A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Natsu's expression changed instantly, and his original intention to fight the opponent to his heart's content sank in an instant.

Agil's shout of "Fire!" ignited the anger burning within him.

"You...do you have some kind of problem with the magic Igneel taught me?!"

Seeing that Natsu was angered by his words, Agil taunted him again: "If you're not happy, then come and fight me!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!!"

Natsu's eyes widened, and his magic erupted.

Fiery red flames erupted from beneath Natsu's feet, quickly enveloping his body and draping him in a crimson coat. Beneath his cherry-red hair, the most distinctive feature was his pure white dragon-scale scarf, which, as it fluttered, accentuated Natsu's majestic figure.

"Flame Mode!!"

Chapter 657 Fire, Sand, and Imber's Ambition

"Odo—!"

"Natsu seems to have entered a new state. His magical energy is completely different from before. What's going on?"

"This must be a magic amplification spell!"

On the judges' panel, Chapati and Yajima gave a question-and-answer session, providing real-time commentary on the most captivating battle of the entire tournament to the audience, and even explaining Natsu's new state.

"Under normal circumstances, this state can increase a mage's combat power by about 30%!"

"Oh my god, a magic amplification spell? What an amazing transformation!!"

"Thirty percent of your fighting strength? Are you kidding me?"

At Fairy Tail's base, Killer looked thoughtfully at Natsu after his transformation: "When Natsu's 'Flame Mode' was first developed, it already increased his combat power by about 50%, but this state is clearly different from the previous 'Flame Mode'!"

"That's true, so much time has passed, it's only natural to have made progress!"

Lucy, standing to the side, immediately felt embarrassed: "So long... This move was only developed less than two years ago..."

"Nazsan is really amazing..."

Wendy stood on the stands, gazing enviously at Natsu in his fiery red coat, her large eyes sparkling. "We're both Dragon Slayers, but my strength is so much weaker than his..."

That's a bit too Versailles for you, little sister!

Didn't you see that Stinger and Roger, who are about your age, are practically drooling with envy?

"Ahem... You don't need to envy him, do you? Wendy, can't you use enchantment magic to amplify yourself? That's much better than magic amplification!"

Kira patted Wendy on the shoulder, "And I know you also have 'Storm Mode', 'Dragon Power' and a whole host of other status effects! Your talent is far superior to Natsu's and the others!"

"Really...really?" Wendy asked nervously and excitedly.

"Of course it's true! Natsu didn't have your strength when he was your age! You can ask the other people in the guild if you don't believe me."

"I can testify to that!"

Before Wendy could even ask, Gray leaned over and said to her with a grin, "When Natsu was fourteen, he was nowhere near as strong as you are now!"

Wendy was about to say something when she heard Kira sneer, "What are you laughing at, Gray? Haven't you and Natsu always been tied to each other in terms of strength? When he was fourteen, his strength was the same as yours!"

Gray: "..."

"Pfft—!"

"You guys!! What's so funny?!"

"Hahaha!! He's panicking, he's panicking..."

……

Seeing the changes in Natsu, Agil was not surprised but delighted. He was always warlike, and now an unprecedented fervent fighting spirit ignited in his heart, driving him to have a fierce battle with Natsu.

"Hahaha... Come on!! Let me see just how strong the number one magic guild in Ishgard really is!!"

Agil laughed wildly, while simultaneously channeling his magic to control the desert soldiers, who raised their swords and slashed down heavily at Natsu!

"Take this!!"

A desert greatsword several meters long came crashing down, but Natsu showed no fear. His eyes shone brightly as he looked at the desert giant, and his flames were solidified as if they were filled with boundless power.

Snapped!

With his hands clasped together and his body slightly crouching to gather strength, crimson flames coiled around Natsu's body like a red ribbon swirling around a dragon's body, signaling that victory was inevitable.

The next moment, Natsu stomped his feet hard, his body spinning upwards, and the scorching flames gathered in one place formed a terrifyingly huge red fireball.

At the same time, a roar like that of a giant dragon echoed throughout the arena: "The Blazing Flame of the Fiery Dragon!!!"

The scorching heat, intense temperature, and powerful energy caused the emotions of the entire audience to boil along with the flames in Natsu's hands.

"What is that?!"

"Are you kidding me?! This level of magic... I guess you really deserve the name 'Fire Dragon'?"

"Hey, hey, hey... We're still here! Being this far away is completely useless! If we don't run faster, we'll be burned to death!"

"These two guys are really crazy..."

The athletes on the field were in a state of utter panic and confusion, desperately trying to dodge.

A red fireball carrying boundless power slammed into the desert greatsword, causing the greatsword to stop moving abruptly. The desert knight was jolted, followed by a violent explosion!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames scorched the yellow sand and the air, making hissing and crackling sounds. Agil's desert knights could no longer stop Natsu's attack. The swords, shields, armor, and tall bodies formed from quicksand were successively pierced and devoured by the flames, and buried in a sea of ​​red fire.

"You've gotten a lot stronger, Natsu!"

The sea of ​​fire illuminated all the spectators in a fiery red glow, and the surging heat almost made them unable to open their eyes.

Seeing Natsu's great progress, Zeref, draped in a black cloak, felt immensely gratified and wanted nothing more than to boast to the world, "This is my brother."

"Timalia, have you noticed? Isn't the Emperor acting strangely...?"

"I think so too! It's probably because of the first guild master of Fairy Tail, right? Ever since she appeared, the Emperor's personality has changed a lot..."

"Oh, I know this!! I read it in Ishgar's bestselling book!! It's the kind of plot where 'His Majesty the Emperor hasn't laughed like this in a long time'..."

"What kind of books are you reading?"

"The name seems to be 'Super Mary Sue'."

Although Zeref had declared three months ago that he would abandon the Alvarez Empire and settle in Ishgar, he has not yet formally abdicated, so Brandish and others still refer to him as 'Emperor'.

"Ahem... Don't gossip about His Majesty's private life!" A dry cough interrupted their conversation.

"Stop talking nonsense! How can you, a grown man, eavesdrop on us sisters' private conversation?"

"..."

Imber is very agitated right now. The reason for his agitation is not because Timalia retorted, but because of Jelf's decision to abandon the country for the sake of a beauty.

This guild was just something Zeref set up on a whim for the Grand Magic Games. Once the tournament is over, they will return to their original lives.

After the Grand Magic Games, Zeref and August planned to officially move to Ishgar. Larcade, their adopted son who had joined their household, naturally went with them. With Irene leaving, Serena resigning, Val leaving the team, and Bradman dying, the Twelve Shields were reduced by half, and the future of the Empire was in jeopardy.

Thinking about this, Imber felt a headache coming on. As the regent of the empire, he had a much longer-term vision than others.

First of all, the remaining members of the Twelve Shields are all of similar strength. None of them possess power far exceeding that of the others, and none of them are the type to easily submit to others.

Brandish is a complete slacker with absolutely no management skills, and Timalia is only good at fighting. Given their personalities, unless one of Jelf, August, or Irene is around, it's a foregone conclusion that they will leave the Empire.

Neinhart and Jacob are not capable of managing the empire, but they will not leave, so the empire's top leadership is left with only four people, plus the elderly imperial minister Akiel.

Of them, only Agil has the opportunity to take over the empire.

Agil was originally a member of the royal family of the desert kingdom. With the support of his grandfather, an imperial minister, ruling an empire would not be a problem.

However, in Imbel's view, given Agil's character, he is very likely to become a tyrant in the future, at which point the Alvarez Empire will inevitably be in turmoil, and even if there is no internal strife, the decline of its national strength is inevitable.

He didn't want to stay in that kind of empire!

"As expected... I should continue to follow His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Wouldn't it be good to build a magical empire after Ishgar has managed this magic guild well?"

Once he understood, Inber suddenly felt enlightened.

He's still young, capable, and intelligent, and with the backing of two big shots like Zeref and August, it seems entirely possible for him to start a new business and grow stronger in Ishgard!

Chapter 658 Eric and the Sin of the Witch

While Natsu was fiercely battling Agil, on the other side of the arena...

"Click-click-click..."

Amidst a series of unpleasant mechanical noises, the third metal instrument opened, and the last batch of crystal balls fell out—the fewest ever, only three.

"Oh no! There are only three crystal balls in the third batch!!"

The announcer's shocked voice brought the audience to a state of tension and anticipation: "There are now ten crystal balls in total, and the competition has only twenty minutes left. There are still 27 contestants left on the field. Which contestants will be able to stand until the end?"

As the announcer's voice faded, the third phase of the 'plunder' began.

"It's time to make a move!"

With a wave of his hands, Makara unleashed a surge of magical energy, which flowed around him and quickly converged in his hands, forming two dazzling star swords. With a whoosh, he plunged into the crowd.

"Ancient Document - Flash Strike!!"

With a rapid series of "clanging" sounds, Xiang's hands moved quickly across the virtual keyboard. Amidst a series of "ding-ding" sounds, more than a dozen virtual markers appeared out of thin air, then burst forth with dazzling flashes, attacking their targets.

"Fluctuation! Fluctuation!! Fluctuation!!"

With her left hand behind her back, Yuuka, wielding the 'Snake Princess Scale', flicked her right hand repeatedly, unleashing invisible air waves that exploded at designated locations. These waves served both as a defensive measure to neutralize the opponent's magic and as a series of unseen magical attacks.

The other mages also displayed their unique abilities, with colorful magic circles appearing one after another, plunging the entire arena into chaos. The changes were so rapid that even the announcer's fluent speech could not keep up.

"Besides Natsu and that sand mage, there are now eight crystal balls!"

Amidst the crowd, Eric held his right hand in a claw shape, and a dark red energy shot out from his palm—his most powerful magical technique: Poison Dragon Slayer Magic.