On Mount Nakyu of the Pandor Continent, there was once a base belonging to Golbart Markitus, who had formerly troubled the forces of Hourai Island.
It was originally a base built by the Origin Clan, and was now treated as part of the Ruins.
Markitus had established his stronghold by utilizing those facilities.
Incidentally, there was another base that had been constructed by the invasion faction of the Origin Clan.
It was located downstream, near the mouth of the Kanodo River, which flowed down from Mount Nakyu.
The surrounding area formed a bay that opened toward the northwest, with islands large and small lined up like a lid across the mouth of the bay.
Consequently, the waters inside remained calm, making it exceptionally well-suited as a harbor.
There was the lead regarding the mysterious ships obtained from Try, along with the still-unidentified masked man.
Laojun had been conducting a search for the mysterious ships using the Peeper telescope.
This was because it judged tracking down the vessels to be far more reliable than searching for an individual person.
Then, forty-four hours after commencing the search, it discovered a facility resembling a secret base in the western part of the Pandor Continent.
It was situated along a localized cliff so small that it would not appear on small-scale maps.
No, rather than a cliff, it was perhaps better described as a rocky ledge.
An outcropping of rock jutted out like an awning roughly fifty meters above the surface of the sea.
In other words, the area beneath this overhang was completely shielded from the sky above.
Geomorphologically speaking, having such a sheer cliff along a coastline with calm waters was unnatural.
"Almost without a doubt, this is artificial. And if someone was capable of doing such a thing..."
Laojun deduced that it was likely something modified by the Origin Clan.
"...Even so, for there to be a harbor and ships in a place like this... It truly was a blind spot."
Shielded by the rock awning, it was impossible to spot from the orbital Watcher satellite overhead.
"From this location, attacking Hourai Island would have been comparatively easy."
Given that the distance was only about 1,600 kilometers, it would have been entirely feasible for ships possessing a certain level of performance.
"Though it seems Markitus did not see much utility in ships."
He had prioritized air superiority over naval control.
The only time he had used ships was during the blockade of Hourai Island, and even then, they had been wooden vessels less than one hundred meters in total length.
Afterward, Markitus had employed large soaring ships instead.
"...It was likely a matter of human resources."
In the case of ships, a large crew was required—even if golems were utilized.
"It can be deduced that Markitus abandoned this base after Hourai Island was Sealed in the year 3765. However, judging from this appearance..."
It currently appeared to still be operational.
"Would it be reasonable to think that someone close to Markitus inherited it?"
Laojun deduced that it was probably connected to the Revolutionary Party.
"As for who that might be... I shall proceed to investigate from here."
Determining that investigating the base took priority for now, Laojun began observing the vicinity of the harbor.
"The width of the ledge is about two hundred meters, and it appears to be Reinforced with magic similar to Toughening... No, wait..."
Zooming in, it noticed that Reinforcements had been added with metal beams and girders.
"Could the Reinforcements have been an afterthought? Most likely installed by Markitus."
Furthermore, beneath that rock ledge, several horizontal tunnels had been excavated.
"Inside is... hm, there is a vast space. This excavation was likely done by the Origin Clan. Markitus certainly found a fine location."
The interior space was square-Formed, measuring roughly three hundred meters wide, five hundred meters deep, and one hundred meters high.
"Hm, it seems its function as a shipyard is still active."
Judging by its layout, Laojun deduced it belonged to the Origin Clan and had subsequently been modified by Markitus.
"In a place like this, building one-hundred-meter-class all-metal ships would be an easy task."
Laojun reached that conclusion.
"Geographically, there is a high probability that this was the site where some, or perhaps all, of the ships Markitus used when targeting Hourai Island were built."
Laojun then proceeded to examine the interior in greater detail.
"...The image is somewhat unclear... It appears a barrier resembling a lower-class equivalent of a magic barrier has been cast."
Even so, with the power of the Peeper telescope, it was capable of brute-forcing its way through the barrier to observe within.
"If I lower the scanning speed, the resolution will improve sufficiently."
Though it would take time, since the location had already been discovered, that was not an issue.
"Hm... There are two ships... No, three ships."
Laojun had finally found them. All-metal ships. Three of them.
"A total length of one hundred meters... There is no mistake."
While they seemed inferior to Hourai Island's special cruisers, Laojun felt that these vessels far exceeded the standards of this world.
At this point, it decided to summon Jin.
Jin arrived at the command room accompanied by Reiko.
"Laojun, I heard you discovered the mysterious ships?"
"Yes, My Lord. Please take a look."
"Ohh."
Looking at the enormous magi-monitor in the command room, Jin widened his eyes.
"That's quite an incredible base, isn't it?"
"Indeed. I deduce that Markitus made further modifications to a facility originally built by the invasion faction."
Jin nodded.
"That sounds about right. But what matters more than the past is the present... The facility is still operational, isn't it?"
"Yes. Since it is an old facility after all, it is not in flawless condition, but Markitus appears to have repaired and serviced it extensively."
"Hmm..."
Jin speculated that because Markitus had hosted a fragment of a spiritual intellectual body, he had likely been able to comprehend the technology of the Origin Clan.
"The issue is who currently holds Domination over this facility."
"...Could it be that masked man?"
"We cannot know for certain yet, but the probability is high. Alternatively, there may be someone backing the masked man from further in the shadows."
"True."
Laojun then reported that due to a barrier akin to a magic barrier, the precision of the Peeper's investigation was currently somewhat diminished.
"That can't be helped... We have time, so please investigate it thoroughly."
"Understood, My Lord....As the Shinobi Squad is currently deployed elsewhere, I shall use Sam."
"Ah, them."
Sam were five-centimeter-tall mini-golems, just like the Shinobi Squad. They had been crafted for intelligence gathering, making them well-suited for operations like this.
In terms of performance, they were nearly identical to the Shinobi Squad. The only difference was their color—the Shinobi Squad was black-themed, whereas Sam was silver-gray.
"I will dispatch Sam 1 through 10 via the transporter."
"Yeah, go ahead and do that."
Thus, the intelligence-gathering mini-golems Sam 1 through 10 were deployed.