After a flurry of "Fire Dragon's Consecutive Punches," Natsu finally took down the grizzly bear. His anger subsided considerably, and he sat back down quietly to listen to Rhodes' live commentary.
"I found it." After observing one battlefield after another, Rhodes finally spotted a monster.
It bore similarities to Claudia's description, but it wasn't quite as exaggerated.
Indeed, it was a "Leopard Man," with a figure reminiscent of Rob Lucci from the pirate next door. However, this Beast King had much more muscular limbs and a more menacing face.
The Leopard Man was gripping a wolf by its throat with one hand, then with a swing of its arm, it slammed the wolf to the ground, following up with a heavy punch.
The nearby ground seemed to shudder slightly, and the wolf's spine cracked audibly, its whimper fading as it died.
From the look of its combat style, it was clear that the earlier "atrocities" were also its doing.
The Leopard Man roared toward the sky, its bloodshot eyes glaring at the surrounding wolf pack.
The wolves that had surrounded it began retreating, turning and running away soon after.
Their direction of escape, unfortunately, led straight toward Dendrobium Village.
After hearing Rhodes' narration, Happy asked, "Why is the Beast King killing those other beasts?"
"Establishing dominance? The one it just killed was probably the pack leader, and now the entire wolf pack is terrified of it," Rhodes speculated, then wondered aloud, "Is it driving them down the mountain this way? I thought it could just roar."
Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't matter. We just need to beat it, right?"
Rhodes held him back, "Wait a second, the Shadow Wolves have been spotted."
With the whole wolf pack retreating, the three Shadow Wolves standing still appeared particularly conspicuous.
But this was part of Rhodes' plan—sending the Shadow Wolves to search and also to test the opponent's level.
The Leopard Man let out a roar and charged at the Shadow Wolves.
The Shadow Wolves split apart in perfect coordination; the two-headed wolf faced it head-on while the regular wolves flanked from either side.
Meanwhile, the two Swift Crabs scurried away to different positions, each acting as a high-definition camera.
Through a dual-angle perspective, Rhodes carefully monitored the Leopard Man's movements, calmly assessing its charge speed.
It didn't seem particularly fast.
The Leopard Man charged forward, using its height advantage to swing a powerful punch down at the two-headed wolf's spine, seemingly attempting to end the fight in one blow.
But the two-headed wolf reacted quickly, nimbly dodging to the side, and immediately lunged back to bite at the Leopard Man's wrist.
The regular wolves took this opportunity and pounced on the Leopard Man's other arm.
Rhodes wondered if adding two Stone Armor Beetles to grab its legs would improve the outcome.
But things weren't that simple.
Even though the Shadow Wolves were as big as tigers, the Leopard Man dragged one large Shadow Wolf and two smaller ones, and still managed to move around.
Moreover, it was able to swing its arm, smashing the wolves against tree trunks.
Bang! Bang!
Two trees with trunks about thirty centimeters in diameter snapped, and the Shadow Wolves were forced to release their grip.
The two-headed wolf quickly rolled away on the ground, maintaining distance while growling low.
The regular wolves struggled to get up shakily, clearly not able to last much longer.
The Leopard Man stared at the two-headed wolf and licked its arm.
Several rows of bloody puncture wounds now adorned its arms, with the spots bitten by the two-headed wolf particularly torn.
Despite suffering injuries, its simple and brutal attacks had clearly showcased its immense strength.
After licking its wounds, the Leopard Man seemed even more ferocious and prepared for another assault.
The two-headed wolf darted side to side, zigzagging towards the Leopard Man before suddenly leaping, aiming directly for the throat.
The Leopard Man swung its right arm, striking between the two heads and knocking the two-headed wolf to the ground.
Before it could follow up, the regular wolves fearlessly lunged forward, only to be taken down with a single punch each.
The two-headed wolf used this opportunity to retreat, pawing at the ground to dig a small pit.
Once it had a good start, it sprinted, twisting its body into a cyclone as it spun at the enemy.
Fang Wolf Attack!
Upon learning that the two-headed wolf had this skill, Rhodes immediately named it so.
The move had considerable power—he had never dared try it in the guild.
Unfortunately, the Leopard Man was even stronger; it spread its arms and grabbed each of the wolf's jaws.
The wolf's teeth sank into the back of the Leopard Man's hand, but it couldn't clamp down any further.
The Leopard Man slid backward a bit under the impact of the charge, but ultimately avoided significant harm.
What followed was a brutal scene—the two-headed wolf was sent back to the Summoner's Valley for rest.
The Leopard Man seemed puzzled as to why these wolves disappeared after being defeated. It let out a few roars before moving on to find new targets.
Though the Shadow Wolves were defeated, Rhodes wasn't discouraged. Based on his observation, this Leopard Man wasn't yet at an S-level threat.
Even without Natsu, he might be able to handle it himself if he unleashed his full power… wait, that's overconfidence.
They still couldn't rule out the possibility of a second-phase transformation when pushed to its limits.
But at least they could try, as long as they had a solid retreat plan.
Rhodes explained his analysis to Natsu and Happy. "So that's about it. We'll head out now—do you two need to prepare?"
"Ready ages ago!" Natsu jumped up, leading the way up the mountain.
Without needing direction from Rhodes, Natsu followed the scent of the Swift Crabs.
On their way up the mountain, Rhodes continued to explain his ambush and retreat plan—ambush for Natsu, retreat for Happy, each tailored to their strengths.
...
As expected, they encountered the wolf pack that had just been driven away by the Leopard Man.
Natsu and the summoned creatures dealt with them swiftly, while Rhodes and Happy cheered them on and reminded Natsu not to go all out.
"You two are so annoying," Natsu complained once the fight was over. "If you've got time to talk, help with the fighting!"
Happy raised one paw, "Aye! I've got more important tasks."
Rhodes also raised one hand, mimicking Happy's tone, "Aye! I just took down more wolves than you."
"You two!" Natsu was frustrated but had no place to vent his anger, so he marched ahead in silence, hoping to find the Beast King quickly.
The three bickered as they climbed over a hill. Occasionally, ferocious beasts lunged at them, which Natsu and Rhodes dispatched one by one.
After over an hour, they finally reached the spot where the three wolves had battled the Leopard Man.
The Leopard Man was no longer there, but a roar echoed from a pine forest not far ahead.
Natsu glanced at Rhodes, who nodded, signaling that was the place.
Two Swift Crabs were camouflaged nearby, like large green stones, silently providing Rhodes with a clear view.
Rhodes summoned two groups of Stone Armor Beetles and one group of Beak Birds to coordinate with Natsu in battle.
He himself was lifted by Happy, who flew up to the tallest tree in the forest.
Honestly, being carried by Happy wasn't very reassuring.