Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 368: One Glance to Repel a Million TroopsChapter 369: Continue the Dance

"The war is beginning, what are your orders, Your Majesty? Should we mobilize the army to support Lord Evan, or gather the generals for a strategy meeting?"

White Tiger's pupils shrank as she watched Evan vanish. The teleportation magic he used this time was completely different from before, meaning Evan had at least two types of long-range spatial magic.

Though momentarily shocked, she quickly composed herself and turned to King Toma for guidance. Evan had left so quickly, she hadn't even had time to finish briefing him…

"Huh? You're asking what we should do next?"

King Toma looked surprised. He hadn't expected White Tiger to ask such a silly question. After a short pause, he replied flatly, "Obviously, we prepare the banquet hall~ Didn't you hear Evan say to leave the war to him? All we need to do is make sure the celebration is ready for when he comes back victorious."

"But… what if Lord Evan fails...?"

White Tiger bit her soft pink lip, unease in her gaze, a flicker of doubt toward Evan.

"Evan? Fail?!"

Toma froze again, blinking in confusion as if that possibility had never crossed his mind.

"Ahahahaha!"

A moment later, Toma burst into hearty laughter, his voice filled with confidence and joy.

"If Evan actually loses, then fine, I'll surrender. Whoever can beat him, I'll crown them king of Fiore. I'll just take my daughter and go join Fairy Tail as a wizard instead."

Toma clasped his hands behind his back, looking utterly carefree.

"W-What?!"

White Tiger was stunned. She hadn't expected King Toma to be so relaxed, and to place such immense trust in Evan.

"Relax. If even the strongest mage in the world can't stop a war, then no one can. Let's go get the banquet hall ready. I'll handle blowing up balloons… and carving pumpkins~"

Toma shook his head at her.

White Tiger was still too young, she didn't understand. This was Evan. The number one member of the Ten Wizard Saints. The strongest wizard on the continent of Ishgar.

The strongest.

Dealing with a few coalition nations was just overkill, like crushing ants with a hammer.

Besides, if even Evan couldn't stop this war, it wasn't their problem anymore, it'd be an extinction-level crisis.

Meanwhile… On the Fiore Kingdom Border, 

"Hey, soldiers of Fiore! Why don't you just surrender already? You don't stand a chance in the battle to come."

The allied forces of more than twenty nations, led by the Kingdom of Stella, stood proudly at the Fiore border. Their elite mages, strong and smug, taunted the Fiore troops.

"You bastards…"

A young Fiore soldier, clad in armor bearing the kingdom's emblem, clenched his jaw. Veins bulged on his forehead as he gripped his knight's sword, ready to charge.

"Calm down…"

Before he could move, a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache stopped him.

"But Captain! They've already crossed the border!!"

The young soldier yelled in frustration, glaring at the enemy mages.

"I know. But have you considered the consequences of charging in? That would trigger full-scale war!"

The captain's eyes were sharp with fury. His hand trembled on his sword hilt, he wanted to strike, to carve down those smug bastards. But the odds were overwhelming. They had to stay calm.

"I…"

The soldier hesitated, but slowly lowered his sword.

"Zzt! Boom!"

Before he could fully retreat, a red light shot through the air and struck him directly.

"ARGH!"

He let out a pained cry as he was blasted to the ground.

"You bastard! Are you trying to start a war?!"

The captain's eyes blazed as he looked at the young enemy mage who had attacked.

"Ahaha, sorry! He had a sword in his hand. I got scared and acted impulsively~"

The blue-haired young man sneered mockingly, his voice oozing arrogance. There wasn't even a shred of remorse, it was clearly intentional.

"You damn punk…"

The captain began drawing his sword, his patience reaching its limit.

"What? Gonna fight us? We've got a million soldiers. You've only got thirty thousand."

The smug mage grinned wide, basking in superiority.

"You…"

The captain's rage cooled instantly. His face twisted in frustration and powerlessness. Slowly, painfully, he returned his sword to its sheath.

"Ahahaha…"

As the sword slid back into its scabbard, the allied mages burst out in mocking laughter.

The morale of Fiore's troops plummeted. Shame and helplessness filled the air.

"Damn it… All we can do now is wait for reinforcements. Once they arrive, I swear I'll cut every last one of those bastards down…"

The captain clenched his fist so tightly that his gloves creaked. He swallowed his fury. He couldn't let thirty thousand men die for his pride. Reinforcements had been requested. He just had to wait.

As he turned to check on the wounded soldier, 

He suddenly noticed someone new had appeared, a boy with short reddish-brown hair, kneeling beside the fallen soldier.

"It's fine now."

Light radiated from the boy's hand, and within seconds, the soldier's wounds were fully stabilized, then visibly healed before their eyes.

"You… who are you?!"

Now surrounded by startled soldiers, the boy was finally noticed. Tensions soared, many drew weapons and circled him warily.

"Me? I'm your reinforcements."

The reddish-brown-haired youth smiled gently. He stood and began walking toward the border, ignoring the soldiers trying to stop him.

"You little punk…"

The soldiers bristled with annoyance. They raised their weapons, ready to block his path and demand answers, 

"Don't lay a hand on him!"

Just then, the captain, who had been watching the boy's face intently, stopped them with a shout.

"Captain…?"

The soldiers blinked in confusion, startled by the urgency in his voice.

"You…"

"No… You're…"

The captain ignored his men, staring at the boy in shock. As a high-ranking officer of Fiore, he'd studied the records of the Ten Wizard Saints. He knew who this boy was.

He just hadn't expected the strongest man in Ishgar to actually show up to end this war.

"You've done well. I'll take it from here."

Yes, this reddish-brown-haired youth was none other than Evan.

He gave the captain a friendly pat on the shoulder before stepping past him, heading straight toward the invading mages who had crossed the line.

"Then we leave it to you!!"

The captain bowed low to Evan's back, like a junior paying respect to a legendary elder.

"You.."

Meanwhile, the arrogant blue-haired mage gaped as Evan approached, wanting to say something.

"BOOM!"

Before he could utter a word, dark energy surged, and he vanished on the spot. Moments later, the distant sounds of explosions echoed behind the coalition forces.

"Sorry~ The way you were talking just now really startled me. I thought you were about to attack me~"

Evan mimicked the blue-haired young mage's tone, speaking casually.

"Who the hell are you, meddling in the war between our nations?!"

The enemy mages' expressions darkened as they shouted angrily at Evan. Since he wasn't wearing Fiore's military uniform, they assumed he wasn't part of the kingdom's army, and demanded his identity.

"Me? I'm not exactly famous on the continent…"

"But since you're so curious, I don't mind telling you. My name is Evan Belserion. I'm here to end this pointless conflict. Do any of you have a problem with that?"

Evan smiled lightly as he revealed his name to the enemy coalition mages.

"Evan? Reddish-brown hair… and that guild mark on the back of his hand! You, you're the one ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar, Evan Belserion?!"

One of the coalition mages, well-informed, turned pale with terror as he recognized the name.

"Is there another Evan among the Wizard Saints?"

Evan didn't directly confirm it, he just smiled faintly and posed the question in return.

"Gulp…"

"Damn it... they actually brought in that monster, the top of the Wizard Saints…"

The coalition mages swallowed hard. Their faces turned ashen.

"Now then, how about you all do me a favor and retreat? We'll consider today's incident a misunderstanding. Fiore won't pursue any consequences, and you can all go home."

Evan stood calmly, addressing the armies of over twenty nations with a cold, clear voice.

"Of course, if you really want to fight, I don't mind. Just be prepared, because your opponent will be me, Evan Belserion."

"You'd better think it through. You've only managed to gather a million troops, after all. Honestly, your odds of winning aren't great…"

Evan's expression remained calm, his tone completely composed, yet the implication was clear, even with a million soldiers, they were at a disadvantage against him.

"Uh…"

For a moment, the entire allied army fell into silence. No one refuted Evan's words. It was as if everyone agreed, even with a million troops, they still couldn't defeat Evan. Many were already losing their nerve and thinking of retreating.

But no one moved. Not because they didn't want to, but because war couldn't be ended by a single person's words. It wasn't that simple.

Thus, the million-strong coalition army, filled with elites, some on par with S-Class wizards, was frozen in place by just one man.

"Why should we be afraid?! Even if you're the top Wizard Saint, even if you're the strongest mage in Ishgar, you can't possibly defeat a million troops before your magic runs out!"

A battle-hungry mage stepped forward, brow furrowed, glaring at Evan.

To him, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to challenge the peak of the magic world! He couldn't just walk away.

"Yeah! We didn't march all this way just to be scared off by a few words. What would our kings think? We can't exactly tell them we fled because we ran into Evan Belserion!"

Another mage chimed in, they clearly wanted to take this chance to test their strength against Evan.

"I've seen Wizard Saints before. I once encountered Jose Porla, sure, he was powerful, but not unbeatable. A few thousand, maybe ten thousand lives, and he could be brought down…"

"If this Evan is just a bit stronger than Jose, then we still have a chance if we all attack together!"

One veteran mage voiced his "strategy." He'd never dream of facing a Wizard Saint alone, but with an army behind him? That gave him confidence. Even if they lost people, if they won, they'd become legends.

What they didn't know was this, Evan, the top Wizard Saint, was on a different level altogether.

Even if ranks two through ten of the Wizard Saints attacked him together, it would still be a one-slap-per-person kind of fight.

"Stella Kingdom…"

Meanwhile, Evan wasn't even paying attention to their chatter. His eyes had locked onto one of the flags among the allied forces, it looked familiar. As he thought of the Dragon Tear… and the traitor who had fled Fiore, something clicked.

"I remember now… There's a reclusive dragon, merged with a human, who couldn't leave the human body due to lack of magic. Got beaten down by Lil Shadow and went into hiding. I think he's the king of Stella now~"

"No wonder that traitor was able to get so many nations on board using intel on the Dragon Tear. That reclusive dragon must be pulling strings behind the scenes to get his hands on its power…"

"Heh… If I remember right, that dragon can mass-produce inferior Dragon Slayer lacrimas. So he's somewhat useful~"

"Looks like I need to pay Stella a visit…"

Evan recalled the events from Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry. He'd always intended to track down that sulking dragon, but things had gotten busy, and he'd forgotten. Until now.

"CHARGE!!"

Just as Evan was deep in thought, the allied army finally launched their attack.

Weapons drawn, they rushed toward him. Magic circles flared across the battlefield, countless destructive spells locked onto Evan, filling the air with killing intent.

"Lord Evan, watch out!"

The Fiore captain, who had been nervously watching the enemy, shouted in alarm.

"Hmm?"

Evan merely lifted his eyes.

A frown crossed his face, and in that instant, an overwhelming force erupted from his gaze.

"BOOM!!"

The sky cracked. Thunder roared. Jet-black lightning exploded from Evan's body, unleashing a terrifying wave of pressure straight at the enemy mages.

"Guh…"

With just that glance, many of the enemy mages were overwhelmed. Their eyes rolled back, blood sprayed from their mouths, and they collapsed instantly.

And that wasn't the end. Evan's unending pressure surged like a tidal wave, unstoppable and vast.

The force swept across dozens of mountain ranges ahead.

Soldiers stationed in the hills heard a thunderous dragon roar in their minds.

"ROOOAARR!!"

For a moment, they saw a colossal azure dragon, hundreds of meters long, perched atop the clouds, roaring like a divine being.

No matter how many came, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a million, they were merely prey before that godlike creature.

The entire coalition army, composed of over twenty different nations, fell into utter chaos. Their fear wasn't logical, it was instinctual, primordial.

"Run! We have to run!"

Terror took hold of every soldier. But before they could flee, Evan's sheer presence flooded into their minds, 

"Guh…"

In an instant, the entire million-strong army collapsed. Foaming at the mouth, bleeding from eyes and nose, completely wiped out.

Just like that, an entire army, gone.

"Tch… I was hoping you'd just retreat. But in the end, I still had to go this far…"

Evan looked at the devastated battlefield, expression tinged with regret.

"I'll leave the cleanup to you. I've got other things to handle."

With that, he turned to the Fiore captain, then vanished into black light.

"This… This is the power of the top Wizard Saint?"

The captain removed his helmet, eyes wide with shock.

He knew the Wizard Saints were powerful, but this?

One glance to destroy a million-man army?

This was beyond belief.

Fiore Kingdom – Capital City, Crocus – Inside the Royal Palace.

"..."

King Toma, dressed in luxurious ceremonial robes, sat at the head seat of the grand banquet hall, quietly swirling a glass of red wine in his hand. Around him sat numerous officials and knight commanders, none of whom dared to even breathe too loudly.

Beside King Toma sat his only child and successor to the throne, Princess Hisui, a beautiful, noble young woman with long emerald hair.

Unlike King Toma, who calmly savored the wine's aroma, neither Hisui nor the knights or ministers had the heart to eat, drink, or enjoy the music and dancing performances. Their faces were filled with unease.

"Gentlemen, why so tense?"

King Toma, sensing the anxiety around him, gently set down his wine glass and asked.

"Your Majesty…"

"We've got an army of over a million soldiers from more than twenty nations gathering at our border. How could we possibly eat at a time like this?!"

Hisui's trusted aide, Arcadios, wiped the sweat from his brow as he nervously spoke.

"Hahaha…"

King Toma chuckled lightly.

"Didn't I already send our kingdom's strongest reinforcement?"

He swirled his wine again, glancing at Arcadios.

"Yes, I heard you sent the man ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints to defend the border…"

"But still, even if he is number one among the Saints, he's still just one man! The enemy has a million! Even if this world's mages possess extraordinary power, I've never heard of anyone defeating a million by themselves!"

"Besides, Your Majesty, our army also has countless experts! Whether it's the Direwolf Knights or the commanders of each order, they could all easily qualify as S-Class mages in any guild. Even if the Wizard Saints are stronger than typical S-Class mages, there's no way the difference is that vast! A dozen top-tier mages working together should be enough!"

"If the border falls, the enemy could march right into the heart of Fiore. How could we possibly hold them back?!"

Arcadios looked at King Toma with concern. He felt His Majesty placed too much faith in freelance mages. No matter how strong they were, how could they possibly stop an entire army?

"Hahaha… Arcadios, you're being shortsighted. A mere million troops, even if they breach the border, so what?!"

"To reach our capital, Crocus, would take them months! While our nation isn't the largest, it isn't small either. With that much depth, the logistics alone would be astronomical. Do you really think those twenty nations can afford to supply that kind of operation?"

"By the time they reach us, they'd be exhausted and low on supplies. Do you think they could take on our elite knight orders near the capital?"

"How do you think we've remained a neutral nation through the ages? It's because our magical knights are undefeated. That's why we've earned peace and lasting neutrality."

King Toma calmly sipped his wine, completely unbothered.

"But what if they raid the nearby towns and villages for supplies? What then?"

Arcadios tried to point out the potential threat to civilians.

"Our population is under twenty million, scattered across the land. Even if they try to pillage, they still wouldn't be able to support a million troops. And if they push too hard, our mage guilds will join the fight. At that point, they'll be facing not just one Wizard Saint, but multiple monsters of overwhelming power…"

"And please, trying to wipe out our villages? What a joke. Even the demons created by the black mage Zeref couldn't manage that in four hundred years. You think this little coalition can do what they couldn't?"

"Some cities with guilds have better defense than our capital. If the enemy starts something, they'll only be grinding down their own forces."

King Toma's lips curled into a faint smile. Never mind Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, or even the disbanded Phantom Lord, these guilds could take on entire divisions. They're not to be trifled with. Frankly, if someone wants to help him clean out Fiore's tough old guilds, why not let them?

"Besides, how could a mere million-man army possibly defeat Evan Belserion?"

"If the man ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints, the strongest mage in Fiore and all of Ishgar, were defeated by an army, he wouldn't be number one."

"You people underestimate mages. The strength of this world's mages goes far beyond your imagination."

King Toma exuded calm confidence, wine in hand. In truth, all that strategy about exhausting the enemy was only if Evan didn't help. But now that Evan had agreed to face the twenty-nation alliance, there was nothing left to worry about.

"Your Majesty…"

Arcadios frowned, clearly still uneasy. He raised his voice a bit, trying to reason with the king.