Chapter 499: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Gun vs Blood Rematch

Lyra’s fight against Styles continued for a while, with Styles spending most of the battle on the defensive.

He had entered the fight with a clear idea of how he wanted it to go.

He intended to drag Lyra into a long battle, force her to spend her Cognis little by little, and then defeat her after she became exhausted.

Unfortunately for him, the plan had one major flaw.

He had completely underestimated Lyra.

Styles had expected her to run out of stamina before him, but Lyra possessed far more endurance than he had expected, along with a natural speed higher than what came from being a Binder Alchemist.

Every time Styles thought he had finally forced her to slow down, Lyra accelerated again.

She moved across the platform, avoiding his attacks and returning fire whenever she found an opening. Styles continued defending himself, but the longer the fight continued, the more difficult it became for him to maintain his Cognis.

His breathing became heavier.

His movements became slower.

The defense he had relied upon throughout the battle gradually began to lose its stability.

In the end, Lyra won.

She had also reached a noticeable level of Cognis exhaustion, but Styles had been pushed beyond what he could maintain.

When Patrick announced her as the winner, bright cheers immediately filled the Arena.

"Lyra Ashburn!"

"The Wild Gun of Ash!"

"Miss Lyra!"

The name that Elder Portia had given her was beginning to spread throughout Britannia.

The Ashenlocke family had already published the title on their House Linsta page, and more people had started using it whenever they talked about the young Gun Alchemist.

The Wild Gun of Ash.

It was a name that suited the way Lyra fought.

She never remained in one place.

She never gave her opponents much time to breathe.

And once she found a chance, she attacked.

After the applause gradually settled, the next match was announced.

Kane Casper took on Cyrus Burnwick.

The two were young Alchemists whom many people considered underrated.

Cyrus Burnwick had already defeated Prince Tristin Aethelmont using a replica of his step-brother’s iconic Flame Alchemy attack. He had also defeated several promising Alchemists from other Duke Houses on his way through the tournament.

The same could easily be said about Kane Casper.

Although he was nowhere near his elder sister Phiora Casper, Kane had still displayed an impressive level of Alchemy strategy throughout the Combat Festival.

He hadn’t relied on overwhelming strength.

Instead, he had carefully used his Flora Alchemy to exploit his opponents’ weaknesses and defeat them one after another.

That was how he had reached the seventh round.

So, when the two young Alchemists were matched against each other, the anticipation around the Arena quickly rose.

Many spectators wanted to know which of the two underestimated fighters would finally prove himself.

And the fight lived up to their expectations.

Just not in the way most people expected.

Cyrus Burnwick controlled the battlefield far more than Kane had anticipated.

Kane already knew about Cyrus being called the Average Joe of Burnwick.

And honestly, the name wasn’t entirely wrong.

When comparing him to his step-siblings, Cyrus Burnwick truly is an average Flame Alchemist.

His Flame Alchemy didn’t possess the same overwhelming reputation as the Flame Alchemy of his elder brother.

He didn’t have the same level of fame.

He wasn’t considered the greatest talent of the Burnwick family.

But that didn’t mean Cyrus was weak.

That was the major mistake many young Alchemists around his age continued to make.

They saw the word average and treated it as though it meant ordinary.

Cyrus himself had never seemed interested in correcting them.

He didn’t care about standing in front of everyone and displaying his true strength simply to prove that they were wrong.

Instead, he fought.

He observed.

He waited.

And whenever Kane thought he had finally found an opening, Cyrus had already prepared something to answer it.

The battle gradually reached its climax.

Kane continued searching for a way to turn the fight around, but every strategy he considered was answered by Cyrus.

Eventually, Kane realized something.

He couldn’t find a way to beat him.

Cyrus was already preparing to end the fight when Kane raised his hand.

"I surrender."

The declaration immediately stopped the battle.

Cyrus looked at Kane with a slightly surprised expression.

Kane, however, remained calm.

For him, reaching the seventh round was already enough.

It had achieved what he needed for his Overall Academy ranking, and he already had his own idea of where he wanted to stand by the time his years in the Royal Academy were finished.

Losing here didn’t change those goals.

He calmly walked off the platform while the crowd cheered for Cyrus.

Patrick announced Cyrus as the winner.

Cyrus left the platform soon afterward, placing his headset back over his ear as he walked out of the fight area.

The moment the music began playing, his expression relaxed.

He listened to the cool, flowing music while leaving the Arena’s fighting area as though the intense battle he had just finished was already behind him.

After some time was spent repairing the fight platform, the next match was ready to begin.

Patrick returned to his position.

The Arena gradually became louder again.

"Now, welcoming the next fighter!"

Patrick held the table microphone in his hand, anticipation clearly visible in his eyes.

The crowd shared the same excitement.

"Sir Desmond Derlis!"

"Ezra Ashenlocke!"

"Sir Desmond Derlis is going to win!"

"Too bad, but Ezra Ashenlocke’s road in the Combat festival ends here!"

Hundreds of thousands of voices overlapped.

Some sections of the Arena shouted Desmond’s name.

Others immediately answered with Ezra’s.

The noise bounced around the enormous structure, turning the announcement into another competition before the actual battle had even started.

There was even another argument taking place among the young ladies.

Who would win?

And, perhaps more importantly to some of them, who was more handsome?

This argument had already been going on since the fifth round of the Combat Festival.

The ranking of the Royal Academy’s finest gentlemen among the first-years was no joke to the ladies of Britannia.

It had become a topic of discussion in other academies, homes, restaurants, shops, workplaces, and mainly on Skynet.

Some young women cared about combat-alchemy ability.

Others cared about appearance.

Some cared about both.

Even young Non-Noblemen and Noblemen had joined the arguments, although their reasons were usually different.

And among all those discussions, two names continued to clash.

Desmond Derlis.

Ezra Ashenlocke.

Who should be ahead of whom?

Who was stronger?

Who was more handsome?

Who had the greater future?

Now that the two had actually been matched against each other, the arguments had exploded.

The chats on Skynet were filled with one argument after another.

Some supported Desmond.

Others supported Ezra.

Some people even seemed more interested in watching the arguments than the actual fight.

And then the two young Alchemists were matched.

Patrick West continued introducing the fighters.

"Our first fighter..."

He paused for a moment.

"Sir Desmond Derlis!!"

He shouted Desmond’s name brightly.

Immediately, the noise of the crowd doubled.

"Kyaaaaa!!!"

"Sir Desmond Derlis!"

"I love you, Sir Desmond Derlis!"

"My heart!"

"Kyaaaaa!"

The voices of young ladies and young adult women who had yet to marry filled the Arena.

Several banners carrying Desmond’s face were waved energetically above the crowd.

Some were large enough to cover the people sitting behind them, forcing those spectators to lean sideways just to see the stage.

Others were smaller banners being waved rapidly by excited fans.

The entire Arena seemed to be filled with affection for one young Alchemist.

Desmond Derlis.

The young man walked out from the entrance with a gentle smile.

He raised one hand and waved toward the crowd as he walked.

His crimson-red eyes moved across the Arena, taking in the different sections.

Then he noticed a group of first-year and second-year Royal Academy girls sitting together.

Desmond’s smile became slightly more playful.

He raised his hand to his lips.

Then he blew a kiss toward them.

The reaction was immediate.

"Oh, my scholars! He just blew a kiss to me!"

A second-year lady covered her face, her cheeks turning red.

"No, it was me!"

A first-year lady protested while pointing at herself with a serious expression.

"No, it’s me!"

Another lady immediately argued with her.

The three stared at one another.

Then the argument spread to the rest of the group.

"He was clearly looking at my side!"

"He looked directly at me!"

"You were sitting beside me!"

"I don’t care! He blew it to me!"

Desmond simply continued walking.

He didn’t seem bothered by the argument he had caused.

He reached the fight platform and calmly waited.

Patrick West raised his microphone.

"Vs..."

He dragged the word out, allowing the anticipation to build.

The Ezra fans had already quieted down.

They were waiting.

They knew exactly what was coming next.

The Desmond supporters were also preparing themselves.

The entire Arena seemed to hold its breath for a brief moment.

Then Patrick raised the table microphone.

"Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke!!!!!"

The response was immediate.

Another enormous wave of cheers erupted.

This time, the voices supporting Ezra clashed directly with the cheers coming from Desmond’s supporters.

"Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

"I love you, Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

"Please accept my love letter!!"

"Kyaaaa!! Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

"Sir Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

The voices of adult women and young ladies were especially loud, but many boys around Ezra’s age also joined the cheering.

"Ezra!"

"Come on, Young Alchemist!"

"Ezra Ashenlocke!"

Some of them were already fans of Ezra.

Others respected him because of what he had accomplished.

After all, Ezra wasn’t famous only because of his display since the Combat Festival began.

He was already recognized as the Creator of the Phantom Rolls.

But before that...

Many people had followed his name from the moment he truly appeared before the eyes of Britannia during the Ashenlocke Unveiling party.

That was where many people first heard the sad story of his life in the Sterling Family.

They had watched a young Lowline Noble stand before the Elders of Ash and reveal a past that many had never expected.

Since then, Ezra had continued rising.

He became a recognized Young Craftsman.

His invention had changed the way people looked at vehicle production throughout the Kingdom.

The Phantom Rolls hadn’t remained merely an impressive invention.

Its influence had already begun spreading into Britannia’s roads and transportation industry.

The roads of Britannia had never looked quite the same after the arrival of the new vehicles.

More elegant vehicles were now appearing on the streets.

More people were discussing transportation.

And even the roads themselves had already begun undergoing reconstruction so they could better accommodate the new vehicles.

Ezra’s invention had become something larger than a simple vehicle.

It had begun affecting the Kingdom itself.

That was why people were so interested in his match.

The audience knew Ezra was a Gun Alchemist.

They knew he had already displayed several gadgets during the Combat Festival.

But they still didn’t know what he would bring out this time.

The cheers continued as people waited for him to appear.

Everyone wanted to see it.

What new gadget would the young Gun Alchemist reveal in this fight?