Makarov's Warning
With the moon high in the sky and its gentle light spilling across the ground, the rest of Magnolia Town gradually quieted down, except for the increasingly noisy hot spring town.
After escaping from Kailinfu, Hughes went straight to find Macao, and as Kailinfu had said, Macao was lying in bed.
No matter how much Hughes shook him, he didn't wake up; he was fast asleep like a stone.
Hughes didn't know how to break the Sleep Magic, but he knew how to use physical methods. So, Hughes raised his hand, avoiding Macao's drooling mouth, and slapped it down hard.
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
After two slaps, Macao's cheeks instantly swelled and bruised, but he showed no sign of waking up.
"Tsk, that woman Kailinfu's Sleep Magic is pretty strong!" Hughes muttered.
Macao still hadn't woken up, so he had no choice but to call for backup!
In the stillness of the night, thoughts run rampant, which is quite annoying.
Laxus lay in the rocking chair, his mind filled with the image of the massive fireball Hughes had unleashed in Thunder Valley.
He didn't understand. He had clearly broken through the bottleneck and his magic level had reached a new level, but why did he feel that the gap between him and Hughes had widened even further?
If that giant Fire Fist were to land on me, I'd be celebrating my first birthday this time next year.
Damn it... how could I be so useless!
Laxus was quite annoyed; the feeling of being overshadowed by his peers really bothered him.
Suddenly, a cool night breeze blew through the open door, swept across the courtyard, dispelling some of the heat inside and taking away Laxus's restlessness.
"Tomorrow, I must train even harder."
Laxus knew that wallowing in self-pity wouldn't make him stronger, so after venting his frustrations, he closed his eyes.
Get some rest so you'll have the energy to practice tomorrow.
On the other side, a deep red trail suddenly appeared above the hot spring town, passed through Magnolia Town, and was extending towards the outskirts of Magnolia Town.
Hughes originally intended to find Makarov to find out what was going on, but then he thought it might be a bit unethical to wake up an 80-year-old man in the middle of the night.
He flew directly to the outskirts of the city, Hughes to find Laxus.
Laxus, being a native of Magnolia Town, Magnolia Town there, and is the old man's grandson, so he must know about Kailinfu's situation.
"Clang!"
Inside Laxus's house, Hughes suddenly appeared and kicked Laxus was slumped over in a rocking chair.
"Still sleeping! How can you sleep at your age! At your age, you can't even sleep? Have you any self-respect?!"
Hughes's pupils widened in anger, and he pointed his index finger directly at Laxus, who was sitting on the ground, and shouted sharply.
Laxus clutched his lower back, sitting on the ground, his dazed eyes filled with confusion.
Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
Two or three breaths later, Laxus opened his mouth and let out a puzzled "ah".
Hughes calmly lowered his fingers, flicked his bath robe, and sat down on the warm recliner with an air of nonchalance.
"I misheard you on TV, just pretend you didn't hear me. I'm here to ask you something. Do you know someone called Kailinfu?"
"You son of a bitch, Hughes, are you out of your mind?!" Laxus roared, pushing himself up with both hands, clenching his fists, and unleashing a barrage of blows at Hughes's head and face, the air crackling with a loud "whoosh."
Damn it, this Hughes is inhuman.
He didn't do anything, he was just sleeping at home, and this guy still wouldn't let him off the hook.
"Bang!"
"Pfft!"
The rocking chair, which had been "favored" by two buttocks in a short time, made a crisp sound and announced the end of its life.
It split in two, lying in two places; Laxus, with its rear end sticking out, was exposed between them.
Standing behind Laxus, Hughes shrugged and slowly retracted his legs, which were suspended in mid-air.
Good grief, is Laxus out of his sleep? He used to know to use Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic to fight him, but now he's trying to fight him bare-handed.
That's outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
They're completely disregarding cheaters!
Forget it, a magnanimous person won't hold a grudge against a petty person...
Hughes reached into his robe and tossed Makarov's token to Laxus.
He then began to tell Laxus everything that had happened in the hot spring town.
In the end, Hughes suddenly thought of half-siblings and the same grandfather.
"Could it be that Kailinfu has some connection to your family, Laxus?" Hughes asked in shock, otherwise it would be hard to explain why Kailinfu had Makarov's token.
Laxus rolled his eyes at Hughes, speechless, then glanced at the rocking chair that had been split in two.
Anger surged within him again. This was his favorite rocking chair. For five years, it had been with him, its surface bearing the marks of his footsteps. And now it was gone.
It's all that bastard Hughes's fault!
Laxus cursed Hughes inwardly. If he didn't need Hughes's help in a couple of days, he would have fought Hughes to the death right now.
"Why are you so angry? Is Kailinfu really related to you by blood?" Hughes asked, both shocked and puzzled.
This part doesn't seem to be in the Fairy Tail story!
Laxus stood up and glanced at Hughes. He knew that if he didn't explain things clearly to Hughes, the guy's brain would allow him to imagine that the entire Magnolia Town was related to him by blood.
"I don't know who Kailinfu is, but I do know that this is the old man teaming up with the townspeople to put Macao and the others in a bad light. This kind of thing has happened before!" Laxus said, waving the token in his hand.
"A reprimand?" Hughes almost thought he misheard; he hadn't heard that Macao and the others had made any mistakes recently.
Laxus nodded and continued, "They've been too lazy lately; they're not doing many missions, and they're not practicing magic either."
"Take Macao for example, he has only completed two missions since the beginning of the year, and both were B-Class missions;
He had been pondering the changes in the nature of the flames in the Purple Flare Magic for over half a year, but he hadn't made any progress whatsoever.
Was it because he lacked talent? No, it was purely because he was complacent, lazy, and unambitious; the tranquility within the guild made him perhaps forget the cruelty of the magical world.
The same applies to Wakaba, Reedus, and others.
The old man probably couldn't stand by and watch, so he used Kailinfu's hand to make them stumble and fall, hoping they would finally realize their mistake!
This kind of thing has happened before, but this is probably the first time Macao and his friends have experienced it!
Laxus explained in great detail, and Hughes was taken aback for a moment. He had been behaving like a baby lately, so he shouldn't need to be disciplined like Macao and the others!
Hughes's puzzled expression was obvious, and Laxus knew without a doubt what he was thinking.
"As for you, I guess you were just caught in the crossfire!"
Laxus explained it so well that Hughes was completely dumbfounded.
Write this down; next time, I'll have the old man take Macao and the others...
Since it was Makarov who wanted to punish Macao and the others, Hughes didn't bother going back to the hot spring town to pick them up.
"Laxus, I'm sleeping here tonight. Find me a room without any secrets!" Hughes yawned and said casually.
It's too late to go back to sleep; there's no need.
He and Laxus are brothers, so this place is practically his home too, and it's the same for him to sleep here.