A Breakneck Charge! Sabertooth Takes Back the Lead

The dust at the crossroads gradually settled.

Kagura knelt down in the rubble pit, her forehead pressed tightly against the scabbard, her magical energy completely drained.

The large, high-altitude magic screen instantly locked onto this image.

In the commentary booth, Chapati grabbed two red microphones.

"Captain Kagura of Mermaid Heel has exhausted her magic power and is deemed incapable of fighting!"

Fairy Tail defeated the enemy captain and successfully earned a huge bonus of ten points!

Just as Chapati was about to launch into his usual effusive praise, his gaze swept over the real-time leaderboard beside him.

Chapati froze, nearly dropping the microphone from his hand and smashing it on the table.

The enormous golden numbers are jumping wildly upwards at an outrageous speed.

I don't know when it started.

Sabertooth, which was originally ranked second with only 38 points, has seen its total points skyrocket to 58!

The audience erupted in uproar.

If Jiang Bai hadn't just defeated Kagura and secured those crucial ten points, bringing Fairy Tail's total score to sixty-five, the top spot would have already been taken by someone else.

The narrow streets and alleys of the eastern district of the capital.

Several members of the Quatro Cerberus lay sprawled in the ruins, their bodies covered in burn marks and beams of light.

Just now, during the time when Jiang Bai and Kagura were sparring at the crossroads...

Sabertooth launched a highly efficient joint clearing operation.

Standing atop the towering clock tower, Rufus flipped through the Book of Memory-Make, taking in the distribution of magic throughout the city and acting as the team's human radar.

The relatively weak Quatro Cerberus unsurprisingly became the first targets of the cleanup.

Sting went into a berserk state to rescue Lector, and with Rufus's guidance, completed the targeted elimination in a short time.

All Quatro Cerberus were eliminated.

Not only that.

At the corner of another commercial street, Rogue slowly rose from the shadows.

Lying on the ground was the Blue Pegasus, with Jenny lying beside him.

The magical power of a single night is indeed astonishing, but each time a special aroma spell is cast, a relatively long pre-cast animation is required.

Against Rogue, who was lurking in the streets, this slow spellcasting animation became a fatal flaw.

The dark shadow blade stabbed out from a blind spot. Before he could even take out his concentrated perfume, he was struck squarely on the back of the neck and immediately lost consciousness.

Jenny, who was protecting him, was also swept away by the shadowy figure, and both of them were forced to retreat.

The residential areas south of the capital were also engulfed in war.

The remaining three members of Blue Pegasus, Hibiki, Ren, Ivan, joined forces to eliminate the two lone members of Mermaid Heel, and Blue Pegasus' total score rose to thirty-five points.

Immediately afterwards, Lyon and Sherria from Lamia Scale joined forces to enter the battlefield, also eliminating the remaining two players from Mermaid Heel, bringing Lamia Scale's score to thirty-one points.

The two guilds then met on the main road in the southern district.

Lyon raised his hand and unleashed several ice birds, while Sherria was surrounded by a black storm as they faced off against the three-man team of the Blue Pegasus.

The two sides clashed right in the middle of the street.

But two blocks away from them.

Minerva, wearing wooden clogs, waved a folding fan in her right hand, with Rufus and Orga carrying a giant cannon beside her.

The three of them quickly moved along the dark alleyway to surround Yuka and Toby, who were alone at the Lamia Scale.

In the survival battles of the Grand Magic Games, luck, this mysterious force, is often even more unpredictable than strength.

The distribution of luck in Fairy Tail's case seems particularly strange.

Natsu screamed as he ran wildly down the central avenue, spewing sparks from his mouth, but he didn't even catch a glimpse of an enemy.

Gajeel and Juvia also came up empty-handed.

The three searched for a long time but didn't encounter any enemies. Instead, they ran into their own people several times at different intersections.

As for Laxus.

You could say Laxus had bad luck, but in an empty plaza, he actually bumped into a lone opponent.

You could say he was lucky, but the one standing opposite him just happened to be Jura, Ten Wizard Saints.

The broadcasting crystal projects the image from the center of the square into the sky.

Chapati grabbed the microphone and started yelling.

"Look at the circular ruins plaza in the west wing!"

"Laxus of Fairy Tail has run into Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

In the center of the square, a dilapidated stone pillar stands leaning precariously.

Jura her hands together, calmly watching the blond youth striding towards her.

"Is he Makarov's grandson?"

Jura slowly lowered his hand, his broad shoulders slumping slightly.

"I've always wanted to see for myself just how powerful you are, having inherited that man's bloodline."

Laxus stopped, her golden hair swaying slightly in the wind.

When their eyes met Jura's steady gaze, the dormant magic within him suddenly surged.

Laxus didn't reply immediately, but grabbed the collar of his black coat and swung it back forcefully.

The heavy coat traced an arc and hung steadily above the broken half of the pillar beside it.

Golden arcs of electricity crackled and popped on the skin's surface.

Laxus stood with his feet slightly apart, assuming a fighting stance, a smug grin spreading across his face.

"The old man's grandson?"

Laxus flicked his wrist, his knuckles cracking.

"As for your true strength, let the Ten Wizard Saints himself test it with his own body!"

A few years ago, what Laxus hated most was being called "Makarov's grandson".

That would make him feel that all his hard work and talent had been completely negated by that short old man.

However, after internal strife within the guild and the life-or-death ordeal on Tenrou Island, they still managed to survive.

The Laxus of today has long since abandoned this pointless obsession.

The identity of being the old man's grandson does sound quite good.

Moreover, among all the participants in today's Grand Magic Games...

Aside from Jiang Bai, who was completely unappealing to anyone within the guild, Laxus's most desired opponent from the very beginning was none other than Rock Iron Jura right in front of him.

A tremendous tremor shook the ground.

A violent burst of golden lightning shot into the sky, and massive, heavy rock pillars rose from the ground.

The ruins plaza instantly transformed into a battlefield of lightning and rocks.

At the very moment Laxus and Jura clashed head-on.

The integrating crystal high in the sky has changed again.

The smoke of battle had not yet dissipated on the streets of the southern district.

Lyon's Ice-Make Magic had just forced back Xiang's Archive light barrier, and Sherria's ultimate move almost tore through Ivan's defenses.

Both teams' mana depletion had reached a critical point, and they were all panting heavily.

No one noticed the eerie halo hovering overhead.

A sudden, spatial distortion occurred.

Minerva stepped out of the void, holding a folding fan, while the giant magical Black Lightning Cannon in Orga's hand emitted a sharp roar, and Rufus's memory magic circle instantly covered the entire block.

Three against five.

But this was a meticulously planned, deadly surprise attack.

Exhausted Lyon, Sherria, and the completely drained Blue Pegasus trio were caught off guard by the frenzied combined magic attack and had no time to build an effective defense.

A spatial explosion, accompanied by a burst of black lightning, completely engulfed the entire street.

When the smoke and dust cleared.

Lyon, Sherria, Hibiki, Ren, and Ivan —all five figures lay unconscious in the charred crater.

All five have been eliminated!

The scoreboard in the sky emitted a series of piercing beeps.

The Sabertooth gained ten points instantly!

Thirty-eight points, then fifty-eight points, and now sixty-eight points!

Fairy Tail's original 65 points, gained through Jiang Bai's victory over Kagura, were surpassed in an instant.

Chapati gripped the microphone, his voice completely hoarse.

"They've overtaken us! They've overtaken us!!"

"Sixty-eight to sixty-five!"

"Sabertooth eliminated several key players in just ten minutes, directly overtaking Fairy Tail and reclaiming the top spot on the leaderboard!!"