Free Web NovelChapter 323: Chapter 316: A Little Flex
"I’m starting to think we should call you Victor von Moneybags."
Allen leaned back in his chair, hands crossed, his expression unreadable. "Oh? Did you find some massive ore deposit in Zone 19?"
"Not ore."
Victor shook his head. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Armaments. I want to buy your Crystal Bombs. The ’Big Boy.’"
He leaned forward slightly, enunciating each word. "I reported back to my clan that you used that thing to take out a Second-level Black Wizard."
Allen understood.
"The clan elders saw the combat footage. They said it’s a good piece of tech. That kind of rule-based annihilation that instantly changes the structure of matter is perfect for catching an enemy by surprise."
"This time, I’m here on behalf of my clan to procure a batch," Victor said solemnly. "Name your price."
A slow smile crept across Allen’s lips.
"Since you’ve seen its combat effectiveness, the price will naturally have to be updated."
He slowly held up two fingers. "One million Low-Level Magic Stones per unit."
"One million?!"
Victor instantly bristled, his voice shooting up. "Allen Wesren! Did your conscience get blown up along with your Magic Furnace when you advanced to Second-level Wizard? This is robbery! They were only three hundred thousand last time!"
"Last time was last time. Back then, it was just some unknown little bomb."
Allen spread his hands, his tone matter-of-fact. "Now, it’s a combat-proven strategic deterrent capable of ’punching up’ to kill a Second-level Wizard. It’s a trump card that lets you flip the whole table when facing an opponent of the same level. Plenty of people want to buy them, and I’m not even eager to sell. Besides, I need to save some for myself to defend against the Beast Tide."
"Victor, you get what you pay for. The Tieyan Clan should understand that principle better than I do."
"Bullshit!"
Victor cursed out loud. "Your Golems have flattened every last mouse hole around Zone 18! What Beast Tide? You’re just trying to rob me!"
"Victor, that’s not how you do the math."
Allen said unhurriedly, "A single ’Big Boy,’ used correctly, can destroy an enemy fortress without any losses. When the Tieyan Clan storms a fortress, how many people die? How many Golems are scrapped? Don’t the death benefits and repair costs add up to more than a million?"
Victor was left speechless, his chest heaving. He knew Allen was using sophistry, but from a pure war-of-attrition perspective, the damn math actually checked out.
"It’s too expensive. The budget the clan gave me isn’t that high."
Victor said through clenched teeth, "Five hundred thousand. That’s my limit."
"Don’t forget who gave you your first big order of one hundred and eighty thousand when you were about to go bankrupt!"
Victor said, exasperated, "And now that you’ve made it big, this is how you treat your brother?"
Allen watched Victor’s pained expression and laughed inwardly.
’This rich bastard definitely brought a huge sum with him. Just selling him bombs would be a waste. I need to make sure his entire budget gets spent on my Cybertron.’
"The issue of price is hard to discuss over the comms."
Allen changed the subject, his tone softening. "You’ll be trying for Second-level Wizard in about five years, right? Want a sneak peek at what a real Half-plane Workshop looks like?"
Victor’s anger instantly stalled.
A Half-plane Workshop—the ultimate fortress that every Alchemy Wizard dreamed of possessing.
Even though he was the heir to the Tieyan Clan, the clan would never equip him with a strategic resource like a half-plane fragment before he advanced to Level 2.
"You... you’ve already finished the fusion?" Victor’s voice was laced with unconcealable envy and longing.
"Just finished testing it," Allen said with a slight smile. "Since you’re here to talk business, I’ll let you see it for yourself."
"As for the price, we can sit down and have a nice long chat while you tour the place."
Victor’s mind was a battlefield. He struggled for less than three seconds before his reason was utterly defeated by curiosity.
’That Allen! He knows I haven’t been promoted yet, that I’m not qualified to buy one, but he’s still shamelessly showing it off!’
’Damn him! But... I really want to see it!’
"...I’ll be there in two hours." He squeezed the words out through his teeth.
The communication cut off.
The smile on Allen’s face grew even wider.
Of course, he wasn’t just showing off.
It was just that his "Cybertron Development Outline" needed some startup capital, and this big spender right in front of him had just received a new round of funding from his clan. It was exactly what he needed, right when he needed it.
’Rather than let him spend his money elsewhere, it’s better to have him contribute to the construction of Cybertron.’
’Today, I’m going to have to show him what a high-pressure sale really is.’
...
「Two hours later.」
Above the massive, ring-shaped crater in Zone 18, space rippled.
A sleek, deep-red, medium-sized Floating Ship bearing the Tieyan family crest broke through the clouds and slowly descended.
At that moment, Allen’s Half-plane Workshop was in its fully expanded form, hunkered down like a colossal beast of steel.
The vast, twelve-square-kilometer complex was filled with a cold, hard industrial aesthetic. Countless pipes and sectors crisscrossed, and although most of it was still an empty shell, it was far more imposing than before.
The hatch opened, and Victor stepped out.
Behind him followed three brand-new Heavy Armored Golems.
They were a full size larger than Allen’s Freedom Gundam, radiating a suffocating, violent heatwave.
The Tieyan Clan’s elite Golems—the "Molten Fire Tyrants."
Victor had clearly come to show off as well.
’Even though you’ve advanced to Level 2, I bet you haven’t built anything new. The foundation of my clan will still leave you in the dust.’
"Allen, long time no see."
Victor straightened his Wizard Robe, his movements unconsciously betraying a faint, almost imperceptible arrogance.
Although a full rank now separated them, their years of fighting side-by-side and their frenemy relationship meant there was little deference between them. It was more a competition and rivalry between equals.
Allen’s gaze swept over the three magnificent "Molten Fire Tyrants," and he felt not a ripple of emotion. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.
Without a change in expression, he lifted his gaze slightly. An invisible command was relayed through Jarvis to a Magic Eye Type V "Insightful" hovering in the clouds above the workshop, telling it to lower its altitude.
’Echo Deception Module, activate.’
"Welcome to my turf, Young Master Tieyan."
Allen smiled, but instead of looking at Victor, he fixed his gaze on the three "Molten Fire Guardians."
He spoke in a flat tone, as if giving a routine command:
"Your master is going inside for a tour. You three, remain here on standby and enter alert mode."
The moment he finished speaking...
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The three "Molten Fire Tyrants," as if having received a supreme command, retracted their weapons in perfect unison. Their massive metal bodies snapped to attention, the molten cores in their chests flashing as they executed a standard military salute in Allen’s direction.
Immediately after, three emotionless, mechanical voices rang out in unison:
"Acknowledged, Commander!"
The air fell deathly silent.
The smile on Victor’s face froze.
He whipped his head around to stare intently at his three Golems, his ice-blue eyes filled with incredulous horror.
’What’s going on?’
’I haven’t given any command!’
’These three Golems are my personal guard, with my highest authority clearance. It’s impossible for them to obey anyone else’s orders!’
’But now, they’re calling Allen... "Commander"?’
In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Victor’s mind, but he quickly dismissed each one.
In the end, only one chilling suspicion remained.
’Could it be... is this the power of a Second-level Wizard? Or is it a new ability of Allen’s?’
’The power to directly usurp another Wizard’s control over their Golems from a higher dimension?’
Victor looked at Allen’s calm face and, for the first time, felt a horror that chilled him to his very soul.
What he didn’t know, however, was that the new "Echo Deception" electronic warfare technique Allen had used was still immature. It had a limited interference range and could only "spoof" a target by simulating an authorization signal during a lapse when the owner wasn’t maintaining a mental link.
If Victor had been actively directing them in combat via the Cluster Link Technique, this little trick would never have succeeded.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know that.
Allen saw Victor’s "I’ve just seen a ghost" expression and thought to himself, ’Got him,’ but offered no further explanation.
’The subtle flex is the deadliest.’
He turned and walked toward the massive alloy gate, which was slowly opening and glowing with an eerie blue light.
"What are you still standing there for?"
"Times have changed, Victor. Let me show you what a *real*... workshop looks like."
