"Ahhhh!!!"
Laxus roared in fury, his expression ferocious, lightning flickering over his body as he charged forward with all his strength.
Jose Porla, on the other hand, remained expressionless, as if he were watching a struggling ant, as though he could casually press it to death at any moment.
Did he really think his title of "Wizard Saint" had been picked up for free? That anyone could just come and step on him?
The difference between him and Makarov was merely the accumulation of time. He was not some nobody that any stray cat or dog could come and provoke!
"Boom boom boom!"
The Laxus who shot into the sky was directly met with a fierce barrage. Countless magic bullets struck his body, struck his lightning battle armor. Laxus was completely relying on his powerful magic to endure it head-on.
His forward momentum, that momentum as if he would break through the darkness and illuminate the world, was forcefully suppressed by Jose Porla.
The current Laxus, Laxus who had only recently begun to reveal his sharp edge, was indeed still far inferior in raw strength to Jose Porla, this middle-generation Wizard Saint in his prime.
Even though Jose Porla was actually still being held back by the injuries on his body and could not fully unleash his strength, he could still suppress Laxus. A gap of more than ten or twenty years was not so easily erased; at the very least, it would take several years to catch up.
"I'll help you!"
Between heaven and earth, a powerful burst of music suddenly resounded. Moen let out a loud shout, his fingers plucking the strings as countless magic strings spread out, weaving toward Jose Porla in the sky.
Moen had already donned the Lyra Silver Cloth. A star chart shone behind him, several bright stars of Lyra continuously flickering.
The star charts of Equuleus, Orion, and Pegasus continuously flowed with starlight, pouring into the lyre in Moen's hands.
"String Requiem!"
Moen directly used the ultimate technique of the Lyra Silver Cloth. In the sky shrouded in darkness, the stars shone, piercing through the darkness. Starlight illuminated Moen's body. The endless starlight stretched into strings, weaving into a vast net that enveloped Jose Porla.
The net brushed past Laxus. Under the bombardment of dark magic bullets, it continued to rise, covering toward Jose Porla, drawing fire for Laxus and instantly easing his pressure considerably.
That starlight-flowing net of strings was incomparably sharp. Wherever it passed, it seemed as if even the sky itself would be violently torn apart by the strings.
"Boom boom boom!"
In response to Moen's attack, Jose Porla raised his vigilance to the utmost. He almost immediately poured the majority of his magic bullets onto that great net. Even if he allowed the aggressive Laxus to close in, he would not permit Moen's attack to take effect.
Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of a rope.
Now, when facing Moen's strange and bizarre attacks, Jose Porla adopted a strategy of saturated response, directly defending against them from a great distance. Even if it cost a bit more magic power, he did not hesitate, which made the corners of Moen's mouth twitch as he watched.
Under the saturated bombardment of dark magic bullets, the sky rumbled continuously, exploding into one "magic firework" after another. Moen's net of strings was ultimately blasted into fragments, which made Jose Porla let out a breath of relief.
"Crimson Poison Needles!"
Seeing the harp's ultimate move blocked by Jose Porla, Moen switched strategies and began continuously firing "Crimson Poison Needles" toward him, playing the role of support, drawing Jose Porla's attention so that Laxus could take the main offensive. The two alternated their efforts, giving each other moments to catch their breath.
"Boom boom boom!"
Moen's Crimson Poison Needles shot out continuously. Clusters of magic poison needles emitted a dangerous crimson glow, naturally setting alarm bells ringing in Jose Porla's heart. He already knew the danger of this move after all, the "Iron Dragon" Gajeel had once fallen victim to it.
Therefore, Jose Porla had to devote a large portion of his focus to dealing with the Crimson Poison Needles, either dodging or directly colliding them with large numbers of magic bullets to disperse them outright.
Moen hardly moved from where he stood, yet he had already thrown Jose Porla into a flurry. It couldn't be helped, these Crimson Poison Needles were terrifying in effect, and Jose Porla did not dare to gamble. What if among these messy things, a rose were suddenly hidden?
It could only be said that Moen's strategy still had a certain effect. He called it "Rose Deterrence." As long as it wasn't exposed, it would continue to work. No matter how much, at least it had some effect.
With Jose Porla's attention heavily diverted by Moen, Laxus naturally would not remain idle. He had already realized the gap between himself and a Wizard Saint, but he was not discouraged. After all, his path as a mage had only just begun. The young still possessed confidence in the future.
"Thunder Dragon Roar!!!"
Laxus puffed out his cheeks and fiercely exhaled "dragon breath." Vast amounts of lightning were spewed out like waves of light.
Like a laser turret, he continuously destroyed the magic bullets falling from the sky, spraying toward Jose Porla, who was being driven all over the place by Moen.
For a time, Jose Porla actually appeared rather disheveled. This scene left the onlookers almost dumbfounded.
If the matter of Moen defeating Jose Porla had, over time and through the vigorous clarifications by Jose Porla and Phantom Lord, gradually allowed everyone to understand the truth—
Many people now knew that Moen had not truly defeated Jose Porla head-on in a 1v1, but had only injured him with Makarov's cooperation. Although this was still shocking enough, at least it was not quite as unbelievable.
But the scene before their eyes—Moen and Laxus, two juniors cooperating with each other, actually able to confront Jose Porla, who appeared to be going all out with overwhelming momentum, even forcing him into a rather awkward state, this truly exceeded most people's imagination. And this time, Makarov was not making a move!
Moreover, this battle was taking place in public view. Countless people had seen it. Although everyone had already retreated far away for their own safety, the commotion and scale of the fight here were so great that it was impossible not to notice.
It could only be said that public opinion was very unfavorable to Jose Porla. The longer it dragged on, the worse it became. After all, the difference in identity and status was right there. You are a "Wizard Saint," yet you cannot quickly deal with two juniors, how are people supposed to be convinced of your strength?
It could even cause all the previous efforts by Jose Porla and Phantom Lord to clarify rumors to go to waste.
This time, Moen did not have Makarov's cooperation, but was working together with another young Laxus, and they were still beating you, Jose Porla, into a sorry state. How were people supposed to believe what you said before? Wouldn't it seem like the result would be about the same no matter who replaced him?
This time replacing Makarov with Laxus led to this result—next time, replacing him with some random passerby might end up the same?
How much time had even passed? It couldn't be said that Moen's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, could it? No matter how fast one improved, there had to be a limit!
Jose Porla gradually began to sweat. He realized a problem, both Moen and Laxus possessed absurdly exaggerated reserves of magic power. Fighting him at such high intensity, yet the magic power of these two brats remained so abundant. This was completely unlike what someone of their age should have!
If this continued, it was truly hard to say whose magic power would run out first!
And once magic power was exhausted, he would have absolutely no chance in close combat.
"Thunder Dragon's Crushing Fist!"
Already with his clothes blasted apart, Laxus charged forward once again, lightning flashing all over his body. He seemed to grow larger by a circle, an effect produced by using lightning to stimulate his physical body.
"Boom!"
Jose Porla erupted with magic power to blast Laxus away, then his figure flickered as he dodged one of Moen's Crimson Poison Needles.
"Diamond Dust Fist!"
Aiming at the spot where Jose Porla's figure reappeared, Moen threw a punch. A frosty wind swept out, as if to freeze everything in the world.
Jose Porla once again burst with magic power to block the icy punch wind, while on the other side Laxus had already spat out another breath attack.
"Boom!"
Under the pincer attack of Moen and Laxus, Jose Porla felt more and more stifled as the fight continued. The most crucial point was that the faint residual toxins within his body were still tormenting him during such high-intensity combat, occasionally forcing him to divert his attention to deal with them.
"If not for this thing…"
Thinking of this, Jose Porla grew even more resentful. How had he, in a moment of foolishness, fallen for that bastard Moen's trick last time?!
As for that, Moen felt rather wronged. He himself had not expected Jose Porla to take an epic full-lung inhale of the "Royal Magic Palace Rose." His original intention had only been to snag an assist from Grandpa Makarov, yet he had ended up stealing the kill.
"Buzz!!!"
Magic power overflowed. Countless dark magic claws lunged toward Moen and Laxus, while innumerable dark magic bullets shot in from all directions. When Jose Porla fought, the scene truly became chaotic. Everywhere were the "bullet hell" barrages he fired and various attacks. His style was saturated assault.
Moen and Laxus had not avoided being hit either. Moen fought at mid-range and, relying on the protection of the Cloth, managed fairly easily.
As for Laxus, he had been blasted by the sky-filling "bullet hell" until his clothes were torn apart. If not for Moen's support, he would have already been knocked down.
But by this point in the battle, the coordination between Moen and Laxus had grown increasingly tacit, their grasp of timing ever more precise. Under their cooperation, they were being hit less and less, while Jose Porla was being pulled into an increasingly miserable state.
With the two brothers united in heart and strength, they had gradually begun to seize control of the battle.
The most crucial reason, in fact, was that Jose Porla was gradually losing stamina. He was being affected more and more frequently by the injuries within his body. Occasionally, even his casting of magic was impacted.
If not for his recovery being fast enough, he would probably have already been struck by Moen's "Crimson Poison Needles." But if this continued, getting hit was likely not far off. He was already on the verge of being unable to hold on.
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