The Return of Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe

Makarov had thought that slightly lowering the difficulty of the test would displease Eleven, but to his surprise, the kid showed a smug look and even couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This made Makarov smile slightly. As expected of a child raised in his guild, he certainly wasn't petty. He, as the guild leader, had indeed done an excellent job in educating him!

As he thought about it, Makarov gradually revealed a smug smile, though this smile appeared somewhat lewd on his wrinkled old face.

In the cramped space on the second floor, the old man and the young man just chuckled to themselves, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere. Fortunately, no one else in the guild could go up to the second floor besides these two, so this embarrassing scene wasn't witnessed by anyone else.

After a while, Makarov finally snapped out of his glorious daydreams, cleared his throat to calm himself, and got back to the point. "Ahem! Alright, let's get down to business. I think we could let Erza and Mira participate in this assessment as well."

"Huh? Erza and Mira? They're taking the assessment with Laxus? Isn't that a bit too early?"

Eleven was somewhat surprised by Makarov's words, not expecting the old man to suggest that Erza and Mira participate in the trial. In Eleven's mind, these two girls were just like Natsu and Gray —children who hadn't grown up yet and didn't have much fighting power.

The thought of these two competing with the ruthless Laxus sent a chill down Eleven, as if he were witnessing a horrific scene.

Makarov's words were well-thought-out, and he remained composed in the face of Eleven's surprise. Holding his wine glass, still swaying slightly, he spoke unhurriedly, "Hmm, I've witnessed Mira and Erza's growth. Perhaps they're still a little lacking, but letting them experience S-Class- rank combat ahead of time won't do them any harm. It will greatly help their future development."

"Alright, since you put it that way, I naturally have no objections." Eleven nodded thoughtfully. Although he didn't quite understand, the old man's words always made sense. No matter what, listening to the old man and following the guild was always the right thing to do!

Afterwards, the father and son began to secretly discuss some details of the assessment. Although the difficulty of the assessment had decreased slightly, their desire to torture... no, to train the candidates' innocent hearts remained unchanged.

A blond young man with spiky hair, a mink coat draped over his back, and metal headphones on his head swaggered in. His arrogant demeanor made you really want to punch him.

However, the members of the guild were very excited to see the newcomer and greeted him warmly.

"Yo! Isn't this Laxus? You're finally back!"

"Haha, Laxus, you've been gone long this time, haven't you? A whole year! I thought you weren't coming back!"

"Wahahaha! Laxus, come and duel me!" That voice belonged to Natsu.

As soon as Laxus entered the guild, Natsu sensed the powerful magical energy emanating from Laxus, clearly indicating that she had grown considerably stronger over the past year.

The belligerent Natsu, of course, wanted to experience Laxus's power firsthand, so he leaped up and pounced on Laxus. Gray, standing nearby, was also fired up, rose from his chair, and took off his shirt to join the fight.

Crackle!

However, before Natsu could even touch Laxus, a thin bolt of lightning suddenly struck him from the sky, exploding directly on Natsu body and charring Natsu black. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Gray got dressed and sat back down in his chair, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Huh? Is this the guild named after fairies? This filthy tavern doesn't look like a place where fairies would exist at all!"

At that moment, a girl wearing a green dress and glasses, covering her mouth and nose with a folding fan, slowly walked in from behind Laxus. Looking at the chaotic Fairy Tail guild, a hint of undisguised disappointment and disdain flashed between her brows.

This is none other than Abba Evergreen, whom Eleven had encountered before! Who would have thought that instead of finding Fairy Tail herself, she'd come with Laxus now.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'dirty'? Who are you, woman? Want to fight?" Mira, with her fiery temper, couldn't stand this kind of pretentious person and blurted out angrily.

"Oh dear, what a rude way to speak! I'm a fairy, you know, please don't talk to me like that." Evergreen was clearly startled by Mira's outburst, holding her folding fan in front of her face and taking two steps back with a look of disgust, as if Mira's rudeness was contagious.

"What did you mean by that look?!" Mira was furious!

The reasons for girls fighting are often very simple: a small look, a simple action, and you might already be labeled a little bitch! Especially for a hot-tempered girl like Mira, someone like Evergreen, who does everything in an exaggerated way, is simply her nemesis.

Just as Mira was about to explode, Erza stepped in and blocked Mira way. "Alright, Mira, stop it. She came with Laxus; she's probably joining the guild. Let's not make things unpleasant..."

Please don't casually define us as partners; it would be very troubling for us.

Erza was interrupted by another voice before she could finish speaking. A handsome young man with long green hair walked out from the other side of Laxus, wearing a sharp suit and a rapier at his waist, exuding a gentlemanly air.

This person was none other than Freed, whom Laxus had encountered before the civil war within the Dark Guilds. Unexpectedly, he had also returned with Laxus.

Freed, one hand on his sword, walked up to Erza, a dangerous glint in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Given your immediate attack on Laxus, it's difficult for me to consider you allies. We, the Thunder God Tribe, only follow Laxus. Even if you are mages in the same guild as Laxus, it doesn't mean we are allies. Please don't try to get close to us."

Fantasy, novel; online reading: Fairy Tail: Thoughts Follow Your Heart