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*****
The first match ended, and the second group stepped onto the field.
Although none of Fairy Tail's members were in this round, there were still two major highlights.
Blue Pegasus's Hibiki Lates faced off against Minerva from Sabertooth. The royal court likely deemed their strengths to be comparable, which promised an exciting match.
However, Hibiki Lates was completely crushed by Minerva and ended up severely injured.
Next was Leo Bastia from Lamia Scale versus Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus.
Leo, Gray's senior and also a caster of Molding Magic, could use ice to create various animals for battle.
Bacchus, known as the Drunken Hawk, had a unique form of hand-to-hand combat magic that combined his robust physique, brute strength, magical power, and martial prowess. When drunk, his attack power increased drastically.
Honestly, if no one had said he was a wizard, judging by his combat style alone, George would have thought he was a martial arts master with powerful inner energy.
The two were evenly matched. After a prolonged battle, both exhausted their magic power, resulting in a draw. Each guild earned five points.
In the third group's draw, Fairy Tail's Laki appeared on the match list. However, the royal court evidently didn't have a high opinion of her strength, so her opponent wasn't a particularly well-known mage.
"Go on. Don't worry—he's not your match."
George offered a few words of encouragement to the slightly nervous Laki before flying back onto Bisca's shoulder to rest.
If this had been the original Laki, she wouldn't have stood a chance against Bellick from the Earth Spirit Wheel Guild. After all, he was one of their top mages.
But now, fully equipped by George, Laki had little to fear.
"I won't bring shame to the guild!"
Laki drew the magic wand George had given her and stepped onto her designated platform.
DONG!
The gong rang, signaling the start of the match.
"Hahaha! I never imagined I'd run into a Fairy Tail mage. Beating you will make me famous!"
Bellick was a short mage with his guild's emblem inked on his face. Upon learning his opponent was from Fairy Tail, he wasn't afraid—he was thrilled.
That's because every participating mage knew Fairy Tail's main fighters weren't present. Among the current team, only that cat was formidable; the other four were considered average in strength.
But the audience didn't know this. After seeing how powerful the cat was and being familiar with Fairy Tail's legendary reputation, they naturally assumed the rest of the team wouldn't be too far behind in power.
For mages from smaller guilds, defeating even one of those four meant instant fame.
Even with a poor final ranking, having a win against a Fairy Tail mage on record would bring in plenty of job offers.
"I'm going to shock you so bad, you'll wet yourself!"
The short Bellick grinned with a creepy expression as magic circles flared around his hands, enveloping him in electricity.
He, too, was a lightning mage—just a very ordinary one.
Using the electricity to stimulate his body and boost his speed, Bellick turned into a blur and charged at Laki. Then he leapt high into the air, clutching a pillar of lightning and thrusting it down hard.
Seeing this, Laki took a deep breath, raised her wand, and aimed it at the airborne Bellick.
"Wood Make: Shy Love Barrage!"
A green magic circle formed at the tip of her wand, and in an instant, hundreds of massive wooden weapons materialized in midair. With overwhelming force, they swatted Bellick—still clinging to his lightning pillar—like a fly, sending him flying across the field.
"One-hit knockout! Fairy Tail mage Laki Olietta has defeated Bellick of the Earth Spirit Wheel with a single move, earning ten points for her guild!"
Seeing Bellick fall unconscious upon impact, the announcer immediately jumped to his feet and shouted excitedly. The crowd erupted into cheers, and more people than ever chanted in support of Fairy Tail.
The other competing wizards watching from below the stage all showed surprised expressions on their faces.
They hadn't expected that, despite Fairy Tail's current lineup, there would still be another strong member aside from George.
The third match ended. There were no Fairy Tail participants in the fourth or fifth groups. Then came the sixth group, and Marcus's name appeared on the match list. This time, his opponent was Nobarly, a mage from Quatro Cerberus.
It was clear that the organizers had realized Fairy Tail's actual strength differed from the information they had, so they raised the difficulty, matching the remaining three members against mages from well-known guilds.
The mages of Quatro Cerberus were on a completely different level compared to those from obscure, small guilds.
Even with the power boost provided by his wand, which increased his magic's potency tenfold, Marcus still found the battle incredibly difficult.
In the end, he had to activate his enchanted cloak's Iron Armor Spell and endure the opponent's magical onslaught head-on, finally seizing an opportunity to defeat Nobarly and earn ten points for the guild.
There were no Fairy Tail participants in the seventh, eighth, or ninth groups. In the tenth group, Bisca's name finally appeared on the match list.
Her opponent was Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus—a cover girl second only to Mirajane in popularity. She used Take Over magic as well, capable of assimilating machinery and summoning a wide array of heavy artillery weapons.
A beauty versus a beauty—heavy firepower versus long-range sniping—this match was packed with excitement.
Although Jenny was a cover model, she was also an S-Class mage of Blue Pegasus. Under normal circumstances, Bisca would definitely be no match for her.
However, George had upgraded Bisca's sniper rifle, allowing the bullets it fired to reach near S-Class magic power. Combined with her cloak's defensive barrier, a mechanical golem to interfere, and an invisibility cloak for stealth sniping—
In the end, Bisca managed to narrowly defeat Jenny Realight and secured a hard-won victory.
So far, in the individual matches, Fairy Tail had steadily earned forty points, placing them at the top of the rankings.
Up until now, the guild hadn't lost a single match, whereas other top guilds had suffered at least one defeat. Blue Pegasus, in particular, had been unlucky and lost twice.
There were no Fairy Tail members in the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, or fourteenth groups. Finally, in the fifteenth group, Alzack's name appeared on the list.
But upon seeing his opponent, George couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Alzack, don't feel too pressured. Just do your best. Even if you lose, we'll still be in first place."
Alzack's opponent was none other than the leader of Sabertooth—an elderly man named Jeman.
While that old man wasn't a threat to George personally, George could sense the immense magical energy within him. He was definitely at the level of a top-tier S-Class mage and served as the commander of Sabertooth's squad.
Thanks to George's enhancements, the four Fairy Tail members could now contend with regular S-Class mages and, with a bit of luck, might even pull off surprise victories—like Bisca had against Jenny.
But against those truly elite S-Class mages, they simply weren't strong enough.
(End of Chapter)