Chapter 76: Beat Him Up!
Chapter 76: Beat Him Up!
Natsu's determination was clear to Rod, and he understood it well.
A kind-hearted person, after experiencing something as traumatic as what they had, wouldn't want others to suffer the same fate.
So, they would go all out to ensure that the unfortunate soul was beaten back to his senses.
By the time Happy returned with two fish, Natsu was already dividing the roasted meat with Rod.
Rod took a couple of bites, but his mind was too preoccupied, and the food tasted bland.
To quickly restore his strength and magic, he mechanically chewed and swallowed, feeling a sense of fullness before meditating briefly.
Once Happy’s fish was cooked, Rod’s magic had mostly recovered. The three of them extinguished the fire and set off again.
The leopard man had fled and changed positions multiple times, but Natsu had memorized his scent, making it easy to track him down.
With Natsu handling the pursuit, Rod focused on sending his river crabs to scout the terrain. He needed to find several areas with minimal fire risk to serve as potential battlefields.
"Found him!"
After climbing over the second peak of the Dendrobium Ridge, they finally spotted the leopard man again.
"That guy sure can run," Rod said, gripping his pendant and summoning a group of Shadow Wolves and a group of Beak Birds.
The group of Shadow Wolves and Beak Birds he had lost in the previous battle would only be restored by tomorrow.
He kept the Stone Beetles in reserve, and the two Magic Swamp Frogs couldn't be used recklessly without an antidote.
"Natsu, there’s a nice clearing 300 meters to the left of the maple forest, and another one 200 meters ahead."
"Got it. I’ll try to lure him there, right?" Natsu was reasonable most of the time; his destruction was often unintentional.
Rod recalled one of the river crabs, intending to use it to carry Natsu into battle while he and Happy found a suitable tree to observe from. They needed a safe vantage point for Rod to command the wild monsters if necessary.
"Charge!" Natsu jumped onto the river crab’s back, gripping its antennae excitedly as he urged it forward.
The leopard man noticed Natsu and his first reaction was to flee.
But as he turned right to escape, hundreds of feathers rained down from the sky.
He retreated a few steps to avoid the feathers and found that three wolves had appeared, blocking his path.
He wasn’t afraid of these wolves, but he didn’t want to waste time. So, he shifted direction and ran to the left.
"Faster, faster!" Natsu urged the river crab, which used its skill to create a trail of afterimages as it sprinted.
Rod wanted to name the river crab’s acceleration skill "Ripples of the Water Wave," but he always felt the effect didn’t quite match the name.
As the distance between them closed rapidly, Natsu couldn’t contain his excitement and launched himself from the river crab’s back.
"Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn!"
Natsu’s body spun like a flaming tornado, crashing into the leopard man’s back.
The leopard man stumbled and fell forward, rolling to his feet and continuing his escape, his speed increasing.
"Hey! Weren’t you so tough just now? Why are you running now?" Natsu, frustrated, had to chase after him.
The river crab carried Natsu again, and Rod, Happy, and the other wild monsters followed closely behind.
As the leopard man burst out of the maple forest and neared their target battlefield, Happy suggested, "Rod, throw me!"
"Sure." Rod grabbed Happy, mimicking the motion of a discus thrower, spinning around and hurling Happy forward.
Happy flipped gracefully in the air, sprouting wings and accelerating even more, catching up to the river crab ahead.
"Natsu!" Happy grabbed Natsu’s shoulders, "Maximum speed, MAX SPE~E~D!"
With Natsu in tow, Happy’s speed increased even further, overtaking the leopard man. He then released Natsu, who soared over the leopard man’s head.
"Great job, Happy!" Natsu flipped through the air and kicked down with a flaming leg, shouting, "Fire Dragon's Claw!"
The leopardman was forced to halt, crossing his arms to block the kick from above. His wrists were scorched black by the flames from Natsu's feet.
"Answer my call, Ancient Stone Beetles!"
Before the leopardman could turn around, a group of stone beetles blocked his path, while another group burrowed into the ground.
Then, Shadow Wolves and Sharp-Beak Birds blocked his left and right flanks.
With no way to retreat, the leopardman chose to fight, targeting the Shadow Wolves.
They looked easier to bully.
The Shadow Wolves nimbly dodged, taking every opportunity to nip at the leopardman's wrists.
Natsu wouldn't stand by and let the Shadow Wolves take the hits. He charged in a few steps, "Fight me, you bastard! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The leopardman was forced to engage.
On the other side, Happy had a bit of a problem.
Before he could land, his wings suddenly vanished, and he plopped onto the grass, rolling a few times. When he stopped, stars were dancing in his eyes, and he couldn't move.
That sudden acceleration was no easy feat for Happy.
As a man of principle, Rod took a 'huge risk' to circle around the battlefield and pick up Happy.
"Looks like Happy has a special move too."
"Lu~~" Happy was dazed and weak.
Rod wanted to comment on how Happy's condition rendered their retreat plan useless, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Leave the rest to us," Rod said, looking at the battlefield. The leopardman was pinned down by Natsu and the Shadow Wolves, unable to break free.
But whether driven by instinct or cunning, the leopardman kept looking for an opportunity to take out the weaker Shadow Wolves to escape.
Rod saw his chance and pointed his finger upward, "Ancient Stone Beetles!"
Crack! The Ancient Stone Beetles burst from the ground, clamping their massive pincers onto the leopardman's waist.
"Roar!!!" The leopardman gripped the pincers with both hands, his muscles bulging and growing even more massive.
The Ancient Stone Beetles almost let go under his immense strength.
Natsu jumped up and punched the leopardman in the side of the face, "Snap out of it, you bastard!"
The leopardman's head snapped to the side, his cheek trembling from the impact.
Even from a distance, Rod could see the force of that punch. The stance looked familiar, like something he'd seen during bar fights.
The leopardman's eyes cleared for a moment, but then turned completely blood red.
His limbs and neck swelled, his muscles bulging with raw power.
Then, the leopardman forcibly pried open the Ancient Stone Beetles' pincers.
He turned around, interlocked his fingers, and delivered a heavy hammer blow, shattering the Ancient Stone Beetle into two pieces.
Rod frowned, "Damn, he really has a second stage!"
Natsu, however, was excited, "I knew it, hitting him really works!"
The second stage was within Rod's expectations and didn't affect his strategy.
"Shadow Wolves, fall back! Stone Beetles, bite his legs! Natsu!"
"Got it!" Natsu took a deep breath, taking advantage of the leopardman's immobility to unleash a burst of scorching flames, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
(End of Chapter)
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