This height, this outfit, Rhode stared at the King up and down for a while and basically confirmed who this guy was.
The Pumpkin Man took off his hood and changed his cloak before coming over directly?
No wonder it's the country where Fairy Tail resides.
A nation's ruler not working properly, actually wearing a pumpkin helmet to be a mascot and part-time referee.
"Your Majesty the King." Several people greeted in succession.
Toma E. Fiore nodded: "No need to be so formal, please sit down."
Saying that, he was the first to sit next to Princess Jade, and the others followed suit.
Toma asked directly: "Mr. Rhode, could it be that your information also comes from the future?"
Rhode did not deny: "Also?"
Toma nodded: "That's right, I encountered someone claiming to come from the future who told me about the impending dragon horde attack. So, I thought your information might also be from the future."
Rhode asked Wolian telepathically: "Did Future Lucy ever meet the King?"
Wolian quickly replied after asking: "No, she said she was captured immediately after arriving and didn't see anyone else."
Does that mean another future person directly found the King?
Princess Jade listened more and more confused: "Future person? Father, what on earth is going on?"
King Toma explained: "After today's competition ended, I was planning to check on the Eclipse Gate when that person suddenly appeared..."
There was naturally some vigilance and questioning, but the person mentioned the term 'Eclipse Plan', forcing Toma to simplify some processes and talk directly with him.
"That person claimed he came from the future seven years ahead, through the Eclipse Gate to the present. The guards confirmed he retained magic similar to the Eclipse Gate.
"He told me that at the moment of July 7th, 10,000 dragons would start attacking the country from the Royal Capital, cities would burn, castles crumble, countless deaths...
"Seven years later, the world is completely under the dominion of dragons, and humans can only endure a miserable existence in fear.
"To save the world, he traveled back through the Eclipse Gate from seven years in the future to prepare us in advance to counter this crisis."
Princess Jade still had doubts: "But, even if he has the magic of the Eclipse, how can we be sure he's not deceiving us?"
King Toma looked at Rhode: "That depends on our judgment, and the assessment of the information on Mr. Rhode's side."
Coming from seven years in the future suggests that the other party knows more than Future Lucy, making it harder to determine truth from fiction.
While contemplating, Rhode said: "The future person we met is different from the one you encountered; she comes from a future just a few days after the dragon horde attack."
Exchanging information on both sides, Rhode did not hide the existence of Future Lucy but refused to let her near the Royal Palace.
The King only knew that the future person he met was male, with half-black, half-white hair, tattoos near his eyes, a nose scar, and seemed to be between 20 and 30 years old.
Rhode pondered for a moment, among those he knew, thinking of someone with two-tone hair... Former Oracion Seis, now a member of Sin of the Witch, Midnight had white tips on his hair, and if you calculated the age, it roughly matched.
Future Midnight?
Rhode directly used Illusion Magic to create an illusion of Midnight, asking: "Is it him?"
Toma shook his head: "No, that person had black on the left and white on the right, and his facial features were distinctly different."
In fact, the King felt increasingly familiar with that person, but he just couldn't recall who it was.
Rhode asked Wolian in his mind while looking at Mira and Jude, both shaking their heads, indicating they couldn't think of anyone.
Wolian jokingly said, "Maybe when you and Mira have a child, their hair could be half-black and half-white. Why not ask if he looks like either of you?"
Rhode: "Scram."
Mira: "Wolian, about that girl introduction you asked me for last time, I decline."
Wolian: "No!"
By that time, their child would only be around six and a half, so it couldn't possibly be him.
Moreover, in that person's timeline, whether Rhode existed was uncertain...
Rhode suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, did that person mention any differences here compared to his 'past'? Like no me, no Rays of the Rising Sun, and no Dragon's Treasure?"
"Well... he did mention it," the King thought for a moment, "We had a short conversation, and I was initially planning to test him by asking about the result of the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts,
"But he candidly said he didn't know because unknown changes happened here at some point; perhaps someone else came back from the future and altered part of history, and he's investigating this too."
Princess Jade quickly said: "In that case, then maybe the 10,000 dragons won't come?"
King Toma denied: "No, he said those changes aren't enough to affect the dragons' actions, so they will still come that day, but he brought a way to deal with the dragons from the future."
Princess Jade asked: "What is it?"
"Eclipse Plan 2."
"What is that?"
Toma said solemnly: "A different method of opening the Eclipse Gate, turning it from a gate of time travel into an extremely powerful cannon — E. Cannon.
"When the dragons gather, fire the cannon, using magic power accumulated over these seven years equivalent to Magical Elf Power, to annihilate a large portion of the dragons at once, then gather mages throughout the country to hunt the remaining dragons."
Princess Jade was shocked: "Magical Elf Power, is that the Council's... if so, perhaps..."
"Perhaps he's deceiving you," Rhode said, "I've seen the power of Magical Elf Power, saying it could erase a small island from the map is not wrong, but to annihilate thousands of dragons is impossible."
Mira nodded; she was also present the last time the Council used Magical Elf Power.
That power was indeed astonishing; saying it could take down a dragon, a few dragons, or even dozens she could barely believe.
But 10,000 was absolutely beyond reach.
She added: "Moreover, we've just deduced that the 10,000 dragons might very well emerge from the Eclipse Gate, so it absolutely cannot be opened."
"Is that so?" The King looked at Princess Jade; he only caught the last part and missed the previous deductions.
Princess Jade nodded: "In terms of the Eclipse's function, it indeed has such a possibility."
"I see...that person said he didn't know the dragons' origin." The King fell into deep thought,
"In other words, the dragon horde attack two days from now is something we can practically confirm. As for the origin and countermeasures, they're yet to be verified.
"Let's do this. Please return to rest for now; I need to gather ministers to re-discuss the Eclipse Plan. Fortunately, there are no matches scheduled for tomorrow; we can find our own ways to investigate and verify the future person's claims.
"In these two days, should there be any progress, please come to the Royal Palace, and we'll share our investigation findings with you. I assure you as the King, there will be no reckless activation of the Eclipse until it's all clear."
Actually, Jude still wanted to ask about Reela, but since the King had made it clear they should leave first, there was nothing a commoner could say.
After a little thought, Rhode sensed there was something inconvenient to say in front of them, conveyed a message to Mira through telepathy, and then stood up decisively: "Then we'll take our leave for now."
Mira cooperatively stood up to say goodbye: "Sorry for the disturbance."
The three left the palace guided by Yukino, and were escorted out of the Royal Palace by other soldiers.
The King, accompanied by Princess Jade, went to the conference room, watching them leave the Royal Palace through magical crystal surveillance, finally breathing a sigh of relief: "Just as that person said, Rhode might indeed impede the Eclipse Gate."
Princess Jade looked at Toma in surprise, asking: "Father, what do you mean by this? Did you conceal something from them just now?"
Toma nodded: "Not everything the future person said is trustworthy, but there was certainly something that was inconvenient to share with them. Because this Mr. Rhode...is not necessarily trustworthy either."