Chapter 280 - 274: Three Trump Cards
Chapter 280: Chapter 274: Three Trump Cards
The workshop’s production area.
Allen’s main consciousness wasn’t involved. His third thread had taken control of the equipment and, with the assistance of the Factory Servants, was performing a modification procedure on a Demon Eye IV.
The multi-scan module was removed, leaving only the most basic targeting lens.
The wide-area communication array was removed. He would control it directly with his mind when the time came.
The AT Field was unnecessary, so it was stripped out completely.
A massive cavity was forcibly carved out from inside the originally compact, spherical body.
CLICK.
A robotic arm installed a basin-shaped activation base into the cavity.
This was a simplified version of the "Divine Punishment" main cannon. It had no cooling system, no stabilization circuits, and only a single type of Rune engraved on it: Hyper-Conductivity.
Next came the main event.
The high-grade fire-attribute magic core, dug out from the body of the Fire Elemental Lord, was placed on the activation base. The surface of the red, polyhedral Crystal Stone faintly pulsed with a terrifyingly violent fluctuation of Magic Power.
"Jarvis, assess its power."
[Calculation complete. Upon reaching the ground, its theoretical destructive power will be 26% greater than a single strike from the Titan’s Roar.]
’No, that’s still not enough punch!’
"Jarvis, open the storeroom."
Six fist-sized, mid-grade fire elemental magic cores were delivered to the workbench by Factory Servants. This was all stock from his earlier clearing of the lava lake.
"Arrange them in a hexagram array, surrounding the main core." Influenced by the repeated brainwashing of the "humanity anchor" contingency plan, Allen’s movements at this moment were oddly reminiscent of Tom the cat brewing a mysterious poison.
"The six sub-cores will serve as auxiliary output. Connect the Rune Circuits in series and adjust the angles."
The engraving tool danced rapidly across the inner metal walls.
He engraved only the most extreme "Overload," "Fusion," and "Burst" Runes. This was a one-use weapon. There was no need to consider its lifespan; as long as it could drain all the energy from the seven magic cores in a thousandth of a second, its mission would be complete.
"Apply a high-grade stealth coating to the outer shell, and stack three layers of anti-detection Runes."
This thing didn’t need to roam around like an ordinary Demon Eye.
It just needed to hover silently in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20,000 meters, like an invisible satellite of death, awaiting the moment the launch button was pressed.
Assembly complete.
It was ugly, crude, like an unfinished prototype.
But Allen was extremely satisfied with its insides.
"Codename: ’Damocles.’ Launch. Target altitude: 20,000 meters. Maintain silence upon reaching the designated position and await orders."
The dome at the top of the assembly room slowly slid open.
The anti-gravity engine activated without a sound. The black hunk of iron became a phantom shadow, shooting skyward and instantly melting into the night.
Emergency trump card, plus one.
’I’ll make do with this for now. After this beast tide is over, I’ll build a proper Rod of God that can hang in the sky long-term.’
Not long after the space-based weapon was deployed, good news arrived from the seventh thread.
[Implant frequency analysis complete.]
After several days of brute-force searching, it had finally latched onto the invisible thread.
But the encrypted message still couldn’t be deciphered.
"The encryption method is complex, mixed with a variant of the Abyssal tongue."
Jarvis estimated the time required. [Brute-force decryption would require at least four months of computational power.]
’Four months? The opportunity will be long gone by then.’
Allen sneered. "If we can’t decipher it, then let’s just smash the pot."
"Design a high-power signal jamming tower. When the time comes, it will indiscriminately broadcast junk data on that specific frequency. We’ll translate *The Principles of Basic Alchemy*, the workshop’s cleaning robot operation logs, and Ah Fu’s recipes, all into high-frequency pulses and broadcast them 24/7 at maximum power."
As long as the power is high enough, the enemy’s receivers will only pick up deafening white noise.
’This is what you call a physical mute.’
"Name the jamming tower ’Radio Silence.’ Use a modular design, pack it onto transport Floating Ships, and save it for a critical moment."
It couldn’t be activated yet.
The moment it was turned on, the Black Wizards would discover their communications were cut and immediately switch frequencies.
This thing had to be saved for the very moment the enemy thought they had everything under control and launched their fatal strike. That’s when he would sever their entire network and let them experience the meaning of "what the hell are you barking about?"
Trump card, plus two.
But the feeling of insecurity in Allen’s heart still grew like weeds.
His fear of insufficient firepower flared up again.
There were still several "Big Boys" in the warehouse.
Five tons of high-purity crystallized seeds, a one-kilometer radius of absolute crystallization field—the effect was outstanding, but intel on it had certainly been relayed back to the Black Wizards through those bugs.
Once the enemy was prepared, they wouldn’t just stand around foolishly waiting for an airdrop.
’I have to up the dosage. Yield is justice.’
Allen pulled up the "Big Boy" blueprints. With a swipe of his slender fingers in the empty air, he directly scaled up the dimensions by a full size.
"Jarvis, remodel it. Codename: ’Fat Man.’"
[Setting parameters... Please indicate the yield.]
"Eighty tons."
[Warning. With eighty tons of high-purity crystallized seeds, the blast diameter will expand to over ten kilometers. No vehicle in the current warzone can complete the delivery and escape safely.]
"Just build it first. I’ll figure out a way when the time comes."
The payload was super-sized, increasing the kill radius by more than ten times.
’As long as it’s fast enough and accurate enough, I don’t care what kind of fancy footwork you have—you won’t be able to escape the blast radius.’
As for the cost?
Allen glanced at his recent expenditures, and the corner of his eye twitched.
’Money can always be earned back. If I lose my life, the Magic Stones in my account just become someone else’s inheritance.’
"Full-scale production. Use all the reserves from Mine 13 to build this ’Fat Man’ first."
The third thread’s task was complete, and it immediately returned to its previous work.
Allen was still thinking.
Inside the main control room, a massive holographic sand table emitted a faint blue light.
On the western front, at the massive gap left by the Ironstar 6th Legion, a dense swarm of red dots, like a bursting dam, was spreading toward Zone 18.
His own defensive line was continuously engaging the enemy.
Storm Falcons circled at low altitude, unleashing a rain of autocannon fire; Spider Slayers darted between the rubble, reaping lone Magical Beasts; and Red Lotus missiles exploded into brilliant fireballs amidst the horde.
The number of subsequent Magical Beasts was too great; he had to reduce the logistical pressure.
"Anything not on the route to important assets, let them all through from now on," Allen ordered.
[Command confirmed. Outer defense perimeter contracting to open some exit routes.]
This would buy him a little more time.
In the sky, a camouflaged Demon Eye IV silently ascended, heading straight for the stratosphere 20,000 meters up. That was the "Damocles" hanging over their heads.
In an underground tunnel, six Floating Ships lay dormant. Once manufacturing was complete, they would be fully loaded with "Radio Silence," ready to sever the enemy’s communication signals at a moment’s notice.
And next to Mine 13, a massive metal cylinder was about to be loaded with its charge.
Allen’s gaze pierced through the sand table, looking toward the even more distant west.
There, a pair of eyes was watching this place.
"Bring it on."
Allen murmured to himself.
"Let’s see what’s tougher—your Mechanically Modified Beasts, or my industrial fist."
...
「Twelve hundred kilometers from Zone 18, inside a dark, subterranean cavern.」
Two figures with blurred faces stood before a massive cultivation tank.
The ghastly green liquid inside the tank boiled violently.
"The Morning Star combatant on the western front is dead," one of the figures said.
The other figure glanced at the dense rows of petri dishes behind them, in which countless twisted amalgamations of metal and flesh were steeping.
"An attack from the sky... Let the honorable Son of the Abyss worry about that."
"I’m only concerned with my prey. I’ve received the message. Once I’ve dealt with these three little ones, I’ll head to Forged Fire Fortress."
"Just don’t trip and fall. A Second-level Wizard already died here, you know."
"You call that piece of trash who barely managed to advance by cobbling things together a Second-level Wizard? Don’t make me laugh."
The figure raised a hand, revealing a metal implant in their palm.
"Relax, I won’t underestimate a Golem Wizard. I’ve already figured out the firepower configuration for Zones 17, 18, and 19."
"One of the First-level Wizards has some interesting tricks. A Crystal Bomb? As long as you maintain your distance, it’s nothing more than a pretty firework."
He let out a low chuckle.
"I’ll send another ’gift’ tomorrow. I wonder, how much longer can you all hold out?"