Everyone returned to the shore, the sea breeze carrying a salty, damp scent against their faces.
Natsu stood on the pier, breathing out a string of flames with vigor; the firelight was particularly striking in the twilight, like a blooming firework.
He waved his fists, shouting something indistinctly, as excited as a monkey just released from a cage.
"We won! We won!"
Joy was impossible to hide on the faces of every Fairy Tail member; some hugged, some patted shoulders, and some simply crouched on the ground, laughing so hard they couldn't straighten up.
Even the roots of the wutong tree were swaying, celebrating along with everyone, its leaves rustling as if it were clapping.
Just as everyone was excitedly discussing how to hold the banquet that evening, a rhythmic sound of footsteps came from the end of the street.
The Council's Rune Force "rushed" over.
To say they "rushed" was a bit of a stretch; they actually arrived at the perfect time, appearing only after the battle was over, their timing more precise than an alarm clock.
The Council official leading them, Lahar, rode on horseback with a serious, business-like expression, followed by a squad of fully armed Rune Soldiers.
Riyao's ears twitched, his eyes darted around, and the corners of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.
In the next second, he executed a power slide, his knees leaving two Gray streaks on the ground, as he accurately hugged Lahar's leg and began to wail at the top of his lungs.
"Wah! The Council is finally here! You have no idea how out of line Phantom Lord was!"
Lahar was stunned by this sudden move, looking down at Riyao hugging his leg, his expression shifting from serious to bewildered.
Riyao didn't give him any time to react; tears came on command, and his voice choked up as if he had suffered a monumental grievance.
"They actually used the Magic Convergence Cannon on our guild! That's the Magic Convergence Cannon! Just a little more, and everyone in our guild would have been dead meat."
He looked up at Lahar with teary eyes, his voice becoming more and more agitated.
"They even wanted to use the forbidden magic Purgatory Break to level Magnolia! An entire town! Thousands of lives! Do they have no respect for the Council?!"
Lahar opened his mouth, about to say something, but Riyao cut him off again.
"The point is, they were the ones who attacked first! They targeted our members and beat Levy and the others until they were covered in wounds! They even almost killed our beloved Master!"
At this point, Riyao's voice suddenly rose an octave, and tears flowed in torrents.
"Wooo... our guild was already poor, and now it's in ruins. How are we supposed to survive?!"
Lahar was dazed by the barrage of words; before his brain could process the first piece of information, the third had already been poured in.
He subconsciously looked at the Rune Soldiers behind him, only to find they were also completely bewildered.
Makarov stood nearby, initially stunned, but seeing Riyao's performance, the old fox's mind immediately caught on.
Without a word, he also slid over, hugging Lahar's other leg and beginning to weep bitterly.
"This old man didn't have many years left to live anyway, and yet I had to endure such a thing! I don't even have money for a doctor! My back, my legs—they were all broken by those bastards!"
Makarov's acting was even more flamboyant than Riyao's; with tears and snot everywhere, he even stained his Saint Robe.
With both legs hugged, Lahar could neither advance nor retreat, his expression completely frozen.
Seeing this, Mirajane immediately came over and hugged Riyao, her voice as weak as a wounded fawn.
"Dear, you used up all your magic to block Jupiter and haven't even had the chance to treat yourself yet. It breaks my heart to see you like this."
As she spoke, her eyes actually turned red; it was unclear whether she was acting or if she truly felt pained remembering the scene.
While Mirajane was holding him, Riyao secretly gave her a thumbs up, and Mirajane gave his shoulder a gentle pinch in response.
All the young members, who had been influenced by Riyao since childhood, sat down on the ground and began to cry; their movements were so synchronized it looked like they had rehearsed.
Cana covered her face and shouted to the sky, "There's no justice! We were attacked right at our doorstep! This is too much bullying! Our home is gone!"
Her crying was vivid and emotional, but if one looked closely, her eyes through the gaps in her fingers were secretly observing the Council's reaction.
Erza acted harder than anyone, though her performance was a bit too forced.
"Vile Phantom Lord! To think they would hurt my dear comrades! I will never forgive them!"
She used too much force, smashing a pit into the ground, which made the surrounding Rune Soldiers take a step back in fear.
Lahar looked down at her with difficulty, wondering if she was actually angry.
Natsu and Gray hugged each other and wailed, pinching each other's thighs until they were black and blue, yet neither was willing to let go first, for letting go would make them look less miserable.
Natsu howled, wiping his tears and snot all over Gray.
"All our food and wine were destroyed!"
Gray was also crying a river, casually wiping his snot on Natsu's back.
"All my ice sculpture materials are shattered too!"
Happy rolled on the ground, his small paws clutching his head.
"All my fish are gone, wooo! Not even one left!"
Lisanna used bandages to wrap Elfman up tightly, mummifying him from head to toe, leaving only his eyes exposed.
She cried while wrapping him, "Brother, what's wrong? Wake up! Don't die!"
Elfman lay on the ground motionless, cooperating perfectly, though his eyes would occasionally dart around to make sure Lisanna wasn't strangling him.
The entire guild was selling their misery; the scene was as spectacular as a group of refugees fleeing a disaster.
The roots of the wutong tree quietly shifted the guild's weight-bearing pillars, and the already precarious ruins collapsed with a thunderous crash amidst everyone's cries, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
It was very fitting for the occasion; even a dog would have cried seeing this.
"Ah! Our last home is gone too!" Cana let out a timely scream.
The residents of Magnolia stood on both sides of the street, covering their mouths and weeping as they watched this; some had already started crying out loud.
"Fairy Tail is too pitiful; the Council must help them!"
"Those poor children, their home is gone!"
"Phantom Lord is too despicable!"
The tide of public opinion instantly shifted toward Fairy Tail.
Lucy stood behind the crowd, covering her face with both hands, watching the performance of these drama queens through the gaps in her fingers, falling into deep self-doubt.
These people... is this really the guild I joined?
She silently took a step back, pretending she didn't know them.
...
After the Council's Rune Force investigated the scene in detail, Lahar reported to his superiors with a complex expression.
Following the Council's discussion, the results were quickly released.
Due to the Phantom Lord Guild's disregard for the law, instigating a war between light guilds, and even attacking the Council, the impact was extremely severe.
The Phantom Lord Guild is hereby officially dissolved; its master, Jose Porla, is stripped of his title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints and sentenced to life imprisonment.
All assets of Phantom Lord are to be confiscated, with the majority given to the Fairy Tail Guild for rebuilding the guild hall and treating the injured.
When Makarov heard the news, he froze for a full three seconds and then nearly passed out.
It wasn't out of sadness, but because it had been too long since he had seen so much money at once.
His eyes sparkled, and the corners of his mouth turned up wildly, though he quickly suppressed it, putting on a serious expression of "we only received the compensation we deserved."
But his trembling hands betrayed him; they were itching to start counting the money immediately.
Riyao saw this clearly from the side and leaned into Makarov's ear, whispering, "Old man, stop pretending; your grin is almost reaching your ears."
Makarov slapped him on the back of the head.
"Shut up!"
Realizing the guild had collapsed and they couldn't hold a banquet there, Makarov waved his hand and declared they would all go to Riyao Manor for the banquet.
Everyone scavenged usable ingredients and wine from the ruins and marched toward Riyao Manor in a grand procession.
The line stretched for dozens of meters; some carried half a bag of flour, some held a few surviving bottles of wine, and Natsu had a piece of roasted meat he'd found somewhere in his mouth, munching as he walked.
"Banquet time, brats! Tonight's expenses are on me!"
Makarov rode on the fence of Riyao Manor, one hand on his hip and the other waving, looking just like a general who had won a battle.
Natsu drooled, his eyes shining. "Oh! I want to eat meat!"
Cana grinned, already rubbing her hands in anticipation. "Bring me a few barrels of fresh beer!"
Erza's eyes lit up, her fists clenched in front of her chest like a child waiting for a gift. "Is there strawberry cake?!"
Riyao brought out the fruit wine he had brewed from the cellar, placing it on the tables barrel by barrel; the amber liquid shimmered enticingly under the lights.
He patted a barrel, smiling like a profiteer.
"Drink as much as you want! Master is paying anyway! 98,000 per barrel, hehehe."
Makarov's face instantly turned green, and he nearly fell off the fence.
"You brat! That's just fruit wine, not some divine nectar! Why don't you just go rob someone if you're charging 98,000!"
Riyao looked innocent.
"Master, this is my private reserve aged for three years; you can't buy it outside. 98,000 is already very reasonable. How about a discount? 97,000?"
"Give me a normal price!"
Mirajane and Lisanna pushed a small cart out of the kitchen; fresh steaks were piled like a mountain on the cart, and the aroma of sizzling fat instantly filled the entire manor.
"This is all the freshest meat! We're having a barbecue tonight!"
Mirajane wore an apron, her face dusted with a bit of flour, but she was smiling more beautifully than ever.
Lisanna helped arrange the plates nearby, giggling, "I even have my special sauce!"
Smelling the aroma of meat, Natsu went wild, lunging toward the grill and breathing small flames from his mouth to start roasting the meat directly.
The flames licked the steaks, and the fat dripped onto the charcoal with a sizzle, making the meat aroma even stronger.
"Meat! Meat! Meat!" Natsu stuffed his face while roasting, not caring if it was cooked or raw.
Gray used Ice Magic to chill the drinks nearby, while Cana had already opened a barrel of wine and was pouring it into her mouth, the foam running down her chin and neck.
Erza held a plate of strawberry cake, sitting in a corner and savoring it slowly, her expression so tender it was as if nothing in the world could be more blissful.
The banquet lasted from evening until dawn.
After the wine had been drunk and the food finished, people lay scattered all over the manor's lawn.
Some were snoring, some were talking in their sleep, and some wouldn't let go of their wine barrels; as the moonlight fell on these tired yet satisfied faces, everything grew quiet.
Natsu was asleep on the ground, still gnawing on Gray's foot, seemingly mistaking it for a pig's trotter, a silly smile on his face.
Gray was grumbling in his sleep from being gnawed on.
In his sleep, Elfman used Happy as a dumbbell, lifting him with one hand while muttering, "A real man... trains..."
Happy was being lifted until he was dizzy, still sleep-talking, "Fish... I want fish..."
Alzack was hugging and kissing Droy over and over; Droy's face was flushed red from the kissing, but Alzack was completely unaware, both of them sleeping in a daze.
Makarov curled up on a lounge chair, snoring softly with drool hanging from his mouth, still clutching the bill in his hand with a satisfied smile, likely counting money in his dreams.
And on a wutong tree outside the manor, that little girl with long, pale-golden hair was still sitting on a branch, her legs dangling and swinging gently.
Watching those Happy faces in the manor, her mouth had been watering all night, and she was whimpering.
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150 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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