Sol was beaten too harshly by Rhode, and there's still no sign of him waking up, but Jubia regained consciousness first.
Many people were glaring angrily at Jubia.
The guild ended up like this, and this woman is one of the culprits.
If it hadn't been for Rhode and Mira's timely return, Lucy might have already been taken away.
Even so, no one took their anger out on the two people who couldn't resist.
Fairy Tail's people were too kind, giving them minimal treatment instead of watching them die from their wounds.
"It's good you're awake, you might as well ask her if she knows Ghost's follow-up battle plan?"
Rhode distributed the medicine given by Porlyusica and summoned the red and blue to help everyone recover.
"How could she easily reveal such things… Seriously…" Gray scratched the back of his head and faced Jubia, "Hey, did you hear that?"
Jubia felt like she had a nightmare where she was being beaten by a terrifying woman, her expression as if she were about to tear her apart.
But the pain when she woke up told her it wasn't a dream at all.
In a daze, she heard someone shout something, and then…
So handsome.
Although this man was covered in scars, with bandages wrapped around his arms, waist, and legs.
And he wasn't wearing a shirt, looking impatient, but still…
Jubia felt her heart race just by looking at him, and she couldn't bear to look away.
Gray noticed her gaze, looked down at the bandages on himself, and explained, "Got injured on Garna Island; it's got nothing to do with Ghost's trash."
Gray cared a lot about this; these were injuries from battling and understanding with his senior Leon, and he didn't want people thinking he was hurt by those small fry.
So tough! ♡
"Jubia—!" Jubia called out with her unique exclamation.
"Huh? Didn't hear me?" Gray slowed his speech and repeated, "I'm asking about Ghost's subsequent plans."
So gentle! ♡
"If… If it's you, Jubia…"
Blushing, Jubia quietly revealed that Joseph planned to attack Fairy Tail directly.
She thought it was okay to say it, as the most important step in the plan had already been completed when she fainted.
Whether she and Sol brought back Lucy or not, President Joseph would find a way to eliminate Makarov as an obstacle, leaving no one to challenge him.
Revealing the remaining battle plans didn't matter.
Rhode looked at Jubia's expression, patted Gray's shoulder, "Impressive, using the beauty tactic so decisively."
Gray immediately countered, "No, I did not!"
"You're not saying it's a beauty ploy with your clothes off?"
"When was that?!"
He was only wearing shorts again.
Natsu came up with a great idea, "Hapi, go distract Gray, and I'll snatch his shorts too."
"Aye!"
Lucy pulled on Natsu's scarf and Hapi's tail, "This isn't the time for that."
Making a bit of noise to ease the tension, then gathering spirits to face the fierce battle ahead.
Rhode chatted a bit with Mira and Erza, then clapped his hands forcefully to grab everyone's attention:
"Alright, enough small talk, let's start a strategy meeting!"
With Erza and Mira present, it seemed odd for Rhode to say this. But the two S-Class Mages stood beside him like guardians, indicating they had already communicated.
Mira didn't need saying, and even Erza showed complete trust in Rhode.
The two had collaborated and debated, but as the president said, this was also a process of mutual understanding.
The crowd temporarily stopped talking, waiting to hear what Rhode wanted to say.
Rhode got straight to the point, "First of all, this war must be fought and won. Who is our enemy? The Master of Ghosts, a guild as famous as ours."
"The enemy has two objectives, first to take our comrade Lucy, and second to use the pretext of completing a mission to completely destroy our guild!"
"Once we lose this war, Ghosts will blame us for hindering the mission. With the Advisory Council's tendency, they'll at most reprimand Ghosts for extreme actions and use this as an excuse to order us to disband the guild. We'll lose everything then!"
"So our objectives are clear too. First, absolutely protect Lucy, and second, absolutely protect the guild, then there's an added third point…"
Rhode's gaze swept over faces filled with anger, seriousness, or unease,
"To take revenge for the guild destroyed like this, for the president who was ambushed, for the Lane Engine Squad lying in the hospital, and for all injured comrades present! Return all the pain suffered by our comrades!"
"Yeah!!"
'Why we fight' —this is very important for Fairy Tail.
Having experienced the power of 'heart' firsthand, Rhode firmly believed this point would become the source of everyone's strength in crucial moments.
So Rhode first made this clear; it was even more important than any plan or deployment.
A Fairy Tail with firm belief is the strongest Fairy Tail.
Erza and Mira exchanged a glance and smiled lightly, finding this method of boosting morale very effective.
The crowd calmed down a bit, and Rhode continued, "Next is the battle plan. Although the enemy numbers are greater, we have the advantage in military strength."
This seemingly contradictory statement was very convincing coming from Rhode.
"First, we need to consider Ghost's strongest weapon, which is their guild itself. Lidas?"
"Alright." Lidas displayed a drawing that at first glance looked like a giant spider, but on closer inspection was a peculiar building.
—Six-legged Walker.
The main weapon is a Magic-guided Cluster Cannon, just one shot can completely destroy the guild if it hits.
Additionally, it's said to have even stronger forms and weapons, which Gray needs to work harder to uncover.
"Operation goal one, do not let Jupiter and stronger weapons activate, which requires leveraging specialties among us."
Rhode smiled, "That means sabotage; before it approaches, destroy it completely!"
Laughter erupted from the crowd, characteristics that usually gave the president headaches became specialties now.
Especially one particular person who loved doing these things was smiling the most joyously.
"Hahaha!" Fire puffs from Natsu's mouth, "This task has to be mine!"
"Don't think you can hog it, Natsu!"
"Yeah, don't think only you are good at sabotage!"
In the corner, Jubia stared blankly at this scene, how could they still smile facing an unwinnable battle? What kind of people are they?
Are they completely unaware of Ghost's power? Or are they fearless knowing it? Is everyone in Fairy Tail this optimistic?
"Don't rush to seize operation tasks; the enemy won't stand silly letting us destroy. This action will be obstructed."
"So we need more specific battle adaptation plans…"
Rhode whispered something to Mira, pointing to Sol and Jubia in the corner.
Mira nodded, called Gray, and took the two to another room.
When discussing more specific deployments, these two couldn't stay present.
If Jubia was willing to provide more intelligence, great. If unwilling, Mira would let her sleep well; when she wakes up wouldn't be up to her.