Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Beat Him!
Rhodes understood Natsu's determination.
A kind person, after experiencing such an event, surely wouldn't want anyone else to suffer the same misfortune.
So, they would give it their all to fight and bring that poor guy back to normal.
By the time Happy returned with two fish, Natsu and Rhodes were already sharing the roasted meat.
Rhodes took a couple of bites, but because he had too much on his mind, the food felt tasteless.
He mechanically chewed and swallowed for the sake of quickly recovering his strength and magic. After filling his stomach, he meditated for a while.
By the time Happy's fish was ready, Rhodes' magic was mostly restored. They put out the fire and set off again.
After escaping, the Leopard Man kept changing his location, but since Natsu had memorized his scent, finding him wasn't difficult.
With Natsu responsible for tracking, Rhodes could focus on using his crabs to scout the terrain.
He aimed to find a few areas with low fire risk as backup battlegrounds.
"Found him!"
The three of them had just crossed the second peak of the Orchid Mountain Range when they finally spotted the Leopard Man again.
"That guy really knows how to run." Rhodes held his pendant, summoning a group of Shadow Wolves and a group of Razorbeak Birds.
The group of Shadow Wolves and Razorbeak Birds lost in the previous battle wouldn't recover until the next day.
The Stone Beetles were being kept in reserve, and the two Marsh Frogs couldn't be used recklessly without the antidote.
"Natsu, there's a good clearing 300 meters to the left of the maple grove ahead and another 200 meters forward."
"Got it, you want me to lead him there for the fight, right?" Natsu could be quite sensible; most of the time, the destruction he caused wasn't intentional.
Rhodes recalled a crab, planning for it to carry Natsu forward in a charge while he and Happy found a suitable tall tree to watch the fight.
They needed a spot that was both safe and convenient for Rhodes to command his beasts in real-time.
"Charge!" Natsu jumped onto the back of the crab, gripping its antennae excitedly to urge it on.
The Leopard Man noticed Natsu, and his first reaction was to leave the area.
But just as he turned right to escape, hundreds of feathers rained down from above.
The Leopard Man took a few steps back to avoid the feathers, noticing three wolves now blocking his way.
He wasn't afraid of the wolves but didn't want to waste time, so he moved his foot and changed direction to flee to the left.
"Faster, faster!" urged by Natsu, the crab used its skill, leaving afterimages behind as it sped up.
Rhodes had always wanted to name the crab's speed skill "Lingbo Weibu," but couldn't decide because the name didn't quite fit the effect.
With the distance between them quickly closing, Natsu couldn't hold back any longer, springing off the crab's back:
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
Natsu's body spun, enveloped by a vortex of flames, as he rammed into the Leopard Man's back.
The Leopard Man staggered forward, rolled forward on the ground, landed on all fours, ran a few steps, and then continued to flee even faster.
"Hey! Weren't you all tough earlier?! Why are you just running now?" Natsu fumed, stomping his feet but having no choice but to chase after him.
The crab carried Natsu once again, while Rhodes, Happy, and the other beasts followed behind.
Seeing the Leopard Man dash out of the maple grove and approach the designated battlefield, Happy suggested, "Rhodes, throw me over."
"Alright." Rhodes grabbed Happy and, mimicking an athlete throwing a discus, spun once and flung Happy forward.
Happy nimbly twisted in midair, adjusted his posture, grew his wings, and sped up, even overtaking the crab.
"Natsu!" Happy grabbed Natsu by the shoulders, "Maximum speed! MAX SPEED!"
With Happy gripping Natsu, the speed increased again, carrying Natsu over the Leopard Man's head before letting go.
"Great job, Happy!" Natsu twisted in midair and kicked, "Fire Dragon's Claw!"
The Leopard Man had no choice but to stop, crossing his arms to block the descending kick. His wrists were scorched by the flames on Natsu's feet.
"Answer my call, Ancient Stone Beetle!"
Before the Leopard Man could turn around, a group of Stone Beetles burst from the ground, with one blocking his retreat while another dug underground.
Then, Shadow Wolves and Razorbeak Birds moved in, cutting off his escape from both sides.
With no way out, the Leopard Man could only fight, and he chose the Shadow Wolves as his target—they looked easier to handle.
The Shadow Wolves evaded nimbly, and whenever they got a chance, they lunged at his wrists.
Natsu, of course, wasn't about to let the Shadow Wolves take the blows. He rushed up in just a few steps: "Fight me, you bastard! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The Leopard Man was forced to engage.
Meanwhile, Happy encountered a small problem.
Before he could land, his wings suddenly disappeared, causing him to crash into the grass and roll over, lying there seeing stars and unable to move.
The extreme acceleration just now had been no small feat for Happy.
As a person of honor, Rhodes took the "great risk" of circling around the battlefield to pick up Happy.
"Turns out you have some real moves, Happy."
"Ai~~" Happy groaned, still feeling dazed.
Rhodes wanted to scold Happy, noting that with him in this state, the retreat plan he'd discussed on the way was useless now.
But in the end, he didn't have the heart to say it.
"We'll take care of the rest." Rhodes looked at the battlefield; the Leopard Man was tangled up with Natsu and the Shadow Wolves, unable to break free.
But whether driven by instinct or because he had some awareness, he kept trying to eliminate the weaker Shadow Wolves to make his escape easier.
Rhodes seized the opportunity, flicking his finger upward: "Ancient Stone Beetle!"
With a crack, an Ancient Stone Beetle burst from the ground, clamping its giant pincers around the Leopard Man's waist.
"Roar!!!" The Leopard Man gripped the pincers at his waist with both hands, his arm muscles bulging, looking even more robust.
Under his immense strength, the Ancient Stone Beetle began to show signs of loosening its grip.
At this moment, Natsu jumped up, landing a punch on the Leopard Man's face, "Snap out of it, you bastard!"
The Leopard Man's head jerked to the side, his cheek trembling under the force of the blow.
Even from a distance, Rhodes could feel the power behind that punch—it looked eerily familiar, like the kind of punches he'd seen during bar fights.
The Leopard Man's eyes showed a brief moment of clarity before turning completely blood red.
His limbs, along with his neck, bulged with muscles, looking even more powerful.
The Leopard Man then forcibly pried open the pincers of the Ancient Stone Beetle.
He turned around, clasping his hands together, and delivered a heavy blow, shattering the Ancient Stone Beetle into two smaller ones.
Rhodes frowned, "Damn, he really has a second phase!"
Natsu, on the other hand, looked pleased, "I knew it! Beating him up is working!"
A second phase was anticipated, so it didn't affect Rhodes' command:
"Shadow Wolves, retreat! Stone Beetles, grab his legs! Natsu!"
"Got it!" Natsu took a deep breath and, taking advantage of the Leopard Man's inability to move, unleashed searing flames:
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
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