Sovereign of the Ashes

For a simple spy-hunt mission, a fleet led by a four-star general should have been more than enough to get the job done.

The power of a Gallant Federation’s fleet could not be directly compared to the strength of an individual lifeform, making it hard to gauge just how strong it really was.

Even fleets of the same size could differ wildly in power. It depended on its composition, the commanders’ rank, and the flow of real-time battlefield data.

Regardless, the R7 Fleet currently deployed to Nexon was no ordinary force!

It was a specialized fleet under General Lambros’ command, fully capable of going head-to-head with a peak Rank Six lifeform.

As mentioned, it was hard to quantify the true strength of a Gallant Federation fleet. Take the R7 Fleet, for example: aside from the core fleet led by General Lambros himself, it was also split into more than a dozen subordinate flotillas.

Each of those could go head-to-head with Rank Four or even Rank Five creatures.

With so many flotillas and such a dense concentration of ships and spacecraft, even a Rank Six creature would rather steer clear than risk getting surrounded.

According to intel, the Magus Civilization’s infiltrator on Nexon was only a Rank Four or Five being.

Deploying the entire R7 Fleet for this mission felt like overkill. The federation could have just mobilized the advanced robots stationed in the Nexon Star Domain to handle it.

But still, the Gallant Federation sent Lambros, a seasoned general, to lead the operation.

At this stage, the Gallant Federation did not want to risk any surprises.

Once Lambros completed his mission in Nexon, he was to lead his fleet to the next battlefield.

A massive shift, something the federation had not witnessed in hundreds of thousands of years, was already underway!

Just recently, a crucial vote was passed, with a majority in favor of launching an emergency war plan against the Magus Civilization.

They were calling it the “Doomsday Plan”!

Even with his rank as a four-star general, Lambros was not qualified to attend such a high-level decision-making summit.

However, his superior—a veteran federal marshal—had been present.

After the meeting, the marshal gave Lambros a subtle hint that something big was about to shake the federation, and he needed to get ready for war.

As someone who had devoted his entire life to the Gallant Federation’s military affairs, Lambros naturally accepted this important mission.

In truth, he was less than a thousand years from retirement, but his fighting spirit was still burning strong!

He had taken part in the campaign that brought down the Rosen Dynasty Civilization over ten thousand years ago.

With access to some top-level classified information, he had long dreamed of planting the flag of his federal fleet on the major planets of the Magus Civilization!

His hand, clad in a pristine white glove, rested lightly on the control stick that was the symbol of authority aboard the fleet’s capital ship.

He turned his head and said to his aide behind him, “Didn’t we have two mobile suit legions assigned to this fleet?”

“Send them out and make it clear that our objective this time is to capture the target alive. I don’t want that Magus Civilization creature turned into Swiss cheese by our weapons,” he said with a warning edge.

“Roger!” the aide responded with a salute and immediately passed on Lambros’ orders.

***

On the capital planet of the Gallant Federation...

As the political, economic, and cultural heart of this top-tier civilization, the federation’s capital planet held a similar standing to Sky City did in Magus World.

Just like how the Magus Civilization gathered its “Prelim Council” and made major decisions in Sky City, the Gallant Federation hosted its own high-level summits here ahead of every presidential election, parliamentary reshuffle, and major policy change.

In fact, the plan to go to war against the Rosen Dynasty over ten thousand years ago was decided right here.

This was also where they held the recent vote on the federation’s future, one that would shape its destiny for the next tens of thousands of years and beyond.

In front of a white building, an elderly federal official slowly emerged, slightly hunched and leaning on a metal cane.

This old man was clearly a stubborn one. Despite having access to countless robots and assistants, he insisted on making the trip himself.

The sunlight outside was bright and white, radiating a comforting warmth. Its source was an artificial star orbiting the federation’s capital planet.

Thanks to advanced climate control systems, the capital star enjoyed a pleasant spring-like environment all year round.

Still, very few people in the federation ever got to bask in that sunshine. Just like how Sky City was off-limits to most, the Gallant Federation’s capital star was not a place where ordinary folks could just visit.

As the hunched old man closed his eyes and basked in the sunlight’s warmth, metallic noises echoed behind him.

A well-built man in a black military uniform approached from the rear.

He did not need a cane, and his complexion looked far healthier. But his legs were clearly sleek, advanced metal prosthetics.

There were probably other modifications hidden beneath that uniform too, though nothing obvious stood out.

“I still think you should get the latest military-grade prosthetic upgrades. You’re not going to live another two thousand years old relying on genetic serums alone,” the man in black said coldly.

He spoke bluntly, without the slightest concern for offending the hunched old man.

But the old man did not seem to mind. He was used to the man’s personality.

“It’s fine. I’m too old to bother with all that. If I decide I don’t want to die during my last fifty years, it still won’t be too late to get a body modification,” he replied calmly.

In the federation, there were two main ways to extend one’s life: genetic modification and mechanical augmentation.

The first had serious technical limitations. Even in the best-case scenario, it might only add ten or twenty thousand years to a person’s lifespan.

The second offered far more, potentially over a hundred thousand years of life, along with a significant physical boost.

But most high-ranking officials were reluctant to turn themselves into cyborgs unless they absolutely had to.

Those in the military, however, had no such reservations.

In fact, they were the ones who pushed the advancement of prosthetic technology harder than anyone else.

Much of the Gallant Federation’s progress in biomechanical engineering was thanks to the military’s relentless investment and efforts.

Now, these two elders—both standing at the pinnacle of the federation’s power—stood quietly in the sunlight, chatting about trivial things.

Eventually, the man in the black uniform could not hold back any longer. He brought up the Doomsday Plan that had recently passed the vote.

“So, do you think we have a real shot at winning this?” he asked.