A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Natsu's vision was precise; his body sometimes sank, sometimes turned, but his feet never stopped moving. While dodging all the ice blades, he was also constantly getting closer to Silver.

At the same time, his magic was also gathering, this time not in his arms or between his fingers, but covering his entire body, especially his head.

Just as he dodged the last ice blade, he moved to a position less than a meter away from Yin. Then, he stomped his feet hard, causing the ground to sink three inches and crack. He then jumped up and smashed his forehead into the enemy's face.

"The Fire Dragon's Horn!!"

This time, Natsu's attack was timed perfectly.

The two were now very close, giving him ample time to build up his power. Meanwhile, his opponent was in a state of "having just used a spell, with insufficient magic power and the lowest level of defense." Logically, he should have been able to successfully attack and deliver a devastating blow!

But Natsu still miscalculated!

In just a moment, the flames on Natsu's body were completely extinguished, as if the grand spectacle just now was an illusion, leaving only the drizzling raindrops continuously dripping onto Natsu's body.

He maintained that upward-facing, backward-facing posture, but whether it was his headbutt, fists, or scarf, his entire body was frozen into ice; he was frozen into an ice sculpture!

The power of the Ice Demon Slayer Technique instantly solidified!

This sudden scene was beyond everyone's imagination. Natsu, who was just engulfed in flames and had just created the best opportunity to attack, was frozen into an ice man in an instant!

"Natsu!!"

Happy shouted anxiously, putting down Levy he was holding and going to check on her, but he was powerless to do anything about what was happening before him.

"How could this be..."

Levy was also surprised. The current situation seemed to be forcing her to step in, but Natsu was frozen instantly by the opponent. How could she possibly win?

"What is that stupid fire dragon doing?"

Gajeel, in a fit of rage, started cursing and wanted to go help, but...

"The Five Swords of the World..." A loud shout came from close by; it was Ethel, seizing the opportunity presented by Gajeel's distraction to launch an attack, "Juzumaru!!!"

A blinding blue light suddenly appeared, within which were several slashing waves even stronger than before, which erupted less than two meters away from Gajeel.

"hateful……"

Boom!!

As the smoke cleared, Gajeel narrowly avoided the attack, but his clothes were torn to shreds.

"There was absolutely no chance to go and help..."

"Hahahaha!!! You'd better worry about yourself!! You'll be torn to shreds by me soon too!!"

Gajeel could tell that his opponent was just a straightforward big guy with a simple attack method, but his attack power was astonishing. Combined with the advantage of his height and long reach, this created the tricky situation he was in.

If a person of small stature were to face this demon, they might have a chance to dodge the slashes, but Gajeel is not one of them!

"Hey! Fire Dragon!! Get out of that ice block right now!!!"

Gajeel shouted, hoping to break the seal as soon as possible, otherwise Levy, a weak girl, would not be able to defeat the opponent.

"Hahaha!! Useless, useless!! Your companion is already dead!!!"

Ethel gave Gajeel no chance to catch his breath, relentlessly slashing at him. Each slash brought forth a powerful aerial strike, leaving ugly scars on the ground.

Faced with this situation, Gajeel could only retreat while dodging. He intended to lure the enemy away, but he was worried about Levy and Natsu on this side, so he could only keep circling the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to escape.

"Looks like your companion is unable to move!" Silver said, looking at Happy who was protecting Natsu. "Aren't you planning to run away?"

Happy was on the verge of tears, her heart filled with fear and worry, but she still mustered her courage and flew into the air, spreading her arms to block the approaching Silver: "We would never do something like abandoning our companions!"

"That's right!"

Levy stood behind Natsu. Unlike Happy, who was small and could fly, she could not squeeze through the less than one meter between Natsu and Silver. She could only protect Natsu's body. Liquid that was hard to tell whether it was rain or sweat dripped from her head, but her eyes were just as firm as when she looked at Silver.

"I see, so these are the mages from 'Fairy Tail'? They're truly amazing!"

Yin looked at him with admiration, but did not withdraw his outstretched hand.

Chapter 331 The Dilemma of Choosing One of Two

"You're not allowed near Natsu!"

Seeing that Silver had no intention of stopping, Happy shouted and bit his right hand.

This bite was unexpected by Yin. He didn't expect a cat to have such courage. He had no choice but to pull his hand back and flail it wildly in mid-air: "It really hurts... Let me go!"

But Harpy acted as if he hadn't heard, neither giving in nor speaking, yet anyone could clearly hear his inner thoughts in those angry and resolute eyes.

That was the sound of protecting their companions!

Silver didn't freeze Happy, but instead retreated in cooperation, grabbing the back of Happy's neck with his left hand in an attempt to break free from his attack. Levy also took the opportunity to launch an attack!

"Solid text, flame!"

Levy knew perfectly well that her attack was no match for Natsu's flames, but at this moment, it was the only thing she could do.

Silver finally broke free from Happy's biting attack, leaving two rows of teeth marks on his hand, but surprisingly, there was no blood.

He tossed Harpy aside, then looked at the fire attack less than a meter away from him. A chill ran through his chest, and he exhaled a breath of cold air. The fire lettering "FIRE" instantly vanished without a trace!

"Happy! Are you alright?" Levy shouted anxiously.

Harpy rolled around on the ground several times, getting wet mud all over his body and his pack. The mud splattered on his originally blue fur and white belly made him look quite disheveled.

But he stubbornly stood up, letting the rain wash away the mud, and shouted back, "I'm fine!"

Levy breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, a shadow fell over her! Levy looked up sharply and found Silver standing right in front of her!

Due to the height difference between the two, Silver was looking down at Levy. From this angle, he appeared more sinister and murderous. Coupled with the immense magical power emanating from him so close at hand, it made Levy almost unable to breathe.

"Levy! Get out of the way!"

Happy's exclamation drew Gajeel's attention. Seeing the critical situation, Gajeel disregarded the enemies behind him and turned to provide support.

Ethel pressed on, unleashing a powerful swing of her arm that sent four more slashing waves hurtling towards Gajeel's back: "Hahaha!!! Do you even have time to look around?!"

"The Roar of the Iron Dragon!!"

Gajeel took a deep breath, his mouth opened wide, and his magic power transformed into Dragon Slayer Magic within his body, finally pouring out from his mouth.

With a roar, it transformed into a thick and powerful iron tornado, attacking the four flying slashes. The black and white magic collided in mid-air, stirring up a gale and a fine rain, until the energy of the two attacks was exhausted and they dissipated into nothingness.

"What's with these guys' attacks? Something's been off since just now..."

Gajeel's senses were also quite good. After several exchanges, he could sense that what his opponent was using didn't seem to be magic. However, his mind wasn't much better than Natsu's, and since he didn't have the concept of "cursed power," he couldn't figure it out either.

After the attack, Gajeel immediately turned around; he couldn't let Levy face Silver alone!

He rushed to Levy's side in a few strides, and as he charged forward, his arm transformed into a black iron rod to attack: "Iron Dragon Rod!"

Gajeel extended the Iron Dragon Staff towards Levy and Silver, intending to separate the two so that Levy could retreat and hide, while also taking Natsu, who had been frozen into an ice sculpture, with her.

But things didn't always go as he hoped during the battle!

Silver noticed Gajeel's outstretched iron rod and chopped downwards with his right hand, creating a thick ice wall that blocked the rod's path.

clang!!

The iron dragon staff collided with the ice wall, producing a heavy thud.

The ice wall shattered, and the shattered ice crystals scattered on the ground, but it still slowed down the Iron Dragon Staff's attack!

Therefore, Yin got the opportunity to fight back.

With a powerful swing of his right hand, another icy attack erupted from the ground. Countless ice blocks surged forth from the earth, flowing like tidal waves along the direction from which the iron dragon staff had come!

This move released a lot of ice and had a strong attack power, comparable to Gray's ultimate move, Ice Spring. However, it was just the result of Silver's casual wave of his hand, which shocked Gajeel and made Happy, who was not far away, extremely anxious.

"Roar of the Iron Dragon!!" Gajeel stomped his feet to stop his forward momentum and roared again.

Ice and iron collided, yet neither was at a disadvantage. The former was like waves, layer upon layer, each one stronger than the last, while the latter was like a storm, relentlessly destroying everything in its path, seemingly without end. For a time, it was difficult to determine a winner.

The magic surged and canceled each other out, but with this interception, Gajeel had lost his chance to rescue, as Ethel had already caught up.

"The Five Great Swords of the World, Ōdenta!!!" Ethel laughed wildly as she swung her arm. "This is my most powerful attack, can you dodge it all?!"

The four arms swung through the air, creating countless afterimages. From these afterimages came countless slashing waves, which crisscrossed and continued to sweep towards Gajeel's location, covering the sky and the earth!

"What?!"

Gajeel's expression changed drastically. In the split second, his powerful battle instincts made him lunge to the other side, flip 180 degrees in the air, brace himself with his hands on the ground, and jump again with a little effort to dodge the pursuing slash.

As soon as Gajeru landed, he heard the sound of icy whispers in his ears again, followed by another icy attack from the side.

The slashes were continuous, each landing leaving a sword mark and producing a thunderous roar, kicking up dust several feet high, and splashing up water and mud from the ground; while the pinkish-white ice, though not as powerful as the slashes, was even more dangerous.

"Damn it... this is never going to end!"

The alternating attacks of slashes and ice gave Gajeel no chance to catch his breath. In just two or three moves, he was already sweating profusely. More importantly, he was getting further and further away from Natsu and Levy.

Just as Gajeel was at his wit's end, Ethel and Silver made their moves at the same time. Silver's target was Gajeel, while Ethel's target was Levy!

"The Ice Demon's Fervor!!"

"The Five Great Swords of the World, the Crescent Moon!!!"

Two attacks, from two directions.

The icy torrent surged forth with unstoppable force, erupting towards Gajeel. Wherever it passed, it left behind a thick and wide ice path, spanning over ten meters, as if trying to connect the attacker and the attacked.

At this distance and with this level of attack, Gajeel could easily use his roar to block, but that would put Natsu and Levy, who were being attacked by the slashes, in danger. However, to save them, he couldn't avoid the icy current in front of him!

This is undoubtedly an extremely difficult choice between two options!

But for Gajeel, or for anyone in Fairy Tail, this choice is not difficult!

Without the slightest hesitation, Gajeel stomped his foot, instantly covering his body in iron scales, and charged towards Levy! Faced with this dilemma, he chose to take the ice magic head-on to save her!

This behavior undoubtedly drew ridicule from Ethel: "Hahaha! What an idiot! To actually go and meet an attack head-on! Humans are so stupid!!"

"Would you risk your life for your comrades?" Unlike Ethel, Silver looked at Gajeel with a hint of admiration. "Truly an admirable spirit!"

But no matter how much he admired him, the attack had already been launched, and even if he wanted to take it back, he couldn't. He could only weaken the attack slightly and deviate it from its trajectory.

This also gave Gajeel room to charge forward.

Closer...closer...just a little closer...

Gajeel stared intently at the bewildered Levy, while Levy's gaze was fixed on the attack coming towards her; the same thought arose in both of their minds simultaneously.