A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"besides……"

"Enough! I'll hit you then! President, stop talking!" Seeing that Makarov was going on and on, Lucy could only interrupt him with a worried expression.

Makarov smiled broadly and nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm... Let's get ready and begin!"

I think you just want to see me get beaten up!

Lucy puffed out her cheeks and glared at Makarov, then sighed helplessly before her eyes finally became serious.

In fact, Lucy has always been a very ambitious person. In her life, whether it is writing, training, working or even relationships, she has always worked hard and diligently. This is due to her own will as well as the expectations of those around her, such as her companions, her father, and the Celestials.

She wanted to become a popular writer, a star model, to become stronger and keep up with the rest of the team, and to become a trusted and reliable partner for the Protoss... She had many things she wanted to do, but due to her personality, talent, time and other reasons, she never achieved much success, so she lacked confidence and was hesitant.

But this time, Makarov's words finally woke her up!

She understood: life is like the ocean; only those with strong will can reach the other shore!

"Alright! In that case, I'm going to give it my all in this battle and show everyone how much effort and progress I've made over the years!"

After suddenly realizing her mistake, Lucy felt a surge of pride welling up inside her. She no longer cared about success or failure, or whether she felt pain after being hit.

"Come on, Natsu! Let's settle this once and for all!"

"I'm fired up!!"

Everyone stared in astonishment at Lucy's transformation: her bold spirit, her confident words, her fierce smile—was this really the Lucy we knew?

He's completely different from usual... no! He's like a different person compared to just now!

"Has the chairman's ability to deceive people...become this strong?" Kira stared at Makarov above him in disbelief.

Makarov stared in disbelief, his small eyes revealing utter bewilderment: "I...I don't know either..."

I haven't practiced these kinds of encouraging words for young people much in the past year! I remember the last time I heard them was half a year ago. Could it be that my skills have actually improved rather than regressed in the past six months?

Could it be that my talent lies here?!

Chapter 604 Lucy knocked Natsu away?!

The battle didn't take place on the chessboard, but rather on a specially built arena.

Natsu and Lucy stepped onto the ring and stood facing each other, their expressions unusually serious and focused.

"Although according to the rules, it was Natsu who challenged Lucy, but unexpectedly, it was Lucy who took the initiative to declare war on Natsu in the end... This is truly a historical moment worth recording!"

Kira took out the image-recording crystal and placed it in position, preparing to record the ensuing fight between the two.

In preparation for the competition, they paused their dice game, used dice to represent real people's positions, and all gathered around the arena. They used magic to create several tables, like a banquet, where several people sat at each table to eat and watch the fight.

It was lunchtime, so we sat down and immediately began to enjoy: sunflower seeds, cola, beer, popcorn, a fruit platter, and the grilled meat and fish we hadn't finished eating over the past few days...

"Let's have lunch first!"

"Don't worry about us, just enjoy the fight to the very end!"

With food and drink to eat and a good show to watch, if there's anything more enjoyable than this, it's just a pity that I can't join the battle.

"Hey hey hey?! That's so unfair!! At least let us finish eating before we start fighting, right?!"

Smelling the aroma of barbecue wafting from the side, Lucy and Natsu, who had just stepped onto the ring, were drooling with envy. After touching their stomachs, which hadn't been filled with food for half a day, they both felt dizzy.

They'd been rolling dice all morning, and they were completely exhausted!

"How could that be?! Who eats before even fighting?... Ugh... You guys... Ugh... Just treat this as training! Yes, yes, the kind of training where you do combat drills on an empty stomach!"

Will you die if you don't eat while you're talking?

Lucy glared at Kira and the others, who were 'sitting and eating without getting hungry,' her anger rising by one point...

"Ah! It's here! Black resentment is surging out of Lucy! She must be full of energy right now!" Happy held the grilled fish in his paws, looking smug, and it was unclear where he got the courage.

"You damn cat!!"

"Alright, alright... it's about time to begin, Natsu and Lucy's duel..." Makarov returned to his original size and took charge from his chair, "You can rest after you're done fighting!"

"Yosh, let the battle begin!"

"Drink it!!!"

The moment the battle began, Natsu charged toward Lucy without hesitation, but his hands weren't wreathed in flames as usual, probably because his opponent was Lucy.

"Talos!" Lucy had already come up with a plan and summoned the Taurus Celestial Spirit in an instant.

Ordinary Celestials are useless against Natsu; there's no water here, so you can't summon any good ones.

"Moo! I will protect Miss Lucy's victory!"

A male cow, wielding a giant axe, struts around with his back straight, showing off his eight-pack abs, and shouting Lucy's name as he enters the scene.

As Celestial Spirits bound to mages, Talos and other Celestial Spirits belonging to the Zodiac occasionally... observe their masters' situations when they are in the Celestial Spirit World. Once they discover that their masters are in danger or in need, they will take the initiative to appear and save the day. Leo and Valgo are examples of this.

Even if they don't sense their master's danger, they can immediately recognize the surrounding environment and enemies when they appear in Aslant.

Aside from the two strongest and most mana-consuming Celestials mentioned above, only Aquarius Aquarius and Talos Taurus have ever shown up on their own initiative. The other Celestials, however, have remained hidden behind the scenes because they couldn't help even if they did appear.

"Miss Lucy, don't worry, leave the battle to me! I'm your strongest bull!"

Talos, with his back to Lucy, gave her a thumbs-up, flashing a set of white teeth, his tone full of confidence. However, when he turned around and saw his opponent clearly, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"This time, the opponent is... Nazsan?!"

At that moment, Talos felt deceived, and a faint resentment shifted from Lucy to him: "Miss Lucy, are you holding some kind of guild tournament? Is it inappropriate for me to stay here? Perhaps I should..."

"Don't leave!"

Seeing that the other party seemed to want to return to the Protoss Realm and not interfere with the assessment, Lucy quickly grabbed Toros, saying, "I need your help today!"

"Hmm? Miss Lucy needs me?!"

Talos instantly snapped out of his dejection. Since his master had said so, Talos could only do as he was told. "Fine, let's fight! It's not like I haven't been knocked away by Nazsan before, so what's the big deal!"

"...Although you have a lot of confidence, can't you speak with a little more conviction?"

"Moo—!!!"

Talos roared and swung his giant axe across the air. Natsu's half-extended fist was blocked by the axe blade, producing a deafening sound.

clang!!!

A tremendous sound echoed across the entire mountain peak, accompanied by the conversation between Talos and Natsu.

"It's nice to meet you again, Nazsan!"

"It's Talos."

"I never expected Miss Lucy's opponent to be you..."

Aside from Leo and Valgor, Talos is probably one of the Celestial Spirits that Natsu has met the most. "I won't back down easily this time for Lucy-san!"

"Then let's give it a try!"

After Natsu finished speaking, he sneezed, and his magic instantly turned into flames, creating a sea of ​​fire on the arena.

"That's amazing!"

Talos gave a heartfelt compliment, then pushed Natsu away with a powerful thrust—this was the reason he summoned Taurus, because it possessed the greatest power.

When Talos blocked the punch for Lucy, Lucy had already changed into her new outfit: "Celestial Clothes - Taurus Form".

She had a double bun hairstyle, a cow-colored outfit that looked ominous, and her pants were long on one side, reaching her ankles on the other. She carried a brown leather bag across her shoulder, a white belt around her waist with a gold badge with a cow pattern in the center, leather boots on her legs, and full arm sleeves, gloves, and forearm guards. She was also carrying a cowboy whip in her hand.

Flames raged around them, and the heat made Lucy and Talos break out in a cold sweat.

"Quickly finish this!" With that command, the two men stepped forward simultaneously.

"Moo!!"

"Earthquake!!"

As Talos swung his axe, Lucy's monstrous strength slammed into the ground, causing the arena to shatter and a chasm to wind its way to Natsu's feet.

Seeing the two attacks coming from the left, right, top, and bottom respectively, Natsu calmly leaped to dodge the force from the ground and dodged Talos's axe in a strange posture. At the same time, the momentum of his body propelled his arm, and he delivered a heavy punch to the opponent's big face.

Boom! !

"Ugh—!" Talos screamed and flew backward.

"I knew it would turn out like this..."

"This Talos is just a loser!"

"He was acting all cool just now, but he still got sent flying with one punch..."

Boos rang out from below, but they didn't affect Lucy's composure. She showed no sign of panic; instead, a slight smile played on her lips, as if she had anticipated this scene.

Just as everyone was puzzled, a golden light suddenly shone in the air in front of her. The flash quickly transformed into a black figure and unleashed a powerful punch of starlight at Natsu, who had just sent Talos flying and was still in mid-air!

The orange-haired, dark-skinned figure with a tall, handsome face is none other than Leo, Princess Lucy's eternal knight!

Lucy had already flashed in front of Natsu. As Leo threw a punch, she leaned her body forward, raised her right leg high, gathered Taurus Star Power, and unleashed a heavy kick that she had been training for a long time!

"Lion Charge!!"

"Lucy's Flying Kick!!"

Bang! ! !

A punch and a kick landed precisely on Natsu's stomach, the two forces twisting his body into a "C" shape, and then sending him flying backward with a loud bang!

"Eh?!?!?!"

"Oh my god, there's a plot twist!!!"

"It's Rocky!!"

"Lucy knocked Natsu away?!"

"Well done, Lucy!!"

"Add a chicken leg! I'll add a chicken leg for you later!"

Everyone stopped eating, shouting and cheering to celebrate Lucy's feat.