After getting approval, Natsu charged forward without hesitation, his aura making it seem as if he was surrounding thirty people on his own.
Erza followed closely behind, not bothering to change into special armor, but casually switching between swords, spears, axes, and other weapons, taking down enemies one by one in close combat.
Sometimes, she didn't even use her sword, directly engaging with fists and feet.
Rhode was a bit slower; he first called out some wild creatures to protect the coachman's retreat before soloing into the crowd, combining regular punches and kicks with some Receiving Magic for a satisfying battle.
Even Hapi flew into the crowd, leaving cat's paw marks on many faces, and even knocked one person out with a fish.
"It's the Fire Dragon! That guy's the Fire Dragon!"
"Ah! Is this the Fairy Queen? So powerful!"
"Isn't that guy a Beast Tamer who controls animals? Why is he engaging in hand-to-hand combat?"
"Idiots, don't get knocked out by a cat!"
"Faru! Sta! What kind of people did you two morons mess with?"
Within just a few minutes, all thirty men were defeated, piling into a human mountain by the roadside.
"Come on! Get up and keep fighting me!" Natsu spat small flames, looking like he hadn't had enough of the battle.
"Show some backbone! There's only three of us!" Erza thrust her sword into the ground, barely grazing a man's nose, causing him to break out in cold sweat.
Hapi said meekly, "Erza, don't forget about us... I knocked out one person too."
The people who remained conscious were close to tears; no more fighting, these folks were monsters.
Thirty people? Next time, at least bring three hundred before daring to battle them again.
Rhode rummaged through the pile of people, finally finding two familiar faces: "Wake up, tell me, why are you blocking my way here?"
"You know very well what you did!"
Rhode replied, "What I did, you mean ignoring two punks being attacked by beasts on the road?"
"Damn it!"
Sta was furious; if he hadn't accidentally seen that peculiar giant crab in an old magazine, he'd really think he was just unlucky to be attacked by beasts.
Faru said defiantly, "Don't get complacent, we're just the branch office, once we report to headquarters, you're all finished!"
Rhode looked at them in surprise: "Really? You have the face to report your embarrassing defeat where thirty were taken down by three people and a cat?"
The two flushed red; they certainly couldn't tell the truth. If headquarters found out about such an embarrassing incident, the entire branch might be dissolved.
Once Rhode was satisfied these people had no special purpose, he felt relieved. The fight was just a fight; Fairy Tail and Ghost have always been at odds.
At worst, report to the Advisory Council; they're the ones ambushed, fighting against many with few, let the President go for verbal warfare.
Or let the old man go beat Joseph again.
After dealing with the self-inflicted gang, their mood improved slightly, and just then they returned to the guild securely.
The coachman sending them to Magnolia felt particularly safe this trip.
Three people against thirty, and they only took a few minutes.
Even the car-sick weakling was so capable of fighting; it was truly remarkable!
...
Crash! A porcelain plate fell to the ground and shattered.
Mirajane seemed startled, squatted to pick up the large pieces and threw them away, then swept up the fragments with a broom.
"Ah~ It's rare for you to break a plate too, Mira?"
Kana had a wine glass beside her, half remaining, reluctant to finish; today, drinking this half would reach her limit, she was currently controlling her alcohol intake.
Plus, Macao and Wakaba, her drinking buddies, weren't around, so she was chatting with Mira at the bar.
Mira smiled slightly: "Accidentally got a little distracted."
Kana placed one hand on the bar and rested her cheek on the other: "Distracted or thinking about someone? You seem absent-minded today."
"Don't talk nonsense." Mira looked a bit worried, "Just suddenly felt something bad was going to happen."
Kana flipped her palm like magic, revealing several Tarot Cards: "Do you want a divination? Maybe about your loved one's return date or something, I'm quite good at... this sort of thing."
"What do you mean by loved one's return date..." Mira blushed slightly, added, "Elfman came back two days ago."
"I wasn't talking about Elfman." Kana had a mischievous smile on her face and placed cards one-by-one on the bar.
Mira busied herself with her tasks, ordering dishes, delivering plates, accounting, and constantly moving, each time she returned to the bar, she couldn't help but glance at Kana slowly flipping cards.
It was the first time she felt Kana's divination speed was so slow.
Kana placed her hand on the final card, asking: "By the way, how long has he been gone?"
Mira, thinking it might be necessary for the divination, replied: "Eight days, almost nine days now."
"Oh..." Kana lowered her head and then raised it after a few seconds, smiling at Mira, "Who are you talking about?"
"..." Mira froze for a moment, feeling her cheeks heat, raising a tray in mock warning.
"Alright, alright, I surrender." Kana laughed, flipped the final card, examined it for a while, then said,
"The result is, that person will return soon, but will set off again shortly after."
Mira showed some joy on her face, then wondered: "Set off again?"
Kana deliberately asked: "Could it be... Elfman is going out for work again?"
"..." Mira smiled gently, saying warmly, "If Elfman wants to leave today, should I break his legs?"
"Ah~~~" Kana felt she'd seen the shadow of Demon Mira again.
Having arm-wrestled Nabu twice, Elfman suddenly felt a chill on his back, he stretched his neck:
"What a strange feeling, have I been idle for too long? Should I pick up a job? A man shouldn't be idle every day."
The guild was still bustling, until the door was kicked open:
"I'm back!"
"Love!"
Erza's voice followed, "Natsu, don't kick the doors randomly."
Natsu broke into a sweat, "Love! Sorry, I got carried away!"
"Don't do it again." Erza immediately resumed her duties as soon as she returned to the guild,
"Bigda, stop dancing on the tables; Loki, I heard on the way you got complained for hitting on girls again, show some restraint; and Gray..."
Despite her wrist wrapped in bandages and her face covered with plasters, Erza's aura remained unaffected.
The guild turned from a lively market into a quiet library within ten seconds.
Anyway, it wouldn't last long.
Rhode was accustomed to this scene, calmly followed them through the door.
After days of running around, the guild felt the most comfortable.
He headed straight for someone at the bar: "I'm back."
"Welc..." Mira's face changed, she quickly strode to Rhode.
She raised her hand to touch his bandaged forehead, heart aching, "How did you get so badly hurt?"