Chapter 57: This Is War, There Will Be Sacrifices!
Seeing Erza and the others covered in the dust of battle, bearing marks of combat all over them, the guild members hurried forward, affectionately asking about their condition.
Natsu waved his hand carelessly, declaring with extreme arrogance, "No problem at all! Those bastards were no match for me!"
"Tch, don't know who almost capsized in the gutter. If not for me, you would have been knocked down there long ago!"
Crossing his arms, Gray sneered, looking at Natsu with utter disdain.
"What? Ice block bastard!"
"Whatever, fire-breathing idiot!"
"Wanna fight, bastard Gray?!"
"Bring it! Idiot Natsu!"
As expected, the two started arguing quickly, foreheads pressed together, shouting threats at each other.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Perhaps the two forgot that Erza was watching from the side.
Before they could fight, Erza appeared beside them, landing a heavy punch on both their heads simultaneously.
Rubbing her wrist, Erza stared unkindly at the two on the ground, shouting loudly, "As comrades of the same guild, how can you argue and fight with each other?!"
"This is a special period. Are you trying to cause internal strife?!"
Erza's voice echoed through the guild, and the surrounding members smiled and scolded the two as well.
Knocked to the ground, Gray and Natsu crawled up, glaring at each other unkindly.
Then both harrumphed and turned their heads away.
"Master, what do we plan to do next?"
Lyon and the others also returned. Because they had gone to an empty location, Lyon was furious, looking expectantly at Makarov.
Everyone in the guild looked at Makarov and Ren simultaneously, awaiting orders from the two.
The strategy of splitting up to raid various Phantom Lord branches was Ren's suggestion.
This surprise attack had dealt a heavy blow to Phantom Lord.
Members of two branches were completely wiped out, with no survivors left.
One branch was handled solely by Ren, and the other by Laxus and the Thunder Legion.
Ren and Laxus slaughtered everyone in those two branches, leaving no one alive.
Mystogan hypnotized all members of the branch he was responsible for and captured the Element 4 member guarding it alive.
The branch Erza was responsible for was guarded by Juvia, the Water Element of the Element 4.
After failing to defeat Erza, Juvia used all her skills to escape.
Erza wasn't addicted to killing. After killing some who resisted, she let the remaining mages go.
Makarov glanced at Ren, then continued, "Currently, we have destroyed four Phantom Lord branches. The surviving Phantom Lord mages have all gathered at their headquarters."
"Now, all members of our guild will mobilize and set off for Phantom Lord's headquarters to catch them all in one net!"
Makarov stood up, his small stature seeming to emit a raging flame as he raised his arm and shouted.
"Oh!"
Regarding Makarov's arrangement, the crowd had no resistance at all, raising their arms and roaring.
The roar of the crowd echoed over Magnolia, and soon all guild members were ready to go.
Magnolia residents watched as all Fairy Tail members prepared for battle, somewhat at a loss, not knowing what had happened.
Some wanted to go up and ask, but seeing the determined and solemn faces of the mages, they stopped in their tracks.
Only after all Fairy Tail mages disappeared from sight did everyone come back to their senses.
"What... happened?"
"I don't know what happened, but it seems like Fairy Tail has been on high alert these past few days."
"It shouldn't be anything bad, right? Fairy Tail is the strongest mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore!"
"The newspapers haven't reported anything bad either."
Magnolia residents speculated, but no one could guess what was happening.
Fairy Tail members marched out like an army, ready for battle.
However, a small portion of people stayed behind to guard the guild.
As the supreme leader of the guild, Makarov naturally went with the team.
He wanted to personally fight Jose and completely destroy Phantom Lord.
Ren was the one staying behind in the guild.
Ren propped his cheek with his hand, staring blankly out the window not far away.
"Ren-nii, what are you looking at?"
Suddenly, Lisanna jumped out from behind Ren, holding his shoulders with both hands.
She asked Ren curiously, leaning her head in front of him to look in the direction he was staring.
Ren came back to his senses, a smile appearing on his face as he rubbed Lisanna's silver-white hair.
"Nothing, just thinking about some things."
Lisanna pouted, hopping over to sit beside Ren.
"Ren-nii, Elfman-nii went with the Master. Will Elfman-nii be okay?"
There was worry in Lisanna's eyes. Ever since that incident with Mirajane losing her magic power, she had stayed in the guild for years without taking requests.
After that incident, Elfman seemed to have grown up, changing his previous cowardly character into a man who could stand on his own.
"Don't worry, your Elfman-nii is reliable. You have to trust him."
Thinking of that big guy, a smile appeared on Ren's face as he comforted Lisanna.
Hearing Ren's comfort, Lisanna nodded heavily.
"Will anyone leave us this time?"
Lisanna felt somewhat downcast, lowering her head as she asked Ren.
Ren was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer Lisanna.
After a long silence, Ren exhaled a breath of frustration, then looked up aside and said, "Lisanna, war involves sacrifices. It's inevitable."
"The only thing we can do is stay here and pray for them!"
Lisanna lowered her head silently, her shoulders twitching slightly.
"I don't want to see anyone sacrificed. I want everyone to come back safely."
Lisanna sobbed, large tears falling onto the back of her fair hand.
Mirajane, who had been watching Ren and Lisanna from a distance, walked over, a gentle smile on her face.
After smiling at Ren, Mirajane went to Lisanna's side and hugged her tightly in her arms.
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