Half a day had passed.
Unfortunately, even the giant enemy golem failed to yield any useful information. Its construction was merely an extension of existing, known technology.
Jin worked tirelessly alongside Reiko and the Smiths to install magi-certifiers on every golem and ninety percent of the major facilities on Hourai Island. All that remained were passive facilities—things like the Magi Machines used for crafting and the control cores for warehouse management.
"Is Little Laojun ready as well?"
『Yes, My Lord.』
Little Laojun was the magi-brain responsible for managing the artificial satellite Watcher.
"Alright. As of this moment, deactivate the magic barriers. Keep only the solid barriers active."
『Understood....Processing complete.』
This meant the means of communication with the outside world had finally been restored.
"Contact Jack on Uni and have him take over control of the Watcher. Also, Pegasus 2 should be in the air. Confirm its status and establish contact."
『...Handover of the Watcher complete....Pegasus 2 confirmed. Establishing contact now.』
Laojun was already well aware of Pegasus 2, as it had been built right here on Hourai Island.
"The one piloting it is Hope, the assistant golem I made over there."
『Understood....Contact established.』
"Keep it on standby in the air for now."
『Yes....Communication ended.』
"Right, next is the enemy fleet. Laojun, what’s the situation?"
『Yes, My Lord. An enemy fleet is surrounding Hourai Island. There are one hundred and five vessels in total. All of them are unmanned magi-ships.』
This data came from images provided by the Watcher and investigation via the Peeping Telescope.
"I see... Let's start by neutralizing those nuisances."
Jin considered the order and method of attack before coming to a conclusion.
"Let's start with a small test: sweep the forces in Tatsumi Bay!"
There were twelve enemy ships stationed in Tatsumi Bay. Since the solid barrier was still active, physical attacks were impossible, but magical effects could pass through freely.
"Use the transporter to send in some mana bombs. The smallest class will be fine."
『Understood.』
Following orders, Laojun teleported a single minimum-yield mana bomb onto one of the twelve enemy ships.
Constructed mostly of wood, the ship stood no chance against even a small mana bomb. It was heavily damaged and sank in a single blast. Jin, watching the event on the magi-screen in the command room, nodded.
"Good. Keep them coming. Have the Mermaid unit and Marine squad recover the sunken ships and golems."
『Understood.』
Laojun continued the bombardment with mana bombs. One after another, the enemy ships were crippled and sank to the bottom of the bay. The Marine squad and Mermaid unit moved in immediately to recover the wreckage.
In short order, Tatsumi Bay was cleared of enemy vessels.
"Alright, let's examine the recovered ships."
Since the Warp Gate installed at Tatsumi Bay was functioning perfectly, the components of the destroyed ships were sent over immediately.
"Let's see... Reiko, help me out."
"Yes, Father!"
With Reiko acting as his eager assistant, Jin began to analyze the enemy ships.
"The hull... the wood they used is likely coniferous."
Coniferous and broadleaf trees have different cellular structures, making them easy to distinguish even after being processed into lumber.
"The structural reinforcements are bronze treated with Toughening."
The material strength had only increased by about twenty percent, leading Jin to judge the craftsmanship as technically crude.
"Father, there are no control cores."
Jin imagined they must have sunk to the seabed when the ships were destroyed. However, it seemed the Mermaid unit had already recovered them; the second shipment through the Warp Gate included four control cores.
"Maybe we can get some information from these. 'Analyze'."
"I shall check them as well. 'Analyze'."
However, these control cores only contained enough information to receive instructions and attack specific targets. It seemed the ones Reiko checked were the same. The orders were simple: "Treat everything on Hourai Island as an enemy and suppress it. Destruction is permitted."
"...Don't mess with me. Just what do they think Hourai Island has done?...Fine. If you're coming at us with the intent to destroy, then you’d better be prepared to be destroyed yourselves."
Learning this, Jin decided there was no longer any need for restraint.
"I'll show them exactly who they're picking a fight with."
Jin concluded that the Magic Federation had effectively declared war on Hourai Island.
"In that case, there must be someone giving the orders nearby."
"You're right."
Jin gave his next set of instructions to Laojun.
"Laojun, among the ships surrounding the island, is there any that stands out? Size, model, movement... anything at all."
『I will investigate.』
With the Watcher serving as its eyes again, the task was simple.
『There do not appear to be any such vessels among the fleet surrounding the island, but there is one fifty-meter-class large ship a short distance away. I believe that may be the command vessel.』
"I see....Alright, let's seize it. While we do that, we'll neutralize the rest of the fleet."
『Understood.』
In addition to the mana bombs, Laojun deployed ten units of the Sky squad via the transporter. They were to sink the fleet using laser attacks from high altitude. Simultaneously, Laojun dispatched the flagship Adriana to capture the large vessel.
Its response seemed to overflow with a subtle sense of joy. Perhaps because it had finally reunited with its creator, not just Reiko but Laojun as well was feeling unusually motivated.
"Oh, this is good."
The magi-screen in the command room showed the enemy fleet's numbers dwindling rapidly. Lasers rained down from the Raptors piloted by the Sky squad, punching holes straight through the enemy vessels. Enemy ships were being sunk at a rate of ten per minute.
Within ten minutes, there were no more enemy signatures left around the island.
For the three-hundred-meter-long spaceship Adriana, capturing a fifty-meter-class vessel was a trivial task. By using the Force Rod to seize it and simply lifting it out of the water, the enemy ship was rendered helpless. Even when the captured ship attempted a final, desperate attack, the flagship's magic barrier and solid barrier didn't even flinch.
"That was surprisingly quick..."
Back in the command room, Jin felt a sense of anticlimax.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Adriana carried the captured enemy ship directly up into satellite orbit. This was a bold move made possible by the confirmation that no living beings were on board.
"They won't be able to do anything in this state."
Jin was able to investigate the interior himself using the Peeping Telescope.
"...Hmm, the structure is basically the same as the other ships."
It was built with bronze structural components and coniferous wood planking. Its propulsion system was comprised of six Aqua Thrusters. Its armaments included a Magi Emulator and a magi-device capable of firing Thunder Javelins—a Thunder Javelin Cannon.
Whether they could be called a crew or not was debatable, but there were ten golems on board—the same type as the ones that had been hostile during the search for Reiko. Jin judged that they were likely intended as a suppression force.
And finally.
"The control core..."
Jin decided he wanted to examine it directly rather than analyzing it remotely. He instructed Taisei, the magi-brain overseeing the Adriana, to have Cosmos 2 recover the control core and send it through the Warp Gate.
『My Lord, the control core has arrived from the Adriana.』
"Oh, good."
Jin received it from Laozi, Laojun’s mobile terminal.
"It's huge."
It was three to four times the size of the control cores Jin usually used.
"The magi-crystal quality is poor, and the technique for writing in the magi-formulas is rudimentary."
Jin immediately began the analysis, a look of genuine excitement on his face.