Sovereign of the Ashes

The Insectoids had an extremely clear sense of friend and foe, and guarded their hive with absolute vigilance.

The legions from Myriad Manifestations World and the native creatures of Buros Plane could not get within ten thousand meters of the Insectoid base.

Even the armies of the Dawn Empire and the combat legions under Sein’s command would be warned off and driven back if they approached within a few thousand meters.

Yet to Sein’s surprise, he encountered almost no resistance.

That was because, not long ago, the Empress of Blades had glanced in his direction.

With the Empress taking an interest in him, Sein had, in effect, gained the temporary authority to command a portion of the Insectoid forces.

Sein himself had no idea about it yet. Since this was practically his first real contact with the Insectoids, he remained extremely cautious in every respect.

After passing through a flock of Winged Drakons and a patrolling group of Barbed Viperas, Sein finally reached the outskirts of the Insectoid base.

The first thing that greeted him was the dark reddish-purple slime carpet blanketing the ground.

It would clearly be inappropriate to start collecting specimens from individual Insectoids right away, so Sein settled for taking several test tubes of samples from the slime carpet instead.

The substance rippled inside the tubes, and Sein could sense a faint vitality pulsing within it.

The slime carpet could almost be considered alive!

Like plants, it continuously grew outward in every direction.

Throughout the history of Insectoid warfare, every plane they conquered eventually ended up completely covered in this slime carpet.

It was one of the defining marks of an Insectoid invasion!

For any extraplanar creatures lucky enough to have survived the Insectoids, the wisest choice upon seeing a planet covered in this slime was to quickly turn around and leave.

“The combat strength of these Insectoids seems to rise significantly when standing on this slime carpet. The same applies to those flying creatures above it. Perhaps the unique biological activity released by the slime carpet greatly enhances the Insectoids’ physical capabilities.”

Flying low over the vast purple carpet, Sein gazed down at the strange scene below and could not help but marvel.

At the moment, he was the only non-Insectoid creature who had managed to get this close to the base. Although he did not fully understand why these highly disciplined creatures had not driven him away, the result was clearly in his favor.

In any case, his obsession with the pursuit of truth and his thirst for exploration had already pulled him deep into his research. He had no time left to wonder about the reasons behind it all.

Splash!

Just then, a Swiftling burst out from the slime carpet and shot off into the distance right in front of Sein.

The little creature still had traces of slime and fresh blood clinging to it, clearly having just hatched. It moved so quickly that Sein only managed to collect a few mucus and tissue samples it left behind on the carpet.

“A newly hatched Insectoid, huh? It seems the Insectoid legions are not entirely transported here from some distant world beyond this star domain. Instead, they have a method of sustaining themselves through war, constantly replenishing their combat units even before the fighting begins I wonder how long the average growth and gestation cycle of these Insectoids is...?” he mumbled to himself.

“There are also some insect planes within the Magus Alliance, just like Pyreling World under my control. Judging purely by the incubation period of low-tier insects, it is indeed shorter than that of most other species. But for them to reach a proper combat standard...”

Sein trailed off.

His gaze shifted toward the distant Insectoid base, which stood deep within the vast slime carpet.

Nearly all newly bred war insects emerged from that towering structure.

The Swiftling that had burst out of the ground moments ago had done so because the insect workers had already cleared out the underground passages around the base. Insectoids were also naturally gifted at burrowing.

Earlier, while still in the sky, Sein had even seen a Thunder Beast several hundred meters in size swaying as it slowly sank underground.

Had Sein still been at Rank Three, facing such a colossal beast would likely have been a real headache.

Putting away the test tubes, Sein continued flying toward the base.

***

What met his eyes was a vast expanse of bright red, flesh-like walls.

The Insectoid base was, in fact, a Void Mothership.

Having personally witnessed it crash to the ground and transform into a base, Sein knew very well that this place could also be considered a “living being”.

Badump. Badump. Badump.

The sound of powerful heartbeats echoed in his ears, rising and falling like waves.

During his entry into the Insectoid base, Sein had also witnessed several new types of structures emerging one after another.

Those structures had evolved directly from worker units, which possessed no combat capability whatsoever.

The fact that the structures themselves were living, flesh-and-blood entities filled Sein with wonder.

In truth, the impression these Insectoids left on him was completely different from any insect plane of the Magus Alliance he had encountered before.

“This is a truly unique species,” Sein could not help but remark after arriving inside the base.

The special privileges he had somehow been granted allowed him to fly deeper and deeper into the heart of the base.

Eventually, he entered the hive evolved from the Void Mothership.

The hive’s inner chambers were exceptionally sturdy. Among the Insectoids fighting on Buros Plane, there were even several law-wielding ones.

Sein scraped a small sample of flesh from the hive wall. After some preliminary testing, aided by the Faceless Mask’s analysis, he concluded that the hive was tough enough to withstand attacks from Rank Four creatures.

At the same time, the building structures currently under construction clearly served different functions.

Although Sein had yet to study these new structures in detail, his intuition and the data he had gathered so far told him that an ordinary Rank Four creature would have no chance of forcing its way into this base.

At the very least, it would take a Rank Five!

Moreover, given Buros Plane’s near-absolute dominance on the battlefield, it was naturally impossible for this base to face any further threats.

As he ventured deeper into the base, Sein collected and recorded everything that piqued his interest. At the same time, he found himself musing, “It would be nice if a highly intelligent Insectoid came out and gave me a tour.”

“I won’t be able to fully understand this species in such a short time, and my own research into bloodline evolution is not especially deep either,” Sein said, rubbing his chin.

Perhaps his muttering had been overheard, because before long, a small, uniquely shaped Insectoid actually appeared right in front of him.

It tapped the ground lightly with two slender tentacles, gesturing for Sein to follow.

A look of astonishment flashed across Sein’s face, but he quickly followed after it.

Without even realizing it, he aimed the crystal ball in his hand at the Insectoid before him. Ever since entering the Insectoid base, Sein had not stopped recording for even a single moment.

These creatures don’t seem as vicious as they looked, Sein suddenly thought to himself.

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