A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Because the Dark Guild has been heavily targeted by 'Sin of the Witch' in the past two years, it has become difficult for Lone Wanderers to survive. Therefore, they had long wanted to join a larger guild, which is why they accepted 'Raven's Tail's' invitation.

But now, the two of them have decided to leave.

They then turned their attention to Arok in the group, believing that this priest-like figure was the most promising member of the guild.

As for that Brian?

Who would want to follow someone with a split personality, whose second personality is like a madman who only knows how to destroy?!

Arok and Brian didn't react to Ivan's attitude, because Narubudinku and Black Snake were both under Ivan's command, so no matter how much Ivan insulted them, Arok and Brian didn't care.

These three were not in a superior-subordinate relationship, but rather allies within the Dark Guild, similar to the original 'Balam Alliance,' only weaker in strength.

This time, they also united their respective forces for the sake of the competition.

As for why Ivan was chosen as the president, it's because the tournament rules state that the president cannot participate, and Ivan is the weakest of the three, which is why he was chosen.

On the other side, Erza didn't even glance at Narubudinku, who had fallen into the water. She didn't even know his name; all she needed to know was that he was from 'Raven's Tail'.

Although the two guilds had a grudge, Erza wouldn't go out of her way to fight them; that would be too low-class. Now that they were coming to her for a kill, she was happy to make things easy and could easily take them down with a single slash.

"Never mind, the focus now is on Jura!"

With a graceful step, Erza landed lightly on the frozen stone pillar. She turned her gaze back to Jura not far away, whose bald head shone brightly due to the reflection of the ice.

Hmm? This angle isn't good; the light is so bright it's hard to open my eyes...

Oh right! Is this Kira's "the balder the better" theory? I thought he was just joking with the chairman, but it turns out it's true?!

Luckily, I have a prosthetic eye in my right eye, so the damage is reduced by half!

Jura never expected that, so far, the greatest damage he had inflicted on Erza would come from the reflection of her head.

"Let's continue!"

From the stands, the audience had a clear view of the changing tides of the naval battle.

According to traditional patterns, if the first round ends in a draw, and Erza gains popularity and a higher win rate in the second round, then Jura is very likely to regain the advantage in the third round.

But this is not a fighting match. In addition to Erza and Jura, there are two other arenas and four opponents in this competition, making the situation far more complex than it would be under normal circumstances.

Before Erza and Jura could resume their battle, Sidor on the other side had already knocked Ivan into the water.

Compared to the White Dragon Slayer Magic, Snow Magic was nothing but a death sentence. Even the announcer, who didn't know magic, could see that. If Narubudin hadn't overestimated himself and ambushed Erza, Ivan would have been the next one to be eliminated.

Thus, the battle of the four on the outer edge of the battlefield came to an end, with the ultimate victor being Sido of 'Heart of the Dragon,' becoming the only contestant to join the 'Saint-level 10 battle.'

But this also means that her match is about to end, because a mage who has had the Dragon Slayer Crystal implanted for less than two years has an overall strength level of only A at most. If she hadn't happened to encounter Ivan, whose attributes were countered by her, Sto would not have been able to win at all.

With such strength, it's naturally impossible to gain anything in battles against opponents like Jura, Erza, Imber, and Ultear.

And indeed, this proved to be true. The moment Sido stepped into the battle circle between Ultia and Inbel, she was immediately frozen into an ice block by Inbel's cold air, and then quickly fell into the water.

"So the gap is still too big after all..."

"What a pity!"

At the 'Heart of the Dragon' site, a group of second-generation Dragon Slayer mages lamented the fall of their newly joined comrade into the water, while only the eldest brother, Silver, was angrily complaining.

"Honestly, what is that girl Siduo doing? Wasn't she supposed to promote our newly invented magical weapon? And now she's been sidelined?"

The team's adorable pet, Black Hat Nicol, wagged its tail and complained, "Never mind, anyway, the weapons you developed aren't anything special. Magic is much more useful."

"What did you say?!"

Silver was immediately displeased and punched the black cat on the head. "You dare say my weapon is inferior to magic? Think about where the money you spent on food, drink, and lodging these past two days came from! It all came from selling weapons!"

As the guild's head and only money-making machine, Silver is both a father and a mother, racking his brains over this family of disobedient brats.

Although the others all held the title of research scholars, none of them had been able to produce anything useful over the years, and they all relied on him for their livelihood.

They had finally waited for the 'Grand Magic Games' and were thinking of taking the opportunity to sell some new technology, but apart from themselves, no one else took it seriously.

"If the Kingdom of Fiore weren't a neutral country, my magical weapons would definitely sell like hotcakes!"

Twenty minutes passed, and the match entered its final stage. At this point, the four players stopped fighting in pairs and instead engaged in a chaotic melee.

Rocks and ice, amidst the elusive, chilling glint of blades and the unseen passage of time, are constantly created, then chopped off and crumbled, forming terrifying scenes of landslides, earthquakes, and blizzards.

"Iwayama!!"

"cut!!"

"Ice-Slaying Divine Robe!!"

"Time afterimage!!"

Jura stomped her clogs hard, clasped her hands together, and summoned a rock giant in the form of a war god. The giant was majestic and its rocky fists were unstoppable. Erza, wearing the Ice Emperor Armor and holding the demon sword Red Tassel, was heroic and valiant. Neither rock nor ice could stop her beautiful sword strike.

Inbell created the Ice God Armor, covering his entire body and freezing and shattering everything it touched; Ultear's figure flashed and leaped continuously, guiding the rocks and ice blocks in front of him to the past or future, while creating powerful ice roses to decorate the battlefield.

Fairy Queen, Rock Warrior, Ice Knight, and Goddess of Time—these four nicknames are widely praised by the audience.

Of course, there are nicknames like "Rock Fist Bald Head", "Ai Yidao", "Cold Glasses Guy", and "Collapse Girl", but those are just given by vulgar and uncultured people and are not worth mentioning.

These nicknames are all easy to understand. As for why a great beauty like Ultear is called the "Honkai Girl", it's all because of her ability to instantly age rocks into ash, sublimate ice into gas, and liquefy it into water.

The four of them fought until there wasn't a single good patch of water under their feet. It was either hard, yellow rocks or glaciers that varied in hardness, and the lake had long since lost its original appearance.

"How are we going to end this match now? The water's gone, and all four fighters look really strong..."

On the judges' platform, the announcer looked sullen because his commentary couldn't keep up with the spellcasting and attack speed of the four people below. He even suspected that he might not be needed to host the next 'Grand Magic Games'.

"Don't worry, they're playing very seriously, so it'll be over soon!"

"Huh?? Why is that??"

Yajima didn't speak, but simply watched the four figures on the field.

On the battlefield, Jura wielded a rock fist and slammed it down, only to be severed in two by Erza's sword. In the blink of an eye, the blade was frozen into ice by Impel Down. The next second, the ice vanished as if it had never existed. It was Ultear who used the Arc of Time to transform it into the evaporated future. Meanwhile, Ultear's figure was pierced by a stone pillar that rose from the ground. The afterimage dissipated, and the stone pillar aged and crumbled into pieces, scattering in all directions, only to be frozen again in an instant. With a flash of light, all of it shattered into scattered ice crystals...

The four were locked in a fierce battle, one second they had just dealt with one of their opponents' attacks, and the next second the attacks from others followed one after another, bringing the battle on the second day of the Grand Magic Games to a fever pitch.

Chapter 670 The Coming Storm

Why can a game end if you play it seriously?

Before Chapati could figure this out, the others in the fight gave him the answer.

Amidst the chaotic battle, a tall figure suddenly retreated – it was Jura!

"Oh no!! Jurasan was the first to leave the battlefield?! How is that possible?!"

Chapati was shocked. Her eyes, which were originally the size of peas, suddenly widened—although they only became the size of soybeans. The audience who had been watching the four-person melee also showed an incredulous expression.

Was Jura, one of the 'Ten Wizard Saints,' defeated so quickly? Are all the young mages these days this powerful? While those three were indeed strong, eliminating a 'Ten Wizard Saint' so easily is just too outrageous!

But they soon realized they had misunderstood.

Jura wasn't driven back; rather, she was preparing to unleash a powerful attack, which is why she was the first to leave the battle and charge up her power.

Jura's body shot backward, his wooden clogs stomping hard on the ice, leaving two craters several centimeters deep. At the same time, he clapped his hands together, producing a crisp sound, and the magic within his body responded.

His expression was extremely serious, and terrifying magic power erupted from his body, causing the surrounding air to vibrate slightly. Gravel and ice crystals floated in the air due to the change in the force field. Even a mage with some knowledge could not help but feel a little nervous because of this.

"That's... Jurasan's ultimate move!!"

The mages of 'Snake Princess Scale' murmured softly, cold sweat streaming down their faces. What they saw seemed not to be the arena below, but a scene from the past that existed in their memories.

It was a crumbling land, collapsed mountains, shattered monsters, or ruins filled with rubble and dust.

Jura's ultimate move? Can it take down three people in one fell swoop?

A sense of curiosity ignited in the hearts of people from other guilds.

"Look! Not only Jura, Erza has made a move too!!"

Upon hearing the sound, everyone looked towards the chaotic battlefield after Jura's retreat and saw a beautiful figure with long, crimson hair following closely behind Jura. Her movements were equally agile, but compared to the composure and gravitas displayed by Jura, this figure was more elegant and stunning.

"Changing clothes..."

A clear, cold voice came from her crimson lips. Her graceful figure lightly stepped onto the ice, and the moment she landed, Erza's entire body erupted with crimson magic. The magic stirred up a gust of wind, causing her long, alluring red hair to dance wildly. Judging from the magic power that erupted from her body, it was not much less than that of Jura.

"It seems they're planning to use their last resort."

Sure enough, before the words were even finished, the remaining Inbel and Urudia also jumped backward at the same time, each ceasing their attack and separating.

The difference is that Imber landed steadily on the ice after stepping back, while Urutia, due to the uneven force distribution caused by his body structure, failed to stand firmly after landing.

Seeing this, Kira suddenly realized that this was a typical example of judging combat experience based on clothing—compared to Ultear in her light, simple clothes, Erza in her armor showed no signs of this instability, which was one of the reasons for the difference in their strength.

Imber saw Ultear's 'disheveled' state and sneered, "You can't even stand properly, and you still want to get revenge for Ice Make Magic? Foolish woman!"

Lustful audience member #1: "So big! Glug..."

Envious audience member #2: "So big! I'm so envious..."

Naive spectator #3: "Oh no! Ultear is at a disadvantage!"

Ultear ignored Inbell's sarcastic remarks and simply activated the magic power within her body. The invisible, formless, and silent time fluctuations immediately spread in all directions, instantly enveloping the entire arena.

The air around Inbel was even colder than before, chilling and oppressive. The bone-chilling cold quickly spread to the audience. Although Inbel was constantly controlling the range of his magic's influence and trying to compress the magic within the arena, his magic was simply too vast, and some leakage was inevitable, causing the spectators in the stands to complain incessantly.

The stands began to freeze over, and the audience shivered, their jaws chattering, exhaling puffs of white mist with each breath. Even ice and snow mages like Gray and Leon, who were resistant to the cold, found it unbearable.

"It's so cold!!"

"Why is it so cold?!"

"Even I can't resist this chill, so what about the others..."

Just as Gray felt a surge of anxiety, a red light suddenly burst forth behind him, followed by a loud 'boom'. A familiar warmth dispelled the surrounding chill, liquefying and evaporating the ice on the stands.

Looking back, sure enough, it was Natsu who set the fire.

At this moment, Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest, with an arrogant expression that said, "What can mere cold do to me?" Flames swirled around him, the heat and range of the flames just right.

Lucy and Happy shivered and huddled close to Natsu, but dared not actually touch him for fear of being burned by the fire. They simply nestled together beside him, like the wives and children of the Dragon Neru family being protected by their husbands.

"Thank you so much, Natsu!!"

"So warm..."

A cute blush spread across Happy's face as he lay half-reclined in Lucy's arms, his eyes narrowed into slits, looking extremely comfortable.