Outside Extalia, Laxus—who had been idle for half a day—finally found himself busy.
After waves of cats had thrown themselves at him fruitlessly, the Exceeds seemed to have realized something was wrong and finally dispatched a large force to confront him.
Around the remote island where Lucky and Marl lived, a dense crowd of tall imposing cat-people stood surrounding them, each looking as formidable as Panther Lily.
The leading man had an utterly unsightly, blocky face and brandished a rapier while shouting angrily at Laxus.
"Audacious human! Do you even know who you are intercepting?!"
"Dare to defy the gods' will, and you will pay with your lives!"
Laxus naturally paid no mind to such petty threats.
He frowned deeply, staring at the leading yellow cat and muttering, "This world's Ichiya... was already hard enough to look at, but here he is not even human..."
As fellow S-Class Mages, both Erza and Ankh knew Ichiya, and Laxus had naturally encountered him before.
Laxus had worked with the Blue Pegasus guild on missions and had been utterly shocked by Ichiya's bizarre appearance back then.
"This is biodiversity for you... nature truly is amazing."
The cat leading the army to capture the humans was named "Nichiya."
This "handsome cat" served as the captain of Extalia's Royal Guard, and was considered their strongest fighter.
Though, in actual combat power, he was merely average.
Seeing Laxus completely ignore him while insulting his magnificent beauty, Nichiya flew into a rage.
Drawing his sword, he leaped forward to attack Laxus.
Laxus glanced at him indifferently. When Nichiya thrust forward with his rapier, Laxus grabbed both the sword and the cat, lifting them up effortlessly.
"Had I known this mission would be so boring, I should've just gone to the royal capital instead."
Laxus snatched the rapier and tossed it aside.
Then, he began rolling the panicking, pleading Nichiya into a tight ball with his hands.
"Captain Nichiya!"
"Release the captain, human!"
"Attack!"
The troops panicked upon seeing their leader captured immediately upon engagement, shouting threats without any real conviction.
Laxus grinned widely. "Return him to you? Sure thing."
Bzzzt... bzzzt—
Golden lightning crackled from Laxus's palm as Nichiya let out pitiful feline wails.
His entire balled-up form frizzed out from the intense electric shock.
"Take this! Lightning Dragon's—"
Laxus took two quick steps forward, bent his knees, and swung his arm rapidly, sending Nichiya rolling forward along the ground at lightning speed!
"Ugly Cat Bowling!"
BOOM!!
Nichiya's wretched and unpleasant howls were completely drowned out by the tremendous thunderclaps.
Launched like a bowling ball, he instantly shattered the entire troop's formation, triggering dense, explosive chains of lightning within their ranks.
A series of cat cries echoed. In the blink of an eye, the previously arrogant Exceed army had all collapsed, their bodies charred black with smoke rising from their mouths.
"Im... impressive..." Lily covered his ears, swallowed hard, and timidly lowered his head.
Carla sighed helplessly. "He is completely toying with the enemy."
Wendy, however, had stars in her eyes as she marveled, "So amazing, right, Carla?"
Lucky and Marl watched the fallen burly cat-men in utter disbelief while exclaiming.
"The Mages from Earthland are truly powerful..."
Happy raised his hand proudly and told the elderly couple, "Aye! Uncle and Aunt, do not be fooled by Laxus's fierce appearance—he is one of the most reliable members of our guild!"
Laxus casually brushed off the cat fur he'd plucked from Nichiya and asked indifferently, "Mystogan, we've taken care of Extalia's strongest troops. They shouldn't have any resistance left."
Mystogan nodded and said, "Let's enter the city. It is time to meet the Queen."
Gajeel crossed his arms, somewhat puzzled. "Shouldn't we be more cautious? After all, everyone says this Queen has the ability to kill humans instantly."
Mystogan shook his head firmly. "I don't know how the Queen does it, but I absolutely refuse to believe she possesses such an unimaginable power."
"Even in Earthland, that kind of ability would be considered the ultimate Forbidden Magic. The Magic Power of Edolas—and the Queen's Magic Power—couldn't possibly wield magic of that level."
"Then let's head into the city. I want to see what other tricks this Queen has up her sleeve."
At Laxus's command, the group immediately began making their way into Extalia's city limits.
Before leaving, Happy waved reluctantly to the elderly couple and called out.
"Uncle, Aunt, we will come play with you again after we have met the Queen!"
The two cats waved goodbye.
Once the group had disappeared from view, Marl lifted her paw to cover her tear-filled eyes and said sorrowfully.
"That child... has found precious companions too..."
Lucky fought back tears, sniffled and spoke gruffly, "That rascal... couldn't he even fly here?"
"It is a psychological issue..." Marl clasped her paws together, praying in her heart.
Whatever Happy wanted to do, she hoped he would achieve it...
...
In Extalia, the city where the Exceeds resided, the bustling streets were filled with hurried figures.
Everyone passing by couldn't help glancing toward the city gates.
Many troops had been dispatched under the Queen's orders to support the humans outside the city, but for some reason, not a single cat had returned yet—not even a message had been sent back.
Moreover, the sky had suddenly and inexplicably darkened, creating a deeply unsettling atmosphere.
The Exceeds passing through the streets couldn't hide their irritation.
They weren't the least bit worried about the human rebellion affecting them, instead, they were angry that the human uprising had ruined such fine weather.
Hailed as deities for years, the Exceeds had developed arrogant and contemptuous attitudes toward humans, becoming increasingly insolent and domineering.
Because of this, they firmly believed that once the troops dispatched by the Queen intervened, the Kingdom Army and the rebellious humans would inevitably show total deference—perhaps even kneel in gratitude.
Extalia remained tranquil, but at that moment, a passing Exceed glanced toward the city gates and suddenly spotted several entirely unfamiliar figures.
A group of four humans and three cats.
The Exceed froze for a moment, then quickly snapped back to reality, shrieking:
"Humans?! Who allowed you into Extalia?! This is the domain of gods! Get out now!"
Drawn by the scream, other Exceeds immediately noticed the intruders and began pointing and shouting insults at them.
Laxus watched the female cat yelling angrily at them, shook his head and raised his hand toward the sky.
Boom!
Thunder roared, illuminating the world, completely drowning out all the discontented voices.
The rolling thunder quickly subsided.
Standing before the stunned cats, Laxus coldly declared.
"Foolish cats, tell your Queen to come out here."
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