Thunder Valley

Late at night, a thick flame streaked across the sky above Magnolia Town, leaving a dazzling trail.

In a mere quarter of an hour, Hughes had left Magnolia far behind, reducing her to a dark dot before she gradually disappeared.

"Ah, if only I had a Space Magic item!" Hughes sighed, carrying a huge bundle on his back.

The package on his back was as big as two Laxus, filled with all sorts of food made by Mira.

It wasn't that he absolutely needed to bring so much; the main thing was that he planned to fly directly from Magnolia Town to Thunder Valley.

Magnolia Town is located in the southern part of the Kingdom of Fiore, Thunder Valley is situated on the border between the Kingdom of Fiore and the Kingdom of Bosco.

Therefore, Hughes will have to rely almost entirely on himself to fly across the entire Kingdom of Fiore.

He didn't have an attack, which was a good opportunity. He would use the pressure of the mission's tight deadline to test his [Talent: Life Return] to the best of his ability.

He had to test whether this thing was really as amazing as the system described.

Therefore, Hughes also asked Mira to prepare a lot of food to replenish his energy.

Laxus didn't travel with Hughes this time; the kid went to Magnolia Station by himself to take the train to Thunder Valley, having set off two hours earlier.

At this moment, Hughes was using the navigation Magic Crystal to determine his location while flying at high speed.

The navigation Magic Crystal was taken from Makarov; since Makarov didn't explicitly say whether it was a loan or a gift, Hughes readily assumed it was the latter...

There's no way I'd return something this useful!

"Bang!"

The deafening roar of the compressed flames echoed intermittently across the vast sky, like a deep rumble of thunder.

To avoid any accidents, Hughes always chose low-altitude routes that were deserted.

After driving at full speed for three hours from Magnolia Town, Hughes finally felt his stamina begin to wane.

Given this rate of decline in physical strength, he could still fly at full speed for at least another ten hours.

At that moment, the Communication Magic Crystal in Hughes's arms suddenly vibrated. Hughes quickly extinguished the flames on his legs and stood still in the air.

"Laxus, where are we?" Hughes asked curiously, pulling out Communication Magic Crystal from his pocket.

After learning of Hughes's plans, Laxus gave Hughes the Communication Magic Crystal, and the two agreed that Laxus would inform Hughes whenever he arrived at a transit station.

If Hughes falls too far behind him, he will abandon his plan to fly across the entire Kingdom of Fiore and instead head to the nearest station to Thunder Valley.

"Ugh, ugh..."

Laxus didn't speak; he simply created visuals.

Hughes smirked, trying to shake off the disgusting images in his mind.

Dragon Slayer Magic? Even a dog wouldn't learn that.

I stepped outside, and before I even saw the enemy, my health bar was already half empty.

After a short while, Laxus's retching sounds gradually subsided through the Communication Magic Crystal.

"I just arrived in Black Flower Town," Laxus said weakly.

Upon hearing this, Hughes's gaze drifted to the navigation Magic Crystal in his right hand; he had already flown past Black Flower Town long ago.

"Then you're two towns behind me!" Hughes replied.

On the other end of the Communication Magic Crystal, Laxus was stunned. If he remembered correctly, he had set off two hours earlier than Hughes, which meant that Hughes had left him two towns behind in three hours.

Damn it, why do I feel like I'll never be able to surpass Hughes in this lifetime?

An illusion, it must be an illusion!

At that moment, a series of shouting matches came from the Communication Magic Crystal...

"Laxus, what happened on your end? Why does it suddenly get so lively?" Hughes asked curiously.

"The Phantom Lord just a bunch of useless bastards causing trouble. Ignore them. My train is about to depart. I'll contact you later!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Communication Magic Crystal in Hughes's hand dimmed.

He put the Communication Magic Crystal back into his arms, Hughes flames erupted from his legs again, propelling Hughes forward with great force.

In mid-air, Hughes rubbed his chin with his fingers, muttered to himself, and finally a smile appeared on his lips.

Phantom Lord?

He seems to have a great idea!

hey-hey...

After a day and a night of low-altitude, full-speed flight, Hughes was the first to reach Thunder Valley.

Outside Thunder Valley, Hughes, who had transformed his face into Jose Bora by reversing his bones through the Life Return, landed fiercely.

"No, Jose's expression is arrogant, as if he sees everyone as ants. He needs to change his expression!"

Hughes stopped and mentally reviewed Jose Bora's image, revising it until he was absolutely certain, before stepping into Thunder Valley.

Upon entering Thunder Valley, Hughes activated his Advanced Observation Haki and instantly sensed an evil, dark, and ominous aura.

"Hmm, not bad, Squidward is still in Thunder Valley."

"With the main characters in place, the show is about to begin."

Hughes... no, it was Jose who revealed a chilling smile, stomped heavily on the ground, and floated into the air. He then quickly moved towards the location sensed by his Observation Haki.

Thunder Valley was filled with dense magic, its walls charred black; lightning bolts as thick as a wrist raged across the ground, in the air, and on the mountainside, creating a terrifying scene resembling a natural disaster.

The air was scorching hot and filled with a nauseating, acrid smell, making people extremely uncomfortable.

Hughes, suspended in mid-air above Thunder Valley, was like a lamb entering a tiger's den. The thunder within the valley surged violently, and these thick bolts of lightning, like ferocious tigers that had not eaten for months, roared and rushed toward him.

As Hughes passed through each area, several more wrist-thick bolts of lightning wrapped around his body, but with Hughes current physique, he was not afraid of them.

The crackling sound of electricity was like dozens of middle-aged women nagging in his ear, making Hughes irritable and restless.

As Hughes continued forward, the lightning accumulating on him increased, and the undissipating lightning merged into a ball on Hughes body, making Hughes appear from a distance as a giant ball of lightning.

Soon, a burly demon with four arms and eight octopus legs appeared before Hughes.

Like Hughes, its body was wrapped in countless bolts of lightning, but the quantity and quality of the lightning were worlds apart.

Dojigiri Ezel, a demon from the Book of Zeref, wields the Demon Blade Curse, capable of transforming his body into a sharp blade to shred everything.

At this moment, it stood on the ground with its eight legs spread apart, its demonic eyes tightly closed, absorbing the lightning on its body into its body with a look of ecstasy.

Hughes gave it a strange look; he'd made such a commotion, yet the creature hadn't noticed him.

Moreover, it seems to be using the thunder within Thunder Valley to temper the demon's physique.

Such an ambitious demon is rare; he should give it a good helping hand.

Hughes stepped through the void and vanished instantly, reappearing behind Dojigiri Ezel.

Hughes smirked and gently placed his hand on its shoulder.

Whispering softly, "Brother, it's me, Zeref. You smell so good!"

Dojigiri Ezel's body trembled violently. Oh no, he hadn't even noticed someone behind him.