Seeing the Steel Giant materialize on the ground below, the two-headed Chimera in the sky sensed danger through its beastly instincts.

The massive maw of one head gaped open, gathering scorching red flames once more. Not to be outdone, the other head let a deathly white chill churn in its throat.

It was going to turn those hunks of iron below, along with that Wizard, into nothing but dust!

"You want another round?"

Allen watched the scene in the sky and sneered.

"Let’s see who has the bigger gun."

"Divine Punishment Main Cannon, maximum power, fire!"

Energy from the High-Tier Magic Stone was drawn, converted, and compressed at a frantic pace!

Deep within the cannon’s muzzle, a destructive, incandescent red light rapidly expanded, making the surrounding air begin to CRACKLE.

Across the wasteland, the Chimera’s breath attack descended first!

Flames and a frigid current surged downward, threatening to destroy everything on the ground.

At that very same moment.

A thick beam of light erupted from the Divine Punishment Main Cannon, meeting the oncoming torrent of ice and fire with unstoppable might!

The moment they collided, there was no stalemate.

In the face of that thick, destructive beam, the Chimera’s devastating breath was instantly pierced, vaporized, and annihilated.

The deep blue beam, showing no signs of weakening, shot straight up and precisely struck the head of the two-headed Chimera that was still breathing fire.

PFFT!

That ferocious head, along with a large portion of its neck, was instantly vaporized in the light, disappearing completely.

The Chimera’s massive body went rigid in the sky.

The frost breath from its remaining head came to an abrupt halt, its enormous eyes filled with confusion and pain.

Before it could even react.

CHH! CHH! CHH!...

The fourteen surrounding Spider Slayers had already locked on.

Fourteen slender red rays, from different angles, simultaneously focused their fire on the Chimera’s remaining head and its broad wings.

The dense barrage of rays instantly pierced its tough scales, shredding its wings and blowing out its eyes.

AIIIEEE—

That short, shrill cry of agony was its final sound.

This powerful Magical Beast, having lost the ability to fly, sent its massive body tumbling helplessly from tens of meters in the air before crashing heavily onto the wasteland.

BOOM!

The ground trembled as dust and smoke billowed up.

Allen patted PX-0’s thick armor and strode toward the still-twitching corpse.

"Xiong Da, report energy reserves."

"A single shot from the main cannon consumed five-point-two percent of the High-Tier Magic Stone’s energy."

’That’s equivalent to five hundred and twenty Low-Level Magic Stones.’

He walked past the Spider Slayer Mk I that had been caught by the edge of the breath attack. Its body had melted into a twisted lump of metal, completely scrapped.

’One unit lost. A cost of fifteen hundred.’

’That stings like hell.’

Allen cursed internally, but his face remained expressionless.

He walked over to the Chimera’s corpse.

The foul stench of blood mixed with a burnt smell assaulted his nostrils.

Allen paid it no mind, circling the massive corpse once.

"DSeek, estimate the value of the materials."

"Two hearts, condition intact. One frost-breathing organ, partial blood sample... Overall assessment: total material value is approximately three thousand Low-Level Magic Stones."

’Not bad. A small profit.’

Without ceremony, Allen took out his tools and began to dissect the body on the spot.

Half an hour later, he had stored all the valuable materials in his Space Ring.

He stood up and glanced at the distant silhouette of the ancient factory, a new layer of vigilance in his eyes.

This time, Allen was even more cautious.

He had the thick-skinned, durable PX-0 take the lead to scout, while he himself hid at the very back of the formation, maintaining a distance from which he could activate a Flash Scroll and escape at a moment’s notice.

The group set off again, their pace much slower now.

Half a day later, a massive complex of buildings finally came into Allen’s full view.

The enormous walls were covered in rust and the deep scars of time, radiating a sense of decay.

The architectural style was completely different from that of the Seven Towers Alliance—it was more exquisite, its design possessing a unique beauty characteristic of ancient elven civilizations, one that blended with nature.

’So this is the Ancient Golem Factory...’

Allen stopped, not daring to approach rashly.

He hid behind a huge piece of metal debris.

He sent out the competition-model Spider Slayer, which crept silently toward the factory gate.

Through a newly solidified and etched connection Rune, the scene inside the factory appeared before his eyes.

The factory interior was immense. Towering support pillars stood like a forest, covered in long-dead vines, while dilapidated production lines snaked through the space like the skeletons of great dragons.

The ground was littered with all sorts of unidentifiable parts and half-finished Golems, all of it covered in a thick layer of dust.

The Spider Slayer advanced cautiously.

Soon, it discovered the first group of "living" things.

They had six long, spider-like legs supporting a disc-shaped body. In the center of the body was a single, blue-glowing eye. They were patrolling back and forth along a fixed route.

"Comparative analysis with codex: Ancient Guardian Golem. Threat Level: Low."

He ordered the scout to proceed deeper.

The moment the Spider Slayer crawled past an invisible boundary and entered the factory’s core area.

Everything changed!

Deep within the factory, the blue light in the Ancient Golems’ single eyes simultaneously switched to red.

Immediately after, the sound of dense, metallic limbs scraping across the ground arose as several Ancient Golems fanned out to encircle it.

The red light from their single eyes flared, and beams of red targeting light precisely locked onto the lone Spider Slayer.

"Warning! High-intensity Magic Power reaction detected! Friendly unit has been targeted!"

Allen immediately had the Spider Slayer turn and flee, intentionally luring the Ancient Golems outside.

The Ancient Golems gave chase at once, firing laser after laser, which the Spider Slayer narrowly dodged by using the factory’s pillars for cover.

Only after the Spider Slayer had crossed back over the invisible boundary did the Ancient Golems slowly turn and return to their posts.

’They don’t seem very smart. Their aim is off, and their operational logic is rigid.’

"Xiong Da, get the PX-0’s main cannon ready. Let’s find one and blast it to see what happens!"

"Affirmative."

With heavy footfalls, PX-0 strode into the factory gate and fired directly at a patrolling Ancient Golem in the distance.

BOOM!

A thick beam of light precisely struck an Ancient Golem.

The Golem was instantly engulfed by destructive energy and exploded into a pile of burning fragments.

The other Ancient Guardians were instantly activated again. This time, several melee-type guardians wielding glowing weapons charged straight out.

’Destroyed in one shot. They don’t seem very strong, only a little tougher than a Spider Slayer Mk I.’

’Another five hundred Magic Stones gone... and not even any materials to collect.’

Allen winced at the loss. "Xiong Da, stop using the cannon! Lure those things out and smash them! Let’s test our melee capabilities!"

Receiving the command, PX-0 immediately ceased its ranged attacks and retreated outside the factory.

The Ancient Golems immediately gave chase. They moved extremely fast, their six metal legs creating a grating scrape against the ground that set one’s teeth on edge.

PX-0 moved to engage them, swinging its thick steel arms.

Like a true Violent Ape, it charged into the enemy ranks, sending a Six-legged Golem flying with a single punch. The golem crashed heavily against a metal wall, its body caving in.

Meanwhile, the remaining Spider Slayers closed in from all angles, using the terrain to their advantage to provide continuous ranged sniper fire.

A duel between modern and ancient Golems had begun.

Although the Ancient Golems had the advantage in numbers and their energy output was impressive, their combat logic was too rigid, and their attack patterns were repetitive.

Faced with a "Zelda veteran" like Allen, a master of exploiting information gaps and tactical coordination, their movements were predicted with perfect clarity.

PX-0 wreaked havoc on the front lines, demonstrating astonishing tactical proficiency.

Xiong Da’s combat instincts, combined with the tactical modules Allen had programmed, turned it into a killing machine that possessed both the intuition of a beast and the cold logic of a program.

In less than ten minutes, all the Ancient Golems that had charged out were annihilated.

Only then did Allen leisurely emerge from his hiding spot. He looked at the wreckage littering the ground and nodded in satisfaction.

He walked up to a Six-legged Golem that PX-0 had dismantled, knelt, and picked up a faintly glowing fragment of an Energy Core.

"DSeek, is there any data on this in the database?"

"Analyzing... Most Ancient Golem technology is now obsolete. Intact components have collection value, but only the ancient cores are still usable..."

An ancient core was equivalent to a combination of a Control Core and a Middle-Tier Magic Stone. Moreover, its material was incredible—once its Magic Power was depleted, it would slowly regenerate on its own.

Allen’s eyes lit up. ’This is good stuff!’

’With some modification, I could use this on my own Golems and even get rid of the power bay structure.’

He immediately directed his minions to start cleaning the battlefield, collecting and sorting all valuable parts to take back for research.

Just as he was enthusiastically engaged in his grand undertaking of "scavenging."

With a sudden BZZT, the few remaining lighting systems inside the factory flickered to life without any warning!

The dim factory entrance was instantly illuminated by a blinding light.

In the deepest part of the factory hall, a massive metal door dozens of meters high, previously hidden in the darkness, was clearly revealed.

Immediately after, the sound of grinding metal echoed from behind the colossal door.