The Chariot competition details were soon revealed, confirming what all guild teams had speculated before the match.
A circular route was cleared within Crocus, where an extremely long chariot would continuously move along this path.
All competing Mages had to race on this violently shaking chariot—anyone falling off would be immediately eliminated.
Meanwhile, rankings would be determined by the order in which participants crossed the finish line.
After Chapati announced the start, all guild contestants began running at full speed upon boarding.
Raven Tail's Kurohebi, with his wiry physique and terrifying flexibility, possessed remarkable agility and quickly took the lead.
Following closely was Yuka from Lamia Scale, a renowned Mage who adopted a familiar ninja-running posture.
Using this stance, Yuka released magical vibrations from both hands, attempting to cover all Mages behind him.
This was Yuka's troublesome ability—he could generate shockwaves to neutralize enemy magical energy.
Within his vibration field, he could also seal opponents' spellcasting capabilities, while physical shockwaves could attack directly.
However, as top guilds of Fiore, everyone had their own countermeasures.
Mermaid Heel's chubby girl, Risley, started running sideways along the chariot's edge before the vibrations reached her—this was the Gravity Magic she learned from Kagura!
Defying gravity as she ran along the chariot's side, Risley easily overtook Yuka, flustering him.
But greater surprises followed.
The crowd's favorite handsome man—the great Ichiya—shoved two orange perfume tubes into his nostrils!
"Zero-distance inhalation! Sprint Parfum!"
With potions dangling from his nostrils, Ichiya exploded with speed, swaying his hips dramatically as he thunderously overtook Yuka.
However, that scene projected on the large screen made the remote audience feel somewhat nauseated...
"Everyone's quite fired up~"
Just then, Bacchus, who had been slacking off at the back, showed determination on his face.
The Quatro Cerberus members cheering from the arena erupted in excited shouts.
In terms of pure strength, only Ichiya (normal version) among the people on the chariots could suppress Bacchus.
Bacchus threw back his head, boldly took out the wine gourd from his waist and took a big swig, then roared with laughter.
"Wild——four!!"
With a savage roar, Bacchus didn't use any Magic Power at all.
His muscles bulged explosively, and he shot past everyone on the chariots like a missile!
Due to his furious stomping, several of the connected chariots even collapsed.
Goat Ichiya, who had been so triumphant moments ago, almost got thrown off, only to be tragically overtaken by Yuka shortly after.
With Bacchus's explosive performance, this much less exciting competition compared to yesterday's entered its final stage.
As expected, Bacchus crushed everyone with his formidable physical skills, crossing the finish line to claim first place and earn 10 points.
Kurohebi was overtaken right at the last moment, settling for second place with 8 points.
Risley, Yuka, and Ichiya crossed the finish line in that order, earning 6, 4, and 3 points respectively.
With the five guild teams having completed the competition, the arena erupted in cheers.
However...
Ankh stared speechlessly at the three people staggering forward on the chariots on the screen while complaining.
"Can't they use their brains?"
The competition hint today was obvious, yet these three teams all sent out Dragon Slayer Mages!
Team A's Natsu, taking advantage of Erza's inattention, thought it was about fighting the chariots and took to the field without another word.
When Sabertooth's Sting saw Natsu enter the competition, he got carried away and followed suit.
Gajeel had originally promised not to participate in this event, but when he saw two Dragon Slayer Mages had already gone up, he thought, 'I can't back down either!'
Thus, due to this chain reaction, all three Dragon Slayer Mages ended up essentially throwing themselves into the competition.
Juvia said with concern, "Gajeel and Natsu... they're definitely going to be in the bottom three now."
"Consider it a lesson learned." Laxus looked up at the scoreboard. "The teams ahead have all finished. Only Blue Pegasus might possibly surpass Team A for now. We can afford this loss."
Ankh nodded, holding Mirajane's slender waist with one hand while tapping his fingers thoughtfully.
"Although Gajeel lost his mind when he went on stage, he should remember what I said about maximizing benefits..."
...
"You take two points, I take one point, and we shut out that kid from Sabertooth!"
Gajeel said with a pale face, feeling dizzy as he looked at Natsu beside him.
Natsu, in a daze, desperately crawled forward and replied, "Of course! I... will win!"
Gajeel stopped talking and fixed his gaze tightly on Sting, who was slightly behind them.
'If the Salamander got two points, they could catch up to Blue Pegasus, who had taken the lead over Team A in this race.'
If he got one point, he could lead Sabertooth by one point, becoming the sole first place!
"Ahhh——"
Gajeel felt as if infinite stamina had been injected into his body, his iron-forged robust physique beginning to show its worth.
Bracing against the dizzying discomfort, he supported himself against Natsu's back while quickening his stumbling pace, moving faster with each step.
Natsu's eyes seemed to spark with flames, his fighting spirit burning endlessly as he roared and charged toward the finish line.
Surprisingly, Sting remained standing in place.
After realizing he couldn't surpass the two, he watched their embarrassing state with mockery and laughed.
"Working so hard just to surpass us..... So eager to take first place? We're already tired of sitting there!"
Sting's face was full of arrogance as he boasted, "What does it matter if we let you have a point or two?! This is only the second day of the Grand Magic Games. Keep struggling fool!."
Hearing Sting's taunts, Gajeel trembled but crawled toward the finish line, not showing any weakness as he actually laughed.
"Surpass you? Ridiculous! We're not just striving to surpass you!"
Natsu gazed at the approaching finish line, his sun-like eyes never dimming as he growled deeply.
"We're competing for our comrades who've suffered for seven years! To prove that Fairy Tail remains the strongest guild! No matter how small the points, we'll never give up any reason to fight!"
With the red finish line right before them, Gajeel pushed with all his might, shoving Natsu across the line before stumbling across himself in a clumsy fashion.
Lying on the ground gasping and laughing, he fixed a sharp gaze on Sting and mocked him.
"Don't cry over this one point, kid!"
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the venue seemed ignited by the two carsick Dragon Slayers' passionate display.
Ankh watched the two crossing the finish line on screen with satisfaction, though he couldn't help complaining internally.
'Putting on such a cool act now?'
'Where was this 'spirit' earlier?'
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