A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

boom!!

A soft whooshing sound interrupted Leo's reverie.

"Watch out! It's coming!"

Whether it was the flirtatious pre-battle chatter between the two that provoked the mechanical nesting doll, it accelerated again, and a loud explosion erupted from below as its body blasted towards the two like a giant cannon.

Leo's gaze locked onto the opponent's position. He adjusted his posture slightly, and magic in his hand rapidly condensed into a form. He added the power of the ever-shining, undying Lion Star from the Celestial Spirit Realm, and with a loud shout, he swung his fist at the oncoming steel doll. Under the influence of magic, his fist condensed into a roaring golden lion.

At the same time, Lucy also mobilized her magic power, using the Celestial Cloth as a medium to unleash Leo's magic. A powerful and perfect kick followed closely behind the Roaring Lion, crashing head-on into the giant steel cannon.

Chapter 550 The bigger the person, the easier it is for them to get caught, right?

"Leo Impact!!"

"Lionheart Lucy Flying Kick!!"

These two moves are Leo's and Lucy's special moves, respectively. The latter is just for show, basically used for fanservice, while the former is Leo's ultimate attack, usually used when the battle is decided.

But now, he seems to be using this move as a regular skill, which shows how quickly his magic power has increased.

Bang!

The three figures intertwined, and then landed at almost the same time.

Click...

With a crisp sound, a small piece of sheet metal cracked off the spot where Leo hit it!

"Oh my god!! It worked!" Lucy shouted excitedly, because Leo had broken through the mechanical doll's defenses, proving that her strength had increased significantly.

Leo simply shook his head, looked at Lucy with affection, and said with a wry smile, "No... it's still a long way off!"

"Huh?! Why?!"

"That was my most powerful attack, and I wouldn't be able to use it many times now, but it only scratched a small part of his skin, it didn't hurt at all..."

Lucy interrupted Leo's Versailles act, encouraging him, "That's already amazing! Natsu was sent flying..."

Natsu, stuck in the trap: "..."

Bang! ! !

Fueled by rage, a massive flame erupted from Natsu's body, the extreme heat instantly melting the metal wall that had been holding him in place into molten iron.

"I was careless just now!!"

Natsu landed safely with a somersault, then charged straight towards Lucy, shouting defiantly, "I won't miss again, leave the rest to me!"

He wanted to prove that he had simply failed to dodge and was ambushed, not that he was unable to defeat the opponent.

Happy flapped his snow-white wings and fell from the sky, hovering silently to the side. When Lucy summoned Talos and Leo to fight, he was trying his best to help Natsu get out of the wall. But after struggling for a long time and using a lot of strength, he couldn't get through. As a result, Natsu got anxious when he heard that he had been defeated by Loki.

"Really... Natsu is so naive..."

Harpy, full of wicked schemes, secretly revealed a sinister smile where the three couldn't see him. He had already figured out how he could enjoy the gossip anytime he wanted.

On the other side, the mechanical nesting doll, attacked by the two ultimate moves, lit up again, its tie emitting golden light that engulfed it, and within a few breaths it expanded and evolved once more.

This time, it transformed into a three-meter-tall steel behemoth.

"Isn't it?!"

"what?!!"

"It's evolved again!!"

Leo remained calm, gazing at the steel behemoth that almost filled the entire mechanical dollhouse, and frowned as he analyzed, "It seems to be a mechanical soldier that strengthens itself after absorbing attacks or reaching a certain level of physical exertion..."

Lucy clearly had considered this as well, and continued, "If that's the case, we can't keep fighting like that until we find a way to stop it from evolving further!"

"But now it's attacking us on the initiative, we can't just not fight back, can we?"

Natsu crossed his arms, looking extremely frustrated. If things went as Lucy and Loki suggested, he wouldn't be able to have a proper fight and get revenge for being stuck in the wall.

"Well...you're right!"

Just then, Harpy suddenly said, "It's already this big now. If it keeps going faster, we might not be able to hold out here for much longer!"

"Yes, if we let it run rampant and get it on the street, it'll be a real problem, won't it?"

"You, who always vandalize public property, really dare to say that..."

"Speaking of which, these mechanical soldiers should have some kind of mechanical core, right?"

Suddenly, Leo, who had been gazing up at the mechanical nesting doll, noticed something crucial: "If we can find the core and destroy it, we should be able to stop it from evolving further, right?"

Lucy suddenly realized, "Oh, that makes sense!! But where is the core of it?"

"It must be inside! Natsu, let's beat it together... Huh?? Where's Natsu?"

Just as the group decided to work together to break through the opponent's defenses, they turned around and found that the spot where Natsu had been standing was now empty!

"I have a bad feeling..."

"Oh my god!!!!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Natsu's furious roar rang in his ears, "Fire Dragon's... Sword Horn!!"

The group looked up and saw Natsu engulfed in flames, charging towards the mechanical nesting dolls like a rocket launcher.

"What is that guy doing?!?" ×3

Natsu, however, ignored everything and charged forward. The terrifying heat spread throughout the room, melting the scattered mechanical dolls and various metal parts into molten iron.

"That guy is really something... he never listens to people!"

"Well, that's just Natsu's personality!"

【Fire Dragon's Horn】This move emphasizes breaking through the surface with a single point. Under Natsu's control, all the magic power and flames converge at one point. The raging flames no longer seem to be an energy body, but a solidified sword, the sharp horn on the giant dragon's head, ready to pierce through the steel behemoth in front of him!

blah blah blah...

As the flames on Natsu's body turned from orange to red, the spot on the Iron Steel Beast where he had struck it with his forehead began to melt. Its body, harder than diamond, hissed under the extreme heat, and molten iron dripped down its gradually melting surface.

"Oh my gosh! It's melted!!"

"Natsu, well done!!"

"That way, we might be able to dissolve it directly!"

The surprise drew everyone's attention, but no one noticed that more than two meters up on the mechanical nesting doll, the white tie was rapidly turning gold.

The flames gradually subsided, and the temperature began to drop. When Natsu's attack ended, the liquefied iron solidified again, turning into ugly lumps of iron.

The steel behemoth before it had a hole several tens of centimeters in diameter torn open in its belly, revealing a pile of specially made metal inside.

"Wow, it worked!"

Natsu held up a ball of flame in each hand and laughed triumphantly, "Want to absorb attacks to evolve? I'll let you absorb as much as you want! No matter how much you absorb or how big you get, I can burn you up!!"

"This... is really Natsu's style..." Lucy wiped away her cold sweat and muttered.

"Alright, the next step is to find the core and destroy it!"

She glanced at the size of the hole, pointed, and said, "I choose you, Happy! Go for it!!"

"Hey!!"

Harpy knew this mission was his only choice, and with the thought that 'this team can't do without me,' he spread his wings and was about to rush forward. However, before he could fly to the target location, another change occurred.

"Oh no! It's gotten bigger again?!"

Just as they had predicted, the more the mechanical nesting doll was attacked, the larger it became. This time, it grew to more than five meters tall, turning into an unshakeable steel castle. The wound that Natsu had opened up was completely healed.

Its enormous size burst the toy house apart, towering over other shops on the street and causing a commotion.

Glug...

"Natsu, what do we do now?"

Compared to Happy's panic, Natsu didn't seem to care at all, and was even more excited: "Tch! What's the big deal?! Doesn't bigger mean it's easier to hit?"

"Oh!! So that's how it is!!"

"Waaaaaah... Let's go, Happy!"

"Hey!!" Happy rode Natsu into the sky and quickly arrived on top of the mechanical nesting doll.

Lucy, lying on the ground, looked up at the person and cat in the air, growing increasingly panicked, cold sweat pouring down her back: "What are they going to do?! I have a bad feeling..."

With his vantage point high above and unstoppable momentum, Natsu completely ignored Lucy on the ground, focusing his attention on the steel castle beneath him. He took a deep breath, his magical energy surging and his chest puffing out: "Fire Dragon..."

"Wait...wait...wait aaaaah!!!" Lucy hurriedly ran backward, but it was too late to dodge.

"roar!!!"

A terrifying red flame shot downwards, striking the mechanical nesting doll and instantly engulfing it, along with most of the street, into a sea of ​​fire.

"Help!!!"

Chapter 551 The Fire Dragon King's Crushing Fist, Lucy's Confusion

Since teaming up with Nazhabi, Lucy has lost count of how many times she's suffered undeserved misfortune.

When they first met, the two "teamed up" to destroy a port, and afterwards, countless stations, streets, and hills followed. If Lucy had to choose again, she...

She would definitely bring extra money with her before running away from home!

The fact that the compensation alone would take away more than half of the mission's reward is simply outrageous! Why should I, at such a young age, have to bear this terrible debt?!

Memories flashed through her mind, almost delaying Lucy's escape, but thankfully she had Rocky by her side.

Just before the flames engulfed them, Rocky decisively turned around, grabbed Lucy's legs, and carried her away in a perfect princess carry, saying, "Don't worry, Lucy! I'll definitely protect you!"

Lucy, who had narrowly escaped death, burst into tears of joy: "Thank you!!... But could you please take your hand off me!"

Lucy was helpless against Rocky's groping attempts, after all, he had saved her life!

The red serpent rolled and quickly swallowed the entire street, burning the houses and shops to the ground. Fortunately, when the mechanical nesting doll expanded to burst the toy house, the surrounding mechanical people saw the danger and had already fled far away.