Chapter 480: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Two Mysterious Gun Alchemist III

"WOOOOOAHHHHH!!"

The crowd erupted after witnessing the quick exchange of gunfire between the two Gun Alchemists.

Even those who had struggled to follow the actual movements during the fight could now see what had happened through the Holographic Screens hanging around the arena.

"Look at the way Nate Ashenlocke moved his gun."

A Noble young boy tapped his mother’s sleeve while pointing excitedly toward the stage.

His eyes followed Nate’s movements on the screen, almost as if he were afraid that looking away for even a second would make him miss something.

"Ezra Ashenlocke’s quick movement with his gun feels so fluid and so cool. I’m really proud I picked the Gun Alchemist path."

Another young nobleman seated at a different angle in the stands said excitedly.

His voice mixed with the cheers of the people around him as the Holographic Screens replayed the exchange in slow motion.

Now, the audience could finally see just how fast the two boys had moved their hands.

And now...

They were at a standstill.

The two boys were close enough that their weapons had collided.

Nate pushed hard, both of his guns locked against Ezra’s handguns.

The pressure between their weapons made their arms tense as each boy tried to overpower the other.

Ezra also held his ground.

His dull black eyes moved across different parts of Nate’s body, observing his posture while their weapons remained locked together.

Nate noticed it.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

He immediately pushed harder, passing more Cognis through his body to enhance his physical strength.

The additional force moved through his arms.

Ezra was pushed back by a single step.

His boot scraped against the surface of the stage as he gave ground.

But that single step was exactly what Ezra needed.

Nate’s leg moved forward to maintain his pressure.

His knee bent slightly as he shifted his weight into the advancing step.

Ezra moved.

His right boot stepped lightly onto Nate’s slightly bent knee.

He used the position for only an instant.

Then his left knee shot upward.

Bam!

The knee struck Nate directly beneath the chin.

Nate’s head snapped backward from the impact.

The move happened so suddenly and with such precise timing that even the people who had been watching the fight closely needed the slowed replay to understand how Ezra had created the opening.

The crowd became even louder when they saw the movement.

Nate’s head moved backward, but he didn’t allow the impact to interfere with his judgment.

His body reacted almost immediately.

He raised both his Long Revolver and Colt 1911.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang!

He pulled the triggers rapidly.

The shots came one after another, giving Nate a moment to create distance from Ezra.

He fired so quickly that the ammunition inside the Long Revolver eventually ran empty.

But Nate was still able to use the gunfire to force space between himself and Ezra, while Ezra also fired his two handguns, accurately clashing with the incoming bullets.

The shots met in the air, sending the bullets away from their original paths.

Once Ezra finished shooting down the incoming bullets, his hand holding the Kel-Tec PMR-30 moved below him.

Bang!

The gun fired.

Ezra’s bullet struck the burning rope attached to a stick of dynamite that Nate had dropped beneath him before Ezra’s left knee connected with his chin.

The bullet cut through the rope.

The dynamite process of ignition stopped.

Ezra immediately moved his left leg, as he rolled the explosive onto the top of his boot, letting it travel along his foot before sending it upward.

He kicked the dynamite into the air.

Then he kicked it again.

This time, he sent it toward Nate.

At the same time...

Bang! Bang!

Both boys fired their guns.

Their shots were aimed directly at the dynamite.

Boom!

A small explosion ignited between them.

The blast wasn’t large enough to cover the entire stage, but smoke quickly filled the center of the space between the two Gun Alchemists.

A small flame appeared within the smoke before fading almost immediately.

In that same moment...

Clap!

Nate’s hands came together.

His palms met as Cognis flowed through his veins and traveled along his arms before gathering in his hands.

The White Cognis flowed outward.

A Gun Alchemy Circle formed.

Nate had already taken out the black steel bars, wooden planks, and other materials needed for the Gun Alchemy he was preparing, before clapping his hands together.

They were scattered around the place where he stood.

Ezra noticed the sudden fluctuation of Cognis.

But it was already too late.

Nate’s hand slammed against the ground.

The Gun Alchemy Circle ignited.

The markings spread across the stage as the materials surrounding it reacted to the Alchemy.

The black steel bars, wood planks, and other pieces of material moved toward the circle.

One after another, they were pulled into the Alchemy process.

The materials began to melt.

Then they compressed.

The molten material shifted and molded according to the shape Nate had prepared.

A large mechanical construction began to form.

Metal pieces locked into place.

Wooden sections joined the growing structure.

Mechanical components formed around the weapon as its body took shape.

Then...

A large gun base frame slammed onto the ground, cracking the floor slightly beneath its weight.

Mechanical gears began to move.

The sound of metal turning and locking together spread across the stage as the weapon continued to take form.

It was a heavy Artillery-class weapon under the Binder rank.

The Circular Saw Ballista.

CS-01 Ballista.

Nate stood on the large wooden stand of the weapon.

His hands moved quickly as he pulled the lever of the Ballista, shifting its aim toward Ezra.

The mechanical parts responded.

The gears turned.

The Circular Saw began rotating, producing small sparks as its edge spun faster and faster.

The sound of the gears moving grew louder.

Then...

The Circular Saw suddenly shot out from the Ballista with tremendous speed.

BANG!

The circular saw tore through the air toward Ezra.

Whoosh!

Ezra swiftly moved his body to the side, weaving around the spinning blade as it passed him.

The circular saw flew past him.

Nate didn’t stop.

His hands moved with practiced speed.

He reloaded another circular saw into the Ballista, taking the circular saw from inside his space bag, then adjusted the aim, and fired another round almost immediately.

BANG!

The second shot rang loudly across the arena.

Ezra shifted his body again.

The spinning blade passed close enough that he could feel the movement of air around it before it continued behind him.

Then Ezra dashed forward.

He raised his Glock 19 and Kel-Tec PMR-30.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

He fired toward the Ballista.

But Ezra wasn’t shooting aimlessly at the massive weapon structure.

Because of its large body, the Ballista blocked a good portion of Nate’s body from his view.

So, Ezra adjusted his aim accordingly.

Instead of trying to shoot directly through the thickest parts of the weapon, he directed his bullets through the open spaces around the Ballista, aiming toward Nate’s legs.

Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang!

The bullets struck Nate.

Or, at least, they struck the hardened black coat covering his body.

Nate had already passed Cognis into his coat.

The Alchemy system imprinted onto the fabric ignited.

The coat hardened instantly.

The bullets struck against the reinforced material and were blocked before they could reach Nate.

Nate resumed firing the Circular Saw while using his hardened coat to protect the parts of his body exposed around the Ballista.

Ezra moved in a circular motion around the weapon, weaving around the incoming circular saws.

Each time one came toward him, he shifted his body just enough to avoid its path.

Nate was using Cognis to enhance his speed, allowing his reloading and firing sequence to become faster.

The Ballista fired.

Ezra moved.

Another circular saw came.

He shifted again.

The distance between the two boys continued to change as Nate kept the weapon trained on Ezra and Ezra searched for a way through its defensive structure.

Ezra continued to weave by inches.

Then, in one moment, he placed his two handguns into his Space Bag.

His hands became empty.

He immediately jumped from his position.

Five circular saws smashed into the ground where he had been standing moments earlier.

The blades struck the stage with force, sending pieces of the floor outward as their spinning edges scraped against the surface.

Ezra landed away from the attack.

Even though Nate wasn’t a Craftsman like Ezra, he was still able to come up with an idea for the improvement of the Circular Saw Ballista... CS-01 Ballista.

He had thought of creating a thinner Circular Saw that could fit into the Ballista’s ammunition section.

Then, by adding more of those thinner saws...

The Ballista would be able to shoot more Circular Saws.

It was a simple change to the ammunition itself, but it could greatly increase the number of shots the weapon could fire at the same time.

Page Laverdale had helped with the Alchemy Circular Conversion, while Priscilla Ashenlocke had gotten her uncle, who is a chief member of one of the divisions in the Ashcraft Department, to help with how the Circular Saws would properly fit into the Ballista.

This was the result of that cooperation.

Ezra’s eyes darted toward the five Circular Saws embedded across the stage.

He sensed more incoming.

The crowd also went wild when they realized that the CS-01 Ballista was capable of firing multiple Circular Saws in such a short period.

The spinning weapons had turned the stage into a dangerous space where Ezra could no longer simply remain in one position.

In the section of the stands where the Elders and High-board members of the Duke House sat, several of them watched the fight closely.

"That’s different."

Elder Portia spoke while looking at the Circular Saws moving towards Ezra.

Her eyes followed the weapon’s repeated firing sequence with clear interest.

"I was told by McNeil that Priscilla told him about that Nate child’s idea on improving the firing ammunition of the CS-01 Ballista."

Elder Ivanhoe said calmly while continuing to watch the fight.

"But it wasn’t long ago when I was shown the design of the new ammunition, but the reproduction is easy since it’s just the ammunition that is getting upgraded. So, the upgrade will be mass produced before the AK-12 is ready for mass production, as well as the new Model of the Colt."

He explained the situation to the other Elders.

"Another improvement, huh."

Elder Portia smiled, clearly pleased.

The Children of Ash weren’t only showing the strength expected from Gun Alchemists.

They were beginning to improve the Alchemy path of the family itself.

And it wasn’t only Ezra Ashenlocke.

It was more of them.

Maybe the improvement idea had stemmed from the Gun ideology Ezra brought into the family.

But what Portia knew was that the Ashenlocke family was finally on a proper rise after many years and years of struggling and frustration.

Her gaze returned to the stage.

Ezra was still facing the Circular Saw Ballista.

The weapon continued to dominate a large portion of the battlefield, while Nate remained behind its structure, waiting for his next opportunity.

"Now... Ezra Ashenlocke, how will you respond to this?"

Elder Portia rested her chin on her hand, her elbow supported by the armrest of her seat.

She quietly watched Ezra.

There was anticipation in her eyes now.

She wanted to see what the boy would do next.