Time ticked away steadily until the clock struck two in the afternoon.
"Hope, begin our descent."
Jin issued the command in a calm, composed voice.
"Understood, Master."
Stationed on standby 500 meters in the air, Jin's Hurricane rapidly lost altitude.
"Fire the Weckener at maximum output!"
Simultaneously, Deus Ex Machina, aboard alongside him, gave the order to Squire Rei.
"Right away, Lady Maquina."
Aimed downward, the Weckener unleashed a burst of mana at full power.
The Hurricane leveled out at an altitude of 15 meters, hovering just high enough to clear the forest canopy.
"All right, Arma 1 through 20, deploy! Rescue the villagers."
The twenty golems leaped out from the cabin's hatch one after another.
"Rei, provide support."
"Understood."
Squire Rei was the last to jump down. Reiko remained aboard the Hurricane to respond should any unexpected emergencies arise.
From a mere 15 meters, both the Arma units and Rei could land safely without even needing their barrier projectors.
At precisely thirty seconds past two o'clock, the Arma units and Rei touched down in the cultivated fields.
Under the blistering May sun, eleven agricultural slaves had been laboring since morning—tilling the soil, weeding, hauling water, and clearing rugged wasteland.
Afforded only the bare minimum of rest and meager scraps of food, they were dizzy and unsteady on their feet.
"Don't slack off! Keep working!"
There was a single supervisor on duty, flanked by an assistant golem.
His job was simple: ensure the agricultural slaves did not idle for even a moment.
Lethargically, the laborers raised their hoes, letting the tools fall by their own weight in an endless, agonizing loop.
"Move with some vigor!"
When he barked at them, the slaves registered it as an order and quickened their pace by the barest fraction.
The May sun beat down mercilessly.
Denied proper rest since dawn and provided barely a drop of water, one man finally collapsed.
"Get up! Get up right this instant!!"
No matter how loudly the supervisor roared, the fallen man did not stir.
Intending to walk over and kick him back to his feet, the supervisor stepped forward with his assistant golem.
Right at that moment—
The Weckener unleashed its full-power wave.
"Ugh..."
"Ah..."
"Gah..."
The ten working agricultural slaves collapsed where they stood, as if their puppet strings had suddenly been cut.
The supervisor, who had just stepped up to kick the fallen laborer, froze in utter shock.
He moved to stomp down on the nearest collapsed agricultural slave instead, but right then—
"Gyah?!"
Struck by a sudden force, the supervisor was sent tumbling across the dirt.
His assistant golem moved to intervene, but in the next instant, it was hurled into the air and slammed violently against the ground.
"W-What in the world is—Aaargh!"
Stun shot through his entire body, knocking the supervisor unconscious. The last sight that met his eyes was a brown golem gently lifting one of the fallen agricultural slaves.
"Good, everything is proceeding smoothly."
"Eleven in total, was it?"
Deus Ex Machina and Jin murmured as they surveyed the scene below.
"There was a single golem down there."
Rei, however, had already neutralized it.
"Ah, they've retrieved all the villagers. Hope, lower the recovery winch."
"Understood."
Uncertain of who might be watching, Jin chose to use the raising and lowering winch installed aboard the Hurricane, which had been prepared specifically for situations like this.
Carrying the unconscious villagers, the Arma units rode the winch up into the Hurricane.
After performing quick triage to prioritize those in the greatest danger, they brought the casualties aboard one by one.
Inside the Hurricane, faint groans of agony filled the air—the voices of villagers pushed to their absolute limits.
"...Healing."
Elsa first cast a general Healing spell suitable for both internal healing magic and surgical healing magic to assess their condition.
With Reiko assisting, they laid the patients—the rescued villagers—onto reclined seats.
Brought aboard at a pace of roughly one every thirty seconds, all eleven were safely inside the Hurricane within five and a half minutes.
"All of them are suffering from mild heatstroke, malnutrition, severe exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and dehydration. One has a fatigue fracture in the right clavicle," Elsa diagnosed.
"Administer Persica juice. After that, enforce ten hours of sleep. Apply healing magic to the fracture."
Much like pointing and calling, verbalizing each procedure helped minimize mistakes.
"Healing."
She cast the Healing spell to mend the broken bone, while Elsa and Reiko used spout cups to carefully administer Persica juice to the patients.
And then:
"Schlaf."
She cast the spell to guide them into a deep, restful slumber.
While Elsa treated the patients, Jin and Maquina turned their attention toward dealing with the Revolutionary Party.
First, they dispatched the twenty now-freed Arma units back toward the hideout.
Three minutes earlier, the World Security Guard Pandor Continent Squad had breached the Revolutionary Party's hideout.
"Move in!"
Inside the base, roughly a third of the members were wandering in a daze, their brainwashing shattered by the potent effects of the Weckener.
"W-What in the world was I doing...?"
"Don't tell me I was actually helping these maniacs?!"
"N-Nooo! What have I done?! What have I done?!"
Forty-five original zealots stared dumbfounded at their newly disoriented former comrades.
For about a minute, they were too bewildered to comprehend what was happening, but the truth quickly dawned on them.
"...It seems their brainwashing has worn off. Execute anyone screaming."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"I don't care. They're just expendable grunts anyway. We can replace them anytime."
"Understood."
Carrying out their superior's orders without hesitation, the Revolutionary Party zealots drew their daggers, aiming straight for the hearts of the men still paralyzed by confusion.