Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1685: Unable to Withstand

“Overlord-level power?!” Feylis, the Rank Six mage commanding the Magus Civilization’s frontline forces, stared in astonishment toward the Steel Ruins at the very center of the subspace.

The particle fluctuation released moments earlier from the wreckage of the Black Merlot Civilization’s biological warship matched the energy fluctuation of an overlord-level being, sending a jolt through Feylis.

Before she could even begin to form a response, the sight of energy barriers dissolving one after another, and the terrifying power surging from the depths of the Gallant Federation fleet, sent another shockwave through her mind.

The fleet unleashed dense volleys of projectiles, deep-blue trails streaking behind them.

They tore through the air with sharp, piercing sounds, like shrieking grim reapers racing toward the direction Feylis had been watching.

The staggering power packed into those projectiles left no doubt that they were one of the Gallant Federation’s “apocalyptic weapons”.

Feylis was no stranger to such weapons. A thousand years earlier, she had seen them twice on the battlefields of the Netherworld Star Domain.

The first time was a less destructive model known as the Red Dot Nuclear Bomb. A Rank Six allied creature had been blown apart before Feylis’ eyes, and even she had suffered significant damage from the shockwaves.

The second time was far more devastating. Fortunately, Feylis had been far from the center of that battlefield and had only witnessed a blinding flash of yellow light in the distance.

She later learned that the entire area had been destroyed by the Gallant Federation’s Electromagnetic Reaper, another apocalyptical weapon.

Although both weapons belonged to the Reaper series, the destructive power of the Electromagnetic Reaper she had seen back then clearly surpassed that of the Wandering Reaper.

The projectiles it fired possessed destructive power that was, at best, comparable to the Red Dot Nuclear Bomb Feylis had encountered before.

Yet, compared to the Red Dot Nuclear Bomb, the Wandering Reaper clearly lacked both surprise and stealth.

Had it fired directly at Feylis’ position moments earlier, she would not have survived the apocalyptic weapon’s frontal assault. However, she was confident she could escape the strike’s core zone before the danger fully closed in.

Still, the rapid succession of these two unexpected developments caused Feylis to tense up.

The other Rank Six Magus Civilization powerhouses across the battlefield had clearly sensed the anomaly as well.

Rather than converging on Feylis’ location immediately, they contacted her through various communication channels instead.

“That direction is...” Feylis murmured as she gazed toward the area at which the Federation’s apocalyptic weapon had fired its attack.

“Master Feylis, the energy barriers in the surrounding region have weakened significantly. The Gallant Federation fleet is showing signs of mobilization. What should we do next?” a Rank Six knight asked.

In a conflict of this scale, Feylis was the Magus Civilization’s sole battlefield commander and highest authority on site.

The knights and allied creatures were long accustomed to following the commands of Magus World mages.

Even as the apocalyptical weapon completed its launch in the blink of an eye, Feylis remained calm because no overlord-class federal vessels had arrived yet.

Besides, she knew that once the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical weapon was fired, it would require a considerable cooldown period before it could be used again.

Only overlord-class vessels, powered by their unique energy sources, were capable of deploying apocalyptical weapons multiple times within a short window.

On top of that, an overlord-class fleet of the Gallant Federation carried far more than one apocalyptical weapon.

Just as the overlord-level existences of Magus World possessed an array of terrifying abilities, the overlord-class warfleets of the Gallant Federation employed a wide variety of offensive methods.[1]

Feylis reached her decision quickly. She knew the Gallant Federation never acted without purpose.

Since both the Gallant Federation’s fleet and apocalyptical weapon were converging on the heart of this subspace, that location had to conceal something of critical importance.

More importantly, the collapse of numerous energy barriers within the subspace had restored the Magus Civilization’s long-range communication capabilities.

“Let’s advance immediately toward the heart of this subspace too,” Feylis ordered. “All legions are to exert every effort to intercept and harass the federation’s fleet. Whatever their objective is, we cannot allow them to succeed easily.”

As the Gallant Federation’s main fleet and the bulk of Magus World’s reinforcements arrived, the Arid Expanse World Legion and Aquarian Legion—once the core fighting forces—gradually withdrew to secondary positions.

This was partly due to their limited strength and partly because both legions had already suffered heavy losses in earlier engagements.

When a battlefield expanded to the scale of hundreds of millions, there was little room left for them to influence the outcome.

However, Seiron, the peak Rank Six powerhouse of Arid Expanse World, remained a valuable asset to the Gallant Federation.

Now, as the federal fleet pushed deeper into the subspace core, Seiron once again took the lead.

Since he was not one of their own, the federation could use him without hesitation.

Once a fearsome presence across the surrounding star domains, Seiron’s body was now scarred. Many of the wounds had been inflicted by Feylis herself.

Her verdant flames had burned across vast sections of his body.

Even so, the Gallant Federation showed no intention of giving Seiron any respite.

As he charged toward the Magus Civilization’s legions, Lightning Ax in hand, Feylis had no choice but to rush back to the frontline to greet her old enemy.

***

On the top floor of the skyscraper...

A sudden surge in special particles, followed by an incoming apocalyptic strike, set off blaring alarms throughout the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s Grandlight Tech Center.

Blinding red warning lights flashed intermittently across every floor of the skyscraper.

Perhaps influenced by that crimson glow, Number Two now appeared colder and far more serious.

This was a sharp contrast to his earlier gentle, detached demeanor.

“Energy fluctuations of Black Merlot Civilization’s creatures. They have disrupted the already fragile energy circuits within this subspace,” Number Two remarked calmly.

“As for the long-range strike aimed at us, its attack power matches that of an overlord-level lifeform,” it added.

“Can we withstand it? That must be the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical weapon,” Sein said, furrowing his brow.

He had witnessed the federation’s apocalyptical weapons firsthand and understood just how terrifying their power was.

Years ago, Nexon had been driven to collapse by a single long-range strike from one such weapon.

Although Planet Nexon had no planar will or planar barrier, its size and mass rivaled those of a medium-sized world.

Even so, it had not been able to withstand the annihilating beam of the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical weapon.

As for the destructive power of the weapon now bearing down on them, Sein could not tell whether it surpassed or fell short of the Deepspace Drill he had witnessed in the past.

Either way, it was an attack he could not withstand head-on.

The skyscraper’s greatest weakness lay in the fact that it was a fixed structure, making it an ideal stationary target.

Given the situation, even if Sein and his group wanted to flee, they might not be able to escape the blast zone in time.

“It will be difficult,” Number Two said. “Tens of millions of years ago, the Grandlight Tech Center could have withstood an attack of this magnitude without issue. Even millions of years ago, I would have been extremely confident.”

“But now...” Its voice trailed off as its hands moved rapidly across the holographic interface before him.

At its command, energy within the skyscraper began converging from its base toward the upper levels. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Hexagonal energy barriers materialized within the group’s field of vision.

Under Number Two’s control, the third world-class secret treasure within this skyscraper revealed itself before them.

It was a translucent, spherical crystal.

Its surface was composed of countless hexagonal facets, each one seemingly containing infinite energy circuits and unfathomable mysteries within.

1. Author’s Note: A standard Gallant Federation overlord-class fleet includes at least three overlord-class destroyers, not counting frigates and other vessel types. Only a complete overlord-class fleet can rival a single Astral Realm overlord-level being. ☜