"That's just ridiculous..."
That was the only evaluation most people could give.
Fairy Tail's strength, its foundation, and the quality of this generation of mages had far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Their fifth and sixth teams were actually stronger than the elites of ordinary guilds.
Of course, anyone with good eyes could also see that Fairy Tail's Teams C and D were not especially strong as individual fighters.
Macao and Wakaba, the two veterans, were the backbone among them.
Their strength was roughly around the S-Class level of an ordinary guild. The others were a little weaker, though still comparable to the elites of ordinary guilds.
Compared to the elites of famous guilds, however, they were somewhat lacking.
But their strategy had been excellent.
More importantly, the two teams had coordinated well together.
With Warren's Telepathy Magic and Vijeeter's Dancer Magic providing support, every member of the two teams had displayed power far beyond their own individual ability.
One could say that if Fairy Tail's Teams A and B showed everyone the strength of Fairy Tail's elite combatants, then Teams C and D showed everyone the power of teamwork.
They showed everyone Fairy Tail's unity.
"I accept this defeat completely."
Goldmine let out a sigh.
He had been under the greatest pressure, since Quatro Cerberus had almost failed to get even one team out.
"Hmph. Winning now doesn't mean they'll keep winning."
Ooba Babasaama spoke from the side with a displeased expression.
The old woman was fiercely competitive.
Lamia Scale had only placed fourth, which made her very dissatisfied.
After all, this time even her trump card, Iron Rock Jura Neekis, had entered the competition!
"Hahaha! Who cares? We won now, so we're happy now!"
Makarov laughed smugly and loudly from the side.
Although he was no longer Guild Master, standing among these Guild Masters, Makarov still had plenty of confidence.
Even if he had stepped down, no one dared look down on him.
"Congratulations! Congratulations! Makarov-senpai, Fairy Tail is truly powerful. You are a role model for all of us! As expected of the number one Mage Guild in the Kingdom of Fiore!"
No matter how unhappy Ooba Babasaama was, she could not change the facts.
The other Guild Masters would not think there was anything to be unhappy about.
One after another, they came over to congratulate the delighted Makarov.
Makarov happily responded to each of them.
After stepping down from the position of Guild Master, the old man had been smiling cheerfully every day.
He could not be happier.
After all, troublesome matters no longer came to him. But whenever good things happened, as long as he was present, people still came over to congratulate and flatter him.
That feeling was simply too satisfying.
Of course, the main reason was that he had only stepped down a few days ago.
Nothing "bad" had happened yet.
Everything had been good news. Even if he had not stepped down, he would still be enjoying himself right now.
But after more time passed, things might not stay that way.
Marco had specifically left him the title of Guild Master's Advisor, and that was not a position meant for eating idle meals.
After all, whenever the Guild Master was not present, the Guild Master's Advisor was effectively the Guild Master.
With that authority naturally came responsibility.
After congratulating Makarov, the Guild Masters naturally did not forget Marco, Fairy Tail's official current Guild Master.
Since Marco had just been mingling with the contestants at the front, it had not been appropriate for them to swarm over and congratulate him there.
Now that Marco had come to Makarov's side, everyone no longer had to hold back.
One after another, they approached Marco with congratulations and goodwill.
"This is all thanks to the efforts of my guildmates. I only did a little minor work and don't dare take credit. Please save your praise for them."
Facing everyone's flattery, Marco humbly waved his hands.
He would not monopolize this glory.
This honor belonged to every member of Fairy Tail.
It belonged to every participating teammate.
If anything, he was the one basking in their light.
"Well said! As expected of Master Marco!"
The moment Marco finished speaking, someone immediately led the applause and cheered.
The others froze briefly, but then immediately followed along.
"..."
Listening to the applause and congratulations around him, Marco suddenly felt a chill run through his whole body.
This scene of a crowd surrounding him, clapping and congratulating him, gave him an unsettling sense of déjà vu.
For example, Shinji Ikari.
Or the Golden Lion King.
Or even the sun in the north.
"Ahem. That's enough."
Marco coughed twice and stopped this strange behavior.
He was genuinely afraid that in the next second, someone would leap out and say, "Congratulations, Master Marco, you may now ascend the throne!"
What the hell was this atmosphere?
Seeing that Marco seemed a little embarrassed, everyone awkwardly stopped.
At that moment, King Toma also timely announced the official end of the preliminary round.
The knockout stage would be held tomorrow, and today's broadcast had officially ended.
King Toma clearly had not noticed the scene just now.
Of course, even if he had noticed, he would not have cared at all.
He was the sort of man who might kneel at Marco's feet and shout, "You are my god."
"Everyone, go back and rest well. Perform properly in tomorrow's knockout stage."
Marco came before the members of the eight advancing teams and naturally gave them a short speech, offering encouragement.
The advancing mages did not feel there was anything inappropriate about this.
Marco was far too qualified to stand there and encourage them.
"Got it! Just wait and watch us perform!"
Bacchus shouted, and the other mages responded to Marco one after another.
"And for those who were eliminated, don't get discouraged. Temporary success or failure doesn't define anything. Go back, train hard, and win it back next year!"
After speaking to the advancing teams, Marco then encouraged those who had failed to advance, soothing the disappointed mages as well.
He made sure to spread the attention evenly.
A national idol had to act like one. He had to maintain his image at all times!
After receiving Marco's encouragement, the disappointed mages felt somewhat better.
All the spotlight had fallen on the victors.
Only Marco's light had also reached them.
That feeling was rather special.
...
After finishing all of that, Marco led the Fairy Tail members away. The mages from the other guilds also dispersed one after another.
The preliminary round had ended, and tomorrow would be the official knockout stage.
Although all four of Fairy Tail's teams advancing to the knockout stage was certainly worth celebrating, everyone kept things simple that night so as not to affect their performance in tomorrow's main matches.
They only had a celebration dinner and did not go wild.
Tomorrow's knockout stage was the true highlight.
It would be the real test.
After all, every team that had advanced was a genuine elite team.
Even Fairy Tail could not afford to underestimate them.
They had to treat the competition seriously.
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