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*****
"Hmph!"
Jerman and Minerva let out a cold snort and stepped down from the stage upon hearing the host announce the results.
Although they had won the match, they were far from happy. Jerman, in particular, felt deeply humiliated that he had actually been intimidated by George.
"Don't worry, Father. The title of strongest guild will undoubtedly be ours," Minerva said, quickly regaining her composure and returning to her usual calm demeanor.
Even if George was stronger than her father, he was only one person. As for the other four members, she had already seen through them—they had mainly relied on magical tools to greatly enhance their combat abilities.
In truth, their own magic power was not particularly strong.
She believed that any moderately skilled mage in the audience would have noticed this as well and would already be thinking of ways to counter it.
In the upcoming battles, it would be difficult for them to replicate the surprise impact they had achieved in the individual competition.
With the first official match concluded, Fairy Tail and Sabertooth were tied for first place on the scoreboard, each with forty points.
In second place was Mermaid Heel with thirty-five points.
Tied for third were Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, both with thirty points.
The fourth and fifth rankings included multiple guilds, generally scoring between twenty and twenty-five points, with the more well-known ones including Quatro Cerberus.
Because the individual matches were manipulated behind the scenes to pair opponents of roughly equal strength, even popular guilds like Quatro Cerberus could end up with low scores if unlucky.
Of course, if a guild's overall strength was high, they could still earn decent points.
But for the team battles and the grand melee coming up, true comprehensive strength would matter most. Weaker mage guilds would likely struggle to earn many more points, while the top-tier guilds would begin to stand out more clearly.
It was understandable that the Royal Family, as hosts of the Grand Magic Games, would arrange things this way for the first round—to make the competition more entertaining. However, if they kept manipulating the matchups this way, the audience wouldn't stay fooled for long.
If strong guilds only fought other strong guilds and weak guilds only faced weak ones, then even if the weaker guilds scored high, they wouldn't win public approval.
It was just like the first individual round: there were many small guilds that had scores similar to Quatro Cerberus, but everyone knew in their hearts that those small guilds couldn't compare in actual strength.
"Heal, quickly!"
After the match, George used healing magic to fully restore the severely injured Alzack.
Healing magic was considered a Lost Magic in this world, rarely mastered by mages. As such, most injured mages relied on bandages and herbal remedies for recovery.
That said, mages had much stronger physiques than ordinary people and recovered more quickly.
He remembered Macao mentioning that during his own hundred-year quest, the guild had taken in a young girl named Wendy who used Sky Dragon Slayer Magic—she, too, could heal injuries.
Unfortunately, she had been sealed inside the Fairy Sphere along with the old master and others.
"Master, if possible, could you also help treat Hibiki from Blue Pegasus? He was seriously injured by Minerva from Sabertooth," Macao requested after seeing Alzack fully healed.
Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail had always had a good relationship. Their guild master was formerly a member of Fairy Tail and had once fought alongside them against the Oración Seis.
When George hadn't yet returned and Tenrou Island had vanished, the Blue Pegasus master had even led their mages aboard their magic airship to help search the area.
"Since we are allies, it's only natural to help each other," George replied.
He had already heard the story of Blue Pegasus from Macao.
And besides, healing Hibiki wouldn't affect the final results of the competition anyway.
Among Blue Pegasus' five representatives, three were handsome mages at the quasi-S-Class level. The cover girl Jenny was S-Class, and their leader Ichiya, who used perfume magic, had power reaching top-tier S-Class.
In fact, not just Blue Pegasus—if you gathered all the mages from the other twenty-nine participating guilds and had them fight together, they still wouldn't be able to defeat Fairy Tail.
Or more precisely, they wouldn't be able to defeat him.
Later that night, as George left the inn where Blue Pegasus was recuperating along with the other Fairy Tail mages, he couldn't help but remark:
"They really are all handsome men and beautiful women… No wonder they're known as the most eye-catching mage guild in the kingdom."
"I heard the number one requirement to join Blue Pegasus isn't strength, but appearance. If your looks don't pass, they won't accept you, no matter how powerful you are," said Marcus, who couldn't resist gossiping.
Hearing this, Laki, standing next to him, suddenly seemed to recall something unpleasant. She gave a small shiver and shook her head.
"Well, not everyone. Just look at their guild master Bob and that team leader Ichiya—neither of them fits their recruitment standards at all."
Blue Pegasus truly was full of handsome men and beautiful women, but their guild master was a chubby, flamboyant man who spoke in an odd and exaggerated tone.
Their team leader, Ichiya, was short and slightly overweight, and his appearance was frankly not something most people would admire.
"You probably didn't know this," Macao said. "I heard from the old master that before Guild Master Bob left Fairy Tail, he was actually considered the most attractive man in our entire guild."
"As for Lord Ichiya, I don't think he's as simple as he seems. Just look at how Hibiki, Ivan, and Ren all call him 'teacher' and clearly admire him a great deal," added Wakaba, one of Fairy Tail's most senior mages alongside Macao.
As they chatted while walking, they soon arrived at the inn they had rented. After Macao and the others went upstairs, George teleported himself and the other four back to their dormitory.
The night passed quickly, and soon it was time for the second team battle of the official tournament.
Once again, the Pumpkin Man took the stage to explain the rules to everyone:
"Today's team battle is known as the Team Arena Defense Battle.
"Based on the results of the preliminary round and the individual battles, we have selected the six currently strongest guilds to serve as arena-holding guilds.
"The remaining twenty-four guilds have been randomly divided into six groups—each group with four guilds. These groups will take turns challenging their assigned arena-holding guild in one-on-one matches.
"Defeating a single member of an arena-holding guild earns your team ten points.
"If you manage to defeat all five members of an arena-holding guild, not only will your team receive fifty points, but you will also replace that guild and take over as the new arena holders, continuing to earn points in their place.
"As for the arena-holding guilds themselves, each time they defeat a challenger, they earn three points. If they manage to defeat all four guilds—twenty challengers in total—they can earn up to sixty points in a single round."
"Team Arena Defense Battle?"
Most of the mages and audience were momentarily confused upon hearing the explanation from Pumpkin Man. It was the first time they had encountered a competition format like this. Many had assumed it would simply be a bracket-style team battle determined by drawing lots.
However, once the rules sank in, excitement began to spread.
For weaker guilds, this was a golden opportunity. While they knew they had no chance of taking first place overall, defeating even one or two well-known mages on such a stage could greatly boost their own guild's reputation.
For stronger guilds, this format—if handled well—offered a chance to score big points and quickly close the gap if they had fallen behind during the individual matches.
And for the spectators, this new format promised thrilling, unpredictable action—and a lot of entertainment.
(End of Chapter)