Gajeel followed behind, still a little unsteady on his feet.
Laxus had also arrived.
His body was covered in wounds from his battle with Jura, but his steps remained steady.
Natsu rushed up to Lu Chongwei and threw his arms around him.
"We won!"
"We're the champions!"
Lu Chongwei reached out and patted his back.
"That's right. We won."
Natsu laughed a few times before quickly remembering something.
"But I never got to fight Sting."
"It still feels like something's missing."
Gajeel curled his lip.
"They already surrendered. What more do you want?"
"Of course I want to fight!"
Natsu released Lu Chongwei and turned toward Sting.
But the moment he raised his fist, Laxus pressed a hand down on his head.
"The match is over."
"Don't start anything."
Natsu slapped Laxus's hand away.
"I was just saying!"
"Who said I wanted to fight?"
After saying that, he folded his arms and put on an indifferent expression.
Gajeel also raised his chin.
"It's only a championship. What's there to shout about?"
Natsu immediately nodded.
"That's right!"
Just moments ago, the two had been cheering while hugging Lu Chongwei. Now, they were both pretending to be calm.
Lu Chongwei could not help laughing.
Laxus turned his head away as well, his shoulders shaking twice.
Seeing this, the spectators in the stands laughed even louder.
Lu Chongwei did not keep fooling around.
He turned and walked over to Sting.
Sting was still kneeling on the ground.
His hands hung at his sides, and he looked as though all strength had been drained from him.
Lu Chongwei stopped before him.
"Sting."
"You clearly still have all your magic power. Why did you surrender?"
Sting kept his head lowered.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
"Because I couldn't win."
"I didn't even have