Chapter 545: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Wild Gun of Ash Vs the Raising Craftsman of Ash

"Before we begin the countdown for the match."

Kent’s voice echoed calmly through the speakers of the entire Arena.

The crowd, which had been making enough noise to shake the seats, gradually quieted as people turned their attention toward the Commentator’s section.

Kent was sitting comfortably in his chair.

One arm rested against the side of the seat while he held the table microphone close to his mouth with the other hand. His posture was so relaxed that it looked as though he were preparing to talk about something that had nothing to do with a Combat Festival.

"There is information about the next round that everyone should know."

He said it while lazily relaxing his back against the chair.

The spectators waited.

Some of the First-Year students seated in the arena also looked toward the Commentator’s section.

Kent continued.

"There will be a Best Losers’ Match for the Ninth Round, which will be a three-student, one match showdown. There will be only one winner, and that winner will be the one to advance into the Semifinals to face the winners of this round."

A wave of murmurs spread through the Arena.

Several spectators exchanged surprised looks.

Some of the first years discussed how interesting the new information was and what it meant for the remaining Young Alchemists that many already expected to lose.

Kent’s voice remained almost lazy as he continued explaining.

"So, my dear First-Years, if you want to forfeit like some certain realist, then you can do it with peace of mind, since losing doesn’t mean the end..."

He paused.

His eyes shifted slightly.

"Well, yet..."

Kent shrugged.

The movement was so casual that a few people in the crowd that could see him at the commentator’s section laughed.

"But with all that said... I wish you all luck, and continue showing the Kingdom why I deserve a raise."

He suddenly leaned forward.

His chair scraped slightly against the floor as he pointed toward the section where the Vice Headmaster of the Royal Academy sat beside the Queen.

"You hear me, Vice Headmaster Godwin? I deserve a raise for being the main instructor of these kids!"

The Arena became strangely quiet.

Patrick’s expression changed.

For a moment, he simply stared at Kent.

Then Patrick immediately rushed over and grabbed him.

Unfortunately, Patrick’s normal human strength could do absolutely nothing to an Alchemist of Kent’s rank.

Kent barely even moved.

"Professor Kent!"

Patrick struggled to pull him back.

Kent simply looked at him.

The Royal Academy’s technical staff finally had to intervene.

Professor Giggs Rayan and Professor Millicent Kane quickly came over from the side of the Commentator’s section and began scolding Kent for his behavior.

Kent stood there with his arms folded, listening to them with an expression that suggested he didn’t understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of it.

Patrick eventually returned to his position.

The atmosphere inside the Arena had become awkward yet again.

A few spectators were laughing.

Others looked at Kent as though they had just witnessed a completely unexpected interruption before the first match.

Patrick cleared his throat.

"Please, let’s begin the countdown."

His voice still carried some of the awkwardness left behind by Kent’s actions.

Kent, who was the reason for that awkwardness in the first place, simply looked to the side still with his arms folded while Professors Giggs and Millicent continued scolding him.

At the seating section where the High Powers of the Kingdom were gathered...

Vice Headmaster Godwin Fraser rubbed his forehead.

He shook his head slowly.

"Ahh..."

He sighed.

Alister Morgan laughed lightly at the other side of the Queen.

"Haha... Haha... Haha. That kid Kent hasn’t changed in the slightest, Elder."

Godwin gave him a tired look.

Alister continued smiling.

"I think you should give him the raise, since he is the Main Instructor of the First-Years."

The Queen also seemed to find the matter amusing.

"Please, my Queen, let’s forget about him for a moment."

Godwin said helplessly.

He looked as though he had already spent enough energy dealing with Kent for one morning.

The Queen’s lips curved slightly.

The atmosphere around the High-Power section was far more relaxed than the one around the Commentator’s section.

Then...

"THREE!!!"

The voices of hundreds of thousands of spectators echoed through the Arena.

The four Holographic Screens displayed the countdown number at the same time.

The noise returned to the fight platform.

Lyra looked toward Ezra with an excited smile.

"I didn’t expect I would be facing you, Ezra."

Her voice carried genuine excitement.

"I have always wanted to face you, since the moment we met in the Second Trial."

She placed her hands together in front of herself.

Her eyes were clear and bright, and there was nothing fake about the excitement on her face.

She had really wanted this.

Ezra remembered the Second Trial of the Trail of Steel.

He remembered hiding on the tree while watching Felix interact with his group.

He also remembered that moment as the time Lyra nearly sliced his neck off back then.

That memory made his black eyes remain as plain as before.

"That time, you didn’t feel this strong in the slightest."

Lyra’s eyes seemed to shine brighter.

Her excitement continued building as the countdown moved closer to the beginning.

"TWO!!"

The crowd shouted the second number.

Lyra kept her eyes on Ezra.

"But now..."

She paused.

"I almost see you as an equal to Lady Vera, but..."

Lyra raised her right index finger and placed it against her lips.

"Hmmm."

She looked upward toward the morning blue sky.

There was a strange thought moving through her head, but she didn’t finish saying it before the final countdown came.

"ONE!!!"

The crowd shouted the last number.

The Holographic Screens immediately changed their display.

The countdown disappeared.

A single word appeared across the screens.

BEGIN.

Lyra lowered her hand.

"Maybe it’s because you are hiding your Cognis Level that I feel like if you and Lady Vera fought, you wouldn’t win."

She smiled.

"But that doesn’t matter, does it?"

Lyra moved her body into her fighting stance.

It wasn’t the usual simple stance that most Alchemists used before a battle.

Her body lowered.

Her two hands spread slightly away from her sides.

Her upper body leaned forward.

And her right leg moved backward, with her foot planted firmly against the platform.

She looked less like an Alchemist preparing to fire a weapon and more like a hungry animal waiting for the right moment to pounce.

The change in her posture was enough to make some of the spectators stop cheering for a moment.

Ezra simply looked at her.

His expression remained plain.

He already knew from the way Lyra behaved and from how she had fought in her previous battles that trying to predict her fight pattern would be foolish.

Because there was one major factor that many people failed to realize when facing Lyra Ashburn.

Her Alchemy Strategy was exactly like his.

She never followed a simple pattern.

She always fought while adapting.

She changed her attacks according to the situation.

And just like Ezra, she could switch between firearms and close-range attacks without allowing the opponent much time to understand what she was doing.

"BEGIN!!!"

Hundreds of thousands of spectators shouted together.

The sound rolled through the Arena.

Lyra moved immediately.

Her right hand shot toward her Space Bag while her body burst forward.

The sudden acceleration cracked the snow beneath her feet.

Cognis rapidly flowed through her entire body.

It strengthened her legs first, then moved through her arms, torso, senses, and skin.

Her speed increased.

Her physical strength increased.

Her senses sharpened.

Her skin hardened.

And the other physical enhancements available to a Binder Alchemist were activated as well.

Lyra covered the distance between them in an instant.

Her hand came out of the Space Bag holding the scythe.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

She swung it vertically downward.

The curved blade cut through the air with enough force to produce a sharp sound as it descended toward Ezra.

Ezra moved.

His right leg shifted first.

Then his entire body followed the movement, sliding to the side with a fluid step.

The scythe passed beside him.

The blade missed his clothes by barely an inch.

Ezra could feel the air displaced by the weapon against his side.

BOOM!

The scythe slammed into the platform.

The impact cracked the ground beneath its blade.

Hard

Snow and broken pieces of stone were thrown upward, scattering around Lyra’s feet and the platform ground.

But Lyra didn’t stop with just that action.

The moment her scythe struck the ground, her other hand had already moved toward her Space Bag.

Her fingers entered fast.

Then she pulled out a Colt 1911 with an extended magazine.

Ezra’s eyes shifted toward the handgun calmly.

His plain black eyes watched Lyra raise the gun immediately and her finger pulling the trigger.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Five shots were fired in rapid succession.

But Ezra didn’t jump backward to evade the gunshots.

Instead, his body had moved toward the firing line before she could even pull the trigger.

His right hand reached forward.

His fingers caught Lyra’s wrist before she could adjust her aim.

With a controlled and soft movement, Ezra pushed her wrist downward.

The muzzle of the Colt 1911 was forced toward the ground.

The bullets she fired struck the platform only inches from Ezra’s boot.

Small pieces of stone jumped from each impact.

Lyra’s eyes darted toward the hand controlling her wrist.

She immediately understood what Ezra had done.

Her body twisted.

The scythe moved with her.

Lyra swung herself and the scythe in a standing circular motion, using the rotation to attack Ezra from a different angle.

Ezra bent down.

His hand also released Lyra’s wrist.

Instead of retreating, he moved forward while keeping his body low.

The scythe passed above him.

Ezra’s right palm shot forward.

He aimed for a direct strike on her stomach area.

Lyra reacted immediately.

The hand holding the Colt moved toward Ezra’s incoming palm.

Her finger was already moving toward the trigger.

The moment before she could fire...

Ezra changed the movement of his right hand.

Instead of striking Lyra, his palm lightly smacked the muzzle of the Colt 1911 to the right side.

The barrel was redirected again.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Six shots erupted.

None of them went toward Ezra.

The bullets struck the ground again, kicking up small pieces of stone and snow around them.

Lyra’s eyes widened slightly.

She tried to move the Colt back toward Ezra’s position.

But she had already lost the opening.

Click!

Ezra’s fingers moved with precision.

He dismantled the top part of the Colt 1911 with the same right hand that lightly redirected the muzzle away from him.

The action happened so quickly that Lyra barely understood what had happened before the upper portion of her handgun had already been separated.

Her eyes moved toward the damaged weapon.

Ezra was already moving.

He stepped around her.

His body passed toward Lyra’s back while his free hand entered his Space Bag.

He pulled out his Glock 20.

Lyra tried to turn.

Ezra had already raised the handgun.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Six more shots were fired.

Ezra aimed carefully.

None of the bullets were directed toward a vital spot.

The entire exchange had happened so quickly that even Lyra nearly missed what Ezra had done.

One moment, Ezra had been below her and slightly to her left, close enough that she could have attacked him with the Colt.

The next moment, he had dismantled part of her handgun, moved behind her, drawn another firearm, and fired.