Water Mage in the Flame Realm

Soon, Andrew and his group left Warm Fire Temple and headed to the landing area outside Flaming Shield City to officially board the magic airship bound for the Royal Court.

Except for Havier, everyone else was quite composed.

Andrew said, "We'll talk once we're on the airship," so they waited until they were on the airship.

On the way to the landing area, no one was in a rush to ask Andrew about what happened earlier at Warm Fire Temple.

Yet the mental state of the group had subtly shifted.

When they arrived at Flaming Shield City not too long ago, they were very low-key, still quite relaxed.

Now they weren't tense, but indeed more serious and focused.

"Be careful." Captain Linda made a point to see them off outside the city.

She was a typical support role, though she was Tier Seven, her combat capabilities weren't strong; otherwise, she truly would have wanted to go to the front lines and fight.

Not long ago, in the Warm Fire Temple's sickbay, what occurred there had, on one hand, confirmed for Linda that she wasn't cut out for combat, but on the other hand, it also made her start worrying about Andrew.

Although Andrew had shown combat abilities beyond Linda's expectations in the sickbay earlier, in Linda's mind, Andrew was still someone more akin to a "support role" rather than a "frontline fighter."

In contrast, Magic Guild's Saintess Capella...Linda now even felt: in a clash between her Tier Seven self and Capella's Tier Four, she might well get defeated!

Linda finally understood what kind of opponent Andrew would be facing on this journey to the Royal Court!

Receiving Linda's sentiments, Andrew nodded, "Yes, I'll be extra cautious. Thank you."

He then turned to nod towards Red Clothes who had come to see him off, before saying no more and boarding the airship.

After Shield Knight Jimmy was killed by the female assassin, Red Clothes, originally Jimmy's deputy, took over many city defense tasks, becoming the acting City Guard of Flaming Shield.

Andrew had limited interaction with her. Only when Red Clothes came under Jimmy's orders to monitor Andrew, he responded with an awkward dance.

That very night, the female assassin's attack turned Flaming Shield City upside down.

Since then, and before today, Andrew hadn't seen Red Clothes again.

Their relationship was unfamiliar; they even hadn't officially met. During his days in Warm Fire City, Andrew nearly forgot about this person.

Now meeting again, Red Clothes no longer wore red attire, no longer striking as a human-shaped Flame Butterfly spell.

She was dressed in a completely black outfit.

In fact, since Jimmy's death, Red Clothes hadn't worn red anymore.

Wind had picked up at the scene unnoticed.

Under the gazes of Linda and Red Clothes, the magic airship ascended steadily amidst the wind, then changed direction, and crossed the thin clouds heading north.

Compared to the "general-purpose" magic airship used to transport patients, Andrew and his party now traveled on a "combat-type" magic airship. It didn't have the passenger capacity of the general-purpose one, but its speed was more than five times faster. And like the general-purpose airship, it was equally smooth.

The attack-and-defense integrated magic array onboard was not the focus. After all, with Dean Charlie and Susan, two Tier Nine experts, even if the female assassin attacked again, she wouldn't easily succeed.

Having flown on modern planes before crossing over, Andrew didn't find the magic airship of the Flame Realm particularly novel.

Through the window of the cabin door, he could see Linda, Red Clothes, and even the entire Flaming Shield City below quickly turning into small dots.

"Hmm, the affairs of Flaming Shield City are now concluded. Next, officially stepping onto the journey for negotiations at the Royal Court." Andrew muttered to himself.

Retracting his gaze, he turned and walked briskly into a conference hall within the airship.

There he saw Barbara, Dean Charlie, Susan, Sabye, including Havier, already waiting there.

Everyone remained quiet, solemn expressions, their eyes fixed on Andrew.

Havier pretended to be indifferent, but was actually sitting in a corner of the conference hall, listening attentively.

Andrew thus sat down as well, pondered his words slightly, and then explained what he had discovered earlier—

Capella, being a Flame Warrior, possessed the Fire of Extinguishing, one of the Eight Strange Fires.

The Fire of Extinguishing carried powers of "lock" and "mark."

And the phantom he saw while reverse tracing.

—he recounted everything meticulously.

The airship was very quiet.

Even when the magic energy engine was operating at full power, it barely made any noise.

Plus, there was clear, sunny weather outside; due to the dry climate, there were hardly any clouds.

Sitting here in the cloudless high sky on the airship felt like entering another world temporarily.

Compared to the fiery world below, this place was calmer and more desolate.

After carefully listening to Andrew's explanation, everyone simultaneously absorbed the information, and for a moment, no one spoke.

It wasn't until Barbara took the lead again and asked, "Andrew, do you mean that we cannot consider Capella as an ordinary Tier Four prodigy, but as a prodigy among prodigies, right? Do you think her ability to defeat Orleans wasn't a mere fluke, but rather for inevitable reasons?"

Andrew nodded: "Yes."

This was the most important conclusion Andrew arrived at after treating Orleans and having the first encounter with Capella's power.

Do not consider Capella as an ordinary prodigy!

Even if she fought Orleans ten more times, Capella would win all ten times!

Because she truly is a level stronger!

"Hey, hey, Andrew, this guy, is it really good to boost their morale and dampen our spirits?" Havier was unhappy, "And are you really sure—? Capella, a non-mage, possessing the Eight Strange Fires? Isn't that a joke!"

No one paid attention to Havier.

Andrew had no intention of responding, either.

Looking at Dean Charlie and Susan, Andrew noticed that: when he mentioned Capella having the Fire of Extinguishing, Dean Charlie and Susan exchanged a glance. Although they, like Barbara and Sabye, were surprised, they didn't seem too shocked.

"Do you two know something?" Andrew asked softly, his expression serious.

Even though he successfully healed Orleans and obtained very crucial new intelligence about Capella, Andrew wouldn't really think that what he learned could completely cover or surpass the intelligence system of the Warm Fire Commerce Association. He's not that conceited.

Through what happened just now in Flaming Shield City, Andrew is now even clearer about the intensity and difficulty of the negotiations that are going to unfold in the Royal Court.

Thus, he feels even more strongly that it is necessary to be fully prepared and to work together, only then can they possibly win the negotiation competition at the Royal Court!

The most important thing now is communication of intelligence.

Only by exchanging as much intelligence as possible can they make more targeted preparations in the three days before arriving at the Royal Court.

Dean Charlie and Susan exchanged a look: "Will you say it, or shall I?"

There really seems to be more intelligence on the matter of "Capella possessing the Fire of Extinguishing"!

For a moment, not only Andrew but also Barbara, Sabye, and Havier all looked over.

They also wanted to understand: Why does Capella, a Flame Warrior, a combat class, possess one of the Eight Strange Fires, which according to common sense should only be possible for mages to have?

"Let me explain." Susan rarely took the initiative and slowly said, "You all remember—previously because Andrew performed an exorcism in the Inner Sea Desert, leading to the mass defection of the Flame Warriors under the Mage Guild, right?"

"Of course." Barbara nodded. She was a witness to the incident.

Sabye also grunted, though somewhat displeased, but had to admit that it was Andrew's exorcism event that gave the Warm Fire Commerce Association a critical breather in the Twin Fire War, allowing them to reverse the situation later.

Only Havier grumbled a little unwillingly: "It wasn't that exaggerated, right? Weren't the Flame Warriors later appeased and served the Mage Guild again?"

Susan heard Havier's words and immediately looked over.

Havier instinctively shrank his neck.

But he heard Susan say: "Indeed, the Flame Warrior group, after collectively defecting, was soon appeased by the Mage Guild. But this is the problem: the Flame Warriors were not forcibly suppressed; they were genuinely persuaded by the Mage Guild's combination of hard and soft tactics."

"So?" Havier looked confused.

"So the Mage Guild must have used some method to address the root cause of the Flame Warrior defection..." Andrew thought, "The root cause of the Flame Warrior defection was the risk of 'Flame Warriors practicing Dragon Transformation Combat Technique losing control and becoming Desolate Beasts.' To appease the Flame Warrior community, one must tackle this root problem."

Susan continued: "According to the intelligence provided by our embedded agents within the Mage Guild, the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique of the Flame Warriors has been improved.

In the improved Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, the cultivator's 'Dragon Transformation Signs' are minimized, making them barely noticeable.

What replaces them is a Dragon Transformation Weapon that condenses the power of Dragon Transformation. You can understand it as turning the Dragon Transformation signs that originally appeared on the Flame Warriors' bodies 'external.' This way, the power of Dragon Transformation is retained, while the risk of losing control and becoming a Desolate Beast is avoided."

Upon hearing this, Andrew exchanged a glance with Barbara, both seeing realization in each other's eyes.

Previously, Andrew had wondered more than once: what method did the Mage Guild use to appease the Flame Warrior community again?

Now he finally understood: "Turns out there is a more advanced version of the 'Dragon Transformation Combat Technique' that solves the risk of losing control and becoming a Desolate Beast."

For Flame Warriors, the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique is like a sacred text.

No Flame Warrior can resist the transformative power of the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, especially since it can further amplify a Flame Warrior's strength and the advantage of strong defense, while compensating for the weakness of slow speed. It can be considered a secondary evolution of the profession, not merely an enhancement. It is a qualitative change.

"A Dragon Transformation Weapon..." Andrew thought.

The Flame Warrior he previously encountered, who possessed the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, was naturally Fleur, who attacked the Wildfire Territory together with Rose.

But the technique Fleur practiced was the old version of the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique, meaning the Flame Warrior's body exhibited Dragon Transformation signs.

For a moment, Andrew found it hard to imagine what this so-called more advanced version of the "Dragon Transformation Weapon" was like.

Of course, that's not the current focus.

The focus remains: "Does this new version of the Dragon Transformation Combat Technique have any relation to the Fire of Extinguishing?" Andrew looked at Susan, "Capella, as a Flame Warrior, actually possesses the Fire of Extinguishing. Could this be due to the Mage Guild's newly developed advanced version of the harmless Dragon Transformation Combat Technique?"