Third Food War (I)

Chigengster Plains, Ishgar's Camp

More than nine months after Arthur's trial, the leaders of the three armies gathered once again to discuss matters. Having not seen each other for a long time, the leaders huddled together in small groups, exchanging greetings and chatting.

"Yate, what do you think Sordil wants by summoning all of us here?" (Yate is Atlas Flame, Yate is his nickname. In the following text, Maser is Masergrera's nickname.)

"Maser, you think I'm some kind of worm in Sordil's stomach, that I know everything!"

"Well...aren't you Boss Igneel's personal secretary? Boss Igneel has a close relationship with Boss Sordil, right? So you must know the purpose of this gathering."

Upon hearing Masergrera's words, Livia (second-in-command of the Sky Dragon), Burz (second-in-command of the Shadow Dragons), Phil (second-in-command of the White Dragon) all nodded in agreement. Looking at their reactions, Atlas Flame said speechlessly, "Have you all forgotten Igneel's personality traits? Or do you really think Igneel will still be interested in anything other than drinking after meeting Boss Sordil?"

Because the five leaders had always maintained a good relationship, the five secret realms also had frequent interactions. Therefore, Masergrera and the others were very familiar with the temperaments of the five kings. Considering Igneel's usual character, Masergrera and the others had to admit that everything Atlas Flame said was true.

"Oh! I was hoping to find out the purpose of this gathering from you so I could prepare in advance!" (Maser)

"Me too! (Livia)"

"We are too! (Burz, Phil)"

Seeing the four people's disappointed faces, Atlas Flame burst into laughter.

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!"

"You four are really looking for something when you're already looking for it. If you wanted to know why Boss Sordil summoned us, why didn't you just ask Sordil directly? Why make things so complicated?"

"That's true, but we're not familiar with Sordil. If we just go and ask him rashly, Sordil definitely won't tell us. And... how embarrassing would that be!" (Maser)

"Exactly! (Livia, Burz, Phil)"

Looking at his four curious yet proud old friends, Atlas Flame was momentarily at a loss for words. After a long pause, defeated by his own feelings of friendship, the fire dragon Yate could only point out a bright path for his four best buddies and help them escape their misery.

"Sigh! Since you're too embarrassed to ask Boss Sordil, then we'll have to resort to a roundabout approach to solve this!"

"A curved charge? How do you do a curved charge? (Maser)"

Hearing that the important part was coming, the three of them, including Livia, hurriedly leaned closer, ready to hear Atlas Flame's brilliant plan.

"It's actually very simple, we just need to go find him!"

The four bewildered people looked in the direction Atlas Flame indicated and saw a giant dragon covered in red scales sitting in a chair, dozing off.

"Xizhalansa? (Maser, Livia, Burz, Phil)"

"That's right, we're going to find Xizhalansa! First, we know him very well. Second, Xizhalansa is Sage Dragon's trusted confidant and a trusted general, and Lord Sage Dragon would tell him any secret. Third, Boss Sordil is Sage Dragon's son-in-law, and the two are close and talk about everything, so there's a high chance that Sage Dragon knows the secret."

After carefully considering Yate's words, Masergrera agreed, "Yes! Yate's analysis makes a lot of sense. Xizhalansa is indeed the person we should be looking for."

"Then what are we still doing here? Let's hurry and find Xizhalansa! (Livia)"

"Yes, yes, let's hurry and go find Xizhalansa! (Burz, Phil)"

"Okay! (Yate)"

While trapped in a nightmare Xizhalansa suddenly found that his vision had become even darker, as if something huge was enveloping him. Startled Xizhalansa abruptly stood up and assumed a fighting stance.

"Don't be nervous, Xizhalansa. We just have some questions we want to ask you!"

Upon hearing Atlas Flame's words, Xizhalansa stopped his magic and carefully scanned his surroundings. Only then did he realize the true nature of the 'enemy army' surrounding him.

"Holy crap! You know that scaring a dragon to death?"

Seeing the tense and nervous Xizhalansa, Masergrera said with a face full of black lines, "Xizhalansa, you're such a coward! How can you be scared by something like this?"

"Exactly! This is the central army camp. We're all here. Who can possibly do anything to you?" (Livia)

Although Burz and Phil didn't speak, their disdainful expressions spoke volumes. Faced with the contempt and disdain of the crowd, Xizhalansa simply smiled calmly, then sat back down, peacefully closing his eyes to rest. However, his tense body told Maser and the other five that he was ready for battle at any moment. After all, he didn't want to be surrounded again due to carelessness, helplessly waiting for rescue.

Looking at the dedicated and hardworking Xizhalansa, a surge of admiration welled up in the hearts of the five members of the Masergrera, making them feel ashamed and regretful for their words and actions. After bowing respectfully three times to Xizhalansa, the five of them strode away from where Xizhalansa was and headed out of the hall.

Halfway there, the effects of the Holy Aura surrounding Xizhalansa completely disappeared, and the five of them finally came to their senses. Awakening from their daze, they exchanged glances and then asked in unison, "What happened to you? Why did you bring me here?"

"How could I have brought you here? You clearly brought me here!"

As the five questioned each other, memories of what happened before they were brainwashed by the Holy Aura flooded their minds. After realizing their predicament, the five swallowed hard, then exclaimed with lingering fear, "When did that guy, Xizhalansa, master such powerful illusion magic?"

"Brothers, should we still go to Xizhalansa to inquire?" (Burz)

"Go again? Do we even think we'll survive to attend the meeting Boss Sordil is planning to convene?" (Maser)

"If we don't mock Boss Xizhalansa this time, everything should be fine, right? (Livia)"

"Hmm! Livia makes a good point! In that case, let's send Livia as our representative to inquire. What do you think, Phil?"

"No objections! (Yate, Maser, Burz)"

"Damn it! Guys, you guys can't be this ripped off! (Livia)"

"We didn't trick you; you dug your own hole and jumped right in." (Phil)

"I... I've gone mad! I've dug such a huge hole for myself!" (Livia)

"Sigh, don't deny it, you're the one who dug yourself into this mess. If you don't believe me, think back: just now, didn't we all decide not to ask and quietly wait for Sordil to announce the purpose of the meeting? Only you insisted on going to ask. So tell me, if we didn't send you, who else would we send? (Maser)"

Faced with overwhelming evidence, Livia had no reason to refute Maser and the others. However, he truly lacked the courage to go and question Xizhalansa alone. Just as he was caught in this dilemma, a chant from outside the tent pulled him out of his predicament.

"Prince Sordil, here!"

Not long after the chanting ended, Sordil, accompanied by Igneel and others, entered the Main army tent. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Livia said with a sigh of relief, "Boss Sordil is here. Let's just stand here obediently and wait for him to announce the purpose of this gathering!"

The four of Yate, exchanged glances, speechless at Livia's incredible luck. But since things had come to this, they had nothing to say and could only accept the outcome.