The Deformed Golem unleashed a Stop command at Reiko.
However, Reiko was not someone who could be stopped by such a trifle.
《Wh-Why?! Why can you still move after being hit by my magic?》
Indeed, the Deformed Golem had used Overwrite—the same magic once employed by the Unifilar—to disable the carriage's Golem Engine. Because the two units did not stop despite the spell being cast on both Reiko and Manon, the golem was struck with bewilderment.
"Such an outdated spell was countered four hundred years ago!"
Reiko started by delivering a light punch to the Deformed Golem that had stepped furthest forward. That single blow was enough to shatter the golem into pieces.
《Wh-What!》
《Wind Hammer! Thunder Javelin!》
Seeing their comrade defeated, the other Deformed Golems launched Wind Hammer and Thunder Javelin in quick succession at Reiko.
The two advanced-level spells were on a direct collision course with her, but they dispersed and vanished roughly five meters away. This was the effect of her magic barrier and solid barrier.
《Wh-What?!》
"That won't work," she said.
Reiko then kicked the nearest of the remaining two units. Naturally, the Deformed Golem was crushed beyond recognition.
Watching the battle, Jin confirmed that Wind Hammer and Thunder Javelin were being fired from different arms. He began to form a hypothesis about what the Deformed Golems were.
(I see. As expected of those following the lineage of the Magic Federation, these are golems specialized in magic. They have six arms because each corresponds to a different magic attribute. Lightning, wind, and Overwrite. The remaining three arms... are probably fire, water, and earth-attribute?)
He thought for a brief moment.
(If that’s the case, in order to show the one who sent these things what's what... alright!)
Having decided on his course of action, Jin shouted instructions to Reiko.
"Reiko! Take on the last one using magic!"
"Yes, Father."
Reiko had been a split second away from punching the final Deformed Golem, but she held back upon hearing Jin's command and leaped away to put some distance between them.
《How dare you, impudent girl! Flame Lance!》
A mass of crimson flames lunged at Reiko like a spear, but that, too, dispersed and vanished four meters in front of her.
"The last one was five meters, and this one was four. This spell was slightly more powerful than the others, then."
《Slightly, you say...! Can you still say that after this? Thunder Attack!!》
An electrical strike of an entirely different magnitude assaulted Reiko. Yet, this too was snuffed out three meters in front of her.
(Hmm. The amount of mana infused into those spells is roughly one-thousandth to two-thousandth of Reiko's capacity. That barrel-shaped torso is likely the mana tank.)
Jin continued his analysis while watching the attacks. Once he had a general idea, he used his Fellowship Bracelet to contact Laojun.
Incidentally, the carriage driver had long since fled, and the escorting knights had all lost consciousness from the aftereffects of the initial ambush. There was no concern about being overheard.
"Laojun, it's me. Regarding the Deformed Golems Reiko is fighting—can you identify who's controlling them?"
The answer came immediately.
『Yes, My Lord. The three units sent your way are being controlled by someone within the Royal Palace.』
"Oh, the Royal Palace?"
『Yes. It is the technical chief of the Ministry of Magi Technology.』
"I see. That explains why they possess a certain level of technology."
『Indeed. These golems appear to be the latest models from the Magic Federation.』
Jin felt that if these were the latest models, then an organization so riddled with contradictions truly had nothing worth noting in terms of technology.
Before Jin's eyes, the final Deformed Golem was reduced to a lump of molten steel by a beginner-level fire-attribute spell, Fireball, released by Reiko.
"Is that the end of it?"
It was anticlimactic, but that was the current state of the Kingdom of Elias.
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, the New King, who had arrived at the Royal Palace a step ahead of the others, was met by a special detachment of Magic Federation remnants.
"Your Majesty, please get back!"
Protecting the New King was Bartolo Eldiais, Commander of the Royal Ritter Order.
The carriage carrying the cabinet ministers had been separated from them; only the King's carriage remained here. And then...
"Vice-commander, so you were the traitor."
Standing in their way was Hugus Unlock, Vice-commander of the Royal Knights.
"You! Do you think you can get away with this?!"
The booming voice of Commander Bartolo echoed. However, Vice-commander Hugus Unlock brushed it off like the wind through the willows.
"No, no. I don't expect to 'get away' with anything. The Magic Federation is no more, after all."
Hugus replied that the only thing left for him to do was strike one final blow against this world.
"You bastard..."
Commander Bartolo's face twisted with regret for failing to notice the madness hidden within his vice-commander. He loathed his own stupidity for having trusted this capable man until so recently.
"Protect His Majesty!...N-No..."
He started to give the order to his subordinates to guard the New King, but the voice died in his throat. What if those subordinates were also traitors?
At that moment, a voice spoke.
"You protect His Majesty, Commander. I shall eliminate the enemies."
Recognizing it was not one of his men, Bartolo looked toward the source. It was the warrior golem presented that day by the Magi Craft Meister.
"...Volk, can you do it?" the New King asked.
"Yes, if you so command."
"...Very well. Eliminate those who oppose Me! Bartolo, you protect Me."
"As you command!"
"I am going!"
The Commander stepped between the New King and the enemy, and Volk leaped forward.
"Hmph. I grasped your performance during the mock battle earlier... Intercept it," Hugus Unlock ordered the ten combat golems lined up behind him.
Volk was about to collide with the first unit, but it dodged at the last second and performed a foot sweep. Having its leg swept just as it began to gain speed was devastating; the combat golem tumbled head over heels, rolling nearly ten meters before coming to a stop.
The direction was ninety degrees away from the King's carriage, so there was no danger to the vehicle.
Volk then succeeded in snatching a mace held by another unit. With a heavy strike, it knocked down another golem. Eight remained.
Furthermore, Volk moved casually to draw them away from the carriage. Without it being obvious, the battlefield shifted to a location distant from where the King sat.
Once this was achieved, Volk could exert its full power. It was a model Jin had specifically tuned for combat, and its fighting capability was immense.
With one swing of the mace, another unit was blown away. It was a strike with no holding back. For Volk's part, it disliked taking too much time. It understood that leaving the side of the King it was meant to protect for long was a poor move.
However, the mace could not withstand Volk's strength; by the time it defeated the second unit, the weapon snapped in half and became useless.
Even so, Volk did not stop.
Its fists, made of 64 light silver and treated with Jin's Hardening and Toughening, easily crumpled the steel plating of the combat golems' armor. Throwing techniques executed at full power launched the combat golems—which weighed over 400 kilograms—several meters through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the number of combat golems dwindled.
"Wh... What is the meaning of this?! How can that golem be so strong?!"
Hugus Unlock could not comprehend what was happening. He was merely a knight who held magi-craft in contempt, and thus he lacked the eye to discern a golem's true functions.
"You fool. You claim to reject magic technology and magi-craft, yet you rely on golems. Do you not see the contradiction?" the New King said.
Hugus Unlock could find no words to counter the King's statement. Before his very eyes, the seventh combat golem was rendered inoperable.
"Oh, this is magnificent! As expected of a creation by the Magi Craft Meister!"
The simple-hearted Commander of the Royal Ritter Order was moved by Volk's fighting prowess.
"Truly, alongside the human ritter orders, we require a security force or a warrior corps composed of golems!"
He had begun to sense that the current military armaments of the Kingdom of Elias were lopsided.
(Hmm. As expected of a work by the Magi Craft Meister. I suspected it was holding back considerably during the mock battle earlier, and I was right.)
Adalbert Nemo Elias I, the New King of the Kingdom of Elias, nodded with great satisfaction.