Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 274: Engineers

Those initially a few meters tall quickly surged to over ten meters, while the already massive ones that were tens of meters in height, transformed into colossal plant giants exceeding a hundred meters.

The plant giants, though not highly mobile, exhibited remarkable strength, with their branches capable of launching latex balls at their enemies.

While their offensive capabilities were limited, their defensive prowess became a critical asset in the turmoil of battle.

At the southern front where Sein was currently at, a massive plant creature that initially stood nearly a hundred meters tall, grew to an incredible two to three hundred meters after being exposed to the green light.

As a result, the immense size of the plant giant became a formidable blockade, thwarting the assaults from mechas and airborne pyro elemental creatures from above, while simultaneously halting the advancement of numerous pyro elemental creatures on the ground.

If the onslaught of the Viridian Venom Flame World’s native creatures could be likened to a wave of flames, then this plant giant stood as the dam halting its fiery advance.

Fortunately, this was not the only plant giant at the southern defense line.

The intervention of the Rank Four Mage had significantly boosted the morale of the mages in the fortress.

Since Lorianne, the Rank Four mage had made a move, the Rank Four mecha from the Neisse Civilization that was previously overseeing the battle from the sidelines decided to get involved too.

The sea of fiery clouds in the sky began to dissipate, drawn away by the formidable auras of the two Rank Four entities, revealing a clear sky above the main base.

The Rank Four mecha from Neisse Civilization was a humanoid metal construct, roughly a hundred meters in height.

Its metallic azure surface bore many intricate patterns symbolizing the Neisse Civilization’s cultural heritage.

Of course, not all of them were merely decorations. Under many of these patterns were special circuitry and energy conduits.

Certain forces and high-ranking mages within the Magus Civilization had long harbored a keen interest in the Neisse Civilization’s advanced mecha technologies. Much of the foundation for these technologies lay in those normal looking patterns and energy circuitry.

“When I was only a peak Rank Three grand mage, I destroyed a Rank Four construct in the White Star Plane of the Neisse Star Domain. If I recall correctly, your people called that a Hayworth-Type unit,” Lorianne transmitted her voice through mental focus to the azure mecha.

“The Neisse Civilization’s technology is certainly impressive. However, you’re all merely fragile worms that have created formidable metal armors for yourselves. It makes me wonder what sort of little tiny creature I’ll discover once I smash that metal construct you’re hiding in,” she taunted.

An annoyed and angry retort came from the azure mecha, “The White Star Plane was the pride of our Neisse Civilization. I received my training at the Nord Laboratory there when I was still a student. If not for you evil invaders from the Magus World, the beautiful White Star Plane would not have been reduced to the ruins it is today!”

“I, Ander, shall bring justice upon you, the evil beings from the Magus World, with this Azure Ocean Star!” the rather young voice from the azure mecha declared firmly.

Although the voice was speaking in Neisse language, creatures of Rank One and above in the Astral Realm mainly communicated with each other with mental focus, which was why Lorianne could understand the information conveyed by the other party.

“Haha, I see you are only a child. It appears the Neisse Civilization is indeed dwindling in numbers.” Lorianne chuckled, her elemental power radiating verdant green light across the sky.

The constructs of the Neisse Civilization were extremely sophisticated and could be controlled in two ways.

One involved direct operation. The azure mecha before Lorianne was likely piloted by one or more engineers in collaboration.

The other way was remote control.

Despite its vast population, the Neisse Civilization had relatively few qualified engineers.

They were even more scarce within the Neisse Civilization than knights and mages were in the Magus World.

To qualify as an engineer, one required not only substantial mental focus and specific racial abilities but also extensive theoretical education and development.

Ander, the engineer in the azure mecha, was likely no older than a thousand years. In the presence of Lorianne, who was over nine thousand years old, she was not wrong to refer to him as a “child”.

Yet, despite his relative youth, Ander could pilot a mecha with combat capabilities on par with a Rank Four creature, showcasing the exceptional traits of the Neisse Civilization as the civilization of a major world.

In the Magus World, knights and mages under a thousand years old were typically Rank One or Rank Two, with few reaching Rank Three.

Ander’s ability to pilot a Rank Four mecha kind of defied the conventional biological evolution norms.

Throughout the Astral Realm’s extensive history, spanning millions of years, the Magus Civilization had encountered not just the Neisse Civilization but also various extraordinary and unfathomable civilizations.

Engineers from Neisse Civilization were usually considered creatures of Rank One or above. The life level of Ander, who could pilot a Rank Four mecha was overall considered to have exceeded Rank Two.

However, the real life level of creatures from these civilizations in the Astral Realm were likely less than Rank One.

Despite their physical frailty, comparable to that of worms, these beings leveraged their intellect and technological prowess to build colossal interstellar battleships and achieved “god-slaying” feats against creatures of Rank Four and higher.

Such civilizations were often categorized as technological civilizations.

While the Magus World had achieved significant advancement in alchemy and magitech, it fundamentally remained a cultivation civilization, with knights and mages striving to reach higher life levels.

The Neisse Civilization, while technologically oriented in its development, did not represent a purely technological civilization.

The number of engineers among the mecha army that had invaded the main base of Magus Civilization was likely less than twenty thousand.

Among the hundreds of thousands of mecha fighting outside the fortress, it was presumed that over eighty percent of them were remotely controlled without any pilots in them. Some skilled engineers could command an entire army alone.

Lorianne had the rare opportunity to witness such a feat nine hundred years ago, in what later became her final battle as a Rank Three grand mage.