The Man Was Back

Several days have passed since the Allied Forces disbanded and Wendy and Carla joined the guild.

Fairy Tail was as lively as ever, filled with all sorts of noise and laughter.

As soon as Jiang Bai entered the guild, he spotted Wendy at the bar, learning how to mix drinks from Mirajane.

He walked over and asked with a smile, "How are you doing, Wendy? Are you settling into the guild these past few days?"

As soon as Wendy saw Jiang Bai, she immediately broke into a bright smile, "Mmm! It feels so good! Everyone is so nice to me, Brother Jiang Bai!"

"That's good."

Jiang Bai nodded, then looked at Carla, who was squatting on the bar, arrogantly enjoying Mirajane's special cat milkshake.

"How's Carla feeling?"

Carla licked the milk stains from her lips with a reserved air and gave a soft hum. "Hmph, I think it's not bad that it has girls' dormitories."

After spending a few days together, Wendy and Carla have begun to integrate into the Fairy Tail family.

Wendy never lacks tasks; her powerful healing magic makes her the most popular support staff in the guild.

Whoever gets injured during the mission can recover quickly as long as they come back to Wendy for treatment.

Of course, for her right now, the main focus is on learning and adapting to guild life.

Just then, a loud and rhythmic bell rang out from outside the guild.

"Thump--Thump--Thump--!"

The bells rang out powerfully, echoing throughout the entire town of Magnolia.

"Huh? What's that sound?" Lucy put down her magazine and asked curiously.

Wendy looked around blankly as well.

However, the veteran members of the guild reacted quite differently the moment they heard the bell.

Natsu, who was fighting Gray, suddenly stopped, his eyes lighting up instantly, his face filled with excitement. "That bell... it's him!"

At the bar, Cana, who had been drinking heartily from an entire wooden barrel, put down the barrel and a complicated smile appeared on her lips.

"Hmph! So you've finally decided to come back, you old geezer..."

Although she was complaining, the slight upturn of her lips and the joy in her eyes betrayed her happy mood.

The other members of the guild immediately erupted in an uproar.

"Could it be?!"

"That's right! This bell sound is absolutely correct!"

"Oh!! That's great!"

"It's Gildarts! Gildarts is back!"

"Gildarts?" Wendy repeated the name softly, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Upon hearing the name, Lucy seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "Oh! I remember! It's Cana's father, isn't it? I've heard people say he's the second strongest member of the guild!"

"The second strongest?" Wendy blinked, instinctively glancing at Jiang Bai beside her.

"Is the strongest person Brother Jiang Bai?"

"Of course," Lucy nodded matter-of-factly.

"It must be that monster Jiang Bai. But why is everyone so excited? The last time I saw Natsu this excited was when he secretly took me on S-Class Mission."

Mirajane wiped the cup in her hands and explained with a smile, "It's understandable that everyone is so excited. After all, Gildarts hasn't been back for three whole years."

"Three years?!" Lucy gasped in astonishment.

Where did he go?

"Of course I'm going to work!" Jiang Bai chimed in lazily.

"That old man went to do 100-Year Quest."

"A hundred -100-Year Quest?!" Lucy's exclamation rose another octave.

"That's right," Mirajane explained patiently.

"Above S-Class Missions, there are even more difficult SS-Class Missions, and above that are Ten-Year Quest that might not be completed even in ten years."

"And the highest level is the 100-Year Quest, which no one has been able to complete in a hundred years."

She paused, then added with a proud tone, "Currently, in the entire magic world, only Xiao Bai has truly completed a 100-Year Quest."

Jiang Bai neither confirmed nor denied this, but stroked his chin and analyzed, "Actually, judging from the difficulty of the last mission I did, Gildarts' strength is more than enough to handle it."

"It took them so long to get back. They must have run into some big trouble on the way, or maybe... they met some other beautiful women in some town and are having such a good time they don't want to leave."

"Xiao Bai," Mirajane said, narrowing her eyes and looking at him mischievously.

You sound quite envious, don't you?

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Bai immediately felt two chilling killing intents coming from the direction of Erza and Mirajane.

A chill ran down his spine, and he immediately declared righteously, "Who said that! I, Jiang Bai, swear to be mortal enemies with a lecherous scoundrel like Gildarts!"

"Mr. Gildarts... isn't he Cana's father?" Lucy muttered softly.

"Okay, looks like he really is a womanizing old man."

Just as everyone was discussing this, the town's magical broadcast suddenly rang out.

[Attention all residents of Magnolia! The town is now in Gildarts Mode!]

[Please move to the designated safe location immediately. I'll repeat that again...]

"What is this?" Lucy was completely bewildered. She felt that she had been shocked more today than in the past month.

Mirajane winked playfully and said mysteriously, "Lucy, you'll see for yourself when you go out. Wendy and Carla should come along too; it's one of the unique features of our city."

Completely piqued by their curiosity, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla immediately ran out of the guild gates.

Then, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.

The ground of the entire town of Magnolia actually started to move!

The earth cracked open, houses sank, and streets began to move, deform, and reassemble like giant building blocks.

A straight and wide avenue stretched from the town's entrance all the way to the Fairy Tail guild's main gate.

Lucy's mouth was open, but she couldn't say a word.

"No... no way! For... for one person... the whole street..."