The morning of August 25 arrived.
Jin announced his departure from the All-Creation clan’s settlement.
The newly reclaimed fields now spanned twenty hectares, and fifty agricultural golems had been completed in total. These units were equipped with communication functions linked to Laojun, allowing them to send reports or receive instructions. This served as insurance in case they were ever seized by radical factions.
With a sufficient supply of frost barrier generators also in place, the All-Creation clan finally had a clear prospect of achieving self-sufficiency.
"It’s about time we visited the other moderate factions," Jin said.
"Yes, Jin-sama. We are counting on you."
Belialus of the Puppet clan—currently treated as a guest—and the All-Creation Clan Chief, Baldius, both bowed their heads.
The next destination was the Puppet clan’s territory. A messenger sent two days ago had reported that the clan appeared to have escaped the influence of the Agujha.
"Regarding that, I would like to send someone with you," the Clan Chief added.
If a leader-level member of the All-Creation clan accompanied them, negotiations would likely proceed more smoothly.
"In that case, I will go," All-Creation volunteered.
"Hmm, All-Creation? Very well. Then Rolona, you shall go as well."
"Yes, I understand."
It was decided that the mother and daughter, All-Creation and Rolona, would be the companions for this trip. Netros would serve as their sole guard.
"What? What about me?" Sion complained, but she was told she was far too young for such a journey and was forced to back down.
"Ugh... Jin, make sure you come back, okay?" Sion said, looking up at him expectantly. Jin (via his Double) gave her head a light, affectionate pat. Sion took that as his answer and said nothing more.
"Well then, until next time."
Jin (via his Double) waved from the skylight of the Capricorn 1.
"Jin-sama, thank you for everything!"
"Jin-sama, take care!"
"Jin-sama, please come again!"
Seeing off by the All-Creation clan, the Capricorn 1 headed west. The settlement where the Puppet clan lived was said to be located slightly further inland.
"Our clan has about thirty members," Belialus explained. "We do not have servants like the All-Creation clan. Instead, we tame and employ magical beasts."
Belialus mentioned that they used ground worms to till the soil.
"We don't use hekatonkheirs much." Though they were large and powerful, hekatonkheirs were carnivores, making them difficult to feed. For that reason, they had little utility outside of combat.
"If only we had the golems Jin-dono created..."
"If you have the materials, I can make them," Jin replied.
"Truly?! That would be most appreciated!"
As they traveled, Jin gathered various pieces of information from Belialus. After a break for lunch, they traveled for a little over five hours at twenty kilometers per hour. The Capricorn 1 had covered roughly one hundred kilometers.
"We are almost at the settlement."
The surrounding area had become a wasteland dotted with coniferous forests.
"It looks like this, but there are plenty of small animals, and our clan primarily lives by hunting them."
He explained that a relative of the rabbit called the rock ice rabbit had delicious meat and that its fur was used for cold-weather gear. The gondo-caribou was a large species of reindeer; catching just one provided a significant amount of meat. Naturally, the hides were used for winter clothing and rugs.
It seemed the Puppet clan specialized in hunting. They occasionally traded meat for agricultural products with the All-Creation clan.
"Ah, there it is. Over there—"
"Abnormal magic power detected!" Land 1 interrupted. Based on the tone, it was a high-priority emergency. "A powerful magic signature is approaching from the north."
Something was happening just as the Puppet clan's settlement came into view.
"Jin-sama, what is it?" Rolona and All-Creation asked in panicked voices.
"Hold on a moment... It seems three giant dragons are approaching."
This information came from Falcon 2 and Falcon 3, which were providing aerial support.
"D-Dragons?!"
"There shouldn't be any dragons around here!"
"And three of them?!"
Typically, the larger a magical beast was, the more free ether it required to maintain its body. Therefore, they usually remained confined to high-latitude regions and did not wander south.
"Perhaps the Negadoll did something," Anne speculated.
It was safe to assume the enemy knew Jin and his group had liberated the Gospel and All-Creation clans from the Agujha. It was also easy to imagine they would continue to liberate other moderate factions.
"In that case, they might have decided to set dragons upon the moderate factions to crush them entirely... or so I suspect."
"That's possible," Jin agreed. Seeing how calm he remained, Belialus grew frantic.
"Jin-dono! Not even the Puppet clan has anyone who can tame a dragon! We must retreat!"
However, Jin (via his Double) shook his head. "We won't make it. The dragons' approach speed exceeds one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. The maximum speed of this Capricorn 1 is seventy kilometers per hour. We can't outrun them."
"Th-Then what do you plan to do?!" Belialus, turning pale, dropped his formal tone entirely.
Meanwhile, Laojun, who was currently operating the Body Double, was receiving detailed information about the dragons from Falcon 2 and Falcon 3. From past experience, he knew that the strength of a magical beast was roughly proportional to its stored magic power.
Hekatonkheir, death sea serpent, sea dragon, gigant peeder—while the approaching dragons possessed magic power exceeding that of a sea dragon, Laojun did not believe they posed a threat to Reiko and the others.
At the Puppet clan's settlement visible in the far distance, the residents also seemed to have sensed the dragons' approach, as several people had come outside and were standing on guard.
"Belialus, I want you to go to your clan and calm them down."
"Huh?"
"Magical beasts that are merely large are no match for a Magi Craft Meister."
Laojun made the Body Double utter a line that the real Jin would likely never say. He had judged that by exterminating the dragons right before the eyes of the Puppet clan, they could win their trust in a single stroke.
"C-Can you really do it?"
"It will be fine, Belialus-san," All-Creation said, backing him up. "Jin-sama defeated the stone golems as if they were made of clay. I'm sure he can take care of dragons too."
"Ugh... I-I understand."
At this point, he had no choice but to trust Jin. Belialus opened the skylight and leaped out. Using physical reinforcement, he reached his clan in the blink of an eye. Since they too had been liberated from the curse of the Agujha, Jin could see them welcoming Belialus back immediately.
"Alright, all that's left is to exterminate the dragons before their eyes."
As Jin (via his Double) murmured this, small dots appeared in his vision. They grew larger by the second.
"Grandragons...!"
They were terrestrial dragons with grayish-brown bodies, resembling massive iguanas. Their body length was about twenty meters. According to Rolona, they were the natural predators of hekatonkheirs.
"It is said that they prey on hekatonkheirs."
"I see..."
"For some reason, attack magic—including Gravity Magic—doesn't work very well on them!"
"Eh?"
That was news to him. Did they have some kind of special ability? The grandragons would arrive in a dozen or so seconds. He could see clouds of dust rising in the distance.
Laojun continued to observe through the Body Double's eyes. He considered whether they could be used as materials and confirmed that there were parts that seemed quite useful.
The scales and the protrusions on the back seem usable.
Therefore, he would not use Mana Explosion. He also ruled out weapons that were difficult to explain, such as lasers.
I want to defeat them as flashily as possible.
And then, he reached a conclusion.
"Reiko, Anne. May I leave this to you?"