The Battle Ends

The duel was about to begin, and the surrounding audience was enthusiastic, but the atmosphere in one place was somewhat subtle.

In a corner of the guild, Cana had somehow moved a table and was sitting on a pile of wine barrels, with a huge sheet of white paper spread out in front of her.

The odds were written in crooked handwriting, and that's how a simple betting platform opened.

Lucy saw Happy squatting in front of the betting table, his little cat face full of struggle, his two paws folded in front of his chest, as if he was making an important decision.

"Um..."

Happy stared at the betting table, pondered for a long time, and finally seemed to have made up his mind.

It shakily pulled out a crumpled 1000J banknote from its small bag; this was all its savings.

"I can beat Jiang Bai in under twenty moves!"

Happy solemnly slapped his stash of money, which was a huge sum of money to him, in front of Cana.

Lucy curiously leaned closer, wanting to see how Fairy Tail viewed the duel from the inside.

However, when she saw the options on the betting board, she was completely dumbfounded.

[Jiang Bai wins in one move, odds 1:1.2]

[Jiang Bai wins within five moves, odds 1:1.5]

[Jiang Bai wins within ten moves, odds 1:1.6]

Lucy looked at the paper over and over again, and finally couldn't help but point at it and yell at Happy, "Hey! There's no option for Natsu to win here at all!"

"Hey, because there's no need for that."

Happy answered matter-of-factly, "Natsu will definitely lose."

"You disloyal cat!" Lucy complained.

"Hey~ I need to eat too."

Happy crossed his arms, wearing an innocent expression that said, "I'm forced by life."

"But..." Lucy pointed again to the ridiculously low odds,

"Why are the odds almost all the same? There's no way to make money this way!"

"This is because the outcome itself is not in doubt; the only variable is Jiang Bai's mood."

Happy, like a little expert, began to educate Lucy.

"Sometimes when Jiang Bai is in a good mood, he'll casually offer some pointers to his opponent during a duel, which allows the fight to last a little longer. But if Jiang Bai is in a bad mood..."

Happy paused, then made a gesture as if to slit a throat.

"That'll be settled in one move."

Just then, Natsu in the arena finally got ready. He got into a fighting stance and delivered his pre-battle declaration to Jiang Bai, who was not far away.

"Jiang Bai! I've undergone extremely rigorous training, and I won't be easily defeated by you this time!"

"So you yourself thought you'd lose?"

Lucy muttered a precise, low-key comment from the side.

Jiang Bai remained as lazy as ever, beckoning Natsu with his finger.

"Come on, Natsu, let me see just how much you've improved this past year."

The battle began instantly!

Jiang Bai had just finished Mirajane's lovingly prepared breakfast and was in a pretty good mood, so he didn't mind spending a little more time guiding his simple-minded, cheap younger brother.

His Mental Detection activated instantly, forming an invisible domain centered on him that encompassed the entire battlefield.

In this realm, every movement of Natsu, every flow of magic, and every rhythm of his breath were vividly reflected in Jiang Bai's mind.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Natsu launched the first attack, his fist wreathed in flames and carrying a scorching wind, smashing fiercely towards Jiang Bai's face.

Jiang Bai didn't even move his feet; he simply tilted his head slightly and narrowly dodged the punch.

"The punch was thrown too straight, so all the power was dispersed."

Jiang Bai's voice rang in Natsu's ears like a ghost.

Natsu was stunned. Before he could react, Jiang Bai had already kicked him in the shin.

The force wasn't great, but it caused him to lose his balance instantly.

"His lower body is unstable; he'll fall over at the slightest touch."

Natsu stumbled, then quickly jumped back to create some distance.

"The Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The scorching flames spewed out, but Jiang Bai casually waved his hand, and an invisible barrier of Telekinesis redirected the flames into the sky.

"The attack range is too large, it's a waste of mana."

The rest of the time became Jiang Bai's personal teaching class.

No matter what moves Natsu uses, Jiang Bai can always easily counter them and pinpoint their weaknesses.

Having played with him enough, Jiang Bai yawned.

"Natsu, your warm-up is over. Now, give it your all!"

"Okay! Watch this!"

Natsu took a deep breath and mobilized all the magic power within him, causing a flame far more violent than ever before to blaze up on his body.

"The flames in the left hand plus the flames in the right hand, the Fire Dragon's —Radiant Flame!"

This is the strongest move Natsu can currently master!

The golden-red flames erupted like a volcano, forming a huge fire tornado that not only completely engulfed Jiang Bai, but also swept out of control towards the onlookers!

The scorching heat wave made everyone instinctively step back.

"Sister Mira, run!"

Lucy turned pale with fright and tried to pull away from Mirajane by her hand.

However, Mirajane simply smiled, shook her head, and patted her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry."

Sure enough, the terrifying flames, when they were still some distance from the group and the guild building, seemed to have hit an invisible wall and could not advance any further.

"This is Jiang Bai's Telekinesis," Mirajane explained softly.

Jiang Bai emerged unharmed from the center of the flames. He looked at Natsu, who was panting heavily from exhaustion, and gently shook his head.

"The power is decent, but unfortunately it's still too scattered."

He slowly raised his hand and made a clenching motion in the air, pointing it towards Natsu.

"Cursed Technique Lapse -- "Azure"."

A powerful gravitational force erupted instantly, and Natsu was in mid-air, had no time to react. He was pulled in by the force and uncontrollably flew towards Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai didn't even look at him; he simply threw a punch at the rapidly approaching figure in an unremarkable manner.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

All beings are equal.

Natsu rolled his eyes, drew a graceful parabola in the air, and finally crashed heavily to the ground, completely unconscious.

Jiang Bai wins.

After the battle ended, Lucy was still reeling from the clean and decisive instant kill when she heard Gray next to her complain in a sour, envious, and resentful tone.

"Damn it, Natsu is so lucky!"

"Huh?" Lucy looked completely confused.

The person was knocked unconscious; is that considered good luck?

Happy flew over at some point and landed on her shoulder, explaining to her in a tone that said, "You're still too young."

"Jiang Bai's 'Mental Detection' isn't just for reconnaissance."

"In that field, Jiang Bai can teach his opponents the correct fighting methods like a master teacher."

"Whether it's the techniques for generating power in physical combat or the timing of casting magic, you can receive the most perfect guidance."

"For a battle maniac like Natsu, this is an even more precious gift than a duel—a super gift that can rapidly boost his strength."