Chapter 469: 16-year-old Inglis and the Knight Academy Seminar Festival (7)

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The sale of the betting tickets eventually came to an end, and preparations for the race were complete.

The starting point was atop the giant Flygear Carrier serving as the main stage, where all the Flygears from the participating teams were lined up, along with the contestants gathered around.

Nearby, a stand was prepared for placing the flags taken from the mecha-dragons.

The objective was to snatch the flags from the mecha-dragons flying over Vault Lake, bring them back here, and hand them off to the next runner. Once all five flags were collected, the race would be over.

“Everyoooone! Thank you for waiting! The flygear race is ready to begin!”

“Oooooooohhhh!!”

The eager audience roared with excitement.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Fireworks burst into the darkening sky, further enhancing the festive atmosphere. The ones launching the fireworks were the three mecha-dragons hovering over Vault Lake.

“Hahaha! The mecha-dragons are launching fireworks! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Rafinha beamed with joy.

“It was Miss Miliera’s idea to add that feature! To help everyone here grow fond of them… You know, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do!'”

“Oh, Mais!”

Before they noticed, Mais had appeared near Inglis and the others.

“I thought I’d take the chance to watch from here! I got a little sidetracked along the way, though.”

In Mais’ smiling hand was a pancake filled generously with jam, wrapped in paper to make it easy to carry—something sold at Inglis’ stall.

“Hehe. You’re having fun too, huh, Mais?”

“Yeah. This is already my third one. I’m eating a bit too much, but the food down here is just so delicious.”

When Inglis smiled at him, Mais grinned happily in return.

Mais and the other Highlanders from Illuminus were living under the protection of Special Envoy Theodore and the royal palace, working to restore Illuminus, which had turned into an island in the middle of Vault Lake. 𝑅𝘈Nó𝔟Еṡ

Since the Knight Academy’s training often brought the students to the lake, they frequently had chances to chat. It seemed Mais had taken quite a liking to food from the surface, particularly sweets.

“Three isn’t too much at all! We’ve had, like, fifteen already!”

“Haha. Well, you two are special to begin with… Anyway, I’ll be cheering you on, so do your best!”

“Yep, leave it to me. We’re gonna get the crowd pumped up!”

Rafinha clenched her fist with enthusiasm.

“Speaking of getting people pumped up, I’d be happy if the mecha-dragons went all out attacking me when it’s my turn. Could you make that happen? Please?”

“U-Um, I mean, that sounds pretty dangerous… Actually, maybe not dangerous, considering it’s you, Inglis. But this is a race, so— Oh, and don’t go breaking the mecha-dragons we just repaired, okay?”

“Hehe. I wouldn’t do something so wasteful, would I? If I break them, I can’t fight them anymore, right?”

“Hahaha…”

“Next time, let me have a proper duel with the mecha-dragons, okay? Promise me? If you fight me and find ways to improve them, it’ll help you guys out, right?”

Rafinha tugged at Inglis’ arm, trying to pull her away from her relentless negotiation.

“Alright, alright, alright! Look, it’s about to start!”

“Now then! First runners, please board your flygears!”

Principal Miliera called out cheerfully.

“Yes!”

The one who responded was their first runner, Leone.

The second runner was Liselotte, the third was Rafinha, the fourth Meltina, and the final, fifth runner was Inglis.

“Leone! You got this!”

“You’ll be fine, Leone.”

“I’m counting on you!”

“Just be careful not to get hurt…”

“Yes, I’m off!”

Leone nodded with a serious expression at everyone’s encouragement.

“Alright then…! The flygear race begins now!”

At Principal Miliera’s signal, six flygears took off simultaneously from the giant flygear carrier serving as the starting platform. At the same time, the mecha-dragons scattered and began flying rapidly over Vault Lake.

“Wow…! They’re huge, but so fast!”

“Just catching up to them looks like a struggle…!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Rafinha shouted her own encouragement toward Leone.

“Leone! Go for it~~~!”

Amidst the cheers, Leone’s flygear charged straight toward the nearest mecha-dragon.

Of the three mecha-dragons, two soared high and retreated into the distance, while one lowered its altitude, skimming along the water’s surface in a circling motion. The closer one was the one near the water’s surface.

Naturally, all the flygears swarmed toward that one. However, the flags mounted on the mecha-dragon’s body were only four.

The competition now was about which team could grab those flags the quickest. The teams that fell behind would have to chase after the more distant mecha-dragons, wasting a significant amount of time.

There was almost no difference in performance between the flygears. They all approached the mecha-dragon in a straight line—

A loud blast echoed as one flygear suddenly shot ahead. A trail of glowing light could be seen extending from its rear. To be precise, the pilot had fired a light bullet backward, using the recoil to accelerate. This was a technique Inglis sometimes used with ether strike, but very few people were capable of pulling it off.

“Senior Yua!?”

Yes, it was Yua. The first runner for the second-year team was her.

“Whoaaaaaa!”

“What was that?!”

“That’s so fast!”

Amid the astonished murmurs, Yua quickly closed in on the mecha-dragon, plucking out a flag as she passed by.

“Alright, got it.”

She then immediately turned around and set course back toward the starting point.

“Is… Is that allowed, Principal!?”

“As long as they don’t destroy the mecha-dragons or attack other teams, it’s fine! The audience is excited, after all!”

In response to Rafinha’s question, Principal Miliera answered cheerfully. Yua had surged ahead, snatching the first flag. That left three remaining.

Though the others couldn’t respond to her rapid acceleration, the mecha-dragon wasn’t about to let the same trick work twice. Lowering its altitude even further, it dragged its legs and tail through the surface of the lake. A huge spray of water erupted, showering down on Leone and the others behind.

“Kyah…!? Trying to throw us off, is it!”

Now they had a choice: avoid the spray and go around, charge straight through it, or drastically change course to aim for the flags on a different mecha-dragon. Each contestant made their own decision, but Leone chose to charge straight through.

However, just as she was about to catch up, the water spray suddenly stopped, and the mecha-dragon disappeared. It had completely submerged itself.

“Ahh! That’s not fair! It escaped underwater!”

“It deliberately lured us in!”

The mecha-dragon had originally emerged from the water. So, of course, it could dive to escape. But this left Leone, who had been pursuing it, at a disadvantage.

“In that case… take this!”

Leone swiftly drew her black greatsword Artifact and aimed it at the submerged mecha-dragon. The extended blade plunged into the water and managed to hook onto only the flag, dragging it out.

With a sharp turn of her flygear, Leone skillfully grabbed the wet flag.

“Whoa!? She extended her sword!?”

“That’s amazing! That was something else!”

Cheers erupted from the audience.

“Way to go, Leone!”

“Marvelous!”

“Incredible…! Even though it escaped underwater…”

Rafinha and the others clapped their hands in delight. Just then, Yua’s flygear, the first to secure a flag, returned to the starting point. By the end of the first leg, the second-year team was in the lead.

“Nice job, Yua!”

“As expected from Yua!”

The second-years happily welcomed Yua back, but she just let out a sleepy yawn.

“Yeah. But sorry, I’m already sleepy.”

“Alright. We’ll wake you up when it’s over, so just go ahead and sleep.”

“Then I’ll do that.”

Without any expression, Yua hugged Maurice, who had turned into a small magic stone beast, and lay down to sleep soundly.

“Alright, next! Let’s go!”

As the next runner took off, Leone returned to her team.

“Leone! Great work!”

“Yes, but… I’m sorry. Senior Yua beat me to it…!”

“Being second is more than enough! Now, it’s my turn!”

“Yes, please, Liselotte!”

Taking Leone’s place, the second runner, Liselotte, soared into the sky.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep