Free Web NovelChapter 250: Chapter 244: Energy Crisis Resolved
At the bottom of the lava lake, five PX-2 "Infernos" weaved through the dark red magma, their armor covered in scorch marks and scratches—traces left behind by the Fire Elemental Monarch’s dying counterattack.
But at this moment, these massive war machines were engaged in a menial task: scavenging.
Unit One’s armored gauntlet reached into a magma vortex and yanked something out.
It pulled out a fist-sized crystal, inside which incandescent flames swirled.
[High-Tier Fire-Attribute Magic Core Confirmed]
Allen watched the rapidly scrolling list of spoils on the light screen: biological materials from the Two-headed Lizard Lord, symbiotic fire crystals scattered after the Fire Elemental Monarch’s disintegration, and the cores of thousands of low-tier flowing-flame spirits.
"Sort and pack them. Send them back to the Main Workshop," Allen said calmly. To him, such materials were far less appealing than simple ore.
[Command Issued. Spoils Recovery Progress: 87%. No High-Energy Biological Reactions Detected in the Lava Lake Region.]
"Cleanup’s complete. Time for the real work." Allen sat up straight, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Phase one. Five volcano Magic Power furnaces. Deploy them."
Above the lava lake, the massive "Odyssey" hovered once again. Its bottom bay doors opened, and a cylindrical Magic Power furnace weighing over thirty tons was slowly lowered by heavy chains.
"Activate engineering mode."
[Command Confirmed. The Five Infernos Have Switched to Engineering Mode. Power Output Locked.]
Conventional Engineering Golems couldn’t possibly withstand the two-thousand-degree temperatures and terrifying pressure at the bottom of the lava lake, making the costly Infernos the only available laborers for the job.
Unit One and Unit Two surfaced, easily lifting the five-meter-diameter, multi-ton base of the Magic Power furnace, one on each side.
"Watch your balance and power output," Allen said, his eyes glued to the screen.
The two Infernos carried the base and set it in its designated position.
Unit Three was responsible for transporting the conversion rod, over 150 meters long, while Units Four and Five handled the installation at the bottom of the lake.
The five steel behemoths moved with precision and stability.
"Connect the conversion rod."
Unit Three inserted the thick alloy rod vertically into the port on top of the base.
Allen stared at the progress bar on the screen, monitoring the various parameters in real time.
[Furnace One connection complete.]
[Furnace Two base installation in progress.] freeweɓnøvel.com
...
「Five hours later.」
[Furnace Five connection complete. System-wide diagnostics passed.]
"Ignite."
VMMMM—
A low hum penetrated the magma and reached the surface. Five columns of dark red light lit up the lakebed as the massive Rune Arrays activated at full power.
Vast amounts of Fire Elemental Magic Power surged through the conversion rods and into each furnace’s Core Matrix, where it was converted into stable, usable Magic Power and stored.
[Power Output: 30%... 70%... 100%]
[All Five Volcano Magic Power Furnaces Operating Stably. Magic Power Extraction Efficiency Has Reached Design Specifications.]
[Energy Deficit Warning Lifted. Current Energy Production Far Exceeds Consumption. Energy Reserves Rising Steadily.]
The red line of energy consumption, which had plagued Allen for half a month, was instantly dwarfed by the green line of supply. fгeewebnovёl.com
Recently, just to maintain the daily operations of four Golem Legions and the various mining sites, he’d even had to put non-combat Golems on a rotation for sleep and recharge cycles.
Now, that was all over.
"Jarvis, reconfigure the energy allocation," Allen’s voice regained its usual composure.
[All Dormant Golems Awakened. Black Stone Gobi Mining Output Is Recovering. The Trailblazer Shield Machine Has Resumed Round-the-Clock Excavation.]
[Estimated Time Until Furnace Workshop Magic Power Reserves Reach Maximum Capacity: Two Days.]
"Excellent." Allen picked up the iced dew fruit juice on his desk and downed it in one gulp.
"Bring up the Main Workshop’s production queue."
The light screen switched, revealing a densely packed production queue.
"Prioritize Senior Victor’s forty ’Purgatory’ launch platforms, along with the accompanying ’Red Lotus-I’ Magic Missiles." Allen swiped his finger across the screen, dragging the order to the highest priority.
[Current Production Capacity Is Sufficient. Estimated Delivery Within Seven Days.]
Victor’s geothermal Magic Power extractors were limited in number, but with the armed cleanup Allen provided, his project was bound to accelerate.
Once he got a taste of abundant energy, he would surely increase the scale of his expansion.
Once his front lines were overextended, his production capacity was bound to fall short.
And since War Zone 19 had plenty of Magic Stones and minerals, he would inevitably have to keep buying weapons and Golems from Allen.
After all, the cost-effective area-denial firepower provided by his "Purgatory" platforms was perfect for hitting clusters of Magical Beasts.
’Victor, you’re still too green. Just be a good boy and keep coughing up the cash for me.’
After arranging the arms order, Allen’s gaze returned to the lava lake region on the sand table.
"Jarvis, bring up the data models for the Two-headed Lizard Lord and the Fire Elemental Monarch."
Holographic projections of the two behemoths appeared in the center of the control room.
Allen stood and walked over to the projections, his gaze deep in thought.
"One has an average Magic Power fluctuation of 2,900, the other, 3,500. It’s impossible for an Elemental Creature and a Magical Beast of this caliber to both be holed up in the same spot."
’Something’s not right here.’
The concentration of Fire Elemental Magic Power at the bottom of the lava lake was indeed high, but not high enough to naturally give birth to an Elemental Creature of this caliber.
Allen stared at the models, his fingertip unconsciously tracing patterns on the tabletop. "An Elemental Creature of moderate intelligence... it only came out in full force after the Two-headed Lizard died. It’s highly territorial, yet it showed no reaction to our earlier clearing operations."
"It wasn’t protecting the lava lake," Allen concluded. "It was protecting something *under* the lakebed. The death of the Two-headed Lizard exposed that ’something’ to us, and that’s why it panicked."
"What are the results of the subterranean geological scan?"
[Due to High-Density Interference From the Magma, Current Magic Power Detection Waves Cannot Penetrate the Lakebed. Maximum Detection Depth Is Stalled at 150 Meters.]
"There’s definitely something down there." Allen’s finger passed through the Monarch’s holographic projection. "It might be an extremely pure vein of fire-type ore. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have defended this place to the death."
The "Earthworm" Golems were useful, but their outer armor and internal components couldn’t handle the magma’s intense heat. They’d melt into slag if they went down.
’I’ll have to develop a new, specialized model.’
"Establish a new project. Codename: ’Earthworm Volcano Type’."
"Start with the Earthworm’s drilling module. Integrate the PX-2 Inferno’s Molten Titanium Crystal Armor and Thermal Conductivity Rune Array, and compress the chassis to the smallest possible size."
’With my experience developing the Inferno, it shouldn’t be difficult.’
[Inputting Parameters... Design Simulation Initiated.]
A massive stream of data scrolled through Allen’s mind.
「Half an hour later.」
[First Draft of ’Earthworm Volcano Type’ High-Temperature Exploration Golem Generated. Estimated Maximum Submersion Depth: 500 Meters Below the Lava Lakebed. Maximum Temperature Tolerance: 4,500 Degrees.]
"Build two prototypes to start," Allen commanded.
’Fortune is often hidden in the most dangerous of places.’ If he really could unearth a high-tier fire-type ore vein, his income would skyrocket yet again.
