"Spin for me!" Lamia Scale's Guild Master Ooba pointed forward, and several small dinosaurs suddenly began spinning in place as if they had learned ballet.
Yuka seized the opportunity, firing his Wave Magic bullets and knocking down the immobilized enemies one by one.
Sherry used Doll Attack, seizing control of a single small dinosaur. It abruptly turned on its comrades, pouncing on them in a chaotic scuffle. After a brief struggle, the "traitor" was overwhelmed and torn apart.
Sherry immediately switched targets and continued the assault.
Although her Magic was useless against the Dragons flying overhead, it was perfectly suited for controlling these seed-type creatures.
"Iron Rock Pillar!" Jura flicked his finger, and a stone pillar burst up from the ground, sending two small dinosaurs flying.
The pillar then bent and twisted under his hand movements, smashing into nearby targets again and again.
The number of enemies was overwhelming, stretching as far as the eye could see. Even Jura had to carefully manage his Magic power, remaining ready to assist his comrades at any moment.
"Ice Make: Tiger!" Lyon clasped his fists together. An ice tiger lunged forward, pinning one small dinosaur under its left paw while biting another with its jaws.
With a single exertion of force, both enemies were severed cleanly at the waist.
"Sky God's Bellow!" Sherria opened her mouth and released a black storm, engulfing several small dinosaurs and shredding them apart.
Lyon quickly warned her, "Sherria, conserve your Magic power. There may be injured people who need healing later."
"Yes, Lyon! But…" Sherria glanced suspiciously at the faint purple transparent barrier surrounding her. "What is this?"
Nearby, Toby swung his long, Wolverine-like claws at the shield around his body. His attacks passed through empty air. He opened his mouth wide, baring his sharp teeth, and shouted irritably, "What is this thing?!"
Yuka calmly advised, "Try not to get angry so easily."
Another guild member suddenly cried out, "Something jumped out!"
They watched as purplish-red insect eggs shot out from the barrier whenever someone attacked. The eggs cracked open midair, releasing blue-purple Worms.
A faint purplish-gray light descended from an unknown source, touching the Worms. Their bodies surged in size before they leapt forward, pouncing on the small dinosaurs ahead.
"They're a bit disgusting, but they look like allies."
"They appear whenever we attack."
"It must be someone's Magic."
"Reinforcements!"
"Keep fighting!"
"Oh!"
Lamia Scale's morale surged. With the enhanced Worms joining the battle, the pressure on their formation dropped dramatically.
Similar scenes unfolded across the battlefield. Mermaid Heel, Shining Sun, and Sabertooth all encountered the same phenomenon.
Although the Magicians were initially caught off guard by the sudden encirclement of mini dragons/dinosaurs, the situation gradually began to stabilize.
Some of the larger guilds even attempted to break through enemy lines to support smaller guilds nearby.
Twilight Ogre and Phantom Wings, two guilds with ties to Fairy Tail, had been assigned to the same sector due to the small number of members they brought to the capital.
Their situation was particularly dire.
A small dinosaur opened its mouth and fired a thin beam of Magic light toward Phil, Phantom Wings' Fire Magician.
"Watch out!" Doru, the Celestial Spirit Mage, lunged forward and shoved Phil aside.
Phil crashed to the ground and could only watch helplessly as the beam streaked toward Doru's chest. "Doru!"
"This is the end?" Doru thought. Saving Phil was worth it.
Then he froze.
A second later, Doru realized he was completely unharmed.
A purple Magic shield had appeared beside him without his notice. It flickered when struck, then shattered and vanished as the beam dissipated.
The small dinosaur that fired the attack was immediately engulfed by a swarm of blue-purple Worms and vanished amid crunching sounds.
"Doru! Are you alright?" Phil and the others rushed over, anxiously checking him.
"I'm fine," Doru said slowly. "Someone's Magic protected me just now."
He paused, then pointed at his companions. "You have it too."
Everyone looked down at the purple barriers surrounding themselves, then at the strange Worms fighting nearby. They exchanged stunned glances.
"This has to be some kind of support Magic."
"The scale and effect are unbelievable."
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The members of Dragons Treasure were completely breaking down.
Dealing with the King's Army and the squad led by Erza was already overwhelming, but now a swarm of strange bugs had suddenly joined the battlefield.
If it were merely a matter of numbers, that would have been one thing. What truly terrified them was how agile these bugs were, and how they seemed to prefer biting equipment.
Weapons, armor, cannons, anything they carried. Whether the material was soft or hard, the bugs' sharp teeth always tore something off with every bite.
In just a short time, their cannons were completely scrapped, their weapons rapidly destroyed, and it was obvious they could no longer hold out.
A sniper bullet from Bisca struck the Dragons Treasure Guild Master's helmet with pinpoint accuracy, knocking it aside with a clang. Two enhanced Worms followed the bullet, landing on him, one on the left, one on the right, immediately chewing into his armor.
Just as the Guild Master raised his weapon to strike the bugs, a long sword was placed against his neck.
Faced with the fluttering scarlet hair and those sharp, unyielding eyes, the Guild Master decisively raised both hands.
"I… I surrender!"
Other members were defeated by Gray, Juvia, and the others, as well as by the encirclement of the King's Army. Some followed their Guild Master's example and surrendered immediately; others were beaten until they completely lost the ability to fight.
"Help! Help! I surrender, I really surrender! Please make them stop!" the Dragons Treasure Guild Master cried out desperately to Erza.
In such a short time, his full-body armor had been reduced to nothing but shattered metal fragments.
The King's Army quickly restrained the captured members with special handcuffs, but the bugs' chewing showed no signs of stopping.
A squad leader stepped forward anxiously.
"Miss Erza, could you please make these strange bugs stop?"
Erza smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but this is Rhodes's magic. I have no way to dispel it."
"Ah… Mr. Rhodes's…"
The squad leader looked troubled.
The reinforcements had arrived at the perfect time and greatly accelerated the capture, but if this continued, it could no longer be considered a simple arrest.
The bugs ignored verbal warnings, and attacking Rhodes's summoned creatures was clearly not an option.
"There's no need to worry," Erza said gently. "They usually won't kill anyone. You can tell by how cute they look."
"C-cute…?"
The squad leader failed to understand Erza's sense of aesthetics.
Gray and the others couldn't be bothered to intervene. After all, these people had fired cannons at Lucy, this was well deserved.
Cana reminded them, "Forget about them. We still have other enemies."
Many dragon eggs had fallen nearby, and the small dinosaur-like creatures, drawn by the sounds of battle, quickly closed in.
The squad leader had no choice but to give up on the issue for now. Under these circumstances, even escorting prisoners away was nearly impossible.
The King's Army regrouped quickly, preparing to face the next wave.
Erza also signaled her companions to stay alert. They needed to rendezvous with Alzack and Bisca first, to prevent the couple from being overwhelmed.
After that, they would have to fight their way back to the plaza where the guild was stationed.
However, seeing the faint purple shields surrounding them, and the enhanced Worms enthusiastically tearing into the enemy, everyone agreed to fight steadily and avoid reckless advances.
They realized something very simple:
As long as someone that reliable existed within their guild, panic never seemed necessary, no matter what kind of disaster they faced.
...
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