Chapter 412 - 401: Weaving a Web
The Space Gate closed silently behind him, completely sealing off the clamor of Golden Stone City.
Allen had returned to Cybertron.
He didn’t head directly back to the main control room. Instead, he walked alone to the specially constructed observation corridor on the dome.
Beneath his feet lay the Cybertron Workshop, so vast it was a world unto itself. Countless Factory Servants flowed in an orderly fashion through the network of steel, like red blood cells in the bloodstream, sustaining the breath of this massive war machine.
[Civilization Modification Plan confirmed. Partner ’Aiselan Kingdom’ has accepted all terms.]
[Project commencing shortly.]
The voice of Jarvis announced that a massive, thirty-year project, one capable of changing the global landscape, had just begun.
But Allen’s thoughts had already drifted to deeper, more distant places.
’Half the continent’s mineral resources?’
’The value was indeed astonishing, enough to support several technological iterations and expansions for Cybertron over the next thirty years.’
’But that was just the "bonus" on the surface.’
’The real treasure was what he had demanded: the seemingly intangible operating rights to the Magic Energy communication network.’
’You think I’m after your money?’
’No, I’m after your entire civilization!’
Allen raised his hand, and a three-dimensional structural diagram, as complex as a nebula and shimmering with streams of ethereal blue data, slowly unfolded before his eyes.
It was a dynamic Star Map composed of countless nodes and pathways, symbolizing all the Mechanical Bodies he indirectly controlled through Jarvis and the Demon Eyes.
"Jarvis, bring up the control network for the ’Cluster Link Skill’."
A relatively simple, radial tree-structure diagram appeared next to the "Star Map."
Allen’s Spiritual Power was the "root" of this tree, and all the Golems he directly controlled were the "leaves" at the tips of the branches.
This was the first Core Witchcraft he had inscribed at the academy. In essence, it was a "one-to-many" centralized command protocol.
With his current total Spiritual Power and mental sub-processes, he could maintain fine-tuned control over about nine hundred Golem units simultaneously.
From First-level Wizard to Second-level Wizard, his total Spiritual Power had increased more than tenfold, but the efficiency of the Cluster Link Skill hadn’t improved proportionally.
The underlying logic of this Witchcraft meant it had an insurmountable ceiling.
He, Allen Wesren, was the central server of this system.
All sensory data had to be collected and processed by him, and all commands had to be personally issued by him before being distributed.
There was a bottleneck in information transmission efficiency, and more critically, the weight of every "leaf" ultimately pressed down on the "root."
His Spiritual Power was that overburdened root.
This system was already outdated for a Second-level Wizard.
’So, he had to take a different path.’
His gaze returned to that "network," as complex as a cosmic nebula.
’Create... a brand-new, decentralized, distributed network.’
In Allen’s eyes, an ethereal blue light burned as fiercely as a blazing fire.
’And integrate it into a Core Witchcraft. I will name it... the Allen Network.’
’In this network, every Golem, every Celestial Net base station, and even every created Alchemy Item would no longer be a "terminal" passively waiting for commands.’
’They will be nodes with the ability for independent processing, autonomous communication, and collaborative decision-making.’
’Nodes will be able to freely exchange information, share sensory data, and autonomously achieve tactical coordination with each other.’
’If one squad is destroyed, another will automatically take over its mission. If communications in an area are jammed, surrounding nodes will automatically reconfigure the network to bypass the obstruction.’
This was no mere fantasy.
The "Celestial Net" system he had single-handedly established was the most primitive prototype of this concept.
Within the Celestial Net, if any single Demon Eye was destroyed, the others would automatically adjust their signal paths, maintaining the integrity of the entire detection network.
But that was merely an application at the technical level.
’What Allen wanted was to sublimate it into... Witchcraft! His second Core Witchcraft!’
’In the future, he would even develop a third Core Witchcraft based on it.’
’A normal communication network could be built with physical equipment and Rune Arrays, but the essence of a Core Witchcraft was to "encapsulate" an entire set of incredibly complex processes as part of a Wizard’s Sea of Spirit.’
’Once the "Allen Network" is completely inscribed into my Sea of Spirit, my Spiritual Power will become the network itself! My will shall be its underlying protocol!’
This was the real reason he had demanded the highest administrative authority over the Aiselan Kingdom’s communication network!
’He needed a testing ground.’
’A super-scale testing ground with a sufficiently large scale, dense nodes, complex environment, and diverse application scenarios!’
’He needed to test, iterate, and perfect his network protocol amidst the massive information exchange generated by thousands of communication base stations, across thousands of square kilometers of transmission space, and among tens of millions of users.’
’He needed to collect data under all sorts of extreme conditions—storms, high mountains, deep seas, areas of strong Magic Power interference, large-scale Beast Tide battlefields...’
’He needed to verify the network’s stability, latency, anti-interference capability, and self-repair capability.’
’A test of this scale would be utterly impossible to complete within Cybertron.’
’The entire Aiselan Kingdom was his designated "test server"!’
’This Witchcraft will have four-in-one functionality.’
’"Communication." This is the foundation. Information must flow without delay through this network, allowing all my creations to interconnect and access one another.’
’"Reconnaissance." Wherever the network reaches, that is my domain. The slightest disturbance will be displayed before my eyes.’
’"Anti-Interference." Its distributed architecture is naturally immune to single-point attacks. If any node is destroyed, the network will automatically reconfigure to ensure overall operation. Want to paralyze my legion? Not unless you can physically wipe out every single unit in an instant!’
’"Fourth, and the most insidious... Attack."’
’"When the node density is high enough, when processing power gathers like a tide, this network itself will become the most terrifying weapon. It will integrate the previously developed cyberwarfare technology to jam the enemy’s senses, hijack their communications and creations, and even... directly interfere with reality, waging a silent war."’
Only something like this would be worthy of being inscribed as a Core Witchcraft!
Allen closed his eyes, sensing the surging power within his Sea of Spirit.
’Once this Witchcraft is successfully inscribed, it will completely shatter the bottleneck of the Cluster Link Skill. In theory, the network will be able to cover as far as my Spiritual Power can reach.’
Each Golem node would no longer be a burden but a boon, allowing his network to spread farther and wider until it covered the entire continent!
What a terrifying prospect!
His existence would no longer be confined to a body of flesh and blood but would extend to every corner of the world as the network expanded.
Of course, it came with both risks and rewards.
This Witchcraft, much like his Mechanical Mind, would become a passive Witchcraft that permanently altered the form of his Sea of Spirit.
Directly inscribing such a complex Witchcraft into his Sea of Spirit was tantamount to a huge gamble.
If the deduced Witchcraft model contained a fatal bug, the consequences would be unimaginable.
That was why he needed a massive-scale testing environment like Aiselan, one with a sufficiently large scale, dense nodes, and a complex environment.
’He would use the resources and massive data of an entire civilization to pave a grand path for himself to a higher realm!’
Allen slowly opened his eyes. The virtual blueprint in his palm transformed into a Rune seed shimmering with infinite mysteries, floating silently.
He let out a long, slow breath, as if to expel all the turbulent emotions in his chest.
The sky was approaching dawn, and a pale white light appeared on the distant horizon.
Beneath the sky, the indicator lights of the Cybertron Workshop were still bright.
Allen’s gaze looked past the sea of lights, as if seeing into a more distant future.
’My mentor said that a Second-level Wizard must create their own tools.’
’Then I shall create a net...’
Ethereal blue flames ignited in Allen’s eyes, reflecting the breaking dawn outside the window.
’...and weave the entire world into it.’
[Allen Network Core Witchcraft project file created.]
[Estimated deduction period: Synchronized with the construction of the Aiselan communication network. Core protocol verification to be completed within three to five years.]
Allen turned and walked back into the depths of Cybertron.
Today, King Alexander would announce the grand thirty-year plan to the entire nation.
The entire kingdom would erupt with excitement, cheering for the upcoming "Civilization Modification."
And he, behind the scenes of this grand performance, would be silently weaving that invisible, giant net of his own.