Rhode and Mira claimed they wanted to take a break and get some fresh air, asking the driver to wait for a moment.
The request wasn't unreasonable, so the driver didn't refuse and cooperatively drove the horse to a shady spot to rest.
Rhode took Mira a little further away.
From the driver's angle, he could only see Rhode's back, with Mira's figure blocked.
The driver lit a cigarette, shaking his head gently: "Young people these days..."
In reality, the two were just discussing matters normally.
"I've observed through the eyes of the Swift Crab back there, and there's currently no other carriages on this road, so their target is likely us."
Mira frowned: "But why? Can you confirm their identity?"
"People we don't recognize... The person holding a magic staff had the 'Ghosts' emblem on the back of their neck." Rhode raised an eyebrow,
"The Swift Crab was discovered, they were a bit alert, but didn't manage it, just let it pass by."
"'Ghosts,' is that the 'Master of Ghosts'?"
Mira knew there was some animosity between Ghosts and Fairy Tail, and occasional clashes occurred when mages from the two guilds met.
Rhode nodded: "Yes, it's the guild that is regarded as one of the strongest in Fiore, along with Fairy Tail."
He remembered the president of Ghosts and some key members, but these two were clearly not among them.
Rhode thought for a moment: "I have three plans now; help me weigh them."
Someone from our guild could, after encountering an issue, propose a plan instead of charging right in, and proposed not just one but three!
The president would be very pleased!
Just to be sure, Mira asked, "Among the three plans, none of them include charging over and throwing Bursting Magic Crystals at them, do they?"
"Do you think I'm that violent? Seeing a mage standing in the road and wanting to blow them up, even Dark Guilds wouldn't do that, right?"
Jenny might have something to say.
"The first plan is the simplest one, since we've identified their position, just bypass them." Rhode said,
"This way we can directly avoid any potential conflict, without any danger. The downside is that we can't find out what their purpose is, and there might be a next time."
Mira nodded: "Moreover, if they're targeting the guild rather than us personally, then other guild members might be in danger in the future."
"The second plan is to continue walking, and counterattack immediately when they make a move, then it's them who initiated the conflict and the Council will deal with them.
But we don't know what magic they use, how strong they are, we might end up in a bad situation, and the driver might be caught in it.
I don't recommend doing that."
If it were Erza or Natsu here, they might choose this, as long as they're in the right, they'd fight first and ask questions later.
Mira felt she and Rhode really weren't suited for such impulsive actions, as they carried too many Bursting Magic Crystals which could easily be lethal.
"So the last one must be the most reliable?"
Rhode nodded: "Yes, the third plan is to rest here first, I'll send a ton of monsters over, see if we can handle them.
Afterwards, we can interrogate them to find out their purpose. If we can't handle them, we can still detour back and ask the president to deal with them."
As long as it's not the notable members of Ghosts, we surely won't need the president's assistance to handle them.
Mira believed Rhode could manage by himself, she nodded: "Then I'll leave it entirely to Mr. Rhode the Guardian, do you need my cooperation?"
"Miss Mirajane, please rest well, I've brought some snacks too, and entertain the driver a bit, asking him not to rush."
Mira smiled: "Understood, Mr. Rhode."
Rhode immediately began taking action, first directing the River Crab from behind to go forward as well.
Before fighting, gaining sight is necessary to avoid getting caught alone; this is called anti-gank awareness.
Then he summoned two groups of Stone Beetles, having them burrow underground and move forward stealthily.
Afterwards, two groups of Shadow Wolves were summoned, to make use of their specialties by sneaking between the roadside trees and the wild shrubs.
Lastly, he summoned a group of Beaked Birds, dispersing them to fly at low altitude, ready for an air raid at any time.
As for the last group of Beaked Birds and two Magic Swamp Frogs, Rhode had to use his magic power sparingly to leave them as a backup force, avoiding exhausting himself before the battle.
Mira watched the monsters marching away in groups, somewhat doubting whether the enemies were two people or twenty.
...
Behind the small hillside, about a kilometer away.
The mage holding a flute asked, "Sta, we've been waiting for an hour, when are they coming?"
The mage holding a magic staff said: "Be patient, Faru.
Setting off from the Flower City to Fairy Tail, they have to pass through here, no matter how slow, they'll arrive before noon."
"Oh." Faru boredly pressed the holes on his flute, suddenly adding,
"Have you seen a big crab like that just now? So strange, running on land so far from the water, what species is that anyway?"
"Who knows, probably a common animal around here." Sta pointed with the top of his magic staff, "Look, there's another one."
Faru licked his lips, pretending to move his flute to his mouth: "Let's catch one and see how it tastes. We skipped breakfast to get here early."
"Don't do unnecessary things." Sta said,
"As long as we make Fairy Tail look bad, we'll have a chance to be transferred to the main branch.
Then... we'll be able to see Mr. Gajeel! The powerful Mr. Gajeel!"
Mentioning that name, Sta was filled with admiration, while Faru also showed longing.
"Huh, why did that crab stop moving?"
"Could it be that it sees us as food?"
The River Crab's size and appearance were quite intimidating, making both mages nervous, gripping their weapons and pointing them at the River Crab.
At this moment, the ground beneath their feet trembled, and two Ancient Stone Beetles burst out, gripping each of them by the waist with their pincer-like jaws.
"Aargh! Monster!"
"What is this thing?"
In their panic, one raised his magic staff, another blew into his flute.
Then two more Stone Beetles burst out, targeting their staff and flute.
Just then, a Light Bullet shot out from the pentagram on the tip of the staff, and a Sound Wave Bullet emitted from a hole at the end of the flute, both hitting one Stone Beetle each.
The two Stone Beetles fell to the ground, splitting into four Mini Stone Beetles, continuing to charge according to Rhode's command.
"What on earth are these monsters!"
By now both were somewhat panicked; their emergency full-strength blow only resulted in increasing the number of enemies!
Without knowing what was happening, these multiplying monsters naturally made one's scalp tingle.
But they had no choice but to continue their attack.
Yet six Shadow Wolves pounced out from the roadside shrubs.
Four ordinary wolves bit down on the two's wrists, causing their weapons to fly out of their hands, while two Two-headed Wolves stood in front of them, each with four mouths softly growling into their four ears.
The four Mini Stone Beetles rigidly continued their task to 'remove your weapons,' charging towards the two fallen weapons.
With sixteen stone-like legs each stamping down, they smashed the staff and flute into pieces.
Having been bitten and unable to struggle, with their weapons crushed completely, and the ferocious wolf heads growling in their ears, their nostrils could smell the unpleasant scent from the wolves' mouths, their cheeks could feel the splatter of wolf drool...
"We're done for..." Sta fell into despair, completely giving up fighting back.
Faru rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot.
A total of six red-haired Beaked Birds, one large and five small, soared low across the sky, landing not far away on the ground, as the command given by their master was to air raid if the opposition resisted fiercely, but for now, there was nothing for them to do.
Observing the battleground through the River Crab, Rhode showed a look of disbelief, despite all the preparation he had made, they ended up—
"Is that all?"