Sovereign of the Ashes

“Huh? What? Bond wants us to launch the Wandering Reaper at the coordinates he provided?” General Meston, who was on the edge of this subspace battlefield, exclaimed in astonishment.

He was a burly federal general with graying hair and a beard.

Beyond his rank as a five-star general, Meston also served as the supreme commander of the Gallant Federation forces operating in this subspace.

He had been the one who spearheaded the mission that had sent agents like Bond into subspace to gather intelligence on the Black Merlot and Eiyurant Papillon Civilizations.

“Yes, sir. Bond has also requested that we launch another strike at a specific time. It appears he needs to activate something over there,” an officer within the capital ship replied.

General Meston fell silent.

Originally, the Wandering Reaper was meant to strike the Magus Civilization legions on this subspace battlefield, particularly the Rank Six powerhouses like Feylis.

Even if those Rank Six beings could not be eliminated outright, severely injuring them while annihilating the surrounding elite Magus Civilization legions should have been achievable.

The Wandering Reaper had been created a long time ago.

This apocalyptical weapon had been carried aboard the Gallant Federation’s overlord-class fleet more than one hundred thousand years ago. This meant its destructive power was sufficient to threaten an overlord-level existence.

However, as time went on, the Gallant Federation developed numerous new apocalyptical weapons. These newer models surpassed the Wandering Reaper in destructive power, energy efficiency, sustainability, stealth capabilities, and other key aspects.

As a result, starting roughly one hundred thousand years ago, a batch of apocalyptical weapons, including the Wandering Reaper, were retired from overlord-class vessels to make room for newer, upgraded models.

Much like the space fortresses of Magus World, Gallant Federation warships underwent continuous improvements.

That said, given the Wandering Reaper’s sheer destructive potential, the Gallant Federation would never allow it to simply gather dust after retiring it.

After all, it remained a weapon capable of threatening overlord-level beings. Even if it was no longer needed on overlord-class vessels, it still served as a formidable trump card for standard Rank Six warfleets.

The Wandering Reaper boasted an extremely high attack frequency and immense destructive power. Its only real flaw was its poor accuracy, forcing it to rely on attack range to ensure hits.

This was precisely why a superweapon capable of threatening overlords would likely fail to kill high-ranking Magus Civilization powerhouses outright.

No matter how great a weapon’s destructive power might be, it was meaningless if it could not land a direct hit.

At best, the residual force would severely wound Feylis and the others.

Five-Star General Meston recalled Bond’s outstanding performance in previous missions, as well as the constant praise Bond had received from his old friend, Jemma.

Taking that into account, the old commander decided to alter his original war strategy. He ordered to have the fully loaded Wandering Reaper retarget the coordinates provided by Bond, intending to synchronize its strike with Bond’s operation.

General Meston’s decision shocked many of the officers aboard the capital ship.

Changing strategic directives in the middle of an ongoing battle was no trivial matter.

Redirecting the Wandering Reaper’s trajectory would directly affect the subsequent deployment plans of numerous frontline fleet legions.

Many lower-ranking federal fleets had already received orders to launch follow-up assaults against the Magus Civilization legions once the apocalyptical weapon was fired.

Now, those plans would clearly have to be put on hold.

Inside the capital ship, a fairly high-ranking three-star lieutenant general voiced his concerns regarding General Meston’s order.

His words were carefully chosen and diplomatic rather than openly defiant.

“Each reload cycle for the Wandering Reaper is extremely cumbersome. This sudden change of target means it will take a long time before it can be activated again.

“Moreover, the Wandering Reaper’s accuracy has always been its greatest weakness. If we fire it at the frontlines now, we might take down one or two Rank Six Magus Civilization beings.

“But if we redirect the first strike toward another target and give those powerful Magus Civilization forces time to prepare their defenses, the weapon’s effectiveness will be greatly reduced by the time we can fire it again.”

His assessment drew agreement from many of the officers aboard the capital ship.

Compared to an attack on coordinates of unknown significance, these officers clearly preferred deploying this apocalyptical weapon directly against the current battlefield.

After all, casualties here were tangible and visible, and every Magus Civilization legion destroyed translated directly into combat merit and opportunities for promotion.

Within the Gallant Federation military, there was an unwritten rule: whoever claimed the kill of a Magus World Rank Six creature on a given battlefield would receive priority consideration for promotion.

If the slain target was a Rank Six member of the Magus Alliance, a lieutenant general would be promoted by at least two stars, and a major general by three!

Would General Meston not want to eliminate more Rank Six Magus Civilization powerhouses?

He was already a five-star general, with no further promotions available within the general ranks. The next step up was the title of marshal, along with command over a fleet group of overlord-class vessels.

Each Rank Six Magus Civilization entity General Meston eliminated brought him one step closer to promotion to marshal.

Yet when it came to decisions of this magnitude, General Meston placed greater trust in his own judgment and in the unreserved praise his old friend had consistently given Bond.

General Meston believed he had never misjudged people and chose to trust Bond.

“Marshal Rommel is about to lead an overlord-class fleet into this subspace battlefield. Whether one or two Rank Six beings are severely wounded will not alter the overall course of the coming conflict.

“I still think we should trust Agent Bond. He must have discovered something in the deepest reaches of this subspace secret realm to justify requesting a long-range strike with an apocalyptical weapon.

“I know many of you have doubts about this young man from our special division, but during this Clash of Civilizations, the greater good must come first,” General Meston said earnestly to the officers around him.

This time, no one spoke up in opposition.

The officers returned to their posts as the Wandering Reaper altered its course, locking its firing coordinates onto the heart of this subspace.

The Wandering Reaper resembled an oversized rocket launcher.

A massive destroyer served as the launch platform for this weapon of mass destruction.

Dense networks of energy conduits crisscrossed the destroyer’s upper deck as the apocalyptical weapon slowly extended from within its hull.

Hundreds of specially designed projectiles gleamed with a cold, eerie light inside dark metal barrels.

This was a weapon capable of threatening even overlord-level lifeforms!

Far away, within the skyscraper, Bond received confirmation from the federal military and immediately ordered his subordinates, “We’re leaving this place for now! Move!”

Bond’s abrupt retreat left Sein and the others on the skyscraper’s top floor utterly bewildered.

However, Sein’s attention was not on Bond, but on the eight-winged angel in front of him.

At that moment, he had his finger on the blue crystal on Fermera’s chest.

The cube fragment embedded there sent a surge of information about Fermera directly into Sein’s mind.

Sein then brought out the Magic Cube, intending to help her heal faster.

Black Oblivion, standing beside him, suddenly shuddered.

“I suddenly have a bad feeling,” the flood dragon said.