Magi Craft Meister

“A request for emergency assistance… you say?”

Princess Lieschen, who had just descended from the cabin, overheard the news. “Whatever has happened?”

The messenger knight hesitated for a moment, but since the information wasn’t confidential to the Princess, he decided to report it on the spot.

“Y-Yes. At the Soldrake ruins in the former Leonard Kingdom, a massive swarm of monster-like giant ants has emerged. They are currently attacking the Kingdom of Celuroa’s border patrol and the Kingdom of Egelea’s 3rd Knight Order, who happened to be at the scene.”

“Giant ants? …Did they come from underground…”

Jin had no intention of intervening in territorial disputes between nations, but the emergence of monsters was a different matter entirely.

“Jin, would it be… possible for you to help? Paul, the captain of the 3rd Knight Order, is not exactly a stranger to me. He is the man who always guards me whenever I travel to the Egelea Kingdom.”

It was even harder to refuse when Princess Lieschen pleaded with him.

“Understood. At the very least, just this once.”

Jin accepted, the subtext of his words making it clear he didn’t want to be used too often.

“Reiko, Elsa, let’s go.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Mm.”

Princess Lieschen looked as though she wanted to tag along, but that was clearly out of the question.

“Jin, I’m counting on you!”

Jin waved back at Lieschen, who waved frantically until they were out of sight, and boarded the cabin. *Kunlun 2* lifted off in one smooth motion, pointed its nose southeast, and accelerated. Its speed was such that it soon vanished even from the Princess’s magical eyes.

“Lao-jun, you heard the situation? Do you know the location?” Jin’s first move was to confirm with Lao-jun.

*Yes, Master. Viewing through the Magiradar, there is a location in a part of the former Leonard Kingdom with a protruding level of mana, which matches the Soldrake ruins.*

“Understood. In that case…”

The Soldrake ruins were over 200 kilometers away from Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom where Jin currently was. Even at top speed, *Kunlun 2* would take over an hour to arrive.

“…Shall we use ‘that’?”

“That” referred to the “Transfer Device” he had received from No. 700672. The destination marker was set to Hourai Island.

“Yes, Father. Activating the Transfer Device.”

Quite literally, in an instant, they were at the front garden of the Hourai Island research facility. With an error margin of only about 10 centimeters, the accuracy was terrifying. As expected of something crafted by 700672.

“Lao-jun, please send us to the Soldrake ruins using the transmitter. …Oh, wait, let’s add some cargo before that.”

*Kunlun 2* lacked significant armaments. Hearing about “ant-like monsters,” Jin loaded Laser Guns, Magic Cannons, Vibration Swords, and Plasma Swords.

“Alright, do it.”

*Kunlun 2*, carrying Jin, Elsa, and Reiko, was transferred again. They appeared in the sky near the Soldrake ruins. Reiko reacted instantly, pointing the nose of the ship toward the ruins. *Kunlun 2* arrived in minutes.

“Father, there!”

Beneath them stretched a scene of hellish carnage.

—

“Golems! Defend!”

Trist Clarot barked commands at his pride-and-joy combat Golems. But the next moment, his eyes widened in shock. The Golems doused in the acidic liquid spat by the “Giga-Ants” began to melt, emitting thick white smoke.

“W-What!?”

In the ant species found on Earth, there are some that secrete an organic acid called “formic acid.” Additionally, human gastric juices contain hydrochloric acid, and human gut bacteria can produce acetic and succinic acid. It wasn’t strange for a monster classified as a Giga-Ant to secrete a powerful acid. In fact, the Giant Centipede he had encountered before also possessed highly corrosive body fluids.

“Gyaaa…”

“It hurts…”

Most of the 50 soldiers of the Celuroa Kingdom’s 2nd Border Patrol were being picked off by the acid spat by the Giga-Ants. Those who were sprayed were scorched, weakened, and then eaten.

“Dammit! For my border patrol to be finished like this!”

No matter how much Trist regretted it, the situation wouldn’t change. Although his combat Golems had crushed a few Giga-Ants, they were sprayed with corrosive fluid by twice as many and melted into useless scrap. Only two Golems remained to guard Trist. Of the 50 soldiers in his patrol, only Trist remained. Furthermore, more than half of the 500 Golems they had extracted had been melted into scrap metal.

Barely, three Golems that apparently hadn’t had their command strings written yet started moving and charged the Giga-Ants, but they were vastly outnumbered and destroyed in an instant.

In contrast, the Egelea Kingdom’s 3rd Knight Order was still entirely safe. The difference lay primarily in their mounts. The border patrol soldiers were infantry, with Trist being the only one on horseback, whereas everyone on the Egelea side was a knight. Since the Giga-Ants’ movement speed was about the same as a horse, they had barely managed to keep running.

“But, at this rate, we’ll be caught eventually…”

While acting as the rearguard, Captain Paul Raid thought desperately. The speed was roughly the same, but the Giga-Ants showed no signs of fatigue. Meanwhile, the Knight Order could only maintain their current pace for perhaps another 15 minutes.

“Hmm, to have 500 Golems and yet they are nothing but scarecrows… what a waste.”

Philip Tifo, the Blue Land branch manager of the Magicraft Meister Guild, sighed regretfully while riding his horse. He didn’t know what kind of command strings Trist had written, but Golems that could only walk were no match for the Giga-Ants.

“If only they could have fought…”

His murmur sounded truly regretful. Just then, Philip’s horse stumbled over something.

“W-Waaaah!”

Philip was thrown from his horse.

“Master!”

Dona, the Automaton riding with him, was also thrown, but she stood up immediately and rushed to Philip’s side.

“Ugh…”

Philip had sprained his right ankle and wrist; he couldn’t stand immediately.

“I will.”

Dona hoisted Philip onto her back and started walking. The horse he had been riding had long since run off.

“Philip-dono!”

Because he had fallen, Philip and Dona were now at the very rear, having been passed even by Paul, who was acting as rearguard. The black monsters closed in on them. The distance: 10 meters…

—

“This is terrible…”

“…”

Jin and Elsa were speechless at the carnage below. Nearly a thousand Giga-Ants were swarming. About 50 soldiers lay fallen, and several were being devoured. More than half of the 500 Golems had been melted, some beyond recognition.

“Giga-Ants, huh. Looks like they have a powerful corrosive liquid.”

“Mm. …Perhaps they use that liquid to melt rock to build their nests underground?” Elsa speculated.

Jin thought that was probably correct.

*I believe Elsa’s deduction is correct,* Lao-jun supported the theory. *The ‘Giant Centipede’ that emerged from the Inado mines also possessed powerful corrosive body fluids. The commonality is that they are organisms that dwell underground. The larger they become, the more they likely require a powerful acid to melt rock to construct their nests.*

“That must be it. In that case… considering the size difference between these Giga-Ants and the Giant Centipede, these Giga-Ants are likely weaker.”

That was also evident in how the Golems melted. When it was the Giant Centipede, even Adamantite had been slightly melted. The Giga-Ants were also slower.

Even so, if they dawdled, they might catch up to the desperate Egelea Kingdom’s 3rd Knight Order. Furthermore, dozens of the creatures were beginning to scatter in different directions. If they started building nests elsewhere, it would be a headache.

“Reiko, can you handle it?”

“Yes, Father. Leave it to me.”

“The effects of that corrosive liquid are unknown. Deploy a Solid Barrier and attack from within using magic or Laser Guns.”

“Yes, understood.”

Just in case, Reiko grabbed a Plasma Sword and leaped from *Kunlun 2*.