Chapter 145: Phantom Lord's Scheme
Most people might assume that the Iron Dragon Gajeel wasn't all that impressive, but as an intelligence expert, Bucktooth knew better.
Gajeel was hailed as Phantom Lord's ace mage for a reason—there was no exaggeration.
At the very least, his strength was on par with the Element Four.
Gajeel's reputation was earned through real battles, having single-handedly taken down several dark guilds in the past.
"Um… it wasn't us. We were no match for Gajeel. It was George—George defeated him all by himself and saved us."
Levy quickly waved her hands, her face flushing red.
"GEORGE?!"
All eyes turned to George, who was still lost in thought about the rumors surrounding Mirajane. Their expressions were uniformly stunned.
If Levy and her team had worked together to defeat the S-class Gajeel, they might have been surprised but could have accepted it.
But George defeating Gajeel one-on-one? That was beyond their expectations.
It was like imagining Happy defeating Natsu.
"I said it was luck. Do you believe me?"
Seeing everyone staring at him, George helplessly spread his paws.
Though he believed that with his top-tier wand, combined with various spells and his superpowers, he could hold his own against an S-class like Erza for a while—or even escape—
Actually defeating one? The odds were slim.
He had enough self-awareness for that.
But under these circumstances, explaining clearly was impossible, so he simply shut his mouth.
In truth, George didn't have a clear understanding of his own strength.
He didn't realize that Fairy Tail's S-class mages were different from those of other guilds.
The only S-class he had encountered before was Erigor, whom he felt was far weaker than Erza.
But in reality, Death's Head Erigor was stronger than most S-class mages in other guilds.
The main issue was that George had been cooped up in the guild, lacking a clear grasp of this world's mage hierarchy. His only reference point was Erza.
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Fifteen minutes later, Erza, clad in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, flew over with Natsu and Gray in tow.
Behind her, Happy flapped his wings while carrying Lucy, and Jet sprinted along the ground.
Twenty minutes later, Mirajane arrived with Master Makarov.
Makarov's face was still flushed with anger, his terrifying magical power practically seeping from his body.
"If they'd just wrecked the guild, I could've tolerated it. But attacking our children? That, I cannot forgive.
All Fairy Tail mages, listen up! Tonight, we declare war on Phantom Lord. We move out now!"
"WAR!"
"WAR!"
"WAR!"
Hearing Makarov finally declare war on Phantom Lord, the already furious Fairy Tail mages erupted in cheers.
"War, huh? Fine. At least now I'll get to witness a battle between this world's top Wizard Saints!"
At this moment, George felt his blood boiling.
He had always been holed up in the library studying magic, only knowing about this world's spells in theory. Now, with so many mages clashing, he'd finally get to see them in action.
Most importantly, a battle between Wizard Saints—now that was bound to be spectacular.
"Master, wait! Let me check his memories first!"
Just as Makarov was about to lead the charge, George stopped him.
He suspected that Phantom Lord's sudden, rule-breaking attack on Fairy Tail after all these years might be part of a larger scheme.
It'd be safer to use Legilimency and telepathy to peek into Gajeel's memories.
Phantom Lord was just as strong as Fairy Tail, if not stronger in numbers. They couldn't afford to be careless.
"You know memory-reading magic too?"
Makarov was taken aback.
Memory-related magic wasn't easy to learn—it required exceptional talent. Few in the magical world could use it.
Aside from Mest Gryder, whom he'd sent to infiltrate the Magic Council, only Sol of Phantom Lord's Element Four was renowned in this field.
He never expected George to be proficient as well.
"I figured learning a variety of spells would always come in handy."
George lifted his paw, canceling the Stunning Spell on Gajeel.
The moment Gajeel regained consciousness—while his will was still weak—George locked eyes with him and cast Legilimency.
"Legilimens!"
A moment later, George's expression shifted in surprise.
"So that's how it is."
From Gajeel's memories, he learned that Phantom Lord's true motive for attacking Fairy Tail was actually to capture Lucy, the heiress of the Heartfilia conglomerate.
Lucy, the daughter of the wealthiest family in the kingdom, had run away from home to escape an arranged marriage.
Phantom Lord had been hired by her father to retrieve her.
But according to Gajeel's memories, Phantom Lord wasn't acting in good faith.
They planned to use Lucy to control her father, seize the Heartfilia fortune, and strengthen their guild.
Of course, crushing Fairy Tail in the process would just be a bonus.
"IRON DRAGON'S—"
The moment Gajeel woke up and saw himself surrounded by Fairy Tail mages, he immediately tried to unleash his magic—only to be punched into the ground by Makarov's giant fist.
"Stay down, brat!"
After knocking Gajeel out cold, Makarov turned to George.
"Find anything useful?"
"Yeah."
George relayed everything he'd seen in Gajeel's memories.
The revelation that Lucy was the Heartfilia heiress left everyone wide-eyed.
Lucy's everyday behavior gave no hint of her noble background.
"I-I'm sorry! It's all because of me… because of my selfishness that the guild was attacked."
Learning that her father was the root cause, Lucy bowed her head in guilt.
She loved Fairy Tail, loved her life here and her friends—yet she'd brought such trouble upon them.
"Even without you, it would've happened. Phantom Lord wanted your family's money, and they've always had it out for our guild."
George casually reassured her.
It was the truth. Lucy's situation was just the spark. Without her, there'd have been another trigger—sooner or later, a clash was inevitable.
"Don't worry, Lucy! If they wanna pick a fight, we'll just beat 'em all up!"
Natsu grinned, smashing his fists together excitedly.
"Though you really don't act like a rich girl."
"Aye!"
Happy raised a paw in agreement.
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(End of Chapter)