Chapter 574: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Closing Announcement

"YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

The crowd responded immediately.

Hundreds of Thousands of voices rose from every section of the arena at once, filling the enormous structure with a wave of cheers that seemed to shake even the seats beneath them. Some spectators stood from their seats, others raised their hands into the air, and several young nobles were already turning toward their friends while speaking loudly about everything that had happened during the day’s matches.

The Combat Festival had reached its end for the day.

Yet judging by the noise filling the arena, nobody seemed ready to accept that fact.

The Holographic Screens still hovered above the arena, displaying the final moments of the Best Loser’s Match and several other replays of the most important exchanges from the ninth round matches.

The golden flames of Maxwell.

The Scarlet Flames of Ravenor.

The strange movements of Vera.

The overwhelming firearms of Ezra.

The strength displayed by Diane.

Those fights from the Ninth round were still fresh in the minds of the spectators.

There had been too many surprises for anyone to simply stand up and leave as though this had been an ordinary day at the Royal Academy.

Patrick West waited for the loudest cheers to settle before continuing.

"Today’s Match was really amazing! And filled with many surprises."

Patrick continued speaking in his excited tone, his voice carrying through the arena’s speaker system.

His words immediately caused another wave of murmuring.

"Yeah, it really was."

"I didn’t expect that unknown student of Royal to be that strong."

"I’m still feeling sad about my bet. Can’t believe I lost all my good earnings from Sir Ravenor Burnwick’s loss."

"So, Sir Ravenor Burnwick will not be in the semifinals. I really thought he would win the whole Combat Festival."

"At least my two Best Flowers will be in the final."

"Glory to Ashenlocke!!"

"Yeah, we got two Ashenlockes in the freaking Semifinals."

"How long has it been since we ever had any Ashenlocke make it to the Quarterfinals, not to mention the Semifinals?"

"But none of them will make it into the Finals."

"What about if they face each other in the semifinals?"

"That’s very possible."

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke vs. Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke. That will really be interesting."

"No!!! I want a rematch of the Flowers!!"

The voices continued to overlap.

Some spectators were discussing the possibility of The Jewel of Ash and Ezra meeting each other.

Others were already arguing about The Ice sleeping beauty and Maxwell.

A few people were still mourning their lost bets, while others were far more interested in the fact that two members of the Ashenlocke House had made it into the semifinals.

The reactions came from all across the arena.

Nobles discussed the matches with other nobles.

Non-noble spectators shouted toward their friends.

Students leaned over the backs of their seats to continue conversations that had started during the battles.

Even people who had been exhausted by the fast pace fight of the Best Loser’s Match seemed to have found enough energy to argue about the next round.

Patrick allowed them to continue.

He didn’t immediately interrupt.

There was no reason to.

The excitement belonged to the spectators now.

After everything they had witnessed, giving them a few moments to express themselves was only natural.

Patrick sat back slightly and listened as the noise continued spreading through the arena.

Then, after allowing the crowd enough time to settle their excitement, he finally raised his voice again.

"Well, I can really feel the excitement from all of you wonderful spectators, but today’s Combat Festival must come to a close."

His tone became lower.

There was still warmth in his voice, but there was also a hint of sadness.

Even Patrick seemed reluctant to end the day.

The crowd gradually began to quiet down.

Not completely.

There were still conversations scattered throughout the seats, but the loudest voices disappeared one after another as more people turned their attention toward the announcer.

A few spectators leaned back into their seats.

Others lowered the hands they had raised earlier.

The arena slowly returned to something closer to order.

Although people still conversed in low voices.

"But before we close, and let you all go and enjoy the remainder of your day with what the Combat Festival has to offer."

Patrick said, leaning forward from his seat.

His tone suddenly changed again.

"I mean, we’re just reaching the afternoon of the day."

He said it in a playful tone.

A few spectators laughed.

Some people who had already started gathering their belongings paused and looked back toward the arena.

Patrick smiled.

"So, let’s enjoy the festival."

He raised his voice brightly.

That immediately brought some of the energy back into the crowd.

Many people nodded.

Others began discussing what they wanted to do after leaving the arena.

Some wanted to visit the food stalls surrounding the Royal Academy grounds.

Others wanted to find places where they could purchase new Combat Festival merchandise or simply spend the remaining afternoon talking about the matches.

Several students were already discussing which battles they wanted to rewatch through the BNC Analysis program and other Broadcasting groups.

The Combat Festival hadn’t completely ended for them.

The fight was over for today, but the conversations surrounding them were only beginning.

Patrick waited for the noise to settle once again before continuing.

"Now... as you must have already guessed. There will be a break tomorrow, but not only tomorrow, but also the day after tomorrow. Making two days for quality breaks for our lovely Young Alchemists before they face each other in the semifinal. The tenth round of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival."

The announcement immediately drew another reaction.

Two days.

The Young Alchemists would have two full days before the semifinals.

That meant the remaining competitors would have time to rest.

It also meant they had time to prepare.

For some spectators, the thought of what could happen after two days was even more exciting than the matches that had already happened.

Patrick continued.

"The Matchups will be displayed to the whole crowd through the BNC Analysis program tomorrow at the normal time. So, everyone should tune in tomorrow to see which Young Alchemist will be facing who in the Tenth Round. This will also give them today to sleep well, before they can start preparing their minds against the Young Alchemist they will be facing."

He said calmly.

The moment the crowd heard that the matchups would be revealed tomorrow morning, the excitement increased again.

The previous cheers had barely faded before another wave of conversation spread through the arena.

People immediately began speculating.

Some were already trying to guess who would face whom.

Others began arguing about possible combinations.

The uncertainty itself made the upcoming semifinal even more interesting.

"But seriously, why do they like doing this to us?"

One young noble first-year of the Royal Academy said, his voice carrying enough for the people nearby to hear.

He leaned forward slightly as he spoke, clearly unable to hide his anticipation for the tenth round.

"I’m actually worried about seeing Lady Vera Ashenlocke go up against Lady Diane Bergwyn or Maxwell."

A young noble first-year lady seated beside him spoke with a worried expression.

Her hands rested together in front of her as she glanced toward where Vera was seated in the First-year seating section.

The thought of Vera facing either of those two opponents was clearly enough to make her nervous.

"Lady Vera is surely going to win!!"

Nina shouted.

She looked toward the group of First Years who had been talking about her Lady.

Her voice stood out from the surrounding conversations.

"Aren’t you a fellow Lady Vera fan? So have faith in our Lady. People didn’t believe she would win against the Young Lord of Burnwick, but she won, and she will do the same as always."

She shouted with confidence, the seriousness in her eyes making it clear that she was not joking about her belief.

Nina’s hands tightened slightly as she spoke.

She had already watched Vera defeat Ravenor.

So there was no reason for her to suddenly lose faith now.

Zack nodded his head while Nina spoke confidently about believing in Vera’s victory.

He didn’t interrupt her.

Instead, he simply allowed her to make her point.

"Yes, Miss Nina is right."

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke can win!"

"Let’s have faith."

Several other voices joined them.

The small group of Ashenlocke supporters became louder.

Their confidence stood in sharp contrast to the uncertainty coming from some of the other spectators.

"Hehehe... They think someone who already lost to our Lady can still win? Your Lady is not beating our Lady of Bergwyn."

A first-year Mainline noble from the Bergwyn House spoke with a mocking tone.

The young noble leaned back slightly as he spoke, his expression carrying the confidence of someone who believed the matter was already settled.

"Huh?"

Nina sharply turned toward where he sat.

Her eyes landed on him and then moved across the other Bergwyns seated nearby.

The other first-years from Houses aligned with the Duke House were also there.

Several of them wore amused expressions.

Some laughed quietly.

Others exchanged glances while watching Nina.

They were clearly making fun of the confidence of the Ashenlocke first-years and the other students who either supported Vera or were simply her fans.

Nina’s expression hardened.

She didn’t take the comment quietly.

The argument quickly grew.

Voices rose from both sides as the Bergwyn supporters and Ashenlocke supporters began throwing comments back and forth.

What had started as a simple discussion about the upcoming semifinals had turned into another small conflict between supporters of two Duke Houses.

Nina led the charge from the Ashenlocke side, defending her belief that Vera would defeat Diane.

The Bergwyn supporters answered with their own confidence.

Neither side seemed interested in backing down.

Meanwhile, away from the growing argument, the atmosphere around Vera’s group was almost completely different.

Diane had gone back to resting her head on Vera’s shoulder.

Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully despite the noise spreading throughout the First-Year section.

Vera didn’t seem bothered by it either.

She was busy talking to Ezra in their usual awkward conversation.

Their exchange remained relatively calm compared with the argument happening several seats away.

Occasionally, Willow interrupted because Vera had said something she felt was outrageous.

Willow’s expression tightened whenever that happened, and Vera usually responded with the same detached attitude she had used throughout the day.

Then Selena took the opportunity to add her own comment.

The conversation continued.

Cyrus was also conversing with Ezra and Sasha.

The group barely paid attention to the argument that had erupted around them because of two Flowers from different Duke Houses.

They had more immediate things to talk about.

The noise of the argument reached them from time to time, but nobody in the group seemed interested in joining it.

Diane remained asleep against Vera’s shoulder.

Vera continued her conversation.

Ezra listened and occasionally responded in his usual plain manner.

Sasha remained engaged with Cyrus.

Willow and Selena continued reacting whenever the conversation between Vera and Ezra reached something they found worth commenting on.

For them, the argument happening nearby was simply background noise.

Patrick eventually returned his attention to the crowd.

"So, once again, let’s go out and enjoy the remaining day eating, discussing, and rewatching the amazing fights of the previous Matches of the Combat Festival. Goodbye for now, my wonderful Britannians."

Patrick said his closing words of the Best Loser’s Match.

The announcement marked the true end of the day’s official proceedings.

Almost immediately, some spectators began taking their leave.

Seats started emptying in different sections of the arena.

People gathered bags and belongings.

Some young nobles stood and straightened their clothes before leaving.

Others remained seated, unwilling to leave just yet.

They continued watching the Craft-based Royal Academy Staff as they worked on restoring the entire fight area.

The arena itself still carried the scars of the battles.

The Craft-based Royal Academy Staff continued moving around the damaged area in their protective clothing.

Some staff now directed the Ironstride Walkers as they transported the heavy materials needed for the repairs.

Large wooden crates filled with materials that would be used to fill up the damaged fight area were brought inside by the Ironstride Walkers.

The machines moved steadily through the arena, their heavy steps producing dull sounds against the ground.

Workers moved around them, guiding the machines and preparing the materials.

The sight made it clear that restoring the Combat Festival platform would take some time.

The Queen also remained for quite a while before eventually leaving.

All the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches followed her.

The Duchess of Derlis and Vice Headmaster Godwin Fraser followed as well.

The group moved away from their seating area with the same level of formality they had maintained throughout the Combat Festival.

Once the Queen had departed, the Dukes and Duchesses began to take their leave as well.

One after another, the important nobles started leaving their respective areas.

The Counts followed.

And other nobles followed after them.

Even non-nobles who had remained in the more important sections began making their way out of the arena.

The enormous crowd slowly became smaller.

Yet the day was far from forgotten.

The discussions would continue long after everyone had left.

For the Ashenlocke and Bergwyn Houses, however, there was more to focus on as they departed.

The winner of this Grand First-Year Combat Festival must come from their family.

That had always been the thought.

And it had always been the goal.

For both Houses, the Combat Festival was more than simply a competition between talented young Alchemists.

Their children were carrying the names of their Houses onto the Combat Festival platform.

Every victory strengthened the reputation of their family.

Every loss could become something their rivals remembered.

And now, a variable like Maxwell had appeared.

A young man who had entered the Royal Academy without the same background as the great noble Houses had suddenly revealed an Alchemy Path that had shocked the entire arena.

Sun Alchemy.

And the power of a Meister Alchemist.

None of that could simply be ignored.

The Ashenlockes and Bergwyns now had another matter to consider.

They all had to prepare their children’s minds for the possibility of facing the power of the new Sun Alchemist of Britannia.

The Combat Festival had ended for the day.

But for the great Houses, the preparation for the next stage had already begun.