Sovereign of the Ashes

Seiron, the strongest being of Arid Expanse World, was never truly a peak Rank Six creature.

At best, he was a pseudo-peak Rank Six!

Creatures who followed self-evolutionary cultivation paths faced extremely strict advancement requirements.

By all rights, Seiron should not have been able to reach such a level. Yet after undergoing a series of modifications by the Gallant Federation, Seiron forcibly attained peak Rank Six combat strength.

No matter how one looked at it, such a development felt deeply unnatural.

Moreover, during their clash, Feylis sensed that Seiron’s body was no longer entirely under his own control.

The Gallant Federation had clearly imposed some form of restriction on him.

Even so, supported by two world-class secret treasures and the enhanced power granted by the federation’s modifications, Seiron remained the most formidable opponent on this battlefield!

The fact that Feylis could confront such an existence head-on and hold him to a near stalemate for most of the battle was proof of her terrifying strength.

Once she activated her lawful body and clashed head-on with Seiron and the Lightning Ax he wielded, countless demiplanes and broken planes in the starry void were reduced to sacrifices.

The sheer brutality of this exchange put many Rank Four and Rank Five Magus World knights fighting in the surrounding star domain to shame.

Was this really a mage famed for her supposedly frail physique?

Feylis’ body tempering technique and the world-class grade magic scepter she wielded were her primary tools for standing toe-to-toe with Seiron on the battlefield.

Of course, Master Feylis’ Verdant Flame magic was equally formidable!

Beyond that, the Verdant Flame Fortress under her command, which had cost over a hundred million magicoins to construct, provided immense firepower support throughout the battle.

In Magus World, space fortresses of this price range were not all that different from world-class secret treasures.

However, space fortresses were fundamentally functional tools, designed for legion-scale warfare.

The power boost they provide to individuals was not as immediate or direct as that of a true world-class secret treasure.

Even so, throughout Magus Civilization’s history, there had been cases where space fortresses of this caliber, produced by Sky City, were used to trade with other civilizations for world-class secret treasures.

Meanwhile, it was not only the Arid Expanse World legions that were advancing toward the core ruins.

The Aquarian legions, which had been fighting against White Stella’s forces, were also forced to advance toward the ancient core ruins region under pressure from the Grand Apocalypse World and the Gallant Federation.

The Clash of Civilizations legions, numbering in the tens of millions or possibly even exceeding one hundred million, gradually shifted toward the coordinates of the secret realm space while still engaged in intense battles.

Of all the parties involved, the Shadowbat Civilization was likely the most pleased by this turn of events.

After enduring the hardships of war, the Shadowbat Civilization had suffered immense losses over the past century.

The relentless assault from Arid Expanse World had reduced half of the planes under the Shadowbat Civilization’s control to scorched earth, while the remaining ones were left in complete disarray.

Given the heavy casualties and severe resource depletion they had suffered, the Magus Civilization was unable to offer much immediate assistance.

Their situation differed greatly from that of Marvelous Plane.

The Magus Civilization powerhouses like Feylis had promised that once a counteroffensive into the Arid Expanse Worlds began, the Shadowbat Civilization would be given priority in the allocation of a complete plane previously governed by the enemy.

However, Feylis had not specified the timing of the counteroffensive, and the Shadowbat Civilization’s creatures were not entirely convinced that such preferential treatment would be honored when the time came.

Still, the promise had been made.

For now, the gradual shift of the main battlefield away from the Shadowbat Civilization’s home territory was already a blessing for its people.

Although the core ruins lay quite close to the Shadowbat Civilization’s star domain—arguably within their original sphere of influence—the Shadowbat beings were nonetheless pleased.

As for why the ruins of a top-tier civilization existed within the empty star domain, which the Shadowbat Civilization had previously overlooked, that remained beyond their understanding.

After so many years of development, their failure to notice these ruins was, in truth, a serious lapse on their part.

When Feylis set out for the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization to rescue her grand apprentice and the others, she did not insist that the Shadowbat Civilization’s forces come with her.

On the one hand, the Shadowbat Civilization still needed to hold its defense lines. On the other, Feylis held little confidence in the combat prowess of their legions.

By then, she had already received intelligence that the Magus Civilization was dispatching massive reinforcements to this star domain battlefield, including numerous Rank Five and Rank Six beings.

Given the scale of the conflict, it would not have been surprising if an overlord-level being arrived in person.

The only uncertainty was which overlord the Magus Civilization would send.

Amidst the vast starry expanse, hundreds of space fortresses unleashed concentrated fire simultaneously upon the enemy legions arrayed across the battlefield.

The number of prism forts had already reached the thousands, while the total count of war airships had long since surpassed one hundred thousand.

On top of that, the Magus Civilization made full use of these space fortresses and prism forts by mounting vast numbers of magic cannons and specialized war devices.

Many of these magitech weapons were newly developed in recent years by Sky City, the Capiche Business Alliance, and Steel City.

The Magus Civilization continued to evolve through warfare, particularly through the magitech weapons produced by Steel City. Crafted by mechanics, these devices bore a striking resemblance to the creations of technological civilizations in appearance.

Large numbers of magic-powered golems were also deployed to the frontlines.

Grandmaster Feylis enjoyed considerable influence within Magus World.

So, many of these magic-powered golems were experimental prototypes freshly manufactured by Steel City, with their performance being tested directly through real combat.

Without a special connection in Steel City, it would have been nearly impossible for her to deploy such a large contingent of magic-powered golems.

Unlike the alchemy golems Sein had encountered before, these magic-powered golems from Steel City were larger, stronger, and equipped with self-control capabilities.

Most of them possessed combat power on par with Rank Two or even Rank Three beings.

Their operators were Rank One mages stationed safely in rear positions, such as space fortresses.

Controlled remotely through mental focus, the design inspiration for these magic-powered golems appeared to draw from the Neisse Civilization’s mechas, the mobile suits of the Rosen Dynasty and Gallant Federation, or perhaps a fusion of all three.

Steel City’s mechanics originally intended these giant war golems to help low-ranking mages gain early exposure to combat against higher-ranking entities.

This would lay the foundation for their future advancement and broaden their understanding of large-scale warfare.

Of course, that developmental purpose was eventually ignored.

Commanders like Feylis, who oversaw entire star domain battle zones, cared far more about the immediate combat power these magic-powered golems brought to the frontlines.

Beyond these magic-powered golems and newly developed large-scale magic artifacts, the knightly orders of Magus World also underwent several rounds of equipment upgrades during this Clash of Civilizations.

As an alchemist, Sein personally crafted his own equipment as well as that of his people.

Moreover, with his elevated life level and growing status as a Magus World mage, he was unable to pay close attention to the situation of lower-ranking knights.

A closer look at the battlefield on a grassroots level revealed that the vast knightly population of Magus World had gradually shifted away from their pre-war reliance on magic armor and toward the use of magitech armaments.

The concept of magitech armaments originated in Steel City and was later refined and enhanced by Sky City.

At first glance, these devices closely resembled the armor worn by soldiers of technological civilizations.

They were designed specifically to enhance the individual combat capabilities of Magus World’s low-ranking knights.

Thanks to industrialized and standardized manufacturing processes, these magictech armaments could be produced at a lower cost and in less time than traditional magic armor.

A Clash of Civilizations was ultimately a competition of foundational strengths.

While such standardized magitech equipment inevitably suppressed some of the imagination and creativity of Magus World’s alchemists, its effectiveness was beyond dispute.

Many lower-ranking knights favored this new form of armament, charging fiercely across the battlefield before suddenly unleashing magic beams from their shoulders in the midst of a fight.

This blend of raw physical strength and elemental power made many knights feel as though they had become “half-mages”.

In Magus World, the vast majority of knights had always harbored both envy and respect toward mages.

This transformation in the nature of warfare was one of the many changes the Gallant Federation had forced upon the Magus Civilization.