Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 369: Continue the Dance

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.