Chapter 152: The Evaporated Lake

Under the blazing wrath of the scorching flames, all the spectral soldiers were incinerated into ashes, vanishing into the ether.

"Keep going, don't stop! This is the tastiest flame I've ever had!"

After releasing a satisfying Fire Dragon's Roar, Natsu eagerly opened his mouth wide, awaiting George's next fiery offering.

"I'm going to burn that moving fortress to the ground!"

"Don't worry; there's plenty more."

George waved his wand, and waves of deadly blue flames surged out, consumed entirely by Natsu.

Thanks to George's inexhaustible magic supply, he could theoretically unleash flames from dawn to dusk, blanketing the world in cursed fire if not for its uncontrollable nature. For now, he was pouring power into Natsu as much as the latter's body could bear, drastically amplifying the power of his next attack.

"I can't take any more! My magic's overflowing—I'm losing control!"

Having absorbed several times more flames than before, Natsu's body finally started to buckle under the pressure.

Seeing this, George immediately stopped.

"Natsu, use Brilliant Flame now!"

"Fire from my left hand... fire from my right hand... let them unite into my ultimate dragon-slaying magic: Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

Combining his red dragon-slaying flames with George's cursed blue fire, Natsu forged a massive red-and-blue fireball, thirty meters in diameter, and hurled it fiercely at the moving fortress.

"This... this is impossible!"

Inside the fortress, Jose, the three Elemental Mages, Gajeel, and all the guild's headquarters members stared wide-eyed at the approaching inferno, their expressions frozen in disbelief.

They hadn't anticipated that aside from Makarov and Erza, Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer—bolstered by that cat—could unleash such a terrifying attack.

"You think you can destroy my fortress? Dream on!"

Shifting from defense to offense, Jose unleashed an overwhelming burst of magic power, forming a powerful dark magic barrier in front of the fortress.

This moving fortress and its magic cannon represented decades of Phantom Lord's accumulated wealth. He wouldn't let them be destroyed.

The three Elemental Mages and Gajeel paused their cannon recharging efforts and fully focused on defense, creating their own magic arrays to fortify the barrier.

Boom!

The massive fireball collided with the dark magic barrier, sending shockwaves through Magnolia.

The black barrier and all defensive spells shattered under the collision, and the terrifying flames, dozens of times stronger than those used against the Cursed Demon, dissipated. The fortress and magic cannon remained unharmed, but a quarter of the lake's water evaporated in the process.

"As expected of a Ten Saint-level mage. Truly troublesome!"

George wasn't surprised. Having seen Jose battle Makarov, he knew it wouldn't be so easy to break through the defenses.

But that was fine. If one strike didn't work, then two would. If two failed, then three. He'd wear down Jose's defenses no matter what!

"Natsu, one more time!"

George waved his wand, and torrents of cursed fire flowed into Natsu again.

Before long, another massive fireball was launched at the fortress. This time, half the lake evaporated, though the fortress and cannon remained intact.

As George summoned a third fireball, Jose finally grew uneasy.

Though they had survived the previous attacks, the magic consumption was immense. If the bombardment continued, even his vast reserves would be drained.

"What's with that damn cat? Does his magic never run out?"

"George said his magic replenishes quickly, but this... this is insane!"

Fairy Tail's mages, including Erza, stared in awe at George, who was relentlessly outputting cursed flames without breaking a sweat.

He was like a walking magical perpetual motion machine.

Against such an opponent, unless one's strength was overwhelming enough to subdue him instantly, it was only a matter of time before exhaustion set in.

"We can't keep this up. Change the plan! We're going in!"

As the fourth fireball was unleashed, evaporating the lake entirely, Jose abandoned the fortress and cannon, leaping down with his remaining forces to attack Fairy Tail head-on.

"Finally, he comes out."

George let out a sigh of relief as Jose abandoned his stronghold.

Natsu had reached his limit. Overloading himself with cursed flames had left his body trembling uncontrollably.

If Jose had persisted with his strategy, Fairy Tail might have been forced to invade the fortress, giving the enemy a significant advantage.

Now, with the fortress and cannon abandoned, and the enemy mages depleted of magic, Fairy Tail had the upper hand.

Erza, still at full strength, took on Jose directly, while Gray battled Juvia and Totomaru two-on-one.

Elfman and Cana led Macao to gang up on Sol.

George, meanwhile, charged straight at Gajeel.

The strategy was simple: quickly eliminate the Elemental Mages and Gajeel, then converge on Jose for a final group assault.

"So it's you again!"

Seeing George charge at him, Gajeel instinctively recoiled, recalling the humiliating defeat he'd suffered before.

But before he could retreat, George's magic immobilized him, lifting him into the air.

"Stupefy +100!"

In less than two minutes, George's relentless wandwork left Gajeel unconscious, lying on the lakebed.

With Gajeel neutralized, George immediately turned his attention to the beleaguered Sol.