Chapter 468: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Same Path, Same Rank, Different Strengths II

"Hahaha."

Phiora laughed lightly, but there was a trace of pressure in her laughter as she continued pressing Cognis into her Flora Alchemy Circle to keep the Hawthorn defensive wall strong.

"You Ashenlocke’s are really that strong."

Her boots scraped against the ground as she was forced backward by the enormous Bunge Boa Vine fist. Cold sweat slowly dripped from the side of her face while she kept both hands focused on maintaining her Alchemy.

"Break!!!"

Page shouted as she poured more Cognis into the Bunge Boa Vines.

The massive fist pushed harder against the Hawthorn wall, forcing the thick branches to bend under the pressure.

Crack!

Crack!

The sound of splitting wood echoed across the fighting platform.

The roots of the Hawthorn began to pull out from the ground slightly.

Page noticed the movement.

Her eyes sharpened as she pushed even more Cognis through her body and into the Bunge Boa Vines.

"AHHHHH!"

Her hand moved forward.

BOOM!

The Hawthorn finally tore away from the platform ground.

The massive plant was ripped from its position, and its roots came loose as the branches collapsed onto the ground.

Dust immediately filled the whole area.

The audience could no longer clearly see either girl through the thick cloud that spread across the fighting platform.

Page dropped herself toward the ground, controlling the Bunge Boa Vines as they lowered her safely.

Her boots touched the platform, and she immediately spread her Cognis perception toward the area where Phiora had disappeared.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue when she realized what Phiora must have done.

She concealed her presence.

Page quickly passed Cognis into her eyes and ears, enhancing both of her senses so she could detect even the smallest movement inside the dust.

Clap!

A Cognis fluctuation immediately surged through the dusty area.

Page didn’t hesitate.

She placed her hands together while controlling all the Bunge Boa Vines around her and gathering them once again.

At the same time, the dusty area where Phiora stood began to glow green.

"You did well breaking through my defense."

Phiora’s voice echoed softly from within the dust.

Whoosh!

The dusty area suddenly cleared as something large swept through the air.

A combined mass of Willow vines emerged from the dust.

Once the dusty air completely cleared, Page’s eyes widened slightly.

A large Willow tree stood behind Phiora’s back.

Its thick trunk rose from the platform, while its long branches stretched around Phiora and curled through the air like living limbs.

"You are an interesting opponent, Page Laverdale."

Phiora stepped forward slightly.

Her hands were still joined together, and small green Cognis sparks flowed from between her palms.

"But you cannot beat me with your level of understanding of Flora Alchemy."

Phiora said confidently.

Spark!

More Cognis flowed out from Phiora’s body.

Faint green light moved across her skin as the Flora Alchemy Circle formed between her palms.

"This bitch! Like hell I’m going to allow you to ignite your Alchemy."

Page shouted aggressively as she moved one hand forward.

Immediately, the gathered Bunge Boa Vines formed into a drill.

The vines twisted around one another and began rotating violently, creating a large spinning mass that tore through the air toward Phiora, who was still preparing her Flora Alchemy.

BOOM!

A large clash echoed loudly through the Arena.

The impact created a violent burst of wind that swept across the fighting platform, pushing away the remaining dust and causing loose leaves and pieces of broken wood to scatter through the air.

A few people in the crowd stood up from their seats to see what was happening on the fighting platform.

Others remained seated, watching with growing excitement as the battle continued to develop.

Back on the stage...

Page gritted her teeth, as she pushed more Cognis through her veins and directed it down toward her feet. The Cognis flowed out through her boots and into the ground, feeding the Bunge Boa Vines as they continued drilling forward.

The Willow branches responded.

Numerous Willow vines formed into sword-like shapes and moved between the Bunge Boa Vine drill and Phiora.

The wooden blades struck against the spinning vines one after another, blocking their path and slowing their advance.

"You better make your next move wisely, Page."

Phiora said with an elegant smile as she exhaled softly.

She was feeling the stress of the double tasking she was performing.

Phiora was passing Cognis through her boots to feed the Willow tree behind her just like Page while simultaneously controlling the Willow vines that had formed into swords to keep blocking Page’s Bunge Boa Vine drill.

At the same time, she was preparing a strong Flora Alchemy Circle between her hands.

Managing all of this at once should have been impossible for an ordinary Alchemist at her level.

But Phiora Casper wasn’t just any Flora Alchemist.

She was the proud genius daughter of Count House Casper, a girl who had been predicted to have a bright future and a solid path toward becoming one of the best Alchemy Doctors in all of Britannia.

Even if she couldn’t become the number one.

She was someone who would one day lead a major hospital branch of House Casper.

Phiora also had the proper resources to develop her strength.

Twice as many resources as Page.

Because of this, her Alchemist Rank was just slightly above Page Laverdale’s.

The moment Page realized that Phiora was preparing a powerful Flora Alchemy, she decided to prepare her own strong Flora Alchemy as well.

A Binder Rank Alchemy.

Page placed her free hand into her Space Bag while keeping her other hand extended forward to maintain the Bunge Boa Vine drill.

Her fingers searched through the bag before she pulled out a sunflower seed.

She dropped it onto the ground.

Immediately, the small seed disappeared beneath the platform floor under the influence of her Cognis.

Page moved her hands.

The Bunge Boa Vine drill continued moving toward Phiora, but its force began to decrease as Page divided her attention between the two Alchemies.

That gave Phiora an opportunity to push back.

Clap!

Page’s hands came together, and she began forming her Flora Alchemy.

At almost the same moment, Phiora’s Alchemy Circle finally completed while Page’s was only beginning to take shape.

Slam!

Phiora’s hand dropped onto the ground.

The moment Page noticed it, she poured more Cognis into her own Alchemy Circle, forcing its formation to speed up.

The determination to defeat Phiora could be seen clearly in her eyes.

She wasn’t holding back her Cognis anymore.

She knew that doing so would only give Phiora the advantage.

Suddenly, Phiora’s Flora Alchemy ignited.

A green, flowery bed began growing rapidly from the ground and spreading toward Page.

At that moment...

Page’s hands came down sharply as her own Flora Alchemy Circle finally formed.

The sunflower seed that she had dropped earlier dug deeper into the ground under the influence of her Cognis.

Then, the sunflower grew.

Its stem rapidly rose from the ground until the massive flower stood tall behind Page’s back.

Page continued pressing Cognis into the sunflower.

As the hot air and light within the whole area began flowing toward it, gathering inside the massive flower as its petals slowly became brighter.

The temperature around Page began to rise.

She continued feeding it.

Charging it for her strong attack.

The two Flora Alchemists were now preparing their biggest attacks.

Neither girl had backed down.

Phiora looked at Page with a soft smile as she slowly moved her right hand forward.

Snap!

She snapped her fingers.

"Bloom."

Phiora said calmly.

The white flowers growing from the plants that had spread across a large part of the fighting platform began opening one after another in rapid succession.

Their petals unfolded across the battlefield, covering the ground around Page.

Page’s expression changed.

I need to ignite this Alchemy fast.

She thought to herself in panic.

She already knew what the flowers beneath her feet were.

"Snowdrops."

Phiora said in a very light manner, a pleased smile resting on her face.

The crowd watched in complete anticipation.

Many spectators leaned forward in their seats as they stared at the flowers spreading across the fighting platform.