Gray said, "That's only if you can even get on the field."
"Besides, even if you do get a chance to play, taking down one is already good enough. Thinking about taking them all down? Have some self-awareness!"
Lucy couldn't help but be curious upon hearing this: "Is Phantom Lord that strong?"
Natsu gritted his teeth and said, "Don't even bother with those guys!"
Mira explained, "Phantom Lord is quite formidable. If the two sides really fought, it would likely be a mutual destruction. Otherwise, the Master wouldn't have chosen to endure."
"The other side has the Four Elements, who are on par with S-Class Mages. Besides these four, there's an even more troublesome guy, Gajeel, the Iron Dragon. He's also the main suspect in this guild attack, and he's an Iron Dragon Slayer Mage."
"A Dragon Slayer Mage?! There are others besides Natsu!"
Lucy was very surprised. She now clearly understood how strong Natsu's Dragon Slayer Mage Magic was, and she never expected Phantom Lord to also have a Dragon Slayer Mage.
Erza said with a serious expression, "These five people are troublesome, but the real trouble is Phantom Lord Guild's Master, Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Ten Wizard Saints?"
Lucy heard a new title.
Gray explained, "They are the 10 strongest Mages on the continent, as judged by the Magic Council Chairman, and are given the title of Ten Wizard Saints. Our Master and the Phantom Lord Guild Master both hold the same title."
"Wow—! How amazing!"
Only then did Lucy realize that the perverted old man she saw every day was actually such a powerful person.
"Yes! So, to deal with Phantom Lord, we must also send out strong candidates."
Lucy said, "Wouldn't it be perfect to have all the S-Class Mages plus the Master?"
Every S-Class Mage is a candidate for the guild's strongest Mage, so they must be very strong.
Erza shook her head: "No, Gildarts is not here, and Mystogan is a loner and cannot be contacted at all. Even if he could be contacted, he never shows his face in front of guild members, let alone in an arena with so many people."
"Isn't there Laxus?"
"Laxus... if he could participate, it would indeed guarantee us one or even two wins, but he might not agree to fight."
"Why?! Isn't he also a member of Fairy Tail?"
Lucy looked puzzled. Since he was a member of Fairy Tail, he should naturally fight for the guild's honor.
"He... never mind, let's not consider him. So, the worst-case scenario is that among the S-Class Mages, only I and Qi Yan can fight, with the Master as the finale. In that case, we'd still be short three people."
The old Laxus would definitely have fought, but as he grew older, Laxus became increasingly extreme, making it highly probable he wouldn't participate.
"Of course I'm going to fight!"
Natsu shouted.
"Natsu, huh... if Natsu gets serious, he certainly can."
Natsu himself uses Dragon Slayer Mage Magic and is very powerful. Although he was severely beaten by Erza and Qi Yan, that doesn't mean he is weak.
"If Natsu is fighting, I can't just watch from the sidelines either."
Gray also spoke up. He and Natsu had been fighting since they were young. If Natsu was going to fight, he naturally couldn't fall behind Natsu.
Happy said, "In that case, we're still missing one last person."
"Hmm... it seems I'll have to make an appearance after all."
Lucy felt it was time for her to step up. As a frontline female Mage of Fairy Tail, she had the responsibility and obligation to take on this important task.
"Hmm... how about Loki?"
"He's a bit lacking."
"What about Cana?"
"Cana is pretty good. Let's keep her as a backup."
"Hey~~~! Don't ignore me! I'm strong too!"
Seeing that the others were discussing without even considering her, Lucy couldn't help but shout angrily.
"Lucy, huh..."
"Yeah! She's just a Lucy!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean 'just a Lucy'?! What do you take me for?!"
Qi Yan said calmly, "There's no need to fuss over the candidates. This isn't best of three, it's a gauntlet match. With me holding the fort, this match will not be lost."
Erza frowned: "But Qi Yan, your own stamina..."
Qi Yan's lack of stamina had become a recognized fact in the guild, especially as the more powerful Qi Yan's strength appeared, the lower his stamina.
"My transformation time might not be long, but I can make those guys stand in front of me for an even shorter time."
Since he proposed this method, Qi Yan had naturally prepared himself mentally to take on all five opponents alone.
"So cool!"
Natsu, Gray, and the others all felt Qi Yan's words were incredibly cool. Of course, Qi Yan completely had the strength to say such a thing.
A short while later, Mira finished making the food, and everyone enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together.
"Time to sleep!"
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone began to sleep. Fortunately, Qi Yan's house was large enough, with several bedrooms. The three girls shared one, Natsu and Happy shared one, and Gray and Qi Yan each had their own separate rooms. This was to prevent the two of them from fighting and tearing down the house.
The three girls were whispering, and girls' topics naturally revolved around boys and romance.
"Miss Mira, do you like Qi Yan?"
"I do!"
Mira openly admitted it, which made Lucy and Erza's gossipy hearts burn with interest. They were very curious.
Lucy whispered, "When, when?"
"I can't say exactly when, and liking isn't love at first sight, but something built up over time, little things in everyday life that gradually make you pay more attention to him and care about him, and before you know it, you've fallen for him."
"So, did you pursue him or did he pursue you?"
"I guess I pursued him."
"What?!"
Lucy and Erza were greatly surprised, but Mira quickly covered their mouths.
"It's hard to imagine that Miss Mira would actually actively pursue a boy."
Who was Mira? She was a national idol. For her to actively pursue Qi Yan was completely unexpected. Usually, it seemed like Qi Yan was the more active one.
Mira smiled and said, "What's so hard to imagine? When you meet a good boy, you naturally have to be more proactive. To be honest, if I hadn't actively claimed Qi Yan, who knows how many girls in the guild would have wanted to pounce on him."
Erza nodded: "Mira is right about that."
Qi Yan was very popular among the girls in the guild. If it weren't for Mira, these girls would have been much more proactive.
Also, because the opponent was Mira, many people voluntarily backed off.
And Qi Yan, though seemingly calm and collected, sometimes said things that really stirred one's heartstrings.
Like during the Iron Forest incident, when Qi Yan casually mentioned that if he could marry a girl like her, he'd wake up smiling in his dreams. She was deeply moved. No one had ever said anything like that to her since she was a child. That kind of sincere affirmation was more impactful than any love confession.
While the girls were chatting, Qi Yan was waiting in his room.
When he returned this time, he naturally asked Cana for a divination again about when his luck would be best. The answer he received was exactly midnight tonight.
Dong! Dong! Dong!... As the clock struck twelve, Qi Yan immediately opened the system interface.
"Do you want to perform a ten-pull?"
"Confirm."