Chapter 591: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Sun vs The Gun III

Many spectators stood up from their seats, their eyes fixed on the fight platform with complete shock.

For a moment, the enormous arena seemed to forget how to make noise.

People who had been shouting only a few seconds ago were now standing with their mouths slightly open, their gazes locked on the battlefield below. Some had their hands still raised from shielding their faces from the brightness, while others leaned forward over the edges of their seats as if getting closer would somehow help them understand what they had just witnessed.

Even Professor Kent’s expression tightened with confusion.

The young instructor had been watching the battle from the beginning, and unlike most of the spectators, he understood enough about the level of Alchemy being used to recognize just how strange the result was.

The same was true for many of the High-ranking Alchemists seated among the High Powers of the Kingdoms.

Several of them remained completely still.

Their eyes moved between Maxwell and Ezra.

The Queen’s eyes widened slightly before she turned her face toward Alister Morgan.

Even Alister looked bewildered by what he was seeing.

The solar beam had been there.

It had been moving toward Ezra with enough heat to disintegrate the ground beneath it.

Then Ezra had used the Law of Inversion.

And somehow, that attack had been destroyed.

Almost everyone who understood just how complicated Maxwell’s Sun Alchemy was had the same question running through their minds.

How did he use the Law of Inversion to destroy the formula behind Sun Alchemy?

The answer was not immediately obvious.

Even the Alchemists who understood the principles behind the Law of Inversion could not simply look at the scene and immediately determine how Ezra had performed it.

Their eyes remained on the young Gun Alchemist.

Almost immediately...

"Wooooaahhhh!!!"

"That’s so crazy!!! He destroyed the Golden Flame, beam or whatever that was!!!"

"Wait, so the Law of Inversion can work on it? Then why didn’t Sir Ravenor Burnwick use the Law of Inversion against the Golden Flames?"

"You idiot, you can only apply Law of Inversion on an Alchemy you understand, because you will basically be using the opposite Alchemical Phenomenon to alter the original Alchemical Phenomenon that embodies the Alchemy itself."

"It’s just flames, though. There isn’t a difference between the normal flames from the Flame Alchemists, right?"

"I don’t even understand what you guys are saying or what is going on, but I guess this means..."

The spectator swallowed before looking back toward the battlefield.

"That Maxwell kid has to utilize everything he has without holding back, because if Ezra Ashenlocke can use that Alchemy Law to alter his Alchemy attacks, then this battle is taking a big turn."

The spectators continued expressing their amazement and disbelief at what had just happened.

Some were still arguing about whether the Law of Inversion could truly affect Sun Alchemy.

Others were already discussing what Maxwell should do next.

There were even a few who simply stared at the battlefield without saying anything because they had no idea what they had just witnessed.

For them, the entire exchange had looked almost absurd.

A golden beam had appeared.

Ezra had raised his hand.

Lightning-like Cognis had collided with the beam.

And the attack had disappeared.

But for the Alchemists watching carefully, the scene was far more complicated than that.

Back on the fight platform...

Ezra moved his hand to the side.

The remaining solar beam dispersed through the air, breaking apart into countless golden lights before slowly fading away.

The light drifted across the battlefield like sparks carried by a weak wind before disappearing completely.

Maxwell had already landed on his boots when this happened.

His body lowered slightly from the force of his landing, and a few small pieces of broken stone rolled away from beneath his boots.

He slowly raised his head.

His golden eyes remained fixed on Ezra.

He stared at him in complete shock.

His mouth opened slightly.

No one should be able to understand the philosophies behind the Sun yet.

That was what made this so strange.

I even checked the books on the Realms of Stars, but nothing truly explained what I knew about the Sun properly.

Maxwell’s gaze remained fixed on Ezra.

The strange thing was that Ezra had not simply resisted the Solar Beam.

He had altered it.

He had understood something within the attack and used the Law of Inversion against it.

Although, maybe the Royal Family hid the knowledge of the Sun like how they hid the existence of my Master.

The thought remained in Maxwell’s mind for only a moment.

His golden eyes shifted slightly.

Then they returned to Ezra.

The young Gun Alchemist was looking at his own hand.

There were faint marks of burns across it.

Small patches of reddened skin remained around his fingers and palm.

The damage was not severe, but it was enough to prove something.

Ezra had not blocked the Solar Beam successfully.

He had still been touched by its heat.

Yet despite that...

An entire Solar Beam had been destroyed.

Maxwell frowned slightly.

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then...

"Ha... Ha..."

He started laughing.

At first, the laughter came out quietly, almost as though he had surprised himself.

"Ha... Haha..."

His shoulders moved slightly.

"Haha... Haha... Haha... Haha..."

The laughter continued to rise.

His golden eyes brightened.

Then his mouth opened wider.

"Hahahahahahahah!!!!"

Maxwell laughed loudly.

The sound carried across the battlefield.

Several spectators looked at him in confusion.

Ezra simply looked at him, narrowing his black eyes.

He did not understand what was so funny.

His attention had already returned to the technique he had just performed.

Which part of the Law of Inversion deformularization should I improve?

Ezra studied the faint burns on his hand.

The attack had worked, but that did not mean it had been perfect.

There had been a slight delay.

The Law of Inversion had not completely negated the heat.

Some of the Solar Beam had still reached him.

If Maxwell increased the output, Ezra could not assume the same method would continue working.

Still...

But now that my attack worked, it means I can fight Maxwell much better than normal.

That alone changed the situation.

Before this, Ezra had been facing a Meister Alchemist whose Sun Alchemy possessed overwhelming destructive power.

Now, at least one of Maxwell’s strongest attacks could be altered.

That gave Ezra another option.

"Ezra Ashenlocke, you are amazing, you know."

Maxwell said it with genuine excitement.

Ezra looked toward him.

Maxwell stepped forward slightly.

"I watched you in the video of when you and the other members of our club faced that Elder Ghost Crawler. I know you hid it well, but you seem to always have an answer toward hard situations, and now you actually solved a puzzle like this."

As he spoke, Cognis began surging through Maxwell’s body.

The golden Cognis flowed around his shoulders and down his arms, becoming denser with every passing second.

His muscles tightened.

The air around him began to heat up again.

"Law of Inversion to face my Alchemy attacks..."

Maxwell laughed again.

"Hahahaha... My Master did tell me Gun Alchemists are quite talented in observation and tactical planning in combat, because of their Firearms, which give them different combat executions. It’s just that he said your family’s Gun Alchemy advancement was limited by innovation, and because of this, the Gun Alchemy Path couldn’t reach its full potential."

His golden eyes sharpened.

"But here I am now..."

He pointed directly at Ezra.

"...looking at a Gun Alchemist showing that potential."

BOOM!

The ground beneath Maxwell’s boots broke apart.

Golden Cognis sparked out from his body and spread across the cracked platform.

Small stones were lifted by the pressure before dropping back down.

Dust rolled away from his feet.

"Show me what you can do. Gun Alchemist of Ash!!"

Maxwell’s voice became louder.

"Show me that potential of Gun Alchemy, my Master spoke of."

His fist tightened.

His expression became more excited.

"So, I can crush it."

Ezra stared at him dryly.

His dull black eyes remained narrowed.

His expression barely changed.

"Funny."

He muttered the word to himself.

BOOM!

Maxwell dashed forward.

The movement was so sudden that the snow and loose rocks around his feet were thrown backward.

His body crossed the battlefield with immense speed, golden Cognis trailing behind him like a streak of light.

The force of his movement pushed the surrounding air backward.

Broken rocks bounced across the platform.

Snow scattered in different directions.

Cognis entered Maxwell’s fist rapidly.

His arm tightened as he drew the punch backward.

Ezra did not wait for the attack to reach him.

He swiftly moved his left hand upward, raising his middle and index fingers.

White Cognis flashed around his fingers.

Then...

Twenty Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk Is flew out from his space bag.

The rifles appeared one after another and immediately moved toward the same position.

Their bodies collided lightly as Ezra controlled them with Alchemy Levitation, arranging them together in front of himself.

Twenty rifles became a temporary wall.

Ezra positioned himself behind them.

Maxwell’s golden fist reached the formation.

BOOM!

His fist landed directly against the bodies of the rifles.

The impact shook the entire formation.

The rifles bent and shifted backward under the force.

Ezra’s boots scraped across the platform.

His body was pushed backward several steps.

Snow and dust were dragged along beneath his boots as he struggled to maintain his position.

A wave of pressure passed through the rifles and reached him.

Heat followed.

Ezra’s Alchemy coat fluttered from the force.

The temperature around the rifles immediately began rising.

KZZRAK!

The sound of Alchemy execution erupted almost immediately after the clash.

Ezra’s eyes shifted.

Another small Novarite had risen into the air.

Golden Cognis surrounded it.

BOOM!

A huge Golden Flame exploded from the Novarite.

The flame expanded outward before being pulled toward the Sun Alchemy Circle on Maxwell’s left hand.

The Golden Flame spiraled into the Circle.

Its light reflected across Maxwell’s golden eyes.

Ezra immediately understood what was coming.

He jumped backward.

The twenty Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk Is remained between him and Maxwell for only another moment.

Their metal bodies began turning red.

The heat spread through the rifles from the points closest to Maxwell.

The barrels glowed.

The wooden sections began darkening.

Then the metal started to soften.

Ezra watched as the rifles began melting.

One after another, the weapons lost their shape.

The twenty rifles were destroyed.

"Tsk."

Ezra clicked his tongue.

He landed several steps away and looked at the ruined firearms.

I already expected things like this to happen.

His gaze shifted toward Maxwell.

I guess I have to thank Elder Ivanhoe and Uncle Rogers for the firearms they gave me.

The number of weapons Ezra had received before entering the Semifinals of the Combat Festival was just the right number he needed in facing a powerful Alchemist.

And now, standing in front of a Meister Alchemist whose flames could melt his firearms within seconds, the reason for that preparation became obvious.

Because with those hundreds of firearm stocks I got...

BOOM!

White Cognis erupted from Ezra’s body.

It flashed across his arms and shoulders like streaks of lightning.

His eyes sharpened.

Ezra immediately used Alchemy Levitation.

The weight of what he was about to control caused the veins around his arms to bulge.

His fingers moved slightly.

The space around him distorted with the movement of Cognis.

Then eighteen QF 13-pounders flew out from his space bag.

The artillery pieces appeared above and around him.

Ezra lowered his hand.

The eighteen cannons dropped.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The QF 13-pounders smashed into the platform.

The ground shook beneath them.

Several small cracks spread across the stone surface.

A few pieces of rock were pushed upward by the impact before falling back down.

Ezra did not stop.

He also controlled the 13-pound shells out from his space bag.

The shells appeared beside the artillery pieces, suspended in the air by his white Cognis.

They slowly moved into position.

Ezra looked at the weapons.

Then he looked toward Maxwell.

If he was going to face the power of a Meister Alchemist following the Sun Alchemy Path, then he had to at least have enough firepower to compete with him on a destructive level.

Even if it was only slightly.

This was what both Elders had thought about and decided to do for both Young Alchemists of Ash.

Ezra and Vera had both received massive stocks of firearms and artillery, as well as Gun Materials, to boost their Alchemy combat levels against their opponents.

The preparations were not meant to make them invincible.

They were meant to prevent them from entering a battle already doomed by the difference in destructive output.

Ezra looked over the battlefield.

The wind blew more violently now.

Steam flowed across the platform from the hot air produced by the Sun Alchemy Maxwell had just performed.

The temperature had risen so much that the remaining snow around the battlefield was disappearing.

Small patches of snow became water before evaporating.

The air above the ground trembled slightly from the heat.

Maxwell stood several meters away.

His golden Cognis continued flowing around his body.

In his hand was one condensed Sun Blade.

The blade was formed from the same golden light that had surrounded his previous attacks.

It hummed faintly in the heated air.

Maxwell held it beside himself, his golden eyes fixed on Ezra.

His expression had not lost its excitement.

If anything, it had become sharper.

He had seen Ezra destroy his Solar Beam.

He had seen twenty firearms melt.

And now Ezra had brought out artillery.

The battle had changed again.

In front of Ezra were ten QF 13-pounders.

Their barrels were angled toward Maxwell.

The remaining eight rested nearby, ready to be moved if necessary.

Thirteen-pound shells floated around Ezra under the control of his white Cognis.

His black plain eyes locked onto Maxwell’s excited golden eyes.

Neither boy moved.

For a brief moment, the battlefield became strangely quiet again.

The spectators could feel that something was about to happen.

Ezra’s white Cognis flowed around his body.

Maxwell’s golden Cognis burned around him.

One stood behind a line of artillery.

The other stood with a condensed blade of the Sun in his hand.

The Gun Alchemist and the Sun Alchemist faced each other across the damaged platform.

Ezra slowly tightened his fingers.

The artillery shells shifted into position.

Maxwell lowered his Sun Blade slightly.

Neither looked away.

The wind continued to sweep through the arena.

And beneath the two young Alchemists, the cracked platform creaked under the pressure of the forces gathering above it.