Although the plan to expand southward had been decided, Allen still took a steady and cautious approach.

Within three days, Three-way Canyon was fortified like an iron fortress. Sixty Spider Slayers patrolled day and night, three PX-1s stood guard, and 1,500 Jumper Spiders turned the three-kilometer area around the canyon into a true death zone. Any Magical Beast that dared to approach would be reduced to ash in the fiery explosions of twenty Purgatory units.

The mining of the underground vein also got on track.

Six Mining Golems excavated over two thousand Magic Stones from underground each day. Transport Floating Ships shuttled back and forth, continuously delivering the ore back to the workshop. The underground network from the workshop to this location was also about to be completed.

The money started rolling in.

With such a stable rear base, the speed of Allen’s expansion suddenly accelerated.

The First Legion, like a sharp blade, radiated out from Three-way Canyon, steamrolling everything in its path.

When they encountered small groups of Magical Beasts, the Spider Slayers charged forward and tore them to shreds. When they met larger swarms, Purgatory units fired in volleys, blanketing the ground with rockets. When they faced hard targets, the Peacekeepers’ heavy cannons opened fire, blasting a new crater with every shot. With the Freedom Gundam dominating the sky, they met no decent resistance at all.

In fifteen days, the blue area in Zone 18 expanded from one-eighth of the total territory to nearly a quarter.

It reached the edge of the Crystalized Forest to the north and the outskirts of the Black Stone Gobi to the west.

On the map, the glaring red patches were wiped away one by one, replaced by the blue that represented safety.

Standing in the workshop’s command center, Allen watched the blue territory expand on the holographic map, a slight curve gracing the corner of his lips.

’Now that the Crystal Shell Giant Scorpion is dead, I don’t have to worry about being attacked from both front and rear. This place will be my backyard from now on.’

His gaze finally settled on two locations: the Crystalized Forest to the north and the Black Stone Gobi to the west.

’The Dream-Weaving Demon Spiders and the Rock Armor Earth Dragons... I’ll leave them be for now.’

Allen knew very well that both of these Magical Beast populations were led by a Lord equivalent to a Second-level Wizard. If he clashed with them head-on, his current Golem Legion could win, but the attrition rate would be ugly.

’First, I’ll stabilize the border. Once I’ve taken the southern lava lake and solved the energy problem, I’ll come back and deal with them.’

The territory’s defenses needed adjustment. While expanding southward, he had to establish a stable flank defense. Although the Magical Beasts in those two directions generally stayed within their own domains, Allen would not entrust the security of his zones to the whims of Magical Beasts.

He revised his defensive deployment plan, transferring some of the garrisons from the mines to the border. He planned to establish a Golem camp on the borders of both the Crystalized Forest and the Black Stone Gobi.

He started by assigning each camp forty Spider Slayers, two PX-1s, four Purgatories, six Demon Eye II Aerial Fortresses, plus one thousand Jumper Spiders.

The advance on the western front was very smooth. Although the Black Stone Gobi was vast, the wandering Rock Armor Earth Dragons were more inclined to hunt alone and rarely initiated attacks against "fleshless" constructs like Golems.

The western forces easily established "Dragonwatch Outpost" on a stone high ground on the eastern edge of the Gobi, a position that overlooked a large area.

However, the construction of the outpost near the Crystalized Forest was fraught with challenges.

Those eight-legged monsters, over four meters tall, charged out of the forest more than once, attempting to destroy the Golems under construction. They moved silently, and the silk they spat was incredibly tough, capable of even temporarily paralyzing a Peacekeeper.

But in the face of a coordinated iron defense line, these sporadic harassments were meaningless.

The intersecting fire from the Peacekeepers and Spider Slayers, combined with long-range Magic Missiles from the Purgatory launch platforms, reduced a probing group of Dream-Weaving Demon Spiders to a pile of scattered materials.

After sacrificing twenty Spider Slayers and several hundred Jumper Spiders, the "Web-Weaver Outpost" finally bared its fangs before the Crystalized Forest.

And so, Allen’s territory was secured: to the north, "Web-Weaver Outpost" watched over the Crystalized Forest; to the west, "Dragonwatch Outpost" monitored the Black Stone Gobi; and in the center, Three Forks Canyon Camp guarded the transportation hub.

These three points formed a solid line of defense, a steel barrier that securely protected over a third of Zone 18’s heartland.

In addition, the various mine garrisons and Storm Falcon patrol units reinforced military control over the territory.

This defensive line was enough to stall any surprise attack from Magical Beasts, buying him time to rally his forces and react.

With the deployment complete, Allen’s gaze finally turned south.

The main force of the First Golem Legion had finished assembling.

This time, leading the charge was the steel deity painted blue and white, bearing the Dragon Cavalry wing pack—"Freedom."

The push southward also went smoothly.

The swarms of Magical Beasts wandering the wilderness offered no real resistance against the advance of the Golem Legion.

Until that dark red world appeared at the edge of their vision.

Heat waves distorted the air, and the pungent smell of sulfur could be faintly detected even through the cabin of the Odyssey.

The Boiling Lava Lake.

The temperature here remained above 1,000 degrees Celsius year-round, reaching as high as 3,000 degrees near the lake’s center.

Dark red magma churned in the lake like thick porridge, occasionally bursting in a giant bubble that sprayed a deadly rain of lava.

On the shore, several Molten Core Lizards, each over five meters long, were basking on the scorching obsidian, "sunbathing." Their dark red scales were caked with cooled lava, and they showed no sign of feeling threatened. The massive creatures lazily lifted their heads and spewed pillars of dark red fire from their mouths.

"[The First Legion has reached the designated coordinates, one kilometer from the Boiling Lava. The ’Freedom Gundam’ is ready for combat at any time.]"

The Demon Eye’s perspective switched. The eighteen-meter-tall Freedom Gundam hovered in mid-air, looking completely out of place in this crimson world.

Behind it, a dense formation of Spider Slayers and Peacekeepers stood ready, their murderous aura overwhelming.

However, this mighty legion, powerful enough to crush a small Wizard Organization, was currently at a standstill.

"[Warning: Ambient temperature is excessively high. Mecha cooling systems are under increased load. Prolonged combat is not advised.]"

The temperature was too high. The forward-scouting Spider Slayers couldn’t get near the lake’s edge.

"Have a PX-1 conduct close-range reconnaissance."

"[Command received.]"

A PX-1 walked toward the lake and tentatively stepped into the shallows. A few Molten Core Lizards watched the Golem’s actions with curiosity but did not attack.

However, after only three minutes,

"[Warning: PX-1 unit overheating. External armor beginning to soften. Rune Circuits showing signs of thermal melting.]"

On the screen, the Golem had no choice but to retreat.

’This place is truly inhospitable,’ Allen thought, frowning as he looked at the data on the screen in his workshop.

His current predicament was awkward. He had both high-end and low-end combat units and wasn’t particularly afraid of the Magical Beasts by the lake.

But to build the "Volcanic Magic Power Furnace," he had to drive piles, lay pipes, and install a conversion matrix on the shores of the lava lake. This required a team of Golems capable of working and fighting in lava for extended periods.

Freedom, of course, was not afraid of this temperature; it had Titan Magic Steel armor and top-tier shields.

The problem was, he couldn’t have Freedom acting as a foreman, soaking in lava twenty-four hours a day.