Chapter 222: Chapter 216: Post-Battle Reckoning! An Expensive Victory
The Black Wizard Grock’s body was split in two, deader than dead.
However, the battle was not over.
The Rock Armor Earth Dragons, enslaved by the [Beastmaster’s Mark], had lost their master’s direct control but were still executing his final command: gather and destroy all obstacles!
ROAR—!
The eleven remaining Rock Armor Earth Dragons, including three leader-class specimens, were still locked in combat with the Blaze Fiends and the Pacifistas.
The destructive power of these behemoths was astounding; the very earth and the mining site groaned beneath their trampling feet.
Allen quickly retrieved an alchemical heavy cannon and issued a new command to the Freedom Gundam through their mental link.
[Target: enemy leader-class units. Eliminate threat.]
The Freedom Gundam, standing beside Grock’s corpse, picked up the heavy cannon, shouldered it, and slowly raised the muzzle.
Energy from its singularity engine was drawn at a frantic pace as Magic Power particles gathered and compressed at the muzzle, emitting a heart-stopping glow.
[Titan’s Roar—Fire!]
VWOOM—!
A thick beam of incandescent red energy tore through the air, carrying an aura of absolute destruction, and precisely struck the leader Rock Armor Earth Dragon charging at the very front.
The colossal beast, renowned for its defenses, didn’t even have time to let out a cry. Its thick rock armor couldn’t withstand the beam for even a second.
Its entire body was instantly pierced and vaporized from head to tail, leaving behind a massive, empty cavity.
Its massive body rushed forward another dozen meters from inertia before crashing to the ground, all signs of life extinguished.
A one-shot kill!
The remaining two leader-class and eight adult Earth Dragons seemed to feel a flicker of fear in what little remained of their minds, seared as they were by forbidden magic. Their charge faltered.
But it was too late.
"All units, annihilation mode!"
The Freedom Gundam’s Dragon Cavalry system deployed once more, ten beams of light weaving a web of death.
Two "Blaze Fiend Mk. II" units, wielding high-frequency vibrating lances, shot forward like twin crimson streaks of light. The Spider Slayers and the "Demon Eye Mk. IIs" positioned on high ground unleashed their firepower to the fullest.
Having lost their minds and knowing only how to rampage, the Magical Beasts stood no chance against the perfectly coordinated Golem Legion, which picked them off one by one.
A dozen minutes later, all the Rock Armor Earth Dragons lay dead. The ravaged mining site was finally, completely silent.
Victor looked at the devastated mining site and the colossal beasts lying in pools of their own blood, his expression finally relaxing.
Allen scanned the battlefield, his Mechanical Mind running at full speed as it calculated the losses.
Three PX-1A units, completely destroyed.
Forty-two Spider Slayers damaged, with core components salvageable from eighteen.
Only two of the ten Mining Golems remained operational. The main structure of the ore refinery had been pierced by earth spikes.
Two "Purgatory" launch platforms, which hadn’t fired a single shot, were also severely damaged in the melee.
"Jarvis, calculate all losses incurred since the Black Wizard’s surprise attack."
[Reporting, Commander. Direct losses: Golem destruction and repair costs, approximately 370,000 Magic Stones. Reconstruction costs for the three mining sites and their equipment, approximately 70,000 Magic Stones. Estimated production downtime of 16 days, resulting in indirect losses of approximately 250,000 Magic Stones. Grand total: 690,000 Magic Stones.]
"Hiss... That’s a huge loss."
A pang of pain shot through Allen’s heart, but his face remained expressionless as he walked toward Grock’s corpse.
Victor floated behind him, looking at the bisected Black Wizard. "He died a little too cleanly... I thought a Second-level Wizard would be tougher to handle."
"He was plenty tough."
Allen crouched and began to loot the body. "If the [Magic Turbulence] hadn’t countered his mist-form ability, we’d be dead right now."
He found only three spatial items on Grock’s body.
The first was a beast-taming space bracelet, standard issue for a Contract Wizard. Its silver-gray metal surface was covered in intricate spatial Runes.
Allen’s Spiritual Power probed it, revealing an independent space a kilometer in diameter, complete with land, a water source, and even a simulated day-and-night cycle.
But now, a dozen or so Magical Beast corpses lay scattered about inside the space.
There were Shadow Crows, Rock Armor Earth Dragon cubs, and several other Magical Beasts that Allen didn’t recognize.
All dead.
Victor explained, "It must have been the most stringent type of master-servant contract."
"When the master of the contract dies, the souls of the contracted Magical Beasts wither away within three minutes."
Allen nodded and put the bracelet away. "This space bracelet is worth over fifty thousand Magic Stones."
The second item was an ordinary Space Ring, with only a hundred cubic meters of internal space.
Inside was a pile of refined ore looted from the mining sites, along with a few potions, some Magic Stones, and assorted biological materials—all told, worth less than twenty thousand Magic Stones.
"What a pauper," Allen commented bluntly.
Victor’s mouth twitched. "He was a Second-level Wizard, you know..."
"A Second-level Wizard should have the wealth to match. This guy was just pathetic. He deserved what he got."
Allen picked up the third spatial item—an exquisitely crafted ring whose surface rippled with faint spatial fluctuations.
He sensed it carefully, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
[Item: Ring of Blinking]
[Type: Spatial Wonder]
[Effect: Allows for a single directional spatial jump of up to 500 kilometers. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Usages per day: 3. Can automatically recharge by absorbing ambient Magic Power.]
"What a find!"
For the first time, a look of genuine joy appeared in Allen’s eyes.
The ring’s strategic value far exceeded its material worth. With it, his tactical flexibility—whether for raids, retreats, or reinforcements—would improve by a quantum leap.
"This thing would sell for at least two hundred thousand Magic Stones, and that’s assuming you could even find one on the market."
Aside from his soul, this was the sum total of the Black Wizard’s spoils.
Allen stood up, his gaze sweeping over the Magical Beast corpses. "Jarvis, assist me in harvesting the intact souls."
[Affirmative, Commander.]
Ten Alchemy Servants descended from a transport ship and began to dismember the Magical Beast corpses.
In the end, Allen managed to collect the souls of seven Rock Armor Earth Dragons. The rest had already dissipated, either because their heads were destroyed in the fighting or because too much time had passed.
"Seven souls... averaging 2,000 Magic Stones apiece, that’s a total of 14,000 Magic Stones."
Allen placed the Soul Crystals into his Space Ring. "As for these Magical Beast materials... once they’re transported back to the fortress, they should sell for about 400,000."
He quickly did the math in his head.
Beast-taming space bracelet: 50,000
Goods in the Space Ring: 20,000
Spatial jump ring: 200,000
Soul Crystals: 14,000
Magical Beast materials: 400,000
Total: 684,000 Magic Stones.
"We took a huge loss..." Allen said, turning to Victor.
Victor was stunned.
"Wait, what kind of math is that?" he asked, looking at Allen in disbelief. "You just killed a Second-level Wizard! Besides, didn’t your calculated gains basically cancel out the losses?"
"Glory doesn’t pay the bills," Allen said as he turned and walked toward the Freedom Gundam.
"Besides, let’s keep things clear. You helped out, so I still have to factor in your cut."
Victor opened his mouth, but ultimately, he said nothing.
Allen continued, "Jarvis, have the workshop prioritize production of Mining Golems. Mobilize backup equipment and repair teams, and restore the mining site’s production capacity as quickly as possible."
"These losses..."
"We will earn it all back from the other Black Wizards... a hundred, even a thousand times over!"
