Chapter 497: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Next Matches III

Phiora’s jade eyes darted from left to right.

The red mist had spread throughout the entire fighting area, surrounding the platform from every direction and filling the battlefield with a deep crimson haze. It drifted through the air and crawled across the ground, concealing the remains of the Holly plants and making it difficult to see even a few meters ahead.

Phiora remained inside the center of her Holly Baston.

The thick walls of Holly surrounded her from every direction, their branches twisted together into a natural fortress. Red berries hung between the leaves, while several thorn-covered branches remained raised around her like the limbs of some strange beast waiting for an opportunity to strike.

But Phiora was no longer looking at them.

Her attention was on the red mist.

Her Cognis flowed toward her ears, strengthening her hearing and allowing her to catch even the smallest changes in the surrounding air. She listened carefully for footsteps, movement, the disturbance of branches, or even the faint sound of clothing moving through the mist.

Nothing.

Her jade eyes narrowed.

She then redirected part of her Cognis toward her senses, carefully searching for any fluctuation that might reveal Diane’s Cognis.

If Diane was preparing another Alchemy execution, even the smallest change in Cognis flow could give away her location.

I can’t find her.

Phiora frowned slightly.

She had already used almost every sense available to her, yet Diane was nowhere to be found.

That meant only one possibility remained.

She must have concealed herself.

"Tsk."

Phiora clicked her tongue.

The small sound disappeared into the red mist almost immediately.

She was annoyed.

Not because she was afraid, but because she had reached a point where her opponent’s location was completely unknown.

The entire fight area was covered with the red mist toxin, and entering it without knowing where Diane was would be foolish. Even if Phiora had the advantage with her red mist, she would still be giving Diane the opportunity to attack from an unknown direction.

Staying inside the center of her Holly Baston was safer.

So, for the moment, the only thing Phiora Casper could do was wait.

Her fingers moved slightly.

Several Holly branches responded to her Cognis and shifted around her body.

"At least she will have to get through my Holly Bastons before she can attack me directly..."

Phiora’s breathing had become heavier.

"Ah... Ah..."

She was panting slightly now.

Constantly feeding Cognis into so many Hollies and controlling them at the same time was draining her quickly. The muscles around her shoulders had begun to tense, and sweat had formed along her forehead despite the cold air.

She moved one hand backward.

The Holly branches behind her immediately gathered together.

Leaves twisted.

Thin branches intertwined.

Several leaves folded over one another before forming ten sharp blades.

They floated behind Phiora, hidden among the larger Holly structures.

Once Lady Diane shows herself to me...

Phiora’s eyes sharpened.

She was already calculating her next move.

As long as the Holly Bastons remained standing around her, they would act as a defensive barrier.

And that barrier didn’t need to hold for long.

Even if Diane broke through them, Phiora only needed a tiny opening.

A fraction of a second.

Less than a second.

That brief opening could become several milliseconds of free attack time.

And several milliseconds could decide a fight between two Alchemists of similar rank.

Phiora reached into her Space Bag.

A small glass bottle appeared in her hand.

Inside was a clear purple liquid.

It moved slowly whenever she tilted the bottle.

The liquid was a poison designed to weaken anyone who came into contact with it.

Phiora calmly poured the purple liquid over the ten Holly blades.

The poison spread across their surfaces, coating the sharp edges before sinking slightly into the leaves.

She carefully turned each blade, making sure the liquid covered as much of the surface as possible.

Then she waited.

Because if her calculation was correct, those few milliseconds created by the Holly Bastons could be enough.

With that opening...

Her eyes remained fixed on the red mist.

My chances of beating Diane Bergwyn have increased to sixty percent.

"Ah... Ah... Ah..."

Phiora’s breathing became heavier.

Her Cognis was still flowing into the Holly plants.

Her arms felt heavier.

Her chest rose and fell more quickly.

Each breath escaped her mouth as visible white vapor.

Phiora suddenly noticed it.

She stared at the breath drifting in front of her face.

"Why does it feel like the temperature has dropped?"

Her voice was quieter this time.

The Arena had already been cold because of the snow falling from the sky which covered the ground, but this was different.

The temperature around her was falling.

And it was falling quickly.

Then...

Light-blue glows appeared in her vision.

One.

Then another.

Then another.

They floated inside the red mist like distant lanterns.

Phiora’s jade eyes moved from one to the next.

She tried to count them.

One...

Two...

Three...

But before she could finish...

The entire red mist seemed to disappear beneath a sea of light-blue.

Crack!

Bang!

Crack! Crack!

Bang! Bang!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds echoed throughout the Arena.

Glass-like cracking noises mixed with heavy impacts, and the strange combination made the entire battlefield sound as though thousands of pieces of frozen crystal were breaking at once.

The audience could see the light-blue glows moving inside the fight platform.

Many spectators stood up from their seats.

Some leaned forward.

Others tried to improve their vision with Cognis.

Yet most still couldn’t understand what they were seeing.

Several Low-rank Alchemists immediately assumed that Diane was preparing another Mass Alchemy.

But the High-ranking Alchemists watching from the various sections of the Arena understood something was wrong.

This wasn’t a Mass Alchemy.

At least, not in the form they expected.

The light-blue glow brightened.

Cold steam began spreading from the fight platform.

It moved through the Arena, mixing with the remaining red mist and slowly pushing the crimson haze away.

Phiora’s jade eyes widened.

She stared into the mist.

For the first time since the battle had begun, she looked completely lost.

She finally saw where Diane stood.

Diane’s figure appeared through the cold steam.

Her hand was raised slightly, with her fingers spread apart.

A Frost Alchemy Circle hovered only inches from her palm.

Cold steam poured from the circle.

It spread outward, mixing with the red mist that filled the air.

The two substances met.

Then...

Thud!

Thud!

Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Phiora continued staring.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The same was true for most of the spectators.

Even several first-years who remained in the Combat Festival looked stunned.

The particles that made up the red mist began falling.

Not drifting.

Not dispersing.

Falling.

Each tiny particle had been frozen individually.

The crimson particles dropped through the air like snow, landing across the fight platform, scattering over the damaged ground and the frozen remains of the Holly plants.

The red mist that had filled the entire battlefield was gone.

Completely cleared.

Silence spread through the Arena.

How?

How?

How did she freeze all the particles of the red mist individually?

Almost everyone in the Arena thought the same thing.

Even those watching the Combat Festival through Skynet were left staring at their screens.

In the section reserved for the High Powers of the Kingdom...

The Duchess of Bergwyn smiled proudly.

Diane’s mother had just watched her daughter display an astonishing level of Adept rank Frost Alchemy control in front of the entire Kingdom.

This was the perfect showcase of Alchemy talent, which would send the message of how much of a genius her daughter is, compared to any other Young genius Alchemist in the kingdom.

Back on the fight platform...

The battlefield had finally become visible again.

Diane stood far away from Phiora.

Her light-blue hair moved slightly in the cold wind.

Her eyes remained half-open, carrying the same sleepy expression she had shown before the fight.

Yet her posture had changed.

Diane bent slightly.

Her body lowered into a half-running stance.

Phiora’s sense of danger immediately brought her back from her shock.

She straightened herself.

Her earlier composure returned.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of one of the Holly branches.

Everything is still within my expectations.

She hadn’t abandoned her earlier plan.

Cognis flowed toward Diane’s legs.

At the same time, Diane’s right hand moved slightly to the side.

Cognis traveled through the veins of her arm and gathered around her palm.

A Binder rank Frost Alchemy Circle formed directly from her hand.

There was no clap.

No preparation movement.

No wasted motion.

"A No Clap Alchemy Ignition!!"

Patrick shouted through his microphone.

His voice carried across the entire Arena.

Even he had been shocked by Diane’s earlier display.

But this sight made his expression change again.

The crowd erupted.

"LADY DIANE BERGWYN!"

"ICE SLEEPING BEAUTY!"

"LADY DIANE BERGWYN!"

The cheers rolled through the Arena.

They were all amazed and excited by the display of Alchemy genius of the Noble lady of Bergwyn.

Diane’s finger moved.

Ice suddenly formed around it.

The ice spike extended outward, covering two of her fingers.

Cold steam flowed from her palm and entered the ice.

The spike grew denser.

Its surface became harder.

A thin layer of frost spread across it.

Then...

Diane dashed forward.

BOOM!

The ground beneath her boot cracked.

Snow, frozen red particles, and small rocks were thrown into the air by the force of her acceleration.

Her body shot forward like an arrow.

Phiora braced herself.

Her eyes became focused.

Now or never.

If she wanted to win, this was the moment.

The cold steam continued flowing into Diane’s Ice Spike.

The weapon became denser with every passing instant.

Diane crossed the distance between them.

Phiora’s fingers moved.

The Holly Bastons reacted.

Slice!

Diane’s hand swung horizontally.

The Ice Spike cut through the Holly Baston directly in front of Phiora.

The thick branches split apart.

Frost immediately spread across the cut surfaces.

The Holly froze instantly.

Diane continued her movement without stopping.

Her hand shifted again.

Another section of the Holly Baston was sliced away.

The branches at Phiora’s side were also cut and frozen.

For a brief moment, Phiora’s defensive formation opened.

Immediately...

Phiora’s hand thrust forward.

The ten Holly blades behind her shot through the opening.

Purple liquid glistened across their surfaces.

They moved straight toward Diane.

Shnk!

Shnk!

Thud!

Phiora’s jade eyes widened.

The blades had connected.

They had actually reached their target.

But...

Something was wrong.

Phiora stared at the figure in front of her.

The Holly blades had pierced through Diane.

Yet the person standing there wasn’t Diane Bergwyn.

The body cracked.

Frost spread across its surface.

The figure shattered.

An Ice Clone.

Phiora’s expression changed.

She had been deceived.

And before she could turn...

A cold presence appeared behind her.

Diane was already there.

Standing behind Phiora’s back, Diane held a slim sword against her neck.