"Oh, what a great cheer! [Blue Pegasus] has sent out Iftelm!!" Jabadirola shouted excitedly.
"Next up is [Snake Ghost's Fang], and they've sent out the Demon Messenger— Dirokaterō!" With Jabadirola's enthusiastic explanation, the atmosphere grew even more electric.
"[Lamia Scale] has sent out Lyon Bastia!" Cheers erupted from the audience as each team sent out their contestants.
However, in stark contrast to the positive performance of the other teams, the two Fairy Tail teams were slow to select their participants. Everyone was waiting anxiously, their eyes frequently glancing in Fairy Tail's direction.
"Although I don't know the rules of the game, just based on the word 'secret,' it should be related to hiding..." Erza rested her chin on her hand, pondering various possibilities.
"In that case, I'll go first! I'm small and easy to hide in~" Wendy suddenly said excitedly, her fists clenched and her eyes shining with an unusual light, clearly full of confidence in herself.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Wendy!" Erza agreed to Wendy's request without hesitation and immediately gave her name.
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely do my best!" Wendy giggled twice and promised emphatically.
"Oh, Fairy Tail Team B has sent out... the lovely Wendy!" When Jabadirola announced this news, everyone in the room erupted in applause and cheers.
"Is Lyon the one sent by the Lamia Scales? Haha, that's perfect. I'll personally take charge and see what secrets this so-called tournament is hiding!"
Gray stared sharply at Lyon, a confident smile playing on his lips.
At the same time, his gaze seemed to drift unintentionally to the personnel sent by the Kingdom Guard and the demon messengers sent by [Snake Ghost's Fang].
These two teams have been particularly mysterious in this competition, arousing curiosity.
"This match is in your hands, Gray!" Laxus patted Gray on the shoulder with one hand, showing complete confidence in him.
Leave it to me!
"Ah... Lord Gray, Juvia would love to fight alongside you too!"
Upon hearing that Gray would personally take the field, Juvia was so excited that she twisted her body like a pretzel, her eyes sparkling with love.
Seeing this, Lucy sighed helplessly, thinking that perhaps only Gray could bear such a passionate love.
"Damn it! Juvia should belong to our guild!" Lyon felt a surge of jealousy and resentment seeing Juvia's infatuation with Gray.
He muttered to himself: Why is it that Gray can win the heart of such a wonderful girl, while he can't win Juvia's favor? They are clearly a match made in Juvia!
However, no one noticed that Sherria was puffing out her cheeks and staring fiercely in Juvia's direction.
"Finally, Fairy Tail Team A sent Gray Fullbuster."
"These are all the contestants. Now, let's announce the game rules!" Jabdirola announced the contestants the moment her voice fell.
"Haha, then I'll announce it! Pumpkin!"
A small Pumpkin -shaped figure descended from the sky and landed steadily in front of the participants in the first match, arms outstretched and a big smile on its face.
"What exactly are you...?" Gray bent down and asked in confusion.
To be honest, he'd wanted to ask this since the qualifiers. It's really something else— the Pumpkin can actually talk!
"Ah... well... as you can see, I'm a Pumpkin! Pumpkin!" The Pumpkin host was completely taken aback by the question, swaying from side to side, and his answer was halting and stammering, making him sound quite suspicious.
"Hehe, but it's cute too! It must be a staff member in disguise! Is it Mr. Pumpkin?" Wendy said, squatting down and gently stroking the Pumpkin host, thus helping him out of the awkward situation.
"Then, Mr. Pumpkin, could you please explain the details of this competition?" Eve of the Blue Pegasus was very polite. He stepped forward and respectfully asked the Pumpkin host.
"Yes, yes, tell us quickly!" Gyosuke, a member of the Kingdom Guard, couldn't contain his eagerness and kept urging him on.
However, in stark contrast to the others, the people sent by the Snake Ghost's Fang stood not far away, silently observing everyone like bystanders, without offering any opinions.
"Then let me just show you the venue!" The Pumpkin host waved his hands and muttered something.
With a deafening roar, numerous houses, streets, and various other buildings suddenly sprang up from the previously empty plain. These buildings appeared rapidly, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, leaving one breathless with their sight.
"What's going on!" "Buildings? Streets? They're so tall!" People exclaimed in amazement, deeply shocked by the sight before them.
"What on earth is going on?!"
Everyone was stunned by the scene, gasping in astonishment. They had never seen such a large-scale manifestation before.
Looking down at the scene below, Zorn's eyes lit up. To be honest, this Magic Power was quite impressive, very impressive indeed.
His Majesty the King is quite the playful one; he insisted on joining in the game himself.
The moment the house appeared, everyone below seemed to be in a daze for only a moment, only to find themselves all alone in the street.
"Wendy! Lyon!" Gray shouted to the left and right, but there was no response.
Looking at the empty streets around him, he couldn't help but become serious. "Where did the others go?"
"Damn it, my Observation Haki's range isn't enough~ Is this all the distance I can detect?"
Although he had also received Zorn's Special Training, his mastery of Observation Haki was limited to a short distance around him.
They are nowhere near as powerful as Zorn, Laxus, Cana, Erza, Mirajane.
Honestly, she's not even as good as Wendy.
Everyone has disappeared!
"We need to observe the environment first!"
Wendy looked around in surprise, but subconsciously used her Observation Haki and her sense of the surrounding air to ensure that nothing unusual happened.
This was also a skill taught to her by the Sky Dragon: in unknown places, one must always be highly vigilant and make good use of the air currents to detect danger.
Especially after learning about Observation Haki, he guided Wendy on how to combine the two powers.
This is why Wendy is so confident in the stealth competition.
"The rules are very simple~ Both sides are ghosts!" the Pumpkin host said in a sarcastic tone.
"Find an opponent in this Town and launch an attack against them using any Magic. Whether you hit or deal damage, you'll earn one point," he went on to explain.
"However... hehehe..." The Pumpkin host suddenly stopped, letting out a sly laugh that made everyone wary.
Just then, countless contestant puppets suddenly appeared throughout the Town. These puppets were difficult to spot without careful observation.
"But if you hit a clone, you'll lose a point! So be careful! Pumpkin is reminding you all again!" Pumpkin the host added smugly.
To be continued~