A Thief Meets a Robber!

Clatter

The soft thud of rubble rolling down the basin sounded particularly jarring in the quiet.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, three short, strangely dressed men swaggered out from behind the rocks.

The man standing on the far right has long, straight, silver-gray hair and is rather thin; he is equipped with a sniper rifle.

The fat man standing on the far left has a round, bulbous nose and a large iron hammer hanging from his back.

The middle man leading the group had black hair with a pair of pointed horns on his head, and carried a large sword on his back.

The three of them had just stepped out of the shadows when they stopped in unison, striking a pose as a three-person combined battle team.

"Treasure Guild Hunter!!"

"The Sylph Labyrinth!!"

"Thump!!"

The three of them spoke in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, their expressions so solemn as if they were performing some ancient and solemn evil ritual.

However, this sudden and comical opening left the entire Fairy Tail crew completely bewildered.

Natsu put his hands on his head, his face full of question marks.

"Huh? What on earth were those three guys muttering about?"

Gray crossed his arms and shook his head speechlessly.

"Treasure Guild? Is it one of those independent guilds that specializes in exploring and plundering wealth throughout the continent?"

Upon hearing Gray's words, the black-haired man in the lead snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and looked down at the Fairy Tail members with his chin held high.

"Hmph! You bunch of greenhorns do have some sense after all!"

The black-haired man pointed at Jiang Bai and Natsu.

"I heard everything clearly from behind that rock. You guys mentioned fire, didn't you?"

The silver-haired man stepped forward, raised his sniper rifle, and issued a warning with an arrogant expression.

"Sorry everyone! The 'Eternal Flame' enshrined inside this Sun Village has already been reserved by our 'Sylph Labyrinth' guild!"

The fat man on the right patted his belly and added in a muffled voice.

"That's right! If you know what's good for you, then stay out of our way and stop hindering our wealth!"

"That Eternal Flame is the legendary Dream Flame that has burned continuously for hundreds of years without ever going out!"

"In the black market and within the major treasure hunter guilds, it's considered an unparalleled priceless treasure, rated as a super S-Class item!"

The dark-haired man let out a smug, eerie laugh.

"Hehe! My brothers and I have wanted to sneak into the village and steal things for a long time, but those damned giant natives guard it too well, and they're always getting in our way."

The black-haired man raised his hand and patted the frozen giant statue next to him, his expression extremely arrogant and domineering.

"I never expected this, God has finally opened his eyes!"

"For some reason, these annoying giants have all turned into rock-hard popsicles!"

"There's not a single person alive in the village right now, it's a godsend! Perfect for us brothers to just pack them up and take them all! Haha!"

After listening to this self-righteous and arrogant statement from the robber.

Jiang Bai couldn't help but let out a sneer filled with disdain.

"Cut."

Jiang Bai's eyes swept over the three of them as if they were trash, and he openly mocked them without any politeness.

"After all that rambling, high-sounding nonsense, in the end, they're just three opportunistic thieves."

These words were spoken.

The trio from the Sylph Labyrinth seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and their fur stood on end in unison.

"What?!"

The silver-haired man flew into a rage, pointing directly at Jiang Bai's nose.

"Thief?! You brat! How dare you call us, the noble, noble, and adventurous treasure hunters, 'thieves'?!"

The fat man on the right grabbed the Hammer on his back and slammed it heavily on the ground, sending rubble flying everywhere.

"I can't stand it! I'm going to smash all of this kid's teeth to pieces today!!"

A hint of apprehension flashed in the eyes of the leading black-haired man.

As his gaze fell upon Jiang Bai's confident and composed demeanor, a faint unease stirred within the black-haired man.

The most urgent task now is to obtain the Eternal Flame before anyone notices. If unexpected complications arise and we end up fighting these young mages whose backgrounds are unknown, and the treasure is damaged or other forces are attracted, then it will be a complete loss.

Taking a deep breath, the man raised his hand to stop his two enraged companions.

"Calm!"

The black-haired man glared fiercely at Jiang Bai, forcibly suppressing his anger, and threw the steps away through gritted teeth.

"Fine! I'm in a good mood today, and besides, the real treasure hasn't been completely secured yet, so I'll take pity on you and let you off the hook!"

The dark-haired man gave a thumbs-up, making a throat-slitting gesture.

"Don't let our brothers see you again deep in the village!"

"Otherwise... we, the 'Sylph Labyrinth,' are not to be trifled with!!"

Upon hearing this bizarre and inexplicable threat, Jiang Bai froze for half a second before bursting into laughter.

"Not a horse herder?"

Jiang Bai scratched his head and turned to tease Natsu and Gray beside him.

"This is truly something I've never seen before. After living on this continent for so long, I never imagined that one day someone would actually jump in my face and say they'd 'let me off the hook.' It's so novel, so incredibly novel."

Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, completely ignoring the arrogant words of these guys, and instead pointed to the thick ice around them, pointing out the most fatal logical flaw.

"Are you guys a little slow on the uptake?"

"Since the entire village is frozen solid, the 'Eternal Flame' that you've been so eager to steal must have been frozen under the ice long ago, right?"

"Even Natsu couldn't burn through this ice with his Fire Dragon magic. The three of you running over there will just be staring blankly. How are you going to steal the fire?"

Upon hearing Lucy's question, the trio from the Sylph Labyrinth were not embarrassed at all. Instead, they simultaneously looked up at the sky and let out a wild, arrogant laugh that exuded a strong sense of superiority.

"Hahaha! That's what you call an amateur! A short-sighted, ignorant brat!!"

The black-haired man, with a smug look on his face, reached inside his heavy leather armor and pulled out a small, exquisite, thick-walled crystal bottle.

The crystal bottle contained half a bottle of transparent liquid that emitted a faint blue fluorescence, shimmering with a dreamlike luster under the refraction of sunlight.

The man carefully held the glass bottle in his hands and waved it in front of the Fairy Tail group as if displaying a priceless national treasure.

"Open your dog eyes and look carefully! Do you see this priceless 'Moon Drop' in my hand?!"

"This is a top-grade secret medicine that I obtained from special black market channels at a high price!"

"Even ancient magic left over from four hundred years ago, just a few Moon Drops and melting that troublesome ice is a piece of cake!"

After saying this, the man stuffed the crystal bottle back into his bosom, pressed it against his skin, patted his chest, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Let's go, brothers! Let's go to the central altar and retrieve the treasure!"

"The Eternal Flame belongs to us!!"

Amidst their unrestrained laughter, the Sylph Labyrinth Trio strode arrogantly, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, and raced headlong towards the deepest part of the village.

Natsu watched the other person's retreating figure, stomped his right foot hard on the ground, and made as if he was about to charge forward.

"Stop! Don't even think about stealing the village's guardian spirit!!"

Gray clenched his fists, ready to take off and follow.

However, the two had only taken half a meter when they found Jiang Bai, who was standing at the front, with his hands in his pockets, standing motionless.

Natsu abruptly stopped and turned around, asking anxiously.

"Jiang Bai! Why aren't you chasing after him?"

"Those thieves have Moon Drops that can melt ice! Why don't we just go up there and snatch the bottles? That would solve everything!"

Gray also turned to look at Jiang Bai, his expression full of confusion.

"What's the rush? Use your brain and think it through."

A cunning and sly smile crept onto Jiang Bai's lips.

"Since those tomb raiders volunteered to have the key and even eagerly went ahead to do free mine-clearing work."

"Then why should we rob them?"

"Just obediently follow behind them and watch the show, until they've worked themselves to the bone to melt the ice and finally dug out the Eternal Flame and are holding it in their hands."

"Wouldn't it be better if we just took it back?"

Jiang Bai patted Natsu on the shoulder, his tone as relaxed as if they were discussing what to have for dinner.

"Saves time and effort, and you can even get a free professional locksmith service—you couldn't find such a good deal even with a lantern."

This textbook-level theory of double-crossing was revealed.

Lucy froze on the spot, her lips twitching violently twice, and she weakly held her forehead with both hands.

"This is really... a thief has run into a big robber."

Wendy stood to the side and chuckled dryly, glancing with some sympathy at the three unfortunate thieves who were happily rushing deeper into the area.

Of all people to mess with, he had to run right into the guild's most ruthless and cunning boss.

However, before Lucy could finish venting her frustrations...

Jiang Bai, who had been looking lazy and relaxed, suddenly focused his gaze slightly.

Jiang Bai slowly suppressed the mockery on his lips, turned his head, and his deep gaze pierced straight into the shadowy depths of the desolate canyon on the other side behind the village.

Jiang Bai pulled his hands out of his pockets and calmly uttered the second half of his sentence.

"And besides those three petty thieves and clowns..."

"The real big fish and the enemy... have already made their way to the door."