The grassland of the Western Arena shimmered with golden-green waves in the morning light, and the dew drops on the tips of the grass refracted a spectrum of colors.
A gentle breeze swept through, causing the half-human-tall wild grass to undulate like ocean waves, creating a rustling sound.
In the distance, the branches and leaves of the Sirius Tree were faintly visible in the morning mist, with luminous vines entanglement around its thick trunk, adding a mysterious touch to this battlefield.
Ezreal stood on a raised rock in the center of the arena, his sky-blue eyes reflecting the two figures approaching in the distance.
He was still wearing his explorer's outfit, his golden gauntlet on his left hand glinting in the sunlight.
His golden hair swayed slightly in the morning breeze, and his right hand was casually tucked into his pocket, making him look as relaxed as if he were on a picnic.
Cana's long brown hair fluttered in the morning breeze; today she had changed into dark brown leather armor suitable for battle, with six card holders at her waist, each inlaid with different colored gems.
Her steps were steady and powerful, her leather boots making a slight creaking sound on the grass.
Gray, as always, was shirtless, with an icy blue mist faintly visible around him, leaving tiny trails of ice crystals in the air.
The two stopped twenty meters from Ezreal, standing in a pincer formation.
"The examiner seems to be in good spirits," Cana said, drawing a golden fairy card from the fiery red card holder at her waist and deftly flipping it between her fingers, the edges of the fairy card shimmering with dangerous light, "I hope you don't get beaten too badly by us."
Gray had his hands in his pockets, and his exhaled breath condensed into frost in the cold morning air: "This isn't a normal spar. The Summoned Beast controlled by this guy is not easy to deal with, Cana."
Ezreal smiled at them, his golden hair shining in the morning light: "My body hasn't recovered yet. Although I feel fine fighting, the old man said I'm not allowed to fight myself for the time being."
"So…"
"The rules are simple—"
"I'll just stand here and watch you fight my Summoned Beast. As long as all my Summoned Beast lose their combat capability, or you can get past the Summoned Beast and injure me, you pass."
His voice was gentle but carried an undeniable firmness.
Cana's fingertips suddenly gripped three fairy cards, and her red lips curved into a dangerous arc: "Then what are we waiting for?"
Her eyes instantly sharpened, and the dancing magical light was reflected in her brown pupils.
Before she finished speaking, the fairy cards in her hand had already transformed into three streaks of light, shooting out—fire, ice, and lightning intertwined in the air, forming a triangle of death.
The fire fairy card exploded in mid-air into a two-meter-diameter fireball, its scorching heat instantly withering the grass along its path;
The ice fairy card transformed into dozens of sharp ice cones, flying with a whistling sound;
The lightning fairy card was the last to be cast but the first to arrive, leaving a blue-white ionized trail in the air.
The ground beneath Ezreal's feet suddenly bulged violently, and Blue Buff's massive Stone Man hand burst out of the earth, lifting him five meters into the air.
The three-element magic blasted against the Stone Man hand, erupting into dazzling elemental fireworks. The shockwave of the explosion ripped up all the turf within ten meters, sending soil and grass fragments flying.
"Ice Make – Battle Axe!" Dozens of ice axes burst forth from Gray's magic circle, each axe blade gleaming with cold light, spinning as they flew towards Ezreal in mid-air.
His movements were fluid; by the time his hands were out of his pockets, the magic circle had already been constructed, and the trajectory of the ice axes sealed off all angles of evasion.
Blue Buff's other Stone Man hand swept horizontally, its palm wind creating a whistling current that shattered most of the ice axes.
But Gray's lips curled slightly upward—the shattered ice crystals suddenly reformed into chains, wrapping around the Stone Man arm like living things. Cold air emanated from the ice chains, and fine frost began to freeze the Stone Man's body, starting from the chains.
Cana seized this opportunity, continuously throwing out five fairy cards of different colors, forming a perfect five-pointed star array in the air: "fairy card · Elemental Storm!"
Her voice echoed with surging magic, and the five fairy cards simultaneously glowed with dazzling light.
Pillars of magical energy of five attributes—fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth—formed light beams of various colors, pouring down to create a fifteen-meter-diameter elemental vortex that completely enveloped Blue Buff.
Blue Buff's single eye suddenly glowed with dazzling blue light, its gravity field fully activated! The downward speed of the elemental torrent abruptly slowed, as if trapped in an invisible quagmire.
Then, a condensed blue beam of light shot out from its single eye, easily shattering the elemental vortex. Following that, it tore off the ice chains on its body, and with a shake, the ice layer cracked and fell away.
Ezreal took the opportunity to leap from the Stone Man hand, performing three and a half somersaults in the air before landing lightly, his shoe soles leaving two shallow marks on the grass.
"Evil Wolf, playtime," he said softly, supporting himself with one hand on the ground. His shadow suddenly twisted and expanded, rapidly spreading out like ink dropped into water.
Dense black smoke erupted, and a fifteen-meter-long black Evil Wolf leaped from the shadows, its blood-red eyes glowing like two lanterns in the morning mist.
Its entire body was covered in needle-like black fur, bone spikes grew at its joints, and its ten-meter wingspan, when fully spread, blotted out the sky.
The Evil Wolf tilted its head back and let out a roar that shattered the dewdrops, the black sound waves plowing fan-shaped furrows in the grass, sending grass fragments and soil scattering radially.
Cana quickly drew a silver fairy card: "Wind Barrier!"
A translucent wall of hurricane-force winds formed in front of her, barely offsetting the main force of the sound wave attack, but she was still thrown three meters by the aftershock, her back hitting a small tree hard, shaking down countless leaves.
The roaring Evil Wolf crouched low, then suddenly vanished from its spot.
Gray pressed his hands to the ground, magic flowing into the earth through his palms: "Ice Make – Ice Wall!"
A three-meter-thick Ice Wall rose from the ground, with the Fairy Tail emblem appearing on its crystalline surface.
The Evil Wolf's claws left five half-meter deep gouges on the Ice Wall, sending ice shards flying.
Seeing that its attack failed to break through, the black Evil Wolf suddenly transformed into black smoke and dissipated into the air.
Cana's pupils constricted abruptly, feeling a chill rise from behind her. Her battle instinct made her shout: "Behind you!"
At the same time, she dove forward.
The Evil Wolf, wreathed in black smoke, emerged from her shadow, its gaping maw snapping at her neck. When its sharp fangs were only ten centimeters from the back of her neck, Gray's Ice Make – Long Spear pierced through the air.
"Ice Make – Long Spear!" The three-meter-long ice spear accurately pierced the Evil Wolf's throat.
But Gray's expression suddenly changed—this was just a shadow clone. The pierced Evil Wolf transformed into a wisp of black gas and dissipated on the grass.
The real Evil Wolf had already emerged from Gray's shadow behind him, its sharp claws, accompanied by a whistling sound, striking at his back.
Cana reminded him in time, "Gray!"
Understanding, Gray clasped his hands together, cold air gushing around him, and an icy blue magic circle opened beneath his feet.
"Ice Make – Armor!"
Gray was instantly enveloped in ice armor, with exquisite plate covering his entire body, and flexible connecting structures designed at the joints.
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