Blazing Flame Demon Lizard

The next morning, inside the Fairy Tail Guild.

Laxus and a still-sleepy Ye Yang stood before Makarov.

The rest of the Guild members were excitedly placing bets on who would successfully be promoted to S-Class.

Fortunately, Macao had set a betting limit this time, with a maximum of 20,000 Jewel per person.

The previous incident had scared him into imposing limits.

The odds for both were the same, 1:2, and from the bets placed, most people were betting on Laxus to win.

Compared to Ye Yang, they still believed Laxus was stronger.

Only a few close friends of Ye Yang had placed their bets on him.

Ye Yang looked at Erza beside him with a puzzled expression.

"So, you won against Mirajane?"

Erza calmly replied, "Of course, she's still no match for me."

Mirajane's ears perked up at that, and she instantly got angry.

"Tch, if it weren't for the fact that I'm still not proficient with absorption magic, you? There's no way you could have beaten me."

Erza ignored Mirajane's words. Seeing Erza's indifferent attitude, Mirajane's anger flared up.

"You darn armor-wearing girl, just you wait! I'll definitely get my revenge for this!"

Laxus's partner was Freed, his loyal fangirl.

Makarov, seeing that everyone had arrived, said, "Since everyone's here, let's depart."

The five of them rode in a carriage, not speaking a word. The atmosphere was tense, but Ye Yang, carefree as ever, lay down and fell asleep.

After a morning's journey, the carriage arrived at the foot of Nilus Volcano.

It was already the sweltering heat of summer, and now they were at the foot of a volcano. Ye Yang and the others were all sweating from the heat, and Ye Yang was woken up by it early on.

"I say, old man, in the middle of summer, you just had to choose to hold the S-Class assessment on a volcano? Couldn't you find somewhere a bit cooler?"

"Hmph, you don't know anything, brat. To become an S-Class Mage, you must be able to adapt to all sorts of harsh environments. If you can't even endure this, what makes you think you can be an S-Class Mage!"

Ye Yang looked speechlessly at Makarov, who was eating an ice pop while fanning himself.

"Old man, if you put down what you're holding, your words might be more convincing."

"It's your assessment, not mine. I'm old enough to enjoy myself properly!"

"Yes, of course, you can. Whatever you say, old man."

"Hmph, good that you know your place."

Just then, the carriage stopped.

"Alright, brats, we've arrived."

"I'll explain the mission for this assessment to you here."

"This mountain is called Nilus Volcano. A group of monsters called Blazing Flame Demon Lizards inhabit this volcano. These monsters have lived in molten rock for years, occasionally causing small-scale volcanic eruptions."

"Once the volcano erupts, it causes immense financial losses to the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain."

"The town at the foot of the mountain has always survived on a type of ore called Molten Rock. In the past, the monsters on this mountain and the village below lived in a state of mutual non-aggression."

"But in the past few months, for some unknown reason, the Blazing Flame Demon Lizards have started attacking the miners who go up the mountain."

"The Council sent troops and Mages from various Guilds. Although they wiped out some of the lizards, a large number of them continued to appear."

"According to the survivors of the latest failed expedition by Mages, they saw an incredibly huge Blazing Flame Demon Lizard inside the volcano."

"Your mission, the two of you, is to be the first to defeat the giant Blazing Flame Demon Lizard and retrieve its horn."

"Don't underestimate the strength of these Blazing Flame Demon Lizards. Each one has a strength comparable to a B-Class Mage."

"The time limit is 8 AM tomorrow morning."

"Here are two maps of Nilus Volcano."

"You can depart now if you have no questions."

After hearing the instructions, Laxus grabbed his map and immediately ran towards the mountain ahead.

Seeing that the other party had already set off, Erza quickly pulled Ye Yang and ran towards the mountain.

According to the map, there were two paths up the mountain, and both parties chose different routes.

After the four of them left, Gildarts walked out from the side.

"Old man, who do you think will successfully be promoted to S-Class?"

Makarov pondered for a moment and said, "I'm a bit unsure myself. I haven't kept up with Laxus's strength since I kicked my unfilial son out."

"As for Ye Yang, I haven't personally seen this kid's strength either, but I'm more optimistic about this brat Ye Yang."

"Hahaha," Gildarts chuckled, "I'm more optimistic about this brat too."

"Alright, alright, I need to go keep an eye on these two kids. I hope they don't cause too much trouble, hahahaha."

Makarov started fanning himself as soon as Gildarts left.

"I'm dying of heat. Why did I choose such a place? At my age, I still have to go through this."

As he spoke, he took out a blue gem, and a refreshing sensation instantly swept over his body.

"Comfortable~"

------ Divider ------

At this time, Erza was pulling Ye Yang, rushing towards the mountaintop. All the lizards that attacked along the way were wiped out by Ye Yang in large batches with a single laser.

Before long, the two began to rest halfway up the mountain.

Erza looked at the map and began to study it.

"Ye Yang, we're almost at the cave entrance after this. We'll enter from the east cave. I think Laxus and the others will enter from the west cave."

"However, the terrain inside the cave is complex, and we don't have a map. It will be very difficult to find that giant Blazing Flame Demon Lizard."

"Don't worry, Erza. My senses are very strong. Just follow me when the time comes."

A lightbulb lit up on Erza's forehead: "I almost forgot, you have this ability."

"This way, we can find that lizard first. I just don't know how strong that lizard is."

Just then, the sound of crawling footsteps could be heard continuously from all around.

Upon hearing the sound, Erza immediately stood up, ready to fight.

A large number of Blazing Flame Demon Lizards suddenly appeared around them, surrounding the two.

Ye Yang slowly stood up. "They're finally here, these crawling insects."

Erza asked, "You knew we were surrounded long ago?"

"Of course. These guys are not simple. They're like a disciplined army, setting up a few decoys on the mountain path to lure us in the direction they want."

"When we stopped, they directly surrounded us."

"You really can't underestimate any creature."

Erza looked at Ye Yang, puzzled: "Since you knew, why didn't you warn me earlier?"

("I originally wanted to prevent Ye Yang from wasting too much energy along the way, but who knew his magic was endless? None of those demon lizards were his match.")

("The reason we rested here was also because I was tired from running. This guy is like he's fine, whether it's his physical condition or his total magic power, I can't compare to him at all. I really don't know if this guy is even human.")

("No, if this continues, I'll just be a burden to him!")

"Ye Yang, leave this to me. You go quickly."

Looking at Erza's expression, Ye Yang understood her thoughts.