Ichiya's Strength

The competition ended, and the contestants left the venue one after another.

In the rest area of Lamia Scale, Obaba pointed at her dejected contestant Toby and angrily cursed him.

"Toby! You idiot! What are you doing on the field?!"

As she cursed, she extended her index finger and twirled it in the air, as if she were preparing some terrible punishment.

On the other side, the rest area for the Blue Pegasus was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Well done, Ivan! You actually got third place!" Ivan praised in his signature aria.

Ivan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear, "Luckily, Jiang Bai's main target wasn't me, otherwise I might be in the same situation as that bard from Sabertooth."

The atmosphere at Mermaid Heel was rather subdued.

"Well, the ranking is neither high nor low, it's alright, I guess."

"Yes, Beth did her best." Kagura looked at her teammates and gave them a thumbs up.

On Fairy Tail Team B's side, as soon as Wendy returned to the rest area, everyone immediately surrounded her and gave her a warm round of applause.

"Great result, Wendy! You came in second place, just behind Xiao Bai!" Mirajane smiled and patted Wendy's head.

"Well done!"

A deep, powerful voice rang out; it was Laxus.

Upon hearing Laxus actually praise someone, Gajeel, Juvia, and the others around them all showed expressions of shock.

Is this still the same Laxus that used to look down on everyone and act all high and mighty?

Laxus felt a little uncomfortable under everyone's gaze, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly.

"W-what's wrong? What's so interesting?"

Meanwhile, on Sabertooth's side, several teammates who were on good terms with Rufus had already left the field and carefully helped Rufus, who was standing there blankly like a puppet, back to the field.

Meanwhile, Jiang Bai returned to Fairy Tail's rest area.

"Smack!"

He and Natsu, who came to greet him, gave each other a high five in unison.

Although everyone knew that Jiang Bai's appearance meant victory was inevitable, the proper celebrations were still in order.

This time, in particular, not only were we dealt with that treacherous member of the Raven Tail, but we also made the arrogant Sabertooth lose face. It was so satisfying!

"That's fantastic, Jiang Bai!"

"Next up, it's time for the battle!" Natsu's fists were already burning.

The host Chapati, sang with fervor once again throughout the venue.

"What an unexpected result! Fairy Tail has swept the top two spots in the first competition! Does this foreshadow the return of the former champions, Fairy Tail?"

"Alright! Now, the first afternoon's 'battle' segment is about to begin! I have the list of contestants to compete!"

"Please come to the stage when your name is called!"

As Chapati announced this, the magically constructed town began to rapidly Disassembly and disappear, replaced by a vast, empty battle platform.

"Today's first match! It will be between Ren Akatsuki from 'Blue Pegasus' and Aranya Wep from 'Mermaid Heel'!"

"Oh! Is the battle finally about to begin?!" Natsu, a battle maniac, instantly became excited, leaning on the railing and watching the scene below with great interest.

Soon, the first battle began.

Lian straightened her collar and struck what she thought was a cool pose.

"Aranya, it seems your strength has improved even more since last year."

Aranya covered her mouth and chuckled, then winked at Lian.

"Little Ren, aren't you Blue Pegasus supposed to be the most respectful of girls? How could you lay a hand on me?"

From the commentary booth, Chapati exclaimed passionately, "In the first match, neither side is giving an inch! It seems both want to earn another point for their guild!"

Grandpa Yajima took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Hmm~ They are all very hardworking and good children."

Just then, another commentator, Jenny from Blue Pegasus, suddenly picked up the microphone and shouted to the audience.

"Lian! You can do it! Sherry is here watching you!"

Upon hearing this, Lian's body stiffened abruptly, and she subconsciously looked towards the audience seats of the Lamia Scale, completely distracted.

"What?!"

"There's a flaw!"

Aranya seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and immediately activated her magic, creating a large number of spider webs that wrapped around Lian.

Lian was caught off guard and could only scramble around the field to avoid the attack.

In the audience of Lamia Scale, Sherry saw this scene and stood up in a panic, cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting loudly.

"What are you doing, Lian! Fight back now!"

"Idiot! Sherry! Don't cheer for other guilds!" Obaba started twirling her fingers again.

Other guild members nearby whispered, "What does it matter, ma'am? They're already engaged anyway."

"Huh?!"

Upon hearing this, Lucy's gossip-loving spirit was ignited on Fairy Tail's side.

She pointed in surprise in Sherry's direction and said to Erza beside her, "Isn't she the one on Galuna Island who always had 'love, love, love' on her lips? How come she's with Ren of Blue Pegasus...?"

"Seven years is a long time," Erza said calmly, watching the battle unfold.

"Some changes will happen, which is not surprising."

On the field, Lian, upon hearing Sherry's cheers, seemed to be instantly energized.

"Now that Sherry is here, I absolutely can't let myself be so pathetic!"

He dodged a spider web, unleashed his magic, and pushed forward with both hands!

"Air Explosion!"

A powerful air cannon shot out, hitting Aranya precisely where she had no time to dodge.

Aranya cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"The winner is— Blue Pegasus, Lotus Crimson Moon!" Chapati announced the result loudly.

The audience immediately erupted in enthusiastic cheers for the winner.

"Wow... so that guild that only knows how to show off actually has real strength," Lucy said, somewhat surprised, looking at Ren's victory.

"I thought they were just a boy band that relied on their looks."

"What are you talking about, Lucy?" Erza corrected her.

"Blue Pegasus has always been a very strong guild and should not be underestimated."

"Really?" Lucy was still somewhat incredulous.

In her memory, those frivolous and showy guys from Blue Pegasus, that eccentric president Bob, and that one night that was unbearable to watch... none of them seemed like capable people.

"Haha, I get you, Lucy."

Jiang Bai suddenly laughed.

"However, in a sense, their style is something I really don't want to run into easily. I guess that's a kind of 'strength' in itself."

"Could it be... that guy who looks like an alien is also very strong?" Lucy asked tentatively.

Jiang Bai's smile faded slightly, and he nodded.

"Of course, don't let his usual demeanor fool you. If he ever gets serious, without a doubt, he's the strongest mage on Blue Pegasus."

Before Lucy could even speak, Natsu and Gray exclaimed in shock.

"Really?!"