"Now then, the lead pack has reached the turn-around point!...The pylon here is truly something else, isn't it? Perhaps calling it a pillar of light would be most fitting."
As Yuzo Mayaka provided the play-by-play commentary, Maquina chimed in with the explanation.
"Since a solid structure would pose a danger in the event of a collision, we developed a brand-new barrier for this purpose."
An object in flight could lose its stability and risk crashing from even the slightest external disturbance. The barrier was an attempt to mitigate that danger as much as possible.
"I see, that's brilliant....In the lead is Bib #9! Pulling ahead by about ten meters from the rest of the field, right now, he makes the turn!!"
"A magnificent turn as well."
"Following right behind, Bib #2, #8, and #7 make their turns one after another!"
"It looks like Bib #2 and #8 have traded places."
Although Bib #8 prioritized raw speed, clever tactics or maneuvering had allowed Bib #2 to pull ahead.
"The rest follow in sequence: 1, 6, 3, 4, 5, and 10!"
Numbers 6, 3, and 5 had each climbed one position since the start, while Number 4 had dropped two places.
"Ohh."
"This is genuinely thrilling."
Ernest XVII, attending as an invited guest, leaned forward with his eyes glued to the massive magi-screen.
"Seeing it firsthand like this makes me want to take the controls myself."
Even Magic Technology Minister Cowen Lacca Kido couldn't help chiming in.
"Indeed it does," King of Klein Kingdom Melikalans I agreed.
Taking to the skies was an enduring dream of mankind, after all, and witnessing it unfold before their very eyes only seemed to fan the flames of that longing.
"Our nation must also dedicate itself to mass-producing these Blow Floaters."
And so, the yearning for the sky proved to be thoroughly contagious.
"They have begun to move."
Back on Hourai Island, Laojun detected the onset of the anticipated emergency through the Peeper.
"Oh, finally?"
Having received the report, Jin walked into the command room.
"It's those nobles who were purged from the Klein Kingdom, right?"
"Yes, My Lord. More precisely, they are former nobles whose titles were stripped."
"Right. So, what did they do?"
"They have dispatched all fifteen of the combat golems they had prepared."
"Hmph....Not holding anything back, are they?"
Jin wondered in the back of his mind if this counted as staking everything on a single throw of the dice.
"Jin, I heard! Is someone trying to disrupt things?"
"You're going to stop them, aren't you?"
Reinhard and Elsa arrived together.
"I wonder what will happen."
"Kufu, humans really do love their fighting, don't they?"
Berche and Saki followed shortly behind them into the command room.
"S-Sorry I'm late! Jin-san, what's the situation with the people trying to disrupt the air race?"
Lishia hurried in as well.
Soon after, the remaining members all gathered, filling the command room with lively chatter.
"Everyone, please take a look. That is the golem unit deployed by the conspirators."
Laojun's voice cut through the noise.
"...They look kind of pitiful, don't they?" Beena was the first to speak up. "After getting used to Jin's golems, you can tell right away that bulky, overdecorated armor like that is all show and no substance."
"Haha, well, thank you."
"Ah, but aren't two of them splitting off in another direction, Onii-chan?"
Looking at the monitor after Hanna pointed it out, thirteen units were advancing toward Toka Village, while two were heading the opposite way.
Their location was a rocky area along the highway linking Toka Village and Kaina Village, closer to the Toka side.
Which meant...
"Are those two heading for Kaina Village?!"
Did they intend to trample it while they were at it? A surge of anger rose within Jin.
"Like hell I'll let them."
Right then, a voice rang out.
"Father, allow me to go."
It was Reiko, Hourai Island's greatest and most formidable asset.
"Reiko, will you handle this for me?"
"Yes, please leave it to me."
"All right, Laojun. Add Reiko to our deployed forces and commence the attack."
"Understood."
Along the highway between Toka Village and Kaina Village lay a stretch of rocky terrain. It was roughly a two-kilometer journey from Toka Village.
Long ago, when Jin had first been taken in by Kaina Village, he had been ambushed by a golem near this very spot while hauling wheat on a handcart to pay his taxes.
That golem had been destroyed by Jin and subsequently reborn as the Guardians of Kaina Village, Gon and Gen.
Now, in that exact same rocky area, the golems prepared by the former nobles nursing grudges against the Klein Kingdom emerged.
The terrain was riddled with caves, making it an ideal staging ground to hide golems.
They had kept the machines concealed within the caverns, only to wake them up at this precise moment.
"Go! Golems! Burn the village! Destroy everything!!"
"Lay waste to it all!!"
Just as the two men on the scene finished barking their orders to the golems...
"—Caught in the act, aren't you?"
A young girl's voice resonated through the air.
"What? Who the hell are you?"
"It is not too late. Stop the golems at once. If you comply, you may at least be spared the harshest punishment."
The men merely snorted and laughed off her warning.
"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Save your babbling for your dreams, little girl. You really looking to get hurt?"
One was clearly a former noble, while the other's rough, crude demeanor marked him as a guard.
"Is that so? Then I will not hold back."
Speaking in a remarkably calm voice, the girl vanished from before their eyes.
A single second later, accompanied by a deafening roar, the two golems heading toward Kaina Village were reduced to absolute scrap.
"...Huh?"
The two men were left frozen on the spot, mouths agape in utter disbelief at what had just happened.