The Teams Merge!

The fourth day of the Grand Magic Games.

The preparation phase before the competition.

The entire Fairy Tail crew gathered at the entrance to the arena for a casual chat.

A soldier from the kingdom, dressed in full steel armor, jogged over, stopped in front of the crowd, knelt down on one knee, and clasped his hands above his head.

"Lord Jiang Bai!"

"His Majesty has urgent business to attend to. Please proceed to the King's Lounge immediately!"

Jiang Bai yawned and waved his left hand.

"This is so troublesome."

"Go back to that old man now and tell him to come over."

The kingdom's soldiers stood frozen in place, their heads bowed low.

The idea of having the highest ruler of the Kingdom of Fiore personally come to invite someone is something I wouldn't dare to even attempt, even if I had a hundred lives.

The kingdom's soldiers knelt in place, not daring to utter a word, letting cold sweat drip down their chins.

"Alright, you brat!"

Makarov pushed Jiang Bai forward, urging him on repeatedly.

"Go and see what's going on! He's the ruler of a country, after all. Go and come back quickly!"

Jiang Bai was pushed several steps back and could only reluctantly pull his hand out of his pocket.

"Alright, alright."

Jiang Bai followed the VIP passage to the King's private lounge, strode into the room, and pulled out the velvet and leather chair in front of him to sit down.

"Old man, why did you send someone to call me over?"

King Toma the Pumpkin sat in a large chair, his hands clasped together on the table.

To be honest, he appreciated this straightforward and unpretentious way of communicating, since there were too many people who fawned over him all the time.

But what if you tried it on a commoner? The guards around him would immediately draw their swords and chop him into mincemeat.

Toma leaned forward slightly.

"Jiang Bai, actually, there's something very important I want to discuss with you here."

"Yesterday, the Raven Tail guild blatantly violated the rules and has been forced to withdraw from the competition by the tournament organizers."

Jiang Bai saw that the old man was starting to ramble on again and said...

"Get to the point."

Toma pushed the schedule on the table forward.

"Because the Raven Tail left, the number of participating teams has now become an awkward odd number."

"To ensure fair pairings in subsequent battles and prevent any team from receiving a bye."

He presented his final demands.

"We want the remaining teams to remain an even number, so we'd like to merge the two Fairy Tail teams into a completely new team."

Jiang Bai lowered his legs and leaned his upper body closer to the table.

"Oh?"

A simple syllable.

Toma keenly sensed the threatening undertone in the response.

Not daring to utter a single word, he doubled his speaking speed and quickly presented the conditions he had prepared beforehand.

"After the teams merge, to ensure fairness, the total score will be based on Team B, which currently has the lower score!"

Toma was afraid that Jiang Bai would overturn the table on the spot, so he quickly offered additional material compensation.

"But please rest assured!"

Toma raised the five fingers of his right hand.

"As long as the merged team wins the final tournament, the agreed-upon 50 million J championship prize money will be paid in full!"

Then I added a finger from my left hand.

"Furthermore, I'll personally contribute an additional 10 million J as a special bonus to the guild!"

Jiang Bai snapped his fingers, then stood up and straightened his collar.

"You should have said so earlier! I almost had to stretch my legs just now, and now the kingdom has completely lost its capital."

Jiang Bai never imagined that one day he would become the 'Money-Adding Guy'! Although it was passively.

Toma grabbed a tissue from the table and frantically wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Don't make destroying the capital sound so easy!"

Jiang Bai retraced his steps down the corridor, found Makarov and the others, and repeated Toma's suggestion.

Makarov's face contorted instantly when he heard that the units were to be merged.

"Two teams merged into one?!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Makarov started counting on his fingers.

"Team A is in first place, Team B is in second place, they've taken both the championship and runner-up!"

"Now that we're forced to merge into one team, we can only get one first-place prize!"

"That's a full 20 million J short!"

"Has the king become senile?!"

Jiang Bai extended a finger and shook it twice, interrupting the wailing.

"The old king added a condition: whoever wins the championship will receive an additional 10 million J on top of the 50 million J already awarded."

"A total of 60 million J is in hand directly."

Makarov's face instantly relaxed, and he grinned, revealing his teeth.

Sixty million J!

"The king is indeed the king, so wise!"

Makarov's face-changing skills were nothing short of perfect.

By simply merging teams, they can actually make a huge extra profit; this deal is definitely a sure thing.

"Alright, boys! Listen up!"

Makarov shouted orders.

"Now that we've merged into a new team, let's quickly select the remaining four members to participate!"

Lucy stood to the side and voiced her complaints.

"Has Jiang Bai already been tacitly arranged to play?"

Mirajane stood beside Lucy and covered her mouth as she spoke.

"Because only Xiao Bai is on the field can the president feel completely at ease."

Makarov coughed twice loudly.

"No matter what, Jiang Bai must secure a starting spot!"

Makarov continued to assess the strength of his forces.

"Yes, Laxus will definitely have to participate in this crucial melee!"

Laxus leaned against the wooden pillar behind him and nodded slightly, indicating his agreement to the arrangement.

No one had any objections to Laxus's appearance, given his undeniable strength.

Makarov scanned the remaining personnel.

"There are only three spots left. Anyone want to volunteer?"

Surprisingly, Erza was the first to step forward and say, "I'm withdrawing from the competition!"

Erza glanced at the bandage on her right arm.

"The injuries I sustained at the Pandemonium haven't fully healed yet, and I've already experienced the festive atmosphere of single-handedly annihilating a hundred demons."

Gray stepped forward, raised one hand to signal to leave, and then put both hands in his pockets.

I give up too!

"I just had a fierce battle with Lyon yesterday, and I haven't fully recovered my strength yet. I'm already very satisfied to have participated in a proper match."

Natsu immediately leaped out from the crowd, flames shooting from his mouth.

"Grandpa! I absolutely will not back down!"

"I haven't even played a single proper match yet!"

With heavy footsteps, Gajeel strode out, clenching his fists, which gleamed with a steely sheen.

"Hehehe! My thoughts are exactly the same as the Fire Dragon's!"

Mirajane, Wendy, and Lucy declined.

The three girls gave their reasons in unison: they had already participated in the competition in previous events, and they didn't particularly like fighting anyway.

Juvia approached Makarov.

Juvia is going to compete!

"Since Lord Gray isn't playing, then Juvia will take Gray place on the field!"

Makarov made the final decision.

"Great! We've got the right number!"

"Jiang Bai, Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, and Juvia will represent the guild in the final battle!"