Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein had truly never imagined that one day he would one day take the “self-destruction” route.

Such measures were typically taken only when one had been driven into utter desperation.

Moreover, self-destruction was not something done on impulse.

When deities who embraced the faith system chose to self-destruct, they typically did so by triggering the divine relic within their bodies.

Even detonating a divine relic required following a specific procedure.

When surrounded by powerful enemies, many Rank Four beings found themselves unable to self-destruct and bring their foes down with them.

Sein could not make sense of it. The Federation legions were not cornered, and they clearly held the upper hand.

Sein and his group were the ones being forced to withdraw. Why, then, would that Rank Five mobile suit choose to self-destruct?

Because of its unique energy source, the Deadly Wanderer detonated faster than expected.

The sudden, violent explosion behind them caught the Magus Civilization’s powerhouses completely off guard, subjecting them to another devastating shockwave.

Even Sein himself, despite activating his Ashen Demon form, coughed up blood from the impact. He could only imagine how much worse the others had fared.

Fortunately, Sein had long practiced body tempering, leaving his constitution far stronger than that of a typical mage.

Although the close-range self-destruction of a Rank Five mobile suit dealt him a heavy blow, it did not incapacitate him.

The greatest impact of this blast was not the shockwave tearing through the surrounding Magus Civilization legions.

Instead, it triggered a violent energy tide within the ruins’ space itself, slamming catastrophically into the energy barrier that the eight-winged angel Fermera had been trying to break.

Already on the verge of collapse, the barrier shattered violently in that instant.

The eight-winged angel transformed into a streak of silver light, shooting straight toward Sein and his group.

Millions of angel robots and federal warships surged forward in its wake.

Angels wove through the gaps between the warships.

The fusion of Radiant Celestial imagery and Gallant Federation technology felt faintly unsettling, yet overwhelmingly awe-inspiring.

Of course, these were not the legendary Radiant Celestials of old, but hyper-realistic artificial constructs.

As the dense swarm of the federation’s elite forces closed in, a heavy gloom settled over Sein’s heart.

“Fall back that way!” Sein shouted, pointing to the left front while forcing down the discomfort caused by the explosion’s shockwave.

Hanliu’s injuries had worsened, and Sein caught a flicker of exhaustion in his crimson dragon eyes.

A beam with power on par with Rank Six surged toward Sein and the others.

With the help of the Faceless Mask, Sein managed to dodge swiftly, but one Rank Four mage was less fortunate.

He was struck by the beam and sent plummeting toward the ground below with a miserable scream.

Although he was probably not dead, his condition left little doubt that death was close.

Sein and the others could not possibly turn back to save him.

The source of the Rank Six beam was, of course, the eight-winged angel.

The Gallant Federation scientists had designed Fermera with far more attack capabilities than just the lightsaber in her hand.

Several black cannons extended from Fermera’s shoulders, arms, and other parts of her body.

The energy beam from earlier had been fired from her chest.

Beyond that, Sein’s brief glimpse and the feedback from the Faceless Mask revealed that the eight silver metallic wings on Fermera’s back concealed even greater secrets.

Aside from her primary power sources, the Faceless Mask also warned Sein that Fermera’s greatest threats lay in three areas: her chest, the lightsaber in her hand, and the eight wings on her back!

These Gallant Federation scientists truly earned Sein’s respect.

First, there was Michaelis Bell, who created Rank Six intelligent robots like Titanfang and Skyhold. Now there was this eight-winged angel robot, boasting combat power on par with Rank Six beings. Just who among the Federation’s scientists had forged such a monster?!

Since Fermera appeared on the battlefield, casualties among Sein’s forces and the Magus Civilization legions had skyrocketed.

In his prime condition, Sein might have considered relying on his equipment or using swarm tactics to challenge a Rank Six opponent.

But this was clearly not the time.

“We can only rely on the super magic bomb now. Thankfully, I had Yuri prepare it in advance,” Sein muttered.

He could not help glancing back. In the blink of an eye, even more knights and mages had fallen.

The rapport between Sein and Yuri had been forged through years of battles and experimentation.

One sideways glance was all it took for her to grasp his intent.

Sein signaled Black Oblivion and the nearby Magus World mages to converge along his flight path.

In truth, their current trajectory had already deviated slightly from the original retreat route.

But with Sein holding the highest rank and greatest authority, no one raised objections.

The course change was actually an early evasive maneuver in anticipation of the super-magic bomb’s detonation.

After all, Sein was not entirely certain of the bomb’s true destructive power. He only had a theoretical estimate based on calculations and statistics. It was not as though he could casually detonate one just to test it...

The eight-winged angel Fermera was certainly no weakling among Rank Six combatants.

But in the end, it was still an artificial creation, unlike Titanfang or Skyhold, which possessed truly awakened intelligence.

Whether in their flight patterns or combat stances, there was a certain stiffness to their movements. They could not sense the impending danger either.

This was the advantage of inert crystals as an energy source. Ordinary energy crystals would inevitably leak energy once activated, exposing their presence too early.

Inert crystals, however, could detonate without drawing any attention at all.

The moment Fermera entered the blast zone...

BOOM!

A deafening explosion tore through the air.

A massive dark gray mushroom cloud instantly swallowed everything in the area!

A storm of yellow sand surged skyward, and the previously stable surrounding space began to shake violently.

Even though Sein and his group had already executed evasive maneuvers, they were still caught by the ensuing wave of inert energy and sent hurtling into the distance.

The angel robot legions and Gallant Federation warships that had been in relentless pursuit were blown away like insects caught in a violent gale.

Even the federation’s most powerful warships found themselves unable to advance a single inch.

The destructive force unleashed by the super magic bomb was even more terrifying than Sein had anticipated.

He had already spat out a mouthful of blood during the Deadly Wanderer’s self-destruction, and he had never imagined that detonating the bomb himself would make him cough up blood as well.

Naturally, the eight-winged angel at the center of the blast suffered the most severe damage.

Was it dead?

The shockwaves behind him continued to ripple outward, and the overwhelming inertial energy interfered with the Faceless Mask’s perception, preventing Sein from confirming the eight-winged angel’s condition.

What was certain was that the angel had not resumed its pursuit. The explosion had clearly achieved its purpose.

That temporary reprieve did little to ease Sein’s unease.

The super magic bomb’s impact wave had injured many of his own forces, particularly the lower-ranking knights and mages.

It was not that Sein was ruthless; he simply had no other choice.

To Sein’s dismay, once the initial chaos subsided, the federal warships quickly adjusted their formation and pursued them from the flanks.

Among them were destroyers capable of threatening Rank Five beings, including several specialized models that Sein had found exceedingly difficult to handle in past encounters.

At their current breakout speed, Sein and his group might not be able to escape safely.

The Burning Flame Unit was also badly damaged. As the one responsible for setting off the super magic bomb, Yuri had been positioned dangerously close to the center of the blast.

A thick plume of dark smoke billowed continuously from below the Burning Flame Unit’s lower half, likely signaling a malfunction in her power system and causing her flight speed to drop sharply.

Of course, Sein could not abandon Yuri. He rushed to her side and considered pulling the Burning Flame Unit into his own spatial storage equipment.

A strange, low rumble echoed from behind them.

The eight-winged angel had not been destroyed!

The violent explosions had reduced Fermera’s once pristine exterior to charred black metal.

With her artificial skin torn away, her true robotic frame was exposed.

One electronic eye had been completely destroyed, while the other flickered with a steady red glow.

Internal metal arms and conduits were exposed to the air. Her right arm was entirely gone, while the remaining left arm still gripped the energy lightsaber.

Four of the eight wings on her back had also been shattered.

Yet, even in this pitiful state, the angelic robot refused to abandon her pursuit of Sein and the others, adhering to her mission protocols!

Sein had no idea how much strength the robot still possessed, nor did he have any desire to stop and engage her in battle.

The pursuing federal warships closed in at an alarming speed. The frontline fleets had taken the brunt of the super-magic bomb’s impact, allowing more ships behind them to recover and resume the pursuit.

Danger was still rapidly closing in on Sein and his group.

Just as he was searching for a way to turn the tide, a flash of yellow light entered Sein’s field of vision.

Beneath the sand dunes to the southwest, a peculiar cube-shaped robot was waving repeatedly in their direction.

The robot showed no hostility toward Sein and his allies.

This conclusion came not from Sein’s own judgment, but from the faint tremors and warnings emanating from the Magic Cube.

The strange fluctuations Sein had sensed upon entering this subspace secret realm had originated from this small robot.

After catching their attention, HALL-E abruptly turned and leaped toward the dunes.

Only when they flew closer did Sein notice a deeply concealed metallic passageway beneath the sand.

Where had this metal passage come from? How had they never noticed it before?

Sensing danger closing in, Sein dove into the passage without sparing another thought.