High-Speed Tree Ride!
Warrod placed his two withered hands on the table, his expression calm.
"I hope you can save that village; this is the entirety of my commission."
Natsu clapped his hands vigorously after hearing this, his face full of eagerness.
"Since they're all frozen, why don't I just melt all the ice blocks with fire and dry them out all at once?"
Gray crossed his arms. "If that's the case, then why did the mission specifically request that I come along?"
Warrod shook his head, immediately rejecting Natsu's idea.
"No, things are definitely not as simple as you think."
"The ice covering that village is definitely not ordinary natural ice; it can even suppress and seal the Eternal Flame. Gray possesses Ice-Make Magic, and his power is an indispensable part of overcoming this problem."
Jiang Bai pointed at Natsu and Gray.
"Breaking the ice is enough with just the two of them, so why did they specifically call me over? There's a ton of stuff waiting for me to handle in the guild."
Lucy muttered under her breath, "I bet there's a whole bunch of stuff waiting for you to sleep on."
Warrod raised his right hand and scratched the green leaf branch on his forehead, chuckling dryly.
"The main reason I asked Brother Jiang Bai to come along is that I'm worried that the mysterious person who can freeze an entire village with a flick of his wrist is too powerful. With you in the team, you're the safest safety net. After all, no matter how much I want to save those villagers, I can't risk the lives of you young people."
Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds quite reasonable."
Warrod suddenly dropped his serious expression, clapped his hands merrily in the air, and burst into laughter.
"Secondly... the main reason is that after so many years of retirement, I've been extremely curious about what the youngest and most powerful junior on the continent looks like! And today, I've seen him and he is indeed a handsome young man! Haha!"
Jiang Bai felt a chill run down his spine on the spot.
I was internally ranting and raving.
So, after going through all this trouble, the old man's real thought was just to gossip and watch the show.
The Fourteen Heavenly Kings, who had been retired for decades, turned out to be a die-hard curious child.
Jiang Bai dusted off his trouser legs and stood up.
"Alright, Grandpa Warrod, Fairy Tail accepts the mission. The details will become clear once we arrive at the scene."
Natsu pumped his fist and shouted in agreement.
"Leave it to us!"
Lucy walked to the threshold and peered into the desolate distance.
"Grandpa, where exactly is that place called Sun Village? How far is it from here?"
Warrod stepped out of the wooden cabin and raised his withered finger to point to the barren plain to the south.
"If you walk straight south from the wooden house for about three kilometers, you'll see that basin."
Wendy, carrying a small backpack, stepped forward and looked at the rugged wasteland in the distance.
"The journey isn't particularly long, but this land is full of rubble and ravines, and there isn't even a decent road. It would probably take a long time to walk here."
Carla spread her white wings and hovered above Wendy's head.
"It's okay, Wendy, I can just grab you and fly over there."
Happy flapped his little wings beside him and twirled in mid-air.
"Hey! We can take Natsu flying too!"
Warrod stood on the steps, looking at the group of vibrant young people before him, his aged, wooden face filled with satisfaction.
Watching you young people play and joke around, I feel like my own branches have become much younger.
The old tree man stood with his feet slightly apart, and stomped his right foot heavily on the muddy grass.
"If you're in a hurry, let this old man see you off."
Green, natural magic surged wildly into the depths of the earth, flowing down Warrod's ankle.
The ground trembled slightly.
A tender, small, fresh sapling suddenly burst through the ground beneath Jiang Bai and the others.
Before Lucy could react, the sapling grew wildly, defying the laws of nature.
The tiny seedling swelled into a trunk as thick as a bucket in half a second, and then transformed into a giant tree with a diameter of several meters. The huge umbrella-shaped canopy was flat and wide, steadily lifting Jiang Bai, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and the two cats into the air.
Lucy was suddenly lifted into the air, lost her balance, and screamed in fright as she grabbed Natsu next to her.
"Whoa! What is that?!"
Natsu stood on the spacious, sturdy treetop platform, looking down at the rapidly shrinking ground below, and shouted excitedly.
"Wow, that's so cool! This tree is growing upwards on its own!!"
On the ground below, Warrod looked up.
"I entrust the task of saving Sun Village to you! Young people of Fairy Tail! Have a safe journey!!"
As Warrod's words fell.
The branches of the enormous tree did not stop there; their growth momentum suddenly surged forward a great distance.
The massive wooden trunk, like a giant python spanning the sky, extends and expands wildly to the south at an exaggerated speed.
The treetops whistled through the air, and the surrounding wasteland scenery rushed backward as if a timer were rewinding.
The strong winds high in the sky whipped Lucy's blonde hair wildly against her face.
Happy was perched steadily on Natsu's head, munching on a dried fish.
"Lucy, hold on tight! You'll be smashed into a pulp if you fall!"
Jiang Bai stood with his hands in his pockets, his body as steady as a mountain. No matter how the trees beneath his feet rose and fell, he didn't move an inch.
The three-kilometer desolate journey was completed in less than half a minute thanks to the rampaging growth of this giant tree.
Suddenly, a huge, sunken basin appeared at the horizon ahead.
The trees' growth finally began to slow.
The tree canopy, which had been charging forward wildly, slowed down smoothly and then transformed into a gentle slope, curving down slowly along the edge of the basin and gently bringing everyone back to the solid frozen ground.
Wendy raised her hand and patted her chest, taking a breath as she stood on flat ground.
"Phew... I've finally landed safely. That old man Warrod's magic is really amazing."
Carla was in Wendy's arms.
"Truly extraordinary, to be able to extend magic to an area several kilometers away from a distance. The title of the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar is indeed well-deserved."
Natsu cracked his wrists, his eyes gleaming, his competitive spirit to challenge stronger opponents rising within him once more.
"The Ten Wizard Saints are all incredibly strong! Once we've rescued the village, I really want to go back to the cabin and have a proper one-on-one duel with that old man!!"
Gray strode over to Natsu's side, a sneer on his face.
"Hmph, you single-celled, stupid creature!"
Natsu's forehead instantly pressed against it.
"What did you say?! Are you looking for trouble, you droopy-eyed bastard?!"
Gray's forehead veins bulged, and a cloud of icy mist condensed in his right fist.
"I'm talking to you! You slanted-eyed idiot!"
These two restless guys are about to start their daily infighting again, just as they left the starting village.
Jiang Bai, standing to the side, raised his arms expressionlessly.
Clench both hands into fists and strike precisely downwards.
Bang! Bang!
Two crisp, solid impacts rang out across the open field.
Jiang Bai's fist slammed heavily onto the top of Natsu and Gray's heads.
An immense sense of physical pressure shot from my scalp to the soles of my feet.
"Aww!!"
"It hurts!!"
Natsu and Gray simultaneously clutched their swollen heads, squatted down, and grimaced, swallowing back the curses they were about to unleash. The surroundings instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Jiang Bai shook his wrists, put his hands back in his pockets, and strode straight toward the village entrance covered by a vast white ice field.
"Alright, stop with that overly energetic, stupid look on your faces."
"Let's get this job done first."
Upon hearing Jiang Bai speak, Lucy and Wendy exchanged a glance, smiled helplessly, and quickly followed.