All seven dragons that came through the Eclipse Gate soared into the sky, with Purgatory, Mountain Range, Cloud Realm, Alchemy, and Hex each finding opponents to duel in mid-air.
The roar of dragons echoed through the sky, and heavy impacts were heard from time to time. Almost every fierce clash sent a strong gust of wind to the people on the ground.
At this moment, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon and the dragon enveloped in flames were exchanging Dragon Breaths at high altitude.
From the ground, it appeared as two crimson beams shooting from the red-glowing mouths of the dragons, colliding and causing a violent explosion.
A small sun appeared in the night sky.
The soldiers couldn't help but raise their arms to shield themselves from the stunning brightness and heat.
"Natsu—" Hapi's voice came from nearby, "What happened? We heard a loud noise outside... What is going on?!"
Following Hapi were Carla and Li Li flying in.
Carla widened her eyes: "This… This is what I saw with Divination Magic..."
Li Li reached for the weapon on his back: "Thirteen dragons… though it seems half are allies."
"Just in time, I'm joining the battle too!" Gajeel shouted, "Li Li, take me there!"
However, Li Li looked at Rhode — before coming, the President said to scout the situation and then follow Rhode's lead.
"Alright." Rhode said, "Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, you guys go deal with that familiar-looking green one.
"Carla, assist Laxus, Wendy provide support, then join Sister Ocean to protect Lucy."
Carla flew beside Laxus but still asked, "The reply from the guild?"
"It's fine, I'll notify them another way."
Carla: "Understood."
Li Li: "Got it."
Hapi: "Aye!"
Natsu and Gajeel, already impatient, urged Hapi and Li Li to take off first-time.
Laxus, not being fully in sync with Carla, took a short test flight before catching up with the other two groups.
Rhode touched his guild emblem on his arm and clumsily recited a spell.
The blue emblem shimmered, extending dozens of faint lines only visible to Rhode.
The lines on Rhode's end remained blue while at the other end, they were multicolored, stretching to the edge of his vision or directly connecting to Wendy and Lucy and the others.
Upon closer inspection, the colors of the lines corresponded to the colors of the emblems on the bodies of those they connected to.
Rhode used his Magic Power to touch one of the lines, preparing the message in his mind.
In the Royal Capital's central plaza, Makarov heard Rhode's voice:
"Seven enemy dragons… within response range… plan intact… Dragon's Treasure's ambush on Lucy failed, be careful."
Makarov was slightly startled but quickly issued instructions: "Erza, Kana, Gray, Jubia, and the Thunder God Tribe, go assist the King's Army against Dragon's Treasure. Bisca, Alzack cover them."
Erza asked, "Dragon's Treasure? Why?"
Upon hearing Makarov's reasoning, the group immediately steeled their expressions and turned on their heels.
"When did you learn Telepathy Magic?" Makarov casually asked, but there was no response as the contact had already ended.
In fact, Rhode wasn't using Telepathy.
It was a magic improved from Precht's Eye of the Demon.
One of the uses of Precht's Eye of the Demon was to link the members' vision through the Demon Heart's emblem to issue commands.
Seeing this magic in a book Precht gave him had Rhode itching with desire; it's extremely useful for commanding battles or calling for help.
Not wanting to gouge out his eye to cultivate the Eye of the Demon, Rhode had to find another way to improve it.
Yet the challenge was quite substantial, making progress only after asking Precht many questions before the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts.
This magic's ideal form would be ultra-long-distance seamless communication via guild emblem, allowing video calls and even transmitting shared vision without communication magic crystals.
It could then be named 'Fairy Eye,' similar to the Eye of the Demon.
Unfortunately, it remains in its infancy, and even Mira struggles to learn from Rhode's attempts to teach it.
Perhaps further simplification is needed.
In the brief time Rhode spent communicating, the three Dragon Slayer Mages had already engaged with the Emerald Dragon.
Carried by the three cats, exploiting their small size and added speed magic from Wendy, they agilely weaved around the Emerald Dragon.
Each tried probing attacks.
The result was similar to their usual sparring with dragons. Though the Emerald Dragon Jilconis cursed in agony while taking hits, it didn't end up with serious injuries.
"Full Attribute Ability Enhancement, Divine Knight!" Wendy seized the opportunity and used Addition Technique on the trio from afar.
The three flew skillfully over the Emerald Dragon, puffing up their cheeks:
"Fire Dragon's…"
"Iron Dragon's…"
"Thunder Dragon's…"
"Roar!" ×3
Red, black, yellow—three colors, three attributes entwined, flashing faint blue—the added Sky Magic attribute.
This unique four-attribute attack landed on the Emerald Dragon's back with a dull thud, followed by the sound of an explosion.
"Ow…" the Emerald Dragon let out a painful howl, its body sinking down, bent like a bow.
Its wings stalled momentarily, uncontrolled, plunging over ten meters before stabilizing.
"Damn humans! Those foolish Coexistence Faction!" Jilconis cursed, jerked his head up, spewing emerald Dragon's Breath at the trio above.
This was truly a Giant Dragon's Breath, comparable to a large river against the Dragon Slayer Mage's.
The breadth of this breath was too wide for even the fast Hapi to escape with Natsu.
Once the breath's light faded, the trio—and the cats—were pushed back several dozen meters, yet aside from slightly damaged clothes, they suffered no serious injuries.
Under Wendy's feet, the magic array glowed: "Divine Crown! And Alma!"
At the same time, beside the Marine Sub-Dragon appeared Void Marked Tree Monster, around the trio were several red and pale purple streaks.
These were gifts from Rhode—Crown of Insight and Broken Ghost Crown.
Rhode believed with these abundant buffs, the trio might successfully capture a dragon today, feeling assured to pursue his target.
Left for him was the largest creature, the first one stepping out of the Eclipse Gate tonight.
Behind Rhode grew blue-white dragon wings, his hands transformed into Cloud Sub-Dragon claws, rushing into the sky with astounding speed.
His fist landed with a thud on the dragon's neck.