"Eba Grahn, what are you doing, don't you still lift the spell and restore them to their original state!"

    The President Makarov jumped onto the table and hair-ripped.

    Eba Grahn, however, covered her mouth with her fan and laughed.

    "President, I just want to add some entertainment programs for the festival."

    "Guys from Fairy Tail, the festival officially starts now!"

    A bolt of lightning struck the performance stage, and with a coat on, Laxus made a dazzling entrance.

    And next to the column beside the guild hall, the remaining two of Loki, Frieda and Bisqutis also came out.

    "Let's play a game, old man!"

    "Laxus, you little brat, stop messing around and restore them to their original state immediately!"

    Makarov was so angry that his body involuntarily grew larger.

    Laxus immediately aimed a bolt of lightning towards the petrified Lucy next to him.

    "Old man, I advise you not to move, they are all my hostages now."

    So, let's play a game, the strongest battle of Fairy Tail. The rules are to fight until the end and see who is the strongest. The scope is the entire city of Magnolia, and the time is three hours.

    If there is no winner after three hours, they will all be turned into dust!"

    "Agh!"

    But as Laxus' words fell, Eba Grahn, who was standing there, let out a scream and was suddenly pulled into the ground by a cat tail wrapping around her feet.

    Before the others could react, Lucy and Erza among the petrified female mages suddenly dispelled the magic and restored to their normal state.

    George then pulled Eba Grahn, who had been electrically knocked out, up from a table.

    "The strongest battle of Fairy Tail is interesting, but Laxus, I think it shouldn't be conducted with the threat of taking hostages."

    It turned out that George had already covered the entire hall with his spiritual power at the moment Lucy was petrified, discovering hidden Laxus and the other two, as well as the petrified Erza and others behind him.

    Assuming that Laxus must have planned something, he communicated with Gray next to him and told him to use Ice Magic to quickly cover the entire floor of the guild hall with a thin layer of ice.

    He then used Mirror Magic to enter the Mirror World.

    When Laxus appeared there making a noise, George had already arrived at Eba Grahn's feet in the Mirror World.

    Then he dragged Eba Grahn into the Mirror World with a tail, and before she could figure out what was happening, he electrically knocked her out.

    Eba Grahn's petrification spell does not work like the Snake Demon's, where it remains petrified indefinitely and requires the user to maintain it actively.

    So she can remote dispel it, or remotely shatter anyone who has been petrified at any time.

    Likewise, if she is knocked out and loses control, the petrification spell automatically dispels.

    This ability is indeed very strong, especially for enemies who are unaware of her eye abilities; it's easy to successfully pull off a surprise attack.

    Even Erza, a magician of her level, was hit when she wasn't expecting it.

    "Good job, George!"

    As all the petrification spells were dispelled, Lucy and the others were saved, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

    While Laxus and Frieda, Bisqutis frowned as their plan was disrupted.

    Without the hostages, it would be difficult to get the guild's magicians to fight their hardest.

    "Laxus is right, that cat is indeed a big headache!"

    "Laxus, that's all for today. You and the Loki clan must sincerely apologize to everyone here, accept the most severe punishment, and wait until they forgive you!"

    Makarov returned to his normal size and pointed at Laxus, roaring with anger.

    Laxus, on the other hand, let out a wild laughter as veins bulged on his forehead.

    "I see, I underestimated you. If that's the case, let's play a big one!"

    He pointed his hand towards the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot directly through the guild and upwards to the top of the city, where a series of already floating thunderballs were activated:

    "I have activated the Divine Palace. Everyone in this entire city is now my hostage. If you don't continue this game, then you will all be wiped out along with the city!"

    "Laxus, is it necessary to go this far?"

    Frieda's expression showed hesitation.

    He was well aware of Laxus and knew that deep down in his heart, Laxus loved the guild and just wanted to prove himself, become the guild president, and make the guild even better.

    However, activating the Divine Palace with ordinary people as hostages seemed a bit too much, and he worried that Laxus might regret it if something went wrong.

    "Frieda, this is already a war that will not end until one side is completely annihilated. If you can't follow me, then disappear, Fairy Tail doesn't need weak cowards!"

    Laxus' entire body was enveloped by lightning, and his rationality was gradually fading away.

    Frieda sighed and bowed to Laxus:

    "No matter what decision you make, we will follow you."

    "Divine Palace, Laxus, are you crazy?"

    Hearing that Laxus had activated the Divine Palace, Makarov's face immediately turned pale. His forehead bulged with veins, clearly indicating he was extremely angered.

    George curiously asked Mira Jean, who had now recovered and walked over to him:

    "What is the Divine Palace?"

    That ability to hold the entire city hostage and cause Makarov so much fear is clearly not an ordinary spell.

    Mira Jean explained with a serious expression:

    "The Divine Palace is a taboo lightning-based magic, which involves injecting lightning into three hundred prepared Magic Crystals, then activating it through a special magic circle, it can instantly unleash a devastating power that could destroy an entire town.

    And it cannot be destroyed before activation. Each time a Magic Crystal is destroyed, the same lightning will also be retaliated against the attacker's body.

    "That indeed is quite troublesome."

    George scratched his beard.

    "Old man, I'm not crazy. I'm doing this for the guild's sake, just like you banished your father."

    "Want to end this game?"

    Do you want to end this game? It's simple. Hand over the position of the guild president to me now.

    After I become the president, I will change this weak and unrecoverable guild into the strongest guild in existence. No one will dare to challenge it!"

    The aura of Laxus, the top S-level magician, erupted, leaving everyone feeling short of breath.

    And Makarov was so angry that his entire body trembled:

    "Impossible, Laxus, I will never let you become the president! Even if I die!"

    "If that's the case, then the game begins"

    Upon hearing this, Laxus' expression became even more fierce.

    As he was about to leave and carry out the plan behind him, George suddenly spoke up and interrupted him.

    "Wait a minute, Laxus, there is one thing you might not know. Your father Ivan was expelled from the guild because he betrayed the guild and secretly contacted a mage from the dark guild."

    The president kept it from you to spare your feelings.

    At this time, it's better to try to resolve misunderstandings first, and it's not too late if they can't be resolved.