Greetings, General Jiang Bai! Would You Like to Dance Too?
Queen Lucy is ultimately a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
He said he was going to collect Jiang Bai and the others' bodies, but his body betrayed him, and he followed along, calling it "risking his life to accompany a gentleman."
Amidst Queen Lucy's grumbling, half-complaining and half-worried mutterings, the group arrived at the city gates.
"I'm telling you, you bunch of lunatics, are you really going to just walk in like this?" Queen Lucy tried one last time to persuade them.
"Don't worry," Natsu patted his chest, flashing a bright white smile.
We will protect you!
Queen Lucy rolled her eyes.
Who needs your protection?
Jiang Bai smiled at her hypocritical expression, too lazy to waste any more words with her, and led the way into the city gate.
As it turned out, Jiang Bai's plan to "stir up trouble" was extremely effective.
As soon as they stepped through the city gate, they were spotted by the sharp-eyed guards.
"Stop!"
With a loud shout, more than a dozen fully armed soldiers instantly surrounded them, their long spears all aimed at Natsu, Wendy, and the others.
"They're members of the dark guild, Fairy Tail!" the leading soldier captain shouted.
"Quickly! Arrest them all!"
Natsu instinctively assumed a fighting stance, forgetting that he couldn't use magic at the moment.
Queen Lucy's face turned deathly pale instantly.
It's over!
This time, they're really going to be wiped out in one fell swoop!
She knew that following this group of lunatics would never lead to anything good!
However, just as the soldiers were about to swarm forward, the captain's gaze finally passed over Natsu and landed on Jiang Bai, who stood calmly behind him.
In that instant, the captain's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints from extreme shock.
The fierceness and wariness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an almost fanatical worship and awe.
"Bang!"
A series of muffled thuds, all in unison.
All the soldiers who surrounded them, including the captain, put away their weapons at the same time, clenched their right fists, and pounded them hard on their left chests in a standard military salute.
They straightened their backs, mustered all their strength, and shouted in unison:
"Greetings, General Jiang Bai!"
His voice was loud and clear, resounding through the sky, and filled with heartfelt respect.
This sudden 180-degree turn left everyone stunned.
Natsu remained in his fighting stance, looking utterly bewildered.
"Huh? General?"
Wendy and her two cats also looked completely incredulous.
Queen Lucy had anticipated this outcome and kept silently praying, "Please don't laugh, Jiang Bai, don't give yourself away."
In the Kingdom of Edolas, the name Jiang Bai Warren is a living legend.
Almost everyone in the kingdom, from top to bottom, regardless of age or gender, worshipped this man.
It can be said that if Warren wanted to, he could raise an army capable of overthrowing the entire kingdom at any time, with a success rate as high as 99%.
The only remaining possibility of failure is probably due to a natural disaster such as a meteorite impact.
The current king, Faust, though cruel and willing to sacrifice all life in another world to obtain Infinity magic, has given Jiang Bai Warren almost absolute trust and a supreme position second only to him.
Of course, this trust is built on a colossal lie.
The king deceived Warren from the very beginning, telling Warren that Anima was merely drawing pure magic from other worlds, never mentioning that that so-called "magic" was actually transformed from living beings.
(It is set here that only the King, the Chief of Staff, and Queen Shagotte, the Exceed, know this.)
Seeing the fanatical looks in the eyes of the soldiers before him, Jiang Bai immediately understood.
His counterpart from another world held a much higher status in this country than he had imagined.
Seeing the fanatical looks in the eyes of the soldiers before him, Jiang Bai immediately understood.
His counterpart from another world held a much higher status in this country than he had imagined.
No need for formalities.
Jiang Bai mimicked what he saw on TV and said it casually.
"Yes!"
The soldiers all lowered their hands in unison.
The captain cautiously stepped forward, glancing at Natsu and the others behind Jiang Bai with a look that was both respectful and questioning.
"General, what... what's wrong?"
"General?" Jiang Bai smiled, then shook his head, shattering the other's illusions.
"Don't misunderstand, although I'm also named Jiang Bai, I'm not your so-called general."
With his hands in his pockets, he stated in a calm, factual tone, "I come from another world, Earth-land."
"As for our purpose... it's to stop that 'Anima' thing of yours."
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
The soldier captain's face instantly shifted from fervent reverence to astonishment, which was then replaced by a furious sense of being mocked.
"Another world? Stop Anima?"
He seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, his face darkened, and he suddenly drew the sword from his waist, pointing it directly at Jiang Bai.
"It's one thing to spout nonsense here, but to actually impersonate General Jiang Bai? Are you tired of living?!"
Happy muttered to himself, "Is impersonating a general really more serious than damaging Armani?"
The soldiers behind him reacted quickly, raising their weapons again. The awe in their eyes vanished, replaced by cold stares.
In their eyes, this person was not only impersonating their most beloved general, but also trying to sabotage the Anima plan that would bring eternal magic to Edolas —an act that was undoubtedly unforgivable.
"Take down this madman!"
At the captain's command, more than a dozen soldiers roared and charged in from all directions.
Queen Lucy's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"You idiot! Why did you have to tell the truth!"
She knew that following this group of lunatics would never lead to anything good!
However, Jiang Bai didn't even lift an eyelid when faced with the menacing crowd rushing towards him.
He simply tilted his head slightly with a hint of laziness, a playful smile curving his lips.
"Oh? You guys want to dance too?"
This cryptic remark startled the charging soldiers, but they did not stop.
But the Tucao team next to them received the signal accurately.
"Hey," Happy muttered to Carla, Happy on his hips and with a "I knew it" look on his face.
Jiang Bai's chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) has started again.
Little Wendy's eyes sparkled with adoration, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, her face full of longing.
"But... Jiang Bai looks so handsome like this."
Carla, who had always maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, did not refute this time. She simply gave a soft "humph," turned her head to the side, and said in a voice barely audible, "Well... I won't deny it."
Happy's cat ears immediately perked up, and it moved closer to Carla, a fawning smile on its face.
"Hey! Carla, do you like this type? Then we can learn from Jiang Bai later!"