Chapter 551: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Two Genius of Two Duke Houses III

Vera stood gracefully, her dull black eyes locked onto the incoming barrage of flame arrows descending from the sky.

The morning light was almost completely swallowed by the scarlet glow above her.

One flame arrow after another tore through the air, leaving burning trails behind them as they descended toward the fight platform. The heat reached the ground even before the arrows arrived, making the air around Vera tremble.

Yet her expression did not change.

She simply looked upward.

Her posture remained relaxed, and there was even a faint smile resting on her lips as though the countless flame arrows filling the sky were merely something interesting to watch.

"Since my Dancer and wild girl are showcasing just how strong Overload is..."

Vera spoke casually, her voice carrying clearly despite the noise filling the arena.

The scarlet light from Ravenor’s flames reflected inside her dull black eyes.

She raised her right hand slightly.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The wind around Vera suddenly moved violently.

Several firearms rapidly gushed out from her Space Bag, appearing one after another around her body.

The weapons immediately stopped in the air.

They didn’t fall, nor did they shake.

They simply hovered around Vera under the influence of her Alchemy Levitation, each firearm remaining perfectly controlled despite the violent wind sweeping across the platform.

Repeater Sword Rifles.

Kalthoff Repeaters.

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk Is.

The firearms surrounded Vera from different directions, their barrels shifting slightly as her control over them adjusted their positions.

She didn’t even need to look at every weapon.

Her Alchemy Levitation was already controlling them.

"I guess it’s only proper that this Big Sis shows her own Overload."

Vera casually said.

Her faint smile remained on her face.

Then her body surged with Cognis.

White Cognis began flowing out from her body.

It wasn’t gentle.

It burst outward in sharp streaks that resembled white lightning.

The white Cognis crawled across her body before spreading toward every rifle hovering around her.

The firearms began glowing.

White Cognis flowed into them as though the weapons had circuits integrated directly into their bodies.

But that wasn’t actually what was happening.

The firearms themselves hadn’t suddenly gained some new circuit system.

The light was simply the result of Vera’s Cognis overflowing into their bodies, forcing the weapons to carry far more Cognis than they normally would.

The amount of Cognis entering the firearms kept increasing.

The air around Vera grew heavier.

The pressure spreading from her body reached the ground.

CRACK!

A fracture appeared beneath her foot.

Then another.

The ground continued cracking as her Cognis pressure increased.

Falling snow was pushed away.

Small pieces of broken rock trembled before being thrown aside.

The battlefield around Vera slowly cleared as the pressure from her Cognis swept outward.

The rifles hovering around her remained steady despite the force.

That alone showed how precise Vera’s control was.

She didn’t simply release Cognis.

She directed it.

Every rifle received the Cognis she wanted it to receive, and every weapon remained in the position she wanted it to remain in.

Above her, Ravenor was still airborne.

The flaming arrows continued descending, and he kept firing more.

Vera looked up at him.

Her faint smile didn’t disappear.

Then she raised her right hand.

She formed the shape of a gun with her fingers.

"Bam!"

The word left her mouth lightly.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The rifles surrounding Vera fired.

The sound of gunfire spread through the arena.

White flashes erupted around her one after another, and the bullets shot upward at incredible speed.

More gusts of wind tore through the battlefield as the bullets climbed toward Ravenor’s descending flame arrows.

The contrast was almost impossible to miss.

Scarlet flames came down.

White bullet trails went up.

The two attacks met in the air.

The spectators held their breath.

Some Low-ranking Alchemists unconsciously braced themselves, their bodies tightening as though the collision between the two attacks might somehow reach them despite the protective force field surrounding the spectator seats.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The air between the two Young Alchemists from the two Duke Houses exploded.

Scarlet explosions appeared one after another in the space between them.

Every time a flame arrow collided with a bullet, a burst of fire spread outward.

The shockwaves pushed the smoke away before another explosion immediately filled the empty space.

The entire battlefield trembled.

Gusts of wind swept violently through the arena, some of them reaching the force field protecting the spectators.

The protective barrier rippled from the repeated impacts.

People in the front rows could feel the pressure through the barrier.

Some Royal Academy students leaned backward.

Others kept their eyes fixed on the battlefield, afraid that looking away for even a second might cause them to miss something.

And the clash still continued.

Vera used her Alchemy Levitation to draw out more rifles.

The moment another firearm emerged from her Space Bag, it joined the weapons already surrounding her.

Ravenor continued utilizing the flames caused by the numerous explosions.

Every explosion gave him more fire to work with.

He kept gathering those flames and continued firing his Flame Arrows.

One side continued producing bullets.

The other continued producing fire.

Neither attack stopped.

The whole arena was now filled with constant explosions.

BOOM!

BANG!

WHOOSH!

BOOM!

The sounds overlapped until it became difficult to tell where one attack ended and another began.

Smoke covered large portions of the fight platform.

Scarlet light flashed through the smoke again and again.

White bullet trails pierced through the haze.

For the ordinary spectators, the actual movements of the two Alchemists were becoming almost impossible to follow.

They could see explosions.

They could see flashes.

They could see weapons appearing and disappearing inside the smoke.

But the actual exchange between Vera and Ravenor had already moved beyond what their eyes could properly track.

Then Ravenor stopped firing his Flame Arrows.

His airborne position lowered as he moved back toward the now-damaged fight platform.

The platform below had already been damaged badly from the constant explosions.

Broken rocks and pieces of the ground were scattered across the surface, while flames continued burning in several areas.

Vera noticed Ravenor’s movement.

She immediately dashed forward.

The remaining rifles under her control followed.

The weapons moved with her through the smoke.

The rifles that she no longer needed began cracking.

CRACK.

One firearm broke apart.

Then another.

Their bodies fragmented into fine dust, which was swept into the smoky clouds surrounding the battlefield.

The number of rifles around Vera decreased, but the weapons that remained continued moving with her.

Again, the non-Alchemists and Low-ranking Alchemists among the spectators couldn’t properly see the two Geniuses of different Alchemy Paths.

The battlefield had become too difficult to see through.

Scarlet flames burned across the damaged platform.

Smoke filled the air.

Every movement of the two fighters disappeared into the haze before suddenly appearing somewhere else.

Then...

THUD!

Ravenor landed on the ground.

Despite falling from a great height, his landing was light.

His knees bent slightly as his boots touched the damaged platform, and he immediately recovered his balance.

He didn’t waste even a moment.

The sword still covered in flames remained in his hand.

Ravenor threw it.

WHOOSH!

The flame-covered sword spun rapidly through the air.

Its blade rotated as it traveled toward Vera with considerable speed, the flames wrapped around it stretching behind the weapon like a burning tail.

Vera saw it coming.

Her remaining rifles moved.

Three of them rapidly shifted into position in front of her.

Their bodies joined together, forming a defensive barrier between her and the incoming sword.

The weapon arrived.

KLANG!

The clash of metal against metal echoed across the fight platform.

The impact was strong.

The three joined rifles were pushed backward.

Vera’s body also moved slightly backward because the force disturbed her Alchemy Levitation control.

Her feet slid across the damaged ground for a short distance.

She didn’t resist the movement blindly.

Instead, she used it.

In the same moment that the rifles were being pushed backward, Vera sharply turned to her left.

Her movement was fluid.

She didn’t need to regain a perfect stance before moving again.

Her body simply followed the direction she chose.

KZZRAK!

The sound of another Alchemy Circle being created echoed from the area where the flame-covered sword had come from.

Vera didn’t turn her head toward the sound.

Her attention remained forward.

She had already understood that something was coming from that area.

The area around her began glowing scarlet.

Vera immediately jumped from her position.

BOOM!

A scarlet flame ball crashed into the ground where she had been standing only an instant earlier.

The impact threw broken rocks upward.

Heat rushed past her legs as she moved through the air.

But Vera wasn’t finished.

Before she could even land, she placed both hands against the ground.

Her palms touched the damaged surface.

She used the contact to turn her body, spinning slightly as she changed her position again.

Her boots shifted through the movement, and she pushed herself away from the point where she would have landed.

BOOM!

Another scarlet flame ball crashed into the exact spot she had just left.

Broken rocks flew upward from the impact before falling back down.

Vera continued moving.

To the ordinary spectators and Low-ranking Alchemists watching from the stands, it looked as though scarlet explosions were appearing from numerous positions close to one another.

One explosion.

Then another.

Then another.

Vera would appear for an instant before disappearing again.

The explosions followed.

The battlefield seemed to be chasing her.

But Vera’s movements remained controlled.

She wasn’t simply running away.

She was reading the incoming attacks and using every small opening to change her position.

Then the crowd erupted.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The spectators couldn’t hold back their excitement anymore.

The display of Alchemy combat prowess had pushed the entire arena into another wave of cheering.

"Go, My Lady of Ash!!!"

"You can do it, Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!!"

"FIGHT!!!!"

The arena once again became filled with the loud clash between both Young Alchemists’ fan bases.

Some spectators rose from their seats.

Others leaned over the railings while shouting.

The cheering from one side was quickly answered by the other.

The fight had become more intense, and everyone watching could feel it.

And yet, neither Young Alchemist had unleashed their Mass Alchemy.

But they had already turned the entire fight platform into a mess without even using their largest-scale attacks.

Broken ground covered the platform.

Smoke hung over the battlefield.

Scarlet flames continued burning in several areas.

The force field around the spectator seats still rippled from the repeated impacts.

The Ninth Round had only reached this point, yet the arena already looked as though a much larger battle had taken place.

Back inside the smoky battlefield...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Numerous explosions occurred as Vera continued running through the smoke.

The scarlet flame balls came after her one after another.

Vera moved between them with incredible speed.

One explosion erupted to her right.

She shifted left.

Another appeared ahead.

Her foot planted against the ground, and she changed direction before the flame could reach her.

A third exploded behind her.

She didn’t even turn around.

Her body continued forward.

SKRRK!!

Vera’s boots dragged against the ground.

The soles scraped across broken stone as she suddenly changed direction.

At the same time, two Colt 1911s with extended magazines flew out from her Space Bag.

The two handguns rotated rapidly through the air.

Vera moved both hands forward.

Her fingers were already positioned to receive them.

The Colts reached her hands.

She caught both effortlessly.

Her dull black eyes remained focused on the incoming scarlet flame balls.

There was no wasted movement.

No hesitation.

White Cognis flowed into the two Colts.

The Cognis entered the firearms rapidly, increasing their functions and forcing both handguns into an Overload state once again.

The weapons trembled slightly from the pressure.

White Cognis wrapped around their bodies.

Vera raised both guns.

The next scarlet flame ball came toward her.

Her fingers tightened around the grips.

Her index fingers moved to the triggers.

BANG! BANG!

Two bullets flew out.

They struck toward the incoming flame.

Vera continued pulling the triggers.

BANG! BANG!

Another pair of bullets tore through the smoke.

She adjusted her wrists.

BANG! BANG!

More bullets shot forward.

The flame ball came closer.

Vera’s arms shifted with each shot, keeping the handguns aligned with the moving target while her feet continued carrying her through the damaged battlefield.

BANG! BANG!

The barrage continued.

The two overloaded Colts fired rapidly as Vera attacked the incoming scarlet flame balls head-on.