Chapter 278: Counter-Ambush and the Thunder Palace
"Evergreen, what are you doing? Release the magic and return them to normal immediately!"
Master Makarov jumped onto the table, his beard bristling with anger.
But Evergreen covered her mouth with a fan and laughed:
"Master, I'm just adding a little extra entertainment to the festival."
"Fairy Tail guys, the festival is just getting started now!"
A bolt of lightning struck the performance stage, and Laxus, draped in a coat, made a dazzling entrance.
By the pillar next to the guild hall, the remaining two members of the Thunder God Tribe, Freed and Bickslow, also walked out.
"Let's have some fun, old man!"
"Laxus, you little brat, stop fooling around and immediately return them to normal."
Makarov's body involuntarily swelled in size from rage.
However, Laxus immediately struck a bolt of lightning beside the petrified Lucy.
"Old man, I advise you not to make a move. They are now my hostages.
Here's the deal, let's play a game: Fairy Tail's ultimate battle. The rule is to fight until the end and see who is truly the strongest. The battleground is the entire city of Magnolia, and the time limit is three hours.
If no winner is decided within three hours, then all of them will be reduced to dust!"
"Ah!"
However, just as Laxus finished speaking, a scream came from Evergreen, who was suddenly dragged into the ground by a cat's tail wrapped around her foot.
Before anyone could react, Lucy, Erza, and the other petrified female mages were instantly freed from the magic and returned to normal.
Then George, dragging the stunned Evergreen, rose from a table.
"The Fairy Tail's ultimate battle is quite interesting, but Laxus, I don't think it should be carried out by threatening with hostages."
It turned out that the moment Lucy was petrified, George had already covered the hall with his mental power, discovering the hidden Laxus and the other two, as well as the petrified Erza and others.
Realizing that Laxus was plotting something, he secretly instructed Gray to quickly create a thin layer of ice across the entire guild hall floor using ice magic.
After that, he used mirror magic to enter the mirror world.
When Laxus appeared and started boasting, George had already reached Evergreen's feet in the mirror world.
He then used his tail to drag Evergreen into the mirror world and electrocuted her before she could react.
Evergreen's petrification magic, unlike that of a Gorgon, required her conscious control to maintain.
Thus, she could remotely lift the spell or remotely shatter the petrified victims.
Similarly, if she were knocked unconscious and lost control, the petrification magic would automatically be dispelled.
Honestly, this ability was very strong, especially against enemies unaware of her eye's powers, making it easy to succeed in a sneak attack.
Even a mage of Erza's caliber fell victim when off guard.
"Well done, George!"
Seeing the petrification magic completely undone and Lucy and the others saved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Laxus, Freed, and Bickslow frowned, their plans disrupted.
Without hostages, it would be hard to force the guild's mages to fight with all their strength.
"Laxus was right, this cat is truly a huge trouble!"
"Laxus, today's matter ends here. You and the Thunder God Tribe must properly apologize to everyone and accept the harshest punishment until they forgive you!"
Makarov returned to his normal size, pointing angrily at Laxus.
But Laxus' veins bulged, and he laughed loudly.
"Looks like I underestimated you all. In that case, let's play a bigger game!"
He pointed to the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot from the guild into the sky above the entire city, activating floating thunder orbs:
"I have already activated the Thunder Palace. From now on, everyone in the city is my hostage. If you refuse to continue the game, you will all perish along with the city!"
"Laxus, is it really necessary to go this far?"
Freed showed a hesitant expression.
He knew Laxus very well—knew that deep down, Laxus loved the guild and just wanted to prove himself and earn the master's seat to make the guild better.
But activating the Thunder Palace and taking civilians as hostages seemed excessive. If something went wrong, he feared Laxus would regret it.
"Freed, this is already a war. It won't end until one side is annihilated. If you can't follow me, then disappear. My Fairy Tail does not need weak cowards!"
Laxus was shrouded in lightning, his reason gradually slipping away.
Freed sighed and saluted Laxus:
"Whatever decision you make, we will follow you."
"Thunder Palace, Laxus, are you insane?!"
Upon hearing that Laxus had activated the Thunder Palace, Makarov's face changed dramatically, veins popping on his forehead, clearly driven to the extreme.
George, somewhat curious, asked Mirajane, who had just recovered and walked over:
"What is the Thunder Palace?"
To be able to hold an entire city hostage and terrify Makarov so much, it was clearly no ordinary magic.
Mirajane explained gravely:
"The Thunder Palace is a forbidden lightning magic. By injecting lightning into three hundred pre-made lacrimas and activating them with a special magic circle, it can instantly unleash enough destructive force to annihilate a town.
Moreover, before activation, they cannot be destroyed. Destroying one lacrima will cause equivalent lightning backlash on the attacker."
"That's indeed troublesome."
George stroked his beard.
"Old man, I'm not crazy. I'm doing this for the good of the guild, just like you expelled my father back then.
Want to end this game?
Simple—hand over the master's seat to me right now.
Once I become master, I will reform this weak, hopeless guild and turn it into the truly strongest guild that no one dares to provoke!"
Laxus unleashed the aura of a top S-Class mage, suffocating the crowd with pressure.
Makarov trembled with rage:
"Impossible, Laxus! I would rather die than pass the master's seat to you!"
"In that case, let the game begin—"
Laxus' expression grew even more twisted.
Just as he was about to leave to implement the next part of his plan, George suddenly interrupted:
"Wait, Laxus, there's something you might not know. Your father, Ivan, was expelled from the guild because he betrayed it—secretly collaborating with dark guild mages.
The master didn't tell you because he didn't want to hurt you."
At this moment, it was naturally best to try and clear up the misunderstanding first. If that failed, then fighting would be inevitable.
(End of Chapter)