Third Food War (17)

Seeing Kaldiz and the others lined up at the entrance of the secret realm, the people inside the secret realm began to murmur among themselves.

"Rat, do you think those guys outside are trying to lure us out?"

"Definitely! Isn't that how they tricked us into their trap back then? If they had had just a little more people that time... ugh!"

"Rat, are you scared out of your wits by these guys? Why are they being talked about like they're war gods?"

"Sing, if you don't believe me, go out and try it!"

"Go out alone? That's like going to my death! I'm not doing that!"

"Tch! A coward is a coward, don't make excuses!"

"Hey, do you guys think the enemy is preparing to launch an attack from another direction?"

"Kata, are you out of your mind? Besides this entrance/exit, are there any other roads around here?"

"That's true! I was overthinking it!"

Behind this overthinking dragon, not far from a boulder, a large swarm of colorful locusts was constantly emerging.

"Brother Yesveta, I'll use the power of the Ghost Dragon to launch an attack first. After they're in disarray, I'll help you regain your strength, and then we'll launch a full-scale attack on them."

"Okay, let's do it this way!"

After discussing the plan, Sordil carefully flew to a place where he could be completely concealed, and then completed the process of restoring his form and switching combat modes. After transforming into Kaldiz Number Two, Sordil carefully scanned the distribution of the enemies, and then released the Ghost Dragon Gas from the most suitable position to launch an attack.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art Technique: Death Rhapsody - Soul Surge"

"Buzz!"

A dark gray Magic Array instantly unfolded, enveloping the entrance to the secret realm and the guards who were there.

"What is this? I... why can't I breathe?"

"My head is so dizzy!"

"Oh no! This Black Mist is poisonous! Everyone run!"

"Ah!"

"Oh!"

Taking advantage of the lull in the Black Mist, Sordil switched back to Time-Space Dragon Mode and helped Yesveta and the others remove the Quality Magic, restoring them to their normal forms.

"Brother Yesveta!"

"Understood! Brothers, attack!"

"Whoosh!"

As the two gave the attack order, over two hundred breaths flew towards the fallen guards of the secret realm within the Black Mist. In an instant, smoke and dust filled the sky, explosions rang out continuously, and mushroom clouds slowly rose into the air. Upon seeing this, Kaldiz and the others guarding the outer perimeter instantly guessed that Sordil and his group had succeeded, and immediately launched an assault on the entrance to the secret realm to coordinate with their operation.

The defending troops, already weakened by the Black Mist, were now caught in a pincer attack, their fighting ability was predictably low. Thus, the battle ended a quarter of an hour later, with Sordil's side achieving a complete victory. However, before everyone could even catch their breath and rest, bad news reached Sordil's ears.

"Everyone, move fast! If we can wipe out those despicable guys in one fell swoop, there will be a huge reward afterward!"

"Brothers, hurry! Otherwise, our home will be burned down by those despicable Bandit!"

"The enemy is back?"

Hearing the faint voice in his mind, Sordil instantly guessed its source. He was incredibly grateful that he switched to Poison Dragon Mode after each battle to monitor his surroundings. Otherwise, things would have been much worse. Realizing he had no chance to loot this time, Sordil immediately gave everyone the order to destroy and retreat.

"Listen up, everyone! Instantly begin sabotage of the surrounding area. Reassemble here in three minutes!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing the order, everyone shouted in unison, and then they all went to their assigned areas to carry out destruction and burning.

"Brother Sordil, we haven't even collected any of the good stuff here yet, how could you give the order to destroy it?"

Seeing Yesveta's face flushed red, Sordil said earnestly, "Brother Yesveta, the master here has returned, we have no time!"

As a member of the special operations team, Yesveta certainly understood the meaning of those words. Therefore, after sighing with regret, he resolutely joined the sabotage army. Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the group, having completed their mission, regrouped and, led by His Your Highness the Prince, flew southeast.

Shortly after Sordil and the others left, a dark cloud drifted in from the northwest and finally hovered above Grein Charles.

"Ah! These damned bastards! I'll tear them to pieces with my own hands!"

Compared to Kelsu, who had only heard that his secret realm had been burned down, Olibuk, who witnessed it all firsthand, was far more enraged. Kelsu had only lost a home; his other precious possessions remained intact, so his anger hadn't reached its peak. Olibuk, however, had lost everything—his entire life and fortune. His anger not only exploded, but it also completely overwhelmed his mind and heart.

In a fit of rage, this brilliant architect from the Western Continent fainted and hurtled straight towards the sea of fire below. Fortunately, Shideweig reacted quickly, noticing his distress and rescuing him. Otherwise, he would have been the first of the five warlike leaders to die, and by being angered by someone else!

After dealing with the Olibuk incident, Shideweig organized manpower to put out the fire while preparing for the pursuit.

On September 21st, X374, three days had passed since Sordil burned Grein Charles. During these three days, Sordil and his companions had been relentlessly pursued by the enemy. However, Sordil had managed to evade capture each time using the power of the poison dragon. But after three days of fleeing, Sordil and his group had completely lost their bearings and had no idea where they were. The enemy's pursuit was too swift, giving Sordil no time to set up Teleportation Array, so they could only wander aimlessly like headless flies.

"Um?"

On this day, Sordil and his men once again successfully evaded the enemy's pursuit and arrived in a mountain range. Sordil then realized that he seemed to have been here before, and more than once.

In order to leave the Western Continent as soon as possible, reunite with Igneel, and complete his long-planned scheme, Sordil risked being discovered and slowly ascended into the sky, looking down at the mountain range to try and determine their location and direction.

"Huh? That group of buildings looks so familiar! Hiss! Could this be near the Mildian Academy?"

With suspicions in mind, Sordil observed even more carefully.

After observing for five minutes, young master Sordil was certain that the building below was the Mildian Magic Academy.

Just then, a Bandit remembered his masterpiece left in the academy. He used Mind Talk to tell Kaldiz his whereabouts and instructed them to hide themselves before flying straight down into the academy below.

After landing, Sordil went straight to the library to check on his masterpiece.

"Hmph!"

"The darkness here is so strong! Could it be that Zeref has come back?"

Thinking this, Sordil quickened his pace. A moment later, the earthen-yellow building reappeared before him. Although its appearance remained unchanged, the unique aura and sense of belonging that once belonged to him were completely gone. Moreover, it exuded an aura of death. At this point, he was one hundred percent certain that Zeref had returned.