Andrew at this moment had already carried Barbara into the tent.
He steadily placed the now much-recovered Barbara onto the mattress.
Then lightly tapped the middle of Barbara's full forehead, planting a "Seed of the Water Spirit" to continuously heal her internal injuries.
Finally, he covered Barbara with a beast skin.
After completing this series of actions, Andrew finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if the tension that had stretched all the way was finally somewhat relaxed.
Is this what it feels like to be the "big leg"?
Without actually being the "big leg" once, you'll never know how hard it is to be one.
He originally thought that relying on the panoramic image ability of "Water Spirit Sensing" would be enough for him to easily avoid all the pursuers.
Yet he still encountered some unexpected difficulties on the way back!
"Fortunately, we finally returned without any danger!"
Andrew took a deep breath and then ground his teeth, "Although there were some twists and turns, now the task is considered successfully completed, temporarily bringing Barbara to a relatively safe place.
Next, is whether to stay here and hold on until the rebellion ends, or—"
His gaze turned towards the direction of the town, with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
Yes, a rebellion.
The people on this side of the camp might not know yet.
On the way back, carrying Barbara, Andrew had seen clearly through water spirit sensing and his own eyes—
Wildfire Town was completely chaotic.
This small town, located at the very center of the Inner Sea Desert, was in utter chaos!
Those so-called magic apprentices under Humboldt's command weren't "apprentices" at all, but downright "thugs!"
Among the thugs were earth fire magic apprentices and apprentice flame warriors. These two types were professions of the "Earth Fire Series" of the Magic Guild.
The Warm Fire Series professionals included warm fire mages like Barbara and Crimson Knights.
In the same attribute, there was always one warrior and one mage, paired together.
At this time, recalling all kinds of atrocities seen on the way back to the camp, Andrew's face was extremely hard to look at: "In comparison, even Raymond is a bit better than those magical thugs! Beasts, all of them are beasts!"
Although it was already known that in this Flame Realm, professionals with fire attributes had far greater privileges than ordinary people.
But truly seeing it with the naked eye, through the wide-angle perspective of "Water Spirit Sensing," witnessing it, feeling it, still dealt a great blow to Andrew's heart.
"If I had the same strength as when I set off with Barbara on my back..."
Andrew thought to himself, "If I still had my strength from not long ago, I really had no other way but to take Barbara out of the town first, head north to Baal Town to temporarily avoid and wait for the aid from the Warm Fire Commerce Association.
But my strength has further increased on the way back..."
An unusual light flickered in Andrew's eyes.
Faintly, a plan and idea were brewing in his mind.
Whoosh!
Sofia pulled open the tent flap and came in immediately, her face stern.
She was a mother, and to her, the safety of her daughter, little Sophie, was the most important thing.
In the Flame Realm, especially in Wildfire Town, as a woman raising a child on her own, it was really too difficult. The hardships and sorrows were unimaginable to others.
Little Sophie's father was actually quite a remarkable person. Although not a professional, he was outstanding among ordinary people.
However, a "Desolate Beast Sand Tide" passed by, and little Sophie lost her father, while Aunt Sofia lost her husband.
After that, if it weren't for the "deal" with Ivan and his occasional "favor and help," Aunt Sofia couldn't imagine what she would have done.
At this very moment, Aunt Sofia's thoughts were simple: "If this girl Andrew brought back is really a trouble and related to the current chaos in the town, then even if Andrew is little Sophie's savior, I have to drive him and the girl out!"
However, before Aunt Sofia could speak, Andrew was the first to open his mouth, asking, "Auntie, do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."
Aunt Sofia: "..."
Hesitating for a moment, she still took out a plate of grapes she had saved for Andrew in the morning.
Pairing it with a glass of water and a piece of bread.
Then she saw Andrew devouring as if he were a hungry ghost reborn, saying "Thank you" before he began to wolf down the food.
The way he ate was so real (ugly), in complete contrast with his otherwise fresh and delicate demeanor!
But at the same time, Andrew ate with such relish.
It inadvertently made Aunt Sofia think, "Could I be wrong? If Andrew and the girl he brought back really have something to do with the current chaos in the town, he shouldn't be able to eat so heartily... right?"
Little did she know, her guess was actually not wrong.
It's just that Andrew was indeed extremely hungry, starving.
He had gone out before dawn, "sneaking" to treat someone at the Living People Cemetery, and on the way back in the evening had to fight Raymond, face Barbara, see through and deal with the lackeys, and just now had to carry Barbara across a surrounding so dense it was unimaginable to outsiders to finally safely return to this temporary camp—
After experiencing all of this, Andrew's feeling was almost exaggeratingly of "his chest sticking to his back," nearly passing out from hunger!
Even a water mage is human after all, and needs to eat.
Without eating, how can he help others, how can he extinguish fires?
Andrew took a grape into his mouth, carefully absorbing the glucose that could be rapidly absorbed from the fruit.
The "Water Soul Constitution" seemed to be highly efficient in its absorption ability.
The "Water Spirit Technique" had almost become a habitual process at all times.
While keeping his mind calm, it also alleviated the extreme mental fatigue caused by the constant tension on the way back.
For a moment, the tent was so quiet that only the sound of commotion from the town and Andrew's light chewing could be heard.
"Andrew, you..."
Aunt Sofia hesitated to speak.
On one hand, she found it a bit hard to understand the current Andrew, as if she couldn't grasp him.
On the other hand, she finally realized what was the biggest change in Andrew compared to when he left the camp in the morning—
It wasn't a transformation of athletic ability, nor something fresh and delicious.
Those are certainly important to a woman.
But to a mother, they are insignificant.
The real change was: killing intent!
At this moment, Andrew simply sat there, eating grapes quickly and methodically, looking quite normal.
Yet for some reason, Aunt Sofia just felt that Andrew's whole being subtly exuded a vibe of "going out to kill someone soon"!
Andrew continued eating grapes, spitting out the skins.
Meanwhile, he pondered:
"The temporary camp is remote, but ultimately it's part of Wildfire Town. Given the current situation, it's only 'relatively safe'.
Soon, it will likely become unsafe too.
Meaning, even if I really escape with Barbara, successfully ensuring her safety and escaping Humboldt's 'evil fire'—
The temporary camp would still suffer! I can't take little Sophie, Aunt Sofia, and everyone at the camp with me!
I can't take the whole Wildfire Town with me, can I?!
So, what if I change my approach?
No more running, no more escaping.
Instead, I'll leave Barbara here.
Then I'll return to the town alone, secretly hunting down those damned magic thugs!
To this point, in the eyes of Humboldt and his magic thugs, I'm still an 'Invisible Man'!
No one knows I saved Barbara.
This is my greatest advantage right now!"
Andrew kept calculating, balancing, and planning in his mind.
Extinguishing the fire isn't something done in a moment of recklessness.
To succeed, one must thoroughly consider making the plan feasible!
The basic conclusion is: running continuously is not a solution.
Even if we truly escape to Baal Town with Barbara, would it really be safe?
Not necessarily.
In the end, as long as we're still in this Flame Realm controlled by the Magic Guild, where can we escape to?
With that thought, Andrew finally made up his mind!
No more running.
Not only will we stop running,
but we'll actively strike back!
"After eating a bit more, head back to Wildfire Town." Andrew decided, "Utilize the magic and abilities I gained on my way back, hunt down those magic thugs, defeat them one by one!
Admittedly, this is indeed risky.
But—
If I can hunt down enough magic apprentices before being discovered,
then I could potentially use tonight to truly upgrade my powers with the Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method!
By then, facing Humboldt, that old man—!"
With this thought, Andrew suddenly felt that the opportunity to kill Humboldt may not be five days later, but perhaps... tonight.
In that moment, the somewhat scattered killing intent Andrew had been emitting instead gathered, became restrained, and no longer revealed.
Aunt Sofia saw Andrew's aura and temperament return to normal—the way she was familiar with—and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Deep down, she still felt somewhat puzzled: "So was I imagining things just now?"
Andrew placed the plate aside, took a deep breath, and stood up again.