Sovereign of the Ashes

The fleet under Davis’ command did not cause any serious injury to the God of Scorching Wind.

It only frightened him.

Be they energy beams or various Law-powered weapons, the attacks shifted course slightly the moment they neared the God of Scorching Wind, narrowly missing him.

This also showed just how outstanding the Gallant Federation’s combat capabilities were.

Over the past hundred thousand years, it was not only the Magus Civilization and the Immortal Realm that had experienced rapid, explosive growth. The Gallant Federation had also developed at a breakneck pace.

One technological barrier after another had been broken.

The civilization’s overall strength had been steadily rising.

Without sufficient power, the Gallant Federation would never have dared to strike first under the looming threat of the Magus Civilization.

If there had truly been no chance of victory, or if they lacked confidence in their own strength, the federation would have had no reason to go to war in the first place. They could have simply chosen to join the Magus Alliance.

After all, living was better than dying.

At its core, the Gallant Federation was not really a warlike civilization.

The fierce barrage of firepower, especially the two Black Death particle beams, was enough to halt Belphane’s pursuit.

The female knight was no fool. Her extensive experience in the Clash of Civilizations allowed her to assess the situation in an instant.

The Gallant Federation reinforcements before her were at least equivalent to two Rank Six combat units, along with more than ten Rank Four and Rank Five units.

When it came to a brawl, it was always more satisfying to be the one doing the beating.

If she ended up being the one on the receiving end instead, that would be a real tragedy.

Caught in the vast ocean of the Gallant Federation’s fleet, even a peak Rank Six being, or perhaps even a knight overlord, would eventually feel the pressure if the battle dragged on—let alone Belphane.

After all, enough ants could bring down an elephant. This principle applied even more to the Gallant Federation’s fleet.

Belphane gave up the chase and turned to retreat.

Most of the dense barrage was limited in both range and duration, but the Black Death Particle Beams posed a serious threat to her.

Belphane only let out a small sigh of relief after retreating to the asteroid belt near the border of the Kales Star Domain, where she used the surrounding asteroids’ complex terrain to weaken part of the federal fleet’s firepower.

Even so, the vicious Black Death Particle Beams had still left two lingering law power-infused bruises on her left arm, which she could not immediately dispel.

Such minor injuries were nothing to Belphane, who was also a Rank Six being.

Before long, Sein arrived at the border of the Kales Star Domain with Fermera and the others after receiving the news.

The God of Black Mist and the other deities, who had only just defected, were also with them.

For the time being, these turncoats were still useful.

As long as Sein and his group did not show any major signs of weakness, the God of Black Mist and the other deities would not dare switch sides again.

During the Clash of Civilizations, such behavior was extremely foolish.

“Their Rank Six combat power is on par with ours, but they have slightly more Rank Five fighters. Their lower-tier legions, however, may be lacking,” Belphane reported. “Should we request reinforcements from the Dawn Empire?”

Sein shook his head. “The total number of Gallant Federation legions deployed to the Divine Descendants World battlefield is limited. If we shoulder a little more pressure here, it will ease the burden on the Dawn Empire.”

“They only have slightly more Rank Five combat power than we do. We should be able to hold out for a while without any problem,” he said.

“All right, we’ll follow your lead,” Belphane said. “I’ll take care of that Rank Six fleet, and leave the other Rank Six mobile suit to your robot girlfriend.”

Robot girlfriend?

Hearing Belphane use that term, the corner of Sein’s mouth twitched slightly beneath his Faceless Mask.

Fermera also glanced at Belphane. This tough-as-nails female knight lacked even the gentle grace that Fermera, a robot, possessed.

Fermera instinctively straightened her posture. Compared to Belphane’s bulky muscles, her figure was clearly far more graceful.

“That fleet is stronger. Let Fermera handle it. You take on the mobile suit,” Sein suggested. “Do not underestimate us. We haven’t shown you our full power in the previous battles.”

Belphane stared at Sein for a few seconds before replying, “Alright. As you wish.”

Then, before her astonished eyes, a magnificent cube radiating a deep blue glow appeared in Sein’s hand and fused with Fermera.

Sein entered Fermera’s body immediately afterward.[1]

Fermera’s aura surged dramatically.

Sein had been right to let Fermera handle the Gallant Federation’s Rank Six war fleet. It seemed he had not exaggerated his strength after all.

A new battle soon erupted.

After making contact with the God of Scorching Wind, who had fled to their side, the commander of the Gallant Federation reinforcements seemed to obtain some useful intelligence and immediately launched an all-out assault.

Since Sein and his team had not yet established a fully fortified defensive line on the outskirts of the Kales Star Domain, and their lower-tier legions were limited in number, they struggled to hold their ground at first.

However, when it came to top-tier combat power, Sein and his group were not at a disadvantage.

Now that Sein had merged with Fermera, the two of them fought far more smoothly in this battle than they had during their earlier engagements!

Practice truly made perfect. This new technology and combat style simply needed time to come together.

Seated inside the cockpit with his Faceless Mask still on, Sein divided his attention between several tasks at once.

While summoning and unleashing explosive magic attacks, he also projected the phantom images of the technological weapons stored within the Magic Cube onto the light wings behind Fermera.

Dense streams of elemental energy gathered into a surging tide, crashing relentlessly into the Gallant Federation legions across the battlefield.

If knights were hailed as the “Kings of Close-quarters Combat”, then mages deserved to be called the “Kings of War”.

When it came to large-scale melee and sweeping long-range strikes, no matter how powerful knights were, they struggled to match mages of the same rank.

Being inside Fermera’s cockpit gave Sein a clear advantage. Her sturdy defenses and autonomous combat intelligence shielded him from external threats, allowing him to release his elemental magic without holding back.

Of course, this came with one condition: Sein needed nerves of steel.

Otherwise, if a powerful federation weapon suddenly struck from some hidden corner, the shock alone might be enough to cause an elemental backlash in an ordinary mage.

Fortunately, thanks to the Faceless Mask’s exceptional battlefield intelligence-gathering abilities, as well as Sein’s absolute trust in Fermera, his highly focused mind did not fall victim to such a scenario.

In fact, as he gradually entered a state of battle-induced euphoria, Sein even pushed his own limits by summoning and casting a forbidden spell with a lengthy incantation directly from within Fermera’s body.

His rationality kept him from using anything stronger than a micro forbidden spell.

But even that was outrageous enough!

“That guy actually managed to cast a forbidden spell like that?” Belphane sensed the unusual elemental fluctuations from the other side of the battlefield and could not help but look toward Sein in astonishment.

Within her line of sight, a vast and dense sea of meteoric fire appeared in the starry sky.

It descended directly upon the Gallant Federation fleet, engulfing countless warships.

1. Translator’s Note: I swear this was how the raws worded it. I wasn’t trying anything funny. ☜