Sovereign of the Ashes

In addition to his body tempering experiments, Sein had continued studying the mechanical arts and advancing his research into the pyro element over the years.

His progress in mechanical arts had been especially significant. After repeatedly analyzing the Ark’s core fragment and studying the laws contained within it, Sein finally decided to let the Magic Cube devour it.

The Magic Cube possessed a certain degree of sentience and had been eyeing the fragment for a long time.

Back on the edge of the overlord-level battlefield, it had only managed to absorb some of the law energy leaking from the Ark. That tiny amount had been nowhere near enough to satisfy it.

It wanted more!

The only reason the Magic Cube had not clamored to be “fed” was that Sein did not possess a complete Ark Core and had collected only a few of its fragments.

With its appetite finally satiated, the world-class secret treasure once again entered a rare state of slumber.

The last time it had fallen into such a deep sleep was in the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm.

“I don’t think the Magic Cube will remain asleep for very long this time. After all, it only consumed a small fragment of the Ark Core, not the complete Ark,” Sein said to Fermera, who was with him in the alchemy laboratory. “But still, it may be able to advance into the ranks of high-grade mid-tier world-class secret treasures after it wakes up.”

Of the two world-class secret treasures in Sein’s possession, the Faceless Mask had already been a high-grade, mid-tier world-class secret treasure when he first obtained it.

The Magic Cube, on the other hand, had slowly risen from the level of a quasi-world-class secret treasure.

By the end of the war in the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm, it had already advanced into the ranks of mid-tier world-class secret treasures.

Over the years, the Magic Cube had never been a “picky eater”.

It devoured any federal mobile suit or giant battleship Sein captured or destroyed on the battlefield without hesitation, so long as it still contained law power or technological elements that could be absorbed and utilized.

Even when the Magic Cube had already eaten the technological laws within them before, it could still absorb the metallic materials from those mobile suits and warships.

Those materials were then turned into replacement parts for the angel robots or used as raw materials to produce ordinary robot cannon fodder.

Ever since the Magic Cube had integrated several federal robot production lines and achieved a seamless combination of robot manufacturing and energy development within itself, Sein had virtually never lacked cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Before the Divine Descendants World War, Sein already had a million-strong robot cannon fodder army at his disposal.

Several years had passed since the war ended, yet the size of that army had not diminished. On the contrary, it had continued to grow.

When Sein checked recently, he found that the total number of robots stored within the Magic Cube had already exceeded 2.3 million, and production was still ongoing.

There was no need to worry about storage space either. After Sein further expanded the Magic Cube’s dimensional laws, its internal space had become more than sufficient.

Forget two million. The Magic Cube’s theoretical troop capacity had already reached tens of millions, and there was still room for further growth!

As long as Sein could continue obtaining enough metallic materials, the Magic Cube could keep producing more robots.

He did not even need to worry about the energy required to power such a vast cannon fodder army.

The Magic Cube possessed a trace of infinite energy law. Although it could not yet generate large quantities of high-grade energy for Sein, producing the low-grade energy needed to power ordinary cannon fodder robots was no problem at all.

This was also one of the necessary conditions for the formation of Sein’s mechanical army.

However, low-tier cannon fodder alone was not enough. Sein was also in urgent need of elite forces he could truly rely on.

The angel-type robot production lines controlled by the Gallant Federation, along with the Nexon intelligent robots that had already joined the Magus Alliance, were precisely the kinds of forces Sein needed most right now.

After all, Fermera could not lead an entire army of law-wielding intelligent robots alone.

Once Sein returned to the main battlefield of the Magus Civilization, he might have to sit down and have a proper talk with Titanfang and Skyhold.

***

The Magic Cube had once again entered a period of dormancy.

According to Sein’s plan, his next step was to further analyze the divine relics he had obtained, including the life mucus, and explore how they could be developed and utilized through apothecary.

After all, as Lorianne’s apprentice, Sein hoped to accomplish something in the field of apothecary that would make his mentor proud.

However, before he could properly begin his research, representatives from the Insectoids arrived once again.

This time, the Empress of Blades had specifically requested to see him.

This formidable overlord was also his savior, so Sein naturally had no reason to refuse her request.

After quickly bringing his current experiment to a halt, he flew toward Fermont the Deathspawn, who hovered in the skies above Divine Descendants World.

More than ten law-wielding Winged Drakon kings escorted him along the way.

The Insectoids certainly knew how to make a grand impression, using Rank Four creatures as mere guards.

And so, for the second time, Sein entered the body of that strange being governed by the law of death.

There, within the Imperial Palace, he once again met the Empress of Blades.

She sat lazily upon a red throne made of bones.

Dozens of Insectoid kings and Bladeists stood throughout the palace, each exuding a formidable aura and overwhelming pressure.

These Insectoid kings were currently the strongest members of their respective races.

Anyone permitted to stand within the Imperial Palace possessed at least Rank Six strength.

Among them, Sein sensed two beings whose auras placed exceptionally powerful pressure on him. The feeling they gave him far surpassed that of any peak Rank Six being he had encountered before.

One was a small Thunder Beast.

No matter how Sein looked at it, the creature appeared identical to the Thunder Beast King that had once rampaged unchecked across the overlord-level battlefield.

The other was a Bladeist with a stern, cold expression.

Although the Imperial Palace was a majestic and towering structure, it was still not spacious enough for the Thunder Beast King to reveal its true form.

Even at its reduced size, it remained fiercely imposing. Eight razor-sharp fangs protruded from its mouth, each gleaming with a cold light.

“When I returned to the hive, I noticed that the water level in my bath had dropped a little.”

Seated high upon her throne, the Empress of Blades suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

“It seems we have a bathwater thief among us.”

Sein suddenly felt extremely awkward.

Fortunately, the Faceless Mask he wore concealed most of his reaction.

The Empress of Blades was obviously only joking, so Sein quickly composed himself and personally thanked her for coming to his aid on that perilous battlefield.

He had brought Fermera along this time as well. She bowed slightly to the Empress of Blades, expressing her gratitude to her savior.

The Empress of Blades studied Fermera’s angelic form with great interest before turning her attention back to Sein.

Her beautiful eyes moved between the two of them, as though trying to determine whether there was some special relationship between the mage and his robot.

Even Fermera, who was usually calm and silent, began to feel shy under her gaze.

Behind his mask, Sein maintained a blank expression that seemed to say, “Keep staring for as long as you like.”

The Empress of Blades’ time was precious, and she naturally had no intention of wasting too much of it on such trivial matters. After teasing Sein for a bit, she quickly turned to the matter at hand.

She first asked about his experiences in the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm, then questioned him at length about the inert crystals.

Just as he had suspected!

Before coming here, Sein had already wondered why the Empress of Blades had specifically requested to see him.

He immediately recounted everything he had experienced in that secret realm, including several details that went beyond the research findings on inert crystals he had previously shared with the Insectoids.

When Sein mentioned the avatar of an intelligent butterfly from the ancient civilization that had appeared shortly before the destruction of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s central control base, the Empress of Blades’ eyes lit up with interest.

She was equally fascinated by his descriptions of the civilization’s cutting-edge technologies, including the Infinite Energy Device and the Space-Time Shocker.

Sein had already reported all of this information to the Magus Civilization, so the Empress of Blades would eventually learn about it anyway.

Still, there was no harm in giving her an early look at the subjects that interested her.

What intrigued her most, however, was Sein’s mention of a mountain of top-grade inert crystals within the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s central control base that stood almost as tall as the base itself.

Sein’s second top-grade inert crystal had originally been harvested from that very “mountain”.

The moment he mentioned it, the Empress of Blades’ eyes seemed to sparkle.

Meanwhile, the many high-ranking Insectoids gathered throughout the hall gulped audibly in unison.

“It’s a pity that the Grandlight Tech Center came under concentrated fire from the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical weapon. I have no idea what became of it in the end. After the Magus Civilization occupied the secret realm, the ruins were completely sealed off. I was transferred to other battlefields soon afterward, so I never had the chance to investigate further,” Sein said.

“Still, the Grandlight Tech Center wasn’t the only place within that subspace secret realm where inert crystal veins were discovered. These crystals have also been found near Blue Star, outside that secret realm. I’ve even heard that top-grade inert crystals were mined there.”

The Grandlight Tech Center had once served as the central command base of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization. Its destruction by the Gallant Federation had always been a source of deep regret for Sein.

The Empress of Blades, however, viewed the matter differently. Seated upon her throne, she shook her head.

“Given the nature of inert crystals, external force alone could never completely obliterate them. At most, the outermost layer would have been destroyed. The crystals buried deeper inside should still be intact.”

A smile appeared on the Empress’ face.

“Thank you for telling me this in advance, boy. You mentioned the Klytherans’ homeland... Hehe, those special creatures with Klytherite inside their bodies were once among the prey hunted by us Insectoids as well. Back then, they were nearly exterminated by the Gallant Federation.

“We Insectoids have roamed the Astral Realm for many years, yet we never found another trace of them. I never expected the Klytherans to discover a unique planet like Blue Star, which would later lead to the discovery of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm. Impressive!”

The Empress of Blades shifted on her throne and crossed one leg over the other.

“Now that the beings of Planet Klythera have joined the Magus Alliance, and a new, far larger source of inert crystals has been discovered... the small amount of Klytherite inside their bodies is hardly worth mentioning anymore.”

The Klytherans were good friends of Sein.

Hearing the Empress say this, Sein quickly voiced his agreement and seized the opportunity to put in a few good words for them.

“The Klytherans are currently among our most important strategic partners in the star domains surrounding Blue Star. They firmly support the Magus Civilization, remain hostile toward the Gallant Federation, and stand united with the Shadowbat Civilization, Marvelous Plane, Aquaria, and a few other allied planes,” Sein said.