Chapter 495: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Next Match

"Welcoming the next fighters!"

Patrick West’s voice echoed brightly through the Arena as he prepared to call in the students for the next match.

The sound of his voice quickly spread through the enormous structure, reaching the highest seating sections and even the areas outside the Arena where people who couldn’t get seats had gathered to follow the Combat Festival.

"Lady Diane Bergwyn!!!"

"The Ice Sleeping Beauty of Britannia!!"

"My Ice Queen!!"

"Lady Diane Bergwyn!!"

The crowd began cheering loudly for one particular name.

Diane’s name flowed through the entire Arena, rising above the countless conversations that had filled the stands only moments earlier. The cheers were so loud that even people standing outside the Arena could hear them clearly, their voices blending with the sounds coming from inside.

There were still a few people who tried to cheer for Phiora Casper.

All of them from the Count House Casper seating section.

"Lady Phiora Casper!"

"Lady Phiora Casper!"

"The Genius of Casper!"

Their voices were quickly swallowed by the much louder cheers for Diane.

Patrick West shouted the name of the first student.

"Lady Phiora Casper!!"

Phiora Casper walked out from the Arena entrance on the left.

She calmly looked toward the crowd.

The response she received was nowhere near the one Diane had gotten, and she could clearly hear the difference between the cheers directed at her and those directed at her opponent.

Still, the elegant smile on Phiora’s face didn’t disappear.

She raised her hand and waved toward the crowd before continuing forward without hesitation.

She already knew that this match wasn’t going to be easy.

The person waiting for her was Diane Bergwyn, one of the strongest first-year students in the Royal Academy.

Phiora understood the gap between them.

She understood the reputation Diane had built.

And she understood that the moment the fight began, Diane wouldn’t give her much room to settle into the battle.

Even so, Phiora hadn’t come here to surrender.

She was going to give her all.

And she was going to try her best to win.

"Vs. Lady Diane Bergwyn!!!"

Patrick West shouted brightly as the crowd immediately responded with another wave of loud cheers.

"Lady Diane Bergwyn!"

"The Ice Sleeping Beauty!"

"Lady Diane Bergwyn!!"

Diane finally walked out.

As usual, she looked sleepy.

Her light-blue eyes were half-closed, and her expression gave her the appearance of someone who had been pulled out of bed and asked to come to the Arena before she was ready.

She waved tiredly while walking toward the fight platform.

Phiora Casper was already waiting for her.

When Diane finally reached the platform, she looked toward Phiora.

"Please take it easy on me when the fight begins."

Phiora said calmly, keeping the soft smile on her face.

Diane tilted her head.

"Easy on what?"

She looked at Phiora with a clueless expression, as though she genuinely didn’t understand what Phiora was talking about.

"Hahahaha."

Phiora laughed awkwardly.

She rubbed the back of her head for a moment, unsure whether Diane had misunderstood her or simply responded in the most Diane-like way possible.

The strange exchange drew a few quiet laughs from the nearby spectators, but most of the Arena remained focused on the two girls standing on the platform.

"Let the Countdown begin!!"

Patrick’s voice echoed around the entire Arena.

The four Holographic Screens displayed the countdown numbers so that everyone could follow the beginning of the match.

"THREE!!"

The crowd began the countdown with bright and excited voices.

"Ahhhh."

Phiora slowly exhaled while observing Diane.

She doesn’t even look like she wants to be here.

Her eyes moved over Diane from head to toe, measuring her opponent while keeping her own breathing under control.

Diane’s sleepy eyes made her look as though she was too tired to fight.

But Phiora knew better.

That was simply Diane’s natural appearance.

The girl standing before her wasn’t some lazy student who happened to possess almost unmatchable good looks.

She was a delicate-looking, beautiful Light-Blue Flower of Bergwyn.

And underneath that peaceful appearance is an Alchemist powerful enough to defeat any Alchemist below the Meister Alchemist rank her age or above her age with ease.

Diane’s talent and strength in her Alchemy path were already known throughout the Academy and even outside it.

Her reputation alone was enough to make many students nervous before a fight had even begun.

And Phiora Casper was now the person standing directly in front of that genius.

"Ahhhh..."

Phiora exhaled heavily again.

This time, her gaze dropped toward the ground.

Her fingers moved slightly near the side of her body as she prepared herself.

The confidence that usually followed one of Britannia’s young elegant ladies seemed to be slowly disappearing as the countdown reached its end.

"TWO!"

The crowd continued the countdown.

The voices became louder.

The final seconds were approaching.

Phiora could feel her heartbeat more clearly now.

Diane hadn’t even done anything yet.

She hadn’t even raised her weapon.

She was simply standing there, looking at Phiora with those half-closed light-blue eyes.

Yet somehow, that was enough.

Now that the countdown was reaching its end and Diane was standing directly in front of her, the confidence that had followed Phiora since she entered the platform seemed to crumble completely.

In the first-year seating section...

"Hehe... Hehe... that serves you right."

Page Laverdale laughed mockingly as she noticed the faint nervousness on Phiora’s face.

She was clearly only present in the Arena today to watch Lady Diane Bergwyn beat the hell out of Phiora Casper.

Priscilla Ashenlocke and Nate Ashenlocke both looked at Page with narrowed eyes.

They already knew why she was in such a good mood.

Page had been visibly annoyed ever since the day she lost to Phiora, and seeing Phiora standing in front of someone like Diane had clearly improved her mood.

A few other first-year students sitting in front of Priscilla, Nate, and Page’s seating column, as well as some students sitting behind them, also looked toward Page.

Their expressions carried the same judgment.

What a petty girl.

They all thought the same thing.

"ONE!"

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Arena shouted the final number of the countdown.

The sound rolled through the enormous structure like a wave.

Back on the fight platform...

Once Phiora heard the last number, her entire body became focused.

She took her fighting stance and placed both hands close to her Space Bag while passing Cognis toward her hands.

She had prepared herself for this moment.

The instant the final word to commence the fight was spoken, she wanted to move immediately.

She couldn’t afford to slowly enter the flow of the battle.

Not against Diane.

If she gave Diane the opportunity to control the pace from the beginning, the fight could end before Phiora even had the chance to use her stronger techniques.

I’m not going to be as simple-thinking as Lady Sasha.

Phiora thought to herself.

Her eyes became more focused.

I will go for my powerful Flora Alchemy attack from the beginning as a Mass Alchemy.

She gathered her determination.

I will push myself as hard as I can and win this...

"BEGIN!!"

The crowd shouted brightly, commencing the fight.

Phiora’s hands immediately moved into her Space Bag with speed.

At the same time, she jumped a large step backward, using Cognis to enhance the strength of her legs.

The movement created an instant distance between her and Diane.

Her boots struck the platform.

She landed while already preparing her next move.

Diane hadn’t moved.

She simply stared at Phiora with her half-closed light-blue eyes.

Phiora’s expression tightened slightly.

She’s going for Mass Alchemy, huh.

Diane had already understood what Phiora intended to do.

Cognis flowed through Phiora’s veins as she landed.

Her hand came out from her Space Bag, throwing five pouches of seeds belonging to the same flower plant onto the platform.

The small pouches struck the ground one after another.

Clap!

Phiora’s hands came together.

The air around her immediately began to move.

Wind rushed outward from her body, causing the edges of her training cloth to flutter while loose snow on the platform was pushed away from her feet.

At the same time, her Flora Alchemy Circle began to form.

The circle spread beneath and around her, its presence becoming clearer as Cognis continued flowing through her body.

Diane still didn’t move.

Phiora noticed it.

She hasn’t moved yet.

Her eyes briefly shifted toward Diane.

She must think she can handle me even though I’m going all out.

A small change appeared in Phiora’s expression.

And this might be my chance.

Slam!

Her hand struck the ground.

The impact sent Cognis through the platform.

The Flora Alchemy Circle widened rapidly, almost filling the entire fight platform.

The five pouches of seeds responded immediately.

The seeds dug into the ground.

For a brief moment, nothing else happened.

Then the ground shook.

The movement began beneath the surface before rapidly spreading outward.

The soil broke apart.

Roots pushed through.

Branches rose from the ground.

Spiked leaves unfolded one after another, followed by thorns attached to the branches. Red berries appeared among the growing plants, while the evergreen color of the flower plants spread across the platform.

The plants continued emerging until they almost filled the entire fight platform.

The crowd went wild, especially the Flora Alchemists of Casper and other families.

Because what Phiora had just created is numerous Hollies.

They were among the best materials a Flora Alchemist could use, especially when facing a tough opponent like Diane.

The sight of so many plants covering the platform changed the appearance of the battlefield completely.

What had been an open fighting area was now becoming a dense field of branches and thorns.

The stronger Alchemists in the audience could immediately understand what Phiora had done.

Some of the lower-ranking Alchemists could recognize the large-scale Flora Alchemy, but they couldn’t properly follow every detail of the Cognis flow that had caused the plants to spread so quickly.

The ordinary spectators simply saw the platform being swallowed by green plants, their excitement rising as the battlefield changed before their eyes.

"I will take the first charge then."

Phiora moved her right hand forward.

The branches responded.

The thorny vines twisted and extended across the platform, joining together as they moved.

One became several.

Several became dozens.

Then the branches continued connecting until nearly fifty large, thorny serpents had formed.

They moved violently toward Diane.

The crowd’s excitement rose again as the mass of Holly serpents rushed across the platform.

Their branches dragged across the ground.

Thorns scraped against the surface.

Leaves shook from the force of their movement.

Diane finally moved.

Her hand flashed toward her Space Bag.

The movement was so fast that many of the spectators couldn’t properly follow it.

To the ordinary people watching, it looked as though Diane’s hand had simply disappeared for an instant before appearing again.

Some low-ranking Alchemists managed to catch the motion, but even they couldn’t see every detail.

The stronger Alchemists, however, could see exactly what she was doing.

Then...

Slice!

Slice!

Slice!

Slice!

In one fluid hand movement...

Diane cut through fifteen of the Holly serpents.

The branches were severed almost at once.

Several thorny bodies collapsed onto the platform, their momentum carrying pieces of them forward before they finally stopped.

Phiora’s eyes widened in shock.

For a moment, she simply stared at the fifteen Holly serpents that had been cut apart.

The crowd went even wilder from the execution.

The spectators who had been cheering Phiora moments earlier were now reacting to Diane’s sudden display of strength, while the stronger Alchemists in the Arena had already begun paying closer attention to the fight.

Diane stood calmly among the remaining Holly serpents.

Her sleepy expression had barely changed.

It was as though cutting through fifteen of them at once hadn’t been anything worth getting excited about.

And that simple expression made the pressure on Phiora even heavier.