You... Already Figured It Out?
As the farce ended, before everyone could even recover from their victory, a series of synchronized footsteps echoed from the depths of the woods.
Soon, a group of knights dressed in standard armor and wielding magical lances appeared before the crowd. They were the Rune Knights, a subordinate order of the newly established Magic Council.
The captain, from a great distance, saw the thousand-meter-long giant sword in the sky, which looked like divine punishment.
Seeing Jiang Bai now, all traces of the arrogance of an official were gone, replaced only by heartfelt awe.
"Thank you all for your contributions!" He gave a standard knightly salute to the crowd.
"On behalf of the Magic Council, I salute you all! I will report your achievements truthfully to the higher authorities, and the Magic Council's reward will be delivered to your guild soon."
As he spoke, he ordered his men to detain the unconscious members of the Dark Guild one by one.
"Actually, it's mostly thanks to Lord Jiang Bai," Jura said, clasping his hands together with a hint of shame.
We are unworthy of such praise.
"Alright," Jiang Bai waved his hand.
"You all contributed, and the most important thing is that you were able to resolve the matter satisfactorily."
Hearing Jiang Bai's comforting words, everyone felt somewhat relieved.
The Magic Council knights acted swiftly, and soon left with all the prisoners.
"Hey! Jiang Bai," Natsu asked, looking in the direction the Knights had gone, puzzled.
Why don't we just go back to the guild? Why do we have to go to that Cait Shelter?
Jiang Bai glanced at him. "I'm worried about Wendy and Carla going back alone, is that not allowed?"
He couldn't very well tell Wendy directly that the Cait Shelter was about to disappear and that he had come specifically to lure her back to Fairy Tail.
Ichiya and Jura, who had originally planned to part ways, decided to join Jiang Bai and escort Wendy back after hearing this.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Natsu,"
Happy was definitely the happiest one; he held up a freshly grilled fish to Carla's face.
"We must protect Carla and the others! Carla, are you hungry?"
Carla haughtily turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Wendy, however, wore a bright smile, "Would everyone like to Cait Shelter? The rest of the guild would love to see you!"
Erza couldn't resist hugging Wendy, who looked so adorable.
"I feel like... I'm being treated like a doll," Wendy muttered to herself.
On the way to the Cait Shelter), Lucy curiously asked Erza, "Hey Erza, what were those 'Four Heavenly Kings' that guy named 'Mu' mentioned at the end? Were they very strong?"
Erza's expression turned serious. "'The Four Heavenly Kings' are actually the top four ranked Ten Wizard Saints of our continent."
"It can be said that the gap in strength between the top four and the rest is enormous. Each of the top four has the ability to take on the rest of the group together."
"Is it that strong?" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.
But she quickly thought of another problem: Jiang Bai was ranked seventh in Ten Wizard Saints.
If that "Wu" wasn't lying, and his strength truly rivals that of the Four Heavenly Kings, then Jiang Bai's ability to easily defeat him means that Jiang Bai can also easily control the Four Heavenly Kings.
Why isn't Jiang Bai in the top four?
"What's the deal with Jiang Bai?" Lucy asked, voicing her doubts.
"Although Jiang Bai hasn't fought against any of the top four," Erza said with unwavering determination.
"But I believe Jiang Bai is the strongest!"
"Lucy, no need to guess," Jiang Bai said with a smile.
"I can tell you very clearly, I am the strongest."
Why are you so sure?
Jiang Bai smiled, offering no further explanation, and simply said, "You just need to know that this ranking is only for the public to see."
The so-called number one on the Ishgar Continent would, at best, rank last among the Spriggan 12 in the Alvarez Empire of the Western Continent.
How could he possibly care about such empty fame?
However, there's no need to tell Natsu and the others about this now; it would only add unnecessary pressure to them.
They need more time to grow and become stronger.
Even so, he now possesses the ability to single-handedly take on the entire Alvarez Empire.
Soon, the group arrived at the village where the Cait Shelter was located.
"President! Everyone!" As soon as Wendy saw the familiar figures standing at the village entrance, she and Carla ran over happily.
"Wendy, Carla, welcome back!"
Are you all alright?
Wendy shook her head, a happy smile on her face, "No, Jiang Bai was with me this time, and he protected me very well."
An elderly man standing in the center walked over with a cane and bowed deeply to everyone.
"Welcome to the Cait Shelter. I am Rob, the guild master here. Thank you for defeating the Oración Seis and destroying Nirvana."
"You're welcome," Erza said. "This was part of our mission anyway."
"You must be tired from your long journey. Please come in and have a cup of tea."
"This is my first time visiting another legitimate guild!" Lucy looked around curiously.
"If you have time, Miss Lucy, you're welcome to visit our Blue Pegasus! We have lots of handsome guys there! Manly!"
One night, without anyone noticing, he sidled up to Lucy and gave her a flirtatious wink.
Lucy gave a stiff laugh, "Ah... haha... let's talk about it another time."
All the way, Wendy excitedly followed Chairman Rob, chattering about how amazing Jiang Bai had been.
"Grandpa Chairman, didn't you see?! Brother Jiang Bai just waved his hand, and a sword much taller than several stories appeared!"
Then, with a 'whoosh,' that big guy called Nirvana collapsed!
Rob simply smiled kindly, occasionally ruffling Wendy's hair, his eyes filled with doting affection, yet also carrying a hint of barely perceptible sadness.
Soon, led by Rob, the group arrived at a spacious room.
The "members" of the Cait Shelter quickly served fresh fruit and hot tea.
However, after everyone sat down, the atmosphere in the room gradually became somewhat quiet.
Rob held his teacup, seemingly organizing his thoughts, wanting to speak several times but then stopping himself.
In the midst of this silence, Jiang Bai suddenly spoke.
"Old Master Rob," his voice was calm, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Your will is very strong."
Rob paused slightly in the teacup he was holding, then smiled with relief.
He stopped thinking, put down his teacup, and looked at Jiang Bai with an approving gaze. "Truly, the younger generation is formidable! You... have already figured it out?"
"What? What? What did you see?" Natsu looked left at Jiang Bai and right at Rob, his face full of question marks.
"Bang!"
Erza him on the head with a chop. "Adults talk, kids be quiet!"
Rob slowly stood up and bowed deeply to everyone.
There's something I need to apologize to everyone for.
"Actually, that Nirvana was something I created four hundred years ago."
"What?!"
Four hundred years ago?!
"Grandpa, you're joking, right?"
"Yeah, how could a person live that long!"
The news caused a huge stir. Apart from Jiang Bai, who had expected it, everyone present was stunned by the astonishing news and exclaimed in disbelief.