Rhode did not dodge, instead he clenched his right fist and faced the attack head-on.
His fist, in front of Jura's Rock Iron Fist, seemed as small as a millet.
But as it swung, the fist was covered in a yellowish-brown scale armor, which then further covered with rock.
The fist enlarged in the blink of an eye, and the wrist thickened as well, and in an instant, it was comparable in size to Jura's Rock Iron Fist.
Ordinary spectators saw only Rhode swinging his fist, the magic array flashed, and a similarly large stone fist protruded from his arm.
Unlike before, the fist seemed to have dense stone scales, and the fingernails on its fingers were too sharp and long.
But there was no time for a closer look, as the two fists had already collided.
It was like two Stone Giants exchanging punches, like two houses lifted and crashed together, the thunderous roar, the earth-shaking scene, exciting the audience and causing adrenaline to surge, accompanied by screams.
Countless children in the audience started crying, and many spectators were so nervous their legs went weak.
"Uhm!"
"Humph!"
Jura and Rhode each grunted, changing their stances and exerting force.
The huge fists began crumbling from the contact point, a continuous crackling sound filled the air, and falling stones created muffled thuds as they hit the ground.
Finally, the two fists shattered completely, with the massive wrists and forearms falling to the ground.
The mountain top was enveloped in a thick yellowish-brown dust cloud.
Rhode retracted his fist and stood tall, waving his hands left and right, immediately a breeze blew across, clearing the dust from the mountain top.
"Impressive Wind Magic." Jura leapt up from the pit, his clogs landing with a crisp sound, "Let's end this probing attack here, it's about time we get serious."
Rhode nodded, "I have no objection."
We do! The audience shouted in their hearts, do you call that level of magic a probing attack?
"Oh my! Was that not their full strength?!" Jabadi exclaimed, "Mr. Yajima, are the Ten Wizard Saints truly this powerful?"
Yajima answered evasively, "Yes, truly remarkable."
Jenny asked again, "Seriously, there's nothing wrong with the venue?"
Jabadi replied, "No problem, the organizers have taken precautions, and Mr. Rhode will make a move, so rest assured and enjoy the match."
Jenny: "..."
It was okay not to go all out earlier with him on the move, but now they're going full force!
On the mountain top, both Jura and Rhode accumulated Magic Power, for a moment the sky darkened, the earth began to tremble, the trees around the arena and Royal Capital faintly hummed.
At this time, the audience understood the statement, 'A battle of the Ten Wizard Saints will cause supernatural phenomena.'
Evidently, they really weren't serious earlier!
This time Jura was the first to strike.
He stood with legs together, palms pressed, like a monk murmuring a spell with closed eyes and a bowed head.
The mountain top trembled violently, the ground cracked with fine lines, and stones floated into mid-air due to the shaking.
Quick as a flash, Jura shouted: "Shaking Rich Prison!!!"
The ground fissures instantly spread across the whole mountain top platform, especially severe beneath Rhode's feet.
A dazzling white light emerged from the cracks, shattering the ground into stone slabs that were lifted by the white light.
In the spectators' view, Rhode's figure was immediately engulfed by light and rubble, even Jura appeared only as a comic-like dark silhouette illuminated by the light.
The beam of light surged skywards, illuminating the previously dim sky, dispersing the dense clouds above, leaving only faint vortex-like residual clouds swirling in the sky above.
The mountain top of this artificial mountain in the middle of the arena was directly leveled, but no giant rocks flew out.
Because the rocks that flew were destroyed by Jura's magic!
However, the blast-induced gale still blew outward, forcing almost everyone to shield their faces, with commentator Jabadi raising a hand to secure his wig.
This move left not only the live audience, but even Natsu and Gray nearly popping their eyes out:
"What was that?!"
"Surely that old guy has issues?!"
Lucy covered her mouth: "With such an attack, is Mr. Rhode okay?"
"It seems to utilize one's own magic power to resonate with the earth, triggering vibrations, and then further resonate with the ambient Magic, causing a greater explosion..." Mebius attempted to analyze the principle of this move, "A very powerful Mage."
Makarov praised, "Of course powerful, this kind of destructive power, it's almost comparable to Kildas."
Wendy listening to the analysis of the two presidents, worriedly asked, "Is Brother Rhode alright?"
Carla consoled, "Don't worry, if there were any problems, the two of them wouldn't be this relaxed."
At this point, Mira's right hand had already crushed Rhode's staff, and her left had left imprints on the railing of the stand.
Judging by her appearance, it seemed she was ready to rush down and land a punch on Jura's bald head at any moment.
Laxus crossed his arms, confidently stated, "That guy's fine."
"Mm." Mira returned a smile.
Laxus, maintaining a stern face, coolly moved a step away.
Gajeel cautiously, "You're not going, are you? If you storm through, Rhode will be disqualified."
"No need to worry." Mira returned a softer smile.
Gajeel rarely took the initiative to move closer to Laxus.
Jubia remained silent, shivering in the midst of them.
As anticipated by their companions, Rhode indeed was unharmed.
When the vibrations ceased, it wasn't Rhode's figure that appeared first on the screen, but rather three small mountains taller than two people.
But they looked like three rocky dumplings.
The stone spires were also enveloped in a faint golden barrier.
When the white light vanished, so did the golden barrier, and the three 'rocky dumplings' quivered slightly before settling down.
And Rhode emerged from them, safe and sound.
"Three Pillars Gods?" Makarov felt familiar, "And another Light Defense Magic..."
For a moment, even he couldn't recall the name.
Rhode, seeing Jura's stunned expression, quietly revealed the magic's origin: "Three Pillars Gods·Revised·Blessing of the Mountains, and a magic refined and simplified from Fairy's Ball and Fairy Radiance, the Starlight Guardian."
Having said that, he frowned lightly.
It seemed that today using the Starlight Guardian felt more fluid than before, otherwise stacking two such strong Defense Magic in an instant wouldn't have been so smooth.
He didn't specifically practice this magic recently...
The match hadn't ended, so he'd have to ponder it later.
Rhode extended a hand, the fingertip of his forefinger showed a yellow-brown glow, his middle finger showed an emerald green, his ring finger a crimson, and his little finger a bluish-white.
Four kinds of Magic Power flowed in his hand, sketching a magic array as his arm moved, the light constantly shifting, finally merging into a purple-black magic array.
Before he spoke, Jura already recognized the array: "Purgatory Shattering?"
Not only he, but Mira, Lucy, and others recognized it as well.
However, the most surprised were Gajeel and Jubia, for they were more familiar with this than anyone.
"Are you kidding, this was originally a Forbidden Magic that required the combined Power of the Four Elements, using a Super Magical Giant to cast! And he alone..."
Gajeel paused, it seemed Rhode alone had mastered earth, water, fire, and wind elemental magic, and his Magic Power might surpass that of the original Four Elements combined.
If that's the case, casting such magic seems reasonable?
Still, Laxus raised the most practical question: "Using Forbidden Magic in this venue, isn't it a problem?"