Chapter 173

【BOOM!!!】

【A violent roar echoed from the direction of the palace.】

【A strong explosion even blew through the wall of the palace, and a figure fell toward the ground with countless stones.】

【Bang, bang, bang, bang!!!】

【The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed non-stop.】

【On the wide square.】

【Mard Geer covered his chest and climbed up from the ground with difficulty.】

【The mouth filled with blood opened and closed.】

【"What's going on?"】

【"Why... clearly not awakened, yet could be so strong??"】

【Mard Geer was very confused!】

【As demons, there are more or less some connections, so Mard Geer was very sure.】

【As the head of all demons, the legendary strongest demon END, absolutely had not awakened.】

【But! Why, such an END could beat him without any power to parry??】

【This didn't conform to common sense at all!】

【"Cough, cough..."】

【The injury to his internal organs made him cough twice again.】

【His face was visibly pale.】

【Whoosh...】

【The urgent wind sound echoed overhead.】

【Mard Geer couldn't help but raise his head.】

【Everything within his sight! Seemed to be occupied by crimson flames.】

【A figure was bathing in the flames and rushing toward him!】

Ma Erduojier's pupils contracted frantically.

He immediately raised his arms, crossing them to protect his front.

BOOM!!!

The next moment! The black-haired Natsu, descending from the heavens, slammed a fierce punch forward!

A tremendous force struck.

At that instant, Ma Erduojier's feet sank deep into the earth.

Countless cracks began to spread wildly in all directions, centered on his body.

Gravel and sand were also caught in this impact, shattering instantly and being blasted several meters into the air!

The ground where Ma Erduojier stood, for a radius of several dozen meters, sank down a level!

Ma Erduojier's face, under that heavy and powerful blow,

became abnormally twisted.

"Damn it!!"

After a furious curse, Ma Erduojier's right foot slammed against the already shattered ground.

He retreated two steps backward.

He dodged the black-haired Natsu, letting him smash into the earth.

With a deep frown, Ma Erduojier couldn't help but rub his arms.

Intense pain was eroding his mind at every moment.

But, before he could react, Natsu's figure erupted again from the spot where he had just landed.

In just an instant, he rushed in front of Ma Erduojier!

Without the slightest hesitation, Ma Erduojier immediately threw a punch to block.

But, the black-haired Natsu seemed to have anticipated this; he stomped his foot hard on the ground, forcefully halting his forward momentum.

In that brief moment, he bent backward, his calm eyes watching Ma Erduojier's fist graze past his face.

Immediately following, his waist snapped back, and the now upright black-haired Natsu followed through with a straight punch, hitting Ma Erduojier square in the face.

Blood sprayed instantly from his nasal cavity, and the sound of cracking bone nearly drove Ma Erduojier to madness.

Forcing himself to endure the pain in his cheek, Ma Erduojier immediately threw a backhand punch.

But it was immediately blocked by the black-haired Natsu's raised arm.

The fist that had just struck was retracted once more, and he backhanded a blow into Ma Erduojier's abdomen.

Under the immense pain, Ma Erduojier's entire body couldn't help but arch forward.

His stomach churned violently.

His mouth opened involuntarily.

And it was at this very moment! The black-haired Natsu followed up with a knee strike, his knee aiming perfectly at Ma Erduojier's face as he bent forward.

BANG!!

Ma Erduojier's upper body was like a roly-poly toy; just as he tipped forward, he suffered another heavy blow, and his whole body began to fly backward into the air.

The spraying blood traced a semicircle in mid-air.

His feet had already left the ground, and the powerful force seemed to be carrying Ma Erduojier into the sky.

But! It wasn't over yet.

Ma Erduojier, whose consciousness was already blurring, felt his hand being grabbed tightly just as he took flight.

With his now-hazy eyes, he could clearly see the black-haired Natsu's left hand pulling his wrist.

His right hand was bent, and his elbow slammed toward his head!

"Ughhh~~"

The continuous heavy blows caused several shattered teeth to spray into the air along with the blood.

However, Ma Erduojier still couldn't fly away.

The hand holding his arm jerked forward.

Ma Erduojier was pulled uncontrollably toward the black-haired Natsu.

His pupils contracted frantically!

He seemed to clearly see the black-haired Natsu's successive punches raining down.

Fast! Too fast!

So fast that only continuous afterimages could be seen, striking him like bullets.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Each strike caused a dull, muffled thud.

Continuous and heavy, like the drumbeats of a musical piece.

Each strike brought forth a spray of blood!

Dense and thick, like falling blood rain, drifting in mid-air.

In just one second.

He had been struck by more than twenty punches.

Accompanied by the final punch from the left hand landing on Ma Erduojier, the black-haired Natsu's figure rotated on the spot.

At the same time, his left foot erupted with powerful flames, acting like a thruster.

Turning, he delivered a whip kick, slamming it fiercely into Ma Erduojier's abdomen!

"Ughhh~~"

Another spray of blood gushed out.

Ma Erduojier was sent flying backward.

Like a cannonball fired out, he flew directly past the giant stone statue in the plaza.

He smashed rapidly toward the houses at the edge of the plaza.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Three consecutive explosions rang out; three houses were pierced through, and he only stopped after crashing into the fourth.

But, the powerful impact still destroyed the entire house.

The building collapsed at that moment, and the rising smoke and dust seemed to fill the entire street!

Outside the sky-screen.

Countless people couldn't help but close their eyes tightly.

Too brutal!

In a world of mages.

Weren't most battles just exchanges of magic?

Wasn't it just whoever had the stronger magic who won?

But what were they seeing now?

Fists striking flesh, body slamming into body.

That drum-like booming sound made one feel how painful it was just by listening!

You have to know, the one doing the striking is a Dragon Slayer Black Mage!

Possessing physical capabilities comparable to a dragon.

After a combo like that, who could withstand it?

Even Laxus, who once had the strength to rival an S-Class Black Mage, couldn't withstand a punch like that.

But just now, in less than half a minute, how many punches did Ma Erduojier take?

How many whip kicks?

It was impossible to count; the spraying blood, the muffled groans, the bruised and battered Ma Erduojier—all of these were stimulating the visual nerves of everyone present!

Hades: "I can hardly bear to watch; isn't this a bit too miserable?"

Brain: "Yeah, yeah, Ma Erduojier is, after all, the Master of Tartaros, even if it was a hundred years ago when he wasn't as strong."

"It shouldn't be to the point where he can't even land a single hit, right?"

Mavis: "The gap! The gap between these two is simply too large, whether it's magic power, combat experience, or even physical strength..."

"From the fight just now, it's clear that Ma Erduojier has absolutely no power to fight back."

"Moreover, the black-haired Natsu isn't even using his full strength; he hasn't even... really used magic, just pure physical strikes."

"Is he trying to vent his anger?"