Sovereign of the Ashes

That green energy beam had indeed been flying toward the metal warship where Darian and the others were.

Yet it was not a deliberate strike from the Gallant Federation.

After Orric and Beatrice indirectly joined the fray, almost no one noticed Yuri piloting the Burning Flame Unit as she streaked across the starry sky along the same trajectory as the metal warship.

Because of Yuri’s outstanding performance on the battlefield, she had drawn the focused fire of several main destroyers from the Gallant Federation.

That green beam had been fired at Yuri, but it hit a nearby metal warship at the edge of the interstellar battlefield instead.

The battlefield beyond Zax had fallen into complete chaos after the arrival of the Gallant Federation reinforcements.

Everyone was too busy fighting their own battles to notice it, except Gargawell.

When he saw two Rank Five beings and two Rank Four beings emerge from the wrecked ship, he was taken aback.

Then, watching those powerhouses join the battle, Gargawell glanced at Sein, who stood not far away, and asked, “Master Sein, did you force them into fighting?”

Sein’s gaze had also drifted toward the edge of the battlefield, so he immediately understood what Gargawell meant.

He gave a light nod, offering no further explanation.

“It seems you are carrying out some sort of covert mission, Master Sein. I have never seen these foreign gods or alien fighters in the Magus Alliance before. Master Fathis, who oversees the Sanok Star Domain, should be heading toward Planet Sanok by now,” Gargawell said.

“Master Sein, do you want to leave now and meet with Master Fathis?” he asked.

“I’m not in a rush. Let’s take care of the battle in front of us first,” Sein replied.

***

With Orric, the other powerhouses, and the Klytherans fighting with united resolve, the battle beyond Zax finally forced the Gallant Federation to retreat after more than a month.

The federation could not afford a prolonged stalemate with the Magus Civilization inside this star domain.

Recognizing Sein and his group as a tough opponent, the federal fleets withdrew swiftly and decisively.

Much credit went to the ranked Klytheran fighters who fought the federation without the slightest regard for their own lives.

Had the battle been left to the other allied creatures that were low-ranked and lacking firm resolve, they would never have held out against the federation’s encircling fleets, even if they had greater numbers.

In this battle, the Gallant Federation unveiled three new weapons that left Sein utterly astonished.

The Gravity Collapse Bomb was designed specifically to target low-ranking legions.

Once dropped onto the interstellar battlefield, anyone below demigod level would be dragged straight into its gravitational pull, crushed and twisted beyond recognition.

The second weapon, the Gerat Raygun, targeted Rank Four and above beings.

This seemed to be a newly developed particle-ray weapon, created by a federal scientist named Gerat.

Three high-ranking Klytheran fighters were struck by the Gerat Rays, including Drew—the fastest, fiercest, and the one always charging at the front.

A large section of Drew’s right chest was punched clean through by that beam.

Fortunately, it did not damage the Klytherite embedded at the center of his chest cavity. Even so, the injury was severe enough to send the already weakened old man to the brink of death.

The final weapon was called the Starbreaker Cannon, according to Gargawell.

This was a highly destructive, planetary-class weapon that the Gallant Federation had deployed frequently in recent years on the Sanok Star Domain front.

The Starbreaker Cannon’s energy-gathering time was far shorter than the heavy superweapons once mounted as main batteries on federal warships. Yet it possessed a power that could strike terror into most—the power to destroy a world!

When fired at a low-level plane or microplane, the impact would fracture its core and initiate a full planetary collapse.

Of course, not every plane could be threatened by the federation’s Starbreaker Cannon.

Generally, the foundational resilience of a medium-sized plane or anything larger was more than enough to withstand the Starbreaker’s destructive power.

To annihilate planes of that scale, the Gallant Federation needed weapons of a higher tier—like the Deepspace Well that once destroyed Nexon.

Even then, the Starbreaker Cannon was not universally effective against all low-level planes.

Some low-level planes possessed strong enough planar barriers and resilience to withstand the cannon’s destructive might.

Plagued by endless suffering and already on the brink of ecological extinction, Planet Zax had no such strength left!

As Zax entered its self-destruction sequence under the Starbreaker Cannon’s assault, the Gallant Federation fleet began to withdraw from the battlefield.

The federation’s logic was simple: they would not let anyone have what they themselves could not.

In wars between top-tier civilizations, destruction and slaughter were never the true objectives.

Both parties were really just fighting over the resources that sustained survival, wealth, and territory.

The Gallant Federation’s approach of destroying something they could not get was nothing but outright barbaric.

But this was war. No one cared about morality. If the Magus Civilization had the same opportunity, it would probably do the exact same thing.

Weakening the enemy was another way of increasing one’s own chances of winning.

“This low-level plane has entered its self-destruction phase. We must withdraw all remaining legions immediately,” Sein instructed Gargawell and Azaria.

Two operational space fortresses of the Magus Civilization were still active on Planet Zax. At this point, it was still possible to evacuate all combat legions in time.

“During the battle just now, the Klytheran Legion also suffered heavy losses. I want to discuss whether we can allocate some of our Magus legions’ logistical resources for the Klytherans,” Sein said to the knight and mage.

In the Magus Civilization’s external wars, the gap in benefits between its native knight and mage legions and the allied legions was enormous.

Almost all critical resources, especially restorative ones, were prioritized for Magus World’s native legions.

On the other hand, the allied legions were treated like stepchildren and only given scraps of profit.

This was considered perfectly normal.

After all, cannon fodder should know their place—what right did they have to demand more?

But that mindset would not work here. Sein wanted to recruit more alien civilizations into the Magus Alliance. He needed to show that the Magus World could be generous... and worth joining.

Sein himself had restorative resources, but most were meant for higher-ranking beings and existed in very limited quantities.

There was no way he had enough to share with all the lower-ranking Klytherans.

To restore their heavily depleted forces quickly, he would need help from the logistical reserves of the Magus Civilization legions stationed on Zax.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking for free supplies. When I return, I’ll replenish what we took with the Divine Tower of Ashes’s stock,” Sein promised sincerely.

“Master Sein, you’re being too formal. Supporting our allied legions is our duty!” Gargawell replied.

“Exactly. Without Master Sein and those Klytherans, we would have been wiped out long ago,” Azaria chimed in.

“Damn it, they even used the Starbreaker Cannon! I’m not sure if I can get my knight legions out alive if the plane collapses beneath us,” he added with a grim tone.