Do You... Want to Join Our Guild?

Lyon didn't even glance at Gray again, as if his junior brother were nothing more than a pebble on the roadside.

He addressed his three remaining men in a condescending tone, "Go, take care of these intruders first."

"Yes!"

Yuka, Toby, and Sherry obeyed the order and immediately rushed towards Jiang Bai and the others.

Natsu's expression changed instantly.

He abruptly turned to look at Jiang Bai, his eyes filled with wariness and urgency, as if afraid that Jiang Bai would once again kill everyone with a single glance, just like before.

"Jiang Bai! We made a promise!"

Natsu shouted first,

"Leave these people to me!"

Jiang Bai waved his hand impatiently. "Hey, hey, go ahead. You've said it so many times, I remember."

Having received permission, Natsu instantly became incredibly energetic, grinning widely as his fists blazed with fire as he charged head-on into the three oncoming figures.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

He threw a punch, but instead of attacking directly, he cleverly used the force of the punch to lift Yuka and Toby up, carrying them towards another passage, instantly splitting the battlefield apart.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out worriedly.

On the other side, when Sherry saw her two companions being taken away, she was not angry at all, but instead revealed a cruel smile.

"Angelica! Go and destroy them! For love!"

At her call, the enormous white rat once again sprang from the shadows.

Its blood-red eyes scanned the battlefield, searching for a target, and then its gaze met Jiang Bai's, who was standing there listlessly.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The fear of being dominated by that man that morning surged back into my heart like a tidal wave.

It was a shiver that came from the depths of the soul, the most primal instinct of the lowest creature in the food chain when facing its predator.

"Squeak--!"

Angelica let out a scream more piercing than ever before, and its massive body came to an abrupt halt in an uncoordinated manner.

Then, without hesitation, he turned around and scrambled back in the direction he came from, more than ten times faster than when he came.

Sherry's smile froze. She stared incredulously in the direction Angelica had disappeared. "Angelica? Where are you going?"

"Stop shouting,"

Lucy couldn't help but complain,

"It's obvious it's terrified."

Sherry whirled around, staring intently at Jiang Bai and Lucy: "So it was you! You're the ones who scared my Angelica!"

"So why name a mouse 'Angelica'?"

Lucy was still struggling with this strange name.

Jiang Bai pointed to the woman opposite him who was furious because her pet had escaped. "Lucy, she's in your hands now."

Lucy glanced at Sherry; Sherry's biggest ally had already fled. Her confidence surged instantly. "No problem!"

Lyon frowned slightly when he saw that his three capable subordinates were all stuck in a stalemate.

He waved to the group of silent, masked subordinates behind him.

"You guys go too."

The dozen or so masked men immediately obeyed and prepared to launch an attack.

"Gray,"

Jiang Bai's voice rang out softly.

"You'll have to deal with your senior brother yourself."

After saying that, he didn't even bother to make a move, but simply turned his gaze to the group of masked men who were about to rush up.

An invisible and intangible yet heavy Spiritual Pressure swept out like a tsunami.

The dozen or so masked men froze instantly as they charged forward.

Immediately, their eyes became vacant, as if their souls had been instantly ripped out, and one after another they collapsed to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

The entire process was eerily quiet.

For the first time, cracks appeared on Lyon's arrogant and composed face.

"Nani!"

He stared in shock at his men scattered on the ground, then suddenly looked at the man who had kept his hands in his pockets the whole time, as if he had only done something insignificant.

Who are you?

He turned to the only remaining subordinate standing beside him, a short man wearing an Indian-style mask. "Zalty, do you know him?"

Ultear, known as Zalty, slowly said in her disguised, hoarse voice, "He is Fairy Tail's ace— 'Infinity' Jiang Bai!"

Damn it!

Ultear cursed inwardly, "What terrible luck!"

Wasn't Jiang Bai supposed to be so lazy about going out except for the most top-level missions? How come he ended up in a place like this?

However, since we've already encountered this...

Ultear had a sudden thought: Perfect, let me personally test just how unfathomable this legendary "Infinity" really is!

So, she deliberately used a slightly panicked tone to provoke Lyon beside her. "Lord Zero Emperor, it seems our plan to unseal Deliora is going to fail."

"Impossible!"

Lyon's pride was deeply wounded, and he roared, "Forget about Infinity or Infinity, anyone who dares to stop my plan will be annihilated!"

He formed a hand seal with one hand, and icy magic surged wildly.

"ICE MAKE! Ice Tiger!"

A massive, lifelike tiger made of ice Roar as it charged toward Jiang Bai.

However, Gray moved even faster.

"ICE MAKE! Ice Cage!"

A massive ice cage descended from the sky, trapping the Ice Tiger inside with pinpoint accuracy.

"Lyon,"

Gray stood in front of Jiang Bai, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

"Your opponent is me!"

Before he could finish speaking, he and Lyon had already transformed into two streaks of light and collided violently.

The collision of ice against ice unleashed a bone-chilling cold current that tore apart the surrounding rock walls. The two fought fiercely all the way, breaking through the dome of the temple and engaging in a fateful duel between the two brothers under the moonlight.

Jiang Bai looked up at the large hole that had been smashed open, and was about to go out to watch the battle when the short figure named Zalty blocked his way.

Ultear let out a strange laugh, raised her hand, and gently waved it towards the hole.

To Lucy's astonishment, the shattered rocks seemed to be reversed in time, quickly returning to their original positions. In just a few seconds, the large hole that had been smashed open was completely restored to its original state, without even a trace of a crack.

"It's... it's back to normal..."

Lucy stammered.

"Hehe,"

Ultear let out a hoarse laugh, looking at Jiang Bai defiantly.

"How is my magic? Does it meet the standards of Lord 'Infinity'?"

Jiang Bai looked at the intact dome, then at Ultear in front of him, and a serious expression appeared on his face like never before.

"You... would you like to join our guild?"

"Huh?"

Ultear was completely stunned; this was entirely different from the script she had envisioned.

"Our guild gets destroyed by those idiots every day, and the old man is constantly worried about the repair costs."

Jiang Bai explained in a very serious tone,

"If you come, the old man will definitely treat you like a treasure."

Lucy, hiding to the side, subconsciously imagined the scene: Natsu and Gray fighting and destroying half the guild, then Ultear waving her hand, and the guild instantly restored...

She actually found Jiang Bai's words to make a lot of sense!

Ultear's mask was about to fall off, and a surge of anger rushed to her head.

What is this man saying?

The Lost Magic "Arc of Time," which he had learned through immense suffering and was powerful enough to overturn the world, was, in his eyes, merely a building magic for repairing a guild?

"Heh... It seems Lord Jiang Bai looks down on my magic." Her voice turned icy.

"Who said that? I was just making a very sincere suggestion." Jiang Bai looked completely innocent.

"You'll have to experience this magic for yourself to see how effective it truly is!"

Ultear stopped talking nonsense, and the ground beneath her feet suddenly began to twist and dissipate, as if erased by time.

A bottomless void appeared out of nowhere, swallowing her and Jiang Bai together.

Jiang Bai didn't even try to resist, letting himself fall into darkness, a hint of curiosity even on his face.

"Jiang Bai!"

Lucy screamed.

"You still have time to care about other people?"

Sherry appeared before her, her face radiating a vengeful satisfaction.

"Let me avenge Angelica! For love!"

"Lucy, run!"

Happy reacted quickly, grabbing Lucy by the back of her collar and carrying her toward the hole that had collapsed that morning.

"If you're so capable, then catch up with me!"

Lucy made a face at Sherry below, and the two of them quickly disappeared from the cave entrance.