You Go on Ahead, I'll Hold Them Off

Through his Spiritual Powers, Eleven saw that Laxus was actually fighting Macao and Wakaba. Magical light flashed constantly, and the booming sounds were deafening. The battle was incredibly powerful.

This greatly alarmed Eleven, who was witnessing the scene. He lost all interest in having fun and dashed out of the cave towards the location of the battle.

He wasn't worried that Laxus would be defeated by Macao and the others. As it stands, Laxus has the upper hand even when fighting two opponents at once, and the two older men seem like they could be crushed at any moment.

Even if Laxus is defeated and loses the magic crystal, Eleven won't care; it's just a different target, and the result will be the same.

What truly worried Eleven was the sheer scale of their battle; their magical energy fluctuations were being released with impunity, as if they had no intention of revealing their location.

"Do these idiots want to be wiped out by Gildarts again?" Eleven, invisible and flying in the sky, scratched his head in frustration.

Eleven was certain that if Gildarts captured them again, he would not let them escape so easily; there was a high chance he would destroy one of the magic crystals before stopping.

Laxus really is a complete idiot. Why bother arguing with these two penniless guys? Wouldn't it have been easier to just run away?

The current situation makes a sneak attack difficult. Even if Laxus is knocked unconscious, Eleven will still be tied up by Macao and the others, Gildarts could appear at any moment. Not a second can be wasted.

After racking his brains for a while, Eleven decided it would be better to step in and stop them directly. He would shout, "Gildarts is coming!" Whether they were really there or not, the three guys would definitely run away, just like in the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

Then we'll follow Laxus to a deserted place, hehehe...

Having made up his mind, Eleven revealed himself in mid-air and shouted, "Stop fighting! Gildarts is here! Run!"

Boom!!

To everyone's surprise, just as Eleven finished speaking, a rock wall not far away suddenly broke open, and Gildarts sauntered out from inside, picking his ear as he did so.

"Huh? Eleven, did you call me?"

Are you some kind of summoned beast? I was just trying to scare people, how come you actually appeared just from a single call?

On the other side, the three who had just been fighting fiercely also stopped what they were doing and looked at Eleven and Gildarts, who were looking at each other in bewilderment.

Laxus didn't even hesitate this time, turning into a bolt of lightning and disappearing from the spot, leaving behind only a cloud of dust and debris that hadn't even had time to land.

Eleven was indeed startled by Gildarts' sudden appearance, but after recovering, he was incredibly fast and turned to try and escape by turning invisible.

However, he didn't have Laxus's ability to travel at the speed of light; no matter how fast he was, he couldn't outrun magic. A purple flame slammed down at his feet, halting his movement.

It was this one crucial step that made Eleven realize he was now firmly locked onto by Gildarts, and escaping would no longer be so easy.

"Macao, are you crazy? If I get caught, we're all finished!" Eleven glared angrily at Macao, who had just attacked him, and shouted.

Macao and Wakaba stood side by side in front of Eleven, their faces showing no remorse. They calmly said, "Eleven, hand over a magic crystal to Wakaba to take. We'll stop Gildarts together. Isn't that the best solution right now?"

Eleven's pupils contracted as he looked at the two old thugs in front of him. He suddenly had a feeling that he had been tricked!

Why did Laxus suddenly start fighting with Macao and the others?

Why did Gildarts suddenly emerge from the mountain?

There's only one possibility: they're all waiting for Eleven to appear!

These guys hadn't communicated, but they were all in agreement on targeting Eleven. Even Gildarts chose to ambush Eleven in the bushes because everyone understood how huge Eleven's advantage was in this trial at this moment. Even Gildarts, as the Eleven, didn't have this advantage.

Laxus has now escaped, while Macao and Wakaba have chosen to stay and intercept Eleven. One reason is that they are not afraid of Gildarts because they are barefoot, and another reason is that they have also analyzed that Gildarts will probably only destroy one magic crystal and will not end this trial so quickly.

Therefore, if he doesn't want to be eliminated, having Wakaba take a magic crystal has become Eleven's only way to save his life.

I never expected this! None of these guys are stupid! As expected, those who can participate in the S-Class Exam are not so easy to deal with.

Eleven's gaze swept back and forth between Gildarts and Macao, his light blue eyes darting around as he considered every possible way to escape, all the while muttering viciously to himself.

"Macao and Wakaba, you two old bastards, you just wait until you get back! We can't afford to mess with Gildarts, but you think you can't? I'm going to challenge you a hundred times a day, I'll disgust you to death!"

Eleven is now caught in a pincer movement, surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind—a complete dead end, with neither side being any good. However, the tiger behind him is more terrifying; if he gets bitten, he'll be reduced to ashes.

Eleven had considered forcing his way through, but even if he managed to break through Macao and Wakaba, Gildarts would still catch up. So it was better to find another way and infiltrate the wolf pack, which was easier to deal with.

"Alright, I agree!" Eleven suddenly looked at Macao and Wakaba, "And I'll give you both magic crystals. You two run! I'll help you stop Gildarts!"

"Ah?"

This unexpected windfall left Macao and Wakaba somewhat bewildered, unable to react for a moment.

"Stop! Keep going! I don't know how much more time I can buy you, run! Don't look back! Only if we all live can we fight Gildarts! We must protect these two magic crystals and not let Laxus take them!"

Eleven suddenly became emotional and began to act out a scene. His Telekinesis went berserk, raising a cloud of dust that obscured Gildarts's vision. Two glittering magic crystals flew out of the dust and landed steadily in Macao and Wakaba's hands.

Macao and Wakaba were immediately moved. Although they knew that Eleven probably wasn't up to any good, the emotional impact of this selfless act still brought tears to their eyes.

"Oh, Eleven, you must live on strong!"

Macao readily cooperated with Eleven's performance, and then he and Wakaba turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.

Gildarts was about to give chase when Eleven suddenly appeared in front of him, his Telekinesis crashing down on his path like a tidal wave, attempting to stop him. Gildarts, showing some respect, stopped when he saw Eleven trying to block his way, and looked at Eleven with a smile.

"Eleven, after that battle, do you really think you can stop me by yourself?"

"Hmph! Nonsense, of course I know I can't stop you!" Eleven said with a self-righteous expression.

"But Gildarts, don't underestimate me. I'm a mage who grew up in Fairy Tail, after all. I'm not so cowardly as to be scared out of my wits by you."