Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 325 - 313: When the Dust Settles

"Phew." Andrew sighed in relief, no longer forcing himself, and slowly sat back onto the ground.

The piercing wound in his abdomen was indeed not light.

Andrew then placed one hand gently over his abdomen while the other circled to his back, pressing his lower back with the back of his hand.

He first cast an emergency-type magic that greatly enhanced healing at the cost of intensified pain sensation, quickly stopping the bleeding and stabilizing the injury.

Then he cast another magic to temporarily block all sensations of pain so that he could not feel the intensified pain.

Tier Five Water Magic: Accelerated Hydrotherapy.

Tier Five Water Magic: Pain Barrier.

The two spells, applied one after the other on the wound, finally smoothed out Andrew’s slightly furrowed brow.

Then came Capella’s voice: "Thank you."

Andrew looked up.

He saw Capella had stood up again at some point.

The third negotiation had proceeded to now, almost reaching noon.

Warm and bright sunlight fell on Capella’s face and body, making this contemporary First Saintess of the Magic Guild appear just like an ordinary girl, without the heavy burdens that someone her age shouldn’t bear.

But what she said after was: "Thank you, for allowing me to feel this long-lost sensation of lightness before I die. Truly... thank you!"

Andrew was startled at her words, a bit puzzled: Haven’t they already escaped the constraints of the new Dragon Transformation Combat Technique? What is going on now?

Before he could ask, he saw the other party striding forward, rushing towards him again.

The girl’s body was petite, but her strides were as heavy as a giant’s.

No longer did she have the Fire of Extinguishing, or the axe spear-like Dragon Transformation Weapon, nor did she possess the speed comparable to a Crimson Knight.

She was still at the level of a Tier Four prodigy, but the current Capella was just an ordinary Tier Four Flame Warrior, no longer the existence that surpassed ordinary Flame Warriors by counteracting the speed weakness through the new Dragon Transformation Combat Technique.

With a whoosh! She swung her fist, piercing the air, aiming straight for Andrew’s face.

Andrew watched as that small fist rapidly enlarged before his eyes, a flash of water-blue flashed through his eyes, and the sensory tendrils formed by "Water Spirit Sensing" quietly entwined forward. Andrew then understood: this seemingly imposing straight punch was intended to kill Capella herself the moment it struck his face.

It appeared Capella was launching another attack, but in reality, this punch was suicidal!

"This..." Andrew was again dumbfounded, his mind racing, "So, is it that she has family or friends in the hands of the Magic Guild, and even if she wants to abandon the darkness for the light, she doesn’t dare? She can only put up a fight to the death to secure her family’s safety?"

Andrew’s guess was mostly correct.

The Magic Guild controls the western part of this world with a high-pressure control type of governance, strictly controlling not only Capella but all Earth Fire Mages and Flame Warriors under the Magic Guild, including their relatives.

During the previous Twin Fire War, while exorcising Desolate Beasts in the Inner Sea Desert, Andrew caused immense trouble for the Magic Guild, sparking a mutiny amongst the entire Flame Warrior group.

Outsiders only knew that the Flame Warriors were appeased again because of the release of the new Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, which prevented them from "losing control and becoming Desolate Beasts."

What outsiders didn’t know was: from the start, the Flame Warriors had concerns; apart from a few, most didn’t dare to rebel too fiercely.

Because almost everyone had family in the hands of the Magic Guild! Who would dare to truly launch a rebellion? 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Capella’s situation was the same.

She had a sister in the hands of the Magic Guild.

Of course, she could choose to defect and join the Warm Fire Commerce Association, but her sister would likely end up like the relatives of all defectors—not executed, but sent to "serve" in the far-west "Flame Mountain" of the world.

And everyone sent to serve there never comes back from those mountains.

Swish! Capella’s fist had reached Andrew’s face.

The instant the fist connected with Andrew’s face, Capella would shatter her own internal organs and die.

Andrew wanted to intervene but couldn’t; the injury in his abdomen didn’t allow for such intense movement in a short period.

"Damn it, is there really no way to save her?" Andrew gritted his teeth.

Yorkshire was already dead, and if Capella died, this third negotiation match would be an undisputed victory.

But in Andrew’s view, if Capella died like Yorkshire, then this battle would actually be a loss for him!

Capella must not die just like this!

At that moment, Andrew suddenly sensed something, and his eyes flashed with wild joy.

With a loud blast, a clear cry echoed——

The lava confinement that Yorkshire used to trap Barbara exploded.

According to Andrew’s instruction, Barbara didn’t rush but slowly freed herself, and at this moment, she finally broke through her constraints!

On the ground in the arena, a yin-yang fish pattern of water and fire appeared once more.

The ancient gods of water and fire instantly reformed in shape, then seized Capella’s wrist.

Capella’s fist froze abruptly before Andrew’s eyelids, so close that it could almost touch Andrew, but it ultimately failed to do so, unable to advance further!

"This..." Capella was taken aback.

She hadn’t actually intended to harm Andrew with that punch; getting blocked was no big deal.

What truly shocked her was that the suicidal force she imbued in the punch was instantly locked!

This was because——

Barbara had been patiently trying to break free, unaware of the details of the battle between Andrew and Capella.

But when she escaped, the spirit connection through "Water and Fire United" between her and Andrew was restored.

Through this connection, Andrew quickly conveyed a message to Barbara: "Don’t kill her."

"Don’t kill her? Why!?" Barbara, who was filled with fury when breaking out, especially after seeing Andrew’s injury, had a strong killing intent in her eyes, "Why should I not kill her?"

Andrew quickly added, "I wasn’t injured by her."

Barbara: "?"

Thinking that there were only Andrew and Capella during her confinement, if not her, then who? She was quite reluctant, almost unable to resist directly delivering a death blow to Capella but ultimately chose not to as Andrew suggested.

Capella felt like her wrist was caught in a vise, unable to move forward or backward.

Soon, a powerful mental shock suddenly exploded in her mind.

Capella didn’t even utter a sound and fell to the ground unconscious.

Barbara leapt and landed between Andrew and Capella, her eyes showing a spark of orange flame that quietly extinguished.

Using "Orange Flame Warm Fire" paired with "Heart Fire Series," it was Barbara who launched that strong mental shock. She had her own ideas and personality, and even though she didn’t kill following Andrew’s suggestion, she couldn’t resist hitting Capella hard.

However, after stunning Capella with a mental shock, Barbara seemed stunned, as if surprised by the ease of success, turning back to Andrew: "Why does she... seem much weaker? Her level is hardly better than Yorkshire’s, isn’t it?"

Barbara’s feeling was accurate.

Without the support of the new Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, Capella’s strength was indeed on the same level as Yorkshire’s, no longer an exceptional talent among talents.

Andrew scratched his head, uncertain about where to start explaining, eventually saying only: "Well... it’s a long story..."

Barbara didn’t pursue the question, instead asking, "How are you doing?" glancing at Andrew’s stomach injury.

"No big deal, don’t worry." Andrew smiled.

His abdominal wound was visibly healing at a rapid pace.

And the gain in exchange for this injury was much greater——

In the dantian, with "Gate of Enlightenment" and "Ice Prison Gemstone," it securely sealed the power belonging to Single Finger Dragon Shadow, which he had consumed internally; once healed, he could slowly study that power.

More importantly: "We won... We won the third round of negotiations! Two wins in three rounds, the ultimate victory in the Royal Court negotiations is ours!" Andrew stood up, gently holding Barbara’s hand, feeling a mix of joy and nostalgia, "Finally, it’s over."

Above, the "Ring of Uranus" still hung high. The king’s words seemed to echo: "This third negotiation bout is a life-and-death duel! It won’t be over until there’s a clear victor."

To this, Andrew only wanted to say: "Damn you, who do you think you are? You say a life-and-death duel has to be a life-and-death duel? I just won’t kill Capella!"

Barbara was still a bit worried: "If we don’t completely kill Capella, the result of the third negotiation bout will be—"

"It’s fine." Andrew slightly smiled, raised his hand to point around.

"Hmm?" Barbara looked up and then was suddenly stunned.

The scene was very quiet.

The crowd had just witnessed a battle that would significantly influence the next stage of the world’s structure, yet no one spoke. People had expressions of surprise, shock, unexpectedness... but more than that, a sort of indescribable complexity.

Beneath the Ring of Uranus’ shadow, Capella wasn’t killed. Others naturally couldn’t see the internal dialogue between Andrew and Capella.

But for some reason, looking at Capella lying in the arena, almost everyone had a strong feeling: Capella’s defeat in this manner was even more thorough than if she had been killed directly!