Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 304 - 294: Return! (Part 2)

"That brat Andrew, could he be dead?"

The Flame Turtle is a Flame Warrior, not a Mage. His main focus is extreme defense and lacks offensive capabilities; his words did not carry any substantial attack power.

Yet, his words themselves were like sharp knives stabbing into the hearts of the Warm Fire Commerce Association's group.

After the incident last night, Dean Charlie easily guessed that the Magic Guild was behind the trick.

However, it wasn't until this moment that it was confirmed one hundred percent.

Seeing the Flame Turtle's deliberately provocative ugly face, even with Dean Charlie's good temper, he couldn't help but feel incredibly angry and instinctively wanted to retort: "What about Lady Dragon Tamer? She was hit by my 'Delayed Counterattack,' I suppose she's fully recovered after returning to the Scholar's Fortress?"

But the words never left his mouth.

Because in this situation, retaliating with words meant nothing.

Even if Lady Dragon Tamer was seriously injured or dead, so what?

It still doesn't change Andrew's current missing and uncertain situation!

The Flame Turtle saw that Dean Charlie was silent, and became even more smug, speaking more leisurely: "So, do you want to know Andrew's current situation? If you want to know, just ask. I can guarantee, as long as you sincerely ask, I'll answer, how about that?"

No one responded to the Flame Turtle's words.

Whether it was Dean Charlie or Barbara, they knew that asking the other side about Andrew's whereabouts and safety at this time would be of no benefit, only falling into the other's trap, further affecting their mental state, and consequently impacting the upcoming third match.

The problem is that no matter how rational one is about this reasoning, emotionally it's unbearable to almost intolerable levels.

Havier stood by Barbara's side.

From his angle, he could see Barbara's lips tightly closed, not saying a word, appearing very calm. But in reality, Havier saw clearly: Barbara's hands hanging by her side were clenched into fists, her nails already piercing her palms and bleeding!

Barbara almost used all her strength to resist asking the Flame Turtle across: "How is Andrew now? Is he still alive? What have you done to him?!"

Havier could feel Barbara's emotional state, hesitant, and in his heart, there was an unknown struggle: "Should I... should I take action? Should I take the initiative to volunteer, replace Sabye, and help aunt win this crucial third battle, then use it as leverage to rescue Andrew?"

The opponent paired with Capella is still Yorkshire, and not the Second or First Saint Son. Actually, even if the First and Second Saint Sons were here, partnering with my aunt doesn't mean we have no chance of winning. The only problem is, this is the Royal Court, in front of 'that person,' can I really do this?"

Havier has always had the demeanor of a rascal, yet at this moment, it seems there's a rascal's mask about to fall off his face.

"Well..." Havier began to speak, "Actually, I... I can—"

As soon as he spoke, Catherine looked over in some curiosity.

Havier's body trembled slightly, and he closed his mouth.

The King merely said: "Alright, no time to delay, it is also time for the scheduled third match, so let's begin."

Barbara said nothing, stood up, and directly walked toward the arena.

Sabye closely followed by her side, though mentally prepared, when it came time to go on stage, he couldn't help but be so nervous that his face turned white. He really wasn't sure how much effect his peak Tier Three strength could have in a battle against a Tier Four monster.

At the same time, on the Magic Guild's side, Capella and Yorkshire had also entered the arena. Yesterday, Yorkshire was clearly completely defeated, yet today he still fought alongside Capella. It's uncertain if this is because the First and Second Saint Sons couldn't reach the Royal Court, or for some other reason.

"Where's Andrew?" Capella asked directly after entering the arena.

Unlike the Flame Turtle, she didn't have a condescending tone of provoking; it seemed she had just learned of Andrew's disappearance.

Barbara sneered, "You're asking me? Are you sure? Shouldn't you turn around and ask your Magic Guild people such questions?"

Capella frowned.

From her standpoint, she didn't want this either because the Guild's high-level tactics like this not only targeted Andrew but also represented a lack of trust in her— a lack of belief that she and Yorkshire could definitely secure the victory in this third duel!

Barbara turned her gaze to Yorkshire, "What's your deal? I thought you wouldn't be participating today and would be replaced. You were injured like that yesterday, and you can still fight today?"

Yorkshire smiled faintly, "Whether I can fight, you'll see soon enough."

Outside the field, Havier softly asked Dean Charlie, "Are we really going to fight this third match? Aunt and Sabye, they might die."

Dean Charlie looked extremely troubled. How could he not know the risks of forcing a fight, but what else could he do? Simply forfeiting the third negotiation match might result in even greater passivity.

His gaze unconsciously turned to Catherine.

Yet he saw Catherine, saying nothing, sitting together with the King high on the throne.

At this moment, Dean Charlie suddenly felt that Catherine and the king seated together looked so harmonious, so well-suited.

Contrarily, Catherine's distance from his team seemed somewhat far!

Only to hear the king say, "A duel is a duel, magic has no eyes, if either side suffers any harm, I hope there will be no retaliation afterward. Harmony is precious."

He spoke about harmony being precious. Indeed, within the tradition of negotiation duels, there's a clause stating "if someone is harmed during the duel, there should be no retaliation afterward."

Yet the king saying such words at this time clearly means: go all out, fight to the death! Even killing someone doesn't require responsibility!

Flame Turtle couldn't help but reveal a cruel and delighted smile.

Dean Charlie felt a chill in his heart, but it wasn't just because of the Flame Turtle, nor entirely because of the king, but because of Catherine's utter silence from start to end.

"Wait a moment!" Dean Charlie could no longer hold back and spoke up.

He finally understood one thing, and that is: from the moment Andrew disappeared, this Royal Court negotiation was actually lost!

And now, as the leader, the most appropriate thing to do is not to believe in the guise of trusting team members and send Barbara and Sabye to their deaths, but to timely cut losses knowing that defeat is certain! This is what should be done as a leader right now.

Dean Charlie had always been known for his cautiousness, but sometimes, being overly cautious isn't a good thing, because caution sometimes means an unwillingness to bear the responsibility of making mistakes.

Taking a deep breath, Dean Charlie made the most daring but also the least cautious decision since coming to the Royal Court: to abandon this third negotiation duel and concede defeat directly! Because if he continued this third duel with a gambling mentality, it might not only lose the negotiation but also cost the lives of the Third Miss and Sabye.

"What, does Dean Charlie have something to say?" The king looked over, with a faint smile as if guessing Dean Charlie's decision, which he was rather pleased to accept, as long as it helped the Magic Guild win the negotiation duel.

As the leader of Warm Fire Commerce Association, as long as Dean Charlie admitted defeat, then the third negotiation duel would be directly decided, leaving Barbara, Sabye, Capella, and Yorkshire uninvolved.

Just waiting for Dean Charlie to say it!

In the field, Barbara didn't know what was in Dean Charlie's mind, she was dumbstruck and turned her head, only to see Dean Charlie slowly but decisively say, "For this third negotiation duel, we, Warm Fire Commerce Association, decide to forfeit——"

Seeing that the last word "feit" was about to be spoken, Barbara finally realized what Dean Charlie was going to do but was too late to stop it, while the king and Flame Turtle already simultaneously showed the victorious smile of winners.

But just then a voice suddenly interrupted Dean Charlie's words. That voice said:

"I'm back!"

That voice wasn't particularly loud, yet clearly transmitted into the ears of every attendee.

The crowd was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice, strange as it was that the source of the voice seemed to come directly from the center of the hall's arena, as if it had emanated from beside Barbara!

Under Barbara's feet, an orange-red shape resembling a swimming fish had quietly appeared at some point.

The people of Flame Realm had never seen the Tai Chi Yin-Yang Fish pattern, only feeling that its simple elegance carried an indescribable mysterious aura, starkly different from the intricate style of the Royal Court's array patterns.

The Flame Yin-Yang Fish swirled around Barbara's feet——in fact, it was the Water and Fire Yin-Yang Fish connected head to tail, spiraling together, but the Water Element Yin-Yang Fish was concealed by Invisible Enchantment, everyone could only see Barbara's Flame Yin-Yang Fish——the orange-red light suddenly brightened at the scene, after a moment it dimmed away.

Once the light faded, a figure had appeared beside Barbara.

And who else could it be but Andrew!

After breaking free from the Extreme Cold Ice Prison, Andrew descended the Snow Peak, sprinting back to the Royal Court, arriving in this Eternal Frost Hall. Sweeping his gaze, seeing the duel hadn't formally started yet, he sighed a breath of relief: "Phew, fortunately... looks like I made it in time!"

Due to temporarily being unsure of the Royal Court's situation post-escape, Andrew didn't dare openly use "Water Spirit Sensing" to investigate, fearing discovery, he opted not to contact Barbara or Dean Charlie, instead stealthily returning to the Royal Court.

Though Water Magic isn't particularly adept at stealth, Andrew now possessed a Magic Gemstone formed from "Extreme Cold Ice Prison," which contained a chill integrated almost seamlessly with the Royal Court's aura, the dense arrays surrounding the Royal Court were complex and profound, unmatched in Flame Realm's meticulousness, but Andrew himself seemed to have become part of the array naturally undeterred by any obstacles.

Thus, having returned and entered the Royal Court, Andrew avoided all Frost Guards, trusting no one now.

Upon reaching the Eternal Frost Hall, without even using the hall's main entrance, Andrew activated "Water and Fire United," employing a near short-range teleportation method to directly reach Barbara's side at the center of the hall arena.

This was precisely a new magical ability naturally grasped after training "Water and Fire United" with Barbara.

This magic didn't originate from Andrew's Water God Mark, rather from a spell recorded in Barbara's Warm Fire Order. It also included some memories Andrew retained from a world before crossing over concerning Yin and Yang, Tai Chi.

The magic effect is: within a certain range, Andrew and Barbara can sense each other's presence and location, allowing them to instantly teleport beside one another!

This magic is different from most Water Magic Andrew previously unlocked, it's not bound by tiers, instead growing with the caster's tier to continuously extend teleportation distance, capable of development.

It also carries a very romantic name——

Pas de Deux.