Lucy asked worriedly, "We're going to the Royal Palace at a time like this? Won't it be dangerous?"
Rhode joked, "I'm not Natsu. The Royal Palace shouldn't be dangerous."
Mira slapped him lightly. "Be serious. They might really be plotting against you. Wasn't there still an assassin last night?"
"I'll be careful," Rhode said. "When the Eclipse Gate opens we need to be on-site. It's best to go say hello to the King in advance, so we don't suddenly show up and cause unnecessary conflict."
To put Mira at ease, Rhode proposed having Wolian, Bisca, and Alzack find a place outside the Royal Palace to keep watch.
The others followed the teams they'd split into earlier, heading to different directions of the Royal Capital to stand guard and observe any abnormal phenomena.
Most ordinary people in the Royal Capital had been relocated outside the city because of the tournament and still hadn't returned yet.
At a time like this, if anyone made prior arrangements or set anything up, it would be easy to notice something off and stay on guard.
Before entering the Royal Palace and after going in, Rhode used "Void Divination" from time to time to make sure there was no ambush within his field of vision.
He wasn't about to let arrogance land him in danger.
"Please, go in." The Guard led Rhode to the inner hall entrance and stopped there; after that, Yukino took him to the conference room.
Normally, acquaintances meeting should exchange a few words, but even Kono hadn't been able to persuade her, and Rhode didn't know what to say either.
And because Yukino was standing on the Princess's side, she felt she owed Rhode and Mira for their past care and couldn't bring herself to speak.
The two of them walked in silence like that until they reached the conference room.
Rhode had already quietly checked it out. In the conference room sat four people: the King, the Princess, the Knight Captain, and the Minister of State.
In addition, in the rooms on either side of the conference room, one side held thirty fully armed soldiers, and the other side held five Mages with strange Appearances.
This kind of scene easily brought to mind that Three Kingdoms trope of "both wings hiding executioners, just waiting for the cup to be thrown as a signal."
But Rhode felt the situation now was different.
Because these people weren't overly tense, and the doors to both rooms were open, with no intention of hiding.
It should just be a normal arrangement for the safety of the King and Princess.
The last time he came, the lineup hadn't been this big, showing the royal family had grown more wary of him.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness," Rhode greeted the two familiar faces briefly.
"Mr. Rhode, thank you for accepting this sudden invitation," the King said politely, then introduced, "This is our Minister of State, Danton. This is the Knight Captain, Arcadios."
He then said to the two of them, "This is Mr. Rhode, sixth among the Ten Wizard Saints. I've heard his ranking will be moving up soon."
The three exchanged greetings, while Rhode maintained basic courtesy.
Danton looked at Rhode with a scrutinizing gaze, and Arcadios seemed somewhat wary of him, but neither did anything discourteous.
"Please, everyone, sit," the King said. "We've gathered today for one final discussion on the Eclipse Plan."
The Princess and Arcadios's expressions didn't change much; the Minister of State looked like he wanted to speak but held back, deciding to hear the King out first.
"The original Eclipse Plan was to eliminate Zeref and Acronologia, removing a hidden threat to the Fiore Kingdom and even the entire world.
"But now, due to an unforeseen incident, we have no choice but to make some adjustments. In the near future—or rather, precisely at midnight tonight—ten thousand Dragons will attack the Royal Capital.
"I trust you're all already aware of this, yes?" The King said this and looked at everyone's faces.
Rhode, Arcadios, and Princess Jade all nodded; Danton hesitated a moment, then nodded as well.
The King went on, "A mysterious person from the future has provided us a solution: use Eclipse as a Cannon to attack the Dragon horde, thereby weathering this crisis.
"Although what he said cannot be verified as true or false, we are currently helpless against the Dragon horde. To avoid the Kingdom's annihilation, we can only prepare according to his proposed method for now.
"Because the Cannon needs time to charge, we must open the Gate immediately when tonight's lunar eclipse begins. Otherwise, we'll miss the best opportunity to strike the Dragon horde and never have a chance to win."
The King paused, then continued, "However, Mr. Rhode has questioned the Power of the Eclipse E·Cannon, and believes the Dragon horde itself comes from four hundred years ago, connected to the Gate. If we don't open the Gate, the Dragons won't come at all.
"We cannot afford the risk of choosing wrong, so we hope to discuss and find the most reliable plan."
Danton spoke up at once. "I agree with Mr. Rhode. Magic that can alter history is far too dangerous. The Eclipse Gate absolutely must not be opened!"
Rhode gave him a surprised look. So there was still someone keeping his wits about him.
Though his argument was a bit off-topic at this point.
"I believe we should open the Gate, because we have no other choice. Hesitation at a time like this will only bring destruction!" Arcadios declared in turn.
"Not only that, after dealing with the Dragon horde, we should take advantage of the lunar eclipse not yet ending, rally all the Mages to replenish Magic Power for the Eclipse Gate, and continue with the plan to eradicate Zeref!"
A full lunar eclipse often lasts several hours. Arcadios thought they should resolve the crisis during that window, then resume the plan.
Because if they missed this opportunity, they'd have to wait another seven years, and too many uncertainties could arise in that time.
Besides, thanks to the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, nearly all the Mages in the Kingdom had gathered in the Royal Capital. If they tried hard enough, they might immediately collect enough Magic Power.
It was a rare opportunity.
Danton immediately argued with him, stressing the immense risk of changing history in his words.
The Knight Captain is a real hardliner, Rhode commented inwardly.
"Please, both of you, that's enough," Princess Jade interjected to stop them. "We've had more than enough arguments like this these last few days. Let's hear Mr. Rhode's opinion first."
The two had no choice but to stop and turned to look at Rhode together.
Rhode thought for a moment, then said, "On matters of temporal paradoxes, ethics and law, and historical responsibility, you've probably already debated thoroughly. Bringing them up again now likely won't change your minds."
The four said nothing. Those issues had indeed been debated nonstop, but it was all just debate—no one could convince anyone else.
Once things got heated, at worst someone would throw out, 'I'll shoulder all the blame.' But if something unexpected happened and everyone died, what good would it do to shoulder blame?
Now that the Dragon horde was nearly upon them, bringing those topics up again was naturally useless.
Rhode said, "So today, I'll speak only from the standpoint of pure Magic."