A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Then, his smile froze on his face.

"Maybe...it really is possible!"

Yesterday, I displayed the strength to defeat five opponents in one fell swoop, so it's normal that it attracted their attention. Besides, it seems that they already had spies infiltrating the Kingdom of Fiore, so it's not surprising that they could find out that Jura and Kira were in the guard.

"coming!"

With a soft shout, surging magical power erupted from Kira and Jura simultaneously, like an abyss, like a tide, like the sea, like waves, transforming into the most powerful magic, smashing towards the enemy before them!

"Iron-clad pillar!!"

Eight stone pillars, harder than steel, rose from the ground, forming a circle that protected Princess Emerald and her soldiers.

The Rock Iron Pillars are flexible and versatile, combining offense and defense. Under Jura's control, they are as agile as octopus tentacles. In battle, they cooperate with each other like eight inseparable brothers. No orc fist or turret's beam can penetrate their protective circle.

Jura focused on defense, while Kira naturally took the lead in offense!

"The earth is collapsing!!"

With Kira's loud shout, a deafening energy surge erupted.

Except for the area protected by Jura's Iron Pillars, the land within a radius of a thousand meters centered on Kira cracked and collapsed, as if tens of thousands of tons of explosives had detonated underground at the same time. Endless energy burst forth with white light that could eclipse the sun, engulfing the hundreds of orcs and mechanical cannons, and their wails echoed across the land.

"This... what kind of magic is this...!!"

"Are all the Ten Wizard Saints this terrifying?!"

The first bombardment completely stunned the soldiers, as if their worldview had been refreshed. Everyone stared intently at Kira and Jura's skillful maneuvers.

The earth-shattering attack could not wipe out all the orcs. They rose again, running like thunder and swift as the wind, one after another.

Kira suddenly slapped his forehead: "I almost forgot, they're emotionless killing machines..."

"Then... Gravity Hell!!"

The next spell was boundless gravity; an invisible mountain fell, ruthlessly pressing the orcs on the ground and the cannons in the air into the ground, never to rise again.

"Rain of Holy Light!!"

A huge white magic circle suddenly appeared in the sky. As Kira continued to release his magic, the spells on the circle changed rapidly, and finally turned into a rain of light that poured down.

Each drop of light was a magical blade, and countless blades fell straight down from the sky, like an eraser wiping away chalk marks, cleaning up the turrets and orcs from sight.

Ding-ding-dong... thump-thump-chatter...

The light rain plunged into the ground, making a noisy sound and stirring up dust several meters high. The dust stretched for hundreds of meters, like a yellowish-brown cloth, burying the orcs and machines in a bottomless pit.

After a long while, the smoke and dust dissipated, revealing countless piles of blood, flesh, and iron beneath the hundreds of meters of crater. There was no longer a single orc that could move, nor a single flying machine.

"Shouldn't this be over now?"

Suddenly, a strange sense of crisis welled up inside me!

Kira retreated without hesitation, and at the same time, with a cracking sound, a sharp spear burst from the ground where he had been standing, shooting straight into the sky.

When the figure landed, Kira could see its appearance clearly: a giraffe holding a spear...?

What is this?

Before Kira could react, more than a dozen figures appeared around Zebra: a cheetah swordsman wielding two swords; an elephant warrior with a giant axe; Zebra carrying a sniper rifle; a brown bear with a sword and shield; and rhinos, hippos, lions, tigers...

Each one was armed, and each one was staring at Kira.

"Why...did you all crawl out from underground?"

Suddenly, a clear, sharp voice came from the sky. Kira looked up and saw an owl.

"Okay... I take back my question."

Within a few breaths, Kira realized that the enemies before him were different from the ones before. Not only did they use weapons and their bodies were more like animals, but Kira also sensed the scent of reason on them.

"So, all those before were failures, cannon fodder! You are the real orc army?"

"As expected of a mage ranked among the 'Ten Wizard Saints,' you saw through this at a glance! But even if you knew, it wouldn't matter, you'll soon become one of us!"

The one speaking was the owl, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

Kira didn't respond, but just muttered to itself, "It's practically an army of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users! Hmm, so those were SMILE victims before..."

The orc legion was bewildered and looked at each other in confusion.

"What is this guy saying?"

"Who knows? Maybe all of the 'Ten Saints' are these kinds of strange people?"

"This is the first time I've ever seen a mage listed among the 'Ten Wizard Saints,' and I'm actually a little excited!"

"Even though those were defective products, defeating them all in such a short time, doesn't that make them truly worthy of the title 'Ten Saints'?"

"Don't forget about those machines! If those were baptized, how powerful monsters would they become?"

"No matter how strong they are, in the end they'll all end up like us, won't they?"

"Let's keep quiet! He might be our boss someday!"

A bunch of wild beasts of different species were gathered together, chattering incessantly. The scene looked very strange, but Kira did not interrupt their conversation. Instead, he enjoyed the shock of the title 'Ten Wizard Saints' and listened quietly to their conversation, sifting out the information he needed.

Unfortunately, most of it was things Kira had already guessed: the enemy leader captured a large number of humans for experiments, turning them into beasts. Those who succeeded became stronger, while those who failed lost their minds.

Kira concluded that it resembled the cursed seal of the neighboring Hokage.

Chapter 384 How do traditional stories drive the plot?

Kira discovered something long ago: most manga can be found in similar settings from the three major shonen manga.

Perhaps it's because successful authors all think in the same direction?

From the conversation, Kira gleaned several pieces of information:

The success rate of humans transforming into beastmen is low. Failure results in becoming mindless beasts that only obey commands. Success grants immense power, but also requires obedience.

The more concentrated the magic power within the body, the higher the success rate of conversion, and the stronger the result.

The orcish army is led by the treasurer, not the king;

The introduced machines had nothing to do with the orc legions; they were simply something the king had purchased through some channel.

"Hey... seriously? You were inexplicably turned into this state and now you have to obey that guy's orders? Don't you even have the will to resist?"

As if it were an innate skill, Kira skillfully began to stir things up, "Without a human body, you can't enjoy life anymore! You can't do this or that! And, you might even be asked to do this or that..."

Before he could finish speaking, the weapons of more than a dozen orcs rained down, smashing the spot where Kira stood to pieces with swords, spears, axes, hammers, and projectiles! And Kira... spun two and a half times in the air, then gracefully landed with the help of flight magic.

"What's wrong? Did I just hit the nail on the head? Did that old man really make you do this and that?"

But it was clear that the other side didn't want to heed Kira's provocation and continued to issue orders: "He is one of the 'Ten Wizard Saints,' so don't hold back! If you don't attack with the intention of killing him, we'll be the ones who die!"

"Yes!!!" ×N

When the other side swarmed forward again, Kira realized that he might have said something too harsh and angered everyone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said it so directly..."

This spurred the orcish army to attack even more fiercely.

Kira didn't retaliate immediately, but instead kept dodging while thinking about his next move.

If these were a group of beasts that had lost their minds, then I could just kill them without hesitation. But since they were still rational humans, it seemed too cold-blooded to just kill them like that. Besides, they might be useful in the future.

Ideally, we should figure out how their owner, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, transformed and controlled them.

Going a step further, if we take these orc legions under our command, wouldn't we have no shortage of manpower to realize our "trading across the three continents" plan?

Swords, spears, axes—every orc wielded their weapons with effortless skill, creating a whooshing sound. Judging from their proficiency, they were probably elite soldiers of the kingdom's army before becoming members of the orc legion.

"Could it be that you were experts at using these weapons before? You actually look quite skilled!"

With horizontal slashes and vertical strikes, straight thrusts and diagonal parries, they seemed to be old teammates who had worked together for many years. Before one attack was finished, the next one followed one after another, gradually forming an impenetrable attack net. Kira, however, kept moving with his feet, his body shifting like a slippery fish, and no attack could hurt him.

Suddenly, Kira noticed that the Cheetah Swordsman's movements resembled someone else's, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Huh?! Cheetah, your dual-wielding swordsmanship looks familiar! Who taught you that?"

The cheetah didn't answer, but in the midst of its busy work, it glanced at Kira with a cryptic look.

Kira understood, and muttered angrily, "Damn it, it must be that guy Dispel who trained such a bastard to trick me? I'll settle the score with you later!"

These rational orcs were less bloodthirsty than the orcs encountered before, but their combat skills were more refined, and their strength, speed, and stamina far surpassed those of the defective ones.

Even Kira had to admit the brilliance of this technology—though it seemed not yet fully mature!

So the question is, how did that finance minister acquire this technology?

What can be confirmed first is that this is a form of black magic that modifies the human body!

When Kira thought of dark magic and modification, Zeref was the first person that came to mind. But these orcs weren't demons, and they didn't carry Zeref's aura. Of course, most importantly, they could be controlled; Zeref's creations wouldn't be so low-level!

"Let's defeat them first—Dreamscape!!"

This move is Mystogan's signature move, stronger than his usual Mist Illusion Naraku. How could a mage like Kira, who loves learning and magic, not borrow it?

The orc army is indeed formidable, excelling in both offense and defense, but after several encounters, Kira has discovered their weakness: mental strength. They have virtually no resistance to this aspect!

As expected, under the influence of the dreamscape, the orc legion fell to the ground one after another with a series of thuds.

"Then... let's tie them up like this."

Just as Kira was about to begin binding the beast, a loud booming sound suddenly came from behind him.

"What happened?!"

Puzzled, Kira felt something take off behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened as he saw a giant machine, tens of meters tall, flying away into the distance.

"Hiss... This country of Bosk actually has something like this?! It's terrifying!! Seriously, this is so cool!!"

Once the giant machine's figure disappeared into the horizon, Kira finally came to his senses: "Wait, where are Jurasan, the guards, and the princess?"

Anyone with a normal mind could guess what had happened from the scene before them, but Kira still couldn't quite believe it.

"This isn't real...it really isn't real..."

Kira covered his face speechlessly, muttering to himself as he looked around until he was sure there was no one else there. Only then did he confirm his guess, "So he still got caught... Is this really how things are going to go? Relying on those incompetent women to drive the plot?"

"I knew those twenty million J wouldn't be so easy to get! Speaking of which, Jura was captured too? No way?! How did they manage that?"

Kira couldn't let the other party escape so easily, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain to King Thomas, and more importantly, his 100% mission completion rate would be broken.