Chapter 266

Moments later,

As the voice's owner landed, Marco's figure also vanished within the passage.

Thus, with the passage closing, the entire Magic Fapingyi Society headquarters fell silent.

"The Four Emperors… Bai Huzi?"

At this moment, all their hearts were extremely heavy.

Especially the Fapingyi Society councilors, none of them had anticipated that a minor conflict would escalate so suddenly.

Soon… as the passage dissipated, the news of Bai Huzi Pirates declaring war on the Fapingyi Society spread rapidly.

Most people found it unbelievable, for everything had come too suddenly, leaving them unable to believe it.

Yet, when the black hole first appeared above the Fapingyi Society, every resident of the entire city could hear the declaration of war.

Once the news was confirmed, the town's residents evacuated the city swiftly, and the newly built city became empty once again.

Inside the deserted city, only the Fapingyi Society and the temporary Zuozhangong Society remained.

Now, whether the Gonghui Society leaders or the Shengshi Magicians, shortly after the black hole vanished, they convened an emergency meeting.

Fapingyi Society, Council Hall.

The meeting room was enormous; apart from Gulan Damo seated on the main seat, beside him were the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgall, the Ten Sacred Magicians, and S-rank Magicians.

Notably, due to the outbreak of war, Blackie's succession ceremony had been canceled; Gulan Damo had considered asking Blackie in advance about space-travel methods, but given Blackie's strength, he hoped to recruit him, so he abandoned the idea.

Moreover, even if he had entertained the thought, he now had neither the time nor the mood—the strength before him was already enough to give him a headache.

"We may begin."

A heavy atmosphere enveloped the entire council hall; when Gulan Damo saw nearly everyone had arrived, he declared the council open.

At the same time, Councilor Lei Zhi stepped forward holding a paper document.

"Everyone is already aware of the current situation, so I won't elaborate further—let's get straight to the point."

"Regarding the Bai Huzi Pirates' strength, intelligence gathered so far is as follows."

"The Bai Huzi Pirates' captain calls himself Bai Huzi; his real name remains unknown."

"He commands sixteen squads, each led by an exceptionally powerful individual, their strength no lower than that of an S-rank Magician."

"According to their own words, they will launch a full-scale assault in three days."

As he spoke, Councilor Lei Zhi retrieved a magic crystal ball, infused it with magic, and projected the image of today's black hole.

At the same time, Lei Zhi pointed to the black hole image above.

"According to them, the black hole requires three days to recharge—meaning we have three days to prepare; after three days, the great battle begins."

"We still don't know if this space passage is fixed, nor can we fully trust their stated three-day timeline."

"Therefore, in the time ahead, we must remain constantly prepared and vigilant."

After Lei Zhi finished speaking, and all present understood the full situation, everyone fell into deep thought.

Those seated here were no fools; most had even experienced war and understood basic wartime common sense.

Naturally, they knew not to trust the enemy's words—excessive trust could lead to severe consequences.

Thus, the next topic became how to act, defend against the enemy, and prepare for surprise attacks.

"Do we even need to ask? Why did we gather so many elite Magicians at the Fapingyi Society headquarters and form the temporary Zuozhangong Society? Isn't it precisely to deal with these outsiders?"

"Since they've chosen to wage war, we must respond—drive them straight back!"

In response to this, several aggressive Gonghui Society leaders each voiced their opinions.

To be humiliated and provoked by an outside force was no longer merely about the Fapingyi Society—it concerned the dignity of the entire Magic World.

Yet they were no fools; they spoke this way largely because all the Magic World's elites were gathered at the Fapingyi Society headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Fapingyi Society possessed the forbidden power: Magic Spirit Force, a superweapon.

Because of these two factors, they dared speak so boldly; otherwise, relying solely on their individual society's strength, they would never dare act so recklessly.

"I also believe we should fight with all our strength—and if permitted, launch a counterattack to warn them!"

On the other side, a councilor stood up and said.

"Over the past year, foreign organizations have continuously invaded our world; this time, we must decisively demonstrate our strength and crush them."

"Otherwise, next time they will still invade our doorstep at will."

For a long time, Ishgall had been on the defensive, leading to repeated defeats.

They had even been directly blocked at their doorstep twice in a row, causing the people of the Magic World and all kingdoms to grow increasingly disillusioned with the Fapingyi Society.

All of this had made the entire Magic World internally unstable, and most councilors desperately needed a war victory to divert internal conflicts.

They must win this war and restore the Fapingyi Society's honor.

At this moment, after councilors and Gonghui Society leaders had spoken one after another, Makarov stepped forward.

As soon as he appeared, every gaze in the room instantly focused on him.

As one of the core origins of the war's outbreak—though the Fapingyi Society bore the primary responsibility, Fairy Tail, which brought Marco to headquarters, was certainly not blameless.

"I don't believe starting a war is a good idea; according to their words, handing over the hostage could completely avoid war!"

Until now, as the kind-hearted Makarov, he was still doing everything possible to avoid war.

In his view, there was absolutely no need to ignite a war between two worlds over such a minor matter.

"I also agree with Makarov—starting a war over this is utterly meaningless."

The leaders of Four-Headed Hound and Blue Pegasus stood up together.

Whether as comrades from the same society or through rational thought, neither believed launching war rashly was the right choice.

As the Shengshi, society leaders, and councilors voiced their opinions, a Beast King suddenly burst into the council hall, face filled with panic, approaching Gulan Damo, bowing low to whisper in his ear.

Though no one knew what the guard whispered, everyone clearly felt Gulan Damo's expression gradually darken.

Thus, all attention slowly returned once more to Council Chairman Gulan Damo.

And at this moment, Grandoma's face also darkened as he said.

"Just now we received news that the hostage, Ace, has escaped from prison!"