Chapter 436: When You Deceive Others, Do Not Deceive Yourselves Too
Ultear nodded; she never expected the enemy to let them succeed so easily.
"By the way, why haven't we seen the King? Shouldn't he be staying here to guard this place? Considering the massive amount of manpower, resources, and magic spent, this place should be incredibly important to him."
Mirajane observed the surroundings while knocking away the remaining Royal Army soldiers. However, after looking around for quite a while, she could not spot the King anywhere.
"That's right, where did the King go? Why isn't he here?"
Hearing Mirajane's words, everyone began looking around. But aside from the floor littered with unconscious soldiers and a small number still trying to fight, there was no one else in the room.
"This doesn't make sense!" Lucy said, highly confused.
"Where did the King go?" Erza grabbed a Royal Army soldier with one hand and demanded with a stern expression.
"I... I don't know! We were just sent here as reinforcements later on!" The soldier, completely terrified by Erza's glare, shouted his answer frantically.
Smack!
Erza knocked him out instantly. She then grabbed a few more soldiers in succession, asking them the exact same question, but their answers were all the same—they had no idea.
"It seems the soldiers originally stationed here with the King were all transferred away," Mirajane deduced after seeing Erza interrogate so many people without a single clue.
"It certainly looks that way. But why would the King do such a thing?" Lucy wondered aloud.
"It is possible he is preparing something else. Those original soldiers might have known about it, and to ensure we wouldn't find out, he transferred them away. If that is the case, everyone needs to be extra careful. Do not let your guard down," Ultear warned the group.
Everyone nodded and continued clearing out the remaining Royal Army soldiers.
Soon enough, every single soldier in the control room had been knocked unconscious.
The group gathered around Noah, watching him continuously operate his Archive magic.
Magic circles materialized all around Noah, while countless more completely covered the Dragon Chain Cannon's control console, flashing with the radiant lights of various magical runes.
"By the way, how are Wendy and the others doing?" Ultear asked Noah, suddenly remembering the group that had split off earlier.
"Them? They ran into a bit of trouble. It is actually quite nasty..." Noah replied entirely expressionless while continuing his decryption work on the Dragon Chain Cannon.
Meanwhile, on the floating island inhabited by the Exceeds—Extalia—Noah's Thought Projection had just arrived with Wendy and the rest.
"Wow, there are so many cats here! It is literally a country of cats!" Sorano looked around at their surroundings, her face full of curiosity.
They had materialized on a street near the center of the island, close to the castle. Surrounding them were cats that looked exactly like Happy and Carla. The nearby houses were all built quite small, clearly designed exclusively for these feline residents.
Just like normal humans, they were running shops, and Noah's group could even hear the sounds of haggling drifting from the nearby stalls.
Wendy and the girls looked at the surrounding cats in pleasant surprise. This was their first time seeing so many cats capable of speaking just like Carla.
"This place is inherently a country of cats," Noah said with a smile. These creatures, known as Exceeds, were cats themselves. Since they lived here, wasn't it naturally a feline kingdom?
"So this is our homeland?" Happy muttered, looking at the diverse array of talking cats around him.
Carla was also quietly observing her surroundings. She never imagined that she would return to her homeland at a time like this, and in such a manner.
"Who are you people?!"
A cat suddenly yelled out upon seeing Noah's group materialize in the middle of the street.
Hearing the shout, the other cats quickly looked over. Seeing the unfamiliar faces of Happy and Carla, and especially noticing Noah and the human girls standing beside them, the streets instantly erupted into a flurry of whispers.
"I don't think I have ever seen those two Exceeds before?"
"Yeah, how did they get here?"
"That isn't the problem right now! The real question is, how did humans get here?!"
"That's right! Humans are strictly forbidden from entering Extalia! How did they get inside?"
"Quick, notify the Royal Guard Division! Humans have trespassed!"
Realizing something was terribly wrong, the surrounding cats began shouting in panic.
The area immediately fell into chaos. The cats scrambled away, instantly clearing a wide empty circle around Noah's group. Several cats immediately flew off to alert the Royal Guard Division, while the remaining residents hid behind buildings and stalls, peeking out nervously at the intruders.
"What do we do now?" Sorano turned to look at Noah.
"Let's head toward the castle. The people capable of making decisions should all be gathered there. Time is running out, so we might as well head straight there and save some time," Noah suggested.
"Sounds good," Sorano nodded, and Wendy and the others voiced no objections.
The group began walking briskly toward the castle.
Seeing Noah's group heading in that direction, the surrounding cats exchanged glances before slowly trailing behind them. They didn't dare get too close, opting to follow from a safe distance.
However, Noah and the girls were walking at a very fast pace. Many of the cats couldn't keep up on foot and were left behind. Seeing this, they sprouted wings from their backs and took to the sky, flying just to match the group's speed.
As Noah's group approached the vicinity of the castle, their path was suddenly blocked by a squad of heavily muscled, giant cats—easily twice the size of a normal Exceed.
They wore matching uniforms and had sabers strapped to their waists. All of their blades were already drawn, the tips pointed directly at Noah and the girls.
"Please let us see Her Majesty the Queen. A terrible danger is rapidly approaching Extalia," Sorano said earnestly to the giant cats blocking their way.
"Denied! Do you think the Queen is someone you can just demand to see? You have trespassed into Extalia without permission! You must be arrested!" one of the giant cats declared sternly.
He took a step forward, and the other guards stepped forward in unison, their blades leveled at the group.
Sorano's expression turned serious. They had come to warn these people of an impending disaster; they certainly were not going to let themselves be captured.
"A massive island is on a collision course with this place! Everyone needs to evacuate immediately!" Wendy shouted at the top of her lungs. Meredy and Yukino nodded vigorously in agreement.
Down below, Noah was currently decoding the Dragon Chain Cannon, but to prevent any worst-case scenarios, it was best if the Exceeds evacuated first. All Exceeds possessed Aera magic; as long as they activated their wings, they could fly away to safety. If they all evacuated, no tragedies would occur even if the cannon could not be stopped.
However, the giant cats didn't halt their advance. Instead, they continued slowly closing in on Noah's group.
Happy and Carla looked incredibly anxious. On one side were their guildmates, and on the other were the people of their homeland. They desperately wanted to avoid a conflict between the two sides.
"What is going on here?"
Right at that moment, a cat with an exceptionally long neck walked over. He was entirely black except for a white patch stretching from his nose down his neck, and his right arm was involuntarily waving up and down in a continuous motion.
Upon seeing this black cat, the giant guards spoke with deep respect: "Lord Nadi, these humans suddenly appeared in Extalia. We were just about to arrest them."
"Humans are forbidden from entering Extalia! Arrest them at once," Nadi ordered seriously after hearing the guards' report.
"No, you don't understand! We came here to warn you that danger is approaching! The Royal Army is using a cannon to ram a floating island straight into Extalia! If you don't have a way to stop it, you need to flee right now!" Meredy yelled urgently.
"Impossible! The Royal Army would never dare attack us!"
The civilian cats who had followed them felt completely safe now that the Royal Guard Division was present, so they had crept closer to watch. Upon hearing Meredy's warning, they immediately shouted their rebuttals without a second thought.
"That's right! The Royal Army wouldn't dare attack us! We stand above humans! We are the Exceeds who guide humanity!" one cat shouted proudly.
The other cats nodded in agreement, expressions of immense pride plastered across their faces. It was obvious they took extreme pride in their status as Exceeds.
"Exactly! We rule over the humans! How could they possibly dare to attack us?!"
"It is the truth! The island is already flying straight toward us!" Yukino pleaded anxiously.
"Whatever!"
"Even if it is true, Her Majesty the Queen will simply blow it away with her magic!"
"Yeah! That's right!"
The cats completely dismissed Meredy and Yukino's words, laughing out loud from the sidelines.
Nadi, however, did not utter a single sound upon hearing the warning. Instead, sweat began to bead on his forehead, and the more he listened, the more profusely he sweated.
"It is real! If you don't have a way to stop the island from crashing, please evacuate immediately!" Meredy implored, her expression utterly sincere.
"Shut up, human!"
One of the cats picked up a rock and hurled it straight at Meredy.
"You clearly have no idea just how immense Her Majesty's magic power is!"
"We are Exceeds! We are far greater than humans!"
"This is Extalia, the country ruled by the Queen!"
"We would never lose to humans!"
"As long as Her Majesty is here!"
"Get out of our country!"
It wasn't just one cat; numerous cats began shouting as they picked up rocks from the ground and violently threw them at Noah's group.
Seeing a rock flying straight at her, Yukino flinched in fear. Just as she tried to dodge, a figure stepped protectively in front of her.
"Sister?" Yukino mumbled subconsciously.
Standing in front of her was Sorano. She caught the rock flying at Yukino with her right hand and crushed it to dust, while casually swatting away the other incoming rocks with her left. Her face was contorted with absolute fury.
Seeing someone dare to attack her little sister right in front of her eyes caused Sorano's anger to instantly skyrocket.
Hum!
As for the rest of the rocks flying toward the group, before they could even get close, they were completely pulverized in mid-air by Noah's radiating magic pressure, turning into fine dust that scattered in the wind.
"We came here to warn you about a disaster, not to swallow your abuse. If it weren't for Happy and Carla, based on your behavior alone, I would have completely ignored you and let you all perish on your own," Noah said, his face completely devoid of emotion.
The immense, suffocating pressure radiating from his body caused the surrounding cats to freeze, rendering them temporarily speechless.
But a moment later, they snapped out of it. Realizing they had actually cowered before a human, they felt an overwhelming surge of humiliation and anger. They picked up more rocks and threw them, screaming loudly:
"Despicable humans! Get out!"
"Her Majesty will definitely punish you for this!"
Just like before, the rocks shattered into dust in mid-air before they could even get close, blown away by the wind.
Watching the Exceeds behave like this, Noah's eyes grew colder and colder. Sorano's expression became increasingly furious as well, and the oppressive magic pressure emanating from the two of them grew heavier by the second.
The cats began to feel incredibly physically uncomfortable under the pressure, but blinded by their anger and pride, they ignored the warning signs and continued hurling rocks.
Meredy, Wendy, Yukino, Happy, and Carla were growing incredibly anxious. Noah and Sorano had clearly been provoked. Neither of them were pushovers; they were only holding back out of respect for Happy and Carla.
But if this continued, the two would definitely retaliate, and that was the absolute last thing the girls and Exceeds wanted to see.
The Royal Guard Division raised their sabers higher, fully prepared to launch an attack the moment Noah's group made a hostile move.
Standing off to the side, Nadi was sweating buckets. Huge drops of sweat rolled down his face, and his right arm was waving up and down at a frantic, almost blurred speed.
"Hmph!"
Seeing that the crowd still refused to listen, Noah's magic power surged. The invisible pressure transformed into a physical shockwave that instantly swept out in all directions.
Every single cat in the vicinity—with the sole exception of the profusely sweating Nadi—was instantly slammed flat onto the ground. They tried desperately to stand up, but they were pinned down so firmly they couldn't even twitch.
"Noah!" Wendy and the girls cried out nervously.
"Relax. For the sake of Happy, Carla, and you girls, I won't do anything terrible to them. However, since they decided to treat us this way, a little payback is only fair."
Hearing Noah's reassurance, Wendy and the others let out a sigh of relief.
"Besides, I originally didn't want to do this, as it is quite impolite. But since we are being treated like this, I have no problem doing it anyway."
Hearing Noah add that, the hearts of the girls instantly leaped back into their throats.
Noah snapped his fingers. A golden magic circle materialized in the empty space beside them. In a flash of light, a female cat dressed in gorgeous, regal clothing, along with several elderly cats sporting pure white beards, were instantly teleported onto the magic circle.
"What in the..."
The newly arrived cats were clearly completely clueless as to what had just happened. They looked around in sheer shock, realizing their location had changed in the blink of an eye.
"You must be the Queen of this country, and these must be your ministers. Perfect, we can resolve this matter right here and now," Noah said, looking directly at them.
"Her Majesty has arrived!"
"She is definitely here to punish these humans!"
"That's right!"
The civilian cats pinned to the ground struggled to shout, looking up at the regally dressed Queen with eyes full of fanatic devotion and hope.
Nadi, still drenched in cold sweat, hurriedly scurried over to the Queen and the ministers, quietly and rapidly explaining everything that had just transpired.
"By the way, do you see that glowing light over there? That is the island we were talking about, and it is hurtling straight toward us," Noah said, pointing off into the distance.
The Queen and the ministers followed his finger. Sure enough, they saw a massive, glowing speck in the sky. Looking closer, they could vaguely make out the silhouette of a floating island charging directly at them. The expressions on their faces instantly turned incredibly grave.
"Oh, and a word of advice," Noah looked at them, speaking with an emotionless, piercing gaze. "When you deceive others, make sure you do not end up deceiving yourselves too."
~~~
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