"Mr. Yiye is really strong, but I always feel..." Wendy watched the battle in the arena and felt something strange but couldn't quite put it into words.
Rhode said, "If he could just drop those forced flashy moves, whether dodging or attacking, he'd probably be a lot smoother."
He could tell that Mr. Yiye was genuinely enjoying the match, treating it as a stage to showcase himself.
Between each move, there was always a showy pause to display his heroic demeanor to the audience.
"Miss Jenny seems to be struggling," Jubia commented, then glanced in the direction of Team A and warned, "She's also a rival in love!"
Rhode sighed helplessly, "There's no need to be so cautious; Jenny is already engaged to Hibiki from the same guild."
"En...engaged!" Jubia covered her face, quickly spiraling into another state where she couldn't hear people.
Gajeel glanced at her and said, "Such a hassle."
On the field, as Jubia predicted, even with occasional help from Mr. Yiye, Jenny was gradually falling behind.
This beauty model, although also using Receiving Magic, was clearly not as strong in combat as Mira.
Fortunately, this was a tag team match, so Jenny directly sought help, "Mr. Yiye!"
"MEN~" Mr. Yiye elegantly brushed aside the hair on his forehead and looked at Rhode, saying, "It was quite enjoyable fighting with you, but the lady has asked for help, and I must deliver the scent of victory to her!"
Rhode backed off and assumed a charging stance, "I also have to win!"
Mr. Yiye took out a tube of pale yellow perfume, uncapped it, and took a deep inhalation.
The yellow perfume evaporated instantly, most of it being inhaled through his nose.
"Scent of Power!"
Mr. Yiye's body immediately became taller and more muscular, transforming from a short figure into a super-muscular man even more exaggerated than Elfman.
The white suit he wore burst apart, revealing his bulging muscled upper body and arms that seemed to have swollen several times over, eliciting a wave of screams.
Opposite him, Rhode was already charging, swinging his fists, creating a fierce gust of wind, "High-speed Explosion Fist!"
Mr. Yiye met him with what seemed like an ordinary punch, "Powerful Strike!"
The clash of their fists caused a massive explosion, which came from the magic of the gloves on Rhode's hands.
But this time, the explosion, far exceeding those from before, didn't harm Mr. Yiye; instead, Rhode was sent flying backward by the overwhelming force.
Not only was he injured, but he also collided with Karg, and both of them flew out of the arena, landing among the audience.
Pumpkin Man stepped forward to declare, "The winners, Blue Pegasus, Mr. Yiye, and Jenny!"
The audience erupted into applause, with Hibiki, Ive, and Ren cheering wildly for Mr. Yiye, not even taking a moment to mention Jenny.
Jenny had already released her receiving state and graciously blew a kiss to the audience; as for her fiancé's performance... she was used to it, Mr. Yiye always came first.
"MEN~" Mr. Yiye didn't hurry to release his transformation but instead struck a series of bodybuilding poses.
Some were captivated, while others were nauseated.
The three commentators were almost stupefied, and it took a while for them to regain their composure and congratulate Blue Pegasus.
Lucy remarked with a complicated expression, "That Mr. Yiye is still as strong as ever."
Erza looked uncomfortable, unable to find any appreciation in this scene. She could only express concern for Lucy, shifting the focus, "Are you okay now?"
Lucy shook her head, "I wasn't that badly injured to begin with, and thanks to Mr. Tolod, my magic power has mostly recovered."
As they spoke, the Pumpkin Man announced the upcoming match:
"The third match, Lamia Scale's Leon and Yuka against Mermaid's Heel's Kagura and Mirena!"
The four of them knew each other somewhat but weren't close, so they just nodded as a greeting after entering the ring.
As soon as the Pumpkin Man gave the signal, the battle began.
Leon started with large and elaborate dynamic shaping magic of giant apes and fierce tigers.
Kagura, on the other hand, did not draw her sword, using the Form of Steel swordsmanship, not only shattering larger ice formations but regularly breaking the floor, leaving large pits or deep grooves.
Fortunately, Leon's shaping speed was fast enough, with various ice sculpted animals emerging one after another, and he had enough static counterattack forms for close encounters.
Although he appeared a little flustered at times, he wasn't immediately defeated.
In comparison, Mirena and Yuka were slightly less prominent.
However, one of them specialized in binding magic and the other in using 'Fluctuation' to neutralize and even counterattack opponents' attacks, making them excellent assistants.
Half an hour passed quickly, and the arena was once again riddled with damage.
After the fierce battle, Kagura seemed calm and collected, while the other three were a bit exhausted.
Although this hinted at the potential outcome if the battle continued, they ultimately didn't determine a winner within the time limit.
Hence, Lamia Scale and Mermaid's Heel each received five points.
"So frustrating, Kagura is even stronger than I thought," Leon scratched his hair and smiled wryly, "At this rate, the gap with Fairy Tail is only widening."
Yuka added, "And that's even with their main members divided into two teams."
"Because it's Erza's guild," Mirena was not discouraged at all, "they're truly strong like monsters."
Kagura reminded, "Let's go, the next match is another for Fairy Tail."
After three matches, the only guilds yet to compete were Fairy Tail A Team and Dragon's Treasure.
"The last match on the fourth day of the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, Dragon's Treasure's Panixiu & Shunipa vs. Fairy Tail A Team's Natsu & Lucy!"
"It's me again?" Lucy was a bit surprised, having just finished the swimming sumo portion of the competition and now needing to participate in the battle section.
"And the opponents are the Panixiu brothers," Gray frowned; those two were among the top mercenaries, best known for their assassination skills.
Moreover, they had a grudge against Natsu and Lucy.
"Doesn't matter, those so-called brothers won't be able to beat Lucy and me," Natsu said confidently, bumping his fists together as he marched downstairs in big strides. "If you're tired, Lucy, just leave them to me."
"No way I'm just going to watch," Lucy muttered as she followed Natsu downstairs into the arena.
On the other side, the Panixiu brothers were already suited up and entering the arena.
The younger brother, Shunipa, like last time, wore heavy armor, shielding himself up to his teeth.
The elder brother, Panixiu, wore light armor, with a long-handled frying pan as tall as a person strapped to his back.
Upon seeing the frying pan, Natsu suddenly realized, "Oh, it's you! The guy who uses a frying pan to absorb flames!"
Panixiu's mouth twitched; this brat had met him on the first day yet only now remembered. It seemed they hadn't taken the brothers seriously.
Lucy whispered, "Natsu, you've upset them again."