Hearing this sound, the crowd immediately became restless.
Looking in the direction from which the sound came, they saw a huge monster, four to five meters tall like a wild boar, appear at the edge of the forest, with flames burning on its hooves and back.
The guards' expressions changed instantly when they saw the monster.
"Oh no! It's a five-star monster! A Blazing Boar!"
"Quick, prepare to attack!"
The guards immediately sprang into action.
"Roar—!"
The Blazing Boar let out an angry roar, then charged directly towards them.
"Bang!!!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Waaah!" ... The Blazing Boar executed a savage charge, sending all the guards flying.
Just as it was about to rush into the crowd.
A figure swiftly darted forward.
Pfft—!
The figure and the Blazing Boar passed each other, and a huge gash appeared on the Blazing Boar's body, with blood gushing from the wound.
Thud!
The five-star monster, the Blazing Boar, collapsed to the ground.
Erza sheathed her sword; it was Erza who had just acted. Seeing that the crowd was about to be attacked and suffer heavy casualties, Erza made her move.
"So powerful!"
"That was a five-star monster, the Blazing Boar! To be defeated in one blow, who is she?!"
"Could she be a six-star, or even a seven-star Sword Mage?"
Seeing the monster defeated by Erza, the crowd couldn't help but applaud, marveling at the strength she displayed.
The guards quickly approached, this time their eyes filled with respect: "Respected Sword Mage, thank you very much for your intervention just now. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"I just saw that people were about to get hurt, so I acted. As long as I didn't get in your way, it's fine."
The guard quickly waved his hand: "No! Not at all."
"If possible, please check quickly. We are still preparing to enter the city."
"No need! No need! Welcome to Sword City, please come in! I wish you a pleasant stay in Sword City!"
The guards didn't even check, immediately letting Erza and Qi Yan pass.
"Thank you!"
"It seems people here really respect Sword Mages!"
Qi Yan could clearly feel the change in the guards' attitude towards Erza.
Erza explained: "This is Sword City. Everyone here reveres Sword Mages. The higher a Sword Mage's star rating, the higher their status. I've always wanted to visit here before, but I never had the chance."
The two walked through the city gate in the wall.
What met their eyes was an extremely tall statue situated in the city center. It was a massive statue, approximately two hundred meters tall.
The sculpture depicted a man in armor, standing there with both hands resting on a greatsword, his profound gaze directed towards the sky.
"What a tall statue!"
Qi Yan was greatly shocked when he saw this statue; only today did he feel that he had truly entered a fantasy world.
"Who is he?"
"Sword Saint Noah!"
Erza looked at the statue and said: "I heard his swordsmanship was so extraordinary that he was revered as the Sword Saint."
Erza's eyes held longing and admiration. Although she wasn't a pure Sword Mage, she mostly used a sword, and she still held great respect for those with superb swordsmanship.
"Sword Saint, huh..."
Qi Yan was unsure of the swordsmanship of this person revered as the Sword Saint, but in terms of swordsmanship, he absolutely did not believe anyone could surpass Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
"Let's go."
The two walked forward along the main street.
People came and went on the street, almost everyone carried a sword, even children were no exception.
Weapon shops were everywhere on the street, and the two even passed a school called the Sword Mage Academy.
It could be said that the entire city was filled with the scent of swords; it truly lived up to its name, Sword City.
Continuing along the main street, they arrived at the royal palace of the Sobeya Kingdom, which was also where their client was located.
"Stop right there!"
The palace guards stopped Qi Yan and Erza.
Erza stepped forward and said: "We are Mages from Fairy Tail. We are here on a commission."
"Mages? Please wait a moment!"
The guard immediately went to inquire.
After a while, a minister in his fifties walked out.
"Are you two Mages from Fairy Tail?"
"Yes."
"I am Ramen, a minister of the Sobeya Kingdom. Please come this way."
Qi Yan and Erza followed the minister into the royal palace.
The palace here wasn't particularly grand; in fact, it seemed a bit too simple for a royal palace.
Soon, Qi Yan and Erza followed the minister into the main hall of the palace.
"Your Majesty! The Mages from Fairy Tail have been brought."
The minister bowed to the king on the throne.
Qi Yan and Erza also looked at the king. The king was about forty to fifty years old, appearing sharp and muscular. Rather than a king, he looked more like a general.
King Reno smiled and said: "Welcome, Mages of Fairy Tail."
"Your Majesty, we are here on a commission."
King Reno nodded: "Yes, I have already been informed."
"Then could you please explain the mission in detail? The content of the request form is limited, and the more we know, the greater our chances of completing the mission."
"Of course, that's exactly what I'm going to talk about. First, let me tell you a story. You all know who founded this city, right?"
Erza nodded: "It was Sword Saint Noah."
"Yes! Sword Saint Noah, who is also my ancestor. Four hundred years ago, my ancestor killed the Magic Dragon Alazam here and founded Sword City. People also revered him as Hero Noah."
"Yes, that's what the legend says."
Erza seemed to have heard this story as well.
"Actually, not all legends are true. My ancestor did not kill the Magic Dragon Alazam, but sealed it, and then founded Sword City to guard it for generations."
"Now, four hundred years have passed, and the power of the seal is gradually weakening. Who knows when the Magic Dragon will break through the seal? When that happens, the entire Sobeya Kingdom could be plunged into chaos."
"So, I plan to bring forth my ancestor's treasured sword to suppress it. But that monster seems to know of this plan and has controlled a large number of monsters to guard outside the temple. Once anyone approaches, it controls the monsters to kill them."
"Now, countless people have already fallen prey to the monsters."
Qi Yan said: "So, you want us to break through those monsters, enter the temple, and bring back the treasured sword, right?"
The king shook his head, his eyes growing serious as he said:
"No, not that. I intend to completely kill the Magic Dragon."