"Report!"
As the father and daughter conversed, a silver-armored soldier suddenly rushed into the great hall from outside, knelt on one knee two steps behind the Jade Princess, cupped his fists in salute, and quickly reported.
"Reporting to the King, we have received a reply from the Minister of Military Affairs. Seven neighboring countries around our kingdom, when faced with our plea for aid, all expressed deep sympathy and concern, and issued announcements strongly condemning the Dark Guild's aggressive actions. However, due to unstable domestic political situations, they regretfully cannot send troops to assist."
Upon hearing this, the Old King's face turned pale, and he slumped weakly into his chair, muttering, "Can't even borrow a hundred thousand troops...?"
The Jade Princess stood up, waved her hand to dismiss the soldier, and then looked at the King with determined eyes, "Father, even without foreign aid, our Fiore Kingdom can still annihilate the enemy!"
"The strongest Magician Guilds on the entire continent are all in our country. This battle, we will surely win!"
...The next day, Rhine Basin.
The first rays of morning sun gently scattered across this vast and boundless land, like a thin, cicada-wing-like golden veil, plating every inch of the ground with a brilliant yet ethereal golden edge.
However, this seemingly warm and soft light could not dispel the heavy and oppressive tension that solidified in the air like lead.
The Fiore Kingdom's army stood ready, rows of soldiers with straight backs, holding sharp weapons, their gazes firm and resolute.
Their armor gleamed with a cold light in the sun, a symbol of their determination to defend their homeland.
Members of various Magician Guilds were distributed in different areas, their expressions serious, nerves taut, anxiously awaiting the enemy's appearance.
However, time flowed like fine sand in an hourglass, minute by minute, yet the anticipated enemy never appeared.
The sun gradually set, and the orange-red evening glow, like blood-stained silk, filled the sky.
Night fell quietly, like a giant black curtain, enveloping the earth.
At the Fairy Tail Guild's camp, hundreds of beds were neatly arranged, and bonfires provided some warmth and light in the cold winter night.
Everyone was still on edge, but fortunately, under the arrangement of the Guild Master Makarov, the Fairy Tail members operated in squads, using a six-shift rotation. Each squad maintained a four-hour surveillance mission, resting the rest of the time to conserve energy.
Currently, it was Erza's squad on duty.
Erza, along with Natsu, Loki, Happy, and Marcus, were roasting fish by the outermost bonfire, away from the resting area.
Natsu paced back and forth, "What exactly is going on? Are the enemies scared and not coming?"
Erza stood quietly to the side, her meticulously crafted, sleek, exquisite armor gleaming with a cold and resolute light under the bonfire's glow.
Erza looked at the gradually rising moon, her brow slightly furrowed, "The enemy might want to drag it out until night, waiting for everyone's vigilance to slacken."
Loki, wearing black-rimmed glasses and his khaki-colored fur-collared jacket, stood coolly beside Erza with his arms crossed, his black hair fluttering in the night wind, "Could it be that the Guild Master and the others were right? They changed their plan?"
When Ezreal wasn't around, Loki's looks and temperament were among the best in the Guild, after all, he was the leader of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits.
Happy and Marcus sat by the bonfire, each holding a skewer of roasted fish, diligently turning them over the flames. The aroma of roasted fish wafted everywhere.
Marcus looked back at his resting companions in the camp behind him, then shrugged, "I think the old man has a point. With ten days of preparation time, the other side wouldn't stick to the original frontal assault plan, knowing it might be exposed. That would waste a lot of troops."
Happy wiggled his two little feet, warming himself by the bonfire, his two little paws fiddling with the roasted fish skewered on a stick, drooling as he said, "Aiyee, maybe they're just idiots!"
At this, Natsu, Erza, and Loki exchanged glances and chuckled, the tense atmosphere easing slightly.
Marcus, sitting next to Happy, smiled and freed one hand to rub Happy's little cat head, "I think Happy's been infected by that little fella Yuumi; he's turned into a little dummy."
Happy angrily shook his head, then stood up and indignantly kicked Marcus, "Yuumi is still a little cat, she's only one year old! She's not a dummy!"
Ever since Yuumi was summoned to be the Guild's little doctor, Ezreal had never really managed the little fella. It could earn a bit of money by treating people on its own anyway.
Aside from Ezreal taking a significant portion of Yuumi's initial earnings, he hadn't taken any money since returning from the Asgard Mountains.
So Yuumi had a lot of spare cash and was always self-sufficient. When it wasn't busy, Mira would also look after the little fella.
However, the one who had the most contact with Yuumi in the entire Guild was Happy, who was also a cat.
Happy had always taken good care of Yuumi, and the two little cats had been together for half a year, developing a deep bond.
Even Yuumi's Mandarin and general knowledge were taught by Happy.
Hmm, that also included fishing skills.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I've been defeated!" Marcus feigned falling to the ground, while his other hand, ever so dedicated, clutched the roasted fish and didn't forget to turn it a few times.
Natsu, the cat owner, looked around twice and asked, "Huh, where's Yuumi?"
Happy freed a paw and pointed towards the small river to the west, "There, gone fishing."
Erza raised an eyebrow, looked to the west, and said with a smile, "She's back."
A small cat, with similar blue-purple fur, golden whiskers, and a sapphire on its forehead, flew in with cheerful, tapping steps through the air, carrying a small yellow fish, about a palm's length, in its mouth.
It was none other than Yuumi, the magical cat, who had been brought to team up with Erza and the others!
When Makarov arranged the teams, he specifically assigned some Guild members with healing abilities to various teams.
Injuries were inevitable in this battle.
Having a character who could provide healing in the team was very important, and it could even influence the course of the battle.
There weren't many members in the Guild who could use healing magic. Among them, Ezreal alone had three Summoned Beasts with healing abilities.
The Blue Buff's Crown of Potent Insight could provide a massive amount of mana and health recovery.
The Fire Crown Treant specialized in plant magic, and plant magic belonged to wood, which, strictly speaking, was a type of life magic. Various healing spells were second nature to it.
And the little Yuumi, who had always been the Guild's doctor.
Some teams couldn't be equipped, so they could only use Cana's cards.
"Aiy, where's the dummy!"
Yuumi flew happily, tossed the small yellow fish to Happy with a flick of its head, then flew a circle around Erza, and finally flew to Natsu's head, comfortably stretching out its four short little legs.
Happy casually picked up a wooden stick from the ground nearby, accurately threaded it through the fish's mouth to its tail, and placed this fish on the bonfire to roast. At the same time, he didn't forget to politely respond, "Good job, Yuumi!"
Natsu reached out and gently stroked the little blue cat on his head.
Erza and Loki exchanged smiles and said in unison, "Who knows."
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