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Even though she knew Joel would likely agree to let them join, Erza still felt a bit impolite. After all, she hadn't received Joel's formal approval yet.
Seeing the look on Erza's face, Joel couldn't help but laugh.
"Of course I don't mind. It's just two more people, isn't it? It's nice to have a livelier group." Joel patted Erza's head and smiled.
"I knew Joel was the best!" Erza cheered happily, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.
"But what about Elfman?" Joel glanced at Mirajane and Lisanna again, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes. "Hasn't he always been teaming up with them?"
"Elfman has teamed up with Laxus," Erza explained, thinking back to the scene. "Don't you know? Laxus took him away so urgently at the time—it was actually quite funny!" Erza then filled Joel in on the details.
"So... I think I understand his thoughts a little bit now," Joel said after hearing Erza's story.
Ever since Joel became an S-rank wizard, Laxus had been obsessed with beating him—whether in strength or other areas. This time, Laxus likely wanted to train Elfman to surpass Erza, just to show off his teaching skills in front of Joel.
However, Joel knew Laxus would likely lose this competition too. A year ago, Erza had already begun her "Lightning Body Tempering" training. After a year of refinement, her physique had strengthened significantly; honestly, she had already surpassed 90% of magic swordsmen.
Even if Laxus wanted to strengthen Elfman's body through lightning, the Thunder Dragon Slayer magic was far inferior to the "Thunder Dragon King Magic!" when it came to body tempering. Most importantly, Erza's natural talent was simply stronger.
"I'm a little surprised, but I still welcome you to the team," Joel said with a smile as he walked over to Mirajane and Lisanna.
"Please give us your guidance!" Mirajane and Lisanna bowed to him.
Joel smiled and gently patted Lisanna's hair.
"What is the mission this time?" Lisanna asked curiously once they were settled on the departing train.
"It's an A-level crusade mission," Erza said, checking the task sheet. "Our target is the Dark Guild, Eisenwald."
Joel recognized the name immediately. In the original story, Eisenwald was a branch guild of the Oración Seis. However, the Six Demons had not yet brought Eisenwald under their command, so it was currently an independent dark guild. While the Six Demons existed, they were still erratic and difficult for the Magic Council to track.
"Great! We finally get to take down a Dark Guild!" Mirajane exclaimed, taking the paper from Erza with excitement. Crusade missions were among the most difficult, but Mirajane was bored with easy tasks and craved the challenge.
"Consider this mission training for you," Ultear said indifferently from her seat by the window. "But if you are in real danger, Joel and I will step in."
In this team, Ultear's strength was second only to Joel. An A-level mission wasn't particularly difficult for her; her main role this time was to assist Joel in overseeing the younger members' progress.
After an hour, the train arrived at Hargeon Station. According to the mission details, they had to cross a mountain range to reach Eisenwald's headquarters.
Soon, the group left the city and began trekking up the mountain. From the heights, they could see a vast forest below where the guild was hidden.
"Are we almost there?" Mirajane asked, looking down at the woods.
"There's still some distance, but we're close," Erza replied, comparing their location to the scribbled map on the paper.
At that moment, a golden light flashed from the forest, and two enormous fish suddenly emerged above the treeline!
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