"Did that kid run away?" Makarov sighed. "Well, let him. The Phantom Lord guild is already showing signs of starting a war, and there's still a mountain of things waiting for me back at the guild."
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and turned to leave the ruined area.
In reality, Wes Elwin had not escaped. He had only hidden himself. At this moment, he was inspecting the wand in his hand—one that now bore several cracks.
This wand had accompanied him through more than ten years of storms and battles. It had witnessed countless fights, but it could no longer withstand such high-intensity magical output.
"Don't worry, I won't abandon you. It's time to upgrade you," Wes whispered to the wand, as if it could truly hear him.
"But right now, what's more important is dragging out the little mouse hiding underground."
The moment Wes finished speaking, the lurker beneath the earth sensed an unprecedented crisis and hurriedly tried to escape.
With a thunderous explosion, Wes blew open the ground, scattering dirt everywhere.
A figure emerged from the soil—none other than Sol, one of the "Four Elements" of the Phantom Lord Guild.
"Wait, stop! I mean no harm!" Sol shouted in panic as he scrambled out of the dirt, covered in soil and bits of grass.
Wes eyed the man who had popped up from the ground with caution.
Sol had messy green hair, wore a refined brown suit, and even sported a monocle—a stereotypical gentleman's attire.
But paired with his sly, unpleasant face, the outfit looked completely out of place.
Wes immediately recognized him.
"Were you sent by your guild master to follow Makarov?" Wes shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No… with your skills, you wouldn't be able to fool Makarov. So you must've come nearby during our battle."
"Heh… heh…" Sol rubbed his hands together, forcing a smile to make himself appear friendlier.
"The master only told me to monitor the situation in the city. I never expected to witness such a spectacular duel. A clash between two powerful mages—truly a rare sight!"
Wes's expression darkened. "Was it entertaining?" he asked coldly.
"Utterly magnificent!" Sol forced out, stiff with fear. Realizing the danger he was in, he hurried to explain, "I didn't mean to—"
Wes had no patience for his excuses.
With a flick of his arm, he instantly petrified Sol, stripping him of all ability to resist or move.
"This guy probably knows quite a lot of his Guild's secrets," Wes thought. He had no intention of killing Sol so easily.
He decided to dig deeper into Sol's memories and uncover anything that might be useful for what came next.
He focused his mind and directly invaded Sol's consciousness, beginning to probe through his memories.
Through Sol's memories, Wes learned not only the recent activities of the guild but also discovered some of Sol's unique techniques for training earth magic.
These details weren't particularly important to Wes, but they were at least somewhat useful.
More importantly, Wes found out that the guild master, Jose Porla, had recently been secretly gathering a large number of rare materials.
The exact hiding place was known only to Jose Porla himself—but Wes knew that as long as he followed the clues, he'd eventually find a trail to follow.
"My own supply of materials is running low anyway. This'll be the perfect chance to restock," Wes murmured, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon, as though already envisioning the rewards that awaited him.
"Besides… Fairy Tail will end up defeating him in the end. All I need to do is sit back and reap the fisherman's profit."
Wes's interest in Jose Porla's collection of rare magical materials—and in the dark magic techniques the man had mastered—was growing stronger by the minute.
After extracting the information he needed, Wes tossed Sol aside like discarded trash, leaving him petrified where he fell.
He then turned his focus to a far more important task—how to enhance the performance of his wand.
"A few more days should be enough time. I can use this period to plan the wand upgrade—maybe even sketch out a design."
Meanwhile, the conflict between the Fairy Tail Guild and Phantom Lord Guild was reaching its climax.
Wes did not intervene directly. Instead, he chose to remain an observer, quietly watching from afar as the battle unfolded.
And just as he had predicted, the Fairy Tail Guild—through the combined strength of its members—emerged victorious over Phantom. Their master, Jose Porla, was completely defeated by Fairy Tail's master, Makarov, through the use of the super-magic, Fairy Law.
Throughout the battle, Wes watched attentively. Both the Phantom Lord's massive war fortress and Makarov's overwhelming display of Fairy Law left him deeply impressed.
After the war ended, the Magic Council quickly intervened, arresting the defeated Jose Porla and preparing to escort him back to the Council's headquarters for judgment.
When the Council's escort team finally departed from Magnolia Town, Wes knew his opportunity had arrived.
As the convoy moved farther away, a young man wearing glasses rode at the front of the group, looking particularly vigilant.
Suddenly, he raised a hand and commanded, "Halt!"
The entire escort line came to an immediate stop.
The Magic Council's armed guards swiftly tightened their formation, spears raised as they surrounded the prison carriage.
At that moment, Wes Elwin stepped out calmly from the nearby woods, directly confronting the escorting soldiers.
"I'll have to trouble you all," he said quietly. "Hand over Guild Master Jose Porla to me."
The bespectacled captain dismounted, gripping his wand tightly and aiming it at Wes. "Who are you? His Guild's remnant?"
Wes shook his head. "So you're refusing, then. I really didn't want to resort to violence."
"Arrogant fool!" the captain shouted, unleashing a barrage of spells.
But within less than a minute, the once-proud escort team lay scattered across the ground, completely incapacitated.
Wes had dealt with them effortlessly—but he hadn't killed a single one. He had only disabled them temporarily, enough to prevent interference.
He then approached the prison carriage and easily broke the magical seal.
Jose Porla's condition was miserable. The backlash from Makarov's Fairy Law, combined with the Council's sealing spells, had left the once-feared Wizard Saint utterly frail.
"Who are you? You're… not here to save me, are you?"
Wes didn't respond. Instead, he reached out his hand and directly extracted Jose's memories.
Through this method, he obtained not only the secrets behind Jose's dark magic cultivation but also the location of a hidden treasure.
°°°
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