Hearing this, everyone in the Guild looked at Makarov in surprise.
"Ah! Welcome back, Master." Mirajane immediately said with a beaming smile.
Lucy retorted, "This isn't the time for that."
Takeshi's eyes lit up when he saw Makarov return. "Master, is my S-Class Quest settled?"
The Guild members retorted, "Now is not the time for that either."
Erza asked doubtfully, "Master, what exactly is going on?"
Makarov explained, "At a recent meeting, for some unknown reason, Oración Seis began to act, and this was discussed as an agenda item. This has become a major issue that cannot be ignored, and the agenda eventually evolved into which Guild should be tasked with subduing these guys."
Gray scoffed, "You drew the short straw again, old man."
"Is Fairy Tail going to complete this mission?" Juvia voiced the thoughts of the Guild members, many of whom looked uneasy.
After all, the opponent was one of the strongest Dark Guilds in the Balam Alliance, with numerous Dark Guilds under its banner.
Makarov shook his head. "No, the enemy this time is too powerful. If only our Guild were to carry it out, even if Oración Seis were eliminated, the Balam Alliance would then directly target us."
"Because of this, we finally decided to form an alliance."
"An alliance?!"
"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter—four Guilds will each select elites to jointly subdue them."
"What kind of thing is this!"
"We alone should be enough! I say I alone should be enough!"
Many in the Guild were discussing animatedly. After all, legitimate Guilds are also commercial competitors, and their relationships are not always harmonious.
Erza explained, "Master is considering future problems."
If Fairy Tail Guild members were targeted by the Dark Guild Alliance on future missions, it could cause a significant impact. By forming an alliance, the Dark Guilds would not dare to act recklessly, and there wouldn't be a situation where one party is in trouble and others ignore it.
"What about the candidates, Master?"
All the Guild members looked at Makarov. Since it was about subduing Oración Seis, the candidates were very important.
"Takeshi."
Makarov's gaze went directly to Takeshi.
After all, the opponents were Oración Seis, and he could only feel at ease if Takeshi went.
Takeshi looked speechless. He knew that in such situations, the old man's first thought would definitely be him. He felt that even after transmigrating to another world, he still couldn't escape the fate of becoming a corporate drone.
"Alright, I understand."
Since this was a mission given by Makarov, he couldn't refuse. As for Oración Seis, he had some impression of them. These guys would appear from time to time in later plots and were the type of characters who were villains in the early stage and then got whitewashed in the late stage.
Of course, even if these guys were whitewashed, Takeshi couldn't bring himself to like them. When it was time to act, he wouldn't be soft-hearted. If these guys were lucky enough to survive, then they should all be packaged and sent to the Magic Council.
"Erza."
Makarov then looked at Erza.
Although Takeshi had shown greater endurance in recent times, the overall duration was not long. It was just that he resolved battles quickly.
To deal with various emergencies, Erza was the most suitable candidate. Takeshi and Erza had cooperated several times, and their strength was beyond question.
Since it was to deal with Oración Seis, they naturally had to field their strongest forces on paper.
One reason was to ensure the mission could be completed, and the other was naturally to show off their strength in front of other Guilds.
Fairy Tail is now called the number one Mage Guild in Fiore, but in the eyes of many, Fairy Tail's claim to being the strongest was greatly exaggerated.
In their view, Fairy Tail's strength was mainly attributed to Makarov, a Wizard Saint, and Takeshi, who even defeated a Wizard Saint.
There were only ten Wizard Saints in the entire Ishgar continent, and Fairy Tail alone had basically two. If this wasn't the strongest, what was?
And the other members of Fairy Tail were generally average in strength. Newspapers often reported some scandals where Fairy Tail's efforts backfired.
Furthermore, Makarov was already 88 years old. What combat power could someone of that age still have?
This led some Mages to believe that Fairy Tail was actually nothing special.
Just like the guy Laxus encountered in a certain village before, and the Naked Mummy eliminated by the Thunder God Tribe.
Some people, if you don't really hurt them, will truly underestimate you.
Erza said seriously, "Don't worry, Master. We will definitely complete the mission."
Makarov nodded. "Mm, I'm counting on you."
"This time it's Takeshi and Erza?"
"The Guild's strongest male and female duo are working together again."
"It seems Master really attaches great importance to this operation."
"If Takeshi and Erza are involved, the mission can be completed even without people from other Guilds."
The Guild members discussed animatedly.
"Wait a minute! Master! Is that all? What about me?"
Natsu was still waiting for Makarov to call his name, but he didn't expect it to end just like that.
Makarov asked, "Don't you still have to do missions to pay back money?"
During the Harvest Festival, Natsu and Gajeel had fought, causing considerable damage to the streets. The Guild paid the money first, and during this time, Natsu and Gajeel have been working to pay off their debt.
Indeed, no pressure, no motivation. Natsu really earned money during this period and didn't cause any major trouble.
Natsu shouted, "That's not important! I want to go subdue those Dark Guild bastards!"
"Uh... that's still very important."
The Guild's reconstruction had already left its finances strained, and then this incident occurred, leaving the Guild with little money.
"Since you brought it up, you can go too."
According to the intel received, the Guilds under Oración Seis were acting together. The exact number of people was uncertain, but it certainly wouldn't be small.
Natsu excitedly said, "Great! Watch me take down all those guys!"
Gray stood up and said, "I'll go too."
He had nothing much to do recently and also wanted to meet this Dark Guild, hailed as one of the strongest.
"Gray, why are you joining in the fun? There are no underwear for you to steal there." Natsu said.
Takeshi and Erza were fine, but he wasn't happy about teaming up with Gray.
"You bastard! How long ago was that! You're still bringing it up!" Gray was furious.
Makarov decided, "Since that's the case, then Takeshi, Erza, Natsu, and Gray will go together."