The war spreading across this sea of yellow sands had already dragged on for more than a year.

Sein had taken part in the fighting, though rarely.

Throughout the conflict, he detected no signs that the Gallant Federation legions intended to withdraw from this subspace.

It was unclear whether this was due to the sheer intensity of the Magus Civilization’s offensive or a misjudgment on Feylis’ part.

In truth, the battle in this region overseen by Sein was far from over.

At least one-third of the Gallant Federation’s forces were still trapped within Sein’s encirclement, desperately holding out while awaiting reinforcements.

Recently, however, Sein’s presence on the frontlines had grown increasingly rare.

This was not due to neglect—rather, a far more pressing matter demanded his attention.

The Magic Cube had finally completed its upgrade.

The enhanced cube shimmered with a crystalline blue glow, its surface covered in countless specks of light. At a glance, it resembled a vast, dazzling sea of stars.

Compared to its previous state, the cube’s most important change was its ability to directly empower Sein in combat.

In the past, the cube had mainly served as a tool for awakening robos, offering little direct benefit to Sein himself.

Now, however, it possessed the origin power of multiple technological secret treasure fragments. This allowed Sein to channel the cube’s energy and directly unleash the technological power it had absorbed.

Among the technological laws stored within the Cube was one from an offensive weapon of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, known as the Crimson Warm Shackles.

Sein could now deploy this power directly through the cube.

He had already tested it on the battlefield, confirming that it could effortlessly break through the defenses of Rank Five beings.

Beyond its combat applications, the cube’s most significant new feature lay in its vastly improved intelligence.

This intelligence was not true sentience—Sein could clearly sense that the cube had not become an independent life form.

Even so, it now proactively optimized many aspects of Sein’s operations through its own calculations.

For example, the cube had analyzed the relationship between Sein’s Ashen Fortress and the surrounding prism forts. Among the solutions it proposed were blueprints for disassembling and fusing the Ashen Fortress with ten or so prism forts.

The resulting fused Ashen Fortress would be larger in scale, boast significantly stronger defenses, and wield far greater firepower!

The cube had even designed dozens of new weapons for the fortress.

Naturally, these technological weapons focused primarily on energy-based attacks.

Since the cube mainly absorbed and utilized technological knowledge, its involvement with the Magus Civilization’s magitech products was largely limited to the disassembly and reassembly of space fortresses and prism forts.

If prism forts could be fused with the Ashen Fortress, then what would happen if Sein were to acquire several space fortresses of matching specifications?

He could not help recalling the fortresses he had promised to procure for Reina and Sia.

On battlefields of this scale, bigger was not always better when it came to space fortresses. Even so, the cube’s demonstrated capabilities and the designs it proposed genuinely caught Sein’s attention.

Moreover, as more of the Magic Cube’s functions were unlocked, Sein found himself able to borrow many of its capabilities during his experiments.

For example, laboratory tools such as super elemental microscopes and other specialized magic instruments could gradually be replaced by the cube itself.

Sein had even used the Magic Cube to analyze Fermera. To his surprise, the Magic Cube was able to provide upgrade and optimization suggestions even for a Rank Six combat robot like her.

At this point, the Magic Cube’s grade had undoubtedly surpassed that of the Faceless Mask!

Even so, Sein sensed that the cube had not yet reached its ultimate evolutionary state.

However, the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization no longer had any technological laws left for the cube to absorb. That raised a troubling question—where else could Sein find nourishment to sustain its growth?

As he pondered this, Sein’s gaze drifted toward the Gallant Federation legions before him.

As a top-tier technological civilization, the Gallant Federation undoubtedly possessed many technological products infused with origin law energy.

But artifacts of that level were never simple.

The apocalyptical weapons Sein had encountered before were clearly products of such caliber.

Reaching the point of generating origin law energy like world-class secret treasures meant such artifacts likely existed only aboard Rank Six warships in most cases.

Even Fermera, a Rank Six robot, did not possess a single world-class secret treasure.

The Magic Cube’s successful upgrade had been a complete surprise to Sein.

Yet before he could further explore its mysteries, the envoys of the Rosen Dynasty Civilization approached Sein directly on the battlefield’s frontlines.

The visitors were the mobile suit pilot and the psychic he had briefly encountered before.

The pink wavy-haired psychic found Sein in the laboratory of his space fortress. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“What brings you here?” Sein asked, curiosity mixed with confusion in his voice.

“Greetings, Master Sein. My name is Veunoia. We’ve fought together on the same battlefield before. We came to discuss a deal with you,” the Rank Five psychic said with a smile.

“A deal?” Sein asked, clearly puzzled.

“Yes. We wish to purchase a large quantity of these crystals from you, Master Sein,” she explained, smiling as she produced several small, clearly used purple crystals in her hand.

“Of course, if you’re willing to tell us how they can be manufactured, the Rosen Dynasty Civilization would compensate you accordingly,” she added.

Sein recognized them at once. They were the very Energy Amethysts he had given to the Rosen Dynasty mobile suit pilot on the battlefield back then.

Clearly, these crystals also worked for the Rosen Dynasty’s mobile suits.

Seeing this, Sein fell silent for a moment.

Neither Veunoia nor the mobile suit pilot beside her appeared to be in any hurry. Veunoia simply maintained her smile, patiently waiting for Sein’s response.

***

At the edge of the Grand Eye Demon World Star Domain...

The Grand Eye Demon World, glowing with a crimson-purple, demonic light, was rapidly falling away behind them. The Rank Seven Evileye Tyrant Monarch tore through space with its tentacles, leaping frantically in an attempt to escape.

Close behind it, the Rank Seven Titan Overlord, now in her full combat form, pursued without mercy.

So relentless was the chase that the Evileye Tyrant Monarch had no time to look back at its home plane.

Even in a one-on-one fight, it stood no chance against Hela—let alone in a two-on-one.

Coiled at Hela’s feet was a silver serpent nearly one hundred thousand meters long. Its cold, vertical pupils were locked firmly onto the fleeing Evileye Tyrant Monarch.

The Evileye Tyrant Monarch was in a pitiful state. Most of its tentacles had already been severed, and a massive gash ran from its crown to its jaw, nearly splitting its head in two.

A small golden tower gleamed in Hela’s hand.

Bathed in its radiance, the surrounding space grew increasingly dense.

The reinforced spatial barriers made escape impossible for the already weakened Evileye Tyrant Monarch.

When Hela drove her blade forward, effortlessly cutting away another dozen tentacles, the creature finally faltered. A shattered black mirror spilled from its mouth.

Thick black mist began to billow out from within the mirror.

The Evileye Tyrant Monarch let out a desperate wail via mental focus.

“Save me, Pharaoh!”