Sovereign of the Ashes

As Nexon’s number one intelligent robot, Titanfang possessed formidable combat power.

Under its lead, more and more robots gathered together.

The federal fleet under General Lambros now found itself slightly outnumbered.

After two consecutive battles against Nexon’s intelligent robots, the fleet was already reeling from heavy losses.

Facing Titanfang and the others’ full-scale breakout stretched it thin.

Even so, the fleet had secured gains that proved its worth.

Many heavily damaged intelligent robots were captured.

As their leader, Titanfang could do nothing for them; it could not possibly turn back to rescue them.

Many fiercer robots tapped into their hidden backup energy reserves, choosing to take the federal legion down with them.

Some of the more ferocious robots tapped into their hidden backup reserves, detonating themselves to drag the federal legions down with them.

It was, in short, a brutal battle.

Even if Sein failed to bring Titanfang and the Nexon robots back alive, the chaos he stirred deep in the Gallant Federation’s territory and the losses he inflicted meant that, for Magus World’s higher-ups, their “investment” had already paid off.

After all, Rank Four beings were nothing more than pawns in the Clash of Civilizations.

And pawns had to accept their role.

Yet Sein still held onto hope, refusing to give up.

***

When the robot legion first broke out of Nexon, fewer than thirty percent of its hundred million units survived by the time they reached the borders of the Nexon Star Domain.

And nearly all of them had sustained varying degrees of damage.

The low-tier ordinary robots were cannon fodder. It was only a matter of how long they could hold out.

But the damage suffered by the higher-tier units of Rank Four and above was a real concern.

In their current state, it was impossible to find a mechanical planet for repairs.

Sein was taking a short break on the surface of a massive, pitch-black asteroid, downing potions to restore his condition.

Of course, he did not use the Golden Apple Potion. A treasure of that caliber was reserved for critical moments.

The potions he just drank were the other ones Lorianne had gifted him before he set out on this mission.

Made mainly from the aphid king’s honeydew, these healing potions were considered high-grade. While they worked on mending his wounds, Sein slipped into shallow meditation to replenish his mental focus and mana levels.

While Sein could rely on the Golden Apple Potion in dire circumstances, intelligent robots like Titanfang were not so fortunate.

By the time they reached the border of the Nexon Star Domain, even Titanfang was covered in gashes and scratches.

So far, there had been one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news was that Skyhold had survived.

Although Skyhold had been near Nexon when that terrifying white beam struck, its timely reaction and evasive maneuver at the last second saved it from destruction.

Even so, the shockwave left it heavily damaged. By the time it returned, all that remained was its battered metallic head and half an arm.

It was only thanks to several Rank Four and Rank Five intelligent robots under its command, who risked their lives to bring it back.

Otherwise, even if it had survived the initial strike, there was no way it could have reached the outskirts of the Nexon Star Domain in that state.

But alongside that good news came the bad: another federal fleet was attacking their flank.

Though smaller than the R7 Fleet, these reinforcements had come from another star domain, putting serious pressure on Titanfang and the others.

“I’ll lead forces to intercept the federal fleet on our flank. Mage Sein, you focus on restoring Skyhold. If Father says the Magic Cube holds the key to awakening our kind, then it should also have the ability to repair us,” Titanfang said.

“I recall during my upgrade at BHR678, I was treated by a faint glow that seemed to accelerate my recovery. Looking back, that must have been the cube’s power,” it explained.

“Restore Skyhold? If the cube can really repair your kind, why not let me use it on you first?” Sein asked curiously.

“We’d never make it to Alpha-007 Star Domain if we relied on my strength alone. We need Skyhold’s help,” Titanfang replied. “Besides... maybe Skyhold is more important to our kind than I am.”

Sein chose not to press further. Instead, he headed straight to Skyhold’s location.

***

The federal hauler had an extremely bare interior.

To evacuate more low-tier robots and basic supplies from Nexon, Skyhold had hastily refitted all these vessels.

Anything unnecessary or decorative had been stripped away, and every bit of freed-up space was packed with hopes for the future revival of their kind.

It was not that Skyhold was petty or doubted the Magus Civilization’s promised support.

It was simply cautious by nature, preferring to keep some reserves in its own hands rather than rely entirely on others.

As the “manager” of the intelligent robots, Skyhold had always been thrifty.

Its personality was the complete opposite of Titanfang’s.

But it was precisely because Skyhold had taken vast amounts of energy blocks and repair materials out of Nexon that the robots who reached the border of the Nexon Star Domain could now resupply and patch themselves up, at least to some extent.

The truth was, most intelligent robots could repair and modify mechanical constructs.

Otherwise, they could never have managed to overhaul all of Nexon’s haulers in such a short time.

When Sein finally saw Skyhold again, what greeted him was a pale-blue head submerged in a special metallic solution.

Skyhold looked utterly battered—its head scorched and corroded with deep damage. Through the broken shell, Sein could glimpse the dense weave of fine metal wires beneath.

The metallic solution was likely used for damage control.

On his way to this hauler, Sein had noticed plenty of other robots applying similar substances to treat their injuries.

Aside from Skyhold’s head, he also saw its arms that had been charred beyond recognition.

That was essentially all that remained of Skyhold’s body.

Looking at the wreck before him, Sein felt a pounding headache as he wondered how he could begin repairing Skyhold.