Acrid smoke filled the air as heatwaves rolled across the scorched earth.

[ALERT! ALERT!]

[Overwhelming Magic Power signature detected! Origin point: 50 meters underground!]

[Energy index soaring: 2000...2500...2800...]

’What the hell could make the numbers climb that fast?’

Allen’s pupils constricted.

[Peak value surpassing 3000! Determined to be a Second-level Wizard power signature!]

Jarvis’s synthesized voice was urgent.

[All units, retreat immediately!]

There was no time for the troops on the battlefield to scatter.

KABOOM—!!!

The already vitrified ground of Three-way Canyon suddenly shattered, sending shards of rock flying like shrapnel. Amid a cloud of dust and debris, a colossal figure burst forth from the earth.

It was a monstrous beast, over twenty meters in length.

Its entire body was encased in purplish-black crystalline armor, each plate shimmering with a tangible aura of Magic Power. Most striking were its massive chelae; they were no mere pincers for gripping, but resembled two heavy cannons ready to fire, a menacing orb of emerald green light gathering between them.

’A Second-level creature was hiding underground—the Crystal Shell Scorpion King!’

The moment it emerged, it wasted no time on roars. Its massive chelae snapped into position, aiming at the target on the field with the strongest Magic Power signature—PX-0, which stood at the forefront.

No shriek, no wind-up.

ZZZZCRACKLE—!

An immensely thick beam of emerald green energy erupted forth. The air warped and rippled in its path, and it carved a deep, blackened trench into the ground.

’Fast! It’s too fast!’

Its speed was far beyond that of any ordinary Magical Beast.

"Xiong Da! Shield!" Allen barely had time to roar the single word through their mental link.

The Violent Ape soul within the core of the idling PX-0 reacted with pure, beast-like instinct.

The instant Allen’s command registered, it instinctively slammed the Rune Light Shield from the Ancient Golem Factory into the ground, hunkering down and lowering its center of gravity.

[AT Field at maximum!]

BOOM!!!

The green beam of destruction slammed into the ancient Rune Light Shield.

For an instant, the world fell silent.

A blinding light swallowed everything.

PX-0’s four-meter-tall steel body stood like a lone reef against a raging tempest.

The hexagonal crystalline patterns on the shield’s surface flared with blinding intensity before starting to crack and melt.

[WARNING! SHIELD INTEGRITY FAILING...]

[WARNING! AT FIELD PRESSURE CRITICAL...]

Perched on a distant highland, Allen stared intently at the beam radiating terrifying waves of Magic Power. His knuckles turned white as he listened to the status reports flooding in from PX-0’s Control Core.

’It has to hold on! That’s my masterpiece, the one I poured the most effort and expensive materials into!’

The assault lasted for three full seconds.

When the light dissipated, PX-0 was still standing.

The ground beneath it had shattered, leaving it standing in a meter-deep crater with only its upper half exposed. The ancient shield was utterly destroyed, the armor on its left arm was completely stripped away, and molten-red metal dripped from the exposed surfaces.

But it had held.

It had absorbed a terrifying blow, one that could have instantly killed any First-level Wizard. If Allen hadn’t taken the time to inscribe it with a protective AT Field Rune Array, it would have been blown to smithereens.

"Counterattack! Bomb it!"

The fear in Allen’s eyes instantly turned to fury. "Storm Falcons, unload the rest of our stock on it!"

In the sky, five Storm Falcons immediately went into a dive.

Their belly hatches opened, and the last few "Red Lotus-I" Alchemy Bombs whistled down, precisely targeting the Scorpion King as it recovered from its powerful attack.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions once again engulfed the battlefield.

However, as the smoke and dust cleared, Allen’s expression sank.

It was completely unscathed.

Its purplish-black crystalline carapace bore only a few faint white marks.

The shockwaves and intense heat from the explosions had been perfectly nullified by the shimmering light that flowed over it.

’So this is a Second-level creature...’

Allen gritted his teeth. ’Its defenses are on a whole other level. Conventional firepower can’t get through.’

The Scorpion King flicked its tail, its compound eyes piercing through the acrid smoke to fixate on the distant Steel Legion.

It didn’t resume its attack, nor did it charge.

It seemed to be thinking.

That last blast had been its full-power attack, yet it had failed to destroy the metal monstrosity.

And while those buzzing flies in the sky couldn’t harm it, they could inflict devastating losses on its brood.

It let out a low, guttural shriek.

Then, to Allen’s surprise, something unexpected happened.

The imperious beast began to slowly retreat, its massive body withdrawing back into the bottomless chasm from which it came.

Only its compound eyes, glinting ominously in the dark, remained visible. They took one last, long look in Allen’s direction, filled with malevolence and... intelligence.

As it retreated, the immense fluctuations of Magic Power began to subside.

[Target has disengaged.]

[Combat... concluded.]

Jarvis’s voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

Allen let out a long sigh of relief, his back soaked with cold sweat.

"Smart move on its part."

He wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow. "If it had really charged out to fight to the death, we would’ve lost half our assets today."

The battlefield fell silent once more.

The wind swept sand across the field, carrying the lingering, acrid smell over a landscape littered with severed limbs and broken carapaces.

"Commander, do we pursue?" PX-0 asked.

"Pursue it with what? You’ve already lost an arm."

Allen rolled his eyes. His earlier fighting spirit had evaporated, replaced by cold, hard calculation.

’That thing is practically invincible underground.’

’In those narrow tunnels, the Storm Falcons can’t enter, and the Purgatory bombs can’t reach. Send PX-0 down for a duel? That would be serving it up on a silver platter.’

’The intelligence of a Second-level creature shouldn’t be underestimated.’

’It knows the surface isn’t its home turf, so it chose to retreat. That blast was a warning.’

’While Allen had no way to deal with it, the Crystal Shell Scorpion King had its own reservations—the rest of the Crystal Shell Giant Scorpions still alive underground. It was afraid Allen was trying to lure it out of its lair!’

"However..."

Allen’s gaze fell upon the mountain of corpses on the battlefield. "It may have fled, but it can’t take all these ’materials’ with it."

The last bombing run might have destroyed a lot of materials, but the remaining carapaces and tail stingers were top-quality goods. This was especially true for the few elite giant scorpions that had been killed; they were a little well-done, but their carapaces were intact. It was just a shame about their souls, which had likely all dissipated by now.

Allen quickly issued a command. "Recall the Pacifistas. All Factory Servants and Spider Slayers, move in and salvage the battlefield."

This was a test. Allen wanted to see if the Scorpion King would reappear.

The menacing Steel Legion instantly transformed into a diligent scavenging crew.

The Spider Slayers used their sharp appendages to expertly dismember the giant scorpion corpses, sorting and stacking intact carapaces, poison sacs, and chelae. Meanwhile, Alchemy Servants on transport Floating Ships scurried back and forth across the battlefield like ants relocating their nest.

Allen, meanwhile, kept his eyes glued to the tactical map. If the Scorpion King so much as poked its head out, he would order an immediate retreat.

But whether the old scorpion was traumatized by the barrage or simply determined to preserve the last embers of its brood, it remained hidden. Not a single sound emerged from the massive cavern, even as Allen’s units loaded the very last scorpion leg onto a transport.

"A bit of a coward, but undeniably smart and powerful," Allen mused, his mood soaring as he watched the fully laden transport convoy return.

[Loot Tally Complete.]

[Recovered Crystallized Carapaces: 12 tons.]

[Various other fragmented materials.]

[Estimated Total Value: 106,000 Low-Level Magic Stones.]

"Two volleys cost forty-eight thousand, and we recovered one hundred six thousand," Allen calculated quickly. "A net profit of fifty-eight thousand! And that’s not even counting the future profits from clearing this route."

’It’s a shame the bombardment destroyed so much; less than a tenth of the potential materials were salvageable. Otherwise, we would’ve really struck gold.’

Although he hadn’t managed to completely annihilate the scorpion swarm, from a strategic standpoint, the battle was a decisive victory. He no longer had to worry about them swarming his mining operations.

"Still, this hidden threat must be dealt with."

Allen’s gaze turned cold as he stared at the distant cavern. "Just because it won’t come out now doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. You can’t sleep soundly with a threat next to your bed, but if I post a guard at its bedroom door, I should be able to rest easy."

"Set up ten ’Purgatory’ turrets on this highland, aimed at the cave entrance."

"And deploy five hundred ’Jumping Spiders’ to lay a minefield around the entrance for early warning."

PX-0 also needed to be hauled back for a major overhaul.

The shield was a total loss, but the data it provided was invaluable.

The battle was a show of force, but it also highlighted a massive power gap.

There was truly a vast chasm between First-level and Second-level.

If not for that ancient shield, PX-0 would have been turned into scrap metal by that single blast.

"Still have to keep developing," Allen sighed. "Without enough high-grade materials and more powerful Golems, the Pacifistas represent my current ceiling."

’Since I can’t break in, I’ll just trap its brood and let them die.’

’As long as it doesn’t come out to cause trouble, this whole region is mine to control.’

Other Magical Beast species usually kept to their own territory; they didn’t roam around looking for Magic Power-rich ores and materials to devour like the Crystal Shell Giant Scorpions did.

"Relay my order: Seal off a five-kilometer radius around the entrance to Three-way Canyon. Declare it a restricted military zone."

Allen swept his arm out expansively. "Now, nothing can stop my mining operation!"