Soldiers blitzed toward Kai, with a few wizards even mixed in there a bit. Kai unleashed his sword on all of them, twirling through them and slicing through them with not only power but precision, ensuring that each strike would take down multitudes of enemies at a time.
He couldn't afford to waste time or effort, minimal though it was. The war raged on in the skies above, and he heard the faint cries of Warren in his head about the other fronts where more troops had landed.
Another of the Spriggan Twelve had been spotted and the Thunder Tribe were all over that: Wall. Kai and the Dragon Slayers had to hold off an air invasion and destroy Ajeel, which Kai had no doubt Erza could do, especially with Iggy's help.
A few score ships remained in the skies above. Wendy, it seemed, had activated Dragon Force to increase her ability to zip through the skies and take the ships down. Any minute now, Kai anticipated, Natsu or Gajeel would come crashing down to join the fun.
The tundra that Kai laid out earlier had actually been broken apart by the Alvarez troops, believing it a trap. Smart.
A pair of beefier men also approached the lone Dragon Slayer. Kai couldn't hold them all back, letting a few go knowing that he'd have backup either on the fringes of Magnolia or in the town itself. It'd indeed been evacuated, so there was no danger of innocent lives lost.
He staked his ground on the Western Hills, thinning the herd as much as he possibly could.
Both the foreign powers swelled ahead of him, their smells eerily reminding him of Ajeels. Probably a pair of Sand Wizards or somethings too.
One was far smaller and skinnier than the other, who had a messed up mouth and a scarf over his face. He smiled in Kai's direction.
Kai spun his sword around and slashed through a few more soldiers, creating a proper clearing for the two of them.
"That sword of yours. Me like," said the scarfed one, and he charged at Kai.
Pressure built up around him.
"A strong one," Kai muttered.
He punched, with surprising speed. Kai easily dodged it. The air shifted near him and something hissed. He ducked beneath a magic bolt fired by the skinnier wizard.
Kai stood between the two, sword still out.
"You can't take us both on," the scarfed one said. "You lose."
Two other scents rapidly filled Kai's nostrils. Kai sneered.
"Checkmate, boys."
The scarfed one growled and moved to attack but a huge plume of fire consumed him and blew him back. The skinnier one flinched but was crushed by a massive club slammeing him into the ground.
Natsu and Gajeel dropped right onto the battlefield, standing straight and letting their aura consume them.
The soldiers charging forward froze. Another ship broke overhead, its debris plummeting down.
"Well boys," Kai said. "Glad to see you could make it to the infestation."
"May as well step aside now," Gajeel said. "I'll take out all of them."
"Like hell you will!" Natsu roared.
"Then let's just see who wins!" Kai exclaimed, and flared his aura alongside the other Dragon Slayers.
The three surged through the enemy lines, carving into them like a knife through butter. They were an avalanche against the mountainside, a hurricane against a twig. Alvarez's line broke almost immediately upon impact with the Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail.
All the while, destruction from the armada rained down on them, some pieces of debris even crushing whole sections of troops. Lily arrived shortly and managed to provide huge relief behind the Dragon Slayers, catching any straggling soldiers that thought it would be a good idea to try and get away.
The sandstorm tried and failed, continuously, to pick up. Kai couldn't help but smile whenever he felt the winds picked up around him; he could sense Iggy in the magic the entire time.
Kai pushed forward one more time, and surprised himself by reaching the end of the Alvarez forces. Natsu and Gajeel cleaned up their end. Kai slid to a halt, glancing up at the sky.
Iggy's winged form dodged around another of Ajeel's attack before a flash seemed to stop everything, and then a massive beam completely obliterated the ship in the sky, the final ship. A tiny body flew through the air into the sky, vanishing.
Erza dropped for just a second before Iggy reappeared and caught her.
Kai sighed. "Well, that takes care of one of—"
His voice caught as another flash and giant laser blitzed toward Magnolia, toward Erza, but was quickly intercepted by a massive ship—Christina.
"No!" Natsu shouted.
"Let's go!" Gajeel yelled, and the three Dragon Slayers sprinted over their victorious battlefield, which, in a flash, felt like something of a hollow victory more than anything else.
They arrived back in the town limits and were instructed to get to the guild hall quick as possible. Apparently that initial wave, as First Master Mavis interpreted it, was little more than a litmus test, and the bulk of Alvarez's forces was yet to even arrive in Fiore, but they were coming from all sides.
As they passed the wreckage of the Christina, an audio message kept repeating, in Ichiya's voice, "Fiore. It's time."
Kai nodded at the sight of it, and could only hope Ichiya was alright. He'd done all of Fiore a huge solid if he managed to get the word out for the other guilds to mobilize; they could slow down Alvarez's advance from the directions it would take Fairy Tail too much time to get to.
All was unsettlingly quiet in the rest of Magnolia, like it'd become a ghost town. Freed's barrier was also down, not the most promising of signs.
Gajeel continued to charge in toward the guild hall while Natsu and Happy slowed down, forcing Kai to do the same.
"What's up?" Kai asked.
Natsu pursed his lips, and turned toward the sky. "If the bulk of Alvarez's forces are headed this way…do you think that means Zeref is with them?"
"No idea," Kai said, and had to hold Natsu back from moving. "What the hell are you thinking?"
"I can end this right now," Natsu said. "I've got a magic that can wipe Zeref out, I know it."
"You can't know that."
"Kai! I can end this war right here and right now and prevent all of our friends from getting hurt."
Kai grit his teeth. "You need backup."
"I have to do this alone."
"Why? You think you have to bet he one to beat Zeref, what makes you so special? If we can get everyone else we stand a better chance."
"I'm not putting them in danger."
Kai gestured at Happy. "So you'll put Happy on the front fines, then?"
"I need Happy to get to Zeref."
"Natsu, this is a terrible idea. You don't know who else may be with Zeref, or at least near him."
An unspoken name settled between them, but no realization, nor really much of anything, dawned over Natsu. No, his mind was made up.
"Don't tell anyone where I've gone. They'll just try and stop me."
Kai let Natsu go. "Fine. But you better kill him, Natsu. Otherwise you'll have to answer to me."
Natsu smiled back at Kai, the fangs of his teeth showing through. "Right."
He nodded to Happy, and they ran off, probably to see if they could pick up Zeref's scent before just blitzing out into combat. Kai sighed, then sprinted back toward the guild hall.
It was a little while more before First Master summoned everyone once more. She wanted to give them a little rest. The rest of Alvarez's forces, she believed, hadn't staged their land invasion, and would probably wait until daytime for that to occur.
At sunrise, she convened everyone in the guild hall, and laid down the situation alongside Warren, who'd been amplifying his power to stretch over Fiore:
The entire nation of Bosco's guilds had been wiped out by Alvarez forces, who staged their northern invasion of Fiore to the north. That force was going to be met by Sabertooth and the rest of Blue Pegasus. To the south lay Hargeon, completely unguarded.
"That was the direction of the Jupiter-level blast that attacked us last night," Mavis said. "And since Hargeon has only smaller guilds out there, we have to assume that whoever Zeref sent there he did so with the intention of making a statement against Fiore
"Given how many of the Spriggan Twelve are left standing, I think it's safe to assume that he'd sent the most amount of members either from the west or south. Given how open of a flank it is against us, I'd estimate three or four Spriggans."
She then explained the eastern front situation, that it was also left unguarded by guilds but it'd been picked up by the remaining Gods of Isghar, and in all likelihood, God Serena would feel that out and go to fight his former allies.
"So the eastern front won't be a concern of ours, we have to trust the most powerful of our nation," Mavis said. "In my estimations, the group with the best compatibility with Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus will be Gajeel, the Staruss Siblings, Levy, and Lily. Jet and Droy I need you both here with me, I'm sorry you can't go with her.
"To Hargeon I would like to send Juvia, Gray, Laxus, Wendy, Carla, Natsu, and Happy."
Kai bowed his head, trying to stay out of the conversation as everyone muttered where Natsu had gone. Nobody had seen him for a while.
"Was he left on the battlefield?" Lucy asked.
Warren set to work locating Natsu's position, and pulled it up on a globe. He was a tiny orange streak heading straight for a massive chunk of Alvarez forces, and in the midst of that was not only a member of the Spriggan Twelve but Zeref himself.
"What is that lunatic thinking?" Gray shrieked.
Kai pushed himself to his feet. "He went to take on Zeref all by himself."
"Clearly!" Gray shouted.
"Getting angry won't help anything," Erza said.
"Erza, come on!" Gray said. "Now's not the time to lecture me. That idiot is heading straight for a fight he…"
"Can win," Erza finished for him.
"I'll go in Natsu's place, with Iggy," Kai said.
Mavis turned toward him, calculating something in her head, then she nodded.
"If Kai is going then so am I," Erza said. "If there are truly three members of the Spriggan Twelve I believe all of our forces will be necessary."
"You'll be backed by Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel," Warren said.
"Gray, Lyon, and Kai should all work on creating a fortress around Hargeon to ward off enemy forces," Mavis said. "If Erza is there she can focus on combatting a member of the Spriggan Twelve you all cannot."
Kai nodded, and couldn't help staring at the globe once more, where Natsu and Happy charged through Alvarez forces. Lucy had her eyes locked on the screen as well. It was probably killing her to have Natsu just get away like that.
"It should also be noted, in case anyone hadn't heard, that we do have a member of the Spriggan Twelve in our midst," Mavis said. "She was captured by Lucy and Cana during the attack by Ajeel. Brandish is no longer a concern of ours."
That guilt directed at Natsu turned to pride at Lucy, whom Kai could not help but nodding in admiration of.
"We should all aim to set out as soon as possible," Mavis said. "Godspeed, my fairies!"
Elfman led everyone in the cheer, and the groups split apart, with Erza guiding everyone toward a cart to take them to Hargeon.
The two Exceeds carried the Dragon Slayers while Erza had everyone else clamber into a Magic Vehicle to drive them toward Hargeon.
Mavis estimated they'd still have time to meet up with the other two guilds before needing to engage in any combat, though if Alvarez's forces were already overrunning the city, it'd be best to just jump on in.
As they approached, it became quite painfully clear how outmatched the Fiore forces were. Dozens of ships lined the port, creating an inescapable blockade. The only way out for the poor people of Hargeon would be the hills, and since there were no smokestacks or signs of destruction, Kai could only assume that they had as Alvarez's forces waited to be met. Perhaps to lure Fairy Tail into a trap.
They'd have to pull off quite the maneuver if they wanted to pull that off. As it was, Alvarez was backed up against the sea. Even if they had a powerful water mage, Kai had few doubts that they'd get out of control: Juvia was the best Water Mage Kai had ever met, and Erza had her Sea Empress Armor to negate water magic. Plus, Laxus was with them, carrying his Lightning Magic with him to zap anything undersea.
Simply put, Mavis sent the strongest possible team that she could to absolutely obliterate an overconfident crew of Spriggans.
It was unfortunate that Jura wasn't going to be with them, but they'd make up for it with the Fairy Tail reinforcements and the might of Kagura and Lyon.
Fairy Tail pulled up short of Hargeon, nestling into the hills and out of sight, hopefully, of any Alvarez scouts. Kai and Wendy sensed out the waiting guild wizard and guided their allies into the hills, where, indeed, Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale had set up camp.
It was a brief but welcome reunion, with Kagura more than happy to see Erza and Lyon more than happy to see Juvia. Iggy reintroduced herself to several others, too, who recognized her voice but not the new body.
Fairy Tail set about getting a breather in after the countryside blitz, too.
Kai noticed, though, that there was a diminished demeanor among the group awaiting Fairy Tail.
"W—we gave it our best shot," he overhead Sherria Blendy saying to Wendy. "But they just…"
"We bounced off of them like rubber," Kagura said. "Their Spriggans are incredibly formidable."
"They've troops hidden all over the place," Lyon said. "At this point, they've turned Hargeon into their own little fortress."
The sun dipped beneath some hills, casting shadow over everyone.
"We'll take the evening to rest up," Erza said. "It doesn't seem like the enemy is going anywhere. Tomorrow, we'll strike them early, hard, and fast!"
Everyone agreed, and they set up a schedule of shifts. Kai got to sit around and meditate a bit before it was his turn. The moon rose, slow, over the hills. Iggy and Erza napped together behind him. Laxus took point adjacent him and Lyon was up opposite him, set up in a triangular position to watch for anything.
Kai got to thinking, strategizing, about how to weed out the Alvarez soldiers. An all-out charge may excite them and bait them into coming out into battle.
They were only sitting around there to ensure that nobody escaped Fiore. Hargeon was arguably Fiore's most prominent port city, so if they could cut off supplies and ensure that there were no wartime refugees, of course they'd just sit around.
This alliance had to obliterate them in a day, completely eradicate their numbers, and liberate Hargeon.
Kai crossed his arms. The sheer might of those Spriggans was a bit daunting, though.
Though it was unsurprising. If one of them was capable of firing a Jupiter-level blast all the way from Hargeon to Magnolia, it was a force to be reckoned with. Erza or Laxus would be best suited for that one.
Kagura mentioned there was a warrior among them, too. Erza would be well-suited for that as well.
Kai shifted, then did so again when he saw a lone figure stalking up the hill toward them. Kai almost summoned his sword, but he recognized the scent. Still, he did nothing until the figure was upon him.
"Been a while, Kai," they said, and their face became clear in the moonlight: Ultear.
"Prove it's you," Kai said.
Ultear smiled. "When you were training on the beaches with us, it took you an entire day to learn how to freeze a wave."
"Alright, alright," Kai said. "What are you doing here?"
"Hargeon is a pressure point of Fiore, and I'm here to help liberate it," Ultear said. "Crime Sorciere as a whole is enroute to the north now to provide extra defense, given how stout this group is."
"Jellal?"
"He's around."
"Helping?"
"Of course."
Kai nodded. "Good, we'll need all the help we can get."
Ultear sat next to Kai, the moon fully rising over the horizon. "You're in for a great fight tomorrow."
"Oh, I'm aware."
"You're really not. The other reason I came to Hargeon is to fight one of the Spriggans waiting below. Her name is Dimaria Yesta, and she's made a pact with Chronos, the God of Time. She wields some of his power."
"Think you can take her on?"
Ultear grinned in the moonlight, then turned toward Kai, a twinkle in her eye. "Not alone."