Sovereign of the Ashes

The explorations that followed yielded few truly valuable new discoveries.

Given the time constraints, even with their vast knowledge, Sein and his group could not hope to uncover truly groundbreaking truths in such a short period.

After recording the coordinates of the biological warship, the group departed and pressed deeper into the Steel Ruins.

Within the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, the Magic Cube proved to be a far more effective exploration tool than the Faceless Mask.

Normally, places where treasures were found also held other mysteries waiting to be unraveled, so Sein was not worried about returning empty-handed.

Before leaving the biological warship, however, Hanliu muttered, “Inner arts? Cultivators of the Immortal Realm also practice inner arts. I wonder if they are the same thing...”

At first glance, inner arts resembled the methods Magus World mages used to improve their mental focus, but closer examination revealed fundamental differences.

Hanliu’s muttering caught Sein’s attention, prompting him to ask, “If inner arts are practiced in the Immortal Realm Civilization, what about beast-taming techniques?”

“Yes. In fact, there are many beast-taming sects in the Immortal Realm. But I’ve never heard of any direct connection between those sects and the inner arts they use,” Hanliu replied, scratching his head.

“I didn’t expect there were beast-taming techniques in the Immortal Realm,” Grethel said in surprise. “I wonder how the beast tamers there compare to our Magus Civilization’s summoners.”

“I have lived this long and still haven’t visited the Immortal Realm,” she added with a sigh.

Perhaps stirred by his cousin’s remarks, Black Oblivion felt compelled to show off his knowledge about the Immortal Realm.

“The Immortal Realm has more than just beast-summoning techniques; they also have corpse-driving arts,” he chimed in.

“Corpse-driving? What’s that supposed to be?” Grethel asked curiously. This was the first time she had heard about it.

Black Oblivion tilted his head, thinking for a moment before answering, “Something similar to necromancy in our Magus World, I suppose.”

“It’s an Immortal Realm technique that reanimates or cultivates corpses into war puppets.”

Sein and Grethel exchanged a glance, but neither continued the conversation.

***

In the rear battlefield of the subspace secret realm...

Agent Bond had recently gained entry into a Black Merlot ruins within the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s subspace.

As a Rank Five powerhouse from a technological civilization, Bond had extraordinary luck with the Black Merlot Civilization, which pursued the path of cultivation.

Moreover, nearly every aspect of his physical attributes aligned remarkably well with the Black Merlot Civilization’s genetic fluids, equipment, and even its cultivation techniques.

The Black Merlot Civilization ruins uncovered in the distant Grand Apocalypse World Star Domain were far more numerous and far higher level than those within the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s subspace.

As a result, Bond and his team had uncovered numerous valuable relics over the years.

For example, decades ago, Bond began cultivating a unique inner art discovered within the Black Merlot Civilization ruins.

He had turned the technique over to the Gallant Federation’s military, where scientists determined that it was a specialized method for enhancing cerebral capacity and strengthening willpower.

However, the technique was ill-suited to the constitutions of most Federation humans. Lower-ranking Federation soldiers had no need for such enhancements, as genetic serums and human augmentation projects were already sufficient for their roles.

As a result, discoveries like these from the Black Merlot Civilization held limited practical value for the Gallant Federation.

Bond, however, found great enjoyment in cultivating this inner art and had already achieved an exceptionally high level of mastery in it.

With individual combat strength at Rank Five, Bond’s growth path had long diverged from that of ordinary federal soldiers. He also did not need to command fleets like other federal generals.

Recently, as Bond clearly felt his willpower grow stronger by the day, he even passed this inner art on to his new friend, Charlie Robert.

Charlie Robert was once the pilot of a federal mobile suit known as the Deadly Wanderer.

The recent loss of his brother, combined with the looming end of his mobile suit career, had left Charlie Robert deeply depressed.

Bond held great admiration for the Roberts and their performance on the battlefield.

It was through Bond’s provision of several precious vials of genetic serum that Charlie Robert had been swiftly pulled back from the brink of death.

Since this Black Merlot Civilization technique could expand a person’s brain capacity, Bond selflessly shared it with him.

The Gallant Federation’s giant mobile suits require two pilots because a single pilot’s brain capacity cannot withstand the immense demands of such powerful machines.

Only two pilots with synchronized brainwaves could control a mobile suit as if it were their own bodies.

The reason the Gallant Federation placed little importance on the Black Merlot Civilization’s inner arts uncovered by Bond was simple: the federation’s Brain Interconnection Theory had already reached an extremely mature stage.

Moreover, all giant mobile suits produced by the major heavy mobile suit factories in the federation were designed for two-pilot operation.

In the midst of a large-scale war, how could the Gallant Federation possibly abandon or overturn its long-established operational framework just because of a newly discovered art or piece of technology?

They refused to conduct even small-scale trials.

The pressure exerted by the Magus Civilization was only growing more intense.

Although the fighting between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization in the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization ruins appeared evenly matched, and the earlier encirclement even gave the federation a slight advantage, the broader picture told a different story.

Across other star-domain battlefields, the federation’s decline was more obvious than at any point in the past several centuries!

The deployment of Infinity Light in the Saitos Star Domain had indeed boosted the federation’s chances of victory, but in recent times, that momentum had begun to fade once again.

In fact, even if the Magus Civilization took no additional action, the balance of victory was already tilting in its favor against the Gallant Federation’s troop deployments both inside and outside the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization ruins.

The decline in the federation’s win-rate growth had occurred precisely when it committed massive legions and poured enormous resources into the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization ruins.

Under such crushing frontline pressure, how could the Gallant Federation spare the technological resources and funding needed to explore entirely new domains?

The overall course of a Clash of Civilizations was not something Rank Five beings like Bond or Sein could easily influence.

Even in clashes between top-tier civilizations, the impact of a single overlord remained extremely limited.

Still, as a member of the Gallant Federation, Bond had long resolved to devote himself fully to its cause.

Having only recently deciphered the secrets of a Black Merlot Civilization’s base, Bond was already preparing for his next move.

Before departing, he sought out his newly acquainted friend, Charlie Robert, to bid him farewell.

As an agent who kept to himself and maintained a small social circle, Bond had always had few friends.

Yet he cherished every one who earned his trust.

Perhaps it was the absence of familial affection in his childhood that led him to place greater importance on his friendships and his duty to the federation.