A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The Heart of the Devil, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, Ultear!

……

On the flying carpet, Kira and Hyberion watched the examinees below.

The candidates didn't all travel in groups or form cliques. Most, like Ika and his friends, would gather a few people of similar skill and walk together in twos and threes, keeping an eye on each other, scouting the terrain, and guarding against ambushes. Of course, there were also quite a few skilled and daring individuals, or lone wolves who couldn't squeeze into the crowd.

The squads were not far apart, some only twenty or thirty meters apart, others only a hundred meters apart. They probably thought that "as long as there are more people here, the losing team will not dare to attack."

Further away, several people who looked like academy teachers were watching the group of examinees. Kira knew they were there to monitor the examinees and prevent them from using magical vehicles or asking for outside help.

Hyberion sat next to Kira, swirling his milk glass, seemingly relaxed and carefree. But in reality, he was not as relaxed as he appeared; instead, he was filled with worry.

He hadn't been able to concentrate since Konas told him this morning that the Demon's Heart was about to attack Demisor Magic Academy.

When Conas received the message, the exam had already begun. Half of the 120 candidates who possessed magic stones had already left the city. Not to mention that since last night, the candidates in the "failure group" had been lying in ambush on the road, making it impossible to stop the exam.

They were unaware of the Demon Heart's purpose or how the attack would proceed. Based on the belief that "the Dark Guild has no bottom line," they had no choice but to split into two groups.

Konas is the dean of the academy and one of the Ten Saints. From any perspective, she should go back. Gulan has always acted toughly in the council and is known for his zero-tolerance attitude towards the Dark Guild. He would not hesitate to step forward in this situation.

Therefore, Hyberion had no choice but to protect the examinees. Since none of the three knew Kira's exact combat strength, they assigned him the relatively safe task of protecting the examinees. However, fearing that he was young and impulsive and might rush to the academy without thinking after learning the news, causing accidents to the examinees, they did not tell him the truth.

"coming!"

Hyberion, lost in thought, was startled awake by Kira's voice. He thought that the Demon Heart had really gone mad and attacked these children. His expression changed immediately, his eyes flashed red, and at the same time, his magic gathered, instantly putting him into battle mode.

"Senior, what's wrong?"

Hearing Kira ask the question, Hyberion realized he had been too sensitive, shook his head, and said, "Nothing, what did you just say?"

Kistra pointed down: "Those little guys from yesterday are here!"

Hyberion looked down and, sure enough, as the examinees passed the hillside, a small group of people emerged from the other side of the hill—those who had been eliminated yesterday.

"Everyone, charge!!"

Someone shouted, and the group of losers swarmed forward, instantly scattering the main group of candidates who were marching forward.

They had clearly waited and observed for a long time, and some even directed and coordinated with each other, like well-trained bandits, outlaws, and mountain thieves, specifically targeting those candidates who were alone or in small numbers.

In an instant, all sorts of magic flew around the hillside.

"Tsk tsk tsk... This scene is even more spectacular than Fairy Tail's usual internal strife." Kira thought to himself, a smug smile playing on his lips, his fists clenching unconsciously. "Go... go!"

Hyberion turned his head and saw Kira's small fist, assuming he was worried about the safety of the examinees. He couldn't help but admire him inwardly: "It seems Mr. Kira is a bit more composed. If Mr. Makarov were here, he would have been shouting excitedly by now..."

Hyberion found it unbelievable that Maklov had such a childish, gossipy, and mischievous attitude.

"It seems that not every Fairy Tail mage is like Mr. Makarov..."

If Kira knew what Hyberion was thinking, he would definitely burst out laughing and give him a thumbs up for his high standards.

On the chaotic battlefield on the hillside, bright magic circles kept lighting up and disappearing in the tender palms and in front of the small bodies. At the same time, the shouts of the examinees shook the heavens and the earth, soaring into the sky.

The intense contrast of color and sound stirred up emotions within Kira as well.

After an unknown amount of time, a voice rang out: "We can't hold on any longer, retreat!"

After that sound, about half of the people began to retreat in a certain direction.

“Oh, I didn’t expect them to have even come up with an escape plan. It seems there’s a strategist among them…” Kira said with interest. “But it seems some of the ‘robbers’ are lost.”

Kira noticed that several children had run in the wrong direction and lost the help of their teammates, and were caught and scolded.

The first raid of the third exam was a hasty retreat, perhaps because it was just the first probe, but this method was indeed effective; some people did manage to grab the magic stone, and then…

Those around you become enemies, and those in front of you become allies.

The balance of power between the enemy and ourselves changed in an instant!

It might be a bit demanding to expect these young children with little social experience to cope with such changes using their limited intelligence, but at any time, going with the flow and blending into the crowd is always the best defense.

Those children who succeeded were like wolves hiding among a pack of huskies, temporarily avoiding the limelight and waiting for their chance to strike.

They are waiting, waiting for the next bandit attack, when they will bare their sharp teeth and claws again to strike at their prey and steal another magic stone.

Those candidates whose magic stones were stolen, because they needed their own magic stones to pass the test, chased after the people who stole their stones and fought relentlessly, getting up again and again only to be knocked down again and again, until they could no longer get up.

When they discovered that the person they were chasing didn't have his magic stone, they started attacking like mad dogs, biting anyone they saw until they forced the other person to reveal the magic stone.

"Poor child, he must have been devastated when he saw that the other person didn't have his stone..."

Kira sighed as he enjoyed the cool breeze high in the sky, expressing deep sympathy for the examinee who was beating people up like a mad dog.

Hyberion remained silent, his attention not on the examinees, but on other places along the way. His scarlet eyes darted around like a vampire's, surveying the ground from the sky, not missing any place where members of the Dark Guild might appear.

“It’s been over three hours since we left Hams City, and we haven’t seen any suspicious people other than the examinees and academy teachers,” Hyberion pondered. “Could it be that the people from the Heart of the Demon don’t intend to harm the students? If that’s the case, then we couldn’t be luckier!”

"But wouldn't that mean their main force is all in the academy? Can Dean Konas and Speaker Gulan hold out with just the two of them?"

While his thoughts were racing, the candidates below had already reached the next unfavorable terrain: the river.

"According to the map I bought yesterday, once we cross this river, we'll be halfway to the finish line!"

The leader turned around and said to his companions, "This river is wide and deep. Be careful when you cross the bridge. Those guys are likely lying in ambush nearby, waiting to launch a surprise attack when we cross the river!"

There are no established military strategies in this world, and even if there were, these children probably wouldn't know them, so they naturally wouldn't understand what "attacking halfway across the river" means. But they must know which terrains are disadvantageous to them.

A child in front of him asked, "You just said, which way to go?"

The team leader, not understanding why he asked that, repeated, "The bridge!"

The child pointed to the empty river behind him: "Where's the bridge?"

There is no bridge over this river, or rather, there has been no bridge over it since yesterday.

Chapter 200 Thieves Among the Examinees

Those standing at the front of the line could see wooden stakes stuck at both ends of the riverbank, with cut hemp ropes still wrapped around them. Several planks and sawdust were floating on the river, clearly having been deliberately broken recently.

Clutching the map they'd bought in town the day before, the tour leader cried out in bewilderment, "Where's the bridge?! Where's that long and wide bridge?!"

"It must have been those guys!"

"How awful!"

In this situation, if they or their companions don't have the magic to cross the river on their own, they'll have to swim to continue.

One of the clever people suggested, "Is there anyone here who knows ice magic? If we freeze the river, we can all cross together, right?"

At that moment, another voice retorted from behind: "Are you an idiot? It's not winter yet. The ice we created with magic of this level will collapse if we walk together!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

"What's wrong with me saying that?"

"You bastard, wanna fight?"

"Who's afraid of you?"

The two started arguing, then started fighting, and eventually dragged several people around them into it. When they finally stopped fighting to rest, they discovered that their magic stone was gone!

"Oh no! My magic stone is gone! Did you just steal it?!"

"You bastard, you stole my magic stone! Give it back to me!!"

Two angry shouts startled those around them, who quickly scrambled to cover the stones they had hidden.

The person who touched the stone breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness, my magic stone is still here..."

But soon someone else shouted, "Aaaaaah!!! My magic stone is gone too! How could this be?!"

At this point, everyone else couldn't stand still. A group of people started touching themselves and making a mess. Many started arguing with those around them, completely forgetting about the two who had started the argument.

Unbeknownst to them, a bright-eyed boy had witnessed everything.

"In my arms...in my sleeve...in my hat...in my bag...hehehe..."

In the air, on the flying carpet, Kira watched him with interest. Kira recognized the boy; he was the one who had called out "Grandma Konas" in the exam hall yesterday, and the one who had just shouted that his Philosopher's Stone was lost.

"Is this to find out where the others hid the magic stones? What will they do next?"

Kira soon found out the answer.

Only a small number of people lost the magic stone; most of the examinees were focused on crossing the river. They originally wanted to send a few people into the water to find out the ambush, but no one was willing to take the lead, so they had to abandon the plan.

Then, all sorts of magic displayed their amazing power.

First, elemental mages showed off their magic, building wooden bridges, stone bridges, and ice surfaces to make things easier for some of their non-swimmers; shape magic was just as impressive, and the paths they created were more stable; in addition, there were also unorthodox methods like gravity magic and spatial magic; and of course, there were also those who thought they were good swimmers and just swam directly.

Just as about a third of the crowd successfully reached the other side, the ambush appeared.

About 300 candidates were eliminated yesterday, and about a third of them are here. This group of little bandits surrounded the candidates who had just crossed the river, shouting loudly!

"Brothers, follow me!!"

"Rob it!!"

In the chaos, the candidates' responses were far from up to par. Faced with the overwhelming number of robbers, some chose to flee, but were quickly caught up and had no choice but to retreat and band together.

Those crossing the river shouted, "Hold on! We'll wait for the others to cross before we..."

Just then, a voice behind him interrupted him: "Something's wrong! Those people from behind... they're catching up!!"

Initially, there were about 50 people lying in ambush on the hillside. After the first attack, half of their members were lost, but the number of examinees was also reduced by more than 20. The battle was quite fierce.

Now they've come back stronger, using their advantageous terrain to launch a pincer attack.

The pursuers behind them began to attack with magic, directly destroying the path on the river and causing the examinees who were crossing to fall into the river. They then used magic to beat the drowning students, who had nowhere to grab hold and were unable to exert their strength due to the terrain, leaving them only able to passively take the beating.

"Hahaha, you're surrounded! Hand over the magic stone obediently!"

The team leader, in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, wiped away his cold sweat and provoked, "Hand it over? With so many of you, how are you going to divide it?"

Less than half have crossed the river yet, and there is a significant gap in the number of test takers, so he can only stall for time.

"Well..." The bandits exchanged wary glances and said, "Don't worry about it! We have our own ways."

possible!

Seeing their expressions, the team leader was secretly pleased and continued, "Although you have a lot of people, we also have quite a few on our side. If it really comes down to a fight, we might not lose!"

Some candidates grasped the leader's strategy and cooperated to stall for time: "That's right, you're just yesterday's losers, a bunch of losers. Even if you team up, how strong can you be? What? You're not convinced? Do you dare to fight me one-on-one? I'll wager my magic stone!"