"Requip!"
Erza shouted and equipped herself in a set of black and silver armor.
This armor covered her almost entirely, designed to be extremely heavy-looking with exceptional defensive capabilities.
"It's impossible, Erza!" Gray shouted worriedly. "Even the mighty Adamantine Armor can't withstand the Magic Convergence Cannon!"
"Erza, don't do anything reckless!"
"We'll face it together!"
Everyone else tried to dissuade her as well.
"Five—" came Jose's confident voice from the Phantom Lord guild.
"Four—" Jehfrit calmly continued.
"Jehfrit, get behind me!" Erza urgently said, but Jehfrit ignored her.
"Three—" Jose called out.
"Two—" Jehfrit responded.
"One!" Jose roared.
Jehfrit also spoke up.
"War..."
"Let's begin."
'Boom'
In an instant, a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, striking the topmost building of the Phantom Lord guild!
The Magic Convergence Cannon that was about to fire was hit by a terrifying column of lightning, causing it to explode on the spot!
'Boom'
The massive explosion immediately destroyed the mobile mechanisms below the Phantom Lord headquarters.
The headquarters, like a powerless robot, slanted and settled into the sea.
"Laxus!"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"Ah!!!"
Natsu roared, transforming into a fire dragon and charging straight toward Phantom Lord.
"Ice-Make: Stairs!"
Gray cast his magic, creating an ice staircase that connected to the Phantom Lord guild.
"Charge!"
Erza took the lead, and everyone followed closely behind.
Jehfrit remained standing in place, not moving.
In the original storyline—
The master had been ambushed by Aria, lost his magic, and fell unconscious.
Laxus hadn't returned.
Erza had taken a direct hit from Jupiter, leaving her injured before the battle even began.
Lucy had been protected and kept away from the battlefield, which left her vulnerable to attacks.
Jupiter hadn't been damaged and could fire again, looming over everyone like the Sword of Damocles.
Finally, there was Guild Master Jose's powerful area-of-effect magic, which suppressed everyone, making it hard to breathe. Almost all mid-to-lower tier fighters were restrained by this spell.
So this battle had been extremely difficult.
But the reality unfolding now was different.
The master was on his way back, giving everyone confidence that they could win if they just held on.
Laxus had returned, directly challenging Phantom Lord Guild Master Jose, preventing him from casting large-scale spells. Moreover, Laxus caused Jupiter to explode, damaging the Magic Convergence Cannon and disabling Phantom Lord's mobile mechanisms.
Erza was at full strength, increasing their chances of victory significantly.
Lucy was fighting alongside everyone; even if strong enemies appeared, everyone could protect her.
Finally,
There was Jehfrit, who had already cast his magic, covering the entire battlefield.
Under the influence of his magic, everyone had a fair chance to fight their enemies, ensuring a minimum consequence for defeat—not being killed.
With such favorable conditions, wasn't it worth fighting with everything they had? Wasn't it worth going all out?
In short, screw you, Phantom Lord!
This intense battle naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Reporters had long "predicted" the war and were now "lying in wait" around the area.
They used their cameras, snapping pictures non-stop, fingers flying over their devices, taking photos and notes.
However,
Their records still couldn't compare to mine.
Jehfrit pulled out his camera and stepped onto the ice staircase.
He walked while taking pictures.
Before this battle, everyone had pent-up anger, and now they were letting it all out.
Fairy Tail's pressure was palpable.
Among them, Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and others performed exceptionally well.
Erza went berserk, cutting a path straight to the highest level.
Lucy and Cana worked together brilliantly, achieving remarkable results.
Natsu suddenly retreated after a quick dash forward.
'Boom'
An iron rod pierced through the wall from the side, narrowly missing Natsu's head.
Natsu turned his head.
A black-haired man with a wild grin slowly retracted the iron rod, which transformed back into his arm.
"Fairy Tail, Fire Dragon Slayer Natsu," the man said, filled with fighting spirit.
"Phantom Lord, Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel." Natsu turned to face him directly.
'Boom'
The battle between the two Dragon Slayers erupted.
Gajeel had high defense, and Natsu had thick health and good offense.
Moreover, both were the type to get stronger the more they fought.
One could see fire and iron clashing fiercely.
Sometimes the iron would pierce through the flames, dealing blunt damage to Natsu.
Other times the flames would melt the iron, causing severe burns to Gajeel's skin.
Neither gained the upper hand in the short term.
"It's like a blacksmith shop," Jehfrit muttered while taking photos and critiquing the sound of their battle.
"These two will be at it for a while."
Jehfrit knew that it would be difficult for these two to determine a winner in a short amount of time.
And as they fought, one consuming fire and the other devouring iron, their magic wouldn't deplete easily.
In the end, it would come down to who had stronger willpower.
Jehfrit continued walking.
Elfman was battling Sol, one of the Element Four.
Sol had the ability to control sandstone, but simply relying on this ability to defeat Elfman was very difficult.
Elfman's Take Over magic allowed him to take on the Beast King's form, and with the Beast King's arm, Elfman could smash sandstone constructs with one punch each, demonstrating the concept of overpowering techniques with raw strength!
Subsequently, Sol created a clay figure of Lisanna to coerce Elfman, beating him severely.
But Elfman had an unusual constitution.
After suppressing his psychological trauma, a beaten-up Elfman was still able to continue fighting, putting immense pressure on Sol.
Finally, Sol revealed his ultimate weapon.
Elfman's sister—Mirajane had somehow been captured.
Sol controlled the sandstone, enveloping Mirajane, the sand creeping upward. It had already sealed her mouth, and if it reached her nostrils, she would suffocate within minutes!
Trouble indeed, Elfman, what are you going to do?
Jehfrit stroked his chin.
"Mmm—"
Mirajane let out a pained sound.
When your older sister is bullied, what will you do?
Wait
Jehfrit put down his camera.
Bullying Mirajane?
That won't do!
Jehfrit remembered that promise...
If Mirajane later recalled this incident and balanced merits and demerits...
'Whish'
Jehfrit drew Hani and slashed the sandstone open with one stroke.
"Jehfrit."
Mirajane weakly stumbled out and fell into Jehfrit's arms.
"Miss Mirajane, I'm sorry I'm late. Are you alright?" Jehfrit pretended to have just arrived.
"Cough, cough, I'm fine." Mirajane leaned on Jehfrit's shoulder to steady herself, looking somewhat weak.
"I'll escort you out," Jehfrit said.
"But Elfman..." Mirajane looked worriedly at her brother.
"Wait, who are you?!" Sol looked at Jehfrit in shock, not knowing when this person had appeared.
Then he broke out in a cold sweat. If this person hadn't come to rescue his comrade but instead attacked him, he might already be done for!