A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The air fell silent instantly.

"Eh?! Eh?! Together?!?!"

Makarov blinked in confusion at first, then his mind cleared, his pupils contracted instantly, and his voice involuntarily rose several decibels, "They're here too?!"

“Mmm…” Mavis smiled brightly, while Makarov’s heart sank to the ground.

Where are they now?

If this matter isn't clarified, Makarov feels he won't even be in the mood to watch the match later.

"Well... after arriving in Crocus, they said they sensed a familiar magical energy, and then they left together."

Hey, hey, hey... this is even more worrying!! There are so many people here. If it's discovered that Fairy Tail and Zeref are involved, that would be really bad!! How can you still be laughing in this situation?!

Oh no, I'm not in the mood to watch the game anymore!

After a while of playing around, members from the other guilds gradually went up. Kira didn't waste any more time: "I'm the leader! Follow my orders! Since this is the opening round, it shouldn't be too difficult. Let's send Natsu up to test the waters; he's the weakest in the team!"

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing Kira say he was the 'weakest,' Natsu immediately roared in dissatisfaction, even trying to jump up and hit Kira's knee, but his actions were quickly stopped by Lucy and Gray: "Don't be impulsive!! That's Kira..."

"That's right... and Kira isn't wrong either, you were the weakest to begin with,"

"what?!"

Natsu got even angrier and instantly turned around to fight Gray, yelling, "Then let's see who's weaker!! You droopy-eyed guy who doesn't even have an S-class title!!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking, you slanted-eyed bastard!!"

*Slap slap slap...* *Thump thump thump...* *Puff puff puff...*

"Is Nazsan going to play?"

The only one who didn't think Natsu was weak in the team was Stinger, who had always idolized him. Stinger's eyes sparkled as he watched Natsu messing around with Gray.

"Stinger has been wanting to see Natsu show off his skills for a long time!"

The fox... no, the red cat exposed Stinger's little scheme, making the fourteen-year-old boy blush.

"If it's Nazsan, there won't be any problem!"

Although he preferred Gajeel, Roger had to admit that Natsu was stronger than Gajeel, and he felt that this kind of opening match would not be difficult for Gajeel, so it would not be difficult for Natsu either.

"Flo thinks so too."

"Have you two had enough?!"

Finally, Erza's two punches ended Natsu and Gray's fight. "Natsu, since you're going to fight, hurry up!!"

Sensing the chilling killing intent emanating from Pu, both of them froze, then stood trembling in place, too afraid to utter a sound.

"And another thing, if you dare not pass, you're finished!!!"

"Gulp...Yes!!"

Without hesitation, Natsu abandoned Gray, whose face bore the mark of a fist, and ran headlong backstage without any regard for his image, his heart pounding all the way.

"That was close... I've gotten a little carried away lately because I've been able to play..."

Chapter 653 The Unexpected Appearance of the Contestant

The spacious arena was crowded with all the mages who had registered to participate. Influenced by the atmosphere, they dared not relax for a moment and vigilantly looked at their opponents around them.

"Now that all the contestants are here, let's announce the competition rules."

The announcer diligently performed his duties, and the broadcast echoed throughout the arena: "This is a competition to 'seize the right to continue the competition,' and the corresponding 'advancement tickets' are crystal balls dropped from the air by instruments!"

Everyone looked up and saw three metal machines floating in the air above the field, moving slowly and randomly in all directions, with a countdown timer constantly jumping on them.

"There's a countdown timer on it..."

"Was the crystal ball just thrown down from above?"

"It's so high, won't it break?"

The announcer continued explaining the rules: "Contestants cannot attack the equipment! When the countdown on the equipment ends, a random number of crystal balls will be dropped. When the competition time ends, the contestant who gets the magic crystal will qualify for the next round, and the contestant who doesn't will be eliminated!"

"As you can see, there are three instruments in total, which means there are only three throws, each 20 minutes apart, and the competition lasts for one hour!"

The rules were then declared over, and both the players on the field and the audience off the field began a heated discussion.

"The number of items distributed each time is random, meaning it's possible to get '0', right?"

"Instead of splitting up, they're all coming together for a massive free-for-all? This is more troublesome than I expected!"

"Using a countdown timer to buy time is probably a way to get us to eliminate as many other contestants as possible before then, right?"

"If you want to advance, you can't waste too much time at the beginning; assessing your own strength is also very important..."

Hibiki, from the Azure Pegasus, manipulated her ancient scripture, her hands tapping rapidly on the virtual keyboard, a confident smile on her face that captivated countless girls: "In this regard, my ancient scripture can calculate the most effective way to steal!"

Just as he was feeling smug, an extremely arrogant voice interrupted his actions.

"Waaaaaah!!!"

"What are you talking about?! The rules only said that the person who gets the crystal ball at the end of the match advances, but there's no limit to the number of teams that can advance, right? That means it's okay if only one team advances, isn't it?"

Without a doubt, the person who planned to take on 65 people at once was none other than the star mage of the magic world—'Fire Dragon' Natsu!

Surrounded by more than sixty mages, Natsu showed no fear or apprehension towards his opponents, but was instead filled with fighting spirit. His hands even caught fire uncontrollably due to his excitement, the leaping flames proclaiming the passionate heart of this cherry-haired boy.

"So... if we defeat you all, or shatter the crystal balls in everyone else's hands, wouldn't the rest of the competition be much easier?!"

Upon hearing Natsu's declaration of war, all eyes, both on and off the field, turned to him, filled with shock, curiosity, and amusement.

"Is this guy an idiot?! Doesn't this just put him directly against everyone?!"

"With this kind of competition format, it's common sense to eliminate powerful opponents by teaming up with familiar mages, right?! What on earth is that guy thinking?!"

"Eliminate everyone else and only yourself are left? That sounds interesting!"

"I recognize him! This guy is Natsu, the 'Fire Dragon' mage from Fairy Tail!!"

"A Dragon Slayer Mage? Judging from his magical power, he's no ordinary person!"

"Hahaha... The people from 'Fairy Tail' are still as unique as ever!"

Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tail section of the audience, the various mages displayed a variety of expressions, some cursing loudly, some speechless, some sweating profusely, and some laughing wildly.

"I knew this would happen..."

"Oh my god!! Nazsan is really good at playing the 'stealing' game!!"

"Hey...that guy's corrupting the kids!! President, aren't you going to do anything about it??"

"What do you care? This is the essence of 'Fairy Tail'!!"

"They even said 'Fairy Tail' was a legitimate guild, really... thank goodness I never believed them."

"Hahaha... Just like Natsu's style!"

"A real man faces difficulties head-on!!"

"If it were me, I would have done the same!"

Magic is very powerful, not only in its interaction with ordinary people, but also in its interaction with other mages. An ordinary person can fight ten people at most, but a powerful mage can truly fight a hundred, or even a thousand, and be invincible.

So, can Natsu take on 65 mages at once? If he were facing a bunch of weak and incompetent mages, he definitely could, but that's clearly not the case now!

"I should have let Kira go! One against 65 is nothing to him!!"

"But it shouldn't be too difficult for Natsu, right?"

"Hmm...maybe not..."

Look over there!

Following Kira's gaze, the group quickly focused their attention on the man on the field. He had short, reddish-brown hair, dark skin, pointed ears, and a wicked smile similar to Gajeel's on his face. He was wearing a thin white long-sleeved shirt.

It is the maternal relatives of 'Fairy Tail'—

"Eric?!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, "How could he be there?!"

Why would they be there? They must be participating in a competition!

But is Eric's magic guild... Sin of the Witch? How can a magic guild that's been incorporated into the royal family get involved in the Grand Magic Games?

"If it were Eric, he should be able to get the ball, right?"

Because of the close relationship between Eric and Ginana, the group knew that Eric could use sound magic, which gave him a great advantage in battle, especially in this kind of 'plundering' competition.

If The Witch's Sin were to join the Grand Magic Games, wouldn't Jellal, as the guild master, be unable to participate? Then the strongest among them would have to be... Ultear, right?

Below those two, it should be Dark Night and Eric.

"But in this chaotic situation, won't he misunderstand?"

After Kira muttered a complaint, he suddenly noticed that Makarov beside him was acting strangely, and immediately became curious: "Chairman, what's wrong?"

"That guy is..."

At this moment, Makarov's face was serious and his expression was solemn. His eyes were fixed on a figure on the field. Despite it being the middle of summer, his hands and feet were ice cold and he was sweating profusely.

Kira instantly made a judgment: The chairman must have kidney deficiency!

However, kidney deficiency sometimes occurs after overexertion.

These past few days, Makarov has been so busy with the competition that he hasn't even had time for a nap or to flirt with girls, so this phenomenon may be due to overwork.

Kira followed Makarov's gaze to the field and instantly understood why he was sweating profusely... no, why he was sweating: standing straight in the crowd was an arrogant dark-skinned man—'Desert King' Agil!

Upon seeing the other person, Kira couldn't help but blurt out in confusion, "The 'Desert King' of the Twelve Shields?! Why is he here?!"

Since the 'Desert King' is present, what about the other twelve Aegis? Are they also there?

Suddenly, Kira turned to look at Mavis behind him.

Mavis just said that Zeref sensed a familiar magical energy after arriving in Crocus. He thought it was 'Eclipse' or something, but it turns out it's one of the Twelve Shields!!

Since Agil is here, it's not hard to guess who his teammates are—it must be the other twelve shields!