Marco couldn't help but glance at Mirajane and Erza, who were also looking at him.
Their eyes met briefly in the air, exchanging silent understanding and astonishment—clearly, they all realized what the others were thinking.
Shagotte's words suddenly made their speculation about Carla's identity seem plausible.
Mainly because these two Exceeds looked so much like family.
The child Shagotte sent to Earth Land was most likely Carla.
"Your child is probably in our guild," Marco spoke, his voice steady yet carrying a hint of probing.
Though not entirely certain, he saw no harm in mentioning it—he wanted to observe Queen Shagotte's reaction.
"What?! Really?!" Shagotte froze momentarily before becoming visibly excited.
Clearly, she never expected to hear news about her child.
Although Shagotte possessed the ability to foresee the future, this power wasn't something she could activate at will.
For instance, her vision regarding the Exceed race's future predicted that Extalia would fall from the sky, leaving their kind homeless and wandering.
The arrival of otherworlders and the solutions they brought represented the outcome that would best preserve the Exceed race.
This prophecy was precisely why Shagotte surrendered immediately without resistance.
She understood how difficult it was to alter fate's trajectory—otherwise, even if the Exceeds lacked the power to resist, they could have at least arranged for some members to scatter and escape rather than waiting defenselessly for Marco's group to arrive.
Thus, Queen Shagotte wasn't "all-knowing."
Many things remained beyond her foresight.
Setting aside grand prophecies, she was ultimately just an ordinary mother constantly worrying about her child.
"I can't say for certain either. You'll know when you see for yourself," Marco replied with a smile, gesturing with his eyes for Mystogan to step forward and explain the arrangements for the Exceeds.
Mystogan immediately understood.
He stepped forward, his cloak swaying gently with the movement, and began detailing his plans for the Edolas world and the Exceed race.
The Exceeds stared with wide eyes, the air thick with stunned and incredulous silence.
"Are we all... going to the Earth Land world?" Shagotte asked, confirming once more.
Truthfully, she didn't oppose this idea.
Going to Earth Land was far preferable to remaining in magic-less Edolas—that would truly be hell, like a slow and certain death.
"Correct. All Exceeds, all magical creatures must leave Edolas. No magical being can resist my magic circle," Mystogan declared confidently.
He had complete faith in his modified Anima spell—after all, he wouldn't have believed a single magic circle could purge all magical creatures from the Edolas world without such overwhelming confidence.
"Very well, we accept." Shagotte nodded, taking a deep breath as if to suppress the complex emotions in her heart.
Saying "acceptance" was merely saving face—in reality, they had no ability to refuse.
Gazing at Marco, Shagotte's expression grew increasingly unrestrained.
She was already eagerly anticipating visiting Earth Land to see her child.
Though she hadn't met them in person yet, Shagotte's intuition told her that was indeed her child.
For anyone else, this might just be wishful thinking, but for Shagotte, it almost certainly meant the truth.
Her intuition clearly carried a hint of prophecy.
"Good. Now there's one problem that needs solving—the location of Extalia needs to be changed."
Seeing the Exceed race led by Shagotte being so cooperative, Marco nodded in satisfaction.
He surveyed the magnificent floating island palace around them and explained the next steps.
Once Edolas experienced magic deficiency, Extalia would inevitably fall.
Although this floating island wasn't directly above the royal capital, it was still quite close.
Its impact upon falling would create shockwaves capable of destroying large areas.
To ensure the royal capital's safety, they needed to relocate this floating island.
Since the royal capital on the ground couldn't be moved, naturally they had to find a way to move the "floating island" instead.
Marco looked expectantly at Shagotte, his eyes full of inquiry.
He hoped these Exceed possessed the ability to manipulate the island's movement.
"We... we don't have that kind of ability..."
Shagotte froze, her face filled with bewilderment and disbelief.
Move this floating island? Was that really something that could be done? This was an enormous landmass!
Just imagining the scene made her dizzy.
"Pity. Then we'll have to use brute force."
Shagotte's answer disappointed Marco slightly.
He clicked his tongue softly—since the Exceed had no solution, he'd have to use his own method.
"B-brute force?" Nadi's voice cracked.
The Exceed all stared with wide eyes, looking at each other in disbelief.
The air filled with absurdity—using brute force to move this island?
Was he serious?
"Correct. Gather all Exceed. It's time to unleash your power." Marco nodded seriously, his tone carrying unquestionable determination.
His words made Queen Shagotte and the others widen their eyes in shock.
Good heavens—Marco's "brute force" actually meant the Exceed's brute force?
Wasn't that even more unreliable?!
"It's impossible! How could we possibly do that?!"
Nadi immediately transformed into a "defeatist strategist," directly beginning to retreat and downplay the possibility.
"Where's all this doubt coming from? Just go gather them. Tell them if they can't move the floating island, everyone will die."
As soon as Marco spoke, the Exceed nearly lost their composure.
This was essentially using the threat of death to force the Exceed to give their all.
Nadi opened his mouth, wanting to argue further.
He looked at Shagotte, Nichiya, and the elders—they all nodded at him, their eyes filled with helplessness and urgency, clearly signaling him to stop arguing and obediently follow Marco's arrangements.
"Alright, I'll go make the arrangements."
Nadi sighed and trudged out dejectedly to begin preparations.
"With so many Exceeds applying force simultaneously on one side of the island, plus us Mages helping, I refuse to believe we can't do anything about this floating island."
Marco spoke with confidence, and nobody contradicted him.
This method of moving the floating island was something they had devised before coming here, and everyone believed it stood a reasonable chance of success.
After all, the floating island "Exceed" stayed aloft through magical power - if they could supply sufficient magic energy, it might indeed be possible to make the island move horizontally.
Soon, a summons was issued, and all the Exceeds gathered in the open square outside the royal castle.
A bustling crowd of cats turned the once peaceful square into a noisy, cramped space. Truth be told, the Exceed population wasn't particularly large - this gathering represented nearly their entire race.
After all, Exceeds lived only on this island, and even here the population density was quite low, so their numbers were naturally limited.
"Fellow Exceeds! The Queen has foreseen a crisis! We must move Exceed from its current location! Otherwise, our entire race will face annihilation!"
Facing the Exceeds, Nadi and the others employed their usual approach - leading with "the Queen's prophecy."
Their magically amplified voices echoed across the square, immediately stirring up the Exceeds.
To them, "the Queen's prophecy" represented destiny - something that would inevitably come to pass.
"What should we do?!"
"Move Extalia?! How can we move it?!"
"Are we all going to die?!"
Panicked discussions broke out among the Exceeds as fear and despair spread through the crowd like a plague.
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