"Does anyone else feel like the guards surrounding us are getting fewer?"
Gray, completely bare-chested, stepped onto the large buttocks of the defeated Sugarboy while surveying their surroundings with confusion.
Elfman scratched his head, puzzled. "Indeed, the soldiers blocking us are decreasing. Have they lost their morale and fled?"
Edolas Lucy happily patted both of their shoulders, laughing heartily.
"After all, the three strongest captains of the Kingdom Army have all been defeated by you guys! How would these remaining, weak soldiers dare to stop us?!"
Natsu, who had just easily defeated Hughes, remained in his Dragon Force mode.
His body was still blazing with undiminished flames as he excitedly exclaimed, "Those captains were too weak! Aren't there any stronger opponents?"
Boom—!
At that moment, earth-shaking thunder roared from the distant sky, as if a titan were pounding the earth like a massive war drum.
Watching the bizarre phenomenon of violent thunder echoing in clear skies, Erza frowned and said.
"That is Laxus's lightning. Is he in danger over there?"
Just then, Lisanna, whose arms were transformed into bird wings, spotted something from high above and urgently warned everyone.
"Everyone! Be careful, something is wrong with the sky over there!"
Hearing this, everyone immediately shifted their gaze to where Lisanna was pointing.
Looking toward the royal palace, they saw how the previously cloudless blue sky seemed to have been tainted by a drop of thick, magical ink.
It spread rapidly, quickly darkening the entire sky.
Going from bright daylight to a dark night took only a few blinks of an eye.
Continuous dark clouds covered the sky, the ink-like gloom allowing no sunlight to penetrate.
The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive and tense. The surrounding air grew strange, as if some giant monster was about to appear.
Erza focused her gaze into the distance, then suddenly her pupils contracted as she exclaimed in shock.
"That's Mira!"
The allied forces of Fairy Tail quickly extended their vision, indeed spotting a figure flying toward them at extreme speed.
"Something's wrong." Erza noticed Mirajane's awkward flying posture and immediately leaped up, catching her safely in her arms.
Unexpectedly, the heavy impact from the flying Mirajane sent Erza stumbling backward dozens of meters.
"Cough, cough—"
Mirajane lowered the arms she had crossed over her chest to block the impact.
Recognizing the person before her, she said while slightly breathless:
"Erza, there is a troublesome opponent coming."
Erza quickly nodded, helping Mirajane up before urgently asking, "A strong foes from the royal palace? Who is it?"
"That old man broke the seal and released a dragon," Mirajane said with a bitter smile.
Just as Erza was feeling puzzled, the answer came flying toward them on its own.
Boom—!
A Gaia-worthy crash landing scored full marks as the beast hit the ground.
Countless surrounding houses and residences were trampled and completely destroyed.
Many residents and guards who witnessed the descending monster let out desperate screams and scattered in a total panic.
This was an armored giant dragon radiating a cold metallic luster, its volume nearly occupying the entire street.
Its steel fangs and iron claws could casually cause numerous buildings to collapse with thunderous crashes.
"Is that... a dragon?"
Gildarts frowned at the armored giant dragon before him, his mind involuntarily recalling the Black Dragon he had once seen on the Sacred Mountain.
After taking another glance at the armored dragon, Gildarts couldn't help but shake his head.
If this were his first time seeing a dragon, he might have been somewhat cautious, but... the difference in presence was just too vast.
Having personally witnessed the terrifying Black Dragon, he completely disregarded this clunky, armored machine.
"Natives of Earthland! Have you witnessed the absolute might of the 'Dragon Knight'? Hahahaha!"
Inside the armored giant dragon, the hunched and gloomy old man Byro sat in the cockpit, firmly gripping the control sticks.
His arrogant laughter echoed in everyone's ears.
Matching Byro's arrogant demeanor, the armored dragon also raised its head and roared, the astonishing mechanical sound nearly deafening the entire capital's population.
Edolas Cana spoke with a trace of fear in her eyes, "That is the Dragon Knight! The Magic Power weapon sealed away by successive kings in our legends!"
"Magic Power weapon?" Natsu turned his head, eager to try his fists as he said, "So, does it really possess a true dragon's power?"
Edolas Cana quickly shook her head, explaining, "I only read in ancient texts that the Dragon Knight once nearly destroyed the entire Edolas Kingdom. Every time it appears, it blots out the sky and turns the world into night—it is an apocalyptic weapon capable of annihilating everything!"
Gildarts nodded, squinting as he examined the armored giant dragon before him.
He murmured, "Indeed. Its body is continuously drawing Magic Power from the earth and air, and it is growing stronger by the second."
"If this continues, I am afraid even without us taking action, Edolas's Magic Power will be completely depleted!"
Edolas Lucy was shocked, angrily exclaiming, "Is the king insane?! He would rather sacrifice the world's remaining Magic Power just to have the Dragon Knight kill us?!"
"Do not question His Majesty's ultimate decision, you blonde shrew!"
Just as Lucy was cursing the king, Byro, piloting the Dragon Knight, couldn't tolerate it any longer.
He raised the massive Dragon Claw and put all of the machine's strength into smashing it downward.
The powerful wind pressure almost compressed the ground into a large crater from a distance.
Facing this heavy and forceful punch, Lucy felt a suffocating sensation of impending death, as if she had already been flattened into a pulp.
BOOM!!
A massive impact and explosion erupted.
Byro snorted triumphantly. "With just this level of strength, how dare you..."
"Get lost!"
A furious roar interrupted Byro's taunt.
Natsu, entirely engulfed in flames, had his raised arms covered in dark red Dragon Scales.
He was tightly gripping the armored Dragon Claw, his golden vertical pupils glaring angrily at the machine.
Using his entire body as leverage, Natsu exerted immense force with his shoulders.
He actually lifted the Dragon Knight's massive claw high into the air as if he were simply lifting weights!
The Dragon Knight was forced back several steps by the reaction force.
Byro stared at Natsu with sheer surprise, then let out a strange laugh and said.
"No wonder His Majesty is so obsessed with obtaining the Dragon Slayer Mages' Magic Power. This power is indeed far stronger than ordinary Magic Power."
Natsu slammed his fist into his palm, cracking his neck with a fierce grin.
"Perfect timing! I haven't even unleashed my full power yet!"
With a roar, flames erupted around Natsu's body as he swung his iron fist fiercely toward the armored dragon.
Mirajane frowned while watching Natsu's battle with Byro. "Can Natsu handle this? That Dragon Knight is strange—my magic couldn't damage him at all."
Gildarts nodded calmly. "Dragons should be dealt with by Dragon Slayer Mages. Natsu has gained new power, so he should be fine."
Mirajane nodded in agreement, then pointed toward the flickering sky in another direction.
"There is a troop heading toward Extalia. Should we go support Laxus?"