Laxus rose to his feet expressionlessly.
"Remember, my name is..."
BANG!!!
Just as the mage was preparing to introduce himself to Laxus, who had just stood up, he never expected that Laxus had no intention of giving him the chance.
To Laxus, once he had determined that someone was his enemy, the simplest and most effective approach was to beat them into the ground.
With that, Laxus suddenly exerted force through his legs and shot toward the mage like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Before the mage had even finished speaking, Laxus appeared in front of him as if he had teleported.
The mage's eyes widened in terror as he watched a fist wrapped in dazzling lightning grow larger and larger in his vision, drawing closer. In the next second, that fist, containing boundless power, slammed heavily into his body.
Accompanied by a dull boom, the mage was sent flying like a cannonball. His body arced through the air for more than ten meters before crashing violently into two thick trees. With two crisp cracking sounds, the trees collapsed, and the mage finally came to a stop, passing out in a miserable heap.
The people who had accompanied the mage stared at the scene in stunned silence. Their mouths hung open, and they involuntarily swallowed. Faced with Laxus's tendency to throw punches at the slightest disagreement, they were filled with fear and awe.
Laxus stood where he was, sweeping the surroundings with a fierce, hawklike gaze, as though he intended to see through the thoughts of everyone present.
Then he shouted in a deep voice, "Listen up! I'm Laxus, a mage from Fairy Tail! If any of you are still dissatisfied or unwilling to accept this, step forward now. I don't care whether there's one of you or several!"
Under Laxus's icy gaze, no one dared meet his eyes. They all lowered their heads, trembling with fear, terrified that they would become the next person to be knocked down. For a moment, the entire scene fell into deathly silence.
Laxus looked at them and snorted before saying, "Since that's the case, I hope nothing unpleasant will happen between us from now on."
At that moment, Carlton, standing on the high platform, coughed lightly and drew everyone's attention. He then smiled and smoothed things over. "All right, everyone. Since no one has any objections to the mages from Fairy Tail anymore, let's begin discussing the details of our campaign against the Dark Magic Group!"
As soon as Carlton finished speaking, the atmosphere, which had been as still as stagnant water, instantly became lively. The tense, explosive scene from moments ago seemed never to have happened. Everyone began whispering and discussing the operation that was about to begin. However, although everything appeared to have returned to normal, the way they looked at Allen's group had quietly changed. It was deep respect.
Laxus remained expressionless as he slowly returned to his seat with steady steps. Allen, who had been watching him, gave him a big thumbs-up in praise and approval. Meanwhile, the bold Gildarts casually draped an arm over Laxus's shoulder and laughed loudly. "Hahaha, Laxus, nicely done! I could tell from that punch alone that you've grown a lot!"
Hearing Gildarts's straightforward praise, Laxus, who had been working hard to maintain his cold image, finally broke. His tense face instantly crumpled, revealing a helpless smile. Then he responded provocatively, "Hmph. If we get the chance, why don't we have a real match, Gildarts? Let's see whose fists are harder!"
Faced with Laxus's challenge, Gildarts nodded without hesitation. "Hahaha, sure! That's exactly what I want. I've wanted to test the power of a Lightning Dragon Slayer Mage's fists for a long time!"
Carlton directed several people to mark the current locations of the Dark Magic Group on a whiteboard.
"According to our current intelligence, the Dark Magic Group and some members of the Dark Guild are mainly concentrated in Maskara and Irkutsk, fifty kilometers away. The two cities are very close to each other. If one city is attacked, the other can arrive as quickly as possible. Therefore, we'll have to divide our forces. At present, we know they have five S-Class Mages, thirty A-Class Mages, and around a hundred mages below A-Class. Keep in mind that they may still have hidden forces, so we need to be cautious when formulating our battle plan."
Allen crossed his arms and stared gravely at the numbers Carlton had marked down. At least five S-Class Mages?
As far as Allen was concerned, he had nothing to fear if they were merely ordinary S-Class Mages. What worried him was the possibility that more than one of them might possess hidden strength on the level of Brian, who had reached the level of the Ten Saints. Not to mention, they still had no idea how many people had learned Eighteen Demon God Magic and could summon demons.
The allied forces currently had Allen at normal S-Class strength, Laxus at explosive S-Class strength, and Gildarts and Ur with the strength of the Ten Saints. Including Carlton, the allied forces had three S-Class Mages in total.
On the surface, the allied forces had enough strength to completely overwhelm the Dark Magic Group. For some reason, however, Allen faintly sensed that something was wrong.
At that moment, Carlton looked toward Allen and asked, "Allen, do you have any thoughts on the battle plan just now?"
After his train of thought was interrupted, Allen looked at the battle plan on the whiteboard. It read: Each S-Class Mage from the allied forces would lead a squad. Four S-Class Mages would lead their teams to Maskara, while another three S-Class Mages would lead teams to Irkutsk, in an effort to wipe out the forces of the Dark Magic Group and the Dark Guild in one strike.
The battle plan seemed flawless, but because of the ominous feeling he had earlier, Allen had the sense that something would go wrong somewhere. Since the situation was still unclear, however, he did not express too many of his thoughts and temporarily agreed to Carlton's current battle plan.
Afterward, Carlton gathered several S-Class powerhouses from the allied forces inside a spacious tent to discuss the specific routes they would take.
As soon as they entered the tent, Carlton eagerly began introducing Allen and the others to the two S-Class Mages from the allied forces seated there.
He first pointed to the tall, powerfully built man on the left, who looked like a moving mountain, and said, "This is Horst Carl, an S-Class Mage from the Ice Bear Guild!"
Following Carlton's indication, Allen looked over and could not help marveling inwardly. Horst truly resembled the name of his guild. His body was huge and muscular, like a giant bear walking upright. His thick limbs and broad, sturdy chest left no doubt that he possessed astonishing strength. Surprisingly, despite his rough and imposing appearance, Horst seemed quite mild-tempered judging from the smile on his face and the friendliness in his eyes. After Carlton finished the introduction, Horst nodded very amicably and greeted Allen and the others.
Next, Carlton pointed toward the graceful, elegant woman on the right and said, "This beautiful lady is Eve Fischer. She comes from Elphina City and is also a powerful S-Class Mage."
Allen carefully examined Eve. Suddenly, his heart stirred, because he keenly sensed a faint draconic aura about her. Without revealing anything, he exchanged a glance with Gildarts and Ur beside him. Understanding each other perfectly, the three of them then smiled and nodded amiably at Eve in greeting and respect.
At that moment, Carlton looked at Allen and asked, "Allen, do you have any thoughts on the personnel assignments and routes for this operation?"
After hearing Carlton's question, Allen narrowed his eyes slightly and recalled the detailed routes leading to Maskara and Irkutsk. The map in his mind gradually became clear.
A moment later, Allen opened his eyes and looked at Carlton. He said slowly, "The Fairy Tail mages and Ur will head to Maskara, while you go to Irkutsk. Minister Carlton, what do you think?" He had made this arrangement for deeper reasons. Their earlier discussion had already made it clear that Maskara was mainly occupied by members of the Dark Magic Group, while Irkutsk had become a gathering place for numerous Dark Guilds. Allen's arrangement clearly showed that he intended to personally confront those inhuman members of the Dark Magic Group.
After hearing this, Carlton was stunned at first. He then exchanged a glance with the other two mages beside him and quietly conferred with them. After a while, Carlton raised his head and replied with a smile, "Hmm, we have no objections. We'll do as you suggest, Allen. However, regarding the allocation of the accompanying personnel, do you have any particular thoughts or requirements?"
To Carlton and the others' surprise, Allen shook his head without hesitation and decisively refused. "There's no need to assign any extra mages to us. We'll handle Maskara."
Hearing Allen's words, Horst and Eve looked over in slight surprise. Carlton confirmed with Allen, "Allen, are you sure?"
Allen nodded firmly. "I'm sure. Just leave Maskara to us."
Before you continue