Sovereign of the Ashes

The old man’s question felt out of character. It was not the kind of thing he would normally ask, given his usual self.

Even the hunched old man, who had known him for nearly thirty thousand years, had never seen him show this kind of doubt before.

He looked at his old friend in surprise, then tapped the pristine white ground with the end of his metal cane.

“If we don’t act, our chances of winning will only get slimmer. But if we strike first, we might actually stand a chance!

“Back when our mentor, General Trich van Baesa, was still alive, he identified the Magus Civilization as the greatest threat to the Gallant Federation’s rise. For hundreds of thousands of years now, we have treated that once-friendly civilization as a future enemy.

“After all this preparation... what else are we supposed to do if not fight? Beg for mercy? The Gallant Federation is a top-tier civilization too, one that makes plenty of others in the Astral Realm tremble.

“If you ask me, I think we do have a shot at winning this war against Magus World,” the hunched man said, trying his best to feign confidence.

“Let’s not forget that they have enemies of their own, way out on the far side of their territory,” he added, perhaps to reassure the elder in black uniform.

Sure enough, his words eased the furrow in the other man’s brow.

Funny thing was, even though one was a politician and the other a military man, it was the hunched politician who seemed more confident about calling the shots in this Clash of Civilizations.

Then again, maybe he just could not gauge the gap between the two civilizations the way the old general could because he had never seen real war up close.

The man in the black uniform was not the type to second-guess himself. Once his mind was made up, nothing could shake it.

Besides, with the federation’s high-speed communication network, there was a good chance the frontlines along the Magus Civilization’s borders had already begun to move.

That included the countless contingency plans and covert forces the federation had scattered across the stars.

Once a civilization this massive started turning its gears, it would take more than just one or two people to stop it.

And truthfully, this war between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization had probably been set in motion hundreds of thousands of years ago.

No one in this generation had the power to stop it.

“I suggest you don’t stay here any longer. Most of the others at that summit only dared to vote through remote projection. Only seven of us showed up on the capital star in person, including you and me,” the man in black said.

“The rest may be cowards, but honestly, I get it. When a cultivation-based civilization like theirs fights one like ours, the simplest and most effective move is a decapitation strike. In our federation’s history, we’ve gone through plenty of these assassination attempts. Hell, this capital star has been blown up more than once, and we rebuilt it every time.

“Anyways, I hope to see your seat filled at the next summit,” he added bluntly, then turned and walked off toward his fleet.

Due to the important summit recently held on the federation’s capital planet, no fewer than five overlord-level forces were lurking around it.

After watching his old friend leave, the hunched old man’s cloudy eyes gradually turned solemn.

His mind drifted to the most recent projections from the federation’s ultimate quantum computer.

As of now, the Gallant Federation’s chances of winning a war against the Magus Civilization stood at roughly 44.71%.

If another thousand years passed, those odds would drop again to 41.98%.

That nearly three percent decline was what forced the Federation to act!

Before the Magus Civilization held its 25th Magus Alliance Conference, the federation’s quantum computer had estimated its odds of victory at 47.12%.

But after that conference concluded, the number dropped by around two percent.

Then came the recent wave of infiltration incidents within the federation’s borders. Even after successfully capturing a Rank Four lifeform from Magus World and extracting valuable intel, the win rate still dipped by nearly one percent!

Both civilizations had been sharpening their blades, biding their time to tip the scales in their favor before making the first move.

In fact, ever since the Gallant Federation wiped out the Rosen Dynasty, the quantum computer had shown a steady rise in its odds against the Magus Civilization.

It had started around 41%, then gradually climbed to a peak of 48.17%.

But in the past few years, just as the Clash of Civilizations drew near, those numbers stopped climbing and began to dip significantly instead.

Just as the hunched old man had said, if they did not act now, there might not be another opportunity.

If the win rate dropped below 40%, serious internal conflict could break out within the federation. Some factions might begin to question whether war with the Magus Civilization was still worth it.

But with the probability still sitting at 44.71% right now, the federation still had a fighting chance!

If they launched the war early, catching the enemy off guard and activating all the plans they had laid in advance, their odds might rise again—perhaps even surpass their previous peak!

Being able to predict the war’s trajectory before the first shot was fired was a true mark of a technological civilization.

They could always think three steps ahead.

The Federation’s ultimate quantum computer was basically their version of the Magus Civilization’s astrology.

It took every scrap of data the federation had collected and used it to forecast future developments.

The R7 Fleet had been deployed to the Nexon Star Domain precisely because the federation’s vast intelligence network and quantum computer had identified it as a likely hotspot for Magus Civilization infiltrators, particularly those of Rank Four or higher.

In some ways, the Federation’s quantum computer was even more dependable than the Magus Civilization’s astrology.

And if the federation were ever to name this machine a “treasure”, it would undoubtedly rank as a world-class secret treasure!

***

White Comet was a small, unremarkable star domain along the border between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization.

It had only three complete planes, but thanks to its complex terrain and an absurd number of asteroid belts, both civilizations had stationed significant military forces here.

It was the start of the morning shift for the federation. Corporal Grison, freshly out of his sleep pod, hurried through his routine and headed straight for the ship’s cockpit.

His commanding officer, Major Mike, was already there, standing with his arms crossed and eyes fixed on the display in front of him.

Strangely, the protective casing over the red button was open.

Grison, who was still groggy, failed to notice that. He had just finished breakfast and brought along a cup of coffee for his superior.

“Good morning, sir!” Grison greeted with a salute.

But Mike did not respond like he usually did. He did not even take the coffee.

Beep, beep, beep!

The sharp alarm blared through the small vessel. Red warning lights flashed across the cockpit, snapping Grison fully awake.

At some point, without him noticing, Mike had pressed the red button with his right hand.

An order had been given.

It was not just their ship. Every Gallant Federation ship and fortress across the White Comet Star Domain unleashed a coordinated volley, opening fire on predesignated coordinates!

And it was not just White Comet Star Domain. Every border region where the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization’s territories met suddenly erupted in terrifying bursts of destructive energy that defied imagination!

Grison stood frozen, staring in horror as wave after wave of energy projectiles lit up the view ahead.

No one would have guessed that the Clash of Civilizations, a war destined to last tens of thousands of years and claim lives beyond counting, would begin with something as ordinary as “Good morning, sir!”

Moments later, the deafening roar of explosions and the chaos of destruction echoed from the direction of the Magus Civilization’s garrisons.

The war had begun.