With no sailor golems left inside the room,
"Move slowly,"
Deus Ex Machina said, warning the members of the Jagus Principality not to step outside the effective range of the barrier protecting against both physical and magical attacks, and headed for the exit.
"Understood."
"A-All right."
Duke Niestol Kirillo Jagus answered relatively calmly, while Rokou B. Sihalo spoke with a pale face.
Minister of Military Affairs Buena Haiti and technical officer Roa Temp nodded in silence.
Taking the lead was Deus Ex Machina's servant, Squire Rei. She blew away any sailor golems that tried to block the exit.
Following her were Deus Ex Machina and the delegation from the Jagus Principality. Then came Jin D, with Reiko bringing up the rear.
"Do not let them escape! Combat golems, deploy!"
When the masked man, Larva, issued the order, five golems distinctly different from the sailor golems made their appearance.
Their builds were more than two sizes larger, and their armor appeared thick.
Compared to Rei, the difference was like that between an adult and a child.
However, a size difference of that degree posed no obstacle whatsoever.
"You are in the way."
When Rei slammed her right fist forward, the combat golem was blown away like a dry leaf.
"W-What?!"
Even Larva seemed genuinely surprised by this.
Paying no mind to the ten additional sailor golems that arrived, the party steadily pushed their way toward the deck.
"Oh, the deck!"
Minister of Military Affairs Buena Haiti shouted.
Rei in the lead, Deus Ex Machina, and the members of the Jagus Principality emerged onto the deck. Jin D followed closely behind.
After blowing away the fourth combat golem, with only one remaining, Reiko at the very rear bounded out onto the deck as well.
"All right, Reiko, meet them more aggressively."
"Hmph, I wonder how long you can maintain such composure."
While reaching an open area made it easier for them to move, it naturally made it easier for the Neo-Magias forces to attack as well.
Sailor golems and combat golems rushed in from all directions.
"Waaaaah!"
Rokou B. Sihalo let out a scream.
"Calm down. We are safe near Maquina-dono."
Minister of Military Affairs Buena Haiti soothed him.
Against physical attacks, the barrier deployed by Deus Ex Machina could withstand blows delivered at thirty percent of Reiko's released power. There was no way the golems of Neo-Magias could breach it.
And the increased freedom of movement applied just as much to Reiko and Rei.
"I will not hold back."
Rei kicked away a leaping sailor golem.
However, the nature of that kick differed from before.
In the confined room, her kicks converted most of the impact directly into destructive force, but out on the deck, it was different.
"Ooh!"
She had switched to kicks designed to blow her opponents away.
As a result, several pieces of equipment on the deck were damaged in the process.
Furthermore, any golems standing in the trajectory of the flying targets were swept away alongside them.
"M-Mmm... Magnificent strength..."
Once he realized they were safe for the moment, Duke Niestol Kirillo Jagus focused entirely on observing Rei and Reiko.
Reiko, making full use of her speed, smashed the closing golems to pieces.
Her current output was at ten percent.
Jin D transmitted footage of Reiko's battle back to Hourai Island.
And on Hourai Island, Jin, Reinhard, Saki, and Laojun watched the footage and analyzed it.
"Hmm, even if they're called combat golems, they're weaker than the ones Markitus used the other day," Jin stated his assessment.
"The structure doesn't look like an Adriana-style Golem either."
Reinhard made that judgment based on the state of the broken enemy golems.
"Kufu, quite true. The materials aren't anything special, either."
Looking at the scattered fragments, Saki offered her evaluation as well.
"Yes, My Lord, everyone. I presume the poor material quality is the result of pouring their resources into the naval vessels."
Laojun supplemented their deductions.
"...Well, looking at it this way, the members of the Jagus Principality are the bottleneck, aren't they?" Reinhard chuckled wryly.
"Yeah. If it were just the four of them—Jin D, Deus Ex Machina, Reiko, and Rei—they could escape without any issue at all."
Jin replied with a similar wry smile.
"Having four living humans along makes things a bit troublesome..."
"Should we deploy reinforcements under the guise of sending them from the Aristotle?" Jin suggested.
"Yes, My Lord. That would be appropriate."
"All right. Then we'll send the Sky squad... No, that might be tricky."
While the Albatross stationed far above in the sky could perform vertical take-off and landing using its barrier projector, it would look somewhat unnatural.
"Let's pretend we had another Taube loaded aboard the Aristotle and deploy it. With two more Sky units, it should be plenty to evacuate the four of them."
"Yes, My Lord. I shall arrange it immediately."
"Duke! Our pickup will arrive shortly, so board it!"
Deus Ex Machina announced.
"U-Understood."
Eager to evacuate the ship as quickly as possible, no one took issue with the lack of formal honorifics.
One minute after Deus Ex Machina said those words, two Taube craft descended. One was the craft they had arrived in, and the other was reinforcement.
"Oh, is that it?!"
"B-But the deck is still swarming with enemy golems!"
The members of the Jagus Principality voiced their worry.
"It will be fine. Reinforcements have arrived as well," Deus Ex Machina said, pointing to the two Sky squad golems that had leapt down.
"...Oh?!"
Seeing the slender builds of the two Sky squad golems, the Duke had inwardly doubted their reliability, but he soon realized how mistaken he was.
In the blink of an eye, the two Sky squad golems blew away four sailor golems.
The Sky squad golems then called out to the Jagus delegation.
"Everyone, take advantage of the opening. Duke, this way."
A temporary opening had cleared around them. However, it was only a matter of time before it closed.
"U-Understood."
Duke Niestol Kirillo Jagus was carried on the back of Sky 301 and boarded one of the Taubes.
The remaining three boarded the other Taube. The autopilot was disengaged, and the Sky golem took over manual control.
"Ascending!"
Combat golems rushed toward them, but by that time, the Taube had already ascended to an altitude of twenty meters.
"Where are we heading?" the Duke asked.
"A naval battle may break out shortly, so instead of the battleship, you will be temporarily accommodated aboard the Aristotle."
"The Aristotle... You mean that?!"
The members of the Jagus Principality gazed in sheer astonishment at their destination—the 100-meter-class airship, the Aristotle.