Chapter 49

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The next day, Gildarts returned to the second day of 'Fairy Tail'.

In the usual crisp and clear call of Lisanna, Noah got up, put on the clothes chosen by Lisanna, and went down to the first-floor bar of the guild with her.

As soon as Lisanna came downstairs, she wanted to hide behind Noah.

After all, at this time, Natsu and Gray would always rush over to challenge Noah, only to be swiftly defeated by him. Lisanna didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.

"Huh?"

However, Lisanna soon noticed that today, Natsu and Gray didn't rush over to Noah at all; instead, they were sitting at a wooden table.

Natsu was sitting there with his arms crossed, tears in the corners of his eyes, looking puffed up, and with a bump on his head.

Gray was teasing Natsu, making Natsu even angrier, his eyes becoming more and more watery, on the verge of tears.

Beside Natsu and Gray, Mira, Erza, Cana, Elfman, and others were also gathered, scolding Natsu, who looked somewhat dejected.

"What's wrong with Natsu?" Noah, who had also noticed this, felt a bit puzzled.

"Did he challenge Mira or Erza and get defeated?"

The two of them exchanged a glance and walked over to Natsu.

"Hey, Mira-nee." Lisanna tugged at Mira's hand, asking curiously.

"What's wrong with Natsu?"

"Lisanna?" Mira glanced at Noah, who had come with her, and then coldly snorted.

"He deserves it!"

"Natsu seems to have challenged Gildarts." Erza shrugged, saying helplessly.

"See the result?"

With just those simple words, Noah and Lisanna immediately understood and chuckled.

"Should we say, 'No wonder it's Natsu'?"

"True to Natsu's style..."

"His opponent is the strongest mage in the guild; how could that hot-headed guy possibly win?" Gray put his hands on his head.

"Even Noah says Gildarts is strong enough to defeat him instantly. You can't even beat Noah, so how could you beat Gildarts?"

"Regardless, the opponent's level is just too high." Cana sighed and then pointed at Gray, reminding him.

"By the way, Gray, where are your clothes?"

"Oh?!" Gray, as usual, only realized he was only wearing shorts after a while.

"Hey, Noah, is that Gildarts guy really that strong?" Elfman asked Noah with a surprised tone.

"Strong enough to defeat you instantly?"

Everyone in the room turned their gaze to Noah, their eyes filled with the same surprise as Elfman, and also full of doubt.

After all, no one knew exactly how strong Gildarts was.

But everyone knew exactly how strong Noah was.

Even without magic, Noah still possessed outstanding sword skills, making him as strong as the guild's strongest, Mira and Erza!

Even if Natsu and Gray teamed up to ambush Noah, he could still defeat them instantly!

Noah was undoubtedly a match for even the most powerful mages in the guild!

Therefore, when Noah said he would be defeated instantly by Gildarts, even Natsu, who had been defeated by Gildarts, and Cana, who seemed to have a strange attitude towards Gildarts, were skeptical. Mira, Lisanna, Erza, and Gray, who were close to Noah, were even more so.

In front of everyone, Noah shrugged.

"I can only say that Gildarts is really strong. If he gets serious, I wouldn't last a second!"

"A second?!" Everyone's eyes widened.

At that moment, a voice came from the side.

"Hey! Still as energetic as ever today!"

Hearing this voice, everyone hadn't reacted yet, but Natsu had already jumped up.

"Gildarts!"

Gildarts, dressed in the same outfit, with a scruffy face full of stubble, greeted the guild members around him and walked over to the group of kids.

Seeing Gildarts approach, the young people became somewhat nervous, except for Noah and Natsu. One of them was sizing up Gildarts, while the other was shouting excitedly.

"Gildarts! Let's continue our duel!"

"Duel?" Gildarts scratched his head, waving his hand dismissively.

"Sorry, sorry, let's talk about it next time."

"Okay!" Natsu shouted, but he was already warming up, preparing to charge at Gildarts.

"Idiot!"

Gray and Elfman pounced on Natsu, pinning him down, making him struggle and shout.

"Let me go! Let me go! I want to duel Gildarts!"

"You guys..." Gildarts was helpless.

"So impulsive, typical of young people, huh?"

"Isn't that good?" Erza, who had been scrutinizing Gildarts, smiled sternly.

"Since Natsu is so eager, why not accompany him?"

"No, no, I just got back, and I haven't even rested enough." Gildarts still waved his hand, looking evasive.

"Fighting with Natsu, who only goes straight, won't do me any good, so let's skip it."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Gildarts' strength was unfathomable. To challenge such an existence, one needed to use indirect tactics and strategies to find the slightest chance of victory when at a significant disadvantage.

Someone like Natsu, who only charges forward, would just be a sitting duck, reducing the already slim chance of winning to zero.

Therefore, everyone understood Gildarts' words.

However, the next moment, things went beyond everyone's understanding.

"Then..." Noah looked up at Gildarts, a challenging smile on his face.

"How about I fight you?"

"Noah?!" Everyone was shocked.

Gildarts was also taken aback, looking at Noah. The lazy and scruffy expression on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by the steady smile he had when he first returned to the guild.

"Then I'll accompany you for a bit!"

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned, then exclaimed in unison.

"Huh————?!"

...

"Fight, fight————!"

Encouraging cheers came from the surrounding crowd.

"Noah (Noah-nii)!"

Mira, Lisanna, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Cana, and Elfman stood in the center of the crowd, some with worried expressions, some serious, and some excited, as if they were enjoying it more than Noah.

On the other side of the human wall formed by the guild mages, Noah held a sheathed knight's sword, his eyes fixed on Gildarts, his hand on the hilt.

In contrast to Noah, Gildarts had a smile on his face, looking very relaxed.

"Before we fight, let me ask you a question." Gildarts smiled lightly.

"Why do you suddenly want to fight me? Didn't you say I could defeat you instantly?"

"Only if you get serious." Noah maintained his natural stance, smiling lightly.

"Before you get serious, I think I can still exchange a few blows with you."

"Actually, I'm quite curious about the guild master's new grandson. After all, his other grandson, your nominal brother, is quite remarkable. I'll probably have to admit defeat to him eventually, right?" Gildarts beckoned to Noah provocatively.

"So, let me see what you can do!"

Noah didn't respond, but his grip on the sword tightened.

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