Rhode, Mira, Erza, and Kildas had already set off, with transportation arranged by Rhode.
Makarov planned to search for the remnants of Anima, with Lisana in charge of piloting the flying ship, accompanied by several assistants and some Transcenders to assist.
The remaining Transcenders, under the leadership of Queen Shargate, helped to defend Magnolia.
The two sides had formed a cooperation agreement, with Makarov promising to take them to Aslan and, if circumstances allowed, try to rescue the Transcenders who had been turned into magic crystals.
The condition was that the Transcenders also contribute what they could.
In reality, their assistance might not have been essential; the old man was simply kind-hearted and couldn't stand to see Hapi and Carla's kind being beaten to extinction.
"Queen, we've gathered all the weapons and armor."
"Distribute them all."
"Yes!"
The Transcenders were busy distributing equipment to the residents of Magnolia.
Because Hapi and Carla were there, no one found the Transcenders particularly strange. These hardworking, flying, and talking cats quickly won everyone's affection.
After assigning the tasks, Shargate also busied herself for a while and then sat down next to Li Li during a break: "I'm sorry, Li Li, about the past..."
Shargate was present when Li Li was exiled as a 'Fallen Heaven.'
Although it seemed absurd to banish Li Li for saving a human child, at that time, in order to protect the race, it was necessary to maintain a distance from humans, and any Transcender who approached humans without permission would be punished.
As the queen, she couldn't go against the long-standing 'national policy,' but at the same time, she felt deep remorse for Li Li, who was punished.
"I understand."
Now, the Transcenders could finally coexist peacefully with humans, even though they were humans from another world.
Li Li had been lying down for quite a while, his wounds bandaged by Magnolia's doctors.
Since learning about the true purpose of the ETD plan, Li Li had thought over many things.
Why Queen Shargate expelled him, why King Faust wanted to destroy Extalia, why Fairy Tail opposed the kingdom...
With all he had experienced over the years, and the recent shocks, Li Li gradually gained clarity.
Queen Shargate acted for the survival of her race, King Faust for a better life for his citizens; one chose to deceive the world, the other to desecrate life.
Li Li admired their boldness but didn't approve of their methods.
If he had to say, neither Edolas nor Extalia left as strong an impression on him as the few hours spent with Fairy Tail.
They were kind, optimistic, and proactive.
They possessed immense power capable of easily defeating thousands but could integrate well with ordinary people.
They were in an almost unsolvable predicament, yet they never gave up on hope...
Thinking of the man who insisted on inviting him to join the guild, and the old man whose voice was like the king's, Li Li had to admit he was tempted.
Such a lively and warm place, he had never encountered in his past life.
He wanted to learn more about it.
...
"Let you witness the might of Fairy Tail!"
"Charge!"
"Give us back our magic!"
A large tree stood quietly not far from the Royal Capital, the Fairy Tail emblem hanging from it.
The castle gate had been opened, and a group of strange people emerged from the tree, rushing at the Royal Capital's defense forces.
These individuals wore armor from the Magic War Team, some wielding standard long spears, while others carried different types of weapons.
Looking closely, Lucy, Gray, Kana, Reby, Elfman... familiar faces mixed among them, joining forces to charge at the Royal Capital.
Thanks to certain people, the elite soldiers of the Magic War Team had mostly been dealt with.
At this moment, most of the army defending the Royal Capital consisted of ordinary soldiers.
Although they had been equipped with gear distributed from the Magic War Team, their training in using magic tools for combat was greatly lacking.
Thus, despite their numbers being tens or hundreds of times that of Fairy Tail, they were still being utterly defeated and driven back.
The residents of the Royal Capital were on edge; a terrifying incident had already occurred in the morning, and now it was happening again.
Moreover, the performance of the King's Army in these two battles left them greatly disappointed.
Seeing the infamous Dark Guild Fairy Tail being so fierce, many people were already packing up to flee.
Of course, there were also many hesitating, holding their magic tools, wondering whether to go out and help.
——Unlike other places, the noble residents of the Royal Capital were free to use magic tools as they wished.
They didn't want to lose their superior lifestyle, but when faced with the powerful and ruthless Dark Guild, they hesitated to risk their lives.
And so, a mere few dozen members of Fairy Tail broke through a defense line of thousands, charging into the Royal Capital.
Next, they aimed to storm the Royal Palace and compel the king to change the law.
The scattered soldiers recomposed their formation under their officers' orders, preparing to chase down the treasonous intruders.
The sounds and cries of combat continued unchecked inside the city.
During this tense situation, four people riding two strangely designed giant crabs headed straight for the city's main gate.
One of them held a flag in their arms, the flagpole topped with Fairy Tail's emblem waving in the wind.
——Though there were only four of them, they represented Fairy Tail, embarking on a legitimate crusade.
There were guards on the city wall who spotted the group, and after reporting, the nervous Guard Captain made a somewhat excessive decision: "Close the gates!"
They couldn't tell the difference between the two Fairy Tails, just knowing they were a troublesome enemy.
There were already plenty of issues inside the city; they couldn't let even one more person enter!
Rumble... boom!
The heavy city gates closed, the two giant crabs vanished, and the four individuals stalled at the gates.
Rhode held the flagpole, looking up. The city wall was at least ten stories high, its thickness unknown.
The gate appeared to be made of some metal, looking very sturdy.
Kildas cracked his neck and extended a hand from beneath his cloak, forming a fist.
But before acting, he confirmed with Rhode, "Did the President say it was okay to cause a ruckus?"
Rhode replied, "Go ahead until they surrender."
It wasn't their property, so there was no need to worry if it was damaged.
They had already obtained a rough layout of the Royal Capital from Hughes via Gemini. Now, they just needed to clear any obstacles and reach the king directly.
Kildas wasted no time, swinging his right fist forward.
Buzz~~~
The dozens-of-meters-high metal gate seemed sliced by a net, forming countless neat 'grids,' with white light illuminating the grid lines.
Then the gate explosively shattered, countless metal blocks flying forward, some landing on the street, others crashing into walls.
The gate, reputed to withstand all cannon fire, completely disintegrated amidst the roar.
"Well, the gate's open." Kildas said with a grin, "It's a rare occasion for me to use the front entrance, haha!"