Sagittarius immediately stepped forward to shield its owner but fell short, as Hua Warden lightly pushed, causing severe injuries to Sagittarius, dissolving it into foam and returning it to the celestial spirit realm.
Sagittarius, being a long-range combat type, strong in offense but weak in defense, being knocked back at first sight wasn't surprising. However, this left Lucy in a dire situation, as her dependable Sagittarius was now gone, leaving her unprotected by any other celestial spirits.
It wasn't that she didn't want to summon other celestial spirits; it was her significant magical depletion after continuously summoning various spirits. At this point, she couldn't afford even a second to summon.
Hua Warden made peculiar sounds from his mouth, seemingly the exertion of his full power, sounding almost comical. However, his attacks were no laughing matter; they were astonishing. Lucy was on the brink of being pushed off by him.
Suddenly, Lucy abruptly flew into the sky, followed swiftly by a dark figure plunging down, landing a harsh blow directly on Hua Warden's bulky cheek, sending him flying away.
"Whoooooaaah!!"
The force behind the punch was tremendous; Hua Warden screamed in pain, tumbling on the ground until colliding with a large tree, finally coming to a stop.
He quickly got back up, glaring angrily at the figure that sent him flying. Despite taking such a hit, he seemed oddly unaffected.
The owner of the figure wasn't human; he had a robust physique, glossy black fur, and a face resembling a mix of a cat and a leopard—Panther Lily.
"Lily!" Lucy shouted from the sky, overwhelmed with emotions, then turned her gaze to the one who flew her away—Shaula.
Shaula breathed a heavy sigh of relief; it was a close call. If she had been even a second late, Lucy might have been in serious trouble.
After sending Elfmann and Evergreen back, the two cats resumed their search for Elfman, not knowing whether their luck was bad or Lucy's luck was good, as they couldn't find Elfman but were rescued in a critical moment.
Panther Lily's clenched fist trembled slightly. While his attack did land, his fist also suffered greatly. The enemy gave him a feeling akin to Gajeel, as if their entire body was made of steel.
At that moment, Kana emerged from her hiding spot and stood beside Panther Lily. Shaula gently lowered Lucy, and all of them wore solemn, serious expressions.
Hua Warden brushed off the dust from his body, staring at the few individuals in front of him, then suddenly roared loudly.
"Aaaaahhhhh! You dare! I won't let you off!"
However, Hua Warden didn't rush in; he refrained from acting recklessly, waiting for a suitable reinforcement.
"As long as I pluck one of their hairs, victory will be mine!"
Thinking this, Hua Warden's not-so-clever mind began churning, trying to devise a cautious plan. However, he forgot one thing—he wasn't particularly smart or strategic. No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn't come up with a solution.
Using brute force to pluck the hair might have been a more efficient strategy. Unfortunately, he was completely unaware of this.
As Hua Warden was stunned, contemplating his plan, Panther Lily was inquiring about information regarding Hua Warden.
Despite not knowing why Hua Warden was stationary, Lucy didn't think much about it and spilled everything she knew and speculated.
"That chubby guy is powerful and fast, with strong attacks. He uses some unknown magic; none of our attacks seem to affect him."
"I guessed earlier that the weird puppet beside him was his real form, but that puppet has strong defense, rendering our attacks ineffective!"
Panther Lily nodded in understanding, deep in thought. His gaze didn't shift from Hua Warden for even a second.
After a while, he spoke up, "So essentially, that guy possesses extraordinary attack and defense capabilities. In that case, we should treat him like we did Gajeel. Don't pay too much attention to the puppet; it might just be a scare tactic."
"Directly attack him; I refuse to believe his body is tougher than Gajeel's!"
His words carried conviction, momentarily boosting the confidence of others. After all, Panther Lily had once led an entire army and naturally became the temporary leader of this team.
His slightly louder speech unexpectedly caught Hua Warden's ears, and despite not having a plan, he was furious.
He yelled, "My Ugly-look Curse isn't just for scaring people!"
Hua Warden snatched the puppet and plucked some hair, proudly continuing, "This is a Lost Magic; as long as I stick your hair on this puppet, I can control you at will. This is an extremely powerful curse!"
"Come, give me your hair!"
Upon hearing these words, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Lucy's eyes showed obvious fear, but she tried to feign indifference and said defiantly, "That's impossible! I've never heard of such magic. It's just an empty threat anyway."
The tone of belittling seemed to further enrage Hua Warden. He abruptly plucked his own hair and stuck it onto the puppet.
"Daring to underestimate me? Hmph! Since that's the case, I'll let you witness it!"
He slowly walked over to the group, offering the puppet to Lucy, his face showing an expression of wanting to boast to others.
Lucy was truly incredulous and foolishly took the puppet. The others were equally dumbfounded, unable to believe they were facing such a foolish enemy.
After receiving the puppet, Lucy felt a metallic texture and coldness, instantly realizing that the chubby guy had previously stuck his hair on the puppet, altering its material and giving it similar properties. That's how it had resisted numerous attacks.
Realizing the opponent was a fool, Lucy immediately came up with a plan.
She coquettishly said, "Oh my, this puppet is so stiff and not cute at all!" As she spoke, she put on a charming expression and winked at Hua Warden.
This further fueled Hua Warden's emotions. Without hesitation, he immediately used magic to change the material of the puppet, along with his own body.
Lucy lightly pinched the puppet and found it had indeed softened. Her eyes showed a pleasant surprise. Frankly, she hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
Next, holding the puppet, she forcefully smashed it onto the ground, not satisfied with just one hit, repeatedly hitting it several times.
As the puppet's head landed on the ground, Hua Warden appeared as if controlled by some force, repeatedly ramming his head into the ground in a rather eerie manner.
After just a few hits, Hua Warden's head also bore several large bumps.
Even someone as dull as him understood he had fallen into a trap. Enduring the pain, he tried to snatch the puppet.
Looking at the disheveled Hua Warden, Lucy's lips curved into a sinister smile, and she gave him a slight smile.
Before Hua Warden could realize what was happening, Lucy had already thrown the puppet to Panther Lily. Panther Lily also grinned, revealing his sharp teeth.
While the puppet was still in mid-air, he landed a fierce punch on it, sending the puppet flying several dozen meters away.
But it wasn't over yet. Shaula cleverly flew over to catch the puppet, then ascended to a certain height before diving down at full speed.
The puppet was once again violently slammed onto the ground. Kana, feeling it was still not secure enough, also followed up with a magical attack on the puppet.
Needless to say, Hua Warden himself inevitably suffered this round of abuse. Despite his strength, he couldn't endure it.
It all concluded. In this battle, Fairy Tail emerged victorious. Everyone was elated, celebrating and high-fiving each other.
The poor chubby guy, in his dire situation, forgot he could control the material of the puppet.