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After George left, Arcadios immediately went to report the situation to the King, the Princess, and the Minister of Defense.
"This is outrageous! Send in the Hungry Wolf Knights!"
The Minister of Defense, Doton, spoke furiously.
Although he didn't support the Eclipse Gate plan, he couldn't tolerate a mage so blatantly defying royal authority—daring to forcibly take the Eclipse Gate, a treasure passed down through the royal family for generations.
"Actually, I think he made some valid points."
King Thomas E. Fiore, holding his pumpkin-shaped helmet, frowned deeply.
He himself had doubts about using the Eclipse Gate to return to the past and kill Zeref, although the Princess and Arcadios had always insisted on the plan.
What George said sounded somewhat reasonable to him.
"Father, whether what that cat said is true or not, we can't leave the Eclipse Gate in its possession. We must retrieve it as soon as possible."
Despite her appearance as an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl, the Princess, Hisui E. Fiore—the kingdom's sole heir—spoke with a calm, mature demeanor as she stepped forward to address the King.
"I recommend dispatching the Hungry Wolf Knights!"
The Minister of Defense also stepped forward.
The King thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well—but don't kill him. He doesn't seem to mean any real harm. Just bring him back and lock him up."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. The Hungry Wolf Knights are always measured in their actions."
The Minister replied with confidence.
The Hungry Wolf Knights—an elite secret unit serving the royal family—consisted of only five members.
Each was a top-tier S-Class mage, highly skilled in assassination magic. Their teamwork was flawless, and since the unit's formation, they had never failed a mission.
Even if George was on the level of a Ten Wizard Saint, he would still stand no chance against their combined strength.
Moments later, a magic circle lit up in the palace's conference room. Five mages, dressed in flamboyant and distinct outfits that immediately marked them as top-class warriors, appeared before the gathering.
"The Hungry Wolf Knights have arrived!"
"Your mission is…"
The Minister of Defense quickly explained the operation to retrieve the Eclipse Gate.
"Remember, if possible, try not to make too much noise. We don't want to disrupt tomorrow's final match."
"Don't worry. We'll return with the Eclipse Gate in half an hour.
Though, his injuries might be a bit serious—have a healer ready just in case."
The captain of the Hungry Wolf Knights, with two giant scythes strapped to his back, replied coolly. With that, he and his four teammates vanished on the spot.
Fifteen minutes later, a soldier came rushing breathlessly into the royal hall.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The Hungry Wolf Knights have—have…"
"As expected of the Hungry Wolf Knights. They said half an hour, but they've already finished in just fifteen minutes,"
The Minister of Defense praised them proudly.
"No! That's not it—they were carried back!"
The soldier quickly corrected him.
"What? They were carried back?!"
The Minister's eyes widened in shock.
The soldier explained:
"Our backup unit stationed around the area saw the five knights successfully enter the dormitory of the Fairy Tail guild. There was no commotion.
Two minutes later, the five of them were tossed out the window, unconscious and severely injured—along with this note."
The Minister took the note and read the words written on it:
"Next time, don't send garbage to embarrass yourselves."
"Just how powerful is this guy…?"
Everyone in the room wore looks of astonishment.
The royal family's strongest unit, the Hungry Wolf Knights, were defeated in just two minutes—seriously injured and even dismissed as "trash." George's strength was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
It was only then that the King, the Princess, the Minister of Defense, and Arcadios finally realized: George wasn't just an ordinary Ten Wizard Saint. He was on a level comparable to the Four Kings of Ishgar.
At the same time, a deep sense of helplessness swept over them.
Against someone this powerful, even the royal family—no, even the Magic Council—would be powerless.
What made it worse was that they couldn't even ask the Magic Council for help with this matter.
"Forget it. Let him keep it for now. We still have seven years left, anyway."
After regaining his composure, the King issued the final order on the matter—finally relieving the hesitation and pressure in his heart.
"This might actually be for the best. Tomorrow's final match will probably be more exciting than I expected."
"Things should quiet down for a while now."
In the inn's dormitory, George closed his eyes and began analyzing the new spells he had just obtained.
The moment the Hungry Wolf Knights arrived at the inn, his sensory magic had already detected them. He set up a barrier in advance to ensure that the battle wouldn't disturb his teammates' rest.
The Hungry Wolf Knights were indeed powerful, each possessing the strength of a top-tier mage. Their spells were also quite interesting—but compared to him, they still fell far short.
After swiftly defeating them, he took the opportunity to read their memories and replicate their magic before tossing them out the window.
"Tracking Mark, Acid Corrosion, Terrain Alteration, Paper Snow, and Plant Magic… These all have decent potential if properly developed."
Tracking Mark: A spell that marks the enemy with a magical seal, allowing thrown weapons to track and attack them.
George felt the weapon-tracking aspect was mediocre. However, with some refinement, the spell could be repurposed to track individuals or to make magical attacks home in on targets—like a death curse that relentlessly pursues the marked enemy.
Once marked, unless the target tanks the attack directly, they'd have no way to evade such guided spells.
Acid Corrosion: A spell that uses corrosive acid to dissolve opponents. It's especially effective as a special-attack type spell against enemies with high elemental defenses.
Terrain Alteration: This magic intrigued him the most. It allowed the user to alter the surrounding terrain at will.
For example, it could transform the area into a lava field, high-gravity zone, turbulent wind corridor, ice-covered wasteland, or even invert day and night.
If his magic power grew strong enough, George believed he could expand the affected area infinitely—perhaps even alter an entire planet's terrain. That would be an incredibly powerful effect.
Paper Snow: A paper-based magic that could reproduce various elemental effects, and even influence the mind.
For instance, the blue "Cupid Card" could pacify or emotionally sway opponents. When paired with soul-binding spells and mental magic, its effectiveness would be greatly amplified.
Plant Magic: A nature-based spell that controls and strengthens plants. It could be fused with elven magic or even integrated with his own Wood Dragon power. With development, it showed some promising potential.
"Once tomorrow is over, I'll sweep through the Magic Development Bureau's library."
Tomorrow marked the final day of the Grand Magic Games. After it ended, he could use his Replication Spell to secretly copy all the spellbooks in the Magic Development Bureau and bring them back to study at his own pace. He was confident he'd gain a wealth of knowledge from it.
The spells used by the Hungry Wolf Knights, the magic seen at the tournament, and even the alchemical techniques—all originated from the Bureau's library.
(End of Chapter)