Bet You Didn't See That Coming

"Before the old man passed away, I attached Life Link to him, and so far, nothing has changed."

A green light appeared on Riyao's hand, and it was clear that this green light was related to Makarov.

A vibrant green light danced in my palm, neither too fast nor too slow.

This was the first time Natsu and the others had heard of this, and they couldn't contain themselves.

Upon hearing that their grandfather had gone to the Western Continent alone, the hot-blooded few immediately exploded.

Natsu grabbed Riyao's arm, sparks flying from his mouth.

"What? The old man has been arrested?"

Gray slapped Natsu on the forehead.

"Idiot, he wasn't arrested, he went there on his own and was then placed under house arrest!"

"What's the difference between being arrested and being placed under house arrest?! Either way, I'm locked up! Now let's go smash that so-called empire to pieces!"

"Use your brain, will you! The old man is going to negotiate; rushing over there like this will only ruin everything!"

"Huh?! You're telling me how to do things?! Want to fight, you droopy-eyed jerk!"

"Come on! You single-celled, upturned-eye guy!"

These two clowns were about to fight again, and Lucy and Wendy quickly intervened to break them up, but the situation was about to spiral out of control.

Laxus frowned when he saw Riyao, Erza, and Mirajane looking at him.

The three of them clearly wanted to see how the new chairman would handle the situation.

Laxus took a breath and shouted, "Quiet!"

Natsu and the others stopped.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

Laxus's arms hung at his sides, his blond hair shining brightly in the lightning, and his face was devoid of its usual restlessness.

"As the seventh guild master, I hereby formally announce that we will proceed to the Alvarez Empire in the Western Continent to rescue Makarov."

A deep sound echoed through the depths of the stone chamber.

This is the Fairy Tail.

No matter who the enemy is, if they dare to harm our family, we'll turn the whole continent upside down to get them back.

Mest provided timely intelligence on the Alvarez Empire.

However, he didn't gather much information.

"The only information I have so far is that the Alvarez Empire has unified the entire Western Continent and incorporated all the mage guilds. Furthermore, their Spriggan 12 of the Empire are said to be very powerful, though the specifics are unknown."

"Over seven hundred mage guilds were swallowed up by a single regime; it was a terrifying war machine. Each of the Spriggan 12 of the Empire protecting the emperor was more formidable than the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar."

No one answered in the stone chamber.

Riyao yawned.

He rambled on and on about a bunch of useless nonsense.

"Hey, you can at least teleport and manipulate memories, yet you haven't found any concrete information in a year. I despise you."

Mest's face flushed red, and veins bulged on her forehead.

"If you're so sure, then say it!"

Riyao rolled his eyes.

He took out a mint, popped it into his mouth, chewed it with a crunching sound, and then waved a finger over his mouth.

"Fine, let's say the king of the Alvarez Empire is named Spriggan, which means 'ugly fairy.' Let's use a name you're more familiar with: the legendary dark mage— Zeref."

Mest's eyes widened, and not only him, but everyone present was shocked.

The stone chamber fell silent instantly, and even the air seemed to cool down.

What the heck?

Was the king of the Alvarez Empire Zeref?

They were so shocked that their mouths remained agape for a long time.

Natsu froze on the spot, Gray's hands hung in mid-air, Lucy gasped, and even Erza, who was usually calm, blinked slightly.

Having met Zeref twice, the more they learned about Zeref, the more afraid they became.

Now tell them that Zeref also has an empire that unifies an entire continent?!

More than 700 mage guilds, twelve Ten Wizard Saints national Spriggan, plus an immortal black mage emperor who has lived for 400 years.

That's a load of rubbish.

Mirajane was also learning this for the first time. She reached out and pinched the soft flesh of Riyao's waist, giving it a gentle twist.

"You're only telling me now? Oh, so you have your own little secret now."

"Oh dear, I forgot, I can't remember for a moment. What does my wife want to know? Let me see if I know, hehe."

Riyao hugged Mirajane with a playful grin, resting his chin on the top of her head and wrapping his arms around Mirajane waist.

Mirajane only throws a small tantrum and is easy to appease.

Those around them, who had just been fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), twitched at the corners of their mouths, and the shadow of the empire weighing on their hearts was half-diminished.

The group began to devise a plan to travel to the Western Continent to rescue Makarov.

Everyone gathered around the stone platform, chattering amongst themselves.

Riyao and Mirajane watched them discuss quietly, and finally came up with a reckless plan: to sail to the Western Continent.

The main force members formed a small team, rented an inconspicuous little fishing boat, and crossed the windless bay at night to reach the beachhead of the Western Continent.

It sounds simple and unadorned, but for some people it is a catastrophe.

Natsu pursed his lips, his expression unpleasant.

He raised one hand tremblingly.

"How about we swim over there? Wouldn't that be more discreet?"

Gajeel nodded in agreement.

Iron Dragon crossed his arms, his face as white as paper, and nodded repeatedly.

Gray chuckled, watching the two Dragon Slayer, who were usually invincible, cower like this, and then Gray launched a taunt.

"Hmph, Dragon Slayer."

Wendy stared at Gray with wide eyes.

The little girl's sapphire-like eyes were filled with innocence. She clutched the hem of her skirt with her small hands, looking at him expectantly, her eyes reddening.

Gray felt as if he had been struck a fatal blow.

The mockery on his face froze instantly, cold sweat soaked his back, and Gray frantically waved his hands.

"I'm not talking about you, Wendy, I'm talking about those two idiots."

Natsu and Gajeel weren't going to tolerate Gray, so they stepped forward and started fighting; they'd rather use their hands than their words.

"Who are you calling trash?! Come at me, you bastard, let's fight one-on-one!"

"You're asking for it, huh, you droopy-eyed devil! Today I'm going to beat you into an ice pop and feed you to the fish!"

The three of them wrestled together, sending ice, sparks, and iron filings flying through the stone chamber.

Riyao rubbed his temples.

"Alright, stop discussing plans. I'm going to invest heavily in building an airship, similar in size to Christina's Blue Pegasus."

Everyone turned to look at Riyao, their mouths slightly agape.

The Blue Pegasus magic attack ship Christina cost enough to buy half a city.

How much money does Riyao actually have?

Mirajane's lips curled into a slight smile; the two of them were quite pleased with themselves. They had secretly orchestrated all of this without Lisanna's knowledge, all for the sake of this moment.

Seeing their companions' gaping mouths and jaws practically dropping to their chests in utter disbelief, Riyao and Mirajane exchanged a glance and simultaneously raised their chins high.

"Hmph, didn't expect that, did you?"

"Hmph, didn't expect that, did you?"

Lisanna pouted, feeling betrayed. Her sister and brother-in-law had kept this fun thing a secret from her.

"Wow, you sisters kept this from me!! I want a seat too!"