The upper body of the Leopard Man was engulfed in flames, and two Stone Beetles sent signals to Rhode requesting a retreat.
Maybe it's too hot; after all, Stone Beetles are insects, not stones.
Rhode was worried whether Natsu's move would directly finish off the opponent.
Actually, in moments to hold back, Natsu is quite perceptive.
How much magic power the opponent has for defense, how much magic power should be used for attack, combat habits of the opponent, etc.
Having these insights after two brief confrontations, Natsu had practically figured it out.
He has considerable experience in such matters.
In contrast, Rhode is quite lacking in this area; giving him the mission to deal with bandits might result in fatalities.
Like last time, when he easily broke the robber's bones on the street, his handling was rough and careless.
As the flames dispersed, the Leopard Man's upper body emitted a charred smell, his fur curled, and certain spots still carried flames.
But he did not collapse; instead, he roared skyward in anger, each fist breaking the two Stone Beetles into four Mini Stone Beetles.
The Mini Stone Beetles attempted to carry out the 'leg hugging' command, yet the Leopard Man realized and kicked each one away.
Two flew towards Natsu, and two flew towards Rhode — this kicking skill would certainly make him talented in soccer.
"Forced Closure!"
Rhode waved his hand to send the Mini Stone Beetles back, commanding an underground Stone Beetle and a team originally blocking the path to advance.
However, the Stone Beetles couldn't catch up with the Leopard Man's dash towards Natsu.
Natsu matched fists with the Leopard Man in a direct confrontation.
This time, Natsu was pushed back a few steps, as the level-two Leopard Man's power was quite remarkable.
"Beaked Bird, Soaring Feather!"
The Beaked Birds shot individual Soaring Feathers at the Leopard Man to prevent friendly fire.
Agilely, the Leopard Man stepped back two paces, intending to move forward again when his figure staggered — something had grabbed his tail.
Upon turning back, he saw three wolves with four mouths hanging from his sturdy leopard tail.
"Nice one, Rhode! Continuous Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu charged forth, swinging both arms, raining flaming punches on the Leopard Man's face and chest.
"Ooohhh!!!" Natsu roared along with his punches,
"Wake up, you Leopard bastard! Ooohhh!!!"
The Leopard Man staggered as he was beaten, letting out a low growl.
"Village Elder Grandpa, Sino sister, and Claudie... they're all waiting for you to return!"
The redness in the Leopard Man's eyes faded, his gaze regained a hint of clarity, only for the redness to rise again.
"Wake! Up! Now!!"
With a shout, Natsu's final punch struck the Leopard Man's nose, sending him flying.
As the Shadow Wolves let go, the Leopard Man spun with two spirals of flame, bouncing twice on the ground before lying still.
Looks like they've won.
But to be safe, Rhode ordered the Shadow Wolves to lie in wait, the Beaked Birds to distance themselves, and the Stone Beetles to burrow underground.
Preparing to immediately restrain the opponent should he move.
Luckily, the worst didn't occur.
The Leopard Man's body flickered with light, his size reduced, tail and claws disappeared, returning to the form of a young man.
"Success!!" Natsu and Hapi cheered in unison.
Rhode smiled: "Finally solved... Hapi, you're able to move now?"
"Aye! When Rhode called for Forced Closure."
Rhode tugged at Hapi's face: "Why didn't you get up sooner?"
Hapi spoke indistinctly: "Because being protected by Rhode felt so secure."
Rhode released his grip on Hapi's face; this kid... certainly knows what to say.
The three briefly relaxed the tense atmosphere before checking on the status of the young man reverted to original form.
This person looks...
Rhode couldn't discern his appearance because his nose was crooked from Natsu's punch, face charred, hair curled.
Too unfortunate.
Moreover, his shirt and pants were long gone, leaving only a pair of large shorts.
Hapi asked: "Is he related to Gray?"
"Someone like Gray shouldn't be easily found." Rhode said,
"The village elder mentioned recently finding torn clothes of Chita in the mountains; maybe because receiving magic led to a burst."
Natsu exclaimed: "Anyway, the mission to defeat the Beast King is complete, let's bring him back to the village!"
Hapi agreed: "Aye! This has been the smoothest mission, Natsu didn't burn the village! Finally, we'll get full payment!"
"What do you mean by that, Hapi!" Natsu glared.
"It means it's great having Rhode around."
"Are you calling me a liability!?"
"Aye."
"Damn!" Natsu chased Hapi, running circles around Rhode and Chita.
"You guys might be celebrating too early." Rhode suddenly remarked:
"I remember our mission was to 'defeat the vicious beasts and any possible beast leader', mission is only half completed."
"What!?"
The two who were chasing each other gasped, with Natsu pulling out the task slip for examination.
Rhode sighed: "I meant, do you usually even forget the task details?"
"No, because... before we set out, you asked Mira for a long time, and mentioned many plans,"
Natsu read each word on the task slip, "I'm about to forget everything but fighting..."
Hapi vouched for Natsu: "Aye, Natsu sometimes uses his mind.
But Rhode has arranged everything for travel, reconnaissance, dining, resting, and combat planning."
"..." Rhode was speechless; having me, do you two switch to energy-saving mode, only using your brains for battle?
Rhode felt he was truly on the path to becoming the guild's logistics manager in the future.
Once increasing some more strength and experiences, he'd be able to compete for Mira's position.
"At any rate, let's take him back first; maybe the village elder will announce we've completed the task if he's pleased."
...
The time had neared noon, and each household in the village had begun emitting cooking smoke.
Except at the village elder's home where there wasn't a stir.
Village elder Panser sat in his living room, occasionally glancing at his son's 'portrait,' sometimes leaning on a cane, pacing restlessly in the room.
Sino kept an eye on Warm, occasionally exchanging a pot of hot tea for Panser.
Claudie stayed obediently at home, as Natsu advised, but soon after seeing Warm, she was attracted to its cute appearance, wanting to touch but hesitating.
Because it was the crucial magical beast left by the Mage for urgent contact, Panser and Sino forbade Claudie to mess with it.
Warm actually didn't mind playing with Claudie, but Sino prepared too many snacks for it, food indeed outweighed play.
"Village Elder! Village Elder!" a youngster stormed into the elder's house urgently,
"They're back! The Mage has returned with Chita! Chita's alive! Chita's alive!"
The elder who was pacing suddenly halted, the cane clattering onto the floor.
The old man paid no mind in retrieving it, quivering as he stepped out the door, his pace accelerating until it turned into an almost sprint.