Sovereign of the Ashes

A massive gray-black mushroom cloud rose once again into the air within this subspace.

This marked the third time such a cloud had appeared in the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm in recent times.

The first had occurred when Sein wounded Fermera, the second when the Gallant Federation unleashed its apocalyptical weapon, and the third was this very moment.

The fact that the Gallant Federation had not deployed its apocalyptical weapon again since that last launch made it clear that weapons of this caliber were not something that could be used at will.

The long interval between attacks was a fundamental weakness of such weapons.

The Gallant Federation’s strategy of equipping Rank Six warships with apocalyptical weapons could be summed up in a single phrase—a small boat carrying a big cannon.

To use apocalyptical weapons as conventional arms required an exceptionally strict and difficult-to-produce specialized energy core system, along with demanding performance requirements for the carrier vessels.

Only overlord-class warfleets possessed the capability to make such strikes routine.

Just as the Magus Civilization had only a handful of overlord-class beings, the Gallant Federation’s overlord-class warfleets were equally rare.

Even among top-tier civilizations, overlord-level existences were far from plentiful.

The mushroom cloud was accompanied by a tidal wave of violent energy that swept outward in all directions.

At this stage of the subspace war, both sides fielded numerous Rank Six combatants. In truth, attacks with destructive power on par with the super bomb had already been unleashed many times by both sides.

However, in most cases, Rank Six beings favored focused single-target strikes to maximize their effectiveness against peers of the same rank.

Explosions that generated such overwhelming shockwaves and devastated entire sections of the battlefield were exceedingly rare.

More importantly, the epicenter of this blast had clearly detonated from within Seiron’s Wasteland Armor.

The shockwave that accompanied the mushroom cloud lingered for a long time.

The surrounding air remained saturated with dense divine energy—desolation, decay, and fury... These were clear signs that Seiron had not perished.

Of course, a peak Rank Six existence was not something that could be slain so easily.

Still, the visibly weakened sandstorm power in the area made one thing obvious: Seiron had not emerged from that explosion unscathed.

Gradually, the storm and the raging sands began to subside.

At last, the powerhouse reappeared before everyone’s eyes. His body was dripping with viscous blood, yet still clad in the Wasteland Armor.

The Lightning Ax in his grasp still crackled with arcs of electricity.

Fermera had ultimately been caught in the blast wave of the earlier explosion.

After all, the detonation had happened quickly. How far could she really have escaped after being wounded by Seiron’s strike?

Four of her wings had already lost their brilliance, while the remaining four glowed only faintly.

Despite losing an arm and suffering severe damage, Fermera showed no sign of fear or hesitation.

Her gaze remained cold and steady as she fixed her eyes on Seiron high above.

The only major powerhouse left untouched by the explosion at close range was Feylis.

She had kept a safe distance from Seiron throughout the battle, her body constantly protected by layers of magic shields.

Though sudden and devastatingly powerful, the explosion had not even thrown her off balance.

Now, like Fermera, Feylis stared intently at Seiron, who remained suspended in midair, momentarily motionless.

Feylis sensed something was amiss. A flash of realization crossed her eyes.

After a brief silence, Seiron suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

The raw emotion of it stood in stark contrast to the cold, detached composure he had maintained until now.

To an untrained observer, it might have looked as if the explosion had quite literally blown his mind.

When the laughter finally subsided, Seiron lowered his gaze to the Lightning Ax in his hand and assumed a throwing stance.

Unaware of the truth, Sein and the others assumed he meant to strike Fermera once again.

In a moment of impulsive concern, Sein rushed toward Fermera to provide support.

But those with sharper eyes and steadier nerves noticed something far more alarming: the surrounding Gallant Federation fleets were already executing evasive maneuvers!

And sure enough... the massive ax, wreathed in blinding yellow lightning, spun free under Seiron’s overwhelming power and hurtled straight toward the nearest Gallant Federation fleet.

A chain of explosions tore through the fleet.

The sudden betrayal of a peak Rank Six powerhouse instantly plunged the surrounding Gallant Federation fleets into chaos and collapse.

Even after unleashing such a devastating blow, Seiron still did not seem satisfied.

Viscous crimson blood continued to seep from his wounds and from the seams of his Wasteland Armor.

Beneath the visor, his scarlet eyes burned with an even more demonic and ferocious light.

At this moment, the Rank Six entity closest to Seiron was neither a Gallant Federation fleet nor a giant mobile suit, but a Rank Six creature from the Grand Apocalypse World.

That creature’s opponent had been the Magus Alliance’s God of Decay.

The instant Seiron locked onto the Grand Apocalypse World Rank Six being, he transformed into a crimson streak of light, charging straight toward his new target.

As he closed the distance, Seiron casually lifted the visor of his Wasteland Armor.

“What are you doing?! Seiron!” the Rank Six Grand Apocalypse World creature cried out, staring in disbelief at the bloody monster rushing toward him.

Seiron’s wounded face looked utterly terrifying.

Even the grotesque Rank Six God of Decay could not match the sheer horror radiating from Seiron at this moment.

“What am I doing?” Seiron snarled. “Eat you, of course! What you inflicted on me, I will repay a hundredfold!”

As he roared, a tiny black chip slipped from the gash in Seiron’s cheek. Perhaps that was the true source of his fury.

Seiron opened his massive jaws, revealing four enormous white fangs. Grabbing the Rank Six Grand Apocalypse World creature, he lunged straight for its throat!

The sounds of tearing flesh and wet gulps echoed across the battlefield.

Amidst it all, the agonized screams and howls of the Rank Six Grand Apocalypse World creature pierced the air.

This Rank Six powerhouse was now locked in Seiron’s death grip, unable to move even an inch.

The slender light blades extending from the creature’s arms were no ordinary weapons.

Though they fell just short of world-class secret treasures, in the hands of a Rank Six being, they were clearly high-ranking or top-tier artifacts.

Yet in its weakened state, the creature’s counterattacks could do no more than carve fresh white marks across the surface of Seiron’s sturdy Wasteland Armor.

Its efforts inflicted no real damage on Seiron himself.

And so, amidst the relentless sounds of devouring and chewing, the struggling Rank Six creature gradually fell silent...