Palace Jade Elixir Wine

The light faded.

Where the Magic Crystal had been suspended, two figures fell helplessly from mid-air.

Erza! Gray!

Natsu and Lucy recognized them immediately, exclaimed in surprise, and rushed over to catch them safely.

"Cough cough..." Gray coughed violently a few times and slowly opened his eyes.

Erza also regained consciousness shortly afterward.

The two looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and the soldiers in the Royal Army uniforms, their faces filled with terror, their eyes filled with confusion.

"Where... am I?" Gray shook his still-dizzy head.

"Natsu? What... what happened?" Erza looked at Natsu, who was supporting her, and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Natsu quickly explained in a few words how they came to Edolas, how the guild was turned into Magic Crystals, and how Jiang Bai went to challenge the kingdom alone.

After hearing the explanation, Gray and Erza's expressions both became serious.

"So, in other words, we've all been wiped out by the enemy, and now only Jiang Bai is holding the line?"

Erza frowned deeply, straightened her body, and an aura of power instantly emanated from her.

"Nonsense!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

"How can we let Jiang Bai shoulder all the burdens alone! Fairy Tail isn't a guild that lets its members fight alone!"

Erza's gaze swept over everyone present, and she gave the order, "We're going to the palace immediately to support Jiang Bai!"

"Oh!" Natsu and Gray responded immediately.

Looking at this group of Earth-land mages who acted on a whim, Queen Lucy felt her worldview being refreshed once again.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, she made a decision.

I'm not going.

Queen Lucy crossed her arms, turned her head away, and spoke in a somewhat awkward tone.

"I'll only be a hindrance here, you guys go ahead."

Lucy from Earth-land walked up to her, took her hand, and smiled gently. "Then please wait here for us to return."

Queen Lucy looked at the face that was exactly like her own, but even more gentle and resolute, and nodded as if possessed.

"Yeah, you guys... be careful."

The scene changes.

At this moment, a one-sided crushing defeat is unfolding in Edolas's palace.

Jiang Bai walked openly and casually on the road to the throne, as if strolling in his own backyard.

He was surrounded by a constant stream of the Royal Army soldiers.

Stop him!

"For His Majesty! For the Kingdom!"

Unfortunately, these shouts serve no purpose other than to embolden themselves.

Jiang Bai didn't even bother to glance at them.

The Psychokinesis was like an invisible wall, pushing past him.

The soldiers who rushed forward, whether ordinary soldiers or squad leaders, were like those who had crashed into a speeding truck. They couldn't even touch Jiang Bai's clothes before screaming and flying backward, instantly losing their fighting ability.

From the palace gates to the throne room, a mere few hundred meters, Jiang Bai transformed his path into a "carpet" of people.

During this time, soldiers kept rushing forward and falling down, but all their efforts were in vain.

When Jiang Bai finally pushed open that heavy, ornate door and entered the throne room, a whole group of soldiers lay dead behind him; not a single one of them could stand up.

Inside the palace, King Faust had already received the news, stood before the throne with a look of shock and anger on his face.

Standing beside him were several of the Royal Army's top combatants.

Let's not even mention Hughes and the others.

Erza Knightwalker, clad in scarlet armor, wielding a long spear, with a cold and beautiful face.

And, that man.

A man with the exact same face as Jiang Bai, but with a cold and ruthless demeanor.

Supreme Commander of the Royal Army, Jiang Bai Warren.

Jiang Bai stopped in his tracks, his gaze calmly sweeping over the people before the throne.

He ignored the blustering old king and the wary Erza Knightwalker.

His gaze finally settled on the man who looked exactly like him.

Their eyes met.

His gaze was calm, yet carried a hint of languor and amusement.

A gaze that was cold, wary, and unfathomably scrutinizing.

The atmosphere in the entire hall froze at that moment.

Jiang Bai looked at himself in that other world, a slight smile playing on his lips, and broke the silence first.

"Hello, my other self."

Jiang Bai's relaxed yet playful voice echoed in the hall, completely out of place with the heavy, iron-like atmosphere around him.

Under the astonished and uncertain gazes of everyone, Jiang Bai suddenly spoke again, uttering a statement that left everyone present completely baffled.

"Hello!"

Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow at Warren and asked in a mysterious tone, as if exchanging a coded message:

"Imperial Jade Liquor?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire hall fell into an even more eerie silence.

King Faust looked bewildered.

Erza Knightwalker frowned, completely baffled by the meaning of this nonsensical remark.

After asking that question, Jiang Bai stared intently at Warren, observing every subtle change in his expression.

However, Warren's reaction was exactly the same as the most likely scenario Jiang Bai had anticipated.

For the first time, a clear look of confusion appeared on the usually icy face of the Royal Army's supreme commander.

"What's the meaning?"

Warren's voice remained cold and hard, devoid of any emotion.

Do you want a drink?

It's done.

Hearing this blunt question, Jiang Bai snapped his fingers in his mind.

It seems I was overthinking things.

The guy in front of me looks exactly like me, but what's in his head is completely the factory settings of this world.

That's normal; he's not a time traveler like myself.

Jiang Bai's amused smile deepened.

It seems that these so-called parallel worlds are actually quite interesting.