Chapter 524: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Drakes vs Ashenlocke, Again II

Immediately, the words...

BEGIN!

...were shouted out by the spectators.

The sound rolled through the Arena as the second match officially began.

The two young Alchemists acted at almost the same time.

Clap!

Gin’s hands came together quickly as she executed her Earth Alchemy in less than a millisecond.

Brown Cognis moved through her body with precise control, passing through her veins and gathering around her hands before flowing into the Alchemy Circle that was forming between her palms.

I know the first move you will take, Lyra Ashburn.

Gin thought within those few milliseconds of her Alchemy execution.

She had already studied Lyra’s previous fights.

There was a pattern to the way the Ashenlocke girl fought in all her matches, especially at the beginning of a battle. Lyra usually preferred to bring out her scythe before using any firearms or performing Gun Alchemy.

In all your fights, you have always gone for the scythe before using any firearms or performing Gun Alchemy.

Gin’s eyes remained fixed on Lyra as the Alchemy Circle completed.

So, I will go first with a strong Earth Spike to throw off your balance and then execute another Earth Alchemy, creating an Earth Wall. After that, I will perform another Earth Alchemy to make the Earth Wall move, so it can sweep you out of this platform fast.

Gin planned out her entire form of attack in her head.

It was simple.

A simple planned out form of attack.

She didn’t need to overpower Lyra in a long fight. She only needed to use the structure of the platform and the opponent’s own habits against her.

I don’t need to truly fight you, especially now that I have come to an understanding that I could just easily send you out of the fight platform and end this match fast without having to do much.

A battle of brute force and stamina would be madness especially with what this crazy girl of Ash is capable of doing to win.

I’m not foolish like Logan to drag this fight on.

Her gaze shifted slightly.

Lyra had already reached into her Space Bag.

Just as Gin expected, the Ashenlocke girl pulled out her scythe.

Gin’s eyes narrowed a little.

Just as I thought.

The Earth Alchemy ignited.

BOOM!

The platform shook violently.

A thick Earth Spike erupted from beneath the ground, the mass of earth forcing itself upward before shooting rapidly toward Lyra.

Its pointed tip tore through the snow-covered surface as it rushed toward her position.

Lyra reacted immediately.

Clank!!

The sharp point of the Earth Spike crashed against the blade of her scythe.

The impact pushed Lyra backward.

Her boot scraped across the platform, carving a short line through the thin layer of snow as she fought against the force of the incoming earth.

Instead of allowing herself to be pushed away completely, Lyra tightened her grip around the scythe.

White Cognis flowed through her veins.

It moved down her arms and into her forearms before entering the muscles of her hands.

Her muscles hardened under the flow of Cognis.

"AHHHH!!!!"

Lyra shouted as she forced her arms forward.

The scythe trembled under the pressure.

Then...

BOOM!

The body of the scythe broke through the Earth Spike.

The impact sent dust and small stones flying across the platform.

Chunks of broken earth fell around Lyra’s boots as she continued forcing her way through the attack.

Gin watched without surprise.

She had expected this.

Lyra’s strength wasn’t something she could ignore, and an attack like this was never supposed to defeat her.

It was only meant to interrupt her first movement.

Lyra finally stopped moving backward.

For the briefest moment, her body remained still after being forced back by the Earth Spike.

Then...

Boom!

Her figure faded beneath the light of the morning sun.

A gust of wind violently swept through the area behind her, carrying dust, broken stones, and loose snow across the platform.

Lyra had already dashed toward Gin.

Her movement was so sudden that the distance between them began disappearing almost immediately.

Almost at that same moment...

Clap!

Gin’s hands came together again.

She had already known Lyra would break through the first attack.

That was exactly why she had begun executing her next Earth Alchemy before Lyra even finished destroying the Earth Spike.

The Earth Alchemy Circle formed between Gin’s palms.

She slammed it onto the ground.

Brown Cognis rushed out from the circle and into the platform.

The rocks that had been used to create the platform began grinding against one another, breaking down into extremely fine sand.

The tiny particles moved under the influence of Gin’s Cognis.

They compressed together.

The earth beneath the platform responded.

Then the true Earth creation ignited.

An enormous Earth Wall erupted from the platform directly in front of Gin.

The wall rose quickly, blocking the path between her and the approaching Lyra.

At the exact same moment...

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Gunshots echoed through the Arena.

Gin’s brown eyes shifted toward the sound of incoming bullets.

She could easily sense through her Earth Alchemy even though the Earth Wall blocked her view.

Lyra was still running forward, and her scythe remained in one hand while her free hand held a Colt 1911 with an extended magazine.

She fired while continuing her charge toward Gin.

The bullets cut through the air.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The Earth Wall immediately blocked them.

The bullets struck the thick earthen surface and either became embedded within it or fell away after losing their momentum.

Gin didn’t stop.

Clap!

Her hands came together again.

Then again.

Her Earth Alchemy executions followed one another in quick succession.

The plan was going exactly as she had laid it out in her mind.

A faint smile appeared on Gin’s calm expression.

She could already see the next part.

"Let’s see your answer to this, Lyra Ashburn!"

Gin shouted as she slammed both palms against the Earth Wall.

An Earth Alchemy Circle formed inches away from her hands.

Brown Cognis flooded through the circle.

The Earth Wall trembled.

Then the entire structure moved.

It surged forward with such speed that, to Lyra, who was already close to it, the movement almost seemed instant.

The huge wall rushed toward her.

"Hehe..."

Lyra smirked.

"This is so exciting."

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the incoming Earth Wall.

Instead of immediately retreating, she tightened her grip.

More white Cognis passed through her veins.

It traveled through her upper arm, reached her forearm, and then flowed into the hand holding the scythe.

The white Cognis entered the Circuit System integrated into the body of the weapon.

Lyra’s wrist moved.

She swung the scythe horizontally.

To several High-ranking Alchemists watching the match, the movement seemed strange.

The Earth Wall hadn’t even reached Lyra’s side when she made the swing.

Some of them immediately wondered why she would waste an attack at that moment.

Their answer came almost instantly.

The head of the scythe suddenly extended.

A thin chain attached to the head shot outward from the body of the weapon.

Whoosh!

The scythe head moved around the side of the Earth Wall.

Gin was still feeding Cognis through her leg and into the rapidly advancing Earth Wall when the weapon appeared from the left side.

It passed around the Earth Wall.

Then it moved behind her.

Gin’s eyes widened.

Cling!

The chain landed against her back.

"Huh?"

Gin’s voice escaped in genuine shock.

She had been so focused on controlling the Earth Wall that she hadn’t expected Lyra to use the weapon’s chain in this way.

The scythe head continued moving.

The chain remained connected to Lyra’s weapon.

Both the Earth Wall and Lyra were now closing in on Gin.

The distance disappeared rapidly.

Lyra threw the Colt 1911 upward with force.

The handgun spun through the air.

At the same time, Lyra caught the head of the scythe with her free hand.

She pulled.

The chain tightened.

The scythe head and its handle were pulled in opposite directions as Lyra used both hands to control the weapon.

Then she jumped.

Both of her legs moved forward together.

A double kick.

Gin’s eyes widened further.

The chain dragged her backward before she could properly evade.

Her body was pulled toward the incoming attack, leaving her unable to create enough distance.

BOOM!

Lyra’s double kick smashed into the Earth Wall.

Cognis surged through both of her legs.

The earth shattered beneath the impact.

Cracks spread through the wall as Lyra’s legs broke through its center.

Fragments of earth exploded outward.

Dust filled the space between the two girls.

But the attack didn’t stop there.

Lyra’s legs continued forward.

The chain pulled Gin directly into the path of the kick.

Then...

BOOM!

Lyra’s double kick slammed hard into Gin’s stomach.

"ARGH!!!!!"

Gin’s eyes whitened.

The force drove the air from her lungs.

Blood mixed with saliva immediately escaped her mouth as her body folded slightly around the impact.

For a brief moment, she could feel nothing except the crushing force against her stomach.

Then her body was thrown backward.

Whoosh!!

Gin flew through the air.

Her body struck the ground and bounced across the platform before the momentum carried her farther.

She smashed into the edge of the fight platform and was sent completely outside of it.

BOOM!

Her body crashed into the wall of the Arena.

The impact echoed through the massive structure.

Snow and small fragments of stone dropped from the damaged area around her.

Lyra landed on her feet.

Her knees bent slightly to absorb the landing before she straightened herself.

She spun the scythe with one hand.

The chain rotated with the scythe head as it was pulled back toward the weapon.

The mechanical movement of the weapon continued until the scythe returned to its normal form.

At the same time, Lyra raised her free hand.

The Colt 1911 that she had thrown upward moments earlier descended toward her.

She caught it cleanly.

The gun settled into her hand as though she had never thrown it away.

Lyra looked toward the place where Gin had been sent outside the platform.

She didn’t say anything.

She simply stood there with the scythe in one hand and the Colt 1911 in the other.

For several seconds, the Arena was almost completely silent.

Patrick was already standing.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the destroyed Earth Wall, the broken ground, and the position where Gin had been knocked away.

He looked as though his mind was still trying to catch up with what had happened.

Then he finally shouted...

"W... What JUST HAPPENED?!"

Patrick’s voice echoed through the Arena.

The spectators were in the same state.

They had barely seen the beginning of the match, and yet within only a few seconds, the fight had already changed completely.

Some Low-ranking Alchemist amongst the spectators had seen Gin’s Earth Spike.

Others had only caught the flash of Lyra’s scythe breaking through it.

A few had followed Lyra’s movement toward Gin, but even they had struggled to understand how the scythe’s chain had passed around the Earth Wall and caught Gin from behind.

The High-ranking Alchemists in the audience were already discussing the exchange among themselves, while many lower-ranking spectators simply stared at the platform in disbelief.

The second match had barely begun.

Yet Gin Drakes had already been thrown out of the fight platform.