Blazing Flame Demon Lizard King

"There's no need, Erza. While I might be lazy, I won't let my comrades get into danger."

"These lizards aren't very strong individually, but there are just too many of them."

After hearing Ye Yang's words, Erza gripped her sword tighter.

It was the first time she felt her own strength was so insufficient, even becoming a burden to her partner.

She didn't have the confidence to kill all these lizards by herself. She had already dealt with some of them on the way up, and with her current strength, it still took considerable effort to kill just one.

"Erza, lend me a sword."

Erza looked at Ye Yang, confused, but still handed him her sword.

"Thanks."

"Armament!"

"Hum!"

The originally silver-white blade instantly turned black.

Erza watched Ye Yang with a grave expression. It was the first time she had seen him use such an ability.

"Soru!"

"Whoosh!"

Ye Yang instantly vanished from his spot and appeared in the middle of the Blazing Flame Demon Lizard swarm. For a moment, the glint of blades flashed, so fast it was dazzling.

"So fast!"

(His swordsmanship is also far beyond mine. Damn it! Is the gap between us really this big!)

By the time Ye Yang returned to his original position, only a few dozen seconds had passed, and all the surrounding lizards stood frozen.

A moment later, a bloodstain appeared on the necks of all the demon lizards in the swarm.

The lizards' heads slowly detached from their bodies, and blood splattered everywhere, spraying outwards.

(Sigh, if only I had Conqueror's Haki, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.)

"Alright, let's get out of here quickly."

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky on the other side.

A loud "Rumble!" echoed.

Ye Yang glanced forward and then led Erza towards the direction of the cave entrance.

On the other side, Laxus and the others were also surrounded by a swarm of Blazing Flame Demon Lizards.

Now, the demon lizards surrounding them had all turned into charred corpses, emitting a fragrant aroma.

Freed exclaimed excitedly, "Amazing, Laxus! You took care of these monsters in an instant."

Laxus didn't reply but looked in Ye Yang's direction.

"Let's go."

Meanwhile, Makarov, watching from afar through a magic crystal ball, showed a look of relief at both of their performances.

"Laxus has grown up too, reaching this level already."

"When did that brat Ye Yang learn such exquisite swordsmanship? Is that black coating the Armament Haki he mentioned?"

"What an incredible ability."

The scene shifted.

Ye Yang and Erza quickly arrived at the entrance marked on the map.

As soon as they reached the cave mouth, a wave of heat washed over them, accompanied by the roar of a monster.

"This Blazing Flame Demon Lizard King is practically inviting us, as if afraid we won't find him."

"Interesting."

"Let's go, Erza. The enemy has already shown us their location."

"Okay."

The further they walked inside, the hotter it became. Erza had to cover her body with magic to resist the high temperature.

Ye Yang directly elementalized himself to avoid the heat.

As they delved deeper, Erza felt her magic was no longer enough to sustain her.

Ye Yang noticed Erza's body was nearing its limit.

"Erza, you should go back first. Your body won't be able to withstand going any further."

Without giving Erza a chance to speak, Ye Yang shoved a magic recovery potion into her hand.

"What is this?" Erza asked, confused.

"This is a potion Grandma Porlyusica prepared for me. It can restore your magic. All the monsters along the way have been cleared. Drink this, and wait for me at the cave entrance for now."

"But!?"

"Whoosh!"

With a flash of golden light, Ye Yang disappeared from his original spot.

"I get it."

Erza glanced in the direction Ye Yang had left, then turned back with a grave expression.

Fortunately, the two hadn't ventured too deep, and Erza soon encountered Gildarts.

"Let's go, little Erza."

Gildarts, of course, could see the unwillingness in Erza's eyes.

He had seen the same look in Freed's eyes just moments before.

However, Gildarts wasn't good at comforting people; he figured that was a job for the guild master, who was much better at it.

Meanwhile, the deeper Ye Yang went, the happier he became, because the inner walls of the volcano were studded with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds.

"Holy crap! I'm rich! Rich!"

"Why didn't I ever think of digging for gems in a volcano to make money before!"

"Mine! Mine! All mine!!"

In a short while, Ye Yang's pockets and pouches were stuffed full of gems, bulging out.

The ten inventory slots the System had given him were also filled.

"Can't fit anymore, can't fit anymore. I'll have to bring a big bag next time."

"Thank you, Mother Nature!"

At this point, Ye Yang's vision had been completely blinded by wealth, and he had utterly forgotten he was in the middle of an S-Class assessment.

Just then, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from the distance.

"Damn it! I almost forgot, I'm here for the assessment!"

"Laxus got ahead of me."

"No, I need to hurry over there."

"Whoosh!"

Inside the lava cave, a Blazing Flame Demon Lizard, dozens of times larger than normal, appeared.

Laxus stood before it.

"Lightning Strike Spear!"

Laxus condensed a bolt of lightning in his hand and flung it forward. The lightning formed a spear in mid-air and shot towards the demon lizard.

The demon lizard raised its front claws and swiped, causing a pillar of lava to surge from the ground.

It blocked the Lightning Strike Spear.

Laxus transformed into lightning and instantly appeared beneath the demon lizard.

He swung his fist fiercely.

"Lightning Strike Fist!"

"Boom! Crackle!"

"Roar--!!"

In pain, the demon lizard swung its claws wildly. Laxus quickly leaped to dodge, but the demon lizard spun around and its tail swept across Laxus. Fortunately, Laxus reacted in time, crossing his arms to forcefully take the blow.

He was sent flying backward, smashing hard against the rock wall.

"Boom!"

The demon lizard opened a huge red magic circle in its mouth, and a fierce pillar of fire erupted from it.

Laxus saw the danger.

"This is bad!"

Just then, a flash of light appeared, instantly shattering the erupting fire pillar and striking the demon lizard's mouth.

"Boom!"

"Roar--!!!"

"Thump!"

Laxus immediately understood who had arrived and quickly got up from the rock wall, landing on the ground.

"You're a little late."

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I got held up by something on the way."

Laxus turned around and saw Ye Yang, bulging all over, appear before him.

Laxus looked at Ye Yang's bulging pockets and pouches, and upon closer inspection, saw they were filled with a pile of gems.

His eyes began to twitch uncontrollably.

"So this is what you meant by 'something important'." Laxus pointed at the ruby that had fallen out of Ye Yang's pocket.

Seeing this, Ye Yang quickly picked it up.

"You know me, I consider money dirt."

Laxus: "Then why are you carrying dirt in your pocket?"

Ye Yang: "This isn't my first time participating in an S-Class assessment. I thought I'd take something back as a souvenir."