Water Mage in the Flame Realm

Andrew still remembered the last time he came to the Warm Fire Temple, dealing with the heavily wounded person stung by the "Sulfur Fire Insect" along with Captain Linda.

The "Sulfur Fire Insect" was a Tier Eight Earth Fire Magic! It didn't have the kind of self-awareness like the power of Capella, rushing towards him, the healer.

"In general, a mage's power is considered more spiritual than that of a warrior. However, Capella is not a mage at all, but rather a Flame Warrior."

Andrew, taken aback, was shocked, "The power left behind by a Flame Warrior is even more spiritual than magical power?"

Even by the standards of a magic-power-dominated world like Flame Realm, the scene before was astonishing!

The changes came so abruptly.

Even Captain Linda, who was Tier Seven, couldn't react in time.

She wasn't specialized in combat.

Besides, Captain Linda had previously dealt with various injuries caused by Earth Fire Professionals — from Earth Fire Mages to Flame Warriors, and even wounds caused by the Eight Strange Fires — yet she never encountered a situation like this before.

Swish!

A sharp Fighting Qi, as scarlet as blood, blocked between Andrew and Capella's power.

The first to react was Orleans.

Without any weapons by his side, he used his finger as a spear to intercept Capella's power in mid-air.

But that power seemed aware and twisted mid-air to dodge Orleans while continuing to rush toward Andrew!

"This... this is impossible!" Linda finally reacted and exclaimed.

Orleans was the speed-specializing Crimson Knight, and even in poor condition, his speed was still remarkable.

Yet it was dodged so easily.

The speed at which Capella's power maneuvered was certainly beyond a normal Flame Warrior, though not as fast as the Female Assassin.

Then, with a "bang",

The magical barrier, set up casually by Captain Linda around the bed to shield from outside interference, was shattered by the shockwaves of that power.

"Huh? What's going on, what is this?" The others in the ward were curious about what was happening inside the barrier, and seeing it suddenly shattered, they quickly looked over, "Could it be that Andrew and Orleans are really fighting over Miss Barbara?"

The crowd was still immersed in the atmosphere of a live-action idol drama.

But what actually met their eyes was —

A mass of dark red, almost black flame power, which, while avoiding Orleans' interception, further transformed.

It rapidly condensed into a bizarre weapon, then struck fiercely toward Andrew's face!

Many in the ward had seen the shape of that weapon.

Andrew had seen it too.

It was an axe spear.

Capella's power turned into an axe spear!

Staring intently at the approaching axe spear, Andrew's expression became increasingly grave.

Andrew certainly hadn't forgotten the last time he was at the Shield of Flowing Fire, facing the Female Assassin whose weapon was an enormous, terrifying axe spear.

In comparison, the axe spear formed by Capella's power was only palm-sized, a mini version.

Yet, in terms of detail, it seemed even more intricate than the Female Assassin's axe spear.

On the small axe spear, there were delicate patterns, like miniature relief carvings.

It resembled some non-human monsters coiling around the handle, axe blade, and spear tip.

Beside him, Orleans had jumped off the bed at some point, raised his hand, and stopped Linda, who finally reacted and intended to help Andrew: "It's useless. The moment that axe spear formed, it 'locked' onto its target. We can't help anymore."

"Locked?" Linda was puzzled.

In healing, she was undoubtedly the second-best within the Warm Fire Commerce Association, maybe even in the top three throughout the entire Flame Realm.

But in combat, she really wasn't skilled.

To be frank, Linda was still incredulous: Can a Tier Four Capella do this?

Though geniuses who reached Tier Four at a young age were called "monsters" in this world, at the end of the day, aren't they just Tier Four? Or perhaps, being such a "monster," normal logic no longer applies to them?

Only those like Orleans, who fought against Capella, knew: Capella wasn't just any Tier Four monster. She was a monster among monsters.

Yet Orleans had no time to explain now.

Looking toward Andrew, Orleans spoke at the fastest speed in his life, quickly saying, "Don't retreat! If you retreat, it's over. You've been 'locked', so you can only stand your ground and clash head-on with that power! Don't try to dodge; it's not an attack you can evade with speed! The more you retreat or dodge, the worse it'll get!"

This was the most critical conclusion Orleans derived from his battle with Capella on the front line.

Not retreating seemed reasonable enough, but… not even dodging, that sounded absurd!

Orleans specialized in speed as a Crimson Knight, relying on it to maneuver around heavy-hitting Flame Warriors and find openings in their defenses.

Now, Orleans said: you can't dodge!

But this was the truth.

It was a lesson of blood from Orleans' fight with Capella on the front line.

An axe spear is a weapon exclusively used by top Flame Warriors practicing Dragon Transformation Combat Techniques, compensating for their speed weaknesses.

Since Capella's power could transform into an axe spear, it indicated that Capella must have mastered Dragon Transformation Combat Techniques to address her speed weakness.

Yet... though both were axe spears, Capella's axe spear was still different from the Female Assassin's.

The Female Assassin was a perfect blend of speed and power, so fast... that for a time, Andrew felt she wasn't a "Flame Warrior who had compensated for speed weaknesses," but more like a "Crimson Knight with top-notch speed and not inferior power!" because the speed was genuinely daunting, even more so than the power.

In comparison, Capella's axe spear surpassed the average Tier Four Flame Warrior in speed, but not to the extraordinary level of crushing a same-tier Crimson Knight (Shield Knight Jimmy) like the Female Assassin.

Capella's axe spear was overwhelmingly powerful, excelling in a peculiar yet extremely domineering "lock" power.

Once locked onto, it couldn't be dodged.

This path was quite different from the Female Assassin's.

The Female Assassin's stance was: My power is greater, and you want to use speed to maneuver against me? Impossible, because I'm faster as well!

Whereas Capella's approach was more like: My power is still greater than yours. I may not be faster, but I'm not slow either. Most importantly, I can make you unable to be fast.

During the siege at the "Dragon's Nest" on the front line, Capella managed to prevent Orleans, known for being the fastest among the younger generation, from utilizing the speed advantage of a Crimson Knight, forcing direct confrontations with Capella, a specialist in frontal clashes.

Now, in the Warm Fire Temple's ward, Capella's power, after forming the axe spear and "locking" onto Andrew, forced Andrew—

To engage in a direct clash with her power!