Chapter 462: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Wild Battle Instincts II

The shells from Lyra’s E-V 26 MK.II were already moving toward Logan when he reacted.

Clap!

His hands came together in front of his chest, and the moment his palms met, an Earth Alchemy Circle ignited between them.

The formation appeared for only a brief moment before Logan immediately completed the activation.

He drove both palms toward the ground.

Slam!

His hands struck the platform, and the Earth Alchemy took effect almost instantly.

To the High-ranking Alchemists watching the fight, the change happening beneath the platform was easy to follow.

They could sense the movement of the Earth beneath the surface and understand what Logan was doing.

***

Deep beneath the fighting platform...

The earth began to grind against itself.

The soil and rock were broken down into countless tiny particles, each one becoming smaller as Logan’s Earth Alchemy continued to manipulate the material beneath him.

The particles moved together.

Then they began compressing.

The space between them gradually disappeared as the Earth Alchemy circle effect forced them closer together, increasing their density before shaping the material into the form he wanted.

The ground suddenly shook.

Rumble!

A section of the platform rose violently.

The earth pushed upward from beneath Logan, rapidly forming into a large wall between them.

To the ordinary spectators, it seemed as though the wall had simply appeared from nowhere.

One moment, there had been nothing in front of Logan.

The next...

A solid Earth wall had grown from the platform ground within milliseconds.

Even some of the lower-ranking Alchemists could barely follow the process.

They only saw the platform tremble and the wall rise almost instantly.

Then the incoming shells arrived.

BOOM!

The first set of pellets smashed into the Earth wall.

The impact shook the surface, leaving several small holes where the pellets had struck, but none of them managed to penetrate through.

Another burst followed.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The remaining pellets struck the wall one after another, scattering pieces of dirt and stone from its surface.

Several smaller holes appeared.

Yet the wall remained standing.

Not a single pellet reached Logan.

This was a perfect Binder-rank Earth Wall.

Its density had been increased far beyond what an ordinary Earth Alchemist could normally achieve, allowing it to withstand the destructive force of the E-V 26 MK.II.

However, maintaining such a wall wasn’t something Logan could do without paying a price.

The amount of Cognis flowing through his body was already considerable.

The Earth Alchemy required a constant supply of Cognis to maintain the enhanced density of the wall, and Logan was not using a small amount.

Although, he simply didn’t see a reason to hold back.

He was a Binder Alchemist.

And compared to Lyra, who was also a Binder Alchemist, Logan possessed a larger Cognis percent inside his Binder Star.

That difference gave him room to spend more Cognis without immediately worrying about exhausting himself.

As long as he could overwhelm Lyra before his Cognis became a problem, there was no reason for him to fight conservatively.

His hands came together again.

Clap!

This time, the movement was even quicker.

Lyra was still descending from the air.

She continued firing the E-V 26 MK.II toward Logan’s Earth Wall, and the repeated impacts had finally begun to leave visible cracks across its surface.

The wall had already taken several bursts.

The cracks spread outward from the places where the pellets had struck, and small pieces of earth fell from the damaged sections.

Logan noticed it.

He immediately formed another Earth Alchemy Circle.

Once the formation was complete, he placed one hand against the Earth Wall.

Slam!

The wall shook.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed.

Something was moving inside it.

Before she could completely understand what Logan had done, small stone bullets erupted from the wall.

They shot outward at high speed.

Unlike the earlier Earth Spikes, these were much smaller, allowing Logan to produce a greater number of them and fire them in rapid succession.

They flew toward Lyra from different positions across the wall.

Lyra immediately sensed the incoming attack.

Her eyes moved across the approaching stone bullets.

She understood that continuing to fire while airborne would leave her too exposed.

She placed her E-V 26 MK.II into her Space Bag.

At the same time, Lyra was closing back down on the platform.

Her hand tightened on the scythe she held with her other hand just as the first Earth Bullet reached her.

Lyra swung.

Clang!

The scythe struck the stone bullet and knocked it away.

Another came from her left.

She turned her wrist and moved the blade across her body.

Clang!

The second projectile was deflected.

A third followed immediately.

Lyra shifted her weight while still descending and swept the scythe upward.

Clang!

Another stone bullet flew away.

Then another.

Clang!

Clang!

The impacts came rapidly.

Lyra’s movements remained fluid as she swung the scythe around her body, using the long blade to intercept the projectiles before they could reach her.

She finally landed on the ground, with her legs lowering before she dashed forward.

She wasn’t simply going to stand in place and swing wildly.

Her feet moved according to the direction of each projectile.

Whenever an Earth Bullet approached from one side, she shifted her body and brought the scythe across that angle.

When another came from another side, she raised the weapon.

When two arrived at nearly the same time, she twisted her body and used the length of the scythe to cover both directions.

But Logan’s Earth Bullets weren’t ordinary stones.

Their speed and density made them dangerous even when Lyra managed to block them.

One projectile slipped past the edge of her blade.

Some grazed her clothing.

Another struck her sleeve and cut through the fabric.

A third scraped against her skin, leaving a thin cut.

The wounds were minor, but they were proof that Lyra couldn’t completely defend against every projectile while advancing.

But she didn’t stop.

The stone bullets continued coming.

While Lyra continued moving forward.

Her scythe repeatedly struck the incoming projectiles, sending fragments of compressed earth flying across the platform.

Her breathing became slightly heavier, but the excitement in her eyes didn’t disappear.

Instead, her smile became wider.

"Come on..."

She shouted.

"Show me more, Drakes!!!"

Lyra suddenly jumped again.

Her body rose from the ground while she held the scythe with both hands.

She twisted her body rapidly in the air.

The scythe followed her rotation, and the long blade began spinning around her like a fan.

Her descent brought her directly toward the Earth Wall protecting Logan.

The blade struck the wall.

BOOM!

The impact cracked the surface.

Lyra continued putting her strength into the swing.

The compressed earth tried resisting her attack, but the momentum from her spinning descent gave the blow enough force to break through.

The wall shattered around the point of impact.

Pieces of earth flew outward as Lyra smashed through the barrier.

"What?!"

Logan’s eyes widened.

He immediately jumped backward.

He had been standing behind the wall while maintaining his Earth Bullets by pressing more Cognis into the Earth Alchemy Circle, and Lyra had broken through the defense before he could properly reposition himself.

The moment his feet left the ground...

BOOM!

Lyra landed on the other side of the destroyed wall.

Her scythe struck the platform where Logan had been standing only a moment earlier.

The blade dug into the ground.

Dust and small fragments of earth scattered from the impact.

Lyra looked up at Logan, who had widened the distance between them in few back steps.

She didn’t chase him with the scythe.

Instead, she released the weapon.

It dropped beside her.

Lyra immediately lowered herself into a kneeling shooting posture.

Her movements were so quick that Logan barely had time to understand what she was doing Lyra had brought out another gun from her space bag.

The Springfield M1903A.

Lyra brought the rifle against her shoulder.

Her body became still.

The excitement that had filled her face moments earlier didn’t disappear, but her eyes became focused as she looked through the Hawkeye scope.

The world inside the scope became clearer.

The details around Logan sharpened.

His movements became easier to follow.

Even the small shifts of his body were visible.

Lyra’s finger rested against the trigger.

"Bang!"

She said.

Her finger pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The rifle fired.

The bullet flew toward Logan at immense speed.

Logan hadn’t expected her to change weapons so quickly.

He was still recovering his balance from his sudden retreat, and his previous Earth Alchemy had already been interrupted by Lyra’s attack.

"Tsk!"

He clicked his tongue.

His hand moved quickly.

He performed another Earth Alchemy in quick succession.

A spear of compressed earth formed in his grasp.

He raised it just as the Springfield M1903A bullet reached him.

Clang!

Sparks burst from the point of impact.

The bullet struck the earth spear and was deflected.

Logan’s arm shook slightly from the force.

Lyra watched him through the Hawkeye scope.

Her smile returned.

"Hahaha... amazing."

Her voice was filled with excitement.

"You already performed another Alchemy the moment I smashed through your Earth Wall."

She laughed loudly.

She had expected Logan to be vulnerable after she broke through his defense.

Instead, he had immediately created another weapon and used it to block her sniper shot.

That reaction alone was enough to increase her excitement.

"Hahahaha!"

Lyra’s laughter echoed across the platform as she prepared to fire again.

"Lady Vera was right."

She tightened her grip around the Springfield M1903A.

Her eyes remained fixed on Logan.

The fight had become even more interesting.

***

Before the First-Years of Ashenlocke met up with the Mian family to celebrate their current run in the Combat Festival...

The evening had already settled over the Royal Academy.

Inside the West Wing, in Vera’s residence, the atmosphere was much quieter than the Arena.

The lights inside Vera’s living room gave the room a warm glow.

The furniture was arranged neatly, and the sound from a Holographic Screen filled one side of the room as it played a program analyzing the fights from the previous rounds.

Lyra sat on a throw pillow on the floor with her legs folded.

She had been unusually quiet for several minutes.

Then she raised her head.

"Can I ask a question, Lady Vera?"

Vera sat comfortably nearby.

A novel rested in her hands.

Her glasses sat neatly on her face as her eyes continued moving across the pages.

She didn’t look up.

"That’s surprising."

Zack adjusted his glasses and turned his attention away from the Holographic Screen.

He looked at Lyra.

"Yeah... Lyra is asking a question."

Nina added.

She was standing behind Vera while playing with Vera’s long black hair.

Becky had also joined her, carefully working on Vera’s hair and beginning to braid it.

Vera didn’t seem bothered by either of them.

She simply continued reading her novel while the two girls worked on her hair.

"Speak."

Vera finally replied.

Her voice was calm.

Lyra shifted slightly on the pillow.

"I want to ask how I can use my brain to face Logan Drakes."

The room became quiet.

Zack’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

Even his butler looked shocked.

It wasn’t that Lyra had never asked questions before.

The strange part was what she was asking about.

Lyra Ashburn was famous for fighting according to instinct.

She didn’t usually sit down and try to create complicated plans before a fight.

She saw an opponent.

She fought them.

That was usually enough for her.

Nina stared at Lyra with genuine concern.

"Lyra, are you sick or something?"

She asked.

"Or are you really worried about that Logan guy?"

Lyra pouted.

"He has more Cognis than me, and he’s an Earth Alchemist."

She looked down at her hands.

"The firearms I have for myself aren’t enough to face someone like that."

Her expression showed genuine frustration.

For once, Lyra wasn’t asking because she wanted to become more excited about the fight.

She was asking because she knew that Logan possessed an advantage she couldn’t ignore.

Vera finally lowered her novel slightly.

"You don’t need your head to beat that thing."

She replied casually.

Lyra blinked.

"Ehn..."

She looked at Vera with sparkling eyes.

"Really?"

She immediately moved closer to Vera.

Vera hadn’t even taken her eyes completely away from the novel.

"Go wild as much as you want."

Vera said calmly.

Her voice carried no excitement.

She simply turned another page, returning the novel back to her view.

For Vera, that was enough.

Since Lyra’s Alchemy Strategy had always been based on instinct.

Trying to force her into becoming someone who carefully calculated every movement would only make her hesitate.

Instead, Vera understood that Lyra needed to rely on what she already possessed.

Her instincts.

Her strange sense of timing.

And her willingness to fight without worrying about whether the opponent thought her actions were normal.

***

Those words remained clearly inside Lyra’s mind.

She didn’t need to use her head.

She didn’t need to plan.

She didn’t need to analyze every movement.

That has always been Lyra Ashburn’s way of fighting.

She simply had to go wild.

Of course, she understood that trying to fight a stronger opponent without thinking at all could be foolish.

That was exactly why she had asked Vera in the first place.

But Vera’s answer had given her something else.

Permission to fight in the way she understood best.

Lyra positioned the rifle toward Logan’s stomach.

Her eyes looked through the Hawkeye scope.

Her breathing settled.

Then...

BANG!

She fired sharply.

Logan reacted immediately.

His Earth Spear moved across his body.

Clang!

The bullet struck the spear and was deflected.

Lyra didn’t stop.

She adjusted her aim.

BANG!

Another sniper shot flew toward Logan.

He shifted his Earth Spear.

Clang!

Another bullet was blocked.

Lyra fired again.

BANG!

Each shot came from a slightly different angle.

Logan blocked everyone.

His Earth Spear moved repeatedly through the air as he redirected the bullets, but every time he successfully blocked one shot, another was already coming toward him.

Lyra didn’t give him enough time to relax.

She kept firing after changing to a new Springfield M1903A, she took out from her space bag when the one she was using almost emptied in a fast sequence.

She adjusted her aim between every shot, sometimes targeting his chest, sometimes his stomach, and sometimes changing the angle to force him to move his spear farther than he wanted.

The constant attacks were beginning to wear on Logan.

The veins along the side of his head became visible.

His jaw tightened.

He was getting angry.

It wasn’t simply because Lyra was attacking him.

It was because of who she was.

He is Logan Drakes.

He is a Mainline Noble member of the Duke House Drakes.

He had entered this match with confidence in his strength, and now he was struggling against someone whom he considered nothing more than a random member of the Ashenlocke family.

The more he thought about it...

The angrier he became.

He remembered Fatima’s loss.

Fatima Drakes.

Someone on a completely different level from him.

She had been one of the stronger students in the tournament, and Logan knew that her strength was far above his own.

Yet Fatima had lost.

She had lost to Ezra Ashenlocke.

Yes...

Ezra was already rising quickly because of his inventions and his ability as a young Craftsman, and he was certainly becoming an Alchemist worth paying attention to.

But among the First-Years...

He still wasn’t considered one of the firmly established strongest students like Vera or Veda of the Duke House Ashenlocke.

He wasn’t even a Gareth Ashenlocke.

Yet Fatima had lost to him.

And now...

Logan’s grip around his Earth Spear tightened.

Another bullet struck the weapon.

Clang!

Sparks scattered.

His arm trembled from the impact.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at Lyra.

The thought he had been trying to avoid finally entered his mind.

Am I going to lose?

The question made his expression darken.

He immediately rejected it.

"No."

He muttered under his breath.

His fingers tightened around the Earth Spear.

He wasn’t going to accept that possibility.

Not against Lyra.

Not against a member of the Ashenlocke family whom he had already considered weaker than himself.