"An emergency has occurred."
An urgent transmission from Koushin, the Kaina Village surveillance system, reached Laojun. Laojun immediately opened a magi-line connection.
"Five Gigant Peeders have appeared at the Inado Mine. Their body length is approximately fifty meters."
Laojun already had a grasp of the situation based on reports from the general-purpose golems that had been mining underground.
While excavating, they had broken through into a subterranean cavern.
A magical beast lived there.
Its carapace was incredibly hard, making it a foe the general-purpose golems could not hope to match.
Having discovered an exit to the surface, the beasts had lunged toward the ground with relentless momentum.
The mucus spat from their mouths would melt any substance it touched, causing it to dissolve in a plume of white smoke.
These were the facts.
"Their form is similar to the magical beasts known as Peeders, but..."
A standard Peeder was a centipede-like magical beast, but they grew to fifty centimeters at most. By no stretch of the imagination should they be fifty meters.
"Shall we call them Gigant Peeders, then?"
The Gigant Peeders wriggled their countless legs, leaving the Inado Mine behind as they began to descend the mountain.
"Regardless of where they are heading, I must inform My Lord."
Jin was still on Hourai Island with his companions.
"Wh-What is that...?"
"...How loathsome."
The footage displayed on the mana-telecam in the first basement's command room was incredibly vivid. Not just the women, but even Jin and Reinhard could not hide their disgust.
"They make ground spiders look cute..."
The Gigant Peeders slowly made their way down the mountain. Their speed was roughly twenty kilometers per hour; fortunately, they were slower than anticipated.
"Are they heading for Kaina Village, or...?"
Whether they intended to attack Kaina Village or Toka Village, Jin knew he couldn't just stand by. He stood up.
"J-Jin, what are you going to do?" Saki asked, her face pale with worry. "You aren't suggesting you’ll try to handle those things yourself, are you!?"
"That’s exactly what I’m saying. Kaina Village is non-negotiable, and I have acquaintances in Toka Village as well. I'm the only one capable of stopping them."
"Jin-nii, I'm going too. There might be injuries."
Elsa spoke up, her face somewhat ashen, yet she maintained a resolute posture.
"Alright, let's go. Reinhard, the rest of you stay here and monitor the situation. Provide rear support if necessary. Laojun, use Maquina to rescue anyone who’s been left behind."
"Understood."
"...I see."
Just as Jin and Elsa were about to leave the room, Saki cried out.
"W-Wait! Take me with you! I don't know what I can do, but I can't just sit here!"
"All right. Let's move."
The three of them hurried out. Reinhard, Berche, Mine, and Stearena remained behind, their eyes fixed on the magi-screen.
The Gigant Peeders had just reached the main road connecting Kaina Village and Toka Village.
There, one of them turned right, while the remaining four turned left. Right led to Kaina Village; left led to Toka Village.
"I am activating the Stun barrier at Togo Pass at maximum intensity. This barrier..."
Laojun's voice echoed through the command room, followed by a brief explanation. While Reinhard and the others were impressed by Jin’s foresight, the fact that such a threat existed—one that might not even be stopped by such measures—sent a chill down their spines.
"If they breach Togo Pass, an emergency alert will be issued to Kaina Village. The plan is to evacuate everyone to the Nidou Castle shelter. If the Peeders attempt to cross the Erme River, we will transfer the residents to Kunlun Island."
It was a relief to hear that human casualties could likely be avoided thanks to the evacuation plan.
"Pegasus 1, launching."
Jin, Elsa, and Saki boarded Pegasus 1 and moved toward the transporter. Simultaneously, Titan 2 was activated. Likely due to Reiko being at the controls, Titan 2 possessed the highest overall performance of its kind.
"J-Jin, did you build that as well!?"
Saki was stunned by the sight of Titan. Elsa said nothing, but her expression spoke volumes.
First, Pegasus 1 was transferred. Using the position data provided by Koushin, they arrived with minimal margin of error. Jin immediately deployed Invisible.
Then, Titan 2 transferred in. It arrived safely, hovering a mere ten centimeters above the ground. It, too, immediately activated Invisible to remain hidden from the eyes of Kaina Village.
They were positioned on the wide riverbed of the Erme River, just below Togo Pass. A flash of light streaked across the pass above them.
"They hit the Stun barrier."
It was a Stun barrier at its highest possible output. The Gigant Peeder wasn't knocked unconscious, but it seemed to have sustained enough of a shock to turn 180 degrees.
With that, all five of them were now heading toward Toka Village. However, Toka Village was over fifty kilometers away in a straight line. They simply had to eliminate them before they arrived.
"Alright, let's go!"
Amidst the twilight, Jin piloted Pegasus 1 into the sky over Togo Pass.
"Th-This is bad! At this rate, either Toka Village or Kaina Village is going to be devastated!" Heinz Rush shouted, looking down from the heights.
"I-I don't know! D-Do something! You have to do something...!"
Viscount Bayer was bleeding from his forehead, having been struck by a piece of flying debris. He was in a state of utter panic.
"...This isn't something humans can deal with..." Boulton murmured, lost in resignation.
Five golems arrived on the scene. They were Land 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, sent via the transporter from Hourai Island.
"This area is dangerous. Please, come this way."
"Wh-Who are you? What is your goal!?" Boulton demanded, suspicious of their sudden appearance.
"We serve Lord Deus Ex Machina. We have been ordered to ensure your safety."
"Deus Ex Machina? That name sounds familiar..."
"Now is not the time. This way."
Boulton watched as Heinz, the Viscount, and the lone remaining coachman were guided toward safety by identical golems.
Just as they were led inside a silver structure unlike anything he had ever seen, he saw the other three lose consciousness.
Boulton braced himself, but his resistance was futile. He, too, blacked out just like the others.
"That should suffice. Store them within the Pelican and remain on standby in the air."
Laojun had ordered them to use the Stun barrier to knock the survivors out and protect them inside the Pelican. Since it was painless, he had determined this was the best way to safeguard Hourai Island’s secrets.
He did see to the Viscount's injury for the time being. However, considering it was the man's own fault, he limited the treatment to simple disinfection and stopping the bleed.
With no other targets left to protect for the moment, Pelican 3 soared into the sky while the five Land units stood guard on the ground.
"First, I'll try an attack with the laser."
It was the fastest weapon available. So long as the aim was true, it was virtually impossible to miss, and the targeting system was semi-automatic.
Jin lined up a shot on the lead Gigant Peeder and pulled the trigger.
A crimson beam of light shot out from the Laser Cannon mounted on the nose of Pegasus 1. It struck the center of the Gigant Peeder’s torso with perfect accuracy... and then it splintered.
To be precise, it was reflected.
The laser light struck the metallic luster of the carapace and was reflected away in a scattered burst.
"Whoa!"
"...But why?"
"Wh-What was that!?"
Elsa, who understood what a laser was, wore an expression of disbelief identical to Jin's. However, because a laser was light, it naturally obeyed the laws of optics.
In other words, it was ineffective against materials with high reflectivity.
Saki, on the other hand, was simply aghast at the existence of a magical beast capable of nullifying light magic.
The surrounding trees and shrubs were scorched where the reflected beams had struck them.
"...It looks like it did some damage, at least."
The center of the beast's torso was slightly charred.
Even a Gigant Peeder couldn't reflect 100 percent of the energy from a high-output Laser Cannon.
However, having sustained a wound, the lead Gigant Peeder became even more ferocious.