Soon, Wildfire Town was completely locked down.
The magic apprentices emerged from the laboratory and immediately dispersed in all directions.
The first priority was to block all the roads leading out of the town.
This was to prevent Barbara from escaping the town.
After that, catching the turtle in the jar would be much easier; capturing her was just a matter of time.
In fact, in the minds of the most experienced magic apprentices, simply blocking the roads was enough.
After all, someone like Barbara, a pampered rich girl with no experience, would probably be anxious to break out, wouldn't she?
She would very likely run straight into their blockade.
All they needed to do was wait patiently.
However, the magic apprentices who thought they could easily stop Barbara were somewhat surprised to find:
There wasn't even a hint that Barbara intended to break through!
"That's a bit strange."
A magic apprentice with a burn scar on his face frowned and snorted, "Could that girl have escaped before we locked down the town?
Or maybe she knew we would block her and chose to hide in the town instead?"
This person was quite clever and guessed part of it correctly.
Barbara indeed didn't immediately try to break out of the town but stayed in the town first.
But it wasn't to deliberately do the opposite.
It was because she ran into Andrew.
This leads to the reason why Barbara, despite being seriously injured, chose to complicate matters by saving Andrew—
A girl fleeing for her life happened to encounter Andrew, who had just left the "Living People Cemetery" and was ambushed by Raymond and his gang.
Under normal circumstances, she would never stop to meddle.
Barbara's original plan was indeed to ignore it!
Then she planned to head north as fast as possible and force her way out.
The reason she chose to break out from the north was because, if she remembered correctly, the nearest town to Wildfire Town was "Baal Town" to the north.
As for how to safely traverse the route filled with desolate beasts between Wildfire Town and Baal Town without the protection of the Crimson Knights, that was something to consider after breaking out.
If she didn't break out, death was certain.
If she did, although it would still be a near-death experience, there was at least a slim chance of survival!
"Come on, Barbara! Don't let the efforts of the knights who sacrificed their lives for my escape go to waste!"
Barbara gritted her teeth, constantly encouraging and cheering herself on.
However, just as Barbara was following her plan, intending to quietly slip past Andrew and Raymond,
the "Warm Fire Token" she carried suddenly heated up quickly and then became almost scalding hot.
"Hmm?"
Barbara was taken aback, then overjoyed.
The Warm Fire Token was the most important legacy of the Warm Fire Commerce Association, without a doubt.
It wasn't a magic artifact with powerful abilities; it was just... an inconspicuous pendant hung around her neck.
But this pendant, throughout history, had guided the predecessors of the commerce association to make the right decisions during critical moments and lead their people out of danger and into the light.
As of today, only two Warm Fire Tokens remain.
One was in the hands of the association's president.
The other was hanging around Barbara's neck!
Her father's words seemed to echo in her ears: "In critical times, remember to follow the guidance of the 'Warm Fire Token'! It will point the way out of difficult situations for you."
Barbara immediately focused to feel it carefully.
At this moment, the guidance of the Warm Fire Token was...
To turn back and save the guy surrounded by a bunch of thugs?
"Uh, this..."
Barbara was skeptical.
Although she didn't quite understand this strange guidance,
she had come to realize how important it was to "listen to her father"!
Besides, the Warm Fire Token was indeed a legendary item of the Warm Fire Commerce Association.
Barbara hesitated for a brief moment, gritted her teeth, and turned around to help Andrew.
And so it happened that as Andrew and Raymond were on the verge of a fierce clash, Raymond was abruptly entangled and bound by an unexpected "orange flame chain."
This was the reason that Andrew couldn't understand why Barbara, even when injured, would save him!
To be honest, at the moment of action, Barbara was not really intending to save Andrew.
She had absolutely no idea that the person surrounded by Raymond and his men was the "fire hero Andrew" that many had mentioned during the day.
What she was actually thinking was:
"The guidance of the Warm Fire Order can't be wrong!
This should be my chance to escape danger!"
Holding onto the thought of "seeking a chance to escape danger," after stopping Raymond, Barbara actually gave a hopeful glance at Andrew, whom she had just saved.
The result was: Is he just an ordinary person?!
Where's the promised chance to escape danger?
Then, seeing Raymond fall, Barbara was inexplicably surprised.
She once again suspected Andrew: "What did you do to this big guy?"
Andrew didn't know that when Barbara asked this question with an interrogative attitude, all tough and cool, deep down inside, she was hoping he'd boldly respond by saying: "That's right, I took down the big guy! I'm actually a hidden expert, just follow me, and there's no need to worry about Humboldt!"
But what happened?
Andrew, with his perfect acting from the newly acquired Water Soul Constitution, elegantly fooled Barbara once again.
So much so that Barbara internally collapsed and complained: Where's the promised chance! To! Escape! Danger?! Isn't this Warm Fire Order just leading me into a trap?!
Afterwards, when Barbara, exhausted of magic power, collapsed into Andrew's arms, she still couldn't believe that this guy, who didn't seem much older than her, would be her chance to escape danger.
Until…
Andrew wrapped his fists around her, utilizing his newly acquired Water Magic, activating the "Water Spirit Technique" to turn it into a "Seed of the Water Spirit," which he then injected into Barbara's body to heal her.
At that moment, Andrew's thought was: "Using Water Magic to heal a Fire Mage, wouldn't it end up backfiring and hurting rather than saving?"
In reality, Barbara's feeling was: It feels… so comfortable!
Due to her personality, Barbara didn't show it, so Andrew didn't know that his Water Healing Technique, used on Barbara, the Warm Fire Mage from the Warm Fire Commerce Association, not only didn't cause her any harm like "Water Overcomes Fire" but actually resulted in better healing than an ordinary person receiving the Water Spirit Technique!
Clearly, being the owner of the Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method, when Andrew, the Water Mage, faced Barbara, the Warm Fire Mage, it seemed not like a water-and-fire relationship but as if a different kind of chemical reaction occurred.
"I… I am called Barbara." She finally put down her guard and revealed her identity to Andrew.
"Uh-huh, Barbara, is it? I'm Andrew."
Huh? Andrew?
Why does this name sound a bit familiar…
Oh, it's that hero I heard about during the day.
Barbara thought hazily.
Her injuries were originally very severe, and even if she survived, she would inevitably suffer from sequelae afterwards.
A Mage from the Magic Guild, once they inflict damage on someone, it often results in hard-to-heal stubborn illnesses. This is a major difference between Magic Guild Mages and Warm Fire Commerce Association Mages.
Fortunately, with Andrew using Water Magic combined with the "Water Spirit Technique," he stabilized Barbara's injuries just in time.
Barbara fell into a coma, which was actually a sign that her injuries were improving and her body's self-protection mechanism was starting to operate again.
But just before losing consciousness, Barbara still had confusion and concern in her heart: "Healing magic, although very rare in Fire Magic (she subconsciously considered Andrew as a Warm Fire Mage like her), is indeed a talent. But ultimately, it can't be used to fight against Humboldt!
Is this Andrew really my chance to escape danger?"
With this thought, she could no longer hold on and fainted.
At this moment.
The last hint of sunset was finally about to disappear at the horizon's edge.
Andrew stood there, silently holding the fainted beautiful girl in his arms.
Now, dear readers, you all already know: the story of how Barbara was injured by Humboldt, the reason she saved Andrew despite her own injuries, and how beneath Barbara's elegant and cool exterior, she has an inner world that gets angry, complains, and collapses, just like any other ordinary girl.
But from the perspective of our protagonist Andrew—
He knows nothing! Still!
Andrew thought to himself, it's fine if you don't explain why you saved me…
But at least tell me how you got injured by Humboldt? What's Humboldt's actual strength? How many people are under him?
Did Humboldt get injured when he hurt you?
If I'm supposed to take you away, where to?
Does the Warm Fire Commerce Association have reinforcements?
—Such crucial information, you should have told me before passing out!
Andrew thought to himself, I originally just wanted to find an ally to deal with this "old fire" Humboldt.
Just felt: maybe the correct way to open the Flame Realm isn't necessarily to fight monsters and level up all the way, nor to have the War God return and gather three thousand Water Elements at a command, but perhaps… this protagonist has magic power but willingly becomes a "son-in-law"?
I just wanted to find a strong ally to rely on!!
But in the end, this strong ally wanted me to save her and take her away…
"The problem is…"
Andrew's expression was filled with a faint (beaten) sense of helplessness and melancholy, "I haven't even prepared to be a strong ally yet."