"Do you know him?"
"We had two conflicts during missions before, but neither of us won," Erza recalled. "He's a formidable opponent, worthy of the S-Class title."
"What kind of magic does he use?" Rhode couldn't recall the details and was certain this guy hadn't been in the magazines for at least a year.
"It's a magic that concentrates magic power in the palm, enhancing strength and destructive power."
"Isn't that just like when we normally brawl?"
"Yeah." Erza nodded. "It's a very orthodox usage of magic power, considered the most basic magic, so every mage knows a little.
However, Baggs seems to have an extraordinary talent in this area and has also mastered the Splitting Palm, which is most suitable for this kind of magic to show its power.
If he gets serious, his hands can unleash power like a siege hammer. I'm not even sure if the Vajra Armor could withstand his palm technique."
After asking all the necessary information, they left the village chief's house and discussed the opponent's information as they rode the River Crab towards the ancient battlefield.
Listening to Erza describe the power of the Splitting Palm, Rhode was a bit intrigued, but only just a bit.
His training schedule was already full. If he had time, he might explore the characteristics and force techniques of various martial arts schools, but there was no need to specialize in it.
Baggs wasn't powerful because of the Splitting Palm, but because this martial art happened to suit him.
Martial arts schools, like magic, are not particularly secretive. If becoming S-Class was just about practicing the Splitting Palm, then the Four-headed Hound should be the top guild by now.
The River Crab carried them through the rugged path, racing eastward. The scenery gradually opened up and a desolate scene unfolded before them.
The battlefield seemed different from what Rhode imagined.
He thought the ancient battlefield would be devastated, littered with corpses, broken weapons everywhere and dried bloodstains at every step.
But in reality, all Rhode saw were lush weeds with occasional unmelted snow.
Two hundred years had erased too many traces.
It wasn't until they truly stepped into the battlefield area to explore that they occasionally found small patches of bones, rusted arrowheads, and sometimes broken helmets and rotting leather armor.
Erza squatted down to pick up a spear. The wooden shaft was already decayed, and even the heavily rusted spearhead couldn't hold, breaking as soon as it left the ground.
She discarded the rotten wood in her hand and glanced around, "This must just be the edge of the battlefield, the place where fierce battles occurred should be deeper in."
"I'll send the Shadow Wolves to scout afar, and the Beaked Birds too. Even if we can't find the sword, we need to find people first."
Rhode released six wolves and twelve birds, letting them each choose a direction and spread out.
Seeing Erza was about to inspect the broken weapons on the ground, Rhode reminded, "In a place likely to have curse magic, it's better not to touch things carelessly, right?"
"I'm just curious about the shape of ancient weapons, it won't be a problem if I'm careful… But caution is also good, Re-equip: Evil-breaking Spear!"
Erza withdrew her hand, and a long spear appeared out of thin air in her grip, using the spear tip to poke at the things on the ground, "This way it's fine."
The Evil-breaking Spear has some restraining effect on dark attribute, ghost soul type, and curse magic.
Last time, it was crucial in destroying the Black Magic Sect's altar with one strike, in addition to the credit that goes to the Armor of Power, this spear was also invaluable.
Rhode watched Erza, like a curious kitten, poke and search around the battlefield, silently keeping two meters away from her.
He thought for a moment, and then sent a group of Stone Beetles underground to follow right under Erza's feet.
Rhode silently prayed that he wouldn't have to use them.
This battlefield wasn't a vast open plain, but rather had slight undulations with occasional small mounds here and there.
Rhode and Erza slowly explored forward, gradually reaching the depths of the battlefield.
Corpses started to appear on the ground, and broken weapons became more frequent, occasionally seeing torn harnesses, rotten war chariots, and…
Stones inscribed with 'Border Monument'.
Unknowingly, the red sun tilted westward, and they had reached near the border.
Rhode asked a legal question he hadn't had the chance to understand yet, "If we want to leave the country, what should we do?"
"Leave the country?" Erza stepped over next to the border stone, "Just like this."
"No, I mean, don't we need a passport or legal documents or something?"
"There's no such thing." Erza pointed to her emblem—the clothes were too thick, so she just pointed to where the emblem was, "We just need this."
Just like Mira said when she stamped Rhode, this emblem represents a Fairy Tail mage and can be used to prove one's identity anywhere.
"That's really convenient." Rhode took a step forward, stepping across the border line.
Rhode now was someone who had been abroad.
In the original world, this act would probably be considered illegal crossing.
"Wait." Rhode stopped, "One of the Shadow Wolves got taken out."
Erza stopped her search and took a defensive stance, "What happened?"
"I don't know." Rhode was helpless too; apart from the River Crab, using wild beasts for reconnaissance had this downside.
If the enemy struck fast enough, he'd have to wait until the next day for a refresh to understand the situation.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before a Beaked Bird voluntarily returned to the canyon, and Rhode summoned it to lead the way.
Additionally, he asked if it encountered a person or a ghost, one person or two.
The Little Beaked Bird used nodding and shaking to convey to Rhode that it had discovered the two mages from the Four-headed Hound.
Rhode and Erza discussed and decided to meet those two, as they would cross paths sooner or later, and it would be good to understand their progress.
Following the Beaked Bird for a distance, the two crossed the border monument once more.
This time, it was between the Bosco Kingdom and the Sai Wen Kingdom.
Rhode now was someone who had engaged in cross-border travel.
...
Under a barren cliff, two mages of the Four-headed Hound were waiting there.
One wore purple arm armor, his black hair tied atop his head, and he lay quite relaxed on the ground, propping his head with one hand and holding a wine gourd with the other.
The other had blonde hair tied into two bunches like the ears of a hound and wore a black leather outfit, his face showing a bit of tension.
"Is this okay, Brother Baggs? We arrived before them; shouldn't we hurry to find that sword?"
"Relax, you saw how that wolf just disappeared, obviously manipulated by someone." Baggs appeared half-drunk, "No matter where we go, we'd be tracked.
Moreover, with that kind of magic, they obviously have an advantage in finding things. Better to resolve things before then."
"Re… resolve?"
"Exactly, the old man just wanted to determine victory or defeat against Fairy Tail. If we beat them directly, wouldn't that suffice?"
"But, Brother Baggs, the other side also has an S-Class Mage, it won't be that easy to win against them directly, right?"
"There's no 'but,' the winner will definitely be us. Don't forget we are mages from the Four-headed Hound." Baggs couldn't stand Loka's lack of confidence and shouted their guild's slogan, "WILD…"
"F…FOUR…"
Baggs was not satisfied, "WILD!"
Loka shouted, "FOUR!"