Chapter 470: Don't Add to My Workload
"Fine. I'll let you go beat them up right now," Noah smiled, giving Natsu the green light.
"Really?! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu roared, spinning on his heel to sprint into the jungle.
"I know you want to hit something, but calm down for a second." Noah grabbed Natsu by the collar, hauling him back before he could blindly charge off. He turned to address the entire camp. "We need to split into specific strike teams and wipe out this vanguard as quickly and efficiently as possible. The main force is still on its way, so we cannot afford to waste too much energy here."
"How do you want to split the teams?" Ultear asked, stepping forward.
Noah looked over at Makarov. "Grandpa?"
Makarov waved his hand dismissively. "You set the strategy. I'm putting you in charge of this operation."
"Understood." Noah nodded, stepping fully into the commander role. He looked around the camp and began issuing assignments:
"Ultear, Mirajane, Cana, Laxus, Sorano, and Erza—each of you is a one-man team. You'll operate solo. "Bickslow, Evergreen, Freed, and Levy—you are Team One. "Juvia, Gajeel, Simon, and Kagura—you are Team Two. "Lyon, Meredy, Gray, and Loke—you are Team Three. "Natsu, Happy, Elfman, and Lisanna—you are Team Four.
"I will personally teleport each team directly to the specific coordinates of the vanguard squads. Your objective is simple: neutralize them as fast as humanly possible. Once you're done, I'll teleport you back here to rest."
Noah had split the S-Class mages into solo squads, recognizing they were more than capable of wiping out grunts on their own. The eight candidate teams were merged into four highly potent strike squads.
As for Gildarts and Ur, they would naturally stay behind to defend the base camp alongside Makarov, keeping the younger girls completely safe.
"Grimoire Heart has invaded our sacred ground. I expect all of you to go all out and crush them," Noah continued, noticing a few confused expressions about the sheer firepower he was deploying. "Keep in mind, their main force is still approaching. We're likely looking at several hundred mages, and their core elites—the Seven Kin of Purgatory—will be among them. We need to conserve as much stamina and magic as possible for that main battle, which means we crush this vanguard instantly."
Hearing Noah's logic, everyone nodded in agreement. There was no point in holding back against the scouts when the real war was right behind them. Speed was of the essence.
Seeing no objections, Noah turned back to his Archive map. The red dots representing the vanguard had all made landfall on the beaches, but they were currently stuck. Noah had remotely activated an outer defensive perimeter, trapping them on the shoreline and preventing them from pushing inland. The Grimoire Heart mages were currently wasting their energy trying to break through an impenetrable wall.
Noah quickly assigned coordinates to each strike team. With a rapid sequence of hand seals, he began teleporting the guild members out, sending them directly into the laps of the trapped invaders.
Within seconds, the base camp was almost empty.
"Brother Noah, why isn't anyone going after that really big red dot?" Wendy asked.
She had been watching the holographic map as little chibi icons of her guildmates popped up next to the vanguard dots. However, the largest red dot on the map—which was situated slightly further inland—remained completely uncontested.
"Ah, that guy. He's a bit special—or rather, his magic is. He just used a highly unique spell to forcibly hijack a small portion of the island's natural magic veins and slightly disrupt the barrier's flow. I'm going to head over there, fix the disruption, and beat him up while I'm at it," Noah explained calmly.
"Oh, okay," Wendy nodded, fully satisfied with the answer.
Noah split off a Thought Projection to remain at the camp, maintaining the surveillance grid and the teleportation network. His true body then vanished, instantly teleporting to the coordinates of the massive red dot.
Noah materialized in a dense section of the jungle. Standing a short distance away was a tall, incredibly muscular man with dark brown skin and spiky brown hair. He wore a heavy leather cuirass, and the sinister emblem of Grimoire Heart was tattooed prominently on his left shoulder.
Currently, the man's legs had completely transformed into thick, gnarled tree roots that were buried deep into the earth. Pulses of magic power were visibly flowing from the soil, up through the roots, and into his body.
"I can't let you keep doing that. You're just adding to my workload," Noah said casually.
He raised a single finger, and a blinding beam of golden light shot directly at the man's chest.
Swish!
Reacting instantly to Noah's sudden appearance, the man channeled his magic. A massive, incredibly dense tree trunk violently erupted from the ground, forming a thick wooden shield between him and the laser.
The golden beam pierced straight through the thick wood like butter, but the split-second delay gave the man enough time to lean sideways, narrowly dodging the lethal strike.
His rooted legs rapidly retracted, shifting back into human limbs. He kicked off the ground, vaulting backward to create a safe distance between himself and Noah.
"Found me already, huh?" the man asked calmly, showing absolutely no sign of panic despite having his magic interrupted.
"Of course. You're actively hijacking the island's magic veins. It would be harder not to notice you," Noah shook his head.
"My magic is incredibly unique. I've never been detected while using it before. It seems Fairy Tail isn't completely incompetent after all," the man remarked. Rather than being annoyed at being discovered, a distinct spark of anticipation lit up in his eyes.
"Standard procedure: Who are you? Judging by that ugly tattoo, you're with Grimoire Heart. What business does a Dark Guild have on our holy ground?" Noah asked.
"My name is Azuma. I am one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory of Grimoire Heart. I am here on Master Hades' orders to utterly annihilate Fairy Tail," Azuma answered directly, not bothering to hide his intentions.
"Confident, aren't we? Well, since you've declared yourself an enemy, there's no need to talk anymore. Fall."
Noah didn't hesitate. He raised his right hand, a golden magic circle flared in his palm, and he unleashed a devastating blast of light.
"Maguilty Söd!"
"Burst!"
Azuma raised a hand, instantly generating a highly concentrated, localized explosion in front of his palm. He expertly directed the explosive force forward, molding it into a shockwave that clashed directly against Noah's golden beam.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided in a deafening explosion. The ground shattered, and a massive cloud of dust and debris completely obscured the area, blinding both fighters.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Suddenly, dozens of razor-sharp, spear-like branches burst through the dust cloud, rocketing straight toward Noah.
"Maguilty Söd!"
Noah didn't even lower his hand. He simply fired a much larger, more powerful blast that instantly vaporized the incoming wooden spears and tore through the smoke toward Azuma's position.
Azuma narrowly leaped to the side, dodging the massive beam. The blast soared past him and detonated spectacularly in the distant ocean, kicking up a towering geyser of water.
Landing smoothly, Azuma's face split into a wide, genuinely thrilled smile. "I know who you are now! You're Noah of Fairy Tail! I've been wanting to fight a powerhouse like you for a very long time! Come! Let us clash with everything we have!"
"A battle maniac, huh?" Noah muttered, instantly grasping Azuma's personality. Fine by me. I could use a good warm-up.
Noah kicked off the ground, his body blurring as he crossed the distance in a fraction of a second. Appearing directly in front of Azuma, he delivered a devastating front kick squarely to the man's stomach, launching him through the air.
"Yes! This is it! This is the feeling! MAGNIFICENT!" Azuma roared in sheer, unadulterated joy as he was sent flying backward.
"What a terrible line," Noah shivered in disgust, thoroughly creeped out by the masochistic battle-cry.
While still mid-air, Azuma extended his left hand. Dozens of glowing magical orbs materialized out of thin air entirely surrounding Noah. A split second later, the orbs detonated in a synchronized, devastating chain explosion, burying Noah in thick, black smoke.
Azuma didn't for a second believe that an attack of that caliber would defeat Noah. According to Grimoire Heart's intel, the strength Noah had displayed over the past year was absolutely monstrous.
Channeling his magic, Azuma summoned a dense thicket of spiked branches from the ground, sending them stabbing violently into the smoke cloud from every direction.
Hummm!
Just before the branches could pierce the center of the smoke, several thin, razor-sharp beams of golden light sliced outward, effortlessly severing the incoming wood. Noah stood perfectly unharmed in the center of the clearing, surrounded by a faint, golden spherical barrier.
The barrier's glow rapidly dimmed and dissolved into the air.
Noah kicked off the ground again, blurring past a second wave of regenerating branches, and appeared right in Azuma's face, throwing a heavy right hook.
Azuma's manic grin only widened. He didn't retreat or attempt to dodge. He planted his feet and threw a punch of his own, meeting Noah head-on in a brutal, close-quarters brawl.
BAM! BAM! BAM!!!
Fists and kicks collided at blinding speeds. The heavier the blows landed, the more ecstatic Azuma's expression became.
"So strong! You truly are incredibly strong!" Azuma laughed wildly, parrying Noah's strikes and launching relentless counterattacks. "I haven't felt my blood boil like this in ages!"
His smile was practically splitting his face in half.
"Blood boiling, you say?"
Noah slightly increased the physical force behind his next punch, effortlessly breaking Azuma's guard and sending him flying once more. Raising his right hand, Noah fired another golden energy blast at the airborne mage.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the air, sending a powerful shockwave that scoured the surrounding jungle floor, blowing away dirt and loose rock.
When the smoke cleared, a massive, spherical cage of thick tree trunks was revealed. The wooden sphere had been blown halfway apart, revealing Azuma standing inside with his arms crossed in a defensive block. At the absolute last millisecond, he had summoned the wooden dome to shield himself from the direct impact of the blast.
Azuma slowly lowered his arms. His clothes were torn, several nasty burns and cuts marred his skin, and his breathing was noticeably heavier.
"You truly live up to the rumors! Excite me even more, Noah!"
Azuma threw his right hand forward, his fingers formed into a blade. A massive surge of wooden branches erupted from the ground, instantly transmuting into hundreds of razor-sharp, wooden short-swords that rained down on Noah like a hailstorm.
"Sword of Branches!"
Noah raised his hand and fired a continuous, sweeping beam of light, instantly vaporizing the barrage of wooden swords. The beam didn't stop, continuing its arc straight toward Azuma.
Azuma hastily leaped out of the way. He continually generated more branches from the ground, trying to pressure Noah from multiple angles.
Noah's figure flickered and vanished.
Azuma's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Noah was already standing directly in front of him.
BAM!
Noah delivered a devastating spinning back-kick directly into Azuma's gut.
This time, Noah didn't hold back his physical strength as much. Azuma was launched like a cannonball, crashing through several trees before finally plowing into the dirt.
The moment he landed, Azuma began coughing violently. The sheer kinetic force of the kick had rattled his internal organs, and he struggled to keep his stomach contents down.
"You talk a big game about being excited for battle, but your actual combat prowess doesn't quite match your enthusiasm," Noah said casually, looking down at the kneeling mage.
Huff... huff...
Azuma took several deep, ragged breaths, forcefully suppressing the nausea, and slowly climbed back to his feet.
"You really are incredible. Being able to fight a powerhouse like you is the greatest joy of my life!"
Azuma's legs instantly transformed back into thick, gnarled tree roots, plunging deep into the earth.
"I have only managed to hijack a tiny fraction of Tenrou Island's magic, but it seems I have no choice but to use it now."
A massive, suffocating wave of magical energy began surging from the earth, flowing up through the roots and into Azuma's body. His magical aura spiked dramatically, twisting the air around him.
"I told you not to add to my workload," Noah sighed in profound annoyance.
He lifted his right foot and stomped down heavily.
Countless golden runic scripts instantly exploded outward from his foot, racing across the ground like lightning and completely blanketing the entire clearing in a complex array.
"What...?! Impossible! I can't draw any magic from the earth?!" Azuma gasped in absolute shock.
He had been rapidly siphoning the island's natural magic to fuel his strongest ultimate spell, but the moment Noah's runes covered the ground, the connection was brutally and instantly severed. Furthermore, his rooted legs were forcibly rejected by the earth, violently transforming back into normal human legs.
"Your magic relies on hijacking the magic veins within the earth. So, I just laid down an isolation array to completely sever your connection to the ground," Noah explained casually. "If I let you keep forcefully ripping magic from the island, it'll destabilize the natural leylines and the grand barrier I spent days setting up. Having to fix all that later would be a massive pain."
"You... you drew a complex isolation array... while fighting me in close-quarters combat?!" Azuma stared at Noah in sheer disbelief.
He had been fighting with everything he had, pushing his reflexes to the absolute limit just to stay alive, yet Noah had apparently been casual enough to mentally map and calculate a massive runic array at the exact same time?!
"Not quite. I didn't just calculate an isolation array. I also spent that time observing, analyzing, and successfully learning your magic," Noah corrected him, shaking his head.
Azuma fell silent.
He stared at Noah. Despite their intense, high-speed brawl, Noah's clothes didn't have a single wrinkle, nor was there a speck of dust on him. He hadn't even broken a sweat. It was painfully obvious that Noah had been completely holding back, treating their fight like a light jog. Therefore, he had absolutely no reason to lie.
Which meant... Noah had actually learned his magic mid-fight while simultaneously setting up a trap.
"By the way, what exactly is the name of your magic? It feels wrong to learn a spell and not even know what it's called," Noah asked politely.
Azuma remained silent for a long moment, staring at the incomprehensible monster standing before him. Finally, he spoke.
"My magic is the Magic of Trees. It is a Lost Magic known as Great Tree Arc."
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn