3:30 AM.
The twenty Arma units under Deus Ex Machina and Squire Rei launched a simultaneous assault on the bandits.
"Enemy at—"
One of the sentries was fairly alert, but he was knocked unconscious just as he began shouting, "Enemy attack!"
"Gaaah!"
The other managed only a brief shriek before his consciousness slipped away as well.
Meanwhile, Squire Rei fell upon the enemy's golem...
"...That was weaker than I expected."
She neutralized it with effortless ease.
The bandits inside the hideout were sound asleep, slipping straight from slumber into unconsciousness without uttering a single cry.
The remaining two golems were likewise silenced completely after a mere three punches from an Arma.
The only miscalculation on Deus Ex Machina's part was:
"...We really didn't need the weapons."
"I have no idea why I even had them carry them..."
There had simply been too little resistance.
It seemed that even the magi-brain Mentor was capable of such errors in judgment.
Since it had not been an open clash, the built-in Paralyzers were more than enough to handle most of the work.
And because ordinary weapons were useless against golems anyway, the Arma units had simply relied on raw physical power.
"Oh well. Tie up all the humans. Disconnect the energy sources from the golems and secure them."
Next, Deus Ex Machina decided to load them all aboard the Aristotle and transport them to Avalon.
Incidentally, almost none of the stolen food was found.
"It might have already been shipped out to their headquarters."
If so, Deus Ex Machina reasoned that finding that transport squad would reveal the headquarters' location.
In other words, it was time for Laojun to make its move.
That morning.
Through Reiko, Jin learned that Deus Ex Machina had suppressed the bandits and captured every last one of them.
"That wrapped up quickly."
Hearing that Deus Ex Machina was currently transporting all the bandits to Avalon on the Aristotle put his mind at ease.
When he relayed the news to the villagers gathered at the village chief's house:
"Oh! That's wonderful news!"
"They captured all of them?!"
"Now we can live in peace."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Even if it had only been for a single night, they had spent it away from their own homes, fraught with anxiety either inside or around the village chief's house.
One could only imagine the immense relief they felt upon hearing the danger was gone.
Jin quietly contacted Laojun and asked it to transfer enough Persica juice for all the villagers aboard the Hurricane.
Two seconds later, the transfer was complete.
With that done, Jin addressed the crowd:
"Um, everyone, thank you for your patience throughout the night. I'd like to share some juice that helps relieve fatigue, so please come and get some."
A container was lowered from the Hurricane, which hovered ten meters above the village chief's house.
The lack of downwash was thanks to the barrier projector keeping it aloft, though none of the villagers were aware of that.
Jin pulled 120-milliliter glass bottles of Persica juice from the container and began handing them out to the villagers.
With Helga, Kachea, and Reiko assisting, they finished distributing them in about fifteen minutes.
As an aside, Persica on Hourai Island was harvested at dozens of times their actual consumption rate, with the surplus processed into juice and stored away.
A portion was kept in a mana tank, where magical materials could be preserved semi-permanently, while the rest was stored in a free ether box that enhanced the purity of magical materials.
The contents of the free ether box could be used as pharmaceuticals.
Those stored in the mana tank served as nourishing tonics, giving Jin the mental image of the nutritional energy drinks commonly sold in modern Japan.
That was why he had used brown glass bottles this time, though the closures were simple cork stoppers.
Most of the villagers drank it right there on the spot.
"Oh! I feel so refreshed!"
"My energy is back!"
"I was dead tired, but now I feel completely awake!"
With lively comments like these, everyone headed home with light steps.
Incidentally, none of the empty bottles were returned. It seemed they intended to wash and reuse them.
"Well, that's fine."
Jin used to hoard empty drink bottles himself back in the day, so he was in no position to judge.
Whenever people thought, "This might come in handy for something," it was awfully hard to throw things away.
Now, among the gang of bandits captured in the raid, there was a single man who had escaped the dragnet.
It was the man leading the transport squad toward their headquarters.
This transport squad also consisted of golems, each possessing more than three times the strength of a sturdy horse.
These golems were pulling a large cargo wagon. Because they were golems, no coachman was required. Thus, the man simply rode on the cart, swaying along with its motion.
"Man, what a drag of a job..."
He muttered complaints to himself, entirely unaware that the rest of his companions had already been captured.
Nor did he realize that he had already been spotted and was under constant surveillance by Laojun's Peeper.
(I see. So the headquarters is west of the royal capital, Mahalig.)
From the man's route, Laojun deduced the location of the headquarters and discovered it by directing the Peeper toward that area.
(Around one hundred people... is it? At that scale, securing enough food must be quite difficult.)
According to Laojun's observations, while they cultivated a few fields, they appeared to be far from self-sufficient.
(Perhaps it would be best... to have this nation's soldiers resolve this matter, rather than Avalon or Deus Ex Machina.)
Interfering too much could hinder the country's ability to stand on its own feet, yet demanding the impossible of them would only deplete their national strength.
Striking the right balance was a delicate matter.
Just as Laojun was contemplating how to handle the bandits,
word had also reached the World Security Guard's Pandor Continent detachment stationed in the royal capital, Mahalig.
Naturally, the message had traveled via the route of Jin -> Deus Ex Machina -> Avalon -> Detachment.
"The Revolutionary Party, with Vladimir Hangazone Melkana as their head, huh..."
The squad leader was Non. He was quite a capable commander, leading a detachment of twenty personnel.
At thirty-one years of age, he appeared to be a powerhouse fighter with a solidly built physique, but in truth, he was also quite a tactician.
Incidentally, the figure he deeply respected was the First Generation 1st Division commander, Fritz Allstatt (formerly Randol).
"For them to show themselves now, we should assume some manner of preparation has been completed."
Non spoke to the vice-captain, Yumis Isle.
Yumis Isle was a twenty-five-year-old woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, known for her sharp, logical mind.
"Yes, Captain. In addition, while the probability is low, it is also conceivable that they simply acted out of desperation due to a lack of supplies."
"I see. But if that's the case, then they're nothing more than a band of utter fools."
"I agree."
"In that case, would it be best to wait for Maquina-dono to arrive before deciding on our future course of action?"
And so, the situation on the Pandor Continent was once again approaching a pivotal turning point.