Sovereign of the Ashes

At this point, the outcome of the Black Tide Plane War was all but decided.

Several federal mobile suits and fleets with formidable firepower could still fight, but they were surrounded and in a dire situation.

At Sein’s words, Clint scanned the central battlefield after cutting down yet another federal warship.

Even with his armor and the barrier he had condensed from geo elemental laws, the knight had not come out unscathed. Cuts covered his body, and blood seeped from the wound on his left arm.

For a peak Rank Five knight, though, such wounds were nothing more than superficial. His combat power remained immense.

The assault on Nocchi was a plan Clint and Sein had arranged in advance, one that had even been formally submitted to and approved by the Magus Alliance.

As a critical supply hub and troop transit point, Nocchi carried immense strategic weight for the entire Transversa Star Domain.

Capturing it would reduce the difficulty of crushing the remaining federal legions across the other planes in this star domain by at least forty percent!

And beyond that, Nocchi was bound to be stockpiled with the Gallant Federation’s war resources.

All of it would be spoils of war!

If they waited until all the warring planes, including Black Tide Plane, were secured, the federation would have already evacuated the supplies stored on Nocchi.

By then, Magus World might walk away empty-handed.

While Magus World’s upper echelons focused on overall strategy and deployments, powerhouses like Clint also had their eyes on personal gains amidst the war.

For Clint, storming Nocchi promised not only recognition from the Magus Alliance’s leadership but also the trove of the federation’s resources waiting on that logistics world!

In fact, across the entire Transversa Star Domain, every resource supplied to the five warring planes passed through Nocchi.

And since the planet had until recently served as the transfer hub for an even smaller star domain, the spoils waiting there might be more than expected!

Without hesitation, Clint called upon his two brothers from the Jehannah Kingdom to join the operation.

Both were Rank Four knights.

“Master Smarque, I’ll leave the rest on the Black Tide Plane to you,” Clint said to the Rank Five mage on the battlefield.

Someone old and steady like Smarque was the most suitable choice to take command of Black Tide Plane and finish off the remaining federal legions.

The old man readily accepted the order via mental focus.

“Molten Steel T-Rex, are you dead yet? If you’re still alive, then move it and come with us!” Clint barked at the Rank Five creature, whose massive head was buried in a heap of metallic wreckage.

The Molten Steel T-Rex’s head was not stuck because it was dead or wounded—it was feasting.

This Rank Five allied creature had an insatiable appetite for metal.

On its homeplane, it was said to have devoured nearly every major metal ore vein on its own.

Since joining the Magus Alliance, it had finally been able to gorge without restraint.

Magus World valued it not only for its combat power and resilience, but also for its remarkable potential for evolution.

When it first joined, it hovered around early-to-mid Rank Five. Now, it had climbed to late Rank Five.

The sheer amount of metal it had consumed could be measured in mountains!

For the Molten Steel T-Rex, the war against the Gallant Federation was nothing short of paradise.

Here, it would never go hungry.

Federal warships and colossal robots of Rank Four and above forged from rare alloys were irresistible. Their unique elemental energies were far more tempting than ordinary metal.

Through endless consumption of metal, it sought evolution.

When the Molten Steel T-Rex finally reared its monstrous head from the sea of wreckage, its scales gleamed with a bright silver metallic sheen.

If not for the deep gashes across its body and its injured eye, no one would have guessed this gleaming, reflective beast was the same Rank Five vanguard from the Magus Alliance that had just fought on the frontlines.

Although it had not eaten its fill, the Molten Steel T-Rex dared not defy Clint’s command.

After taking the last bite, the creature let out a roar and took to the skies.

Clint also summoned two other Rank Four allied creatures that were still in good condition to join him.

Nocchi was only a supply transit planet, and since the federation had already deployed most of its Rank Four and above forces across the various battlefields of the Transversa Star Domain, its defenses should not have been especially strong.

Even so, Clint made sure to bring enough allies just in case.

Welks had not yet begun dismantling the wreckage of the fallen mobile suit. After watching the Molten Steel T-Rex for a while, he suddenly asked, “Shall I accompany you?”

The fact that he left the mobile suit untouched meant he probably considered it a shared kill between himself and Sein.

Dividing spoils like that was complicated business, usually settled only after the war, with every effort made to keep things fair.

“I’ll come too,” the Huusian King added.

Of everyone present, he was the most badly wounded.

Earlier, Magus World’s powerhouses had focused their support on Sein, paying far less attention to the Huusian King and his people.

Sein glanced at him and suggested, “Maybe you should stay on Black Tide Plane and take care of your wounds.”

“My injuries aren’t serious. Don’t worry, I won’t slow you down,” the Huusian King replied.

This was his chance to prove loyalty and earn merit.

The three Rank Four Huusians on Black Tide Plane were far too drained from the last battle to keep fighting, leaving the king with no choice but to step forward himself.

Sein did not argue. He simply nodded, accepting the king’s resolve to keep fighting.

Clint, however, chose to leave behind the two Rank Four allied creatures he had originally planned to take with him.

As the commander of this battlefield, he worried that pulling away too many high-tier forces might jeopardize final victory on this low-level plane.

For all his ferocity, Clint was a cautious Rank Five knight at heart.