Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 346 - 334: Declaration of War! (Part 1)

In the growing blizzard, the teleportation gate began to vibrate gently.

Andrew no longer asked about the Eighth Fire, instead asking: "About the Wildfire Territory..."

Originally, after his trip to the Royal Court, Andrew planned to return to the Inner Sea Desert and the Wildfire Territory.

It seems now that this must be postponed.

President Beiru said, "Regarding your territory, Andrew, you needn’t worry at all. Your guard, Ivan, I will appoint him as the Chief City Guard for both Warm Fire City and the Wildfire Territory, responsible for all security matters of these two places. From now on, the security priority of Wildfire Territory will be the same as Warm Fire City."

This response was genuinely sincere, beyond measure.

Andrew felt grateful and said, "Thank you! And also, Barbara, she..." Andrew’s eyes flickered with worry as he spoke.

If there’s anything that makes Andrew uneasy before setting off to that Outer Battlefield, it’s Barbara.

Andrew couldn’t imagine, from Barbara’s perspective, suddenly shocking news that her elder sister died at the hands of the second sister, who was actually the villain, and that their parents had been hiding the truth all these years—even if it was for protection—how Barbara would handle these facts moving forward.

President Beiru likely had similar concerns. Sighing, he said, "Indeed, being kept in the dark by me and her mother for so many years, then finding out so much in one day, of course, the blow would be severe, but..."

At this point, President Beiru turned the conversation, speaking calmly and with certainty, "...but she’ll be alright, she’ll definitely get through it. Andrew, you know my daughter well, you should know how strong she is. The reason we kept it from her wasn’t that she couldn’t handle those harsh truths, just that we feared her lack of depth might cause a premature slip."

Andrew couldn’t help asking, "When you previously had Dean Charlie give me the Dragon Awakening Potion, was it the same mindset, thinking I ’could definitely get through it’?"

President Beiru nodded first, "I did say something similar to Charlie and my wife." Then he shook his head, "But it’s still different."

"How is it different?"

"The difference is: back then, I wasn’t completely sure you could get through it," said President Beiru candidly, "but now I’m very certain Barbara can get through this."

"Uh, this..." Andrew didn’t quite know how to react to President Beiru’s frankness.

All he could say was: blood is thicker than water; you can’t deny it!

After thinking about it more seriously, Andrew laughed.

Although the words weren’t pleasant, they thoroughly dispelled his last bit of doubt.

President Beiru asked, "Do you have any more questions for me, or tests you want to give?"

"No more, no more, I have no more questions," Andrew felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his face, "I didn’t mean to test you."

President Beiru stared at Andrew, "So about that Outer Battlefield—"

"—I’ll give it my all." Andrew’s heart was calm as he mouthed through the teleportation gate.

The tone was simple, like a common promise.

Yet President Beiru didn’t doubt the weight of this ’common promise.’

If Andrew were to casually make promises, he wouldn’t have insisted on pressing a series of questions earlier.

As the words fell, the light from the teleportation gate finally enveloped Andrew’s body.

This time, Andrew felt no resistance, physically or mentally.

He calmly watched the light descend and surround him.

"Oh, right."

Just as the teleportation was about to activate, Andrew suddenly remembered something and said, "I found out—Catherine’s secret to obtaining two Strange Fires at the same time."

"What?" President Beiru was startled, then energized.

Earlier at the Royal Court, he was trying to extract from Catherine her secret to possessing two Strange Fires, which gave her the opening.

But if it were to happen again, President Beiru felt he might still do the same, even if it provided Catherine an opportunity.

Because: "If we could uncover the method to obtain two Strange Fires simultaneously and think of a way to replicate and spread it to others, how much would it boost the overall strength of our Warm Fire Commerce Association? How much would it increase our odds against the Magic Guild?"

Through the teleportation gate’s light, President Beiru watched Andrew’s lip movements intently.

Andrew said: "The secret is: mix the ’Blood Refining Plan’ with the ’Dragon Awakening Potion,’ prioritizing the former while supplementing with the latter. And most importantly, one must endure pain! Tolerate the excruciating pain from repeated use of the ’Blood Refining Plan’ that ordinary people could never bear."

President Beiru: "..."

He was silent for a moment, finally tugging slightly at the corner of his mouth and murmuring with a bitter smile: "I see. So, it turns out to be this... the most simple yet most difficult, most unreplicable method."

Though disappointed, there was a faint sense of relief: "That’s fine, we won’t have to waste effort on this matter in the future. The method Catherine used is unachievable by anyone else. Neither our Warm Fire Commerce Association members nor the Magic Guild can do it. The only one who can is Catherine herself..."

Thinking of this, President Beiru shook his head, suppressing the mixed emotions in his heart, and looked up again.

He intended to advise, "Be careful with everything," but saw the light from the teleportation gate suddenly flare up once before dimming quickly.

And as the light faded, Andrew’s figure was already gone, vanished into that vast Light Gate.

The teleportation had taken him to the Outer Battlefield.

Soon after, the teleportation gate, which had persisted since ancient times, seemed to have finally completed its last historical mission and slowly collapsed, shattering.

The wind and snow, pushed apart by the teleportation gate, swiftly rolled and billowed, refilling the void left by the gate’s disappearance.

Swish! A figure lightly passed through the thick curtain of snow and steadily landed beside President Beiru, it was Lady Yi Lian.

In terms of speed, she lagged behind President Beiru. Although she rushed over at full speed, she still arrived much later.

Following Lady Yi Lian, Falk, Dean Charlie, and other Commerce Association executives also gradually arrived.

However, by now, no trace of Andrew remained at the site, not even a lingering presence, as it was once again buried by the wind and snow.

"What happened? What went on?"

Lady Yi Lian asked, her voice slightly trembling.

She couldn’t sense Andrew’s presence at the scene, nor Catherine’s, so she turned to her husband, "So, Beiru, you... did you finally take care of Catherine... did you—?"

Beside her, Falk asked, "What about Andrew? Didn’t you say you found him?"

President Beiru replied, "Catherine is not dead."

Hearing this, Lady Yi Lian clearly sighed in relief, then showed a complex expression. She was, after all, a mother, Catherine’s mother.

The surrounding Commerce Association higher-ups like Falk and Charlie, however, couldn’t help but frown: "So in the end, she still managed to escape? And took Andrew with her? With Catherine’s capabilities, once she connects with the Magic Guild—"

"No, that’s impossible now. Catherine isn’t dead, nor did she escape," President Beiru smiled, "She was captured alive by Andrew and is... no longer a threat."