Eighteen hours.

When Allen’s consciousness surfaced from the depths of his Sea of Spirit, a dull ache throbbed at his temples.

It was a sign of Spiritual Power overload. The Echo Conch’s amplification could increase Meditation efficiency, but it couldn’t break the body’s physical limits.

After eighteen hours of continuous cultivation, his Spiritual Power was on the verge of depletion.

He opened his eyes and took a sip of the Iced Dew juice handed to him by a Craftsman’s Hand, his consciousness fully withdrawing from the state of Meditation.

The sand table automatically materialized in his field of vision.

The beast tide was another forty kilometers closer.

Allen’s gaze didn’t linger on the suffocating sea of red, but slowly moved to the northern and southern flanks of Zone 18.

Zone 17, Zone 19.

The beast tide from the west was pouring in like a cataclysmic flood—not in a straight line, but in a wide fan formation.

His master’s interception could block the main force, but the scattered groups that slipped through wouldn’t just charge Zone 18. They would spread north and south along the terrain, flooding into any zone with a gap.

If a neighboring defensive line was torn open and Magical Beasts poured in from the flank, he would have to divide his forces to plug the breach.

Dividing his forces, without a [Golem Projection Formula], was the stupidest possible choice.

"Jarvis, pull up the intel file on Zone 19 and open a channel to them."

[Establishing communication link...]

A neatly categorized database popped up on the holographic panel. Ever since deploying that Demon Eye IV on the southern border, more than a month of continuous surveillance had amassed a considerable amount of intelligence.

The coordinates and estimated output of three visible medium-sized mining sites, the efficiency of their Mining Golems, the patrol routes, shift change cycles, movement patterns, and model identification of various Mechanical Bodies—everything was filed away.

But at the end of the file was an unknown item, marked in red.

Three days ago, a Demon Eye had detected a massive, unrecorded Magic Power source near Zone 19’s core workshop. Its size far exceeded any of Victor’s previously known Golem models.

Magic Power fluctuation reading: 4200.

Second-level Wizard class.

Allen stared at the record for a moment before closing the file.

[Connection established.]

The light screen lit up.

Victor Iron Flame appeared on the screen.

Compared to their last meeting, the young heir of the Tieyan Clan looked much better.

"What is it, Weisren?"

Allen cut straight to the chase. "The first wave of the beast tide on the western front numbers over one hundred thousand. A thousand First-level Wizard-class monsters, thirty-four Second-level monsters, and one Morning Star-class. The types of Magical Beasts include... The vanguard is less than nine hundred kilometers away from us and will arrive in eighteen to twenty days at their current speed. The main body is heading southeast. Your Zone 19 is in its path."

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly. He guessed that Allen’s reconnaissance network had already spread out.

He had learned of the beast tide from the fortress’s general announcement, but that message had only provided a brief summary, like ’large-scale beast tide gathering on the western front.’ It didn’t give such specific numbers, no species classification, and certainly no precise calculation of the arrival time down to the day.

"So?" Victor stood ramrod straight, his tone flat.

"A joint defense," Allen said. "Establish a basic communication link between Zones 17, 18, and 19. If any defensive line is breached, we give an immediate warning to avoid being picked off one by one."

Victor didn’t have to think it over.

"Fine."

He paused, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "But Zone 19 doesn’t need anyone else worrying about its defenses."

"And what are you going to stop them with?"

"I remember very clearly the scene of your workshop being chewed to rubble by a scorpion swarm, and you with a broken leg."

On the other side of the light screen, Victor’s face flushed with anger.

It was the reaction of a man whose old wounds had just been publicly reopened.

But the anger lasted less than a moment. The smirk returned to Victor’s lips, this time with a hint of defiance.

"Weisren, what do you think I’ve been doing lately? Counting Magic Stones?"

He leaned forward slightly, his voice carrying the distinct self-assurance of a noble scion—the kind of confidence built on a legacy of power.

"The family made an additional investment. The exact amount is none of your business. You only need to know one thing..."

"I’ve already built an ultra-powerful Level 3 Golem. That Freedom Gundam of yours is obsolete."

He looked utterly delighted as he said it.

"As long as a Morning Star-class Magical Beast doesn’t show up in person, Zone 19 is as solid as a mountain."

A Level 3 Golem.

Allen’s expression didn’t change. But the moment he heard those words, his mind had already cross-referenced Victor’s claim with the unknown Magic Power source detected by the Demon Eye three days ago.

A Magic Power fluctuation reading of 4200. ’A veteran Second-level Wizard class?’

’Insufficient information. I’ll reserve judgment for now.’

He spoke, his face impassive. "A Level 3 Golem? Are you sure you didn’t just weld two Level 2s together to pad the numbers?"

Victor’s smile froze on his face.

Allen didn’t give him a chance to retort.

"I don’t care what you’ve built. I only care about one thing—don’t let the Magical Beasts come my way. Your Zone 19 is to my south. If your defensive line is breached, the beast tide will pour into Zone 18 from the southern flank. Then I’ll have to divide my forces to plug the hole you made."

He paused.

"The bill for saving you once was very expensive. There’s no annual discount for a second time."

On the other side of the light screen, Victor’s face turned the color of the Tieyan Clan’s emblem.

His lips moved, but in the end, he only managed to squeeze out four words:

"Then you just watch."

The communication cut out.

After the light screen went dark, Allen’s expression remained unchanged.

"Jarvis, raise the surveillance priority on the suspected Level 3 Golem in Zone 19 to the highest level. I want its detailed schematics, weapon configuration, patrol radius—all available data."

[Priority adjusted. Due to the Demon Eye’s deployment angle, only a blurry silhouette has been acquired. Preliminary analysis: Bipedal humanoid configuration, approximately twenty meters in height. Two large energy-radiating sources are present on the shoulders, suspected to be fixed heavy armaments. More details require a better observation window.]

Allen nodded without saying anything more.

"Connect me to Zone 17."

Before the connection was established, the face of a certain person flashed through Allen’s mind.

Senior Carter, the former person-in-charge of Zone 17. Two years ago, her service... her contract term ended, and she left this plane.

’She was beautiful, rich, and her alchemy skills weren’t half bad. He’d even thought about doing some business with her once he was wealthy. He wondered if he’d ever get the chance to see her again.’

’The AT Field technology she gifted him had been a huge help.’

’It’s good that she left, though.’

’Given the scale of this beast tide, if she were still here, the outcome might not have been optimistic.’

The connection went through.

A strange face appeared on the light screen. It was a male Wizard in his forties, his face weary, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Hello, I’m Green Sord, the person-in-charge of Zone 17. I took over a year and a half ago, assigned by the fortress..."

"I’ve heard of you. The beast tide is coming. Do you have any combat units on par with a Second-level Wizard? What’s your total Golem count? Where are your frontline defenses established?"

The three questions, fired off in quick succession, clearly stunned the man on the other end.

Not expecting Allen to be so blunt, Green hesitated for a moment before responding.

His Golem count was low, he had no combat units equivalent to a Second-level Wizard, and his first line of defense was positioned at the western border.

’A newcomer who only took over a year and a half ago. A thin portfolio, shallow foundations.’

In his mind, Allen labeled Zone 17: the weakest link.

He didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He briefly informed the man of the beast tide’s detailed route and timeline, advising him to pull back his defensive lines if necessary, abandon the outer mining sites, and prioritize the safety of his core workshop and personnel.

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Weisren. I’ll raise our alert level and strengthen our preparations."

Green nodded repeatedly, his attitude deferential, reminding Allen of the overworked grunts from his past life who had just started a new job.

Allen ended the call.

He had already guessed the man’s fate.

He wasn’t from the Seven Towers Alliance academy, nor was he a student of Master Mercer. Becoming a First-level Wizard only in his thirties, he clearly lacked potential and experience in large-scale combat. He probably hadn’t even cleared the Magical Beasts from his own territory. Unless his master specifically looked out for him, he wasn’t going to survive.

Zone 17 was to his north. If that direction was breached, he would have to divide his forces. But unlike with Victor, he couldn’t help this man, nor did he have any obligation to.

"Jarvis, add periodic scans in the direction of Zone 17 to the northern Demon Eye reconnaissance mission. Authorize cross-border surveillance."

[Northern reconnaissance route updated.]

Allen fell silent for a moment.

Then, he pulled up the operational data for all his mining sites.

Zone 18 currently had twenty operational mining sites. The ore types produced by eight of them—Gray Granite, magnetic sand, and low-grade pyroxene—were completely useless in the coming war.

These were the foundation of the daily economic cycle, but war was not a daily occurrence.

"Shut down all eight of these non-military mining sites. Withdraw the Mining Golems and have the garrison forces assemble on the northern line."

Jarvis provided a real-time summary:

The eight mining sites freed up a total of eighty-six Mining Golems and eighty Blessed-level Servants.

Eight standard garrison detachments: one hundred and sixty Spider Slayer IIs, four thousand "Jumping Spider" self-destruct Golems, eight PX-1s, sixteen "Inferno" rocket launching platforms, twenty-four Demon Eye II aerial fortresses, eight Demon Eye IIIs, and eight floating transport ships.

Allen consolidated this force into the "Seventh Defense Legion." The designation came after the Sixth Legion, which was still having its skeleton assembled on the production line.

The Seventh Legion lacked the main PX-1B model, but its advantage was that it was ready for immediate use and didn’t consume precious production capacity.

On the sand table, the deployment map for the northern line was re-marked.

The Seventh Defense Legion was moved to the northern line. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The eighty-six Mining Golems were integrated into the logistics chain, responsible for frontline ammunition delivery and the retrieval of damaged Golems from the rear.

Zone 17 was marked as a red high-risk area.

After making the final deployment, Allen let out a soft sigh.

The only sounds left in the control room were the low hum of the production lines and the slow pulsing of the blue light-dots on the sand table.

"In my territory, there are no idle hands, and no idle iron."

He repeated the sentence to himself.

Then he closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank back into his Sea of Spirit.

And on the westernmost edge of the sand table, the red tide surged several kilometers closer.