Sovereign of the Ashes

The confrontation between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization in the Feral Beast Star Domain and the Wild Star Domain ended with both sides choosing to take a step back.

Though the Gallant Federation’s financial support created a few “obstacles” for the Magus Civilization during its conquest of the Wild Star Domain, the Magus Civilization’s aggressive stance also forced the federation to surrender the Roman Planet.

The Magus Civilization’s decision to deploy a space fortress and obliterate the three life planets was nothing short of a blatant slap in the face for the Gallant Federation.

Historically, despite their underlying tensions and frequent covert dealings, both civilizations had exercised restraint and tact.

Yet, the events in the Feral Beast Star Domain and Wild Star Domain escalated their rivalry to an unprecedented level.

The fact that the two powers ultimately refrained from open warfare surprised many observers.

Even the prominent figure from the Arriba Chamber of Commerce could only shake his head in disappointment when he realized that no large-scale battles would erupt in this star domain.

Wars, especially those between top-tier civilizations, were golden opportunities for interstellar merchants and arms dealers to amass staggering fortunes.

Every conflict promised mountains of wealth, with profits soaring into the trillions.

“It seems the Gallant Federation needs more time to prepare than the Magus Civilization,” the middle-aged man in violet mused, stroking his chin as he gazed out at the vast expanse of stars.

“It might take a few more millennia before this war erupts. Then again, perhaps the Magus World, which has already stepped on the federation’s tail, will make the first move,” he continued.

The destruction of the Roman Planet was not a devastating loss in terms of the Gallant Federation’s overall strength, but it was a blow to its pride.

If news of the incident reached the federation’s core territories, it would undoubtedly incite public outrage.

Putting aside the worlds and civilizations under the Gallant Federation, many of its own citizens would likely be displeased.

After all, taxpayers did not hand over their money to the federal government only to watch it cower before its adversaries.

Pro-war and radical factions existed in every civilization, but the Gallant Federation’s dynamic was particularly intriguing.

Among its populace, it was often the ordinary humans—those with little personal power—who were the loudest radicals.

In contrast, the Federation’s elites and top plutocrats, who held the real reins of power, were predominantly conservative.

Conservatism, however, did not equate to cowardice or weakness. Rather, it reflected a calculated approach, one that carefully weighed long-term outcomes and the cascading effects on the lower strata of society.

For civilizations as well-established as the Gallant Federation, the loss of a planet or two was a trivial matter in the grand scheme.

In the end, the true victor would be the one who could remain smiling after all the dust had settled.

Of course, attempting to use the Roman Planet as a means to discredit or undermine the Gallant Federation would be a challenging endeavor for the Magus Civilization.

What was Roman Planet, after all?

99.99% of the Gallant Federation’s citizens and vassal civilizations had likely never even heard of this insignificant, low-level plane.

Compared to the boundless grandeur of the Astral Plane and the unparalleled strength of top-tier civilizations, low-level planes like Roman Planet were utterly inconsequential.

The Gallant Federation could easily deny Roman Planet’s existence altogether!

Now that this low-level plane had been obliterated, with its coordinates hidden deep within the distant Wild Star Domain—far from the Federation’s core territories—any attempt to verify or investigate its destruction was highly unlikely.

This was the power wielded by a top-tier civilization, a society that had flourished for tens of thousands of years or more.

With a single word, they could easily erase a world from history.

The only party likely aware of Roman Planet’s tragic fate was Feral Beast Star, which had been bound by a strict gag order.

Unfortunately, betrayal from Feral Beast Star was virtually impossible.

Positioned on the front lines of the conflict with the Magus Civilization, it relied entirely on the Gallant Federation for survival.

In fact, the destruction of the Roman Planet was arguably advantageous for Feral Beast Star.

Better to let the Magus Civilization direct its anger at a now-defunct Roman Planet than at the Feral Beast Star itself.

Considering the Tyrant Tigers’ strength, they likely wouldn’t withstand even a single wave of assault from the Magus Civilization Army.

After witnessing the fate of Wild Gorilla World—a far stronger entity that had been annihilated within mere years—Tyrant Tiger King was acutely aware that its forces would not endure long against such a relentless adversary.

In recent months, the Federation had not only dispatched a significant fleet to the Feral Beast Star Domain but had also supplied Feral Beast Star and its vassal low-level and microplanes with an astounding amount of war resources.

Perhaps these efforts were aimed at securing Feral Beast Star’s loyalty—or perhaps at fortifying the star domain into an impenetrable frontline against the Magus Civilization.

To the Gallant Federation, these resources were a mere fraction of their vast reserves, a negligible expense.

Yet to Feral Beast Star, they represented an unimaginable windfall of wealth and power.

No one would remember the Roman Planet that had been destroyed.

In the vast Astral Realm where planes and species perished with every passing moment, Roman Planet was just another casualty.

***

Sein’s intensive research experiment in Sandstorm World had to be discontinued after running for nearly a year.

It was not that Sein lacked the desire to continue but his test subjects were leaving.

The demons and devils he worked with were all members of the Arriba Chamber of Commerce’s guard unit.

With the crisis in Sandstorm World resolved and the Wild Star Domain at peace, these guards, along with the Arriba Chamber of Commerce, were preparing to set sail and depart from this world.

Since the experiments remained incomplete, Sein was not obligated to make full payments to the demons and devils, saving him a considerable sum.

Surprisingly, he found these creatures far less cunning and brutal than their fearsome reputations suggested.

In fact, the individuals Sein had interacted with turned out to be relatively decent and polite.

According to their employment contracts, these demons and devils could have demanded their full payment regardless of the experiment’s abrupt end.

When Tourmaline stood by Sein’s side, glaring at the guards with her wide eyes, none of these fierce creatures dared to argue with Sein.

This unexpected savings allowed Sein to repay most of the money he had borrowed from Leena.

While the experiment was not fully completed, Sein gained valuable insights over the course of the research.

Based on his progress, completely eradicating the negative traits of the devil bloodline from his and Natalya’s bodies remained a formidable challenge.

However, he had successfully developed inhibitors capable of suppressing many of the bloodline’s detrimental effects.

These breakthroughs stemmed from Sein’s deep expertise in apothecary.

His work illustrated how various fields of magic knowledge could converge when approached with the right mindset and creative insight.

In addition to the inhibitors, Sein discovered methods to temporarily enhance the devil power within himself and Natalya by manipulating their bloodlines.

Unfortunately, these techniques were still in their infancy and required further research before they could be applied safely.

Despite the setbacks, Sein’s time over the past six months had been remarkably productive.

Each day brought fresh ideas, and his schedule for future experiments was packed.

Sein could not help but wonder whether this was a lingering effect of the recent war.

In reality, many Divine Tower of Verdant Spring mages who had survived the conflict seemed to be experiencing a similar boost in research.

Almost everyone had secluded themselves in their laboratories, immersed in their studies.

Even Sein’s typically energetic senior, Faye, had been quiet during this period of time.