Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1879: Mechanical Mark

This space pirate skirmish began when Sein and his crew came across an interstellar merchant fleet under attack.

The Ashen Star Pirates were only the third party to step in.

Before they arrived, a small pirate crew known as the Redbeard Pirates had been on the verge of wiping out the merchant fleet completely.

If it had just been the original core members of Aribbean’s crew, they would not have stood a chance in a clash like this.

But with the addition of Fermera and her legion, things were very different!

Those once strictly law-abiding intelligent robots seemed to have found a new calling after taking part in several interstellar raids.

In the Astral Realm, desire always followed intelligence—it was only a matter of time.

The desires of the robots under Sein’s command were simple: create more of their kind and secure recognition as true sentient beings.

But creating more angel robots required money.

And where did money come from?

On the civilizational battlefield, vast wealth could be seized by capturing the Gallant Federation’s haulers and supply hubs.

Out here, in lesser-known star domains, space piracy was clearly a low-risk option.

Resources and wealth had many uses.

After attending a Magus Alliance Conference and gaining a clearer understanding of how it operated, Sein realized something.

To gain influence within the Magus Alliance, especially to push through specific proposals, money was essential.

The only exception was when high-ranking figures within the Magus Civilization imposed decisions from above, which required little to no cost.

For everyone else, especially mid and lower-tier members, securing rights and privileges within the alliance required more than just strength.

One needed powerful backing and money.

With enough magicoins and resources, Sein believed it would not be difficult to secure a place for angel robots within the Magus Alliance.

He had mentioned this casually during one of his experiments, and it seemed to have left a lasting impression on Fermera.

Sein himself had been completely unaware of the previous two pirate skirmishes.

So when he stepped out of his heavily sealed, interference-proof laboratory today, he was caught off guard by the sight before him.

Tourmaline was sitting in a pilot seat, wearing an eye patch and cheering at the top of her lungs.

She was not even looking in Sein’s direction, but the moment he stepped out of the laboratory, her nose twitched. She sprang to her feet and rushed straight toward him.

With that eye patch on, she gave off a bright, youthful energy.

By the time she threw herself into his arms, the battle not far away was already over.

The Redbeard Star Pirates had been wiped out by the Ashen Star Pirates.

The crew was named after their leader—a red-bearded creature with peak demigod-level strength.

Fermera had ended him with a single shot from her arm cannon.

What followed might have looked like a chaotic melee, but in truth, it was nothing more than a one-sided rout.

The interstellar merchant fleet the Redbeard Pirates attacked was never the Ashen Star Pirates’ target.

Despite picking up some bad influences, Tourmaline was still far kinder than Sein.

Unless she had no choice, she would never harm innocent, lower-level beings.

Growing up, White Stella and the others had instilled in her a fairly normal, grounded worldview.

Sein, on the other hand, had grown up struggling in the underground world, where right and wrong were often measured by one thing—whether it benefited him.

Clinging to him, Tourmaline eagerly rubbed her small dragon horn against his chest.

She seemed to like doing that more and more.

Seeing her flushed cheeks, Sein could not resist leaning in to kiss one of them.

There was nothing improper about it. He was simply showing affection.

Surely, Tourmaline felt the same. Their relationship had quietly grown closer.

By the time Fermera returned, the angel robots under her command had already gathered the spoils of battle.

Sein paid them little attention.

He kept only a few specimen materials with distinctive traits of this star domain for his laboratory or collection room. The rest, such as energy crystals and ores, he left to Fermera and Tourmaline.

Fermera’s legion performed exceptionally well in low-level combat. However, it had a clear limitation—she was the only Rank Four and above unit.

The technology required to create high-level constructs was considered extremely advanced, even within the Gallant Federation.

After all, even the Magus Civilization could not mass-produce Rank Four beings.

Sein might be able to secure a few production lines for angel robots on the battlefield of civilizations, but Rank Four and above constructs were another story entirely.

He would first need to capture top-tier scientists comparable to Syphen and Michaelis Bell, along with their research teams.

That alone would not be enough. He would also need large amounts of advanced production facilities and workshops dedicated to high-end robotic manufacturing.

Then came the materials—rare metals and precious crystals that could serve as the bio-energy core for these high-level robots.

In short, producing such constructs was anything but easy.

Technological civilizations had their own limitations that hindered their growth.

The Astral Realm, in the end, was balanced.

For now, the only external power sources Sein could rely on were the Magic Cube and the Energy Amethysts.

Experiments had already proven that both could stimulate the growth and evolution of intelligent robots.

Since joining Sein, Fermera’s strength had improved to some extent. Even the standard angel robots stored within the Magic Cube showed subtle but noticeable changes under close observation.

Their bodies now reflected more than just the Gallant Federation’s engineering. There were traces of Magus Civilization alchemy as well.

Sein’s Magic Cube itself was a fusion of both civilizations’ knowledge, which was why it had reached the level of a world-class secret treasure.

Naturally, the mechanical legion under his command was beginning to carry his mark.

“Enough playing around. We need to move. It looks like we are close to the nearest complete plane,” Sein said.

“Okay,” Tourmaline replied with her bright, clear voice.

She lifted her head and stared at Sein for a moment, as if lost in thought.

It made Sein pause and touch his own face, wondering if something was there.