The Azure Dragon's Thousand Years of Death

The azure Ice Dragon shattered inch by inch under the scorching heat of the spiraling flames, and ice crystal fragments fell one after another.

The spiraling, exploding flames gradually died down under the extreme cold impact of the Ice Dragon, turning into scattered sparks.

In the end, the Ice Dragon prevailed over the flames, its chill completely extinguishing them. The shrunken Ice Dragon's body was covered in cracks, and its size had shrunk by more than half.

But still enveloped in a chilling aura, it continued its attack on Natsu, its mouth wide open, emerald green mist emanating from between its fangs.

Natsu planted his feet firmly, his fists burst into flames, and with a roar, he threw a punch straight at the target.

The fist, carrying flames, blasted the Ice Dragon from head to tail into a shower of ice powder. The shattered ice reflected rainbow-colored light in the sunlight, scattering down in a flurry.

Natsu flicked the ice shards off his fist, a grin spreading across his face. Before he could feel smug, a faint whooshing sound came from behind him, and the air currents from the swinging of his dragon tail brushed against the back of his neck.

His hair stood on end instantly, and sensing something was wrong, he abruptly turned his head.

It's too late.

Riyao had somehow circled behind him, his hands clasped together, four fingers pressed together like sharp cones, a point of cold, emerald light gathering at the fingertips, aimed at Natsu's vital rear.

[Secret Technique! Thousand Years of Death]

Natsu was launched back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, clutching his buttocks with both hands, his body tracing an arc in the air, his mouth agape in an "O" shape, letting out a shrill scream.

"You bastard..."

It crashed onto the beach with a thud, splashing up a large cloud of sand. Natsu lay on the ground, twitching twice, and then refused to move anymore.

The spectators wore complex expressions, and for a moment, no one knew what to say.

Sting's lips twitched, he swallowed hard, and instinctively shrank back.

"What a unique move."

Lector nodded silently, his expression indescribable.

"It seems... to be quite practical."

Rogue remained silent, simply moving his hands from his sides to behind his back to protect his vitals.

Gildarts paused, his hand holding the bowl twitched, and then he burst into laughter.

Lucy covered her face, peeking out one eye through her fingers, her expression a mix of speechlessness and amusement. Ultimately, she decided to abandon this ridiculous fighting style.

Juvia sighed, thankfully Lord Riyao didn't use that trick on Lord Gray, otherwise Lord Gray would have been in trouble.

Mirajane strode over, reached out and grabbed Riyao's wrist, the force neither too light nor too heavy, but her attitude was clear.

She poked Riyao's forehead with another finger, narrowed her eyes slightly, and although a smile still lingered on her lips, it didn't reach her eyes. Her tone carried an uncompromising warning.

If you keep using such dirty tricks, I'm not talking to you anymore.

Riyao shrank his neck, immediately retracted his Azure Dragon Form, and the golden patterns of the Hundred Battles Spell Formula also faded away. He transformed from a fierce dragon into a docile one, bowing his head and responding obediently.

"I won't do it again..."

Mirajane grabbed his wrist and led him towards the beach, with Riyao obediently following.

"Hurry up, it's filthy."

"Yes, yes, yes, my wife is right."

The two washed their hands at the beach, Riyao shook the water droplets off his hands.

Upon reaching Gray, the ice began to melt from the inside, and Gray's body temperature gradually returned to normal.

He then treated Natsu and Gray in turn, also tending to the injury on Natsu's buttocks, although his technique during the Riyao treatment was noticeably less than gentle, causing Natsu to grimace in pain.

Gildarts had been waiting by the side. Riyao finished his work, he seemed to suddenly remember something, patted his knee, and spoke casually as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Riyao, come here and see if you can help me treat this."

He lifted his cloak, revealing his horrifying injuries.

Everyone present gasped almost simultaneously when they saw half of Gildarts's body.

His left side was almost completely destroyed, and his hands and feet were prosthetics. The shocking sight silenced everyone for a moment.

Erza was solemn, her lips pressed tightly together, and her fists clenched unconsciously.

She had witnessed countless battles, but the severity of Gildarts' injuries still exceeded her expectations.

Mirajane frowned slightly, finding it all absurd. Given Gildarts's strength, what kind of being could have injured him so badly?

Lucy gasped, covering her mouth. Her face turned deathly pale, and her wide eyes were filled with shock and fear.

"How did he get these injuries? They're so severe! It's unbelievable that he survived such serious injuries."

Natsu pushed himself up from the beach, his eyes wide with disbelief, his mouth agape.

In his memory, Gildarts was the strongest man in the guild, an existence that would never fall, but the injuries before him...

"How is this possible?!"

When Riyao saw the injuries, he was quite surprised, his eyebrows raised high, though it was unclear whether his surprise was genuine.

"Oh ho, did you go fight a dragon? Half of its body is almost gone!"

Upon hearing this, Gildarts scratched the back of his head, his smile suddenly freezing. He looked somewhat guilty, his gaze darting around, avoiding eye contact with Riyao.

"Haha, how could that be?"

Perhaps because there were outsiders present, Sting and his group weren't members of the guild, Gildarts didn't say much and vaguely brushed it off.

Riyao leaned closer to examine it carefully, gently touching the skin at the edge of the scar with his fingers to feel the extent of damage to the subcutaneous tissue. His emerald green magic probed deep into the wound and scanned it.

Then he straightened up, shook his head, and sighed, looking exactly like a patient with a terminal illness and a doctor who was helpless. His expression was spot-on.

Seeing Riyao's "hopeless" expression, Gildarts's lips curled into a smile, and he felt reassured.

He knew Riyao too well. If this kid really couldn't be cured, he definitely wouldn't be making that face; he would have just said it directly.

The more someone acts like, "Oh dear, this is serious," the less serious the problem is likely to be.

"Sigh, not now."

He shrugged, his tone regretful.

"I just finished fighting in Azure Dragon Form, and I don't have much life energy left in my Hundred Battles Spell Formula. I'll come to my manor when I get back."

Gildarts nodded, wrapped his cloak back around himself, stood up, brushed the sand off his clothes, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Alright then, I'll go back to the guild and wait for you guys to return. Anyway, this injury has been with me for a long time, so a few more days won't make a difference."

He had just turned around and taken a step when someone grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"What are you talking about, you slovenly old man who stole our fish?"

Riyao grabbed Gildarts by the back of his collar and shoved him toward the sea.

"You go down into the sea and catch fish for me! Bring back as many as you've eaten!"

Gildarts staggered a couple of steps, gave an awkward laugh, raised his hands in surrender, and was herded towards the sea by Riyao.

"Alright, alright, I'll go catch them, you all ate too, why am I the only one doing the work?"

You ate the most!

Gildarts shook his head helplessly, rolled up his trousers, and walked into the sea, muttering something like, "Young people have no sportsmanship."

Mirajane moved closer to Riyao, lowered his voice, and spoke with a rare hint of worry, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Is the 100-Year Quest really that dangerous? Even Gildarts is so badly injured."

"Just kidding, Gildarts is currently the only mage to have returned alive from the 100-Year Quest. None of the others who went before him have ever come back."

"How terrifying! I wonder what the details of that 100-Year Quest are."

"All I know is that we're going to the Northern Continent, but I don't know the specifics. Gildarts has never told anyone the details of the mission."

Mirajane remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly and did not ask any further questions.

Riyao was too lazy to go into the water, so he found a large rock on the shore that was warm from the sun and leaned against it. Mirajane naturally leaned on his shoulder.

The two chatted casually, with Riyao tilting his head to listen, occasionally leaning close to her ear to whisper a few words, which prompted Mirajane to slap him.

Sting and his group said goodbye to everyone and went fishing on another part of the shore.

Before leaving, Rogue glanced back at Riyao, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing and turned to follow Sting.

In the sea, Lucy stood in the shallow water, raising the Celestial Spirit Key to summon Leo to help.

Leo emerged from the golden light wearing his signature suit, flashing his trademark affectionate smile the moment he saw Lucy. But before he could utter a single flirtatious remark, Lucy shoved a net into his hand.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's catch fish!"

Leo's smile froze on his face. He silently took the net and resignedly dived into the water.

Erza changed into her Sea Empress Armor, the blue armor shimmering like flowing water in the sunlight.

She took a deep breath and, like a nimble fish, dived into the sea, leaving only a ripple spreading across the surface.

Gray didn't go into the water. He sat on the rocks on the shore, his hands on his knees, looking out at the sea with a slightly furrowed brow, as if he were thinking about something.

His fingers unconsciously clenched and unclenched, his gaze occasionally drifting to the ice field left by the battle in the Riyao. The ice was slowly melting under the sunlight, and water seeped into the sand, leaving a dark stain.

Natsu lay on the beach, fast asleep, his hands behind his head, his mouth slightly open, snoring loudly again; he must have been quite exhausted from last night and today.

Happy sat next to Natsu, and Carla was also sitting next to him.

Wendy moved closer to Riyao and Mirajane.

"Brother Riyao, do you know any wind-based techniques?"

"Maybe."