Did Natsu Turn On the Sound System?

Erza won without any surprise; even the gambler duo crossed her off the betting board to prevent anyone from placing bets.

Elfman's strength, however, exceeded Hughes's expectations; he was actually on par with Gray, and either of them could potentially take second place.

As Hughes scratched his head, pondering how to place his bets, the host Marcus's enthusiastic voice rang out. "It's begun! The competition is halfway through, and the battle everyone has been waiting for has finally started!"

Cana and Natsu, currently ranked last or second from the bottom, have teamed up to defeat Troy, who is ranked third from the bottom, and are now charging towards Jed, who is ranked fourth from the bottom!

Hughes looked over curiously.

Cana was originally on the seventh track, swam to the sixth track where Natsu belonged. Natsu focused on breaking through the water to clear a path, while Cana followed behind Natsu, swimming and launching water attacks.

Troy, unable to advance, roared in anger, "You bastards, you two despicable scoundrels!"

"Troy, don't worry, Jed will be here to keep you company soon!" Cana said with a grin as she passed by Troy.

The tireless and energetic Natsu led the way, while Cana lurked behind, employing all sorts of underhanded tactics. The two moved with the speed of sharks, quickly bringing Jed to his knees!

Then, the fifth to last, the sixth to last... followed in the footsteps of Troy and Jed.

Before long, only Elfman, Gray, and Erza, who was about to reach the top, remained ahead of the two despicable duo.

"Natsu, if we can surpass Elfman and Gray, we'll be second or third!" Cana shouted excitedly.

Gildarts was right in front of her; she absolutely couldn't lose this time.

"Oh, I'm fired up!"

Hughes: (⊙ˍ⊙)... Who turned on the stereo? Turn it off, turn it off!!

As soon as Natsu finished speaking, his swimming speed suddenly increased by a level, getting closer and closer to Elfman, who was in third place.

If this situation continues, Elfman and Gray's third and second place positions are in serious jeopardy.

"Natsu, Cana, go for it!" Lisanna stood on the shore, cupping her hands to her mouth, cheering them on.

"Hey!" Little Happy, perched on Lisanna's head, also contributed.

Not only them, but also guild members who enjoy watching underdog stories cheered them on, creating a high-spirited atmosphere!

The gambler duo, Macao Wakaba, who were near Hughes, looked at each other with surprise.

"Cana, so she's such a lively child?" Wakaba exclaimed in surprise.

Macao hurriedly crossed out everything on his betting board.

Something's not right, there's a problem!

With Cana and Natsu causing such a commotion, anyone could be in second or third place; continuing to hold the top spot is too risky.

Ten years of experience running a gambling den told them it was time to quit.

"Huh, the betting's closed?" Hughes asked, puzzled, as he pulled out 100,000 J to place his bet.

He still thought Gray would come in second place and wanted to bet on Gray.

Bow-legged Wakaba waved his hand, then pulled out another betting plate. "The underage group will close their bets first; but the adult group can continue betting, still on the top three."

Hughes looked on curiously. "Gildarts wins the championship, odds are 1 to 1; he wins second place, odds are 1 to 1.2; he wins third place, odds are 1 to 10."

Hughes wins the championship with odds of 5 to 1; second place with odds of 1 to 1; third place with odds of 5 to 1.

Laxus has odds of 10 to 1 to win; 10 to 1 to come in second; and 1 to 1 to come in third.

Nab...

Reedus...

Wakaba wins the championship with odds of 10 to 1; he wins second place with odds of 10 to 1; and he wins third place with odds of 1 to 1.

Seeing the last contestant, Hughes couldn't help but glance up at Wakaba. He'd already been beaten into bowlegs, yet he still dared to act recklessly. Impressive!

Seeing this, Wakaba, who was smoking a pipe, gently ruffled his smooth pompadour with both hands, displaying a calm expression as if he had seen it all before.

Then... Wakaba knelt down in front of Hughes... Macao kicked him from behind.

"Damn it, Wakaba! What kind of betting tycoon would participate in the competition himself? This makes people suspect we're manipulating the game, and we're not even making any money anymore!" Macao grabbed Wakaba by the collar and questioned him.

"You shameless bastard, you even set your odds the same as Laxus's! Bah!"

Hughes nodded in agreement, acknowledging that Wakaba's "gun skills" were formidable, but the third place would certainly belong to Laxus.

First place... cough cough!

Of course it's his, Hughes's. He can't use magic, so what can Gildarts use to fight him? He could easily let them chase him for dozens of meters!

Thinking of this, Hughes pulled out all 400,000 J he had on him. "Macao, bet everything on me to win!"

With a 1:5 payout ratio, this 2 million J is a steal; it's practically half the commission for S-Class Mission.

Macao took the magic coin from Hughes, glanced at the betting board again, and frowned. "Hughes, there's no 'me' on Wakaba's betting board."

Hughes: (╯°Д°)╯┻━┻=... What's wrong with these people's brains? Don't steal my mental patient persona!

"Macao, Hughes just took out his money, and his right pinky was pointing towards me. The 'I' he was referring to must be me, Wakaba." Wakaba stood up, picked up a pen, and prepared to write down Hughes's bet of 400,000 J on the line where Wakaba would win the championship.

Hughes:...

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Hughes let out a satisfied sigh, shook his hands, and nodded at the two lumps on the ground. "Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood!" x2

"If you know what you're doing, why don't you give me a receipt!" Hughes stepped forward and kicked them twice more. These two rascals always cause trouble if they're not beaten up.

Wakaba shakily got up, took out paper and pen from behind his back, wrote a list, and handed it to Hughes.

"Hughes, I have a great way to make money, it's..."

Curious Hughes was short of money, pricked up his ears and looked at the two men with sly smiles. "Tell me about it!"

Seeing that Hughes was interested, Macao came closer and whispered, "Let's talk in a corner. We can't let too many people know about this, or we won't make any money!"

The three of them sneaked away from the crowd and went to a secluded spot to talk for a long time.

A moment later, Hughes, having regained his 400,000 J, returned to his original spot on the shore.

On the other side of the lake, Erza was already standing next to Gildarts, looking completely relaxed.

Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and Cana were still vying for second and third place, with a dozen meters or so to go before the finish line.

At this moment, Natsu, Gray, and Elfman advanced side by side, with Cana following behind Natsu, occasionally interfering with Gray and Elfman.

Gray dodged Cana's water attack, then swung his right hand back, splashing a large amount of water onto Natsu's face. "You bastard with the slanted eyes, you actually teamed up with Cana, you guys are so despicable!"

Unable to free his hands, Natsu could only shake his head, wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes. "You icy block with your eyes closed, Cana isn't despicable!"

"Exactly, this is a tactic!" Cana retorted, though her tone was slightly weak, perhaps to cover up her unease, as she focused all her distracting actions on Gray.

Honest Elfman is temporarily out of danger.