Jiang Bai or Jiang Hei?

As Freya poured out her tearful grievances, the fighting spirit that had been rising around the plaza gradually subsided.

The golden-red flames on Natsu's fists died down silently, and his hands slowly fell from mid-air.

For Dragon Slayer is straightforward with her emotions, tears and murderous intent cannot be faked at the same time. Every tear that flowed from Freya's eyes was filled with longing for her hometown and loved ones.

Natsu put his hands in his waistband, his previous fierce look completely gone.

"Hey, the ground is so cold, get up quickly."

Natsu scratched the pink wisps of hair on his head and casually made his statement.

"Don't keep spouting nonsense about risking your life for something. The Grand Magic Games is a thing of the past. I don't have time to hold grudges now."

"Besides, Fairy Tail came all this way specifically to completely resolve the village's ice crisis."

Freya, who was kneeling on the gravel and mud, suddenly raised her tearful face, her two hands, which were scratched by the gravel, clenched tightly to her chest.

"Really... really? You're really willing to save the village?"

Lucy stepped forward, knelt down, and gently took Freya's cold, trembling wrist in her hand, her face full of relieved tenderness.

"It's true, Freya."

"Once we accept the commission, we will definitely rescue all the giants in this village safely, not one less."

Wendy also stepped forward, took a clean handkerchief from the small bag at her waist, and handed it to Freya.

"Wipe your tears, Miss Freya. Brother Jiang Bai is very capable; the village will definitely be restored to its original state."

Freya gripped the handkerchief tightly with both hands, her whole body trembling with sobs, her forehead pressed against the ground again, and she kept repeating the same words over and over.

"Thank you... thank you so much..."

"I'd do anything to save the giants..."

Just as the group was talking...

A furious, violent roar suddenly came from the high platform, which was less than a few hundred meters north of the square.

"Damn it! You bastard! How could this happen?!"

"We're running out of Moon Drops!!"

Immediately following was a series of angry blows, the sound of heavy, blunt objects striking solid ice, accompanied by furious curses, echoing over the desolate, lifeless ruins of the village.

Natsu's ears twitched slightly, and his eyes lit up instantly.

"It's those three sneaky thieves from earlier! Let's go see what a mess they've made!"

Jiang Bai strode leisurely with his long legs.

"Let's go. The free locksmith has done the foreplay; it's time for the real deal to come in and finish things up."

"What regular army? They're clearly bandits and beautiful women."

The group bypassed the mostly collapsed stone corridor and quickly climbed the exaggeratedly wide giant stone steps.

At the very top of the stone steps was a huge open-air altar.

The entire altar spans several tens of meters in circumference, with a massive torch-shaped stone platform standing in the very center. However, at this moment, the sacred relic "Eternal Flame," which has been burning above the torch for hundreds of years, along with the entire altar platform, is completely sealed inside by an unparalleled thickness of blue-white solid ice.

The Sylph Labyrinth trio were currently huddled around the edge of the altar steps, as anxious as ants on a hot plate.

The black-haired man leading the group held a delicate, small crystal glass bottle in his hand, shaking it frantically with the opening facing down. However, the layer of pale blue Moon Drops potion inside had long been poured out completely, not even the last drop remained.

In one corner of the altar, a large, melted crater appeared on the surface of the solid ice that had been poured with Moon Drops, revealing the faint outline of flickering flames within.

Unfortunately, the amount of Moon Drops was too small, and the melting of the ice stopped abruptly halfway through, leaving much to be done before the sacred artifact inside could be completely extracted.

Hurried footsteps echoed on the altar.

Hearing the commotion, the trio turned around abruptly and immediately saw Jiang Bai and the others swaggering up the steps.

The black-haired leader quickly stuffed the empty bottle into his robes, placed his hand on the hilt of the greatsword behind his back, and sneered mockingly.

"Hmph! You bunch of stalkers, you're pretty quick on your feet!"

"Did they deliberately choose this time to sneak up on the altar, intending to take advantage of the chaos and steal the treasure?"

The man wore a smug, fake smile, and spread his hands, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"What a pity! You brats will be disappointed! I've used up all my Moon Drops, and I haven't managed to dig up any treasure!"

"Even if you wanted to steal it, you can only watch helplessly now! Haha!"

The silver-haired man next to him, holding a sniper rifle, also chimed in with a cold laugh.

"Exactly! Even with our rare and precious medicine, we can't break through this block of ice. Your efforts to come up here are just a waste!"

After hearing this, Natsu put his hands behind his head and rolled his eyes with a look of utter disdain.

"Tch! Who cares about your pathetic potion? What are you so presumptuous about?"

Happy flapped its little wings in mid-air, its two little claws on its round waist, and shouted loudly.

"That's right! We have Jiang Bai here!"

"With Jiang Bai's move, even the most worthless ice blocks have to step aside!"

Hearing Happy's confident boast, the trio were all taken aback.

The black-haired man in the lead tilted his head, his face contorted with fat.

"Jiang Bai? Who's Jiang Bai? I've never heard of him."

The fat man carrying the iron hammer behind him scratched the back of his neck, looking equally bewildered.

"It sounds like the name of a newbie from some third-rate roadside guild. Is it famous?"

The silver-haired man chuckled and casually waved the sniper cannon in his hand.

"Whether it's Jiang Bai or Jiang Hei, the name sounds incredibly weak. Even kittens are starting to brag these days."

Hearing this sincere question without any fluctuation in his expression.

Lucy, who was standing at the back, completely lost her composure.

"Pfft!"

Lucy covered her mouth tightly with both hands, her shoulders shaking violently. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, slapping her thighs and bending over.

"Haha! I can't take it anymore... my stomach hurts from laughing!!"

Lucy raised her tear-filled eyes, pointed a slender finger at Jiang Bai beside her with his hands in his pockets, and laughed until tears streamed down her face.

"Did you hear that, Jiang Bai?! You're killing me!"

"The continent's strongest warrior, who made a name for himself at the Grand Magic Games and the great hero who tore apart a dragon with his bare hands, actually had a day when someone asked him to his face, 'Who is Jiang Bai?'"

"Looks like your reputation isn't that great in the low-level tomb raiding circles at all! Haha!"

Natsu and Gray couldn't help but smirk at each other.

Jiang Bai usually acts arrogantly and schemingly in the guild, but today he finally suffered a setback, which is very gratifying.

Jiang Bai turned his head and gave Lucy, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, a speechless look.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh. When we get back later, we'll deduct half of your guild commission."

Lucy's laughter caught in her throat instantly, and she shut her mouth immediately, like a duck being choked.

Jiang Bai turned around, pulled his hands out of his pockets, and spoke calmly.

"Besides, I'm not some stage actor who craves fame, and I don't go out of my way to promote myself in newspapers and magazines,"

"What's so strange about those petty thieves who spend their days lurking in graveyards and historical sites and stealing chickens and dogs? They've never even heard of me."

Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Bai strode past Natsu and the others, stopping a few meters away from the trio.

Jiang Bai looked down at the three strangely dressed thieves, casually waving his wrist as if shooing away flies that were disturbing the peace.

"Alright, your work is finished."

"Just stay quietly to the side from now on."