Rhode arrived and didn't see the Flame Dragon, only the Purgatory Sub-Dragon hammering on the Emerald Dragon.
More precisely, he just happened to see the Purgatory Sub-Dragon biting the Emerald Dragon's neck, pressing him into a fall.
The Emerald Dragon's front claws tightly gripped the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's shoulders, digging several bloody holes, but his own neck was spilling blood onto the ground like a pouring rain.
With a thunderous crash, the Emerald Dragon landed on his back, his right wing folded beneath his body, throat torn with flesh, and his head smashed heavily into the ground.
His eyes gradually lost their luster, and the front claws that were clutching the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's shoulders weakened and dropped.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon spat out the chunk of flesh from its mouth and roared at the sky in victory.
"Amazing." Wendy couldn't help but exclaim.
Rhode went up to greet him, "Well done."
"This talk is too early," the Purgatory Sub-Dragon had no intention of resting, "I'm going to check on Alchemy."
He knew the Mountain Sub-Dragon and Cloud Sub-Dragon might slightly mind his involvement in their battles, but Alchemy and Hex, those two slow dragons, didn't care about anything as long as Rhode's task was completed.
Someone had already headed to Hex, so the Purgatory Sub-Dragon decided to look for the Alchemy Technology Sub-Dragon.
"Hey... What's up with Natsu and them?"
"Ask that little cat!" The Purgatory Sub-Dragon flew off swiftly, afraid of being late.
"Hapi?" Wendy picked up Hapi to inquire about the situation.
Rhode first instructed Wendy to turn around, then went to finish off the Emerald Dragon, taking its heart while listening to Hapi.
Hapi said, "That Flame Dragon seems to be Natsu's father Igneru's friend, we heard him say so."
Apparently, Natsu, lying on Atlas Frey's back, had gulped down several bites of hellfire, prompting the Purgatory Dragon to directly ask Natsu about his relationship with Igneru.
Natsu naturally had to ask back how the other knew Igneru.
Atlas Frey stated that Igneru was his friend, and as a fire attribute dragon himself, how could he not know the Fire Dragon King?
With that, Natsu felt embarrassed to continue eating and cheerfully declared that was his dad.
Atlas Frey usually wouldn't easily believe a human's words, but generally, people couldn't eat his flames.
Moreover, Natsu did give him a feeling somewhat similar to Igneru.
As for why he could feel it...
Ask, and the answer is: had fought, but couldn't defeat.
The title of Fire Dragon King wasn't self-proclaimed or elected; it was earned through fighting.
In his era, any fire dragons that hadn't been beaten either were too young or too timid.
Seeing he was the son of an old friend, even if only a foster child, and a human at that, Atlas Frey offered to help.
So he carried Natsu off to deal with other dragons.
Wendy questioned, "Wasn't there Dragon Control Magic affecting them?"
Hapi said, "About that, he said there's some magic interfering with his consciousness, but if he wants to resist, it's not a problem."
Rhode nearly lost it, realizing that Future Rogue was just boasting about a Telepathy Magic exclusively for dragons?
When the door first opened, it was 'Welcome to the Dragon Chat Group.'
Then at Atlas Frey, it was 'Group members blocked your messages.'
So at Maser Gray, it would be 'Group members patted you and gave you a big slap?'
Rhode shook off the weird thoughts, asking, "Where's Laxus and Gajeel?"
Hapi responded, "They said they were going to check on the Guild and then decide whether to help elsewhere. They told us to stay and wait for your updates."
After a pause, Hapi added, "We want to go see Natsu."
"No worries, we'll head over to support him right away."
As they spoke, Rhode finished the final magic spell, and a golden light enveloped the Emerald Dragon's heart.
The massive heart rapidly shrunk within the golden glow.
Rhode extended his hand, a jade green Magic Crystal fell into his palm.
"Alright, let's go." Rhode pocketed the Magic Crystal, grabbed Hapi with his left hand, tucked Wendy under his right arm, and spread his wings to fly away, "All battles must be resolved before dawn, otherwise I'll be..."
Wendy nervously asked, "What will happen?"
Rhode replied solemnly, "I'll be very tired!"
...
In the Council's troops, the observation post reported: "Captain, the enemy's numbers are decreasing, seems there are no reinforcements, but those bugs are still continuously running over from a distance."
Dolanbart glanced at the sky, the egg-laying dragon was nowhere to be seen, he speculated, "Probably because the mother body has been dealt with."
"That's good news." Lahar raised his command sword, "Everyone prepare, cooperate with friendly strange bugs, annihilate the enemy!"
Morale soared among the Strong Detention Team, even lightly injured members insisted on joining the fight after simple treatment.
Small dinosaurs were falling faster and faster, Lahar watched the member's conditions and decided to move towards the Royal Palace.
With such a huge event happening, they had to confirm the Royal Family's safety.
Just then, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon, Alchemy Technology Sub-Dragon, and Life Prison Dragon Levia came chasing and fighting into the air nearby.
The enormous noise and exaggerated battle aftermath forced Lahar to halt advancement, ordering the members to find cover and take shelter.
They'd endured so far, it would be a shame to fall victim to unclear aftermath.
Their luck was just that bad.
In the fierce battle between the Hydreigon, all of them released their breaths.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon and Life Prison Dragon's breaths detonated each other, while the Alchemy Technology Sub-Dragon's breath hit the root of Life Prison Dragon's wing.
This dragon, resembling a strange fish, was hit by the green toxic mist-like breath, instantly losing balance.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon seized the moment to ram him, crashing him onto the adjacent street.
The power of the breath explosion, followed by the tremors from the dragon falling to the ground, already strained the nearby tall building, causing it to collapse towards the Council's troops with a rumble.
"Get out of the way!" Lahar shouted futilely, his face pale.
Given the proximity and the size of the building, most wouldn't get out in time, not even Dolanbart's Space Magic could save that many people.
Only when the troops were bracing for the impending pain, they were astonished to find the collapsing building suddenly stagnated.
Amidst the chaos, someone seemed to hear a somewhat familiar voice: "Arc of Time, Rewind!"
The building, which was crumbling and collapsing, completely stopped its descent and began to fly back upwards, every stone, every plank, gradually returning to its original position.
It was as if someone had pressed the rewind button.
"Saved... saved?" Some newcomers ran to the safety zone, bewildered but fascinated by the building.
While those veterans were more pondering, feeling that kind of magic was somehow familiar.
Lahar and Dolanbart had already fixed their eyes on the suddenly appearing black-haired woman:
"Ultear!"