Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 326 - 314: Identity Exposed

"So, is this the end?" Sabye quietly asked Havier beside him, "How did we...win?"

"It must be something Andrew did to that Capella," Havier softly replied. His expression, like everyone else’s present, was quite complex.

Sabye was taken aback: "Wasn’t it Miss Barbara who dealt the final blow to Capella?"

Havier didn’t explain further.

With Sabye’s strength and skill, it was indeed a bit inadequate to understand the previous battle.

Even Havier himself found many aspects puzzling.

For some reasons, Havier had always deliberately acted like a brat, which was true.

But his initial instinctive rejection of Andrew, the "outsider," was also true.

Who would’ve thought that an "outsider," instinctively disliked and rejected by many in the commerce association, including Havier, would now secure the most crucial win in this Royal Court negotiation for the Warm Fire Commerce Association?

Especially, the way Andrew defeated Capella made it feel like he won more than just against Capella, or this third trial of negotiation. It was as if he was saying no to the "Ring of Uranus" and the Royal Court negotiation itself!

Headmaster Charlie beside Havier was equally thrilled. Being in the upper echelons of the association, he thought even further: "With this critical third trial won, the entire Royal Court negotiation is basicallly secured...right? The outcome of this negotiation concerns the arrangement of the entire world in the next phase after the Dual Fire War..."

Thinking of this, Headmaster Charlie held back his excitement, turning to look at Catherine on the throne.

In the field, Andrew and Barbara also simultaneously looked at Catherine.

The outcome is decided.

Now, it requires Catherine to suppress the king’s voice, to officially and decisively announce the result of this third trial negotiation.

"Earlier, Capella mentioned that the reason for her anxiety wasn’t about marrying the king at all."

Andrew gazed at Catherine, thinking, "So does Capella not care about whether she marries the king, or was the intelligence provided by Princess Catherine about ’Capella needing to marry the king’ unreliable from the start?"

Catherine looked at the already concluded battle in the field with a strange expression. After a moment, she calmed down and said, "The trial’s winner is determined. The victor is... Andrew and Barbara of the Warm Fire Commerce Association."

Catherine’s voice was steady and rang clearly throughout the venue.

The key was that after she announced the result, the king beside her...did not object.

The king said nothing, seeming to assent to the trial’s result.

The Flame Turtle of the Magic Guild stood up slowly.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze upon the Flame Turtle carried a hint of mockery.

Because it’s easy to guess what he was about to say: "How can this be considered the Warm Fire Commerce Association’s win? This trial is a life-and-death duel, isn’t it? It’s not over. This trial can’t be counted as a win for the Warm Fire Commerce Association!" Similar remarks.

Honestly, the Flame Turtle had previously relied on the king’s power to pressurize Andrew and others from the Warm Fire Commerce Association more than once, already tarnishing his aura as a strong figure.

But as the Flame Turtle stood up, his expression was calm, and he slowly said, "We’re very sorry, we lost..."

The crowd: "?"

Andrew and Barbara exchanged glances, equally surprised.

This Flame Turtle...suddenly changed?

Only to hear the Flame Turtle paused, then continued, "...we couldn’t secure the final victory of this negotiation, truly sorry, my lords."

As his words ended, this Tier Nine ranked, known as the strongest defender in the world, Flame Warrior knelt on one knee, bowing his head in a respectful salute.

With the Flame Turtle’s status, even towards the king, he would at most bow, not kneel.

"Who is that—?!"

Andrew’s face changed drastically.

Following the direction the Flame Turtle was kneeling towards, there appeared three new figures in the field, unknowingly to him.

They were three elders, all dressed in dark red magic robes.

The trio appeared silently, without any sensational presence or movement.

Yet, at the moment Andrew saw them, his heart leapt, and every hair on his body stood on end.

Because with just one glance, Andrew recognized the identities of these three elders—the three leaders of the Magic Guild, standing at the pinnacle of this Flame Realm’s power hierarchy alongside President Beiru of the Warm Fire Commerce Association, the three Earth Fire Scholars!

The three appeared on the scene without a sound.

Even Headmaster Charlie couldn’t detect their arrival ahead of time before the Flame Turtle spoke! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Why have the three of you come?" the king spoke again, standing from the throne, bowing slightly in deference. Not only Headmaster Charlie, but even the king—the Female Assassin—didn’t know that the three great Earth Fire Scholars would personally arrive.

Of course, saying "personally" is not entirely accurate. From the Female Assassin’s perspective, it was clear that the three great Earth Fire Scholars before them weren’t their true bodies but three incredibly solid projection clones.

The projection was so solid that the power they could exert in a short time didn’t vastly differ from their true bodies. Although they hadn’t come in person, it was almost as if they did.

What the Female Assassin didn’t understand was: "Why? The three of them have no reason to personally come to the Royal Court at this time! Even if the Magic Guild lost the Royal Court negotiation, the three of them wouldn’t easily project themselves here! This unique form of projection descent, capable of making the projection clone possess the same power as the true body for a short time, would lead to a not-so-short period of weakness afterward. Isn’t this giving President Beiru a chance?"

A myriad of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, and the Female Assassin suddenly halted.

Because she discovered: After the three Earth Fire Scholars arrived, they didn’t pay any attention to the Flame Turtle who voluntarily confessed. To the Female Assassin who stood up to pay respect, they only gave a simple nod.

Subsequently, the gaze of the three Earth Fire Scholars simultaneously focused in one direction, falling on a person—

Andrew!

The three Earth Fire Scholars were now staring at Andrew!

Andrew instantly felt his entire body freeze, unable to move. This feeling was even more terrifying than when he faced the assassination of the Female Assassin at the Shield of Flowing Fire.

Swish!

A figure instantly landed in front of Andrew, blocking the sight of the three Magic Guide Realm powerhouses opposite him. Headmaster Charlie sternly said, "The three of you chose to ’descend’ to the Royal Court? Aren’t you afraid the Scholar’s Fortress will be left unguarded for us to exploit?"

Like the Female Assassin, Headmaster Charlie also didn’t understand why the three Earth Fire Scholars would descend to the Royal Court?

To say they came for the negotiation trial, the Flame Turtle had clearly admitted that the Magic Guild had already lost, and the three Earth Fire Scholars didn’t refute him.

Aside from coming for the negotiation trial, what else could it be for?

The atmosphere, which had eased after the end of the third trial, suddenly tensed up intensely with the arrival of the three Earth Fire Scholars.

It was as if the three scholars didn’t hear Headmaster Charlie’s words. Even in their eyes, it seemed as though there was no such person as Headmaster Charlie. Their gaze seemed to penetrate through Headmaster Charlie’s body, falling on Andrew’s face. Then, the leading Russian Scholar finally spoke, uttering words that instantly made the color drain from Andrew’s face behind Headmaster Charlie.

Those words were: "Hello there...heir of the Water God!"