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Time passed bit by bit, and as night gradually approached, the atmosphere became increasingly tense. The Ancient Knight Order expanded their patrol range, ensuring that no rustle of leaves or blade of grass would escape their notice.
At this moment, on a distant building, thirteen figures stood—they were the Thirteen Bandits of the Phantom Bandit Gang.
"Oh, oh! So many people! Leader! Couldn't we have just acted directly? Why bother sending out a notice letter?"
A member with an afro put his hand to his eyes, gazing at the heavily guarded mayor's mansion in the distance.
"Idiot! This is the Leader's plan! Right, Leader?"
Another member with short blonde hair looked at the man in the middle with admiration. The man was tall and slender, draped in a black cloak, and wore a silver mask over his face. This person was the leader of the Phantom Bandit Gang, known as the 'King of Assassins,' Camille.
"This world needs a terror to announce our return. This mayor is the perfect target. I want everyone to understand that anyone targeted by our Phantom Bandit Gang, even if protected by the Magic Council, cannot be saved!"
"Anyone who dares to provoke us, once given a death ultimatum, will face only one outcome: death!"
"Go! Tonight, the name of our Phantom Bandit Gang will resound throughout the world! We will become this world's nightmare!"
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"
Boom—!
An explosion rang out in the courtyard.
"Enemy attack—!"
Members of the Ancient Knight Order shouted, and everyone quickly sprang into action.
The mayor was instantly startled.
Elfman's nerves also tightened: "Have they arrived?!"
Qi Yan nodded: "It seems so."
The mayor suddenly panicked: "Mr. Qi Yan, what should I do?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just don't cause trouble. This place has been set up with a magical barrier by the Ancient Knight Order. As long as you don't foolishly run out yourself, you'll be safe for a while."
Qi Yan looked out the window. The Ancient Knight Order of the Magic Council was fighting the enemy.
The Ancient Knight Order was not as useless as depicted in the anime; in terms of magical power alone, they were comparable to average Mages, and with their excellent equipment, their strength was even greater than ordinary Mages.
However, even such an Ancient Knight Order was now being beaten back, step by step. Before long, all the Ancient Knight Order members had fallen to the ground.
Seeing this, the mayor panicked even more: "Qi... Mr. Qi Yan..."
"Elfman, protect the mayor."
"Qi Yan, you..."
"I'll take care of them."
At this moment, the thirteen members of the Phantom Bandit Gang gathered in front of the house's main door.
"Haha~! These guys from the Magic Council are too weak! Not satisfying at all! Completely unsatisfying!"
"They join the Magic Council precisely because they're weak! What ambitious Mage would want to join that place?"
"Now all that's left is to kill that mayor and the mission will be over! Let's finish it quickly!"
Several people stepped forward.
Bang!
An invisible wall blocked their path.
"Hee-haw! A magical formula! Interesting. Watch me break it!"
One person immediately tried to decipher the magical formula.
"Creak!"
The main door opened, and Qi Yan stepped out, then walked straight towards them, quickly moving beyond the range of the magical formula.
"Oh! There's even one who came out to die."
At this point, Camille noticed the guild emblem on the back of Qi Yan's right hand: "It's Fairy Tail. I see, the mayor sought help from a Mage guild."
"Fairy Tail? Is that the Mage guild that's been particularly active recently?"
"That's right! It's that guild!"
"Hee-haw! Kid, knowing about our Phantom Bandit Gang and still daring to take on this mission, you've got a lot of guts!"
"Phantom Bandit Gang? Sorry, never heard of them."
He had heard of the Phantom Troupe, but that was from the Hunter x Hunter anime. There was no such arc in the Fairy Tail anime; according to the timeline, the plot hadn't even started yet.
Camille looked at Qi Yan and said, "Kid, seeing as you're ignorant, if you give up the mission now, I can let you go."
The short blonde-haired member exclaimed in surprise: "Huh?! Kid, you're really lucky! The Leader is rarely this merciful."
Qi Yan shook his head, refusing: "I've already accepted the commission, so it's impossible for me to abandon the mission. You've targeted my client, which makes you enemies of Fairy Tail."
"Kid, since this is the path you've chosen, there's nothing more to say. Make your move!"
Camille's offer was merely a whim, like seeing an ant pass by—there was no need to step on every single one.
"Resurrection! Ulquiorra Cifer!"
Qi Yan's body began to change. His original black clothes transformed into a white-faced, black-backed high-collared, long-sleeved jacket. His lower body was a white kimono-style skirt-pants, cinched with a wide black obi. A Zanpakuto was tucked into the obi, and he wore black socks and white shoes.
His skin became slightly pale, his eyes turned green, with green tear-like markings below them. The left side of his head was covered by a white, horned helmet.
"Hee-haw!! Die!!"
The short blonde-haired member raised his hand and threw a stone at Qi Yan, who caught it.
Boom—!
In the very next instant, the stone exploded like a bomb, engulfing Qi Yan in the blast.
"Hee-hahaha!! What an idiot! How can you just catch something someone throws at you! Hee-hahaha~!
The short blonde-haired member clutched his stomach, laughing heartily.
"Qi Yan!!"
Elfman, watching from upstairs, saw Qi Yan get blown up and immediately panicked, wanting to rush down.
Suddenly!
Bang!
A powerful spiritual pressure erupted, dispersing the smoke from the explosion.
Qi Yan reappeared, without any visible injuries.
"What?!"
The members of the Bandit Gang were all greatly astonished to see Qi Yan completely unharmed by the explosion, especially since they had seen him catch the explosive object.
"You… you bastard, you're not dead?!"
Hierro, the bodies of Arrancars are covered in skin that even swords cannot pierce; ordinary attacks simply cannot harm him. Ulquiorra's Hierro could even withstand Ichigo Kurosaki's Getsuga Tensho in his Hollowfication state, only sustaining minor injuries. Such minor injuries would heal instantly for Ulquiorra, and this level of explosion couldn't even break Qi Yan's defense.
"Damn it! I don't believe you can't be blown to death!"
Stones appeared in the short blonde-haired member's hands, and he rapidly hurled them at Qi Yan.
"Sonido!"
Whoosh—!
Qi Yan's figure vanished instantly.
The next moment.
"Pfft—!"
A long blade pierced through the short blonde-haired member's body from behind.
"Wh-what...?"
The short blonde-haired member looked at the blade piercing him in disbelief.
"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."
Qi Yan said indifferently. His magic power was too low; even in Ulquiorra's most basic state, he could only maintain it for ten minutes at most. If he couldn't defeat these guys within ten