Rhode stood still, not moving a muscle, as the two strands of red hair suddenly retracted, and Freyja was pinned to the ground dozens of meters away.
Narubudinge had no time to react before he was sent flying dozens of meters and pinned to the ground as well.
Black Snake had originally used Mimicry Magic to hide by the bluestone and aimed the 'Angel Cannon' at Rhode, but in the blink of an eye, the bluestone shattered, the cannon broke, and he himself was pinned by the riverbank.
"This is..." Ivan's eyes widened, and before he could finish his sentence, he felt an irresistible force press him down.
Oprah lay quietly beside him, not moving an inch.
"Roar~~~" ×4
Four dragon roars echoed from four directions, awakening the five people who were in a daze.
But they might have preferred to believe they hadn't woken up.
Four colossal beings abruptly appeared in the secluded valley by the riverside, shattering the worldview of Ivan and the others in an instant.
"Dragons? Four of them? Why..."
Their minds were in chaos. Why were dragons appearing here?
That's right, that Rhode, once famous for excelling in Summoning Magic, was dubbed the Beast Tamer.
So, the supposedly mastered Summoning Element Magic was actually used to summon dragons?
Pinned by the Marine Sub-Dragon, Freyja snapped out of her daze and struggled in terror, her long red hair lighting up with fire, burning at a temperature hot enough to cause instant burns.
But the Marine Sub-Dragon remained unfazed, its dragon scales unscarred by the heat. She glanced at Rhode, noticing his attention was elsewhere, and whispered in a tiny voice:
"Little girl, I can secretly loosen my grip a bit, but don't cause any trouble."
Her tone was exceptionally gentle and her words kind, but Freyja might not see it that way.
The enormous dragon mouth suddenly closing in frightened her almost to the point of fainting, thinking the words just spoken were a blatant threat, she didn't dare to move.
The Marine Sub-Dragon thought she had taken the advice, so it secretly relaxed its claw, allowing Freyja to breathe more easily.
The others weren't so lucky.
"Piercing Breakthrough!" Narubudinge smashed twice with his spiked arm against Purgatory Sub-Dragon's claw, then felt a weight in his chest and coughed up blood.
Purgatory Sub-Dragon, with its bad temper, easily broke seven or eight of his ribs, even while holding back its strength. At the same time, the surrounding ground melted into a lava pool, leaving only a small piece of land untouched where Narubudinge lay.
"Stay quiet, or I'll roast you like a sweet potato."
"Yes..." Narubudinge felt the surrounding temperature, knowing that even with Earth Drilling Magic, he'd only end up bathing in lava. Bearing the pain in his chest, he didn't dare to make a sound.
Cloud Sub-Dragon held Black Snake down, and as it watched its prey struggle, it quickly released several small Wind Blades, shaving his hair and pinning it into the ground.
Then, she rattled off a string of threats at twenty words per second, which Black Snake didn't catch, but he didn't dare to move or ask.
Realizing that Cloud Sub-Dragon didn't expect a response from him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Mountain Sub-Dragon had one stomp on each, Ivan and Oprah, and he felt like complaining about why Alchemy and Hex weren't called for this kind of task, but considering the atmosphere, he should maintain the Summoner's dignity, so he held his tongue.
Oprah laid obediently, neither struggling nor making a sound, making one wonder if he was already dead.
Ivan struggled furiously, trying to push Mountain Sub-Dragon's claw with both hands, but the claw remained immovable like a mountain.
"There's... such magic! Damn it, if I could obtain the Flowing Starlight!"
Not paying them any heed for the moment, Rhode approached the Magic Crystal that Mountain Sub-Dragon had casually protected.
Upon examining it closely, it did resemble someone transformed; indeed, Black Snake did produce such a weapon. Had they really been ambushed?
Rhode glanced over the people on the ground and said, "I'll give you a chance, my companions, where are they?"
Narubudinge's eyes lit up; right, this guy is from Fairy Tail, with hostages in hand, no matter how strong his magic is, he wouldn't dare act recklessly: "If we die here, you'll never see your companions again! So..."
"Is that so..." Rhode said softly, "Purgatory."
Bang!
"Ahhhh!!!"
The small platform at Purgatory Sub-Dragon's feet exploded at once, and Narubudinge's body was pressed into the lava pool below by the dragon claw.
Red 'splashes' flew from the lava, landing on the ground nearby, sizzling.
Narubudinge let out a few screams before quickly falling silent.
"Na...Narubudinge..." Freyja, terrified, turned her head to look at that patch of bright red, too scared to speak.
Black Snake couldn't help but swallow hard; this guy just might kill more decisively than he does.
Ivan's eyes widened as he struggled to lift his head, looking at Rhode in disbelief: "You… are really from Fairy Tail? Aren't you from the Dark Guild!"
"I thought you understood Fairy Tail." Rhode glanced at him, his tone devoid of emotion, "For the sake of my companions, I am willing to do anything. Including crushing you all, one by one."
"You..."
"There are still 4 chances left, tell me where my companions are within three seconds, 1..."
Ivan hurriedly called out: "It's just Summoning Element, as long as you take down his body—Oprah, nullify his magic power!"
Without seeing Oprah make any motion, a black object shot toward Rhode like an arrow.
"Even on an ambush, it won't work." Rhode lightly tapped with his fingertip, a golden light sphere the size of a basketball enveloped the unidentified object.
The light sphere bore Fairy Tail's emblem on its surface.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a small black humanoid, about the size of Hapi, wearing a leaf hat, and with a tail like a Devil's Tail.
Is this guy also a Summoning Mage?
Rhode said softly, "Mountain."
The left claw of Mountain Sub-Dragon clenched tightly, Oprah was immediately squeezed and sealed in a thick stone ball.
"Oprah!" It was the first time Ivan had seen Oprah's magic fail, his eyes widened as he looked at Rhode, "Incredible..."
Freyja and Black Snake were similarly shocked. In their eyes, Oprah's magic, capable of depleting an opponent's magic power in an instant, was almost invincible.
He was their confidence in facing the Ten Wizard Saints directly, yet here he was, defeated with no resistance?
Rhode, rather interested, scrutinized the little creature, as the mage died, it hadn't disappeared: "You're not that guy's magic, are you?"