"Not bad."
Rowan listened to the explanation of the Team Gauntlet with genuine interest. In the end, this format tested a guild's overall strength more than anything else. For Fairy Tail, whether they were defenders or challengers, sixty points was the bare minimum.
If he were being purely strategic, Rowan would've preferred not to be a defending guild.
Defenders capped at sixty points. Challengers, if they played it perfectly, could earn as many as one hundred and five.
Take down all five defenders at ten points each. Fifty points. Become the new defender. Then defeat the remaining three challenger guilds at fifteen points apiece. Another forty-five.
One hundred and five points.
But that was never going to happen.
After their performances in the preliminaries and individual matches, the organizers were guaranteed to designate Fairy Tail as a defending guild. There was no chance they'd be allowed to play the role of underdog challenger unless they'd deliberately held back earlier.
And Rowan had no interest in that.
He didn't want clever pacing or manufactured drama. He wanted a straight march forward. Fairy Tail overwhelming everything in its path. One cat standing at the front, crushing all resistance.
As expected, once the rules were finished, the pumpkin-masked announcer declared the six defending guilds:
"Fairy Tail. Sabertooth. Mermaid Heel. Lamia Scale. Four Hounds. Blue Pegasus."
Moments later, the magical projection updated, showing the four challenger guilds assigned to each defender's platform.
Then came the strategy meetings.
This was a team battle. Order mattered. Who went first, who held back, which magic countered which opponent, how to score points and how to protect them. Whether defending or challenging, the Gauntlet demanded careful planning.
Even the strongest guilds couldn't afford mistakes.
Defenders faced opponents four times their number. And every guild that made it this far had real strength. No one here was weak.
Even mages at the very top had limits. Magic ran dry. Fatigue built up. No one could fight endlessly.
For challengers, the order of attack was just as critical. Go early to grab points. Or wait and let others exhaust the defenders, then strike when they were worn down. Some might even gamble on taking the defender's position outright.
Rowan gathered his four teammates.
The meeting lasted less than a minute.
"Our plan is simple," Rowan said. "I go first. I defeat everyone. We take sixty points and end it."
The four stared at him.
"Guildmaster… isn't that a bit too direct?" one of them asked carefully.
From their perspective, no defending guild would ever send out its ace at the very start. Asking one person to defeat four full guilds, twenty elite mages, back-to-back, was absurd. Even if it worked, it meant burning through stamina and revealing every technique.
And after this came the free-for-all.
The standard approach was obvious. Save the ace for last. If the first four defenders held, the ace never needed to fight. If they failed, the ace could still stabilize the situation.
Let challengers take forty points. Four guilds splitting that wasn't dangerous. Hold the line at the end and secure sixty.
"That's exactly why I'm doing it this way," Rowan replied calmly. "I want the audience to remember us. That's how the guild gets more work later."
He flicked his tail. "Relax. I know what I'm doing."
With the strategy decided, Rowan led the four onto their assigned platform and waited.
About twenty minutes later, the other five platforms were ready as well. The challenger guilds had finalized their orders.
The gong thundered.
"The Team Gauntlet begins! Challengers, take the stage!"
Cheers erupted across the arena.
"We, the Tusk of the Wild Boar, issue our challenge!"
Five mages from the Tusk of the Wild Boar stepped onto Fairy Tail's platform, confidence clear in their posture.
They believed they'd been lucky.
They knew they couldn't overthrow Fairy Tail entirely. But aside from the cat leading them, the other four relied heavily on enchanted equipment. Now that those tools were understood, proper tactics could dismantle them.
Three victories meant thirty points. A solid haul.
That was why they'd insisted on going first. Better to farm points off the four before being forced to face the cat later.
Everyone knew that cat wasn't relying on tools. That was real power. The kind that had frightened Sabertooth's leader into retreat.
They didn't want to be the last challengers and leave empty-handed.
They were just about to watch which Fairy Tail member stepped forward when Rowan unfolded his wings and flew directly to the center of the platform.
"No way…"
The five challengers froze.
Across the arena, the other defending guilds reacted the same way. Fairy Tail had sent out its strongest fighter first. No buildup. No caution.
Below the platform, the Crocodile Hide guild—last in line to challenge Fairy Tail—was practically grinning. If the earlier challengers somehow wore the cat down…
They might actually have a chance.
Rowan landed lightly and looked at the five challengers.
"One at a time is a waste of time," he said casually.
"Come at me together."
By the rules, challengers were meant to fight one-on-one, continuing until someone fell and points were awarded.
Rowan had no interest in that.
Five or one made no difference to him.