Chapter 286

The explosion's smoke dispersed,

Little Oz reappeared before everyone's eyes—but astonishingly, despite enduring multiple attacks, not a single wound marred Little Oz's face!

【Little Oz Jr】

【A-Rank Puppet】

【Star Rating: ☆☆☆】

【Pirate Series: Ancient Giant Clan, Demon Descendant】

【Ability: Innate Superhuman Strength】

【Special Effect: Ancient Giant Clan (☆ unlocked) Armament Haki (☆☆ unlocked) High-Grade Armament Awakening (☆☆☆ unlocked)】

Among the forty-three affiliated pirate crews, the Oz Pirate Crew consumed the most emotional value.

Its price was so high it rivaled Marco's, reaching one hundred million emotional value!

Of this, Little Oz alone accounted for nine-tenths—that is, ninety million emotional value—remember, ordinary giants required only a few million, at most one million.

Yet as a descendant of the demon Oz, Little Oz's height far exceeded other giants, and the power he unleashed rivaled even a full-force strike from a typical S-Rank Puppet.

But due to the inherent flaws of his giant form, he could only be classified as an A-Rank Puppet.

However, as his star rating rose to three stars and Armament Haki activated, though his speed deficiency remained uncorrected,

with the power of High-Grade Armament Haki, he could crush the vast majority of Saint Ten magicians.

This was evident from his stats—a pure strength-based build!

Hum—!

His fist, coated in Armament Haki, slammed hard against the giant stone wall.

In an instant, the giant stone blocking Little Oz shattered like fragile wooden planks, causing several magicians behind him to turn pale with shock.

"Don't dare take another step closer!"

Boom!

Taking advantage of Jura and others' distraction, Macao rose again—and this time, his body swelled once more; though still not as massive as Little Oz's, the difference was now minimal!

"Guild Master!"

"Macao!"

"The old man's standing again!!"

……

In despair, hope surged anew.

As if injecting a powerful stimulant into every heart present, a chorus of spirited roars echoed across the battlefield.

Gazing at Macao rising once more, the Fairy Tail members' eyes shimmered with astonishing hope—yet…

Even so, some noticed Macao was now breathing heavily and violently.

Clearly, transforming again placed a heavy burden on Macao—but even so, he swung his fist forward!

Boom—!

Terrifying air currents erupted, striking in all directions.

With the giant battle now ignited, the entire war had entered its most intense phase.

Even the battlefield's command core, Vord and Marco, were locked in combat with their respective opponents.

Swish—Boom!!

"As captain of the First Division, aren't you supposed to be commanding? And fighting so recklessly—I have no time to play along."

On the battlefield, facing Marco's attacks, Hayberin continuously shifted his footing, dodging Marco's flames in quick succession.

Meanwhile, Diamond Jura coordinated with Bista, the two of them surrounding Vord.

Yet whether it was Marco's regenerative flames or Diamond Jura's diamond body,

both were extremely troublesome opponents for Hayberin, whose attacks required blood to reach maximum potency.

Especially as he watched Marco, leveraging his powerful regeneration and flight speed, launch constant ambushes while spending the rest of his time observing the battlefield.

Hayberin naturally understood Marco's intent—to stall him.

Though Marco's strength had improved, he could never defeat Hayberin alone.

The title "Heaven of Ishgaria" was no mere honorific—Hayberin's magic, even when countered, was beyond Marco's capacity to overcome.

Thus, as this battle dragged on, Hayberin grew increasingly impatient.

"If you want to play, then I'll play with you."

Upon hearing Hayberin's words, Marco—who had been hovering midair, scanning the battlefield—suddenly turned his head, his half-lidded eyes glinting with icy coldness, then plummeted downward!

Whoosh—Swoosh!

As Marco landed, a sea of blue flames erupted from his body, intertwining into a vast, sky-covering net of fire that rained down!

Though Marco appeared to be the overall battlefield commander, in truth, Lin Cheng—the one manipulating all the puppets—was the true mastermind.

Through the perspectives of all the puppets, nothing on the battlefield escaped his notice; combined with Kenbunshoku Haki, he controlled the entire war like a god's-eye view.

Considering Marco alone could not defeat Hayberin and would exhaust his energy, Lin Cheng ordered Marco to stall him temporarily while the other puppets dealt with their targets.

But since Hayberin had requested it, Lin Cheng had no reason to deny him the pleasure of this war.

". 「Blood Burst! 」"

Hayberin's eyes narrowed slightly; the constant ambushes had left him seething with rage.