The Eve of Phantom Lord's Assault

Jiang Bai's figure disappeared completely into the night of Oak Town, leaving behind only a desolate ruin and wailing sounds.

After a long while, the Phantom Lord with severed limbs finally recovered from their extreme fear and, in twos and threes, helped each other as they struggled to crawl out of the rubble.

"How... how terrifying! That guy is a demon!"

"Is this the power of Fairy Tail's trump card, 'Infinity' Jiang Bai? How can we possibly fight against this?"

"Even... even Gajeel was powerless against him, and was defeated in an instant."

"We... we'd better inform President Jose as soon as possible!"

"Hurry! Take Gajeel with you!"

Thus, this group of defeated soldiers, dragging their severely wounded bodies and supporting the completely unconscious Gajeel, fled Oak Town in a panic.

They were heading towards the true headquarters of the Phantom Lords —a massive, mobile castle-like guild that could even transform into a Gundam.

What Jiang Bai destroyed before was merely one of their branches in Oak Town.

Guild headquarters, atop the towering throne.

Jose Bora, one of the Ten Wizard Saints Mages, listened to his subordinate's report with a gloomy face.

His gaze swept over the guild members lying haphazardly below the hall, each one with broken bones, groaning in agony.

The gaze finally fell on Gajeel, who was being carried in. The man who called himself the Phantom Lord Ace was now unconscious like a lump of mud, with strange magical fluctuations still remaining on his forehead.

Jose's already gloomy face became even more terrifying, as if it might drip water at any moment.

"Jiang Bai... Makarov... Fairy Tail..."

His voice was hoarse and low, filled with deep-seated hatred.

"This mere brat not only destroyed my branch, but also dared to injure so many of my people on my turf, and even dared to threaten me?"

"Who gave him the guts? Was it because that old geezer Makarov was backing him up?"

"Do they really think I'm still the same person I was a few years ago, the one Makarov casually taught a lesson to?!"

Jose abruptly rose from his throne, and the terrifying magic caused the entire hall to tremble.

"It seems it's time to let the entire Kingdom of Fiore know who the number one magic guild is!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and coldly asked, "Who are the only S-Class Mages left in Fairy Tail?"

A passerby, who was still relatively unharmed, answered tremblingly, "Reporting to... Reporting to the Guild Master, according to the intelligence, only 'Infinity' Jiang Bai and 'Demon' Mirajane present."

"Mirajane?"

Jose's lips curled into a contemptuous sneer.

"That woman's magical power was supposedly depleted long ago due to her sister's death, rendering her unable to use magic and therefore not a threat. In other words, the only S-Class fighter Fairy Tail can currently handle is Jiang Bai!"

A glint of mad calculation flashed in his eyes.

(On the other side, Mirajane, who was wiping wine glasses, seemed to sense something and smiled to herself, "Is that so? Well, that depends on who you want to be impolite to. If you dare to lay a finger on Jiang Bai, I'll turn back into that 'Demon'.")

"Pass on my order! Summon the 'Element 4'!"

Jose's voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Notify everyone in the guild to prepare for guild activation! I'm launching a full-scale attack on Fairy Tail!"

"Yes!" Passerby A accepted the order and scrambled out.

Another passerby pointed at Gajeel on the ground and asked cautiously, "Then... Guild Master Jose, what should we do with Lord Gajeel?"

Jose glanced at the unconscious "useless thing," his eyes filled with disgust. "This worthless piece of trash! With this level of skill, he dares to call himself our Phantom Lord King's ace?"

"Find him a doctor to heal him, then send him to deal with that fire-wielding Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail. If he can't even beat that brat, kick him out of the guild!"

At Jose's command, the massive Phantom Lord Guild began to move slowly, like a colossal beast awakening.

At this time, the Fairy Tail guild...

The massive iron pillars have been cleared away, and the damaged areas have been hastily repaired with wooden planks, but this is only enough to prevent the entire building from collapsing immediately.

The atmosphere in the temporary underground guild was terribly oppressive.

Everyone was holding their breath, their faces filled with humiliation and anger.

Only Makarov and Mirajane remained completely unperturbed, one drinking and the other wiping glasses, appearing relaxed and at ease.

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore!"

Natsu finally couldn't hold back any longer, suddenly stood up, and uncontrollably spewed a ball of flame from his mouth.

He rushed up to Makarov and yelled, "Old man! I don't care anymore! I'm going to go and fight those Spectre Phantom Lord right now!"

Mirajane, seeing his hurried appearance, tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Natsu, didn't you go?"

Natsu was taken aback by the question, and asked in confusion, "Didn't Grandpa say it wasn't allowed? Of course I didn't go!"

"Alright, stop arguing."

Gray said from the side,

"The president must have his own reasons for doing this."

That's what he said, but Gray's clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.

It would be too disappointing for everyone to just let it go like this; this is not Fairy Tail's style at all.

"Speaking of which,"

Lucy looked around and asked softly,

Where is Jiang Bai?

Who knows?

Natsu replied irritably.

"That guy's probably still sleeping somewhere."

"Seriously? The guild's in this state, and you can still sleep?"

Lucy looked incredulous.

Is Jiang Bai just carefree, or heartless?

Just then, the basement door was violently kicked open, and a guild member rushed in like a madman, holding a newspaper and shouting breathlessly:

"Great news! Fantastic news!!"

All eyes in the guild instantly turned to him.

Given the current situation, what good news could possibly come of it?

The person who arrived, supporting his knees and catching his breath, finally finished speaking:

"The Phantom Lord Phantom Lord in Oak Town... has been destroyed! All the guild members inside are severely injured!"

"What?!!"

After a moment of deathly silence, the entire guild erupted in a cacophony of gasps and screams.

Only Mirajane and Makarov, who knew the truth, exchanged a smile, their faces showing no surprise whatsoever.

In a flash, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and the others rushed over and snatched the newspaper.

The newspaper's front page featured a huge photograph.

The background of the photo is a ruin completely reduced to dust, with countless figures lying on the ground groaning in agony, while a lone figure is slowly walking away with his back to the camera.

Although the photo is a bit blurry due to the hasty shooting, the entire Fairy Tail crew recognized that figure and that air of authority at a glance.

That person is Jiang Bai!!