"Joseph is a stupid donkey!"
"The weakest among the Ten Wizard Saints!"
"Shove bamboo sticks into the nail gaps! Paper cuts across the finger joints! Blade stuck between the teeth! Five ulcers in the gums!"
"What's one thousand minus seven?"
"Twice buried under ruins, a waste!"
Wolian's right hand formed a sword finger pointing at his forehead, his left finger pointing at Joseph, pouring out all the lines Rhode taught him and all the insults he could think of into Joseph's head in one breath.
Honestly, he felt somewhat guilty doing this; this move certainly attracted hatred, with a feeling that Joseph might strangle him the next second.
But for the battle, Wolian went all out.
Joseph's mind momentarily went blank; what on earth is this! Is Telepathy Magic used like this?
Joseph glared at Wolian, relying on his vast Magic Power and fairly rich magic knowledge to forcibly interrupt the telepathy.
Erza had already switched to the pink Fairy Armor, the strongest armor she could equip at this stage, bearing the name of the Guild, launching the most powerful strike!
Green lightning entwined around the sword blade, and the red stream of the Crown of Embers turned into flame attached to the sword tip.
In the instant Joseph was distracted by Wolian, the sword tip pierced through the black long snake on Joseph's left hand, aiming straight at his chest.
Mira took on the form of Demon Shouter, her right hand forming a claw, accompanied by Hellfire and the flame of the Crown of Embers, dispersing the black long snake on Joseph's right hand, grasping towards his neck.
Joseph used one hand to hold Erza's sword blade, and the other hand grabbed Mira's wrist, preventing their lethal strike against him.
However, Erza's sword tip had already pierced into his chest, green lightning and red flames at once entered his body.
Joseph's chest bled incessantly, and the palm of his left hand was also cut by the sword blade. The numbing feeling of lightning combined with the burning pain of the flames stimulated his nerves together.
Mira's right hand had already choked Joseph's neck, her powerful grip almost making it hard for him to breathe, her long fingernails pierced into the flesh on both sides of his neck, leaving deep blood marks.
Joseph's right hand tightly clutched Mira's wrist, his palm already burned by Hellfire, the burning pain on his neck felt extremely similar to the sensation at his heart, seemingly unable to be resisted with Magic Power.
"You bastards... brats!" At the critical juncture of life and death, Joseph's face revealed an intense ferocity.
His eyes almost completely turned black, Magic Power surged over his body, clearly having erupted with his greatest strength.
Large patches of darkness flowed from Joseph's palm, forming two purple-black spheres with a two-meter diameter, enveloping Mira and Erza within.
"Ah!!!" The corrosion, intense pain from the darkness, Joseph's counterattack made Erza and Mira scream together.
Yet, neither of them loosened their grip, unwilling to retreat.
Erza gritted her silver teeth, her toes pressed down on the ground, creating pits, trying desperately to advance the sword tip further.
Mira's arms trembled, the Hellfire surrounding her burned even fiercer, striving with all her might to tighten her grip further.
Joseph almost suffocated, enduring the pain on both his hands, trying, by any means possible, to neutralize their attacks. His Magic Power was being rapidly output as well, attempting to extinguish them in the dark.
In terms of Magic Power, Joseph had the upper hand; if this continued, Erza and Mira might likely lose.
At such a tense moment, Rhode emerged from the ground behind Joseph, momentarily receiving the Mountain Dragon Soul.
He clenched his right fist, his body taut like a bow, concentrating all his strength and Magic Power in this punch.
Bigda's enhanced ability for him, Joy's augmentation of his strength, the red stream of the Crown of Embers entwining...
Under the hopeful eyes of his comrades, Rhode threw this punch heavily: "Mountain Dragon's Shattering Break!"
Like a meteor dragging its fiery tail, like a mountain compressed at his fingertips, this earth-shattering strike landed heavily on Joseph's back of the head.
The darkness enveloping Mira and Erza retreated, the strong and evil Magic Power surrounding Joseph withdrew, the oppressive sense over everyone disappeared.
Erza's sword tip inflicted a wound on his chest, Mira's Devil Claw left blood marks on his neck, but both of them also fell down due to Joseph's attack.
Joseph's eyes closed tightly, like a kite with a broken string, flew away with his head heavy and feet light.
Meanwhile, the sniping group launched several Flaming Bullets towards Natsu, Macao sent out his skillful purple flames, Kana threw out 'Sun's Bursting Flame'...
Lucy and others who couldn't do flame magic flipped open the Magic Book, firing the strongest flame magic towards Natsu.
Natsu opened his mouth to consume all the flames from his companions: "I'll take everyone's Fire Flame!"
Joseph, in mid-air, suddenly opened his eyes, barely able to move his left hand, pointing reluctantly at Rhode: "At least I want to take you out... Death Storm!"
Purple-black light spheres gathered in his palm, shooting powerful light waves at Rhode.
Natsu shouted out: "Elfman!"
"The man!" Elfman transformed into Beast King, grabbing Natsu's ankles with both hands, rotating two fast circles like throwing a hammer, launching Natsu out.
The purple-black light wave just hit Rhode, engulfing him entirely.
"Wow!" Even though the Mountain Dragon Soul form hadn't disappeared, Rhode could still feel that sharp, corrosive pain enveloping him from head to toe.
"Rhode!" The reverted Mira struggled to her feet, staggering towards Rhode.
"Enough is enough!" Natsu roared angrily, his whole body enveloping with flames more vigorous than ever before, dragon scales faintly visible on his face.
Clearly, it was a scorching intense flame, yet the companions felt an extraordinary warmth upon seeing it.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Guild's Flame - Crimson... Phoenix Sword!"
Natsu, carrying a golden dazzling tail flame, charged at Joseph, the flame, like a phoenix spreading its wings, carrying both towards the higher sky.
From afar, like a flaming arrow shooting into the clouds, finally exploding into resplendent fireworks.
Joseph, his mouth agape, eyes turned white, all his clothes burnt ragged by the flames, completely unconscious.
The two flew over the great lake and then lost momentum, falling from mid-air.
"Natsu—" Hapi's wings flapped fiercely, flying over at the fastest speed, successfully catching him before he hit the water.
Crack! Splash!
Joseph crashed into the ice bridge created by Gray, plunging headlong into the lake water.
...
"Ugh!" Makarov suddenly awoke, sitting up with a speed unbefitting his age.
He dreamt of the Guild being destroyed, of the children being besieged by Ghost Soldiers, of Lucy being captured by Joseph.
But he could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.
Cold sweat seeped from all over his body; for him, nothing could be more frightening.
"Awake earlier than expected, had a nightmare?"
Porlyusica's voice slightly reassured Makarov; it was just a dream.
But he immediately thought about the current situation, hastily asking: "How's the Guild? Did Ghost take action?"
"I don't know, maybe they're fighting Ghost right now."
Porlyusica sighed; she wanted to say Makarov's physical condition should ideally rest a bit longer, but could also foresee he definitely couldn't sit still, "Just felt a surge of strong Magic Power, maybe Joseph acted."
Makarov immediately threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed, hurriedly headed out.
By the time he reached the door, he had already changed into the white robe bearing the emblem of the Ten Wizard Saints.
As if knowing what the old friend wanted to say, Makarov left a sentence: "Thank you, Porlyusica, but now's not a time to rest, the children need me!"