The artificial meteor shower had nearly wiped out Guiltina's enormous aerial fleet in a single strike, sending its entire formation into collapse.
Ishgar's magical bomber fleet, led by Ichiya, immediately surged forward with triumphant roars to pursue the retreating enemy.
The troops that had followed Wraith and Nebaru into Ishgar's territory were also surrounded and annihilated by the reinforcements once the defenders regained control of the situation.
With that, only one of the three major battlefields—land, sea, and air—remained locked in truly brutal combat.
The sea.
Ankh and the others descended from the shattered remains of Cube and landed directly on the vast stretch of solid ground Ur had created across the front line.
They charged into Guiltina's army like tigers among sheep.
Gray and Lyon joined Ur in freezing the ocean into a boundless field of ice, allowing the mages to fight without relying on ships.
The arrival of so many vicious, battle-hungry guild mages immediately sent morale soaring among the troops who had previously been holding the line under Ur's command alone.
At the front, Laxus and Jura carved a path through the enemy with an endless storm of lightning, shattered earth, and flying bodies.
Despite Guiltina's excellent equipment and disciplined formations, the two of them tore through its ranks again and again.
Erza, Mirajane, and the others advanced along separate routes behind them, unleashing their own magic as they pushed forward.
At the same time, another large wave of reinforcements arrived through the Magic Council's teleportation device.
Mages from every guild began entering the battle one after another.
Ishgar's previous disadvantage steadily disappeared, and the momentum of the war began shifting in the opposite direction.
Guiltina's aerial fleet had been destroyed by Ankh's attack from above, while the elite soldiers it had taken such pride in were scattered by Erza and the others.
As one side grew stronger and the other weaker, Guiltina's losses quickly began to mount.
Naturally, the dramatic effect of Ishgar's newly arrived advance force soon attracted the enemy's attention.
"So those are the real main forces Misaki was talking about?"
Kiria, dressed in her wild and revealing outfit, eagerly watched the mages descending from Cube.
Her fighting style was every bit as aggressive and unrestrained as her appearance.
Without hesitation, she charged toward them.
"Kiria!"
And through the workings of some cruel and inexplicable law of the universe, the opponent Kiria chose was once again—Lucy.
Lucy had just finished dealing with a large group of soldiers and closed her Celestial Spirit Gates to recover some Magic Power when she noticed a woman charging toward her from the side.
Lucy fell silent.
Kiria wore an almost deranged smile as she swung one arm.
A powerful blade of wind came crashing down.
"A slash?!"
Lucy hurriedly reached for a key, but Gray reacted first.
He thrust out one hand and unleashed Ice Devil Slayer Magic, instantly freezing the charging Kiria inside a block of ice.
"Stay alert," Gray warned. "These enemies aren't anything like the bandits from an ordinary job."
He lowered his hand and watched Kiria and the two figures behind her cautiously.
A tall man in skeletal armor ignored the cries of battle around him.
He studied the ice imprisoning Kiria with mild surprise, then raised the corner of his mouth.
"Powerful ice magic…"
"Unfortunately, all magic with physical form must submit to my ash."
The man, Skullion, slowly placed one hand against the frozen block.
The supposedly indestructible Devil Slayer ice turned to ash in an instant and drifted away on the wind.
Lucy stared in disbelief.
That was the magic Gray's father had passed down to him. Even Natsu's flames could not melt it.
How had this man erased it so easily?
Skullion smiled coldly at Gray's frown.
"I am the Ash Dragon Slayer! I can turn anything with physical form into black ash."
"It seems our powers are a terrible match for you."
"A bad match?"
Gray silently pulled off his clothes and tossed them aside.
Then he gave Skullion a cold grin.
"Nothing counters my ice."
"I'll freeze your ash and that empty skull of yours along with it!"
With a furious shout, Gray released his magic at full force.
One of his arms gradually began taking on demonic features.
Ever since inheriting Ice Devil Slayer Magic, his fighting style had shifted away from careful technical exchanges and toward overwhelming bursts of power.
He immediately collided with Skullion, whose body became surrounded by swirling ash.
Juvia hurried forward to help Gray, only for another heavily armored man to block her path.
The man had plain features and a stiff, expressionless face.
"I am Madmole, the Armor Dragon Slayer," he stated in a wooden voice. "No attack can injure me."
"Juvia doesn't care who you are!"
She had no interest in hearing what sort of dragon he represented.
Juvia immediately unleashed several high-pressure blades of water, intending to force her way past him and reach Gray.
The attacks struck Madmole directly in the face.
They did not leave so much as a scratch.
His expression did not even change.
"The Ash Dragon and the Armor Dragon…"
Lucy's sharp mind began racing.
Why had so many Dragon Slayers suddenly appeared?
Were Dragon Slayers common on the continent of Guiltina?
While she was distracted by the thought, Lucy suddenly felt a chill sweep across the top of her head.
She immediately threw herself flat.
A razor-sharp arc of light passed so close that it nearly shaved her scalp.
Still shaken, Lucy looked back.
Kiria, whom Gray had frozen and Skullion had freed, was glaring furiously at her as though she wanted to skin her alive.
Lucy had no words.
Gray was the one who had frozen her.
Why wasn't she challenging him?
What kind of logic was there in taking it out on Lucy?
Kiria was far too enraged to care.
She rushed Lucy with a furious barrage of punches and kicks, sending countless flying blades through the air with every movement.
Lucy's defenses were relatively weak, leaving her no choice but to keep dodging.
Kiria was the Blade Dragon Slayer.
She could transform any part of her body into a blade and release cutting winds from a distance.
She was the purest kind of offensive mage—and exactly the type of opponent Lucy found hardest to handle.
With no other option, Lucy activated Star Dress again and summoned additional Celestial Spirits, hoping to compensate for the difference in direct combat ability with superior numbers.
No one came to help her because everyone else already had their hands full.
Wendy had left with Natsu to destroy Face.
Her close friend Sherria, meanwhile, had been forced to endure a very different kind of attack in her place.
"Sherria-chaaaan~"
On another section of the battlefield, Sherria cautiously searched her surroundings, only to jump when a childish voice suddenly sounded directly behind her.
Lyon angrily threw a punch toward the source.
The little figure behind Sherria vanished instantly, moving as though she had teleported.
"Damn it. She's even more annoying than Racer," Lyon muttered.
They had been fighting normally when a small girl wearing a tiger-pelt hat and matching skirt suddenly rushed over, grabbed Sherria's hands, and confessed her love.
A young girl confessing to another young girl right in front of him?
Lyon, acting as the self-appointed guardian of justice, naturally tried to chase the intruder away.
Unfortunately, the child possessed astonishing combat ability.
In only a short time, she had already kicked Lyon several times using speed that looked indistinguishable from teleportation.
The tiger-clad girl appeared again and seized Sherria's hands.
Her eyes sparkled as she smiled foolishly.
"Sherria-chan, please go out with me!"
"Well… that might be a little…"
Sherria had no idea what expression she was supposed to make.
Beside her, Lyon, champion of justice, charged forward once again.
The little girl became a blur and spun out of his path before cheerfully continuing her introduction as though he did not exist.
"My name is Haku! I'm the White Tiger Dragon Slayer!"
"I'm so fast that I can outrun teleportation!"
"I promise I'll protect you, Sherria-chan, so please give me a chance!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator