Rhode personally came down to apologize to the Pumpkin Man, then grabbed Jubia by the back of her collar and whisked her away.
The Pumpkin Man thought for two seconds and decided not to hold a grudge against them: "Next match, Sherria from Lamia Scale versus Shunipa from Dragon's Treasure!"
"Sherria!" Wendy waved her hand below but immediately retracted it, awkwardly asking, "Is it okay to cheer for other teams?"
"As you like," Rhode laughed, "because it's a festival after all."
"Okay!" Wendy energetically started cheering for Sherria.
Sherria also happily waved back at Wendy.
On the other side, in Team A, Lucy was worried about Sherria: "Is it okay to let such a small girl face a ferocious mercenary?"
Natsu seemed to finally recall who this person was and comforted her: "It's fine, as long as you watch out for that frying pan that can reflect magic."
Lucy replied helplessly, "But the one using the frying pan is Panixiu, and the one coming up is Shunipa."
Natsu tilted his head: "Really? I can't remember their scents clearly."
...
"Shunipa, please take your position!"
"Shunipa, please take your position!"
The Pumpkin Man urged twice before a person finally emerged from the waiting area of Dragon's Treasure.
Rather than a person, it looked like a gold and red robot. With every step, there was a clanking sound of metal hitting the ground.
Whoa! Iron Man? Rhode almost exclaimed when he saw the 'metallic robot' stepping onto the field.
Has Dragon's Treasure developed this kind of advanced technology?
No, no, looking closer, it doesn't seem to be that advanced.
This should just be an exaggerated full-body armor with coverage far exceeding Erza's armor, including hand armor, face shield, and helmet, fully protecting every part of the body.
The Pumpkin Man uncertainly asked, "Are you contestant Shunipa?"
Shunipa raised his hand to lift the face shield and mumbled, "It's me."
The Pumpkin Man carefully thought about the rules regarding carrying magic tools; this full-body armor looked exaggerated but was not against the rules.
He nodded: "Then, the match begins!"
On one side was a former mercenary who seemed much taller after donning the heavy armor.
On the other side was a petite, red-haired girl with twin-tails, seemingly intimidated by the opponent's presence.
The disparity between the two seemed enormous.
But Sherria, after the initial shock, quickly shifted into combat mode.
She stepped half a pace forward, spreading her arms, black air currents swirling and gathering at her wrists:
"North Wind of the Celestial God!"
Sherria suddenly thrust her right hand forward, sending two swirling black winds spiraling forward, enveloping Shunipa in his full armor like a vortex.
Clang clang clang…
The sound on the armor was like the clear ring of swords and blades striking, with a thin layer of white light flashing on the surface, not a single scratch.
Inside, Shunipa remained unscathed, advancing step by step into Sherria's attack.
"How about this move?" Sherria took two steps forward, "Dance of the Celestial God!"
Her body spun like dancing, creating an upward black whirlwind, seemingly attempting to lift the opponent.
Shunipa indeed felt a powerful lifting force and quickly stretched his left arm, activating the mechanism on his arm armor: "Defense Magic Array against Wind Element!"
A blue magic array unfolded from his left arm, resisting most of the power of the black whirlwind, with the remaining force unable to shake him or his heavy armor.
Then Shunipa swung his right fist, aiming for Sherria's head.
Sherria agilely backflipped several times, creating distance: "Ordinary magic is useless, then… Roar of the Celestial God!"
She took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully.
The black breath gushed out, looking to Rhode like a black version of Wendy's 'Sky Dragon's Roar'.
"But with this power, if compared by MPF, it feels like Wendy might have a slight edge."
Although Rhode assessed this, the power was already quite formidable.
Shunipa immediately took defensive measures, but the audience couldn't see the effect clearly for a moment, as he was entirely shrouded in the black wind, forming a huge black sphere in the center of the field.
Within the sphere, the raging black wind continuously attacked, stirring the surrounding air and indiscriminately causing a strong wind to blow all around.
The wind force became so intense that it affected the audience seats, and Jabadi at the commentary table lost another wig, revealing a shiny scalp.
As the gale gradually subsided, the audience could see that Shunipa was still standing steadily, with his arms aligned in front of him, and the arm armor slightly deformed, expanded into a round shield with a one-meter diameter.
He had moved a bit, with two distinct dragging marks on the ground beneath him.
Sherria incredulously said, "Did that attack just make him retreat a little?"
Shunipa tugged the corner of his mouth, dropped his arms, and took a step forward, but awkwardly stepped back, though no one could see his expression through the face shield.
Sherria, vigilant, hopped back a bit, finding the opponent retracting his attack stance, feeling somewhat puzzled.
At this moment, Shunipa cleared his throat and said in a somewhat wooden tone: "It's useless; this armor is equipped with the most advanced defense Magic Crystals and special metal materials.
"Facing wind, fire, water, lightning, or any other element, it can instantly activate the most suitable Defense Magic Array.
"Facing me, you've already been destined to not win. Even so-called 'Lost Magic' won't work!"
Sherria: "..."
Pumpkin Man: "..."
Commentator: "..."
Audience: "..."
This familiar feeling! Are they really here to compete?
The president of Dragon's Treasure laughed heartily: "Shunipa did great! I thought he'd forgotten. This timing was perfect! And this little girl was just the right opponent!
"Hahaha, this armor is a heavyweight product meticulously crafted by the company, overwhelming the armor of the Kingdom Knight Order captain in performance. Might just receive an order from the military next!"
If there's any downside, it's that it's too heavy, cumbersome to wear, and expensive to make.
But this is how to showcase the company's development capabilities.
This round's promotional effect was explosive, but all the competitors who had faced Dragon's Treasure had a rising thought in their hearts — too annoying! Really want to beat them up!
Sherria was also a bit angry because her opponent didn't respect her at all.
She opened her mouth, taking a big gulp of air, chewing as if she had eaten something tangible.
A few seconds later, Sherria's magic power surged upward.
She raised her arms high, and the black wind magic gradually materialized, resembling black feathers attaching to her wrists.
The black 'feathers' continuously extended and gathered upwards as Sherria swung her arms forward:
"Godslayer's Secret Art: Celestial Clouds!"