"The King only learned about the true function and activation method of the Eclipse Gate after that, which is why there was the Eclipse Plan."
The room fell into silence, as everyone pondered silently, feeling as if there was an overwhelming amount of information in this matter.
A mysterious plan that began 400 years ago, the ancestors of the Hartfilia family, a gate and magic passed down through generations...
The mere fact that it has been smoothly passed down for so many years is already astonishing enough.
If there were any issues within the royal family of Fiore, or if a generation of Hartfilia heirs died young, or distrusted the ancestors' last words, this plan would be directly scrapped.
Could it be that the Star Spirit Realm has been safeguarding them all these four hundred years?
Given the principle of the Star Spirits to honor agreements, it's not impossible. To the Star Spirit Realm, four hundred years might just be four to five years.
What could be worth Anna taking the risk of crossing 400 years of time?
Rhode guessed blindly: "Could it also be to eliminate Zeref or something? Four hundred years ago, there was no solution, so they needed to come to this magic-rich era 400 years later to solve it?"
Unfortunately, Gemini offered no response and didn't even revert to their original form before slipping away as a golden light.
—They had already said too much, and if Rhode continued to question them like this, they would truly be exiled.
In this way, they temporarily couldn't bother to explore Anna's secret plan anymore. Everyone discussed the various team groupings and the areas each was responsible for searching, then went out to assign tasks to everyone.
To maintain secrecy, the assignments were notified using Wolian's telepathy, without speaking aloud.
Because of this major incident, today's drinking gathering was destined to be less enjoyable than usual.
No one was one to dally, and as night hadn't fallen yet, they quickly sprang into action.
The temporary goal, like the Sin of the Witch, was to find another future person.
"Brother Rhode."
"What's up, Wendy?" Rhode looked at her expression and asked, "Are you worried?"
Wendy looked down at the little white cat in her arms: "Carla has something to say to you."
"Carla?" Rhode reacted, "A prophecy?"
"Yes." Carla nodded, "I saw many people fleeing the Royal Capital, saw a lunar eclipse, and saw dragons fighting in the sky."
"..." So, is a horde of dragons really coming? Rhode asked, "What kind of dragons are they? How many are there?"
"I don't know the quantity. I only saw a Mountain Sub-Dragon fighting a strange dragon. Others were too far away and unclear."
Carla's prophecies often only showed a few fragmented images and frequently came from odd perspectives, not necessarily revealing the battle's full scope.
She described the dragon's appearance: its body was dark red with black net-like patterns on its surface.
The main feature was the strange horns on its head, one curving downward and the other upward, resembling a giant crab claw when combined.
Rhode knew from the description that this wasn't any dragon he knew; it didn't fit the characteristics of Natsu's or Gajeel's dragons.
Could a horde of dragons truly be coming to attack the Royal Capital?
And it seemed there were quite a few of them.
Otherwise, Rhode wouldn't consider sending only a Mountain Sub-Dragon to engage them.
In this scenario, a one-on-one battle might be because of a manpower shortage or insufficient magic power.
Compared to that, the former seemed more likely.
It's unfortunate that with just Carla's description, it's challenging to deduce that dragon's traits—does a head resembling pincers suggest it's skilled in close combat?
Rhode patted the kitty's head, "Very important information. If you see anything further, remember to tell me."
Seeing the worried expressions of her and Wendy, Rhode added, "Things haven't reached an irreversible stage yet. We just need to prevent the worst-case scenario."
Approaching midnight, with nothing achieved temporarily, the members of Fairy Tail returned to the inn, full of thoughts, and fell asleep.
Rhode set a 'sentinel' nearby his and his companions' inn, finally willing to take a brief rest.
And it was at this moment, in front of a noisy hotel filled with reprimands, that a shadow rose, turning into a young man in a cloak with half-black, half-white hair.
"They're staying here, right?"
This person observed for a while and silently infiltrated the hotel.
July 5, X791, Clear.
According to the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts schedule, today was a rest day.
Considering tomorrow was the final team battle, the organizers had intentionally set aside time for each guild to heal wounds and restore magic power.
Though Fairy Tail's points were currently way ahead, according to internal sources, the final battle's rules allowed for over sixty points per team, giving even the last place a chance to win.
—The organizers probably feared that a lackluster participation would affect viewing pleasure, which is why they deliberately disclosed this information.
As for the effect, well, it was better than nothing.
Some guilds didn't even leave the inn today, instead studying strategies. Though the rules were unclear, they surmised it likely involved battles, so studying the opponent first couldn't hurt.
While some were nervous, others relaxed, like Lamia Scale's Sherria, who specially came to invite Wendy to visit the famous Agave Paradise.
Wendy thought refusing would be impolite, so she looked at Rhode, waiting for him to decide.
"Go ahead, take Carla with you. Hmm..." Rhode contemplated assigning them a bodyguard, "Jubia should go too. It's a pretty great water park."
"Okay."
"Okay?" Sherria was puzzled; why did going out together feel like executing an order?
Seeing Jubia's lackluster expression, Rhode reluctantly said, "Why not call Gray along?"
Jubia immediately perked up: "Yes! Jubia will go tell Gray-sama right away, it's an order from the acting president!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she transformed into a water whirlwind, spinning her way out the window.
Rhode gritted his teeth: "Don't casually promote me!"
Unfortunately, Jubia was already out of earshot.
"..." Sherria watched the curtains sway in the window, and said with mixed feelings, "Is this what the girl Lord Leon 'loves' is like?"
"I'm sorry..." Wendy felt it was a bit impolite but did her best to speak for her companion, showing a helpless expression, "Miss Jubia isn't usually like this...most of the time."
The two called Carla over, then waited for Gray and Jubia to arrive before setting off for Agave Paradise.
Everyone else had their own destinations as well.
Jude and two Lucys accompanied the president, which was reassuring.
Rhode was paired with Mira, without bringing younger siblings.
Mira didn't feel any discomfort today, and her stomach showed no noticeable changes.
The two walked and chatted like they were taking a casual stroll.
Mira regretted a bit: "We originally intended to celebrate the anniversary, but with the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts and such things happening again."
Yesterday, July 4th, was the day eight years ago when Rhode woke up at the guild, also the day the two met. It was quite an important day for them.
Unfortunately, with the current atmosphere, they couldn't celebrate properly.