"Coming in last place, how lame." Gajeel brazenly laughed, mainly targeting Natsu.
"Master Gray... it must be Lucy dragging them down!" Jubia concluded presumptuously.
The sinister Ghost Guild always harbored malice towards Fairy Tail members, Rhode amusedly thought to himself.
At that moment, Jabadi continued with the introductions: "Next, welcome our 7th place team from the preliminaries, an all-female guild, the Dancing Princess of the Sea... Mermaid's Heel!"
Led by the somewhat cold Kagura, with Mirena, Alani, Liseli, and Beth following behind.
Apart from Kagura, the four waved to the audience, receiving cheers from the gentlemen.
Rhode said, "The Mermaids made it in after all."
Mira said, "I wonder how Miss Lily's injury is healing."
Lily was the Star Spirit Mage from Mermaid's Heel whom Rhode encountered in Saint Dopia, previously severely injured and sent back to the guild for recovery, and soon picked up by Kagura and the others.
Since Mira took care of her, she still harbored concern.
"By the way, did you guys know? That lady Alani had a thing with our guild's Troy..." Mira suddenly shared her gossip delightfully.
Unfortunately, only Jubia showed some interest, albeit in a strange way: "She directly rejected Troy, does that mean she likes Master Gray? A rival in love!"
Gajeel said helplessly, "Idiot, not every woman likes Gray."
"Next is the 6th place from the preliminaries, a mysterious and affluent new star guild... Dragon's Treasure!"
"Dragon's Treasure, who are they?" Many people wondered.
As the host, Jabadi aptly asked, "Mr. Yajima, Dragon's Treasure seems less well-known compared to other guilds."
Yajima, serious again, provided some useful information: "Yes, it's a relatively new New School Mage Guild, but reportedly their members are different from typical New School Mages.
"To make it to the finals on their first participation in the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts suggests they're quite formidable."
Jenny chimed in: "I heard they were the first guild to set up an office in the Royal Capital."
She scrutinized the five members who entered and added, "They have quite an intimidating aura."
In the tournament arena, Natsu looked on from afar at the leading pair from Dragon's Treasure: "Feels like I've seen them somewhere before. Where could it be?"
Meanwhile, the two were also staring at Natsu.
The man with long braids snorted coldly: "Didn't expect you, little punk, to make it to the finals. Times have changed for us, it's time to settle the old scores in this tournament!"
"Ah! You guys are..." Natsu first realized, then tilted his head confusedly, "Who are you again?"
The other man with a trident hairstyle and large nose said, "Big Brother, this guy looks down on us again."
"Ah!" Lucy and Hapi, both watching from the stands, exclaimed in surprise, as they truly remembered, "It's them! The Panixiu brothers from Mercenary Guild South Wolf!"
Meanwhile, Rhode was briefing his teammates: "I did a little investigation before, Dragon's Treasure was founded by a Magic Item Company as a New School Mage Guild.
"The company's upper management had learned of the weakness of New School Mages, so they devised a strategy—acquire a Mercenary Guild, equip the battle-hardened mercenaries with the most advanced magic tools, and thus create the strongest New School Mage Guild.
"And their chosen target for reorganization was the renowned 'South Wolf'. Reportedly, it's among the top three Mercenary Guilds."
Mira tilted her head, thought for a moment, and added: "I think two of them were thrashed by Natsu and Lucy."
"Was it the time they took down the gorilla monster in a maid outfit?" Laxus, having reformed, had started gathering odd rumors to better understand his guildmates.
Mira covered her mouth with a laugh: "That's the one."
"Making it to the finals suggests they're quite capable, right?" Gajeel observed the various magic tools the five carried, some looked metallic, making him wonder if they tasted good.
Jubia asked, "Are they stronger than Mermaid's Heel?"
Rhode shook his head: "Hard to say, the format of the preliminaries did include some brawling, but it was essentially puzzle-solving, so rankings don't fully represent strength."
After a brief introduction of Dragon's Treasure, Jabadi continued:
"Next is the 5th place from the preliminaries, gleaming azure wings in the dark night — Blue Pegasus!"
Amidst the screams of female fans, One Night led four handsome men onto the stage, consisting of Hibiki, Ren, Ive, and the seemingly successfully transformed Simon.
Jenny unabashedly cheered for her guild from the commentary box.
The most handsome male group in a Mage Guild boasted terrifying popularity, each member's name echoed by fans.
Listening closely, One Night seemed to stand out, maybe because married women especially appreciated One Night's charm.
"Fourth place, the goddess of love and war, the sacred destroyer... Lamia Scale!"
Jura, Leon, Yuka, and Toby, all of whom Rhode had seen before.
The fifth contestant was a red-haired girl with short twin-tails; her demeanor, movements, bearing, and height were similar to Wendy's.
Only in a particular area Wendy had long been conscious of did she excel.
The audience's enthusiasm for Lamia Scale was high, mainly because they still held out hope for Jura.
Rhode said, "That's Sherria, Mr. Jura showed her off at gatherings, reportedly also a Healing Element like Wendy, using Sky Magic as well."
Just after he mentioned this, the nervous Sherria suddenly tripped and fell.
Then she adeptly got up and apologized to her teammates.
The entire Fairy Tail guild felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Wendy empathized and hugged herself.
"If we face off against her, what about having Wendy as a substitute?" Mira smiled, "It'd be fun."
Rhode said, "It's not impossible, but in battle rounds, choosing participants might not be up to us."
"Next, our 3rd place, with the newly appointed Ten Wizard Saints Mr. Brellins as president, consistently placing high in previous years, another New School Mage Guild, Rays of the Rising Sun!"
Yajima praised: "Yes... I've heard Brellins is an outstanding young man."
Five uniquely styled contestants entered.
Simply put: a baldhead, an aloof lady, a cute loli, a muscular man, a bashful hunk.
"It's Jimmy." Rhode recognized the loli holding a lollipop magic wand, feeling gratified, "She really secured a spot, huh."
Though a New School Mage Guild, except for Jimmy wielding a magic staff, the others carried absolutely no tools.
They're probably all adept at Requip Magic.
"Now for our 2nd place from the preliminaries, oh dear, ranked this high indeed is surprising."
To avoid mistakes, Jabadi carefully glanced at the list in his hand before announcing, "Second place is last year's Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts champion, acclaimed as the king and Fiore's strongest guild, Sabertooth!"
The audience fell silent, surprised that Sabertooth was only in second place?
This guild claimed 'the sky roars for me, the earth boils for me, the sea is at peace for me,' the strongest guild, yet only in second place?
Jenny, astonished, said, "It is indeed unexpected."
Yajima chimed in timely: "Hmm, Sabertooth has always been very popular, hasn't it?"
Stinger, Rogue, Oroga, Rufus, Dobe Gal entered stonily.
Despite being rightfully proud of being second, the five looked as if they'd faced a crushing defeat.
Except for Dobe Gal, the other four coldly surveyed the other teams, their gaze fixed firmly on the last dark entrance.
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't fathom which guild claimed first place.
There was also murmuring in the audience; counting on their fingers, they realized most of the well-known guilds in the Fiore Kingdom were already present.
Dragon's Treasure was the only dark horse so far.
So which guild took first place?
The known guilds still awaited could only be... the Four-headed Hound?