Chapter 524 - 510: Charging!
Chapter 524: Chapter 510: Charging!
The light on the contract had not yet fully faded when a new light screen was projected in midair. On the screen was a densely packed list of materials, measured in tons.
"This is the first batch of required supplies, to be used for constructing the frontline defense system," Allen’s voice transmitted through Thanatos. "The total price of the list is equivalent to five hundred million Low-Level Magic Stones. Please deliver all supplies to the designated locations as soon as possible."
Five hundred million!
Even the four Witch Kings, who had lived for hundreds of years, found their breath catching in their throats when they saw this number. The Storm Witch King almost subconsciously clenched his fists, his knuckles letting out a sharp CRACK.
"Lord Wesren!" he couldn’t help but growl. "Are you trying to drain our coffers completely?"
The True Silver Grand Chairman’s face was ashen as he stared fixedly at the names of the rare minerals on the list. This was equivalent to the entire annual output of their two great organizations. The cost of one of Allen’s standard Golem Legions was 40.39 million Magic Stones. Five hundred million, including munitions, was exactly enough to build ten more legions.
Allen’s voice revealed no emotion whatsoever. "War is a matter of attrition. If you want it to end sooner, you had better hope I need even more."
The implication was clear: the more he demanded, the harder he would fight, and the faster the war would progress.
Thanatos gave them no further opportunity to argue. His massive body retreated into the shadows, and as the pitch-black rift closed, he vanished, taking that suffocating, deathly silence with him.
CLICK.
The last faint, pale halo of the Soul-Trapping Lantern faded away. In the plaza, the low-level Wizards gasped for fresh air, as if they had just been pulled from the depths of the ocean. The four Witch Kings stood rooted to the spot, their expressions even uglier than the paving stones of the plaza.
"He is no allied reinforcement; he’s a bandit!" the Storm Witch King said through gritted teeth.
"A bandit... that we cannot resist." Kassen, the Master of the Verdant Tower, let out a long sigh, his eyes full of bitterness and helplessness. "At the very least, it seems he truly can deal with Sargeras. Go make the preparations. Take an inventory of our entire stock."
The other three remained silent, offering their tacit consent. Compared to having everything devoured by Demons, being bled dry by "one of their own" seemed to be the only acceptable alternative.
On the bridge of the *Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine*, Allen’s consciousness returned to the body of his Alchemy Puppet. Although this body lacked combat power, it was equipped with thousands of sensors to maximize human simulation. It didn’t hinder his ability to eat or drink, allowing him to maintain the physical sensation of being "human." He picked up a cup of hot tea and walked over to the massive porthole, looking down at the fortress below known as the "Firmament."
"Jarvis, establish a war zone plan."
A holographic light screen unfolded in the center of the bridge, displaying the map of Ionia that had already been charted by the Demon Eyes. The vast territory to the north, belonging to the Star Secret Place, was highlighted. Allen ran his finger across the screen. Several red and blue lines materialized out of thin air, precisely dividing the area into multiple sectors.
"Mark the area where the Demons are conducting their sacrifices as a ’Red Exclusion Zone.’ I still don’t know much about the Evil Energy they use, so we will avoid contact for now.
"Set the outer perimeter of three hundred kilometers as the ’First Line of Defense’ and build fortifications.
"Designate the mineral-rich area in the rear as the ’Industrial and Resource Zone.’"
As each command was issued, Jarvis executed it with high efficiency, transforming the blueprint in Allen’s mind into a visualized strategic deployment map.
"As for those mortals..." Allen looked at the points of light on the map representing survivor settlements, his gaze lingering for no more than a second.
In a Dawn Star Level war, more than fifty million ordinary humans held no value other than serving as sacrificial material. They weren’t a transcendent race like the Aiselans; right now, they would only get in the way. According to the agreement, they would be taken away by the two major organizations, becoming a new labor force to be continuously exploited.
The Star Secret Place occupied roughly one-third of this region’s total area. In the past, thousands of Wizard Apprentices, over two hundred First-level Wizards, and two Second-level Wizards had managed the population of more than sixty million mortals. Following the Demon invasion, the Wizards had basically been wiped out, but only slightly over ten million mortals had died—many of whom hadn’t even been killed by the Demons.
This Demon vanguard had grown arrogant from their continuous string of victories. They had actually skipped the large-scale sacrificial rituals needed to summon their subsequent forces, vainly attempting to monopolize the glorious military achievement of annihilating all the Wizards. However, this greedy and reckless advance ultimately cost them dearly. As a result... there was no result for them.
"Set course for Industrial Zone pre-selection point A-3. Full speed ahead."
The massive hull of the *Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine* trembled slightly as it changed direction, flying toward the fallen lands in the north.
Several hours later, the warship arrived over a vast expanse of plains. In the center of the plains, there had once been a prosperous city, but now only ruined walls and empty, abandoned buildings remained. This would be the new site for Cybertron’s factory in this Plane.
"Clear the site," Allen issued a brief order.
The next second, the eight Plasma Cannon Platforms beneath the belly of the *Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine* silently rotated, their muzzles flaring with incandescent white light. There were no earth-shattering explosions, only eight thick beams of energy descending from the sky. Like an eraser of the gods, they precisely wiped across the ruins. Wherever they passed, all structures were instantly vaporized and destroyed.
"Half-Plane dimensional anchoring complete... Cybertron, full deployment!"
In the center of the plains, space violently distorted like boiling water. A deep blue spatial rift was forcibly torn open, frantically expanding in all directions at a speed visible to the naked eye! A colossal city covering an area of ninety-three square kilometers materialized out of thin air. The displaced air was so intense it whipped up a raging storm.
RUMBLE!
Immediately following, an endless tide of steel gushed out from the dozens of massive gates! Thousands of Hercules heavy Engineering Golems, like ancient Titans, took the lead, their heavy footsteps marching onto this unfamiliar land. Hot on their heels were tens of thousands of Factory Servants of various shapes and sizes. Like the most precise gears, they instantly scattered and rushed to their respective posts. Escorted by dozens of mine defense units, this massive engineering legion transformed into several torrents of steel, surging toward the mining areas marked on the map.
Next came the true machines of war. The enormous Celestial Throne was the first to ascend, rising to an altitude of thirty thousand meters. Twenty fully organized standard Golem Legions marched out of the Space Gate in perfect, unified lockstep. A steel defensive line composed of six thousand Peacekeeper PX-3s silently moved to their prearranged positions. One thousand Demon Eye Type II Air Fortresses lifted off, forming an aerial patrol and perimeter warning network. Sixty Hive Mother Ships scattered like dark clouds as countless Mad Bee Drones swarmed out from within them, beginning a carpet-bombing style scan of the surrounding environment. Three Flying Squadrons, totaling seventy-two Storm Falcons and nine Freedom Gundams, howled as they pierced through the cloud layer and vanished beyond the horizon.
Finally, the logistics and engineering troops emerged. The drills atop the heads of over a hundred Burrowing Insects spun rapidly as they unhesitatingly bored deep into the earth, beginning their prospect for new mineral veins. Ten "Pioneer" heavy tunnel boring machines, resembling subterranean trains, began carving out a high-speed underground transportation network connecting the various mining zones to the main base along their predetermined routes.
In just a few short minutes, a colossal city of steel had laid down its roots on the soil of this Otherworld. Supported by an ocean of resources, Cybertron’s hundreds of automated production lines let out a deafening roar. New war machines were constantly being born from the assembly lines.
Allen stood on the bridge, quietly watching it all unfold.
"Commander, the phase-one production task for ten newly organized legions has been initiated," Jarvis’s voice rang out in his mind. "Material reserves are sufficient. It is estimated to be completed within one month."
"It’s not enough." Allen shook his head, shifting his gaze toward Cybertron’s core energy sector. "Jarvis, add a new production task with the highest priority."
"Please give the order."
"Construct two hundred new ’Earth Vein Magic Furnaces’ and connect them in parallel to form an ultra-massive energy matrix."
"Task confirmed," Jarvis quickly calculated. "However, the instantaneous output power of this energy matrix will far exceed the combined requirements of all current production lines, resulting in a massive waste of energy."
"How could it be a waste?" Allen’s voice was soft, yet it carried a weight sufficient to make the entire Plane tremble. "Take all the Magic Power they produce and store it completely.
"Use it to charge the ’Zero’ main cannon."