Chapter 517: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Eighth Round Begins

"Welcoming the next important guests."

Professor Natasha Clause continued speaking through the microphone, her elegant and maturely soft voice carrying across the enormous Arena.

"The Executive of The Eclipse, and mainly the current Head of the whole operation."

As she finished the introduction, applause immediately rose from the crowd.

The large Holographic Screens above the Arena changed, displaying the Executive of The Eclipse and the current Head of the company as they calmly waved toward the countless spectators.

Their images were large enough for even the people sitting at the farthest sections to see them clearly.

Some of the guests clapped politely.

Others leaned forward in their seats, interested in seeing people who normally remained behind the scenes of one of Britannia’s largest Vehicle producing companies.

The welcoming continued, with Patrick West and Natasha Clause taking turns as they introduced the important guests who had arrived for the continuation of the Combat Festival.

One guest after another appeared on the Holographic Screens.

The atmosphere remained lively, but there was a sense that the introductions were slowly approaching their end.

And finally...

"Welcoming our last guest all the way from Metallica, one of the most influential women in Britannia, a High-ranking Alchemist in the Alchemist General rank, and a former Royal Alchemist who was the Head of the Nebula Branch, but now the Head of the House of Melody, the third biggest entertainment industry in all of Britannia..."

Patrick West spoke calmly as he raised one hand toward one of the important guests seated among the higher sections.

The Holographic Screen immediately shifted toward the woman.

She wore a veil similar to the Queen’s, although her veil had a faint pink color with a shade of crimson wrapped around the area covering her mouth.

The same color theme could be seen in her neatly tied hair, while her eyes carried a similar mixture of pink and crimson.

Gold flowers had been arranged neatly in her hair, giving her appearance a refined touch without making the accessories seem excessive.

Gold bangles rested around her wrists, and around her neck was a gold necklace decorated with clear crystal diamonds that caught the light from the Arena.

Two stern-faced men stood on either side of her.

They didn’t clap.

They didn’t wave.

Their eyes simply moved across the surrounding sections while they remained beside their employer as bodyguards.

"Miss Sybil Melody, formerly known as Lady Sybil Preacher, one of Britannia’s former Flower."

Patrick’s words caused another wave of applause to spread through the Arena.

This time, however, the reaction was especially strong among the elderly Nobles and Non-Nobles.

Many of them knew the woman very well.

Sybil Melody hadn’t become famous simply because she was the Head of the House of Melody.

Long before that, she had been a powerful Alchemist of the Glass Alchemy Path.

During her younger years, she had been one of the Alchemists who helped push Glass Alchemy into a broader field of combat.

At the time, the Preacher family had possessed almost nothing.

There had only been Sybil and her four siblings, all belonging to a family of Lowlines.

They were Non-Nobles who had worked diligently in Northwick and owned a small Glass company aligned with the Duke House Galehart.

Their position had been modest.

Their influence had been even smaller.

Even though they had lost their parents at a young age, they still lived well, thanks to the assistance of their Father and Mother relatives and the Duke House Galehart.

But Sybil’s rise had changed everything to a bigger level.

After becoming powerful enough to take the position of Head of the Royal Alchemist Nebula Branch, Sybil used her authority and influence to cut ties with the Galehart family.

There were many stories surrounding what had happened between them.

Sources said there had been a serious disagreement, one severe enough that it eventually led to a hidden war between Sybil and the Duke of Galehart.

Most people knew little about what had actually happened.

Even fewer knew which side had truly been responsible for the conflict.

What everyone did know was that Sybil had eventually separated herself from the Preacher family during the height of her prime.

Making the Preacher House status of Non-Noble to become an actual Count House, with a small percentage of rights over lime stones, blue diamonds, and two other crystal ores to boost their family business.

Her younger brother, Kent, had also begun making waves around that period.

Years later, Sybil had become the Head of the House of Melody.

The Melodious Scholar.

And the title of Count was also taken from the Preacher House due to Sybil cutting ties yet again with her own family.

Professor Kent Preacher, who had been standing inside the security control room alongside Professor Greg Mayer, frowned faintly as he watched Sybil’s image appear on a few of the Holographic Screens.

His eyes remained on the screen for several seconds.

Then his expression became slightly more unpleasant.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue before turning around.

Without saying anything else, Kent walked out of the room, leaving the security cameras and the other staff behind.

He wanted some fresh air.

Back in the Arena, at the First-Year seating section...

Ezra’s plain black eyes briefly moved toward the section where the Melodious Scholar was seated.

Sybil was speaking with several other entertainment industry heads and company owners.

They were laughing calmly among themselves, appearing far removed from the tension surrounding the Combat Festival.

Ezra watched them for only a moment.

His eyes then returned to the fight platform.

His expression didn’t change.

There was no visible surprise.

No irritation.

No curiosity.

It was almost as if the presence of the person who Lucy had told him had ruined her life as well as the same person who possibly could be aligned with the hidden organization meant nothing to him.

He simply continued watching the Arena.

"Now that all new important guests have been mentioned, let’s welcome our great guests who have always been with us since the beginning of the festival."

Professor Natasha spoke again with a bright, warm smile.

Both she and Patrick welcomed the Duke Houses once more, introducing the Dukes and Duchesses seated within the highest sections of the Arena.

The attention of the crowd followed them as the Holographic Screens displayed their figures.

They bowed greeting each of the Dukes and Duchesses that were present, respectfully.

Then came the Royal Alchemist Heads of the eight Branches.

One by one, the important figures were acknowledged.

And finally...

The most important person of Britannia.

The Queen.

The Holographic Screen displayed her.

She was dressed in a different elegant gown from the previous day, this one carrying a mainly gold and black color theme.

The design immediately showed her position.

There was no need for anyone to explain why she stood above the other guests.

The gown carried the authority expected of the Queen of Britannia, while its darker colors gave her appearance a more imposing presence.

The entire Arena stood.

Hundreds of thousands of people rose from their seats almost at the same time before bowing toward the Queen.

For several moments, the enormous Arena became filled with the sight of bowed heads.

After the greeting was completed, everyone returned to their seats.

Patrick raised his microphone.

"Let the Eighth-Round line up..."

He paused briefly.

The small pause was enough for the crowd to become restless with anticipation.

Patrick smiled.

"Begin!"

He shouted brightly.

As usual, small Holographic Screens appeared, hovering above Patrick and Natasha.

This time, however, there were fewer screens.

Since there were only twelve First Years remaining.

The screens displayed the matchups for the Eighth Round.

Screen 1: Gin Drakes Vs. Lyra Ashenlocke

Screen 2: Diane Bergwyn Vs. Priscilla Ashenlocke

Screen 3: Ravenor Burnwick Vs. Veda Ashenlocke

Screen 4: Vera Ashenlocke Vs. Selena Galehart

Screen 5: Ezra Ashenlocke Vs. Willow Derlis

Screen 6: Cyrus Burnwick Vs. Maxwell

The crowd immediately began cheering.

At the same time, the four large Holographic Screens around the Arena displayed the matchups one after another, allowing everyone to see the remaining battles clearly.

The names alone were enough to make several sections erupt.

Many spectators had already chosen the fights they wanted to see most.

One of the first matchups that drew attention was Gin Drakes versus Lyra Ashenlocke.

The two First Years had developed reputations for being extremely aggressive in their attacks.

Their physical statistics were also among the more impressive ones remaining in the festival.

Neither of them was known for fighting cautiously.

Neither seemed particularly interested in giving an opponent time to breathe.

Several analysis programs had already discussed the possibility of their fight becoming a bloody match.

Some commentators had even argued over which one would be more willing to push their body beyond its limits.

Then another matchup received an even louder reaction.

Ravenor Burnwick Vs. Veda Ashenlocke.

Two Young Lords.

Two children of two powerful Duke Houses.

The Young Lord of Burn.

And the Young Lord of Ash.

The crowd’s excitement was understandable.

Ravenor Burnwick had already shown enough strength during the Combat Festival to make people believe he was one of the strongest First Years remaining.

And also, why he is called the Best Genius of his age group, as well as a genius who can be put in the same conversation as Young Lord Deveni Bergwyn, Young Lord Drax Drakes, Princess Brenda Aethelmont, Sir Lucien Derlis, Lady Vera Ashenlocke, Lady Diane Ashenlocke, Lady Eleanor Tempest and so on....

Veda Ashenlocke, on the other hand, had since become one of the biggest surprises of the whole of Britannia.

Shocking the kingdom, when he rose to become the Young Lord of Ash, beating his Genius Twin Sister...

Vera Ashenlocke to the title.

Veda was someone people wrote off from when he was young, but he pushed himself, surpassing his limit, and is now getting put in the conversations of Top Young Alchemist conversations.

Their battle represented a clash between the Copy Alchemist Genius of Burn and the Unbreakable Steel of Ash.

Veda had already shown the Arena exactly what it meant for him to carry the title of the Unbreakable Steel.

He had taken attacks that should have stopped him.

He had continued moving when others expected him to fall, effortlessly.

And now he was facing Ravenor.

The odds were definitely in Ravenor’s favor.

Many people believed he would win, because of his level of Alchemy talent.

The second main reason the matchup excited the crowd so much was simple.

The Young Lord of Burn was finally going to have his first difficult fight since the Combat Festival had started.

For the first time, Ravenor would have to face someone who had already proven that he could withstand an unreasonable amount of punishment.

Then came another matchup that immediately caught the attention of the audience.

The two Flowers of Britannia.

Lady Selena Galehart Vs. Lady Vera Ashenlocke.

One was known as The Gentle Gale.

The other was known as The Jewel of Ash.

The fight clearly stood on Vera’s half when people considered their overall reputations and previous performances.

However, that didn’t make the audience any less excited.

If anything, it made people even more curious.

Vera’s last few matches had ended in ways that were difficult to predict.

Selena had also managed to make her own fights interesting through her control of Wind Alchemy and her elegant fighting style.

Something about seeing the two ladies standing against each other felt enticing.

The crowd wanted to know how the battle would end.

At the same time, there was one thing many people didn’t want to see.

Nobody wanted Lady Selena Galehart to receive the Gareth Ashenlocke treatment.

And they certainly didn’t want her to receive the Grace Evergrey treatment either.

But this was Lady Vera Ashenlocke they were talking about.

Unpredictable as death itself.

The audience had already learned that trying to predict what Vera would do was often a waste of time.

They could only pray to the scholars that Lady Selena Galehart doesn’t get beaten badly and puts up a good fight.

But who would have known that there was more going on between the two young ladies who were about to face each other?

The next matchup involved two of the most shocking First Years remaining in the competition.

One of them had already been written off by the whole Kingdom and even by his own family as the Wax Light of Burn.

The other had been immediately scorned simply because he was a commoner.

Yet both had shown the opposite of what people had expected.

They had changed the way many people viewed them.

Their progress had forced the Kingdom to reconsider what it thought it knew about them.

Although, between the two, one of them naturally took more attention than the other.

And finally...

The last matchup was one that many people had been waiting for because of how the previous fight had ended.

This time, however, people were even more interested because of who the opponent was.

Lady Willow Derlis Vs. Ezra Ashenlocke.

The Crimson Flower of Derlis.

Also known as the Brightest Blood.

Going against the boy who had once been among the underrated First Years, but had now become recognized as a true genius in Alchemy.

Britannia’s hottest rising Young Craftsman and Alchemist.

The moment the final matchup appeared, conversations immediately spread through the Arena.

Some people discussed Willow.

Others discussed Ezra.

Some were already arguing over which Alchemy Path would have the greater advantage.

There were even people who had begun making guesses about what Ezra might create next.

The Eighth Round hadn’t even officially begun yet, but the crowd was already acting as if the battles had started.

With all the matchups displayed, Patrick raised his microphone.

His expression became excited as he prepared to call the first fighters.

"Let the Eighth Round begin, by welcoming our first fighters."

He said it brightly.

"Wooooah!!"

The crowd responded immediately.

Their voices rolled through the Arena, filling the enormous structure.

Patrick lowered the microphone slightly as Professor Natasha smoothly took over.

"Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!"

Natasha Clause shouted, announcing the first child’s name.

"Wooooaahhhh!!"

"Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!!"

"I love you, Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!"

"You are going to win easily!!"

"You got this!!"

The crowd cheered brightly and loudly for Ravenor Burnwick.

Several young nobles raised their hands.

Some fans waved Burnwick banners while others shouted his name repeatedly.

Ravenor himself didn’t seem affected by the noise.

He walked calmly from the entrance as usual, one hand resting inside his pocket while his eyes remained forward.

The cheers followed him all the way toward the fight platform.

He stepped onto the platform without changing his expression.

Then Natasha’s voice came again.

"Vs..."

She deliberately dragged out the word.

The pause immediately increased the anticipation among Veda’s supporters.

Natasha smiled slightly before announcing the second fighter.

"Sir Veda Ashenlocke!!"

She shouted his name with her maturely soft voice.

"Sir Veda Ashenlocke!!"

"My heart only beats for you!!!"

"Win this, Sir Veda Ashenlocke!!"

"I believe in you!!"

The cheers from Veda’s fans erupted almost as loudly as Ravenor’s.

Veda walked out from the Arena entrance with a bright and friendly smile.

Unlike Ravenor, he raised one hand and waved toward the crowd as he continued walking.

Some of his younger supporters immediately waved back.

Others shouted his name even louder after seeing his friendly expression.

When Veda stepped onto the platform, he lowered his hand and looked toward Ravenor.

The two Young Lords finally stood facing each other.

The difference between their expressions was obvious.

Veda wore a warm smile.

Ravenor looked completely unamused.

The cheers from the two sides collided across the Arena, creating a wall of noise around the two young men.

Patrick and Natasha stepped away from the platform.

The crowd slowly began settling down.

The excitement remained.

The voices became quieter.

And as the two Young Lords stood across from each other, waiting for the countdown to begin, the entire Arena shifted its attention toward the platform.