The Dark Magic Group's Conspiracy (1)

After confirming that Allen was sticking to his own plan, Carlton agreed to his proposal and then took Horst and Eve out to reassign the mages originally arranged for Allen's group.

Once he was sure Carlton and the other two had completely left, Allen quickly set up a silencing magic circle inside the tent to ensure the following conversation wouldn't be detected from outside.

After checking everything, Allen turned to the others and lowered his voice. "The allied forces have been infiltrated by the Dark Magic Group. I sensed traces of dark magic on some mages outside just now. I don't know how deep the infiltration goes yet, but I have a bad feeling about this. This mission might not be so simple."

Hearing Allen's words, Gildarts's expression turned serious as well. "I've been feeling something off too, Allen. Since this is the situation, do you have any countermeasures?" Allen pondered for a moment before replying, "Laxus and I will take the lead. Gildarts, you stay in the rear and hold the line. If there are hidden S-Class or higher forces inside Maskara, you handle them. Ultear, you take care of Ultear from behind us for now. If we find Brian, we'll leave him to you."

Ultear had originally wanted to fight alongside Allen and the others, but his words made her change her mind. Indeed, if everyone threw themselves into battle, Ultear would be left unprotected. After careful consideration, Ultear ultimately agreed to Allen's plan.

At that moment, Gildarts couldn't help showing a hint of worry. He looked at both Allen and Laxus and asked hesitantly, "Can you two really handle the main force of the Dark Magic Group?"

Laxus snorted coldly, his face full of confidence. "Gildarts, you should have more faith in me and big brother! When there's a huge gap in magical power, numbers mean nothing to us."

Allen nodded with a slight smile, agreeing with Laxus's point, and added, "Laxus can be impulsive sometimes, but ordinary numerical advantages really don't pose a threat to us. However, we need to watch out for any hidden tricks they might have up their sleeves."

Hearing this, Gildarts slapped his chest firmly and vowed, "No problem, leave all their tricks to me! But what about the allied forces? Should we keep a closer eye on them?"

Allen's eyes grew deep as he replied, "No need to focus on them for now. They haven't shown any cracks or unusual behavior yet, so we can't act rashly and alert the enemy. What's most important right now is to prepare fully for the upcoming battle." With that, everyone nodded solemnly.

Maskara sat like a brilliant pearl quietly nestled in the heart of the Ice Crystal Federation. It wasn't far from the federation's capital, so if Maskara fell into trouble, the capital would hardly escape unscathed. The city was surrounded by endless mountain ranges. At this moment, Allen and the others stood atop one of those peaks, looking down at Maskara from above.

Even from a distance, their keen senses easily detected the faint, elusive aura of dark magic lurking within Maskara. That aura hung like an invisible haze over the entire city, putting everyone on alert.

Allen turned to his companions with a serious expression. "It looks like we need to enter the city first and scout things out, see what the situation is inside. Ultear, find a relatively safe spot here and wait for us to come back."

Then Allen led Laxus and Gildarts toward Maskara. When they reached a spot not far from the city gate, Allen suddenly stopped. Laxus and Gildarts immediately halted as well. All three of them focused their gazes on the tightly shut gate ahead. The reason they stopped was simple: Allen had sensed a magic circle up ahead, though he wasn't sure what kind yet.

After careful observation and sensing, Allen was startled inwardly. He realized the magic circle before him was enormous, tightly enveloping the entire city of Maskara. Such a massive magic circle would require an astonishing amount of magical resources, and its purpose was obvious—once it was fully set up, everyone in Maskara would be sacrificed to it.

Faced with such a dire situation, Allen and the others grew even more grim. As he moved closer to sense it further, Allen's sharp perception immediately caught a key detail: the magic circle wasn't complete yet. He furrowed his brow and turned to Laxus and Gildarts with a grave look. "Based on the current state of this magic circle, the residents of Maskara have probably all fallen under the control of the Dark Magic Group. Once this magic circle is fully completed, all the innocent people in this city will be sacrificed! Time is running out. We need to get into the city and stop them!"

Without another word, Allen, Laxus, and Gildarts wasted no time and shot into Maskara like the wind. Once inside, their extraordinary senses told them that all the people in the city were gathered in the central area. The situation was urgent, leaving no room for hesitation. The three of them dashed straight toward the crowd.

But after running a short distance, a large group of Dark Magic Group members suddenly flooded the road ahead. These guys had ferocious faces, wielded all kinds of weapons, and exuded a chilling dark aura. However, after a quick look, Allen noted that none of their magical power exceeded A-Class. They were just a bunch of low-level thugs.

Seeing this, Laxus grew excited. A gleam of fervor flashed in his eyes as he shouted to Allen, "Big brother, leave these guys to me! You and Gildarts keep going!"

Before Allen could reply, Laxus leaned forward and appeared in the middle of the group in an instant. With a roar from Laxus, a violent storm of lightning erupted at the center of the crowd.

"Lightning Armor: Chain Lightning Storm!"

Laxus's thunderous attack crashed down, and the once-arrogant thugs suffered heavy casualties. The ones on the outskirts fled in terror. Amid the chaos, Allen and Gildarts shot through the thugs like lightning, racing straight toward the city center.

But they hadn't gone far when the ground beneath them began to tremble violently. Then, a terrifying surge of dark magic burst forth from underground like a raging wave. The next second, a massive black tentacle, thick with dark magic, broke through the earth like a hideous black dragon, lunging straight at Allen and Gildarts.

Facing this sudden attack, Allen reacted with astonishing speed. With a flick of his right hand, a flash of light appeared, and he instantly received Gram. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung Gram, driving it with fierce force straight into the oncoming black tentacle.

With a loud "bang," the collision of the black tentacle and Gram produced a metallic clang. But under Gram's penetrating power, the tentacle instantly shattered into countless fragments that scattered everywhere.

"Clap, clap, clap..." At that moment, a burst of applause rang out abruptly from the other end of the street. The applause was unhurried yet carried an invisible pressure that tightened everyone's hearts.

Allen and Gildarts looked toward the sound. Three figures were walking toward them at a leisurely pace. As they drew closer, their forms became clearer. When they were about twenty meters apart, the three finally stopped.

Then, the one in the middle stepped forward and announced, "You two must be mages from Fairy Tail, right? This Humble One is Klay Bailey. Allow me to introduce myself. On my right is Ford Elliot, and on my left is Eddie Villa. We've been waiting for you for quite some time."

Allen sneered. "Waiting for us? Waiting to die?"

Hearing Allen's words, Klay wasn't angry. He looked at Allen with a mocking smile. "You must be curious where the rest of our forces went. You didn't think those thugs just now were all we had, did you? Those people were just some scum we hired here. They'll all become offerings to my lord soon enough!"

By then, Laxus had finished off the thugs and caught up, just in time to hear Klay's words. Still riding the high of battle, Laxus didn't wait for Allen to say anything and charged straight at Klay, shouting, "I don't care about all that! If you're blocking the way, then die!"

Since Laxus had already charged in, Allen couldn't let him go alone. He quickly said to Gildarts, "Leave these three to me and Laxus. Gildarts, hurry to the city center and see what's going on. Klay's words don't sit right!"