"Rhode!"
"Brother Rhode!"
Natsu and Wendy called out one after another, somewhat worried about Rhode's safety.
The ground's tremors quickly stopped, and the dust was blown away by a gentle breeze.
Rhode was standing unharmed in place, his right hand had already transformed into a dragon claw, with thin marks on the dragon scales that were earthy yellow like stone.
"Do what you need to, I'm fine."
Rhode's tone remained calm, as he slightly turned his head to look at the crack that extended behind him to the horizon, guessing that this dragon might be naturally powerful or have a Magic Attribute related to the earth.
The soldiers all opened their mouths wide, initially surprised that Rhode caught the giant dragon's attack head-on.
Then they noticed the huge crack behind Rhode.
This gray-white dragon merely hit the ground, causing the ground to crack, and that crack extended beyond the Royal Palace.
Not only that, a trail of dust was rising from the city outside the palace—indicating that a single blow created a huge crack that penetrated half the city!
Although not particularly deep, it was still astonishing.
Then, they looked at Rhode with even more amazement.
How did this person casually withstand such an exaggerated attack?!
"Stop staring." Gajeel's voice awakened the nearby people, "Another one is coming out!"
This time a blue-green dragon with obvious fish traits came out from the gate.
Its body was covered with dark spots, fish fins grew on its head, back, and cheeks, its paws were webbed, and even its wings resembled fish fins.
When Rhode had just countered the move, it had already emerged and flew directly into the sky.
It was followed by a burst of firelight, with a scorching feeling overwhelming them, as if a giant fireball came out of the gate.
The two Lucys could not wait any longer, facing each other, three hands tightly clasped together: "Zodiac Star Spirits..."
"Watch out!"
The two had just spoken the first line of the Chanting Words when Natsu tackled them, sending them flying to the ground a few meters away.
Laxus kicked Gajeel out, grabbed Wendy by the back of her collar, and lightning-fast moved from the spot.
A strong beam pierced the night sky, striking where the two Lucys had been standing and causing a violent explosion.
Natsu and the two Lucys had just landed but were blown away by the shock wave, tumbling across the ground and getting dirty, the Star Spirit Keys scattered all over.
Fortunately, none of the three were seriously injured.
"Miss Lucy!" Princess Jade and the Knight Captain were quite anxious since if something happened to these two, the gate couldn't be closed anytime soon!
The knight order members gathered around them vigilantly.
"We're fine! We must close the gate quickly!" Lucy scrambled to her feet, hurriedly picking up the keys.
Gajeel looked a bit disheveled: "Damn, who did this?"
"The attack came from the side, at least 1 kilometer away." Laxus put Wendy down and looked towards the west of the palace, "It seems like a Magic-guided Cluster Cannon, but this range..."
"This is..." Danton was shocked, "It's Dragon's Treasure, they're in that direction! It's their researched Magic Guide Cluster Cannon Jupiter's specialized range and precision version—Saturn!"
"Dragon's Treasure? Why?" The King couldn't fathom why they would do this.
Since such a cannon is a precision specialized version, let's first rule out the possibility of missing the target, "They don't want the gate closed so quickly, are they in cahoots with that mysterious person from the future?!"
Arcadios immediately ordered the communications soldier: "Order Zone D's security team to arrest all members of Dragon's Treasure immediately! Zone C and Zone F's security teams also go to support!"
"Yes!"
However, just this pause allowed not only the dragon resembling a fireball to come out but also two dragons squeezed out of the gate side by side.
One had crude art style and simple lines, like it was constructed from stones.
The other dragon had one horn bending downwards on top of its head and one horn bending upwards on its lower jaw, making its head resemble a huge pincer.
The three dragons that just emerged all took to the sky, and the two Lucys finally prepared themselves again:
"Zodiac Star Spirits, please lend us your power to seal evil! Open the gate of the Zodiac!"
Twelve Golden Keys rose into the air, forming a circle like a clock face, rotating and emitting golden light.
It seemed as though the sound of a door opening echoed in the void, and all twelve Star Spirits corresponding to the zodiac appeared in mid-air.
As Lucy's voice faded, they scattered like meteors into two groups, carrying golden tail flames towards the two heavy gate panels' backs, pushing with force.
A rumbling sound echoed out as the door slowly closed.
In the meantime, two more dragons squeezed out, one with black wings on its back and the other entirely emerald.
At the moment the doors were about to close, the eighth dragon poked its saber-toothed tiger-like head out, attempting to spread its wings and wedge the gate.
But then an earthy yellow giant dragon charged forward, its head collided with the other's nose tip, directly pushing it back inside the gate.
With a clang, the Eclipse Gate shut tight, severing the temporal passage to 400 years ago.
"Success!" The two Lucys cheered, showing tired expressions on their faces.
The Zodiac Star Spirits vanished.
Though successfully closing the gate ought to be celebrated, the soldiers initially intended to cheer.
But the sight before their eyes made them refrain from speaking loudly or smiling.
"Dragons...so many dragons..."
"Weren't there seven? Why—why suddenly thirteen?!"
"A dragon just seemed to help us, could it be..."
Everyone slowly realized, turning their gaze to Rhode.
"Void Engraved Golem." Rhode gasped; simultaneously summoning six dragons was a bit pressured.
Without the Crown of Insight, it wouldn't be sustainable at all.
After a brief respite, Rhode patted Xiaolan's footback and pointed to Lucy and the others.
Xiaolan, understanding, also attached the Crown of Insight to the two Lucys.
Since evolving into the Void Engraved Golem, Xiaolan could provide buffs to five people at once.
The King, mustering courage, walked over: "Mr. Rhode, this..."
"Don't worry, we can handle it." Rhode waved his hand, the Mountain Sub-Dragon, Cloud Sub-Dragon, Alchemy Technology Sub-Dragon, and Hex-Tech Sub-Dragon took off, each selecting an opponent, engaging in aerial battles above the Royal Palace.
—The Purgatory Sub-Dragon didn't even wait for Rhode to speak, already pouncing towards the fiery one.
The Marine Sub-Dragon stayed put.
Rhode looked at her helplessly, while the Marine Sub-Dragon gave him an innocent look.
"Come on, Sister Ocean." Rhode urged.
The Marine Sub-Dragon shyly replied, "I've told you, I'm not good at fighting."
Saying that, green arcs emanated from her body, accurately landing on the injured soldiers.
The soldiers were startled but then realized the pain was greatly alleviated.
"...Forget it." Rhode couldn't do anything about her.