Extermination (Part 2)

On a stretch of sea between the Western Continent, a dozen or so huge black shadows streaked across the water at high speed.

"Chief, wasn't the task of scouting Ishgar assigned to Selisliu and his group? Why did you bring us here personally?"

"That's right, Chief! When they were ordering us around, they didn't care whether we lived or died. Why should we help them complete their mission?"

Glaide glanced at his resentful subordinates, then said angrily, "Do you think I want to help that bastard Selisliu? But this is Lord Goodpes's order, what can I do?"

"What's so great about that bastard Selisliu that he deserves such favor from Lord Goodpes!"

"Who can argue with that!"

Seeing his subordinates' resentment towards Goodpes and Selisliu, Glaide was extremely pleased, but on the surface he still put on a resentful expression.

"Goodpes, Selisliu, I'll trouble you to become my stepping stones!"

Glaide glanced back at Artek Carl, a low growl escaping his lips. Then, he swept his gaze over his constantly complaining subordinates. He had already sown the seeds of resentment in their hearts; all he had to do now was wait for time to ferment, and when those seeds were firmly rooted, that would be the day he launched his counterattack against Goodpes.

Having achieved his goal, he now had to complete the task assigned by Goodpes; otherwise, he wouldn't live to see the day he reaped the rewards of his hatred.

"Alright, stop arguing! We should hurry on our way, after all, Lord Goodpes has only given us five days."

After speaking, Glaide suddenly accelerated and disappeared ahead like a bullet fired from a gun, leaving his men with no choice but to follow closely.

Wiping the sweat from his brow and carefully surveying his surroundings, Zeref continued onward. Five days had passed since he arrived in Ishgar, but he had no idea where he was or where he was headed.

"Um?"

Zeref, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped, his brow furrowed as he stared at the distant sky. Then, with lightning speed, he hid himself beneath a towering tree. Just as Zeref had concealed himself, two enormous black shadows appeared in the sky above the forest.

"The leader is really stubborn. He actually abandoned the mission and insisted on going to find that Black Mist bastard."

"Tch! Why didn't you say that just now?"

"You little rascal, you're always trying to trick me. If I had actually said that, would I still be alive?"

"But what good is it for you to say that now? I'm not the leader!"

"I was just complaining, wasn't I?"

"Alright, let's go!"

The voices grew softer and softer, the two dark figures grew smaller and smaller, and finally they disappeared completely into the distance. Only after the two dark figures had completely vanished did Zeref emerge from behind the tree.

"Sigh, these Evil Dragon are really persistent! At this rate, I'll have to wander around this forest a few more times, and I wonder when I'll finally see that Bandit guy."

After his reflections, Zeref, who lacked a thorough understanding of the outside world, embarked on another endless journey through the forest, thus losing the opportunity to see his old friend earlier.

Sordil, who was on his way, suddenly stopped in mid-air, then closed his eyes and began to ponder. After a while, he opened his eyes and asked King of Babaronza, "King of Babaronza, how far are we from the nearest territory?"

King of Babaronza surveyed the surroundings and then replied, "We are now on the edge of our territory. At our current speed, it will probably take another four or five minutes to reach the castle of the noble who rules this territory."

After King of Babaronza finished speaking, Sordil closed his eyes in thought again, but this time he opened them quickly.

"King of Babaronza, I'm going to speed things up now, so you'd better hurry!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sordil unleashed several Gale Force, attaching them to himself and his companions, and then flew forward at breakneck speed.

Harbor Town

"Brother Sordil, has the message been delivered?"

"Don't worry, Brother Igneel! I've already sent the message, they'll be back soon!"

After confirming that the other group had received the message, Igneel finally felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. Suddenly, Igneel looked at Oddek with a half-smile, then patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Having two bodies is great! Not only can you pass on any message at will, but you can even marry one more wife than others. By the way, brother Sordil, which of the two do you think is better, Grandiere or Irene?"

Sordil never expected Igneel's thinking to be so unpredictable. They were just discussing passing messages, and the next second he was making inappropriate jokes. Caught off guard, Sordil stood there, his face flushed, speechless. But Sordil's silence didn't mean Igneel would let him off the hook.

"Brother Sordil, tell me quickly, which of your two wives is better?"

"Brother Sordil, don't be shy, tell me!"

"Old Sordil..."

"Bang!"

Although Igneel didn't receive a reply from Sordil, he did receive one from Grandiere. Of course, the price for hearing the reply was that, except for his back, the rest of his body was deeply embedded in the mud, and he was trampled underfoot by the blushing Grandiere.

"Sordil, stay away from this Dragon King from now on, or I'll ignore you!"

When his wife spoke, Sordil nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice, indicating that he had remembered her teachings. Just then, another Sordil's message popped into Sordil's mind, so he said to Grandiere, "Grandiere, quickly drag Brother Igneel away, I need to send a message over there!"

"Okay! I'll dig him out right now!"

After the Dragon King was dragged away, Sordil stuffed the parchment scroll with the written message into a wooden cylinder. He then placed the cylinder in the center of the Teleportation Array and activated Teleportation Array. A minute later, the cylinder, transported by the Spatial Teleportation Array, arrived before another Sordil. Another minute passed, and the bunker once again flashed with silver light. Sordil, along with his search team and King of Babaronza, reappeared in the bunker.

Upon returning to the base, Sordil wasted no time and went straight to the point, asking, "Oddek, how's the situation here?"

"Not long after you left, Evil Dragon from the Western Continent returned. After this period of accumulation, there are now seven or eight Evil Dragon gathered in the town."

As Sordil listened to Oddek's account of the town's situation, he peered out of the bunker window to assess the enemy's activity. After Oddek finished speaking, Grandiere leaned in and asked, "So, shall we make our move?"

Instead of immediately issuing the order to attack, Sordil asked in return, "Have any more Evil Dragon over recently?"

"No Evil Dragon over for two whole hours!"

After confirming with Grandiere that the Evil Dragon had returned, Sordil looked up at the sky and said, "It's dusk now, Evil Dragon should be preparing their dinner. If we attack now, they'll easily notice us, and it's not impossible for one or two to escape. So, to be on the safe side, we'll attack at dawn tomorrow!"

"Okay, we'll do it your way!"