Gajeel of Earth-land grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his fist already transformed into black steel.
"Hey, this is my favorite kind of work."
Gajeel of Edolas also pushed up his glasses, his eyes revealing a flamboyant fervor.
"As a journalist who pursues the truth, I've long wanted to tear this lousy place down. Since I, from Earth-land, am so interested, I'll go crazy with you."
Lu Chongwei walked to the window and pushed it open.
The morning sunlight shone on his young yet dignified face.
"Operation begins."
Lu Chongwei's voice was steady and powerful.
"This means we're now at war with the kingdom."
"Bang--!"
A dull thud echoed through the streets of the capital.
Gajeel's arm transformed into a thick Iron Dragon Club, which swept out horizontally, accompanied by a piercing sound of air being torn apart.
A dozen or so Royal Army soldiers, clad in Silver Armor, were sent flying like bowling balls before they could even scream, crashing heavily into the buildings on either side.
"You think you can block my way with such meager skills?"
Gajeel cracked his neck. He strode forward, grabbed a Royal Army captain by the collar, and roughly lifted him into the air.
The captain was trembling with fear, his legs kicking wildly in the air as he struggled desperately.
"You... you monster! Let me go!"
"Enough with the nonsense!"
Gajeel's eyes were fierce, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and his tone was laced with violence.
"Tell me, where did you hide the Fairy Tail Magic Crystal? If you don't tell me, I'll crush every bone in your body!"
The captain gritted his teeth, terrified to the extreme, but still forced himself to shout:
"I don't know! Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you, you piece of trash from Earth-land..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish speaking, Gajeel punched the other man's helmet.
The hard metal helmet dented, the captain's eyes rolled back, and he was knocked unconscious on the spot.
"Tsk, what a piece of trash."
Gajeel threw the captain on the ground like trash.
Just then, a deafening explosion came from the direction of the royal palace.
A dazzling burst of fire shot into the sky, turning half of the capital's sky crimson.
Gajeel looked up in that direction and grinned:
"That commotion... it must be Lu Chongwei. Looks like they've already started fighting over there, I can't fall behind!"
Meanwhile, in front of the main gate of the royal palace.
"Call--"
Lu Chongwei casually unleashed a burst of flame, burning dozens of soldiers in front of him to ashes.
He dusted off his clothes and frowned as he looked at the Royal Army surging towards him like a tide.
"Are these guys cockroaches? I can't seem to get rid of them no matter how many times I kill them?"
Lu Chongwei grumbled. He roughly estimated that he had killed at least a thousand Royal Army since the beginning of the night, but the encirclement had not only not shrunk, but had actually gotten thicker.
Nancy clung to Lu Chongwei's shoulder, trembling with fear, her little hands gripping his clothes tightly.
"The capital is already heavily guarded, and they're constantly reinforcing it from other garrisons... We'll be worn down!"
"Outlast them? With that?" Lu Chongwei sneered.
Erza, who was standing next to him, stepped forward, her eyes cold.
" Zhongwei, conserve your magic. Leave these bastards to me."
Erza crossed her arms in front of her chest, and a tremendous amount of magical power erupted from her body.
" Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
A dazzling light flashed, Erza's casual clothes were replaced by a set of magnificent silver-white armor.
What's most striking is that four steel wings unfolded behind her.
"What... what kind of magic is this?" The surrounding Royal Army soldiers were dumbfounded and gasped in astonishment.
"Heavenly Wheel - The Blumenblatt!"
Erza a delicate shout, and hundreds of sharp flying swords appeared in the void behind her.
These flying swords poured out like a storm, weaving and intertwining through the crowd.
"Aaaaaah!"
Screams echoed throughout the room.
With a single strike, a large number of soldiers fell like wheat being harvested, and a gap was torn open in the previously impenetrable encirclement.
Nancy's cat-like eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open. "Wow... that's amazing! Are all the Mage of Earth-land monsters?"
Lu Chongwei did not waste the opportunity created by Erza. He raised his right hand, and a red light shone from his fingertips.
" Hadō #31, Shakkaho!"
A ball of red fire shot out and slammed into the heavy steel gate of the palace.
"Boom--!"
The gate, powerful enough to withstand a battering ram, was blasted to pieces, revealing a passage leading to the interior of the palace.
Just as Lu Chongwei was about to step inside, Nancy on his shoulder let out a scream.
" Lu Chongwei! Look at the sky!" Nancy pointed high in the sky, her voice cracking.
Lu Chongwei looked up and saw several black dots falling rapidly in the sky, while behind them, a dense swarm of pursuers were hot on their heels.
"It's Happy and Carla! And Lucy!" Nancy shouted anxiously, "They're being chased by a lot of people!"
Lu Chongwei narrowed his eyes and immediately said to Nancy, "Take me there to save them!"
Nancy didn't dare to delay. She immediately spread the little wings on her back, grabbed Lu Chongwei's clothes, and soared into the sky.
At this moment, Happy and Carla were in extreme danger.
Just yesterday, they were forcibly taken back to the Exceed Kingdom, Ekustalia, which floats in the sky, by the Exceed Royal Guard.
There, they learned a cruel truth.
"Your mission is to bring the Dragon Slayer of Earth-land to Edolas," the elder of the Exceed coldly declared.
Carla was struck dumb.
A voice kept telling her to get rid of Wendy and Natsu.
She always thought it was her precognitive ability, but she never expected it to be a false memory implanted in her mind!
"No... this can't be real!"
Carla covered her head and broke down in tears, crying, " Wendy is my friend! How could I possibly hurt her!"
The elder sneered, "Your emotions are all manipulated; you're nothing more than tools to complete the mission."
"Shut up!"
Happy stood in front of Carla, his small body bursting with courage.
"We're not puppets! We're Mage from Fairy Tail!"
Happy the Roar and grabbed Carla's hand, " Carla, let's go!"
Happy and Carla risked their lives to escape Ekustalia, but as a result, Harpy was definitively labeled as Fallen and hunted down by all the Exceed in the city.
They fled and crashed into a remote farmland.
There, they saw the Magic Crystal being used as backup energy sources, and also met the kind-hearted Laki and Mar.
Mar gently stroked Carla's head, comforting her, "Regardless of whether the memories have been altered, your feelings for Wendy cannot be swayed by anyone."