Chapter 519: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Copy Genius vs Unbreakable Steel II

Ravenor’s scarlet eyes darted toward Veda, who was now directly in front of him and already within close range, close enough to fire the Colt 1911 or throw a punch before Ravenor could create much distance.

He couldn’t tell what Veda planned to do easily.

Veda’s body was already moving forward, his Colt 1911 held firmly in one hand while his other hand had tightened into a fist. His shoulders were lowered slightly, giving Ravenor no clear indication of whether the next attack would come from the firearm or from his physical strength.

But panic was nowhere to be seen in Ravenor’s eyes.

His expression remained calm.

Even with Veda suddenly appearing in front of him, Ravenor’s scarlet eyes only followed the movement of his opponent.

Veda’s finger moved toward the trigger.

Then he felt it.

The ground beneath his boot suddenly rose in temperature.

Veda’s eyes shifted downward for the briefest moment.

Since when did he snap his fingers?

His mind raced through the question.

He hadn’t heard Ravenor execute another Flame Alchemy.

He hadn’t seen the movement.

The only thing Veda could see was the lighter still opened in Ravenor’s hand, its small flame burning steadily above the casing.

Boom!

A small explosion ignited directly beneath Veda’s boot.

The blast erupted in front of Ravenor, flames spreading across the platform as smoke rushed upward.

Ravenor still hadn’t moved from the same spot he had occupied since the beginning of the fight.

He only snapped his fingers in the faintest of manner making it hard to hear the sound if you don’t pay close attention.

The smoke swallowed Veda’s body for an instant.

Then his figure suddenly shot out of it.

Veda had jumped the moment the explosion occurred, using the force of his legs to escape the center of the blast rather than allowing the flames to catch his entire body.

Even so, the repeated explosions had begun to take their toll.

The boot that had repeatedly been exposed to the blasts had suffered slight damage, and part of Veda’s training cloth had been ripped from the constant attacks.

Small burn marks could also be seen across his body.

But they weren’t enough to stop him.

Veda didn’t even look at them.

His eyes remained fixed on Ravenor, and his body was still moving.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The Colt 1911 fired rapidly.

Veda’s shots were fast and precise, each bullet leaving the barrel while he continued controlling his movement through the air.

Ravenor watched the incoming bullets.

His expression didn’t change.

His fingers moved.

This time, Veda heard it.

Snap!

The sound of Ravenor’s fingers striking together echoed across the platform.

At almost the same time, another Flame Alchemy was executed.

Boom!

A small explosion appeared directly on the path of the first incoming bullet.

The bullet disappeared inside the burst of flame.

Then the snapping continued.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

Each sound was followed by another small explosion.

The remaining bullets were destroyed one after another before they could reach Ravenor.

To the spectators, the sequence looked almost ridiculous.

Veda fired five bullets.

Ravenor barely moved.

Instead, he simply snapped his fingers and caused five explosions to appear directly in the bullets’ paths.

Several people in the stands shouted in surprise.

"What just happened?"

"How was he able to accurately destroy all those bullets easily?"

"Is it all the Flame Alchemists of Burn that can do that?"

"Idiot, that’s because he is Sir Ravenor Burnwick."

Those capable of following the battle more clearly immediately understood what made the exchange so dangerous.

Ravenor wasn’t merely reacting to Veda’s attacks.

He was executing his Flame Alchemy fast enough to place the explosions exactly where the bullets were going.

And he was doing it without leaving his original position.

Back in the air, however, Veda had already used the time Ravenor spent dealing with the bullets.

His body rotated slightly.

His free hand moved toward his Space Bag, taking out a Repeater Sword Rifle.

Veda didn’t waste time aiming the rifle.

Instead, he gripped the weapon and threw it downward like a javelin.

Whoosh!

The Repeater Sword Rifle cut through the air.

Its blade, attached to the muzzle side of the firearm, pointed directly toward Ravenor.

This time...

Ravenor finally moved.

His foot shifted.

Then another.

His body slid smoothly to the side with only a small adjustment in his stance.

He didn’t make a large movement.

He didn’t jump.

He simply moved far enough.

The Repeater Sword Rifle passed his body by only a few inches.

The blade struck the platform hard.

Clang!

It stabbed into the ground, leaving a small crack around the point of impact.

Ravenor’s scarlet eyes moved toward the embedded weapon.

Then he noticed something else.

A thin line reflected the morning sunlight.

His eyes followed it.

A thin steel rope?

The realization came quickly.

Ravenor looked upward.

Veda was still in the air.

And Veda appeared to be holding something.

The moment Ravenor understood what he was looking at, he already knew what Veda was about to do.

"I know it’s not in any way close to Ezra’s cool gloves with the magnetic functions, but..."

Veda pulled the thin rope in his hand.

The rope was attached to the Repeater Sword Rifle he had just thrown.

It tightened immediately.

The thin steel rope bulged under the sudden tension as the force traveled through it.

The Repeater Sword Rifle was ripped out of the ground.

Bam!

Stone fragments broke loose from around the blade as the weapon was pulled upward.

Veda used the force of the rope to push himself back down faster.

At the same time, the Repeater Sword Rifle was dragged back toward him.

His body descended.

The rifle followed.

Veda adjusted his grip around the weapon while falling, preparing to use it the instant he reached Ravenor.

Ravenor’s eyes narrowed.

He was about to move.

But Veda was already there.

BAM!

A metallic impact echoed across the platform.

The ground beneath Ravenor’s boot cracked from the heavy force of Veda’s landing attack.

Veda had swung the Repeater Sword Rifle downward the moment he closed in from above.

But Ravenor reacted swiftly.

He didn’t use Alchemy.

Instead, his hand moved to his own weapon inside his space bag.

He took out a sword, gripping it tightly.

He raised it calmly.

Clank!

Metal struck metal.

Sparks scattered from the point where the Repeater Sword Rifle collided with Ravenor’s sword, several bright fragments bouncing across the ground before fading.

Veda landed with his body leaning forward.

His arms were tense as he pressed the Repeater Sword Rifle against Ravenor’s sword.

Both boys’ eyes locked onto each other.

Ravenor looked calm.

Veda was a little less calm.

He gritted his teeth and pressed more strength into the rifle.

His muscles tightened as he tried to overpower Ravenor through the locked weapons.

For a moment, neither moved.

The two weapons remained crossed between them.

Then Ravenor spoke.

"I think that your fellow Ashenlocke did it like this."

His voice remained calm.

Suddenly, Ravenor allowed his sword to move with the force Veda had been pushing against it.

The change was small.

But it was enough.

Instead of continuing to resist Veda’s strength, Ravenor let the sword drop under the pressure.

At the same time, he shifted his body to the side.

Veda had been expecting the standstill to continue.

His body had been committed to the force he was applying through the Repeater Sword Rifle.

So, when Ravenor suddenly released that resistance and moved aside, Veda’s own momentum carried him forward.

His foot slipped into an awkward position.

Veda immediately used his other foot to stomp against the ground.

Bang!

The boot struck hard enough to stabilize his body.

He stopped himself before falling.

But the shock on his face was obvious.

"That was Ezra’s martial art."

Veda said in disbelief.

Ravenor shook his head.

"No, I still couldn’t get it."

There was a faint displeasure in his voice.

He had managed to make Veda move by using his own momentum against him, but he understood the flaw in what he had just done.

He had only succeeded because Veda had been too focused on the force he was pushing through the Repeater Sword Rifle.

Ravenor hadn’t truly reproduced the technique.

He had only managed to imitate part of its principle.

His scarlet eyes briefly glanced at his sword.

Then they returned to Veda.

Veda was already in front of him again.

He didn’t allow himself to dwell on Ravenor’s attempt to use Ezra’s strange martial art.

Instead, he dashed forward, placing the Colt1911 back into his space bag.

His grip tightened around the Repeater Sword Rifle.

Veda thrust the weapon straight toward Ravenor’s shoulder.

The blade at the muzzle side pointed directly at the target.

Ravenor’s hand moved fluidly.

Clank!

His sword struck the Repeater Sword Rifle from the side, knocking the thrust away to Ravenor’s right.

The force changed the direction of Veda’s weapon before it could reach his shoulder.

Ravenor didn’t stop there.

With the same hand holding the sword, he snapped his fingers twice.

Snap!

Snap!

His lighter remained active in his other hand after he flipped the cover open again.

The ground beneath Veda’s feet immediately began glowing scarlet.

Two Flame Alchemy Circles formed almost at the same time.

Veda saw the light.

His body immediately reacted before the explosions could occur.

He drove the Repeater Sword Rifle downward.

The blade stabbed into the platform.

Boom! BOOM!

Two explosions erupted beneath him almost at the same time.

The combined blast created a larger explosion than the previous ones.

Veda used the rifle like a staff.

He pushed against the ground with it and threw his body forward.

The force sent him out of the center of the flames.

But Veda didn’t simply escape.

He turned the movement into an attack.

His body rose, while his leg extended.

The movement became a jumping kick aimed directly at Ravenor.

Ravenor shifted his body to the right.

The kick passed beside him.

Veda’s foot returned toward the ground.

The moment he touched down...

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

The snapping of Ravenor’s fingers sounded again.

Veda’s eyes sharpened.

Three instant flames.

The ground beneath him lit scarlet once more as three Flame Alchemy Circles formed rapidly.

But Veda was already in a posture prepared to move.

As his feet landed, his body immediately lowered into a running stance.

His muscles tightened.

Cognis passed through his legs.

Then...

BOOM!

Veda dashed toward Ravenor.

The three explosions erupted behind him.

Boom!

Boom!

BOOM!

A larger explosion than the previous ones occurred at his back.

The blast struck the platform and threw smoke, flame, snow, and pieces of broken stone into the air.

But instead of slowing Veda down, the impact added to his running speed.

He used the force of the explosion to push himself forward.

His hand reached into his Space Bag.

He took out another Repeater Sword Rifle.

At the same time, he pulled out a new Colt 1911 with an extended magazine, the same type he had used earlier.

Both firearms were already in his hands.

Bang!

Bang!

He fired one shot from each gun at the same time while continuing to run toward Ravenor.

The bullets crossed the short distance between them.

Ravenor reacted immediately.

His sword moved sharply.

Clank!

One bullet was sliced away.

Clank!

The other was deflected.

The two pieces of metal flew off in different directions.

Ravenor’s scarlet eyes shifted.

Something had changed again.

He sensed it.

His gaze darted toward his front.

Again.

Veda was already there.

But this time, the air around him felt completely different.

The two firearms were dropping toward the ground at his sides.

Veda’s fingers released them.

His feet planted firmly against the platform.

His body settled into a solid stance.

The broken ground, scattered snow, smoke, and lingering flames surrounded him.

Yet Veda didn’t look at any of it.

His black eyes remained locked onto Ravenor.

There was no faint unease look on his face.

No expression of struggle.

Only the focused gaze of a Young Lord who had finally decided to meet Ravenor head-on.