Sovereign of the Ashes

Biological warship technology was not a mainstream research direction within the Magus Civilization, nor was it an area in which the Gallant Federation excelled.

Only biological civilizations that had embarked on unusual paths of passive evolution tended to explore this field.

The former Black Merlot Civilization and the present-day Insectoids likely belonged to this category.

Transforming a living Rank Four or Rank Five being into a warship was, without question, a novel area for Sein.

He was already feeling excited.

Even though Sein had not achieved much in warship construction or biological bloodline research, he could not resist diving into this field.

After all, this was something entirely new to him, and a mage should always maintain enthusiasm for exploring unfamiliar truths.

Sein’s rapid growth over the years likely did not stem from exceptional luck or innate talent alone.

Rather, it came from his unwavering drive to pursue the essence of truth.

Others only saw the immense power he wielded at such a young age, but who noticed him standing before an experimental table through countless days and nights?

When it came to research zeal and dedication, many seasoned Rank Five and Rank Six mages paled in comparison to Sein.

“Let’s cut this biological warship into sections, then proceed with specimen collection,” Sein ordered. “We’ll explore its interior too. Who knows what secrets lie inside?”

Leaving several lower-ranking mages to collect samples around the outer perimeter, Sein and the others headed straight toward the interior of the biological warship.

The proper entrance to such a vessel should have been located in its head or at the base of its abdomen.

However, Sein and his companions did not bother with conventional access points. Instead, they entered directly through the massive wound where this black scaly beast had been pierced.

Despite the passage of countless millennia, a thick, lingering stench of blood and decay still permeated the creature’s interior.

Naturally, robots could not perceive this odor—they lacked olfactory senses. Sein and the others, however, noticed it immediately.

“I smell something valuable over there,” Black Oblivion declared, sniffing dramatically as he looked toward Sein.

The Magic Cube only responded to law energies from technological civilizations. When it came to relics of the Black Merlot Civilization, discovering anything worthwhile depended entirely on Black Oblivion’s keen senses.

After all, several Black Merlot Civilization ruins and treasures previously uncovered within this subspace had first been located by Black Oblivion and his cousins.

Dragonkins truly possessed an unmatched talent for treasure hunting that no other race could rival.

Guided by Black Oblivion’s instincts, Sein and his group ventured deep into the interior of the biological warship.

Within the warship’s abdominal cavity, they discovered vast quantities of highly concentrated genetic mucus, along with numerous corpses of smaller black-scaled creatures.

Presumably protected by the warship’s outer defenses, these lesser black-scaled beings—whose life levels likely never exceeded Rank Three—had survived the ravages of time far better than expected.

Most of the Black Merlot Civilization remains previously uncovered by Sein and his group had belonged to beings of at least Rank Four.

Even so, the erosion of countless years had severely diminished their value.

They could no longer be treated as fresh Rank Four creature remains, their usefulness limited mainly to helping Magus Civilization mages study the ancient civilization’s prehistoric biotechnology.

“Damn... the genetic potions we drank before came from something this disgusting?” Black Oblivion muttered, scowling at the black-scaled corpses soaking in the thick genetic fluid.

Sein glanced at him and said, “Well, it does look gross, but it tastes pretty good, no?”

“Are you going to stop drinking it?” he asked.

Now in human form, Black Oblivion turned his head away without replying, his cheek twitching involuntarily as he convinced himself that as long as he ignored where genetic fluid originally came from, he could still drink it.

Members of the dragon family were not picky eaters.

The Black Merlot Civilization genetic concentrates found here were far more refined than any Sein had collected from previous ruins.

Moreover, likely due to superior preservation, Sein detected trace particulate elements in these samples that were absent from other Black Merlot genetic fluids after a brief analysis.

No wonder Black Oblivion had not even tried to refuse them, despite their revolting appearance.

Their appeal was simply too strong!

Beyond the concentrated genetic fluids, Sein’s team also discovered a separate chamber within the biological warship containing deactivated white eggs.

These eggs were likely the original embryos used by the Black Merlot Civilization to cultivate war beasts, as the chamber also housed a complete incubation system.

The genetic concentrates they had collected were essential nutrients and catalysts for that cultivation process.

“PAL might have originated right here,” Sein said, gesturing toward the heap of broken white eggs before them.

“The fusion of technology and biological power over an immense span of time, huh...? Incredible,” he murmured in awe.

Surrounding the broken white eggs were distinct technological components from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

Judging by the crash site of this biological warship, along with the wounds both inside and outside its body, it seemed the Black Merlot Civilization had once fought its way deep into the heart of this subspace secret realm.

Whether this biological warship was the only one, or if other Black Merlot Civilization warships still lay hidden within the vast Steel Ruins, remained an open question.

Near the heart of the warship, Sein and his companions discovered a hollow cavity sealed by an unfamiliar biological door.

What purpose had this cavity served?

Sein and the others paused briefly to examine it, but none of them could discern its function.

Their lack of familiarity with this type of biotechnology, combined with the immense passage of time that had erased most elemental fluctuations, made investigation difficult.

Otherwise, a simple analysis of the surrounding elemental composition might have offered some clues.

“Make a note of it. We’ll move deeper inside,” Sein said decisively.

With news that the Gallant Federation fleet and Magus Civilization forces were gradually shifting the battlefield into the subspace ruins, a sense of urgency settled over the group.

Everyone hoped to uncover as many findings as possible in the shortest time.

As a result, anything that yielded no immediate results had to be set aside for now.

Leaving the mysterious hollow cavity behind, Sein and his team pressed onward and uncovered a number of valuable discoveries within the biological warship.

At its core lay a massive heart that had long since stopped beating.

Although all cellular activity was gone, Sein’s analysis confirmed that the heart had belonged to a Rank Six being.

In other words, this biological warship had once been a Rank Six, or possibly even a peak Rank Six creature in life!

Beyond the heart, they later uncovered additional treasures, including a biological crystal core and preserved brain matter within the warship’s head section.

However, the most valuable find of all was a black bone staff that Black Oblivion quickly seized the moment it came into view.

A world-class secret treasure!

The erosion of time had not completely destroyed the law energy within it.

Protected by the biological warship itself, the staff had somehow retained its status as a world-class secret treasure.

Its law fluctuations were faint, like a candle flame in the wind. This clearly defined it as a low-tier world-class secret treasure, one that fell short even of Thunder’s Thunder Sword.

Yet despite that, it was still a world-class secret treasure!