Reiko and Anne moved to intercept the Grandragons as the massive creatures charged forward, kicking up thick clouds of dust.
『Since this is also a demonstration, please be as flashy as possible.』
"Understood," Reiko replied.
Magical beasts with high magic resistance generally tend to be relatively weak against physical attacks. Reiko carried Touka on her back and held a magi-cannon in her hands, while Anne brought along a vibration sword and mana bombs.
"Let's go, Anne."
"Yes, Elder Sister."
The two leapt out from the skylight of the Capricorn 1. The distance to the Grandragons had already closed to less than 200 meters.
Most of the Puppet Clan had come out from their settlement and were watching with bated breath.
"Wh-What are those two doing?"
"Two women? No, one's just a girl!"
"That's reckless! What are they thinking?"
However, those doubts turned into pure astonishment just a few seconds later.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Magi-cannon, lead rounds, fire!"
To stop the three Grandragons' momentum, Reiko fired three lead rounds in rapid succession.
While soft lead lacked sheer destructive power, it transferred all of its kinetic energy to the target upon impact, making it highly effective for delivering a concussive shock.
The three Grandragons, sprinting at nearly 200 kilometers per hour, took the lead rounds to their chests and recoiled with thunderous roars. Their speed dropped by more than half. Reiko immediately fired the next volley.
Targeting the heads of the slowed Grandragons, she launched three steel rounds.
A roar that shook the very earth echoed out—a cry of intense pain. The creatures' heads appeared to be incredibly hard, and while the steel rounds were deflected significantly, they clearly dealt damage.
The three charging Grandragons ground to a halt 100 meters in front of the Capricorn 1.
"Anne, the mana bombs."
"Yes, Elder Sister."
Following Reiko's instructions, Anne hurled the mana bombs.
The mana bombs were devices that utilized the principles of a mana explosion. While the explosion itself was triggered by magic, the resulting effect was purely physical.
Even though the Grandragons were resistant to magic, they suffered significant damage from physical destructive force. The wounds from the bomb fragments were negligible, but the resulting shockwaves rattled the Grandragons' relatively small brains and completely paralyzed their dull sense of hearing.
"Armor-piercing rounds, fire."
The third volley consisted of armor-piercing rounds specialized for penetration. These were projectile-shaped rounds with hyper-adamantite tips, launched at Mach 20.
Fired at a close range of less than 100 meters, the armor-piercing rounds impacted with a booming shockwave, punching clean through the Grandragons' torsos. The three beasts roared in further agony.
Reiko decided to close in for the finish.
"Anne, we're moving in for direct combat!"
"Yes, Elder Sister!"
＊ ＊ ＊
The members of the Puppet Clan watched with bated breath. An unbelievable sight was unfolding before their eyes.
Three Grandragons had been approaching at an incredible speed. Just when the clan thought their settlement would be overrun in a matter of seconds, a series of deafening cracks rang out, and the Grandragons recoiled with roars of pain.
Before the onlookers could even cover their ears, a subsequent thunderous boom slowed the creatures' movements. By the time the final roar of the weapons subsided, the dragons had stopped completely.
Not only that, but small holes had been punched through their torsos, and the beasts were now writhing in pain, bleeding profusely.
"Wh-What in the world is happening...?"
Belialus spoke to his kin with pride. "They are the servants of the Magi Craft Meister, Jin-dono."
"The Magi Craft Meister!?"
"That is right. Jin-dono has come to save us."
Even as they exchanged those words, the battle reached its climax.
"Ha!"
Reiko swung Touka and sliced off a Grandragon's front leg. A moment later, Anne similarly severed another's limb. Without slowing down, Reiko moved to the third dragon and sliced off its front leg as well.
As the Grandragons thrashed about, one of their heads dipped near the ground. In that instant, Reiko's fist swung out. Seeing the result, the members of the Puppet Clan let out a uniform cry of wonder.
"Wh-What...!"
"Unbelievable...!"
Reiko's punch sent the Grandragon flying dozens of meters. The massive beast landed on its back and lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.
The blue-haired woman followed suit. Anne's strike sent another Grandragon tumbling back until it, too, ceased to move. Only one remained.
"Wh-What was that!?"
The black-haired girl and the blue-haired woman seemed to blur as they crossed paths, and in a flash, all of the final Grandragon's remaining legs were sliced off.
Then the massive body was sent airborne. Reiko and Anne had kicked it simultaneously. The Grandragon flew over 100 meters, crashing into the ground with a massive tremor and sinking into the dirt, never to move again.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Magi Craft Meister Jin-sama, we welcome you!"
"Thank you for saving our clan!"
Jin (via his Double) stood before the members of the Puppet Clan with Reiko and Anne following behind him.
"I am the Clan Chief, Maximus. I do not know how to adequately thank you for this," the leader said, bowing his head deeply.
Thus, Jin and his party were formally accepted by the Puppet Clan.
"The Agujha found here were of the same variety as before."
Over the course of half a day, Nurse 1 and Nurse 2 removed the Agujha from twenty-five people.
Arshel and four others—members of the clan who leaned toward the radical faction—were reported missing. It was highly likely that those five were hostile toward humanity even without the influence of the Agujha.
"We will need to persuade them as soon as we find them," Jin noted.
"Indeed. Jin-dono, would you be willing to let Belialus accompany you for a while?" Maximus asked.
"Yes, that would be best. Someone from their own clan will have a much easier time reaching them."
While deciding on their next course of action, Jin proceeded with agricultural reforms here as well. He created twenty agricultural golems, Agrii units 101 through 120, and ten barrier generators to protect against frost damage. Given the size of the clan and their lifestyle as hunters, this would likely be enough to sustain them.
He left behind 200 kilograms of wheat as well. In return, he received various magical beast materials. Jin obtained a large quantity of Snow Tiger fur and icefield lizard leather. He had no idea how much they would sell for in the Allied Kingdoms, though he had no intention of selling them.
He was in high spirits after obtaining many other rare materials as well. Of course, the most valuable were the scales and hides of the Grandragons that Reiko and Anne had defeated.
"I'll have to look into their properties thoroughly when I get back," Jin's Double remarked. In reality, the materials had already been sent to Hourai Island via Warp Gate and were already in the hands of the real Jin.
＊ ＊ ＊
"The difficult part starts now, I suppose," Jin muttered to himself while operating his Double.
『My Lord, I have grasped the movements of Negadoll 001.』
"Oh, is that so? That must have been difficult work. Report, please."
『Understood.』
An autumn wind began to blow across the lands of the demon race. The full-scale battle against Negadoll 001 was about to begin.