The next morning, sunlight filtered through the mist onto the harbor, and the morning sun streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. Lucy rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up from the bed.
Although the commotion last night made her a little uneasy, she felt reassured by the four members of Fairy Tail.
She stretched, walked to the window, and pushed it open. The fresh sea breeze, carrying a hint of saltiness, blew in.
At the same time, in the hotel lobby, Ezreal, Levy, Jet, and Droy had already gathered early.
Although last night's battle was short, everyone knew that it was just a probe by the Dark Guild "Phantom Lord Guild"; the real trouble was yet to come.
Ezreal stood by the carriage, his gaze sweeping over the merchant guild members, his expression calm.
Levy, Jet, and Droy walked over. Levy pushed up her glasses and asked in a low voice, "Any discoveries from last night's incident?"
Ezreal nodded, his tone calm: "I searched the memory of that internal spy. He was just a small fry, responsible for passing information about the merchant guild to the Dark Guild's contact. He knew nothing else. The contacts were the two people we took care of last night."
Jet frowned, a hint of disdain in his voice: "Phantom Lord Guild is really cautious, only sending a small minion as an internal spy."
Droy shrugged, his tone relaxed: "We just need to be careful from now on."
Ezreal looked at them, his tone serious: "Caution is key. The merchant guild members are all ordinary people, and Phantom Lord Guild won't give up easily. They will definitely continue to send people to attack. Everyone needs to be extra careful on the journey ahead."
Levy nodded: "Don't worry, we'll be careful."
...The merchant guild quickly left the hotel and boarded a magic train to continue north.
The train carriages were spacious and comfortable; the wealthy Heartfilia Merchant Guild had directly chartered the entire train.
The merchant guild members each found a seat, and the carriage gradually quieted down.
Ezreal sat by the window, his gaze looking out at the distant scenery.
Levy sat opposite him, holding a magic book, occasionally looking up vigilantly at her surroundings.
The train moved steadily on the tracks, and a faint snoring gradually began to sound in the carriage.
Most of the merchant guild members were resting with their eyes closed. Lucy, Charlotte, and her personal maid were together, currently working hard to cultivate and enhance their magic power. Only the four of them, Ezreal, remained vigilant.
At noon, the merchant guild's attendants pushed a dining cart into the carriage and began distributing food and drinks.
The aroma of food filled the air, and the merchant guild members picked up their cutlery and began to enjoy lunch.
Ezreal picked up a piece of bread, and just as he was about to bite into it, he suddenly frowned, his gaze sweeping over the others in the carriage.
"Malice?"
"Something's not right," Ezreal whispered, his gaze turning to Levy, Jet, and Droy.
Jet was holding a glass of juice, just about to drink it, but his nose twitched twice.
He lightly sniffed the liquid in the glass, frowned slightly, then pulled out a bottle of light green potion from his in my arms and quickly dripped a few drops into the juice.
"The food and drinks are poisoned," Jet whispered.
Ezreal narrowed his eyes, "Potent poison?"
Jet shook his head slightly, a hint of solemnity in his voice, "Potent poisons have a strong smell that is difficult to mask. This should be some kind of sleeping poison, very mild, and ordinary people would find it hard to detect when mixed into food and drinks."
Levy and Droy exchanged glances, a hint of vigilance in their eyes.
Droy picked up the seed pouch from his waist and placed it on the table, quietly grabbing a few seeds in his hand, "The entire train has been chartered by the merchant guild, so the problem can only be with the staff. Let's just control all of them."
Levy slowly retracted her hands into her wide sleeves, a cold glint flashing in her large eyes behind her glasses, "If we act now, they might take the ordinary merchant guild members hostage."
Jet pulled down the brim of his cowboy hat, "Otherwise, we wait for the merchant guild members to be affected. At that point, anyone not unconscious most likely has a problem, and we can take them all out at once."
Levy hesitated, "Is it okay if they get poisoned?"
Jet shook his head, "It's just a sleeping drug. I have enough antidotes. As long as they're not unconscious for too long, at most they'll be a little dizzy, no big deal."
Ezreal nodded and said softly, "Pretend to be affected and wait for them to show themselves."
The four exchanged a knowing glance, then pretended to be unconcerned and continued eating.
Before long, the drug took effect, and the merchant guild members one by one slumped in their seats, falling unconscious.
Seeing this, the four, Ezreal, also pretended to faint in their seats, waiting quietly.
Soon after, the carriage door was gently pushed open.
A Black Robed Man with a sinister face, accompanied by several Black Robed Man subordinates, swaggered out.
The man had a triumphant smile on his face, his gaze sweeping over the merchant guild members lying on the ground. He sneered, "Hmph, I thought the Heartfilia Merchant Guild had hired some powerful characters this time, but they're nothing special."
He waved his hand and said to his subordinates, "Go, move all the goods, don't leave any traces."
He walked over to Ezreal, squatted down, and reached out to check his condition.
However, just as his fingers were about to touch Ezreal, the previously "unconscious" Ezreal suddenly opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.
"Good afternoon," Ezreal said with a slight smile, his voice utterly cold.
The Black Robed Man's face changed dramatically, and he quickly retreated, but it was already too late.
Jet's figure appeared behind him like a ghost, delivering a fierce kick to his lower back.
"God Leg: Poison Gas Kick!" Jet growled, a green magic circle appearing under his foot. Poison gas instantly spread, rapidly invading the body through skin contact.
The Black Robed Man screamed, flying out, enveloped in green poison gas, and crashing heavily to the ground.
His subordinates hadn't even had time to react when a petite blue-haired girl with glasses had, at some point, appeared at the end of the carriage, holding a book in her left hand and writing in the air with her right.
"ח ו ל ש ה · Weakness!"
Black and gray characters appeared out of thin air and fell upon the Black Robed Man's subordinates. These people felt their bodies go limp, as if all their strength had been drained, and they all fell to the ground, losing their combat ability.
Droy, on the other hand, threw both his hands, and dozens of seeds took root, the wildly dancing thorns wrapping around and strangling those subordinates into a bloody mess, their screams rising and falling.
"Hey, hey, you guys are too weak!" Droy grinned, a hint of disdain in his voice.
The Black Robed Man struggled to get up, but Ezreal had already walked in front of him, looking down at him.
"You... how could you..." The Black Robed Man's face was filled with horror, his voice trembling.
Ezreal walked up to the Black Robed Man, squatted down, and gently touched his forehead with his finger.
A flicker of fear flashed in the Black Robed Man's eyes. He tried to struggle but found himself unable to move.
"Let me see what your Phantom Lord Guild is really up to," Ezreal said softly, a faint green light emanating from his fingertips.
Note:
Happy Lunar New Year 2026!
First of all, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for always being by my side and supporting me throughout this journey.
To ensure the quality of upcoming stories, I've decided to take a week off during the Lunar New Year (February 15th to 22nd) to rest and spend time with my family.
I will return on February 23rd, 2026. During this break, I will prepare many new chapters to post regularly upon my return. So please look forward to it!
Wishing you a warm, joyful, and wonderful holiday season!