Sovereign of the Ashes

The battle in the underground passage erupted sooner than anyone had expected.

Yuri and Burning Flame were still planting the bombs and arranging them according to a special magic array.

Meanwhile, Sein had already clashed once more with Fermera.

After suffering heavy damage from the super magic bomb, the eight-winged angel’s strength had indeed declined noticeably.

However, Sein himself was also quite badly injured. In the narrow, dimly lit underground passage, their first exchange ended in a deadlock.

Qixiu, the eldest of the dragonkins, lived up to his reputation as the geo elemental beast with the strongest physical defenses.

While Black Oblivion tended to Hanliu, Qixiu repeatedly blocked Fermera’s attacks with his true dragon beast form in the confined space, giving Sein the breathing room he needed to fight better.

Qixiu had taken two direct blasts from Fermera and suffered two deep stabs to the abdomen from her lightsaber. Even with his thick hide, he could not suppress a pained grimace.

Deep, thunderous dragon roars echoed constantly from Qixiu’s maw, yet his counterattacks were too slow. Even in the cramped darkness, the eight-winged angel narrowly avoided being struck time and again.

The world-class secret treasure-grade diamond drill, once a terrifying offensive weapon, was now being used by Qixiu as a defensive shield.

White Stella, Black Oblivion, and Tourmaline each possessed a pair of similar dragon horns.

Yet as their cousin, Qixiu bore only a single horn on his forehead.

His combat style was also rather unusual. Whether this was a latent potential awakened by battle or simply his natural inclination was unclear.

He had fused the diamond drill directly with that lone horn.

A dazzling golden light radiated from Qixiu’s head. Wrapped in that glow, his resistance to Fermera’s attacks increased dramatically.

Sein had previously hesitated, debating whether to take advantage of this unique underground environment to gather everyone and attempt to eliminate the eight-winged angel in one decisive engagement.

Now, however, it was clear that letting Black Oblivion and the others retreat first had been the correct choice.

The combat strength of this eight-winged angel was simply not something that could be dealt with in a short time.

The gap of even one rank made a tremendous difference.

Sein knew that had it been him, an explosion of that magnitude would have left him incapacitated.

Aside from the eight-winged angel itself, a steady stream of drones and angel-type robots continued to pour in from both sides of the underground passage during Sein’s battle.

Although these angel robots possessed combat strength below Rank Four, their command-driven nature and complete disregard for self-preservation made them a serious nuisance.

When several medium-sized warships also forced their way into the underground passage, Sein could clearly sense the Gallant Federation legion’s determination to continue the pursuit at all costs.

“Faster!” Sein shouted to Yuri.

Fermera’s once elegant features were reduced to charred black metal, save for her single remaining electronic eye, which flickered intermittently with a red glow.

Combined with her exposed metallic frame and visible energy conduits, the sight was nothing short of demonic.

While swinging her lightsaber at Sein and Qixiu, the eight-winged angel suddenly shifted her gaze toward Yuri’s position after hearing Sein’s shout.

She promptly activated the four remaining wings on her back and lunged straight toward Yuri, clearly intent on disrupting her work.

Yuri had already suffered severe damage in the previous battle, and thick smoke still billowed from the Burning Flame Unit.

Sein rushed to intercept the attack, but someone moved even faster—HALL-E, which had remained close to Yuri the entire time.

Facing the relentless assault of the eight-winged angel, HALL-E extended its two brown mechanical arms forward, placing itself squarely between the enemy and the Burning Flame Unit.

Those arms were already covered in rust from the lack of maintenance.

HALL-E’s small size offered no apparent advantage against Fermera. At a glance, Sein could see no sign that this cube-shaped robot possessed any real combat capability.

Yet when Fermera closed in and unleashed a fully powered strike, HALL-E blocked it!

The two slender mechanical arms visibly deformed under the eight-winged angel’s immense force.

Even so, they remained intact.

After taking the blow, HALL-E was knocked backward and sent flying through the passage. Alerts from the Faceless Mask and the Magic Cube immediately informed Sein that the square-shaped robot had suffered no critical damage.

Rising once more from the debris, HALL-E swayed briefly, then steadied itself and drove its tracked legs forward, positioning itself once again in front of the Burning Flame Unit.

By now, Sein had made it to its side. With several of them joining forces to repel the enemy, Fermera found herself unable to advance any farther.

Even Qixiu, who had been passively blocking the attacks until now, cast a curious glance at HALL-E.

He was astonished that this lump of metal had actually managed to block Fermera’s attacks.

However, HALL-E had not launched a counterattack.

Sein could not discern any hidden offensive weapons within HALL-E’s seemingly simple exterior.

Perhaps it was not a combat robot at all.

“Ready, Master!” Yuri’s voice echoed in Sein’s ears once more.

Sein immediately called Qixiu and HALL-E back to his side. After releasing a final volley of five magic beams through the Faceless Mask, he quickly led them toward the end of the passage.

BOOOOOM!

A thunderous explosion, followed by even more violent tremors, erupted within the narrow underground metal tunnel.

The metal pillars lining the passageway finally tilted and collapsed under the combined force of the detonation and the magic array.

The initial blast triggered a series of violent chain reactions.

The entire underground passage was destroyed. From above, one would have seen the once-level, gently undulating yellow sands sink silently by a considerable margin!

As law-wielding beings, Sein and the others moved just fast enough to escape before the passage collapsed completely.

When they burst out of the underground tunnel, Sein focused solely on protecting Yuri and Qixiu at his side, sparing little attention for HALL-E.

Yet HALL-E proved astonishingly fast. Despite having nothing but a pair of tracked legs, it moved faster and more steadily than Sein himself!

Even without any mounted offensive weapons, HALL-E’s raw speed, strength, and durability alone were enough to convince Sein that it was a Rank Four or Rank Five combatant.

After all, what ordinary robot could withstand a direct blow from an eight-winged angel?

Sein could no longer sense the presence of the eight-winged angel or any federal warships behind them.

Instead, a massive, tornado-like dust storm began to form.

This storm would thoroughly erase all traces left behind by Sein and his companions.

After orienting himself, Sein pointed southwest and said, “We head that way.”