Just as Carla was about to exert more pressure, a robust black Exceed, accompanied by a group of soldiers, ran over and shouted loudly, "Calvin, Erza! Those two Exceed were expelled by Extalia!!"
Upon hearing this, Carla and Happy didn't hesitate and immediately withdrew. They flew away so quickly that no one could react in time. The two cats, who had flown into the sky, were temporarily safe from any threats.
However, just because no one could threaten them didn't mean that there were no cats who could. A multitude of wing flapping sounds came from the sky, and when the two cats looked up, they saw countless Exceed descending from above, wielding weapons and flying aggressively towards them.
"Happy! We're vulnerable in the air! Quickly land on the ground!" Carla immediately instructed Happy, realizing the unfavorable situation. She then flew down to the ground herself.
"Hold on! Carla! There are enemies on the ground too!" Happy exclaimed in shock, grabbing hold of Carla. True to his words, not only were there four captains from the Royal Army below, but even Calvin, the self-proclaimed strongest combatant in the kingdom, was there, smirking and waiting for them.
"We have no choice. Let's take refuge in the buildings!" Carla gritted her teeth and flew towards the nearby castle. Although she knew that the castle would be the home ground of the kingdom's army, they had no other options at this moment. They had to take risks and try their luck.
Just then, a large number of flags were raised around the castle as if conveying some kind of command. Soon, countless illuminating attacks appeared within the castle walls, emitting a dazzling light. The area was large enough to surround all the Exceed pursuing Happy and Carla. The Exceed caught in the light kept screaming in agony, clearly in great pain.
"What... What's happening? Is this a rebellion?" Happy, who was frightened by the situation, muttered in disbelief.
"Although I'm not entirely sure, now is the best time to escape while chaos reigns!" Carla, compared to Happy, appeared much calmer. "Let's go and rescue Wendy and the others now!"
The two cats took advantage of this opportunity to quickly fly into the castle, flying in the direction of the western tower that Erza had just revealed.
"Oh no! The fallen ones escaped!" However, not everyone overlooked them. Just as Happy and the others fled, Erza immediately noticed and quickly chased after them. Calvin, seeing this, also hurriedly followed Erza.
Meanwhile, as the multitude of Exceed illuminated by the light turned into pieces of Lacrimas, the king emerged and delivered an inspiring speech filled with infinite magical power, boosting the morale of all the soldiers.
On the other side, when Happy and Carla reached a certain corridor, they heard the familiar voices of their companions—painful screams! Coincidentally, Erza and Calvin caught up as well. Erza shot her own Ten Commandments spear, embedding it not far from the two cats, and it suddenly emitted a bright light, causing a thunderous explosion!
The two cats were instantly heavily injured. Carla asked in pain and anxiety, "What... What have you done to Wendy and the others?"
"Hehe, grab the magic power needed for ETD operation!" Erza revealed a smug smile and ignored the cats' reactions. She raised her spear, about to strike them down. Meanwhile, Calvin shook his head from behind and displayed an inexplicable smile, seemingly filled with regret and mockery, but he also raised his hand, his intentions unclear.
Suddenly, at this moment, screams came from the soldiers who had followed from behind, mixed with the sound of magic. Erza and Calvin couldn't help but turn their heads to see what was happening.
The culprits causing the chaos from the rear gradually revealed themselves. They appeared to be a man and a woman, the man wearing only pants with a tattoo of a fairy tail on his chest, while the woman wore armor and had beautiful red hair, with sharp eyes.
"What... What's going on? It's actually me?" Erza, holding the Ten Commandments spear, was greatly shocked but quickly realized that the newcomers should be members of Isranthan, another version of herself.
Yes, the man and woman were indeed Gray and Erza.
And Gray was the one who made the first move.
"Where are our comrades? Where did our comrades turned into Lacrimas go?!" Gray shouted loudly, clenching his fist in his left hand, causing a surge of magic power and releasing a burst of freezing ice. The soldiers were immediately knocked down by the ice, but when the ice reached Calvin, he simply waved his hand lightly, causing the ice to vanish. It seemed to have no effect on him.
At the same time, Erza, the captain of the Royal Army, leaped out of the ice and thrust her spear towards Erza. Erza quickly drew her sword from her waist and the clash of their magic caused a fierce gust of wind.
"Erza against Erza. Even if we can't win, we should be evenly matched. So, can I defeat this world's Calvin?" Gray glanced at the battle behind him and realized that he couldn't intervene in the monstrous fight. However, there was an even more terrifying monster blocking his path.
Just as Gray was about to take action, Calvin raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Before Gray could comprehend what was happening, he heard a cry of surprise from behind, causing him to quickly turn around.
But what he saw almost made him unable to believe his own eyes. The Erza from Edolas had been bound by some kind of magic, while his companion Erza couldn't stop her attack and viciously slashed the other Erza with a single blow. The battle that was expected to be prolonged had unexpectedly ended so easily!
"What's going on?" The same question flashed through everyone's minds, and they all turned their gaze to Calvin.
Calvin chuckled lightly, pulling off his clothes to reveal the clothes underneath, which were the clothes that Calvin from Isranthan usually wore.
Seeing this, everyone understood. The person in front of them was the true identity of Calvin from Earth Land.
"Calvin?! Cough cough!! Impossible! How could another Calvin defeat him?!" Erza, who had been wounded, widened her eyes in disbelief and angrily roared at Calvin.
"Have you forgotten what I said earlier? That Calvin was a Fairy Tail mage from Earth Land. You were all deceived by him. I've already dealt with that 'Calvin' and thrown him into the prison cell!" Calvin smirked, looking very pleased with himself.
"Impossible! How could Calvin lose to the likes of you?!" Erza gritted her teeth and spoke with hatred, but she was heavily injured and restrained by Calvin's Binding Snake, rendering her powerless.
"Hehe, you all just trusted him too much. When I wore his clothes and walked out with him, no one would have thought that I was impersonating him. By the way, the magic on your body was left by me when I approached you. It's a pity that even as Erza, you didn't notice it!" Calvin relentlessly continued to strike, but his knowledge earned him the resentful gazes of the two Erzas. Erza Scarlet clearly understood that Calvin was mocking her for being tricked by Jellal and implanted with the Binding Snake.
"Alright, we need to go save our comrades. You and Happy go rescue Natsu and Wendy, while Elusa and I have other plans!" After Calvin finished speaking, Erza, who was injured and lying on the ground, suddenly felt drowsiness wash over her and immediately fell asleep.
"This is Mystogan's magic... When did you learn that, you bastard!" Gray dispelled his drowsiness and asked incredulously.
"I just have some tricks up my sleeve. Let's hurry and take action. You go with Happy to rescue Natsu and Wendy, while Erza and I have a different plan!" Calvin chuckled lightly, radiating absolute confidence.