Sovereign of the Ashes

As a mage, Sein adhered strictly to the principle of equivalent exchange.

Having secured Fermera in his laboratory for research, he naturally agreed to assist her in awakening the other angel robots.

That said, Sein was still unaware of the exact locations of the angel robots Fermera had once commanded.

To find them, he would need to consult Magus Civilization powerhouses stationed on the front lines.

Moreover, within the subspace, the combined forces of both sides had long surpassed one hundred million combatants. In terms of sheer numbers, the Gallant Federation consistently outmatched the Magus Civilization.

On such a battlefield, a single Rank Four Magus World mage could easily find themselves facing an entire Gallant Federation fleet.

Even Rank Two and Rank Three beings were often forced to contend with multiple federal destroyers, swarms of drones, and vast numbers of low-tier robotic cannon fodder.

Against such overwhelming scale, a million-strong angel legion barely stood out within the Gallant Federation’s forces.

Asea of soldiers... that was an apt description of the Magus Civilization’s enemy.

No—perhaps a sea of machines was more accurate.

After receiving Sein’s assurance, Fermera lifted her head, straightened her back, and lay stiffly on the experimental table, allowing Sein to proceed with his experiment.

Sein began by collecting samples of Fermera’s skin.

It felt like a smooth synthetic fiber. Yet once she entered combat mode, the material hardened to a degree surpassing steel, rivaling even the outer alloy plating of the Gallant Federation’s Rank Six battleships.

After examining her skin, Sein turned his attention to Fermera’s eight wings.

Beyond granting her tremendous speed in combat, these wings also served as her primary energy storage units.

Despite being a robot, Fermera rarely required external power replenishment.

The eight wings alone were sufficient to maintain her energy balance.

The study of energy conversion had long been a subject of keen interest to Sein.

Knowledge and truth were deeply interconnected. Even though Fermera was constructed using Gallant Federation technology, Sein could reinterpret and translate its principles into Magus World’s alchemy and related laws concept through his own understanding.

After completing his analysis of the eight wings, Sein began a preliminary examination of Fermera’s internal structure.

The mysteries contained within a Rank Six robot ran so deep that Sein could not possibly explore them thoroughly in such a short time.

However, one recent discovery left him genuinely astonished.

It turned out that when the Gallant Federation scientists created Fermera, they had created her as a direct replica of a certain angel.

Although Fermera’s underlying core structure was fundamentally robotic, her outward form and several basic organs were modeled after those of a real angel.

For example, Fermera did possess certain physiological traits unique to female angels. It was no wonder she had always identified herself as a female angel rather than adopting the “neutral” designation common to most robots.

Motivated by this discovery, Sein went on to study several low-tier angel robots under her command.

The results were remarkably consistent.

Even these lower-tier angel robots displayed clear organ differentiation.

Although their intelligence levels were far inferior to Fermera’s and they had not developed distinct personalities, the structural similarities were undeniable.

“The scientist who created you all must have been a fanatic,” Sein remarked as he screwed an alloy steel plate back into place on Fermera’s chest.

“If the goal had been nothing more than creating a combat robot, removing those nonfunctional structures could have reduced material use and energy consumption by at least a third.”

The experiment was drawing to a close, and Sein had already collected most of the data he wanted.

There was no need to rush. Given his current relationship with Fermera, he could simply summon her again later if he wished to conduct further studies.

Fermera’s skin reattached itself seamlessly to her body.

Judging by appearance alone, it was difficult to associate her with a robot.

Fermera’s feelings toward her creator were clearly not as profound as those of the Nexon intelligent robots toward the late Michaelis Bell.

After all, Michaelis Bell had granted Skyhold and the others not only bodies, but also intelligence itself.

As for Syphen, the federal scientist who created Fermera and her kind, he existed to her as nothing more than a piece of stored data before she gained self-awareness.

Because of this, Sein did not worry about the angel robots betraying him.

“I have heard that more and more legions from the alliance have been arriving in this warzone lately, and the conflict is continuing to escalate. Your plans to formally join the Magus Alliance may have to be put on hold for a while. Right now, the higher-ups simply do not have the bandwidth to handle that matter,” Sein said.

“But don’t worry, just fight alongside me in the coming battles. I’ll definitely get this sorted out in due time,” he assured.

Fermera merely hummed in acknowledgment as she sat up from the experimental table, drawing energy elements around herself to form a white, form-fitting combat suit.

This was the standard attire of most angel-type robots, with specialized openings at the back for their wings.

These high-tech combat suits, along with the lightsabers they commonly wielded, were likely the most visible differences between them and the angels of the Radiant Celestials recorded in historical texts.

With some reluctance, Sein tore his gaze away from Fermera. If time and energy allowed, he would very much like to conduct a deeper study of her internal structure.

But in the midst of a war, that was clearly impossible.

Sein could be recalled to the frontlines at any moment. There was no way he could hide in the laboratory for extended periods of deep research.

Moreover, Fermera was far from his only pressing research subject at this stage.

The profound knowledge obtained from the Grandlight Tech Center, the ongoing metamorphosis of the Magic Cube, and the qualitative changes in pyro elemental particles triggered by the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical weapon strikes—all of it demanded Sein’s immediate attention.

Beyond these primary concerns, there were also lower-priority projects, such as research into inert crystals and the integration of body-tempering techniques with alchemy.

He had not even found the time to properly study the extensive apothecary research notes and experimental insights that Lorianne had previously shared with him.

Mages truly led complex and endlessly busy lives.

As Fermera was about to leave the laboratory, Sein suddenly recalled something.

“By the way, the Nexon robots might be among the reinforcements arriving from the Magus Alliance soon. I’ll introduce you when the time comes,” he said.