"So many warships!"
A young knight of the Magic Council's Ancient Knights swallowed hard as the Alvarez Empire's fleet loomed across the sea.
He was a new recruit. Over the past year, the Magic Council had expanded the Ancient Knights tenfold. Their benefits rivaled state service—steady pay, retirement, pensions. Like civil servants, but for battle. Naturally, it attracted waves of guild mages.
But the strongest mages still refused. Freedom was worth more than a paycheck, and power gave them that freedom.
No one, however, expected that barely a year later they would be facing this: not a local war between Ishgar's kingdoms, but a continental invasion.
Now they understood why the Council had expanded so quickly. And they understood there was no escape. If they did not fight, their homes, families, and continent would fall beneath Alvarez's iron heel.
"Don't be afraid! We have numbers, and the Council's leaders stand with us. We will not lose!"
"Ohhhhh!!!"
Their shouts echoed across the coastline.
On one Alvarez warship, Wall the Inquisitor chuckled.
"Heehee… yes, that's better. It's boring to crush an enemy that doesn't resist."
Dimaria glanced at him. "Enough. What's happening with Fairy Tail?"
"As planned. The monster has left to find His Majesty. Ajeel and the others are about to move."
At the Fairy Tail guild, a sudden gust of unnatural wind blew through the hall, snuffing out candles.
"What was that?"
Mavis and Makarov instantly felt it—the surge of vast magical signatures approaching.
"Warren! The radar!"
Warren fumbled with his enchanted tablet. "It's malfunctioning! I—I don't know why I couldn't sense them earlier! Damn it!"
The screen lit with black dots—dense, countless—already nearly over Magnolia.
"Everyone prepare for battle!!"
"The enemy's in the air! Around fifty cruisers, incoming!!"
"Fifty?!"
Macao and Wakaba went pale. On Ishgar, only Blue Pegasus owned a single magic bomber. One ship alone could rival a guild. Fifty meant devastation.
Makarov's jaw tightened. "And this… is only a fraction of Alvarez's strength. These must be stopped!"
Above, Ajeel looked down from the deck of his warship, grinning wide.
"Fairy Tail… today you turn to sand. Begin the bombardment!!"
"Ring the bell! Fifty cruisers, west skies over Magnolia!!"
The alarm bell tolled across the town. Fairy Tail's members rushed into position.
"Fire!!"
Ajeel's order thundered, and waves of magical artillery rained down.
"Deploy the formula!"
Freed slammed his palms down, runes blazing to life. An enormous enchantment dome wrapped Magnolia.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shells burst harmlessly against the barrier.
"What?!" Ajeel's grin faltered. "The Magic Barrier system… the rune enchantment!"
Makarov's face was grim. "Even with runes, Freed won't last long under this kind of firepower."
Evergreen and Bickslow flanked their partner. "Use our magic too, Freed! Don't you dare collapse!"
Macao cursed. "An aerial assault… it's the one angle we weren't ready for."
"What do we do?!" Wakaba's voice shook. "We can't even reach them up there!"
But Mavis' voice cut through the panic, calm and sharp.
"No… this is still within expectations. Their force is smaller than I predicted. They likely scaled down to avoid detection by Su Yan. Which means… his strike against Alvarez was even greater than I thought."
Her eyes flashed.
"Warren, read this to everyone. Execute Operation D. Deploy the Dragons and the Ospreys!"
"Understood!" Warren barked, relaying the command.
Fairy Tail's counterattack was about to begin.