems, they adapted them to suit their own needs. In the process, they developed many innovations that bore a striking resemblance to the combat styles of cultivation-based civilizations.

Take the Rank Five mobile suit in front of Sein, for example. While it did deploy various mounted technological weapons during battle, it relied far more heavily on that double-bladed whip sword.

When the mobile suit swung the weapon with full force, it looked remarkably like a Rank Five knight who had activated his lawful body.

More than seventy percent of the Gallant Federation’s explosive technological growth over the past tens of thousands of years could be traced back to its powerful neighbor.

If not for the Magus Civilization pressing in from the side and constantly threatening its security, the Gallant Federation would likely not have advanced so rapidly as a technological civilization...

Competition and pressure, after all, were the greatest drivers of transformation and growth.

The war between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization could also be seen as the Magus Civilization no longer willing to stand by while the federation continued to expand unchecked.

Although the Gallant Federation had been the one to strike first more than a thousand years ago, the Magus Civilization had been the actual catalyst behind this Clash of Civilizations.

Driven by the overwhelming pressure exerted by the Magus Civilization, the Gallant Federation’s leadership had been forced to act. For them, it had been the only option.

Once Sein joined the fight, the pressure on Master Howard eased significantly.

While exchanging blows with the mobile suit in front of him, Sein sent out a transmission asking about the current state of the experimental base.

Fortunately, he and his team had arrived in time. This central base had suffered only minimal damage.

All the discovered technological achievements and related specimen materials from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization had been safely preserved.

Deep beneath the experimental base, buried under layers of yellow sand, lay what had once been a regional command center of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

Master Howard and his team had originally planned to use the discoveries from this base to decipher more of the grid barriers scattered throughout the ruins—but it was clearly too late for that now.

“I’ve already instructed the junior researchers to organize their materials and take temporary shelter underground. Not all of our experimental bases within the secret realm have been attacked. Some appear to be well concealed,” Master Howard said to Sein.

“The exact number of Gallant Federation legions that launched this surprise assault remains unknown. To protect our research progress, I suggest we hold our ground for now and try to wait for reinforcements,” he said.

Sein nodded at first, but then quickly shook his head.

“Master, I believe we should consider evacuation. This enemy force is far larger than we anticipated,” Sein suggested grimly.

If it had only been the continuous waves of Gallant Federation troops on the battlefield, Sein would not have spoken so decisively.

What truly unsettled him was the sight of a vast angelic legion in the distant yellow sands.

At a glance, the angelic forces numbered in the millions. But what alarmed Sein the most was their leader—an eight-winged angel wielding a lightsaber, equipped with four propellers on her back.

The Faceless Mask’s real-time intelligence feed confirmed Sein’s suspicion. That angelic robot possessed Rank Six combat power.

Drawing on what little knowledge he had gained of the Radiant Celestials during his time in Sky City, Sein knew that eight wings were the unmistakable mark of a Rank Six angel.

Master Howard was not blind either. Although he lacked a reconnaissance-type world-class secret treasure like the Faceless Mask, he still froze the moment he spotted the eight-winged angel, Fermera.

What Sein did not know was that Master Howard, as one of the Magus Civilization’s foremost archaeology mages, had personally led the excavation of more than one Radiant Celestial’s ruin.

Since the Radiant Celestials had vanished only around two hundred thousand years ago, many traces of their civilization still lingered within the Magus Civilization’s sphere of influence.

Sein’s limited understanding simply came from his lack of prior exposure to that field.

As the angelic legion advanced relentlessly, Master Howard took a deep breath and said, “It may already be too late to retreat. At the speed of that eight-winged angel, we may not all be able to escape.”

“The technological achievements of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization that we have uncovered absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the Gallant Federation. Compared to us, they would covet these technologies far more. I’ll order all findings to be destroyed immediately.

“You and I will hold them off with everything we have. Let’s buy time to look for a chance to break through and retreat.”

As he spoke, Howard turned to Sein with a resolute expression and drew a device resembling a blue lamp from beneath his robes.

Judging by the powerful fluctuations radiating from it, it was unmistakably a world-class secret treasure!

This was the first time Sein had seen Master Howard’s treasure of this grade.

Truth be told, mages who specialized in exploring ancient civilization ruins were all quite wealthy.

Master Howard was hardly an exception. If Sein had paid closer attention to the battlefield, he would have noticed that many of the Rank Four mages stationed at the experimental bases were wielding magic artifacts forged from fragments of world-class secret treasures.

The blue lamp before him, as well as the artifacts wielded by those Rank Four mages, clearly did not match the typical style of Magus Civilization artifacts.

Who knew how many ancient civilization ruins Master Howard and his team had excavated to acquire such items?

Howard’s solemn resolve prompted Sein to nod in agreement.

However, before Sein could remain engaged in combat for long, he noticed an unexpected—yet entirely logical—development, one that probably worked in favor of both himself and the other Magus World powerhouses.

The million-strong angel robot legion led by the eight-winged Fermera did not rush toward them as expected. Instead, they were halted by a translucent energy membrane!

The ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization were riddled with countless cube-shaped energy barriers.

These barriers had once been the greatest obstacle to Sein and his companions’ exploration. Now, ironically, they served as a protective wall, shielding them from the Gallant Federation’s robot legions.

It had stopped not just the angel-type robots. Numerous Gallant Federation warships could be seen on the distant horizon as well.

Judging by their stalled advance, intact energy barriers must still exist in that direction—ones the Magus Civilization had yet to dismantle.

This also confirmed that some form of spatial displacement had occurred, as the Gallant Federation’s invading forces were clearly scattered.

At the sight of this, Sein and Howard exchanged a glance.

Howard adjusted the elemental glasses resting on his nose and said with a wry smile, “Ah, I see. The Gallant Federation must have used some specialized spatial positioning technology to breach the ruins undetected.”

“But no matter what method they employed, it will never be as reliable as the magic arrays our Magus Civilization spent so much time deploying outside the ruins. Given the nature of this subspace, spatial anomalies are quite common,” he added.

“Should we break out and relocate immediately?” Sein asked.

Howard glanced at him once more. Without hesitation, the two of them signaled all combat personnel within the base to begin evacuating.