Sovereign of the Ashes

When Feylis advanced her legions toward the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, she had explicitly stated that the Shadowbat Civilization legions could remain in their original positions.

Yet in the end, one Shadowbat Civilization legion still chose to join the Magus Alliance forces under Feylis’ command.

The commander of this Shadowbat legion was Darian Wraith, their civilization’s Rank Five powerhouse.

War was the ultimate test of one’s will. In the conflict against Arid Expanse World, Darian emerged as a rising star among the younger generation of Shadowbat powerhouses.

The older generation of Rank Six Shadowbat powerhouses had suffered grievous injuries during the war. Even if they eventually recovered, few would ever regain their former glory, let alone advance further.

As a result, immense expectations were now placed on Darian Wraith.

The future strength and authority of the Shadowbat Civilization would likely rest in his hands.

That included the civilization’s world-class secret treasure, the Batwing Helmet. Plans were already in motion to grant Darian early exposure to it and allow him to familiarize himself with its functions.

This expedition to the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, undertaken alongside Feylis, was also Darian’s own initiative.

As a Rank Five being who had previously interacted with Sein, and as an ambitious and idealistic powerhouse, Darian had begun preparing for the future after witnessing the terrifying strength of the Magus Civilization.

He was unaware that Sein was currently within the ruins. He merely reasoned that if the Magus Civilization placed such importance on this location and was deploying massive combat forces there, then it was destined to become the focal battlefield of the next phase.

The merits earned from fighting a hundred wars within the Shadowbat Civilization’s own star domain might not even compare to those gained from a single decisive battle inside these ruins.

Darian did not care about the dangers lurking within those ruins.

His legions had endured years of attrition and exhaustion, and by all logic, rest and recovery would have been the wiser choice.

Yet when faced with Darian’s deployment orders, the Shadowbat legions voiced little complaint, displaying remarkable discipline and resilience.

This spoke volumes about the influence and reputation Darian had built during the war. The vast majority of Shadowbat Civilization warriors were willing to follow his lead without hesitation.

Beyond the Shadowbat forces, the legions under White Stella’s command were the most diverse of them all!

In addition to sea races and the Magus Civilization knights and mages already stationed around the Marvelous Plane battlefront, numerous other allied creature legions were also present.

Orric, Beatrice, Karl, and Auron all joined the battle.

Beatrice’s mother, Hippolyta, did not accompany them, as she needed to remain stationed on Marvelous Plane.

During the previous war, Hippolyta had demonstrated exceptional talent in logistics and organizational management.

Not only did Magus World knights and mages, including Sein, hold Hippolyta in high regard, but she had also earned a solid reputation among the alliance’s deities.

Beyond these existing alliance forces, White Stella’s legions were reinforced by a formidable interstellar mercenary corps.

This mercenary force hailed from the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce and numbered nearly two million strong. Among them were more than twenty law-wielding individuals.

The fact that a single interstellar merchant group could assemble such a powerful mercenary force so quickly was nothing short of impressive.

Moreover, Arriba’s presence near the Marvelous Plane battlefield represented only one of its many branches.

Having built a vast commercial empire, this interstellar organization maintained branches across major star domains and in the vicinity of numerous top-tier civilizations.

The true extent of the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce’s overall strength likely remained unknown even to many Rank Six powerhouses of Magus World.

Among the interstellar mercenaries rushing to reinforce the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, the strongest was a peak Rank Five Razor Mantis.

However, the most eye-catching presence, and the one who had previously delivered the most outstanding performance on the battlefields surrounding the Marvelous Plane, was a Rank Four Luminarian named Dekses.

This time, Dekses would also be heading toward the battlefields near the core ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

***

Beyond the Yellow Sand Base II, the Gallant Federation’s combat legions swarmed the surrounding space, forming an almost impenetrable cordon.

Even a rough estimate placed the combined strength of these federal fleets at several million units.

This deployment represented nearly the entirety of the Gallant Federation’s main force committed to this top-tier civilization’s secret realm.

The federation’s objective was clear.

After entering the secret realm, they discovered that roughly ninety-seven percent of the surrounding space was sealed off by energy barriers, making deep exploration impossible in the short term.

As a result, the Gallant Federation turned its attention to the Magus Civilization.

The Magus World’s specialized research teams had arrived years ahead of the federation’s assault forces.

Obtaining knowledge directly from the Magus Civilization was far more efficient than conducting independent exploration from scratch.

Of course, the federation’s decision to quickly engage the Magus Civilization forces within the ruins was also likely influenced by intelligence regarding troop movements from multiple factions beyond the ruins.

A Clash of Civilizations was an integrated whole. No matter where Sein of Magus World or Agent Bond of the Gallant Federation were, they remained part of the larger civilizational battlefield.

It was impossible to fight solely for oneself while ignoring the broader strategic shifts unfolding elsewhere.

Although the Gallant Federation’s assault fleet had arrived in overwhelming numbers, the Magus Civilization’s garrison legions were far from helpless.

Having withdrawn to the Yellow Sand Base II, Master Howard and his group had consolidated sufficient strength and established contact with elite garrison forces outside the ruins.

As a result, despite being surrounded by the federation’s main force, they continued to resist actively, showing no immediate signs of collapse.

Now, Sein and his group had to decide whether to break through the encirclement and join Master Howard and the others inside the base.

“I don’t think we should rush into a decision,” Sein said after surveying the battlefield around Yellow Sand Base II.

The situation around the base clearly favored the enemy.

The Gallant Federation had arrived fully prepared, while Magus World had been caught off guard.

Even if Sein and his group forced their way in, they would likely end up like Master Howard’s team—trapped inside the base, waiting for reinforcements from beyond the ruins.

Sein disliked the idea of being stuck in a passive position. He preferred to go on the offensive.

Perhaps it was the lingering influence of his past mindset as a black mage that still shaped his thinking.

They were temporarily safe now. There was no reason to charge headlong into the Gallant Federation’s encirclement.

Sein was prepared to sacrifice himself for the Magus Civilization, but that did not mean he would throw his life away foolishly.