Although in the original story, the Alvarez Empire attacked a year after Fairy Tail disbanded, right now, Kenichi wasn't sure exactly when the Alvarez Empire would launch its attack.
Unless he went to the Western Continent to investigate immediately.
However, it was certain that Zeref would eventually lead the Alvarez Empire's army to invade Ishgar.
Now that Makarov had decided to fight, they definitely needed to plan ahead.
After all, this enemy was a massive empire possessing hundreds of mage guilds.
"Master, what do we do next? Do we attack that whatever Empire directly?" After Makarov confirmed they would fight, Natsu's earlier gloom seemed to vanish. He slammed his fist into his palm, a look of fighting spirit on his face as he asked Makarov.
If this had happened before, hearing Natsu's thoughtless words, Makarov would have certainly scolded him: 'You fool! The enemy is an empire! Attacking them would be suicide!'
But now, Makarov did not scold Natsu.
He just glanced at Natsu with a grave expression and said, "The intelligence I obtained from Mest about the Alvarez Empire isn't very extensive!"
"I only know it's a super empire that has gathered hundreds of mage guilds. Their leader is named Emperor Spriggan."
"Under Emperor Spriggan, there are 12 extremely powerful mages. These twelve mages are called the [Shield of the Empire] or the [Spriggan 12]."
"It's said that each of these twelve possesses strength no less than that of the Four Gods of Ishgar, perhaps even surpassing them!"
As soon as Makarov said this, Gray, Natsu, and the others all had drastic changes in expression.
"Strength surpassing the Four Gods of Ishgar? And there are twelve of them?"
Who were the Four Gods of Ishgar?
The four strongest of the Ten Wizard Saints!
The four pinnacles of magic on the Ishgar Continent!
In the hearts of the mages of Ishgar, they were legendary figures.
But now, Makarov was saying the Alvarez Empire had twelve mages whose strength surpassed the Four Gods of Ishgar.
Just thinking about it made Natsu, Gray, and the others start to tremble.
"Scared now? Where did all that courage from earlier go?" Seeing Natsu, Gray, and the others turn pale, Makarov said somewhat irritably.
It was precisely because he feared the terrifying strength of these Spriggan 12 that Makarov had planned to disband Fairy Tail.
But because of Kenichi, he now had some confidence to stand against the Alvarez Empire.
He glanced at Kenichi, and seeing that Kenichi's face remained as calm as ever, he steadied himself and continued, "My original plan was to go to the Western Continent. On one hand, I hoped to delay the Alvarez Empire's advance through negotiation. On the other hand, it was to investigate these Spriggan 12!"
"As for the Spriggan 12... I know about them." No sooner had Makarov finished speaking than Kenichi spoke up.
'You know?'
'How do you know about things on the Western Continent?'
Hearing Kenichi's words, the gazes of Makarov and the others all focused on him, their faces showing such confusion.
However, Erza quickly remembered something from seven years ago, when they went to the Guiltina Continent for the 100-Year Quest, Kenichi had mentioned to her that he came from the Western Continent.
Thinking of this, Erza proactively explained for Kenichi, "Before joining the guild, Kenichi came from the Western Continent."
Hearing Erza's words, everyone showed looks of understanding.
Kenichi smiled at Erza and then continued, "Just as Master said, the Spriggan 12 all possess extremely powerful strength!"
"As for exactly how strong..." At this point, Kenichi paused slightly and turned his gaze to an empty space nearby.
"Arc of Embodiment!"
The moment Kenichi activated the Arc of Embodiment attribute, a man wearing a blue formal suit and glasses materialized out of thin air on the empty spot.
This man was none other than Invel Yura, the Winter General.
Before leaving the Western Continent, Kenichi had once seen Invel.
He had also obtained Invel's Ice Magic attribute at that time.
Therefore, Kenichi could easily manifest Invel.
"So much Magic Power!" The moment the manifested Invel appeared, the expressions of Gray, Natsu, and the others changed.
However, Natsu, Gray, and the others had often been subjected to Kenichi's despair-inducing Magic Power, comparable to Acnologia's.
So, feeling Invel's Magic Power now wasn't too shocking for them.
Even so, they could still feel a truly terrifying amount of Magic Power emanating from the manifested Invel.
"This is one of the Spriggan 12, Invel Yura, known as the Winter General!" Kenichi first introduced Invel to everyone, then commanded the manifested Invel to use magic.
The manifested Invel pushed up his glasses, then swung that same arm through the air.
Bzzzt-
At that moment, a piercing cold air instantly swept through the entire Fairy Tail's guild hall.
In just an instant, the tables, chairs, and all other items in the hall were completely transformed into ice sculptures.
Seeing the ice all around them, Natsu, Gray, and the others all had drastic changes in expression.
"He froze the entire hall in an instant!"
"Is this the strength of the Spriggan 12?!"
Lucy, Levy, and the others looked at Invel over there, their faces filled with fear and astonishment.
"This is only Invel's strength from seven years ago!" As soon as Kenichi said this, the fear on Lucy, Levy, and the others' faces intensified.
'He possessed such terrifying Magic Power even seven years ago.'
'Today, seven years later, this Invel was likely even stronger.'
The thought that the Alvarez Empire had eleven other monsters like this made Macao and the others tremble uncontrollably.
Kenichi originally wanted to add that among the Spriggan 12, August and Irene's strength far surpassed Invel's.
But seeing the fearful expressions on Macao and the others' faces, he swallowed those words back.
Kenichi snapped his fingers. After the surrounding ice and the manifested Invel dissipated, he continued, "The Spriggan 12 are roughly this strong. However, the Alvarez Empire's attack is still some time away. Everyone can use this time to greatly improve their own strength!"
Hearing Kenichi's words, Natsu, who had been somewhat fearful moments before, suddenly grinned, slamming his fist into his palm again, his face excited as he said, "I'm all fired up!"
"Kenichi, are all the Spriggan 12 this strong?" Makarov called Kenichi aside and asked in a low voice.
"No, there are some even stronger than him."
'Even stronger!'
Hearing Kenichi's honest answer, Makarov's old face instantly stiffened.