The supply lines were cut and the army defeated.
Weston hurriedly shifted the battlefield with Yuri and Zera, racing to support Precht.
By the time they arrived, more than half of the elite troops here had lost their fighting power under the rules of the spell trap.
Weston immediately released the spell, letting Precht, Yuri, and Warrod lead the guild partners to pick the enemy off one by one.
Half an hour later, the grain-escort unit was completely wiped out.
That also meant the war belonging to Fairy Tail would temporarily come to an end.
On the way back, Yuri excitedly recounted to everyone the magic Weston had used on the battlefield, instantly sparking Precht's great interest.
"Weston, what kind of magic was that you used?"
"You mean 'Mirror Reflection Thousandfold Ensemble'? It's a spell I created myself!"
At the mention of it, Weston couldn't help but curl his lips in pride. "This magic can absorb magical attacks and then release them a thousand times over."
"So, pretty awesome, right?!"
"What did you say?!"
If not for the rest of the guild wearing equally incredulous expressions, they would have doubted their own hearing.
"Absorb an attack and reflect it back a thousandfold?!"
"From what just happened, it looked like a natural disaster. Even the forbidden spells recorded in books can't be much worse than that, right?"
"Hold on! You said you created this spell yourself?!"
"Even for you, Weston, inventing a spell of this level at your age… isn't that a bit too outrageous?!"
Outrageous?
Absolutely not!
Weston waved a hand. "That's only because you've never seen a true magical genius!"
"Legend says that three hundred years ago, the black Wizard Zeref had already constructed a spell to resurrect humans at the age of eight!"
"Compared with his talent, my little trick is child's play, right?"
Ever since arriving in Magnolia a year and a half ago, Weston had been waiting for Zeref to appear.
—After all, according to the original plot, he should have shown up near Magnolia around that time.
Unfortunately, he waited for a long time without ever seeing Zeref's shadow.
For Weston, this was both good news and bad news.
The good: he didn't have to worry about the guy stealing Mavis.
The bad: Fairy Tail would lose its ultimate move, "Fairy Law," in the future!
To add a trump card to the guild, Weston racked his brains afterward, trying to create a spell that could rival "Fairy Law."
He was very confident.
Zeref could build the "R-System" to resurrect people, "Eclipse" to travel through time, create the demon life-form "Etherious," and invent "Law," a spell that wipes out only enemies… so why couldn't he?
So Weston pored over the Super Archive to survey the entire magic database and consulted Elefseria; after half a year he completed the basic theory of "Mirror Reflection Thousandfold Ensemble," then spent another half-year perfecting it.
Only today did he use it for the very first time.
The result… exceeded expectations!
"Hah… haha… Zeref?"
"He's the legendary black Wizard; no normal person would compare themselves with him!"
"Probably only a genius like the guild master would think of surpassing a genius."
At this point, everyone looked at Weston strangely, worried that the young man was "heading down the wrong path."
Precht, one eye open, asked half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Say, you're not going to fall into darkness and become a black Wizard that people shudder to mention, are you?"
Hearing that question from you makes me find it really weird!
Before Weston could retort, Mavis giggled beside him. "Don't worry. If it's Weston, I believe he can keep hold of himself!"
Hmm… no matter the time, place, or situation, having one or two people who always stand by your side and trust you unconditionally feels pretty great!
Warrod also joined in with a smile. "Then… what if, just what if, Weston accidentally turns into a big bad guy one day, what would you do?"
"Well…"
Mavis hesitated, and Zera wordlessly knocked her best friend on the head.
"Isn't it obvious!"
"If that day ever comes, we'll just beat him up until he comes to his senses and then bring him back!"
"Hehehe… Zera's absolutely right!"
…Sure enough, events unfolded just as Weston had predicted.
After two months of stalemate, the Eastern and Northern armies finally declared a victor three days after the grain-cutting operation.
The war ended with the First Prince's victory and the Second Prince's defeat and flight.
Thereafter, the First Prince's army pursued relentlessly southward, capturing seven cities in a row, while the Second Prince was beaten back again and again and had to flee east with his battered troops.
Magnolia's crisis was thus lifted.
Meanwhile, on the western battlefield of the kingdom, the Third Princess took advantage of the two princes' infighting and led a large army straight at the cities under their command.
By the time the First Prince realized his home base had been stolen, it was too late.
At that point he had driven deep into the southern territories and could not fully control the cities he had taken. Moreover, his retreat was cut off.
The Second Prince seized the chance to counterattack, wanting to settle all previous scores in one go.
Both sides threw in their last forces and fought a final decisive battle on the plains at the heart of Fiore Kingdom.
Just as they battered each other to the point of mutual ruin, Weston and the Fairy Tail Wizards suddenly appeared, leading the Third Princess's troops in an encirclement that wiped out the forces of both princes.
After cutting the grain supply, Weston had taken his guildmates straight to the western army; relying on the foundation laid in advance by Thought Projection, they quickly won an exalted position for Fairy Tail within the allied forces.
Then, with excellent tactics and by using the Super Archive to forecast and calculate weather, terrain, magic, and troop numbers, they perfectly integrated the army and the various guilds.
Wherever they went, they conquered without fail.
Within half a year they had seized half of Fiore Kingdom's territory!
Whether ordinary soldiers or elite talents from major guilds who came to join, all were utterly convinced by Weston's military genius.
The Third Princess of Fiore Kingdom even entrusted him with full command of her entire force and appointed him supreme commander of the whole army.
Weston, living up to expectations, marched south with the army, engineered a fight-to-the-death between the two princes, hid his own troops nearby, and jumped out at the last moment to harvest the spoils, reaping the benefits while both sides were spent.