Rhode thought for a moment and replied, "I can't think of a detailed plan right now, the intelligence is too scarce."
"But the first step... should be to notify the Council to keep an eye on the Alvarez Empire's movements, to get some intelligence from them."
Makarov shook his head, "No, this is our war, we can't involve others, not even the Council."
Rhode sighed, "You're thinking too simplistically, President."
"Hmm?"
"Whether or not to involve others in this matter is largely not for us to decide, but rather by the enemy's actions."
"The enemy?"
"Yes." Rhode nodded and analyzed, "Let's not consider the enemy's objective at first, which is not to consider the problem of the Fairy's Heart, let's purely look at the tactics they might adopt.
"If they adopt the 'decapitation tactic', sending a small number of powerful mages like the Twelve Shields directly to attack our guild.
"Then there's nothing to say, we just have to fight, no matter whether we win or lose, the consequences will be borne by us alone... At most, we'll let the nearby residents evacuate to a safe distance beforehand."
Makarov thought about that possibility and nodded in agreement.
Rhode continued, "But even so, as long as the Council learns about the Twelve Shields entering the border, they won't just stand by."
The two continents have long cut diplomatic ties, the Twelve Shields directly coming to deal with a guild here, is tantamount to declaring war on Ishujal.
"Suppose they think that sending small units has low chances of success, or they have other plans, thus adopting the full military deployment strategy.
"Then whether they air drop into Magnolia or attack from the sea or land, it'll definitely alert the entire Fiore, and even the entire Ishujal Continent.
"Military forces always have to pass through their airspace or territorial waters, in this situation, other countries and the Council are even less likely to remain indifferent."
Makarov asked, "What if they announced in advance that their purpose wasn't invasion, just to attack our guild?"
"There's a story from my hometown called 'Borrow the Path'..." Rhode briefly explained the story to the President, then said, "Even if they claim it's just for Fairy Tail, which king would truly believe them?
"Would Fiore Kingdom let the enemy's army directly enter the territory? Would neighboring countries feel safe with a million-strong army stationed in Fiore?
"As long as the army exceeds a thousand, they are the enemy of the entire Fiore Kingdom, exceeds ten thousand, they're the enemy of several surrounding countries, exceeds a hundred thousand, they're the enemy of the entire continent.
"Therefore, no matter how strong they are, or what tactical plans they adopt, it can't possibly be just our guild dealing with the enemy's entire force.
"This is determined by the global situation and the nature of the war, our personal wishes have very little impact."
Seems... that makes sense?
Makarov frowned, realizing he might have oversimplified the problem.
Once Alvarez decides to initiate war, it's no longer just a matter of Fairy Tail guild alone.
But he was still somewhat worried, "…What if they openly stated their true purpose, and claimed it was just to obtain something from our guild?"
"It's the same." Rhode said, "Something worth mobilizing such a large force to seize, other countries wouldn't let them obtain it easily.
"If they openly revealed the secrets of the Fairy's Heart, it would indeed cause us trouble, but it would also make others more determined to resist.
"Because once that power falls into the enemy's hands, anyone with a brain would think, the consequences would be very serious—the leader of the enemy is the notorious Black Mage Zeref."
Makarov was still hesitant, "This..."
But Rhode confidently said, "In any case, unless they use theft to take the Fairy's Heart, it's already destined to be a war between the two continents."
Makarov frowned tightly, the trouble was already written all over his face.
After thinking for a long time, he finally let out a deep sigh, "Actually, I had originally planned to disband the guild."
"Huh?" Rhode's brain couldn't turn around for a moment, what does this have to do with disbanding the guild?
"Because I plan to go to Alvarez alone to negotiate, I'm afraid if something happens to me, as long as the guild is still here, they'll come after you all... So disbanding the guild can protect everyone..."
"Wait wait wait... Let me sort this out..." Rhode found he still couldn't keep up with the President's strange logic, he quickly said,
"What's all this about? Regarding the Fairy's Heart, they wouldn't just want to get it for the sake of obtaining, there must be something they want to do that requires this power.
"You might as well think about it, Black Mage Zeref, along with the Twelve Shields, plus over seven hundred mages' guilds, and more than a million troops...
"They already have such strong power, yet still need the Fairy's Heart to proceed to the next step, what exactly do they want to do?
"If it's something beneficial to the world, they can come and talk with us directly.
"But they haven't, they prepared for war ten years ago, so their purpose is obviously not good, at least definitely not good for us!
"Everyone gathering together can rely on each other and think of ways to stop them.
"If we scatter apart, then we'll only wait for the day of the disaster to come despairingly, disbanding the guild would be meaningless!"
"Rhode said it very well." Suddenly, Mebius appeared in the room.
Rhode was surprised, "First Generation?"
Makarov was puzzled, "How come you're here?"
"Because staying on Celestial Wolf Island was very boring, coincidentally last time Ginanna and Qico also said they wanted to seek magic advice from me... So I came out for a walk."
Mebius said a bit regretfully, "But they seem not to have come yet, so I came to see you first."
Being asked for advice by guild members is one of Mebius's joys, she enjoys the feeling of resolving others' confusions.
Makarov nodded and asked, "Did you hear what we were just discussing?"
"Yes, Rhode's view of the big picture is really good." Mebius praised, "On this aspect, Makarov, you lost."
Makarov didn't feel ashamed at all, instead, he laughed happily:
"Haha, Rhode has always been called the new era's Fairy Tail Strategist, that's why I've always wanted him to succeed as President."
Rhode: ?
Uh-oh, it's aimed at me?
He hurriedly pulled the topic back, "Mebius, President, what do you think of Alvarez?"