Ten members of the Shinobi Squad were deployed to the vicinity of Lake Aoba in New El.
Hidden there were the golems belonging to the Invasion Faction of the Progenitors.
Laojun had already pinpointed the exact coordinates using the Peeper, so the team encountered no difficulties during the approach. The Shinobi Squad teleported to a position exactly twenty meters west of their objective.
〈So this is Lake Aoba,〉 Shinobi 1 murmured, scanning the terrain. 〈Watch your step. The ground is soft.〉
For the small-bodied Shinobi Squad, muddy terrain was a significant obstacle. All ten units activated their Force Generators, gliding effortlessly over the mire.
〈The entrance is... here.〉
They arrived at a rocky mountain about one kilometer from the lake. Halfway up the slope, a cave mouth yawned open. Maintaining their flight with the Force Generators, the Shinobi Squad drifted inside without issue.
〈So far, so good. The real problems start further in.〉
The outer cave was large enough for wild animals like forest bears to enter, so it wasn't equipped with sensors that would react to the Shinobi Squad's presence.
However, the true entrance located deep within the cavern was another matter entirely. It was protected by three layers of security, the first of which was a barrier.
This was a rudimentary illusion barrier, a simple optical camouflage designed to make a hollow space look like a solid rock wall.
〈Crossing this shouldn't trigger any alerts.〉
Laojun had predicted that because small animals might occasionally wander through it, the system wouldn't be programmed to raise an alarm for every minor disturbance.
Shinobi 1 waited for thirty minutes. When no countermeasures manifested, he determined they had cleared the first layer.
〈Moving to the second.〉
This layer required a password, much like the security Reiko had recently bypassed with Laojun’s assistance.
Since Laojun had already cracked this specific security measure once before, he decrypted the password instantly. A door disguised as the rear rock wall slid open.
〈Confirmed. The password is "OVQ145."〉
Shinobi 1 was the first to cross the threshold. Beyond the door was a small chamber, though the walls and ceiling remained unfinished rock.
Waiting for them there was the final security measure.
The third layer was a golem.
It was a small-class golem, standing roughly seventy centimeters tall with the proportions of an infant. Upon seeing the data, Laojun felt certain that the small golems used by the Bandit Group in the Klein Kingdom had been built by reverse-engineering or stealing this specific technology.
First, the barrier—physical security. Second, the password—informational security. Now, the third security measure—the golem—stood blocking the door the Shinobi Squad needed to reach.
〈It has transitioned from a dormant state to a standby state,〉 Shinobi 1 noted.
It had likely activated the moment they bypassed the second layer of security. If they approached any closer, it would undoubtedly shift from standby to an active state and move to eliminate the intruders. It was a delicate situation.
Shinobi 1 contacted Laojun to consult on how to proceed.
＊ ＊ ＊
On Hourai Island, Laojun began analyzing potential countermeasures.
"If we had the Magi Emulator my My Lord was considering previously, this might have been a simple matter."
A Magi Emulator was a magi-device capable of replicating the magic pattern of a specific individual or machine. In short, it was a tool designed to deceive other magi-devices. In this scenario, if they could have replicated the magic patterns of the ten (tentatively named) Maintenance and Inspection Automata, they could have walked right past the third security layer.
"But there is no use wishing for tools we do not possess."
Laojun weighed secondary options. The entire process took less than a second.
"What if we used the transporter to bypass the golem and go straight to the door?" "Or perhaps disable the golem with a Magic Canceller or an ether eliminator?" "Or if we use the transporter, why not teleport the golem itself to a remote location?"
After evaluating roughly twenty different plans, Laojun issued a directive.
"Use the Magi Deceiver."
The Magi Deceiver was a device Jin had created about a year ago to trick control cores and magi-brains.
Golems use sensors that take physical inputs—such as light, sound, or heat—but the outputs sent to the golem’s core are all converted into magi. The Magi Deceiver worked by interfering with those sensor outputs. It was effectively a highly localized illusion barrier.
However, since Jin had created it largely out of technical curiosity, its functionality was limited. Specifically, it could only make a target perceive that "nothing is happening." For this mission, however, that was more than enough.
Laojun immediately teleported a Magi Deceiver to Shinobi 1’s location.
＊ ＊ ＊
Shinobi 1 took the Magi Deceiver sent by Laojun, aimed it at the golem, and activated the device.
〈With this, the golem should be under the illusion that everything is normal. Let’s go.〉
〈Understood!〉
The ten members of the Shinobi Squad slipped past the stationary golem and headed for the door at the back of the room. Using their Force Generators to assist in prying it open, they confirmed that the space beyond was their true objective.
Inside, they found approximately one hundred Deformed Golems.
Among them were Mono, Ji, and Teto—the same models that had been active recently. The Shinobi Squad transmitted the visual data back to Laojun.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I see. This is quite fascinating."
Powerful barriers had been erected around this hangar, preventing even the Peeper from seeing inside. Now that the door was open, a gap had formed in the barrier, allowing Laojun to see everything through the eyes of the Shinobi Squad.
There were nineteen golems of the same model as Mono, Ji, and Teto.
"And those over there... are they specialized for underwater combat?"
Besides the land units, there were three groups of twenty golems each, their outward appearances suggesting specialized roles.
"The space between Ji and Teto is unnaturally empty... I suspect another golem should be stationed there."
If one mapped the names Mono, Ji, and Teto to the numerical prefixes Jin was familiar with, they corresponded to one, two, and four. It felt as though "three" was missing. The physical gap between Ji and Teto seemed to confirm this hypothesis.
"If the name is based on three, perhaps it is called 'Tri'... No, there is little point in speculating on that now."
With so little data, any guess was unlikely to be accurate. Laojun set the matter of Tri aside and continued organizing the incoming information.
"So, nineteen units have adamantite-based exteriors... identical to Mono."
These were the headless, four-armed types. Laojun categorized them as land-combat models. Then there were twenty golems very similar to the Mermaid units of Hourai Island. These were undoubtedly specialized for underwater operations.
"And they are carrying weapons...?"
There were sixty more golems, divided into groups of twenty based on their armament.
"Swords, spears, and bows..."
With twenty of each, Laojun surmised they were intended for deployment based on specific tactical needs.
"The design of the weapons... this is also new data."
Laojun was quite satisfied with the acquisition of information regarding the weaponry of the Progenitors.