War Game
"That Zeref guy is treating this war like a game."
A cool morning breeze swept across the wilderness, Riyao soon appeared on the eastern border of the Kingdom of Fiore.
The rising sun had just peeked halfway over the horizon, casting a faint golden hue over the rolling hills.
Enemy responses came from all four directions, so the Alvarez Empire deliberately took a detour to attack from all four directions.
Riyao stepped on the soft soil, clicking his tongue in amazement.
A direct, all-out attack from the west coast, with a million-strong army and the Spriggan 12 simultaneously pressing in, would leave no room for further complications.
However, Zeref divided his army into four routes to encircle them, giving Fairy Tail plenty of time to redeploy its troops.
Even Riyao suspected that this might be another effect of the Curse of Contradiction, causing Zeref to have conflicting thoughts or something.
He shouts that he wants to destroy the world and steal the Fairy Heart, but deep down he craves someone to stop him or even kill him.
He thought of this and started muttering to himself.
The blond youth swayed his neck and clasped his hands together in front of his chest in a haphazard bow.
"Respect life, Ankhseram, God above. I have walked on thin ice all my life. Today I may have slightly crossed the line, just a little bit. Please don't take it to heart."
He walked forward muttering to himself, and saw four figures standing in front of him.
In the morning mist over the wasteland, four elderly men dressed in white robes with gold trim stood side by side, their gazes fixed solemnly on the rolling black clouds on the eastern horizon.
Riyao swaggered over and grinned as he greeted them.
"Hey, are you four standing here watching the sunrise?"
The journey was unhurried, and by the time we reached the border it was already dawn.
Along the way, they observed the battle in Magnolia through the small Parasol Trees on the Sun.
Four of the Spriggan 12, and one is slacking off in the manor.
Brandish was munching on cake in the courtyard, completely transforming into a bystander.
The other three were stopped.
On the outskirts of Magnolia, the first to launch an attack was none other than the Desert King, Ajeel Ramru.
"Haha! Turn into dust and become sand for me!!"
Ajeel laughed wildly and raised his hands, unleashing a torrent of earth-yellow magic that spread out like a burst dam.
He stirred up a sandstorm that covered the entire Magnolia, reducing visibility to only three meters, making it almost impossible to see the enemy with the naked eye.
The sand dunes, blotting out the sky, lashed out like knives in the fierce wind, pounding against the wooden planks of houses with a crackling sound, and the entire town was instantly plunged into a dark, yellowish sandstorm hell.
In mid-air, Natsu sniffed and pointed at one of them.
The dragon-slaying creature's keen sense of smell locked onto the source of the violent magic amidst the swirling sandstorm.
"Happy! That way, charge!"
"Aye! Let's start speeding up!"
[Sonic Soar]
Happy's little white wings suddenly lit up with a blinding white light, and his two little claws gripped Natsu tightly, carrying Natsu towards a certain direction, with a sonic boom.
Boom!
The human and the cat transformed into a sharp, fiery red streak, and the flying sand and gravel crashed into the vacuum zone.
The howling wind rushed into his mouth, and Natsu swallowed a mouthful of sand.
"Pah, pah, pah... I bet Riyao's orchard is in trouble too. He must be furious, hahaha..."
Natsu wiped the sand from the corner of his mouth, and instead of getting angry, he grinned wildly.
Hearing a burst of laughter from the side, Ajeel reacted immediately, unleashing an earthen-yellow magic circle that erected a wall of sand.
A wall of compressed sand, two meters thick, rose abruptly from the ground.
Bang!
Natsu's fist, enveloped in raging flames, slammed into the very center of the sand wall!
Sparks and rubble flew wildly, successfully blocking Natsu and Happy's high-energy combination attack.
The intense heat spread along the surface of his fist, and the sand wall was merely burned into crystals by the flames; it couldn't be pierced through with a single punch.
Crystal-like particles spread rapidly across the sand wall, but Ajeel's magic was inexhaustible, and the sand wall remained standing.
Natsu raised an eyebrow, his fighting spirit intensifying.
Flames danced wildly deep within his pupils, and his blood boiled completely.
I wanted to fight Brandish back on the island, and now I can finally unleash my full potential and have a real fight.
"Happy, put me down! I want to wreak havoc!"
Natsu kicked his legs wildly in mid-air and shouted loudly.
Without thinking twice, Happy tossed Natsu onto the airship.
It was a small Imperial assault airship hovering at low altitude.
The moment his feet touched the metal deck, the fanaticism in Natsu's eyes froze, and his face visibly turned from red to blue, then from blue to purple.
Thump!
Natsu collapsed as soon as he landed.
Fire Dragon slumped on the deck like a lump of mud, his stomach churning, his hands gripping the edge of the deck tightly, and acid reflux escaping his mouth.
Igneel was flying in mid-air, rolled his eyes.
A miniature Fire Dragon, no bigger than a palm, hovered beside Happy, its two front paws folded to its chest, sighing and shaking its head.
"Why did that idiot still get on the airship?"
Seeing this, Ajeel scratched his head, didn't think much of it, and raised his hand to unfold an earthen-yellow magic circle.
Whether he's faking it or he's genuinely incompetent, let's get him on his way first!
The sand flying everywhere rapidly gathered and compressed in his palm, condensing into several sand cones that spun faster.
If Natsu were to be hit by all those sand spikes, he'd probably have several holes in his body.
The high-speed spinning sand cones emitted a piercing sound like chainsaws cutting through the air, and the sharp airflow even tore several deep gashes in the airship's deck.
Natsu struggled to sit up, flames flickering violently around him.
He braced himself on the deck with one hand, his whole body trembling, but the fierce look in his eyes remained undiminished.
Ajeel on the other side made a sarcastic remark.
A cruel smile curled at the corner of Ajeel's lips as he looked down at the struggling boy on the ground.
"Hmph? Is that a struggle? Dragon Slayer actually gets motion sickness? Prepare to die!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
On a high ground several kilometers away, a dazzling burst of fire suddenly exploded!
A blinding white light swept in.
That was a beam of destructive energy compressed to its limit by a magic-guided sniper cannon, tearing through the sky and hurtling in with the force of a thunderbolt!
Natsu, who was lying on the ground, suddenly grinned, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.
"Idiot, I'm sending a signal!"
Boom--
The Compressed Jupiter pierced precisely through the entire power unit of the assault airship!
The airship the two were on was completely destroyed by this ultra-long-range sniper shot, and the violent explosion engulfed them.
The dazzling flames, like a rising sun, illuminated half the sky.
However, amidst this terrifying flame that could melt steel, the raging fire waves seemed to be summoned, frantically collapsing towards the center!
Breathe--
Natsu inhaled all the flames from the explosion, adjusted his posture in mid-air, and puffed out his cheeks.
He swallowed all the shockwaves and flames whole.
Natsu somersaulted in mid-air, using the momentum of his fall to firmly bite and kill Ajeel, who was falling in terror below. His chest bulged high, and a blinding golden-red light exploded from deep in his throat!
[The Fire Dragon King's Roar]
A massive, pillar-like crimson flame erupted, striking Ajeel as he fell.
The raging pillar of Ajeel pierced through hundreds of meters into the air, hurtling down onto the sea near the shore!
A muffled boom!
Instantly, a cloud of white steam rose from the entire sea, blotting out the sky, and the seawater was boiled by the scorching flames.
Huge waves surged dozens of meters high, bubbling and churning with scalding white foam.