"You guys really know how to tear things apart."
Looking at the amusement park that had become completely different from when they first arrived, Marco couldn't help but comment.
The once massive amusement park now looked as if it had undergone demolition and blasting, with barely any standing amusement facilities left in sight.
"Who told this guy not to obediently wait for us to capture him?"
"He actually tried to resist, so we had no choice but to dismantle his amusement park."
Gajeel clenched his fists, his expression clearly displeased.
After all the effort, he ended up with nothing, which naturally left him frustrated.
"With the amusement park destroyed, has this baton turned into junk now?"
Bacchus held the "baton," his face showing a hint of regret.
Though Hughes was weak, this "Command Wand" was quite powerful.
Ordinary people would find it difficult to handle such an item easily.
The reason Hughes lost so quickly and decisively was primarily due to the opponents he faced.
Against these beasts, even if his amusement park were expanded tenfold, he still wouldn't stand a chance—they were simply not on the same level.
In a one-on-one scenario, Hughes might have put up a fight, but this was a war, not a duel.
Who would play fair with him?
When dealing with the enemy from "Edolas," why bother with the principles of honor?
Of course, everyone would jump up on him together.
"I don't know. Let's ask Mystogan later—he might have some idea. Perhaps there's an instruction manual for this baton in the palace."
Marco shook his head; he wasn't familiar with the item either.
But if it was tightly bound to this amusement park, its limitations would be too great.
Couldn't they just build another amusement park to control it?
"Are we going or not? If not, I'm heading back outside to watch."
The conversation between Marco and Natsu's trio made Laxus impatient.
He irritably ground the gravel under his feet, and tiny electric arcs seemed to dance on his golden hair.
Outside, the two Erzas had already started fighting.
Instead of wasting time chatting, it'd be better to go out and watch the spectacle!
"Let's go! We can catch the show after we capture the king!"
Marco smiled, trying to calm Laxus down.
He figured the battle between Erza and the "Edolas" Erza wouldn't end anytime soon.
By the time they returned, they should still be able to catch some action.
After all, this world's Erza was no weakling either—rumored to be on par with his own counterpart.
If that were true, Erza would definitely have to go through a tough fight.
"Two Erzas are fighting?!"
Upon hearing Marco and Laxus's conversation, Natsu, Gajeel, and Bacchus were all shocked, with Natsu being the most stunned.
"Is the apocalypse coming?! There are two monsters battling!"
Natsu held his head, his face full of disbelief.
Gajeel and Bacchus were more direct—they immediately ran outside, leaving Natsu alone in his stunned state.
Marco and Laxus didn't delay any further either.
The two of them headed deeper into the "amusement park."
Mystogan had pointed the way for them; after passing through the amusement park, they would quickly reach the palace hall.
"Wait! We're coming too!" Marco and Laxus hadn't gone far when numerous pursuers caught up from behind.
Although the duel between the two Erzas was truly captivating, everyone understood priorities clearly—the war wasn't over yet.
Of course, the "Expedition Force" had left a considerable number of people to hold the rear.
On one hand, this was to prevent any mishap from befalling Erza—if she were truly defeated, someone needed to rescue her.
Additionally, they needed to leave personnel to block the continuously arriving guards and avoid being surrounded.
Achieving all this required formidable strength as assurance.
Thus, Master Makarov personally stayed behind, leading one-third of the Mages to intercept the endless stream of reinforcements at the amusement park.
"The old man still cares deeply about Erza." Marco said with a laugh.
He knew the old man had once considered grooming Erza for leadership.
With her strong sense of responsibility, treating the guild as her home and never allowing anyone to tarnish its reputation, Erza had the makings of a guild master and was once one of Makarov's potential candidates.
However, as Marco grew increasingly exceptional, all these "candidates" became things of the past.
No one could compete with Marco—now he was the sole successor in Makarov's heart.
"BOOM!!!"
A series of deafening explosions interrupted the banter among Marco and the others.
The sounds came from the amusement park, indicating the battle was intensely fierce—the entire castle seemed to tremble from the vibrations.
"That's truly the sound of two Erzas fighting..."
Mirajane muttered under her breath.
Such commotion clearly couldn't be caused by ordinary soldiers—it had to be the result of the two Erzas clashing!
"Erza will definitely win!"
Lucy expressed her confidence in Erza, though her statement was somewhat ambiguous since both combatants were named Erza.
Yet in a way, it wasn't wrong—whichever one emerged victorious would undoubtedly be called Erza.
"Intruders! Stop them!"
Before they could exchange more words, the group encountered a squad of guards head-on.
These guards wore more ornate uniforms, confirming they were heading in the right direction—gradually approaching the king's location.
"Boom!"
Facing these royal guards, the team simply greeted them with magic, effortlessly breaking through their blockade.
Although the royal guards' attire was more splendid, their combat capabilities showed no improvement—they remained no match for the "Expedition Force" and were easily defeated.
"CRASH!"
Marco strode boldly ahead, kicking open the massive palace doors with force.
The heavy door panels slammed against the walls with a thunderous impact, stirring up clouds of dust.
Looking inside, they confirmed they had found the right place—this was indeed the palace district of the castle.
Soaring vaulted ceilings gleamed with gold, enormous stone pillars supported the grand hall, and a gem-encrusted throne shimmered brilliantly at the far end.
The lavishly decorated palace exuded solemn majesty, their footsteps echoing through the vast, empty hall.
Unfortunately, the king was nowhere to be seen.
"Byro, where is your esteemed king?"
Marco frowned as he addressed the short figure standing below the throne.
The figure stood with its back to them, clad in the ornate uniform of the kingdom's military chief of staff, emanating a gloomy aura.
Marco naturally recognized who this figure was.
Byro, the Chief of Staff of the Edolas Royal Army, was the one who had previously stirred up conflict between Edolas Marco and Erza during Marco's last visit.
He had nearly gone to Edolas Marco home and almost been wiped out by Marco in one fell swoop.
"You know me? Marco from another world, actually siding with the Mages? How ironic. I wonder what my identity is in that world—quite curious, really."
Gazing at Marco's familiar face, Byro spoke with considerable emotion.
Though it was the same face, the aura was entirely different.
This Marco clearly had an upright demeanor—standing there as if he might "vanquish you in the name of justice" at any moment.
"Where is the king? Answer the question."
Laxus had no patience for idle chatter with this old man who clearly seemed untrustworthy.
As he spoke, he was already gathering crackling electricity in his hand.
"The king... is preparing your funeral."
Standing alone below the throne, facing a group of hostile interworld Mages, Byro showed no trace of fear.
A mad grin spread across his face as he looked at them as if they were fools, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"You're dead!"
Laxus frowned and immediately unleashed a bolt of lightning.
The evil old man's expression irritated him immensely!
What kind of worthless scum dared look down on him?
A bunch of good-for-nothings who couldn't even use magic, yet they had the audacity to claim they were preparing their funeral?
"Bzzzt!"
Without any suspense, Byro was struck directly by the lightning.
The old man was clearly not known for his agility, and even if he were, it would have been difficult to dodge Laxus's thunder.
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