A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

With a resounding crash, the spearhead and the blade collided heavily, freezing the two figures, one tall and one short, in place. At first glance, they resembled a tiger and a cheetah, neither giving way to the other in their sharpness.

Stab it--!

A sudden crack of electricity!

Erza channeled her magic, and the spear in her hand transformed into a powerful bolt of lightning, which traveled along the clashing metal blades and penetrated deeper into the steel mech's arm.

The power of lightning is effective against metal-type enemies, a conclusion Erza reached after numerous battles with Laxus. Therefore, logically, since the enemy before her doesn't possess lightning dragon slayer magic like Laxus, it should be effective.

But what happened next disappointed Erza.

The steel mech was not only unharmed, but its attack power increased significantly, as if its energy had been replenished. Its thrusters propelled the mech, and its blades exerted force, directly flipping Erza over.

With her exceptional reflexes and speed, Erza spun in mid-air to offset the thrust, and upon landing, she used the action of planting her twin swords into the ground to cushion the remaining force, leaving two thin sword marks on the ground with the sharp blades.

The lightning attack was ineffective, and sensing the extraordinary strength of her opponent, Erza frowned and immediately realized the reason: "Is it powered by lightning? This is troublesome!"

To be considered a 'troublesome' enemy by Erza, one must at least possess S-rank strength. However, as a new type of combat machine created by Val and Silver, this steel mech's strength is definitely far more than that.

Just like Iron Man receiving Thor's electrifying boost, this steel mech suddenly went into overdrive, with intense currents coursing through its body and bursting out dazzling sparks.

It seems I can't use the Thunder Emperor's Spear...

Erza hesitated for a few seconds, then stood up and changed her weapon again: "Armor of the Dark Abyss!"

Under the influence of red magic, Erza's appearance changed dramatically: a white dress and skirt, a red collar and belt, off-the-shoulder long sleeves connected to a pair of red gauntlets decorated with red roses, red and gold over-the-knee high heels on her legs, two rows of long swords forming wings on her back, and her long red hair tied up, she looked heroic and valiant, like a noble, elegant, and sharp female knight galloping across the battlefield.

It's a pity no one saw this scene, it's a pity her enemy was a group of mechs, and it's a pity their transformation was a hundred times cooler than Erza's!!

"Change clothes!"

A deep, electronic voice suddenly emanated from the steel mech, and Erza realized that the enemy before her was sentient and could speak. But… what did it just say? Change outfit??

To Erza's astonishment, an unusual and strange magical power suddenly erupted from the steel mech in front of her and covered her entire body, just like when she changed clothes earlier.

When the transformation was complete, a fully armed mech appeared on the scene.

First, the overall sheen of the mecha became thicker and more opaled. Then, the blade on the left hand transformed into a sharp iron claw, and a ring of small gun barrels surrounded the forearm. The right hand remained a blade, but with several brightly colored magic stones at the end. A circular shield with strange patterns was added to the chest, and the lower legs were transformed into sharp iron swords. However, the thrusters remained. Overall, it looked incredibly powerful, combining the beauty of technology and magic, enough to drive countless mecha enthusiasts crazy.

Of course, these alone were not enough to make Erza feel troubled. The most troublesome thing was that there were hundreds of gun barrels densely packed behind it.

The mecha's arms were raised high, gun barrels unleashed, poised to fire at Erza. Though silent, it seemed to proclaim an arrogant declaration: "Magicians, times have changed!"

Erza's eyes widened, and her face instantly darkened.

Since ancient times, firearms have been more effective than cold weapons. After all, the saying "A gun is faster than a spear from seven paces away; within seven paces, a gun is both accurate and fast" is not a joke.

Under the same circumstances, a person wielding a sword will never be stronger than when wielding a gun; if the latter's combat power is 5, the former might only be 1.

If it weren't for the existence of magic in this world, which imbued cold weapons like swords, spears, and axes with magical properties, their status would have long been replaced by guns and cannons.

Even someone like Erza, who has mastered melee weapons to the highest level, couldn't help but feel terrified when facing hundreds of guns and cannons head-on.

Glug...

Erza swallowed respectfully, a bead of cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, dampening a few strands of her bangs.

The words she learned from Kira, such as ***, rushed into her mind, but to maintain her image, Erza swallowed them back. A thousand complaints and insults ultimately condensed into one sentence…

"bring it on!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Erza drew her sword and attacked first, her fighting spirit transforming into her fighting power. Simultaneously, the sword wings on her back activated, and each golden longsword seemed to have its own will, attacking the steel mech from all directions to uphold the honor of the 'Fairy Queen'. Together with Erza, they maximized the power, speed, range, and techniques of their attacks.

Rumble... clang...

The next moment, deafening gunfire and the sound of swords clashing with bullets echoed through several streets.

"What's going on?!"

"what happened?!"

"Who's firing the cannon?!"

"Ah ah ah..."

A series of noisy questions, mixed with exclamations and shouts, came from the nearby streets, followed by the clanging and banging of metal as the mechanical race ran around spreading the news.

Driven by curiosity, a desire to join in the fun, to maintain the peace of the town, or simply out of curiosity, mechanical beings of all shapes and sizes flocked to the area.

A short while later, mechanical heads surged, and mechanical beings of all sizes and heights came looking for them, only to see smoke and dust covering most of the street and hear the gunfire that continued unabated.

Chapter 545 Erza VS Iron Man

Erza and the Iron Man were engaged in street combat, and in order to strike the opponent's vital points, she kept closing the distance while attacking, so the distance between the two was definitely less than seven steps.

The mech's bullets were indeed accurate, fast, and dense, but after a round of bombardment, Erza was completely unharmed.

When the smoke cleared, a huge white shield appeared between Erza and the steel mech.

That's Erza's strongest and most defensive armor, the shield of the Vajra Armor!

The shield was tall, large, and thick, completely obscuring Erza's not-so-tall body. The shield was made of the hardest material, and it could easily block the bullets fired by the steel mech in front of her.

They held on...

Erza sighed inwardly, while simultaneously controlling her magic to wield her sword wings. Dozens of longswords moved like her own arms, moving with lightning speed. A series of dense clanging sounds rang out as hundreds of guns on the back of the mech snapped in half as if they were made of tofu, falling to the ground and becoming a pile of useless scrap metal.

In the first exchange, Erza gained the upper hand.

But the steel mech didn't react at all, seemingly unconcerned about the hundreds of guns. Instead, it raised the blade on its right arm and lightly slashed at the diamond shield in front of it.

Swish-!

This time, it easily broke through the defenses.

The seemingly ordinary blade encountered no resistance and made no sound when it was swung, easily cutting Erza's armor, which was said to have the strongest defense, in half as if it were made of paper.

As the upper part slowly slid down along the cut, Erza's incredulous expression was finally revealed from behind the armor.

"This...this is..." Erza's eyes widened, unable to believe what she was seeing. "It actually cut through the Vajra Armor in one move?! How is this possible?!"

In her memory, only Dispel possessed this ability; Kurnuki might have it too, but she had never seen it.

However, both Dispel and Kurnuki relied on swordsmanship and their own strength; while this guy relied on his weapon.

After exchanging equipment, Erza and the Iron Mech were ready to launch their second attack.

This time, the two were even closer. The steel mech took the initiative, its thrusters instantly activating, and its right arm simultaneously swung towards Erza.

Before her eyes, a thin blade sliced ​​through space, hurtling towards her; in her ears, the subtle sound of air tearing was crystal clear. Erza quickly snapped out of her shock, her legs buckling as she leaped backward, her high-heeled boots providing leverage.

Puff-!

Erza dodged the blade, but not the invisible wind blades wrapped around it. The sharp airflow was like a heartless killer, mercilessly severing a strand of Erza's long hair at her temple. Several strands of bright red hair fluttered in the wind and were quickly torn into several pieces.

My hair!!

Erza roared inwardly, her eyes wide with rage, and she gripped her twin swords even tighter! But she didn't shout out loud, because the steel mech's attack wasn't over yet!

As the mech swung its right arm, the claws in its left arm simultaneously erupted, their five claws spread wide, and the sharp metal blades effortlessly pierced through the shield that remained on the ground, aiming to grab Erza's face.

Although the mages in 'Fairy Tail' are always using their powers, and Erza is the best among them, if she were to be hit by this move, she would still be unable to escape death. Even if it's just a swipe on her face, she would be disfigured at the very least!

But cheating doesn't need explanation, and unleashing one's full potential needs even less explanation.

Just as the claws were about to pierce Erza's bright eyes, two longswords suddenly attacked from the left and right, forcefully passing between the five claws and clamping her tightly!

Erza's hands have always been fair, clean, slender, and strong, almost exactly as described in the book—any more flesh would make her look fat, and any less flesh would make her look thin. Kira always found this incredible, because she had been practicing swordsmanship at the same frequency for ten years, yet she had fewer calluses on her palms than Rei, who had been holding a pen for years!

Erza's hands were still quite steady; after all, she was wielding a sword, and a moment's instability could cost her her life. In previous guild weightlifting competitions, she had even demonstrated her skill in wielding a nearly two-meter-tall greatsword with ease, and Kira still keeps the photos from that time.

But those white and steady hands trembled uncontrollably when faced with the explosive iron claw, not because of how fast or heavy the initial velocity of the jet was, but because the iron claw was remotely controlled!

Iron Claw has its own energy core, and after it leaves the body, the Iron Man can control it to move at will, just like Erza controls her weapon.

blah blah blah...

Metal rubs against metal, machinery and human strength vie for dominance, and the scene freezes in a tense atmosphere.

But this is not over yet!

The steel mech followed Erza like glue, and the two thrusters on its legs ignited again, the super-high speed generated by the mechanical rotation allowing it to catch up with the flying Erza in just a few seconds.

Click, click...

With all the magazines on his shoulder open, thirty micro-bullets were fired simultaneously, but instead of striking head-on, they dispersed, moving up, down, left, or right in unimaginable trajectories.

These small bullets are obviously also maneuverable.

Thirty homing bullets, like thirty fiery meteors, trailed leaping flames, surrounding Erza from all sides, blocking all her escape routes.

"hateful……"

Erza gripped the iron claws with her sword, but her eyes and ears were constantly scanning the surroundings. The moment the bullet left the barrel, she sensed the danger. She immediately braced herself with her feet, then with a sudden burst of strength and a loud shout, hurled the iron claws at the oncoming bullet.

Boom boom boom...

The bullet struck the iron claw and exploded, causing a violent shockwave in the air and whipping up a gust of wind that swept outwards.

The sound of metal rang out again in the wind.

Ding ding dong...

Erza and her mech fought and retreated at an astonishing speed. The onlookers, the mechanical race, could only see two afterimages and the constantly flying, broken weapons.

Swords, spears, axes, hammers... Erza's weapons have changed several times, but when facing the unremarkable, unsharp blade of the mecha in front of her, it always breaks with a single strike. Even if she manages to find an opening and hit her opponent, the force of the sword will be neutralized by the shield on the opponent's body.

A sharp weapon, a sturdy shield, and a magical thruster to ensure speed—this type of opponent was one that Erza had never encountered before.

In terms of equipment, Erza is clearly at a disadvantage; but when it comes to fighting style, the Iron Man suit is no match for Erza.

Although this steel mech was implanted with intelligent programs and is a thinking, learning mechanical life form, its combat experience is still insufficient. In addition, Silver and Val are not particularly skilled in physical combat, so it is too early for them to defeat Erza.

The two sides exchanged blows for ten minutes. During these ten minutes, the Iron Man's combat skills became increasingly proficient, thanks to its internal learning program and the superior combat techniques it had learned from Erza. Erza, on the other hand, also became accustomed to the opponent's combat style, and her ability to switch between offense, defense, and speed became more adept.

While becoming stronger, they also face another challenge.

The challenge of the steel mechs lies in their energy supply. Even with Silver's help, Val has yet to achieve a breakthrough in this area. Moreover, these advanced combat soldiers, the "Four Horsemen," consume far more energy in battle than that fat puppet.

Erza's problems are the depletion of her physical strength, magic power, and mental energy, as well as the drastic reduction in her weapons.

Of course, only ten minutes have passed and she is still in good condition, but as a human, this aspect is definitely not comparable to that of a machine. Even the 'Fairy Queen' cannot withstand such a continuous fight.

Moreover, she had no room for error; once she was struck by the other's blade, she would either die or be seriously injured!