Dispute

"Captain," Tianna said respectfully.

The blond youth put down the magical text in his hand and said, "Why are you back so early today? Is there news about the [Sword of Slaughter]?"

"No, but there was an unexpected bonus." Tianna smiled and stepped aside.

"They are mages from the Fairy Tail guild. They received an unknown quest and have come to assist us in defeating the Sword of Slaughter," Tianna said softly.

Chiba and Nuolin stepped forward at the opportune moment.

The blond youth frowned slightly, scrutinizing Chiba and Nuolin before saying in a deep voice, "I understand your dedication to the mission, although I don't know who issued it. But this is war, and war is not child's play."

At this point, his tone rose, and his upright and unyielding face was filled with authority.

Chiba understood the implication in his words: he felt that Chiba and Nuolin were too young to be here.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "Vice Captain Tianna is about the same age as us, so why is she in this military tent?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, several people in the tent burst into laughter. One of the middle-aged men said kindly, "Young man, I understand your feelings. But Vice-Captain Tianna joined the magic force at the age of fourteen, and before that, she was a top student trained by the Magic Council. In the two years she has been in the army, she has independently completed many arrest missions. It can be said that, apart from the captain, the vice-captain is the strongest in this tent."

"Mabu, stop talking. Take these two brats out of here." The blond youth glanced at the middle-aged man who had spoken and waved his hand.

Mabu's smile faded, and he walked towards Chiba and the others.

"Wait!" Tianna blocked their way, wanting to say something, but ultimately said something else, "Captain, why don't you let them show their strength? Sending them away like this will damage the reputation of the Magic Council, won't it?"

On the way here, Chiba instructed her not to reveal his identity. It was because of this request that she did not tell the captain that Chiba was actually the Flame Emperor from Fairy Tail.

But the captain actually wanted to drive them away without even asking what happened.

The young man looked at Tianna and said in a deep voice, "Tianna, do you intend to disobey my orders?"

Tianna gritted her teeth and said, "Captain, I just don't understand, wouldn't it be easier to fight a war if two powerful mages assisted us?"

The girl stared intently at the young man's face, who remained silent, and the entire military tent fell into silence.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense, and just as Chiba was about to say, "Why don't we leave first?", the blond youth finally gave in.

"Kid, show me your magic..."

His sharp eyes fixed on Chiba, a fierce scrutiny in them. In his view, Chiba was likely the leader of their small group.

"Show your magic? Aren't you going to consider a fight?" Chiba asked with a strange look.

"No, I have military matters to attend to, I don't have time to waste here," the young man said impatiently.

He was impatient with Chiba, but more so with Tianna's attitude. She hadn't completed the task assigned to her and had brought back two little magic brats, who were even clashing with him over them.

With his abilities, how could he not see through the true nature of these two brats? There was a faint magical fluctuation around this brat, at most only at the D-Class level, while the girl next to him didn't have the slightest magical fluctuation at all.

Isn't this just blatantly playing with them? It's understandable for children to play around, but they've gone this far, and he's already being very polite by not forcibly chasing them away.

Tianna found her captain acting irrationally today, wanting to kick Chiba and the others out without a word, a stark contrast to his usual gentle and humble demeanor. Honestly, didn't he know to assess the man's abilities before speaking? If he knew who he was, would he still dare to talk like that?

I really misjudged this guy, humph!

The girl turned her face away in a huff.

Chiba glanced at her curiously. Judging from her expression, it seemed that her relationship with this captain went beyond just superior and subordinate...

"Magic... magic..." Chiba muttered, then mustered all his strength to unleash his magic.

Unfortunately, he had very little magic power, and it ran out after a short while.

The person inside the tent paused for a moment, then revealed a strange expression.

Is this kid here to cause trouble on purpose?

They initially thought the captain's attitude was too extreme, but now they realize he might have seen through everything long ago. Come to think of it, how strong could a kid that young possibly be?

Not everyone has Tianna's magical talent.

"Tianna, is there anything else you want to say?" The blond youth looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

Tianna gritted her teeth. She knew Chiba wasn't using magic, and said, "He... he wasn't using magic!"

The blond youth frowned even deeper, and he hissed, "Alright, Tianna, stop fooling around and take them out."

Tianna's face turned bright red with anger, but she didn't know how to explain herself.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, a flash of cold light appeared, and Nuolin's figure appeared in front of the blond youth, her sword pressed against his neck.

Her pretty face remained expressionless, as if she had only done something insignificant.

The military tent was completely silent, everyone's eyes wide open.

The air seemed to freeze...

What just happened?

Tianna's eyes gleamed with admiration. Had she finally revealed her true colors? This girl had defeated her with such ease...

"Is it... okay now?" Nuolin asked.

The blond youth looked astonished, and when he came to his senses, his eyelids twitched violently.

Even though it was only for a fleeting moment, he could feel the immense power of that magic, so powerful that... he was far beyond its reach!

Even the captains at headquarters didn't exude this powerful aura.

Is she really a girl who looks only fifteen or sixteen years old?

However, he gritted his teeth, looked at Nuolin, and said, "You are strong, but I still don't recommend you join the battle. Your companions don't have your strength."

He could admit that Nuolin was a powerful mage, but he simply couldn't believe that Chiba possessed magic power far exceeding his own.

Unless Chiba is deliberately concealing his magical abilities and showing his clumsy side.

Chiba scratched his head and said, "I am indeed not as good as my senior sister, but I'm not too weak either; I should be passable."

The way everyone looked at him became even stranger. The two men's performances were worlds apart. How could he have the nerve to say that his strength was barely passable?

Could it be...

Is this a hidden master?!

Chiba didn't explain further, but instead asked the young man with slightly more respect, "Captain, are we qualified now?"

The captain gave him a deep look, along with the sword against his neck, and sighed.

"Let's just say I acknowledge your strength. However, strength alone cannot guarantee survival in war. War brings not glory, but death—a death you cannot resist. No matter how glorious you were in life, in death you will only be a skeleton."