War Begins

A solitary moon gradually sank below the western horizon, and the stars began to dim their light, hiding themselves in thick clouds. The sun, however, remained asleep, its light yet to appear. In an instant, true darkness descended upon this unfortunate land. Under the cover of the pitch-black night, twelve black figures slowly moved forward.

"Sister Yelibell, listen carefully to your surroundings and don't let them find you!"

Listening to Sordil's inner voice, Yelibell nodded silently, then thought to herself, "Don't worry, little brother Sordil! I won't make the same mistake twice!"

With communication via two silent radios, the elimination team maintained synchronized action, steadily closing in on their target.

"Awoo"

Langutai yawned listlessly, then rubbed his eyes, which were a little sore from staring. He then called out to his companion lying to his side, "Zilcode, get up, it's your turn to stand guard!"

While sound asleep, Zilcode covered his ears with his hands and rolled over to avoid the 'noise,' turning his back to Langutai. Seeing the lazy Zilcode, Langutai kicked him and growled in a low voice, "Lazybones, get up!"

Zilcode, his sweet dream shattered, reluctantly opened his sleepy eyes. Looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, he said angrily, "Langutai, it's not even dawn yet, why did you wake me up?"

"Why did I wake you up? To change shifts, of course!"

"Hey, it's almost dawn, what are we standing guard for? Besides, who would be so reckless as to attack us?"

Looking at the hopeless mess in front of him, Langutai was about to teach him a lesson when he suddenly saw several small black dots moving closer to them. Just as he was about to wake his companions, a dark gray Magic Array rose from beneath his feet, followed by a cloud of dark gray mist flowing into his body through his mouth and nose.

In an instant, Langutai felt as if he were being pricked by needles all over his body, experiencing excruciating pain. As more and more Black Mist surged into his body, he began to feel dizzy, nauseous, and had difficulty breathing.

"That was close! We almost alerted everyone!"

After successfully eliminating the sentry who was preparing to deliver the message and preventing his escape, Sordil immediately gave the order to attack.

"Radiance!"

A sphere shimmering with milky white light shot into the sky, dispelling the surrounding darkness and revealing the earth beneath the night sky. Upon seeing the attack signal, the twelve members of the extermination team exhaled simultaneously toward the center of the encirclement, and in an instant, twelve beams of light of different colors flew toward the resting Evil Dragon.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rang out, the ground trembled violently, and a terrifying mushroom cloud rose into the sky above the town.

"Roar"

"Aww!"

A series of angry and resentful screams echoed from the center of the town, followed by eight beams of light of different colors shooting towards the extermination force. Faced with the enemy's counterattack, Sordil switched to Holy Dragon Mode and swallowed the enemy's breath whole. Those like Igneel, lacking Sordil's method of response, could only dodge the enemy's 'bombardment'.

Taking advantage of the moment when the extermination troops were dodging the attack, the Evil Dragon in the center of the town fled towards the edge of the encirclement. Unfortunately, they were blocked again after only a few steps.

"Death Rhapsody"

Kaldiz Number One and Kaldiz Number Two simultaneously launched the Ghost Dragon's strongest attack, enveloping the fleeing Evil Dragon within two Magic Array. Moments later, the Magic Array dissipated, and the Evil Dragon clutched their throats, writhing in agony on the ground. One of the blue-black Evil Dragon struggled to its feet, roaring furiously:

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?"

Hearing his roar, Igneel said indignantly, "Have you forgotten where you are standing now, and what you did here before?"

"Haha! So you're those fools from Ishgar! I never imagined you weren't just fools, but you'd also thrown away the dignity and pride of the dragon race, resorting to such a shameless method as a sneak attack!"

Before he could finish speaking, Kaldiz roared in fury, "We're shameless? Aren't you bastards shameless for attacking Star Forest Moon Boat?"

"Who... who are you? How do you know about Star Forest Moon Boat?"

"Because I am the master of the Star Forest Moon Boat, Kaldiz!"

The blue- Black Great Dragon's eyes widened in disbelief as it exclaimed, "Impossible! You could never be the Ghost Dragon Kaldiz! The Ghost Dragon Kaldiz has already gone to the underworld with his worthless subordinates. You could never be him! No... impossible!"

Startled and terrified, the blue- Black Great Dragon charged recklessly towards Kaldiz. Kaldiz, filled with rage at the sight of its enemy, retaliated fiercely.

"Bang!"

The two fists, swung in mid-air, collided, creating a massive sonic boom. However, because Kaldiz's physical condition was superior to the blue- Black Great Dragon Black Great Dragon's, the dragon was forced back a step. Kaldiz decisively seized this opportunity, sweeping its tail across the dragon's waist and sending it flying into the air. The two exchanged blows in mid-air, their fight quite a spectacle.

Just as the two in the sky were locked in a fierce battle, Igneel pointed to the two remaining intact dragons on the ground and said to Sordil, "Brother Sordil, do you see those two?"

"I saw them! What happened to those two?"

"Brother Sordil, I want to make a bet with you. We'll each take on one of them, and whoever finishes off their opponent first wins."

"What's the stake?"

"If I win, you'll have to pay me ten barrels of wine, but if you win, I'll unconditionally follow your orders. How about that? Pretty good deal, right?"

After hearing Igneel's bet, Sordil clicked his tongue and circled him. After circling him three times to the left and three times to the right, Sordil said with deep emotion, "Brother Igneel, if you were human, you would definitely be an excellent businessman!"

"Brother Sordil, what do you mean by this?"

"Alas, no merchant is honest!"

The revelation of Igneel's identity card caused everyone to burst into laughter.

"Haha! Brother Sordil's summary is spot on! Igneel is definitely cut out to be a businessman!"

"Become a businessman? That can't be right. Igneel would be more promising as Bandit. Look how well he pulled off that home invasion kidnapping!"

"Haha! Then let's do business and be kidnappers at the same time, without neglecting either!"

Faced with everyone's various teasing tactics, even Igneel's face, covered in thick dragon scales, couldn't help but turn red. After being teased for a quarter of an hour, Igneel, who had gradually become accustomed to the mockery, said without batting an eye, "Brother Sordil, just tell me, are you going to bet this time or not?"

Seeing Igneel regain his composure, Sordil suddenly recalled a famous saying from his past life, "You get used to it after a while." Out of consideration for his brothers and also to get rid of the Evil Dragon in the Western Continent as soon as possible, Sordil resolutely accepted this unfair bet.

"Alright! Brother Igneel, I accept this bet! However, I want to choose my opponent first."

Upon hearing Sordil accept the bet, Igneel was so happy that his entire face contorted with joy. As for choosing his opponent first, he didn't care at all and readily agreed.