Sovereign of the Ashes

On the battlefield of the Kales Star Domain...

After receiving reinforcements from the Dawn Empire, sent by Gongsun Wudi, Sein and his forces fought a bitter battle against the Gallant Federation legions in this star domain for another two years before the federation forces finally began retreating on their own.

War was simply like that. Unless one side possessed an overwhelming advantage, evenly matched forces often ended up locked in a long stalemate—clashing again and again, only to eventually part ways with neither side truly gaining the upper hand!

Three-star General Davis of the Gallant Federation had received orders to head to the Divine Descendants Star Domain and regroup with the other federal fleets.

Since the vast majority of the Gallant Federation’s fleets had already reached their target star domain, Davis would likely lose any chance of escape if he insisted on fighting Sein and his forces to the bitter end here.

By the time the fleet withdrew en masse from the Kales Star Domain, more than a third of this small star domain had already been reduced to ruins.

Neither the Gallant Federation’s native species nor the forces led by Sein cared about protecting this star domain.

The destruction of resource demiplanes, broken planes, and void asteroid belts was bad enough. But among the seven complete planes, two had suffered devastating blows, while the low-level plane known as Black Mist World had been severely damaged by two consecutive wars.

For the native species, this was undoubtedly a catastrophe!

There was no justice in war—at least not for the living beings of the Kales Star Domain.

“General Ximen Feixiao, General Hu Fu, please continue pursuing those Gallant Federation legions. I’ll have Fermera coordinate with you, and Belphane will also join the operation,” Sein said, standing atop a tilted planetary fortress, its hull wreathed in raging flames.

The prolonged battle had taken a heavy toll on Sein, especially with the repeated use of highly destructive magic, and even forbidden-level spells.

He had been locked in combat against the federation’s Rank Six fleet. Even after fusing with Fermera, the high-intensity battle against such a powerful force had placed a constant strain on his mind and spirit.

He needed a moment to rest.

Ximen Feixiao, Hu Fu, and the other Rank Four and Rank Five powerhouses from the Dawn Empire had only recently arrived on this battlefield, so their fighting spirit was still burning bright.

Sending them to pursue the enemy, with Fermera and Belphane providing cover, posed little risk.

“Yes, Master Sein!” Ximen Feixiao replied.

Before arriving, he had received orders from Princess Gongsun Wudi to follow Sein’s commands as much as possible.

The fact that she was willing to lend her own forces to an outsider showed just how much Gongsun Wudi trusted Sein and his abilities.

After Ximen Feixiao and the others left, Sein glanced down at the somewhat battered world below. He sighed softly, then turned to the God of Black Mist, who stood respectfully at his side.

“Repair the damage to the plane as soon as possible. Now that you have pledged your allegiance to us, you’re considered a member of the Magus Civilization. Once the war in this star domain is over, I’ll speak on your behalf and apply for your admission into the Magus Alliance.

“Once you have joined the Magus Alliance, you should be able to apply for financial assistance from the alliance to help restore planes damaged by war,” he explained.

At Sein’s words, the God of Black Mist lowered his head even further.

Although they were both Rank Five lifeforms, the God of Black Mist remained extremely respectful and humble in Sein’s presence, behaving as if he were a divine servant standing before his master.

Fortunately, the God of Black Mist had not behaved like some fickle turncoat during the earlier war.

Before the reinforcements led by Ximen Feixiao and the others arrived, he had mobilized what little remained of the Kales Pantheon’s forces and continued fighting.

That conduct left a positive impression on Sein and the other Magus Civilization powerhouses.

At the same time, it also proved that the God of Black Mist had exceptional foresight!

Some foreign deities with narrow perspectives still could not see the direction of the civilizational war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation.

This was likely the last chance for those neutral or hostile foreign beings to make their choice!

If the war continued much longer, then even if they later wished to surrender to the Magus Civilization, it might no longer be willing to accept them.

After all, the Magus Civilization needed enough spoils and resources for itself, as well as for its vassals.

The Gallant Federation and its vassals were nothing more than prey to the Magus Civilization’s power bloc.

Everyone was already eager to feast to their heart’s content.

What good would surrendering at that point do?!

Just as the God of Black Mist was about to respectfully take his leave, Sein suddenly called him back and added, “As for the planes that sustained only minor damage, have them resume production as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, the God of Black Mist cast Sein a puzzled glance.

The goods produced by the Kales Pantheon were all high-tech components—materials required by the Gallant Federation’s industries.

What could the Magus Civilization possibly want with them?

Even if the Magus Civilization had technological planes under its command, the materials produced by the Kales Pantheon would not necessarily meet their specifications.

After all, the Kales Pantheon specialized in basic processing industries, not advanced manufacturing.

Although he was curious, the God of Black Mist saw that Sein had no intention of explaining further. After acknowledging the instructions given to him, he respectfully took his leave.

Sein had ordered the God of Black Mist and the others to resume production for a clear reason. He wanted to study the unique production partnership between the Kales Pantheon and the Gallant Federation.

In Sein’s view, this operational model, which maximized the use of an alliance’s labor force and overall productivity, could one day be implemented across the entire Magus Alliance.

It was not that Sein already possessed some grand strategic vision for the development of the whole civilization. He had simply happened to notice this situation. Whether for his own advancement or for the progress of the entire civilization, he felt it was worth studying and putting into words.

By the time the next Magus Alliance Conference was held, Sein might even be able to present this at the assembly.

He was not sure whether his reasoning would stand up to scrutiny then, but in any case, the final decision would rest with the overlords of the Magus Civilization.

After the God of Black Mist departed, Sein returned to the planetary fortress that was still burning behind him.

This secondhand fortress had originally belonged to the God of Black Mist, but now, it had clearly become Sein’s temporary residence.

After the battle, Sein’s robot angels worked alongside the divine emissaries under the God of Black Mist, who were responsible for operating the planetary fortress. Together, they quickly extinguished the flames raging throughout the fortress and began repairing its damaged sections.

Sein also had a research plan in mind for this fortress, and it was related to the Magic Cube.

Since the Magic Cube had already achieved a deep integration with Fermera and greatly enhanced Sein’s combat capabilities, the next step might be to use the planetary fortress to carry out more advanced research.

Back when he was still in Magus World, Sein had attempted to use the blueprints provided by the Magic Cube to conduct combination experiments on the Ashen, Steel Heart, and Flame Demon fortresses.

However, those experiments had been too limited in scope. They were confined to partial, surface-level combinations.

At most, they increased the overall scale of the fortresses and allowed them to share some energy circuits.

As for deeper research, Sein had not ventured that far back then.

The main reason was that Sein’s mechanical research had still been lacking at the time, and he had not yet mastered many of the principles behind mechanical laws.

Now, however, his knowledge of mechanical arts had grown much more extensive. He was finally able to delve into deeper research.

Still, Sein was a little reluctant to use his own Ashen Fortress for his experiments.... What if he damaged it?

Although he was not short on funds now, he had grown attached to the Ashen Fortress after using it for so many years.

Fortunately, he just so happened to have a secondhand planetary fortress from the God of Black Mist to practice on for now.

The planetary-class war fortresses produced by the Gallant Federation were somewhat similar to the Magus Civilization’s space fortresses, but the technology behind them was completely different.

One relied on science, while the other relied on alchemy.

Sein’s Magic Cube was itself a product that fused science and alchemy. That meant he could certainly experiment on the Gallant Federation’s planetary-class war fortresses as well.

The thought of the exciting experiments awaiting him instantly lifted Sein’s spirits, even though he had been mentally drained from the battle just moments ago.