For a moment, Lucy didn't know whether to be pleased with her own charm or sad because she had attracted something strange again.
The first to take action was Battlefield No.1.
As the Cerberus lunged at the Lucy transformed by Gemini, Baggs, Loka, and Semus simultaneously sprang into action.
"Splitting Palm·Under the Moon!"
"Rock Drill Fist!"
"Wild Spindle!"
Baggs' palm traced a snowy arc, hitting the middle head of the Cerberus hard.
Loka's wrist spun like a drill, punching the left head of the Cerberus.
Semus extended both fists to the sides and spun his body towards the Cerberus, his rotating form resembling a spindle.
With his tall stature, his fists struck the right side of the Cerberus' face.
As they launched their attack, the Alchemy Mist concealing their bodies dissipated, revealing them.
It's worth mentioning that two out of the three had nosebleeds, a case of friendly fire.
Neither the bees responsible for relaying information nor the attacking Cerberus could see through the Alchemy Mist.
As a result, all three heads of the Cerberus were solidly hit by the three moves, its bulky body toppling over, rolling and knocking down several large trees.
"See the power of the Four-headed Hound, you three-headed pup!" Baggs gestured grandly, "WILD~"
Loka and Semus immediately chimed in: "FOUR!!!"
"Was it a success so soon?" 'Lucy' transformed into two small blue figures, clapping lightly, "Pretty impressive, bzzz~bzzz!"
However, the Cerberus let out a pained whimper, struggling to rise.
Its left and middle heads drooped down, but the right head, though deformed, remained open-eyed, blood trickling from its mouth.
"One more hit!" Semus realized he was lagging and stepped forward.
"Awooo~~~" The Cerberus fixed its remaining eye on Gemini, emitting a struggling howl.
"No more escaping!" Baggs leaped over Semus, chopping down on the Cerberus' head.
A dull thud resounded, and the Cerberus' body vanished instantly.
Loka quickly asked, "Big brother, did it escape again?"
Baggs furrowed his brow, "The sensation just now, it sure felt like a hit. In such a short time, it shouldn't have been able to regenerate those two heads, right?"
But, he felt the disappearance seemed similar to what happened yesterday.
In that situation, there wouldn't be enough time to cast Space Magic, so maybe it really retreated after being defeated...right?
Bzzz bzzz bzzz...
The three heard the buzzing of bees' wings, their faces changing, wondering why the bees were here as well?
...
On battlefield No.2, even though Lucy was surrounded, Rhode and Wendy didn't hurry to reveal themselves.
They quietly watched as Lucy lashed out with her whip, crackling and snapping at the bees around her.
But Lucy herself wasn't as calm as them, screaming while attacking: "Yaaaahhh..."
It wasn't her fault for being skittish; there were simply too many, overwhelming her, and bees frequently jabbed at her with their stingers.
Though a soft golden light would flare up each time one stung her to block the attack, being encircled by a dense swarm of insects was inherently terrifying.
"1, 2, 3, ...16, 17." Rhode counted, tallying only 17 unusually large bees.
Wendy did the same, but she also noted three especially lush and vibrant daylily flowers.
'Hang in there, Lucy, just a little longer.' Rhode silently rooted for her.
Lucy seemed to gradually realize she was protected by strong allies and that these bees couldn't harm her at all.
So, she relaxed more and began to showcase her acting skills.
Sometimes pretending to flee, sometimes staging a dramatic roll on the ground.
Rhode was touched, thinking he should give Lucy a bonus this time.
After a while, Carla flew back cloaked in Alchemy Mist, whispering her findings: "By the river there are nine flowers that look suspicious."
"That makes 29." Rhode calculated, still four short.
The River Crab, tasked with patrolling the mountain, activated Void Divination, and Rhode noticed a daylily flower the size of a washbasin atop the mountain peak.
He also saw the scene where the Cerberus was repelled on Battlefield No.1 and the swarm of bees attacked.
Without analyzing the Cerberus' state, Rhode first confirmed that within the swarm were three giants among the bees.
All found!
Through the prearranged illusion, Rhode commanded the hidden monsters to disperse, heading to their designated locations.
Even Wendy locked onto her target, ready and waiting.
Once all the monsters were in place, Rhode pointed to the sky, and golden Light Bullets ascended with a sharp whistle, exploding into the shape of the Fairy Tail Emblem.
The glaring light made it very noticeable, even during the day.
At the moment this emblem appeared, the Void Engraved Golem, Void Marked Tree Monster, Magic Swamp Frog, Shadow Wolf... every monster launched an ambush on their targets.
By the river and in the mountains, large daylily flowers were instantly torn apart, and many ordinary daylilies turned into bees, surrounding their attackers.
Amid the swarm, the giant bees farthest away were enveloped by Rhode's Amaterasu Formula 100 Magic Array, exploding into ashes along with the regular bees.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy opened her mouth, spewing a tornado, striking down two large bees and a group of ordinary bees together.
"Sagittarius Constellation!" Lucy summoned the Sagittarius, her arrows hitting three giant bees with unerring accuracy.
In battlefield No.2, Baggs weaved through the swarm unpredictably, slicing down a giant bee with a chop.
Just as he was about to seek out the remaining two targets, they were already punctured by red Feathered Flying Knives.
On the mountain peak, the Void Marked Tree Monster swung its claw heavily against the largest daylily flower.
But it was here that an unexpected turn occurred.
The defeated Hell Three-headed Dog abruptly reappeared, transforming into an apple tree and a three-headed snake.
The Tree Monster's claw landed on the apple tree trunk.
With the trunk shattering instantly, the three-headed snake launched with the trunk, landing with only one snake head poking through the canopy.
The largest daylily flower had already turned into a bee, lightly fluttering its wings, causing countless bees to appear and cover the Tree Monster's body in a suicidal flood.
Rhode's backup, the Canyon Vanguard, like a heavy armored vehicle, crashed forward dragging a stream of purple light.
The bee seemed too slow to respond, its body about to vanish when it reappeared behind the Canyon Vanguard.
"It also has Space Magic?!" Rhode frowned and used Light Magic to launch a long-distance attack.
Unfortunately, the bee dodged yet again.
This time, Rhode caught a clue: "It's not its own!"