In the video feed, the incandescent white pillar of light that pierced the sky finally dissipated.
At the bottom of the basin, the massive carcass of the Earth Dragon Emperor had been reduced to scattered charcoal. The 300-meter-tall giant Humanoid Golem leaned against the scorched earth, faint arcs of electricity flickering across its frame.
A moment later, a cacophony of sonic booms filled the sky.
The thousands of silver-gray sub-unit Golems, which had been scattered across the defensive line stretching for dozens of kilometers to intercept the beast tide at the start of the battle, were now converging from all directions.
As they approached the damaged main body of the Giant Golem, the sub-unit Golems began to systematically dismantle and transform.
Metal components interlocked, reassembling like layers of external armor, tightly encasing the damaged 300-meter-tall main body.
Accompanied by the dull roar of its Magic Power engines, the mountain-like machine slowly ascended and flew eastward.
Judging by its trajectory, it was returning to Forged Fire Fortress.
Damaged to this extent, it had to return to the factory for a major overhaul.
Allen severed the visual link with the Demon Eye and leaned back in his chair. His mind raced as he began to review the two reversals that had just occurred.
The Golem had fought the Earth Dragon Emperor for ten grueling days.
The Golem had played all its trump cards, using its plasma sphere ultimate attack to kill it. But a black mist had forcefully revived the thoroughly dead Morning Star-level Magical Beast.
’This must be the power of the Abyss,’ Allen concluded.
The Son of the Abyss behind the scenes was using a life to probe them, intending to use the Earth Dragon Emperor to forcibly dismantle Forged Fire Fortress’s top-tier combat power.
In the end, it forced his mentor to call down that pillar of light.
"A space-based weapon," Allen mused, rubbing his chin.
’That old man really hides his cards well. An orbital strike capability of this level is definitely a last-resort strategic deterrent.’
’It was most likely being saved for the Son of the Abyss.’
’But then the Earth Dragon Emperor played dead and came back, and the Golem was about to be destroyed, so my mentor had no choice but to reveal his trump card early.’
’Once a trump card is revealed, its deterrent effect is greatly diminished. The mastermind behind this will surely prepare defenses against this kind of top-down strike.’
Allen sincerely hoped his mentor had more than just this one ace up his sleeve—the more, the better.
On the holographic map, the situation on the western front was still updating in real time.
The good news was that there were no longer any Morning Star-level Magical Beast Magic Power readings within a several-hundred-kilometer radius. The greatest threat hanging over Zone 18 had been eliminated.
The bad news was that the Iron Star 6th Legion had withdrawn.
The colossal machine was severely damaged, and its repairs would consume immense resources and time. As a result, the western front had lost its main interception barrier.
The aftershocks of the battle between the two behemoths had cleared out the Magical Beasts near the basin, but the hordes farther away had not retreated.
Without the high-tier combat power to block them, the remaining Magical Beasts would charge straight for Zone 18 and the two adjacent zones.
His mentor’s legion had finished the high-level match; now, they had to clean up the ensuing mess themselves.
Allen watched the red dots slowly reconverging on the holographic map and issued a command, "Jarvis, re-evaluate the pressure on our defensive lines."
[Calculation complete. Without the Iron Star Legion’s interception, an estimated forty to fifty thousand Magical Beasts will successively surge into Zone 18.]
"It seems the first defensive line won’t be able to hold completely."
Allen’s tone was calm. "Let through what we can’t stop. We’ll let them into the interior; there are several more defensive lines waiting for them back there."
After the defensive arrangements were made, Allen’s gaze lingered on the space above the holographic map.
The pillar of light that had just pierced the sky remained fixed in his mind.
For the past two days, he had been contemplating how to counter the lurking Black Wizard during the "window of fatigue" that would come around the end of the beast tide.
The dual-core R&D group was making progress on frequency jamming and scanner arrays, but these were all defensive and reconnaissance measures.
He lacked a decisive weapon that could end things in one blow.
A weapon that could instantly obliterate the enemy, scattering their ashes to the wind, the moment they revealed themselves.
’A space-based weapon...’ Allen’s fingers drummed rapidly on the tabletop.
’That kind of weapon would be perfect.’
’I can’t build an orbital cannon like my mentor’s that can vaporize a Morning Star-level Magical Beast, but making a watered-down version isn’t out of the question.’
’And as it happens, I have both the necessary technical knowledge and materials.’
’For the high-altitude suspension vehicle platform, the existing Demon Eye system would suffice with a few modifications.’
’As for the weapon system, the schematics for the Pacifist’s "Divine Punishment Main Cannon" are just sitting in the database.’
’So, why not build one?’
"Jarvis, create a new weapon file. Codename: Damocles."
[File created. Please set initial parameters.]
"Extract the anti-gravity lift module from the Demon Eye Mk. IV. Strip out most of the redundant reconnaissance and communication components to maximize payload capacity. Extract the schematics for the Divine Punishment Main Cannon and begin adaptive modifications."
[Preliminary assessment: Insufficient power.]
After a simple evaluation, Jarvis quickly provided feedback. [If the Divine Punishment Main Cannon were to execute an orbital strike from an altitude of 10,000 meters, the beam would suffer severe attenuation in the atmosphere. By the time it reached the ground, its power would only be enough to kill low-level Magical Beasts and could not pose a fatal threat to targets with a combat power over 1,000.]
The Divine Punishment Main Cannon was a project from his academy days. Its power was now outdated, especially for a strike from high altitude, but its technology and principles were still usable.
"The original Divine Punishment Main Cannon is indeed too weak," Allen said as he thought aloud. "But what if I spare no expense and just brute-force it by throwing materials at the problem to overclock it?"
With a wave of his hand, a red, multifaceted Crystal Stone radiating a blinding light appeared in the Meditation Room.
This was the high-tier, fire-attribute magic core the system had notified him he’d acquired after slaying the Fire Element Monarch at the lava lake.
It contained a terrifying amount of Fire Elemental Magic Power and had been stored in Allen’s Space Ring ever since.
"Use this high-tier magic core as a single-use Energy Core for ’Damocles’."
Allen brought up the Rune editing interface and quickly sketched out several complex patterns.
"Forget the stable output circuits. Directly inscribe ’Extreme Overload’ and ’Ignition’ Runes onto the surface of the magic core. Squeeze out every last drop of energy from this core in an instant, then fire it all through the Divine Punishment Main Cannon’s launch mechanism."
[Simulating...]
The lights in the control room flickered faintly as Jarvis allocated a massive amount of processing power to run the simulation.
[The plan is viable. However, the overclocked ignition will instantly burn out the conductive inner lining of the main cannon’s barrel. The high-tier magic core will also shatter completely, unable to withstand the channeling pressure. This is a one-shot weapon.]
"One shot is fine, as long as the power is guaranteed."
The Black Wizard was lurking in the shadows, his methods bizarre. The moment he revealed himself, Allen would not pass up the chance to strike.
The power had to be great enough, and the speed fast enough. Descending from the heavens, it had to be inescapable.
With a clear plan in place, all that remained was execution.
Allen closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his Sea of Spirit.
Seven sub-threads of his consciousness were running on overload.
’Third Thread, halt your current task.’
He decisively cut off the Third Thread’s original task.
’Take over Project Damocles. The technology and materials are all ready. Build this space-based weapon in the shortest time possible.’
The Third Thread immediately received the command and began allocating resources from the warehouse and adapting the design schematics for the Divine Punishment Main Cannon.