Of course, Aunt Sofia had no idea about Andrew's plan to "pull Rose's teeth."

After Andrew said, "I'll be bothering you, Auntie, and little Sophie for these five days," he vanished from the underground warehouse (Water-Traveling Boots) in a flash.

Aunt Sofia was startled and then slightly displeased.

This kid, did he even listen to what I was saying?

Isn't it necessary to wait for Ivan to wake up first?

At times like this, Aunt Sofia couldn't help but miss the former Andrew, the one from before he saved little Sophie from the sea of flames. That Andrew was kind, naive, a bit timid, and would blush shyly when he occasionally saw her in the hallway...

After that great fire, Andrew seemed to have become a different person. Saving Barbara, killing Humboldt, enchanting her daughter to the point of obsession, and even being "fresh and tasty" for a while... He became even more impressive, no doubt! But it was undeniable that after she declined his request to look after the unconscious Barbara, their relationship inevitably became somewhat distant.

"But if I had to choose again, I would probably still refuse," Aunt Sofia thought, "I am little Sophie's mother, after all, I have to consider more things."

As it was then, it still is now.

Aunt Sofia thought for a moment and looked at her daughter, "Little Sophie you..."

She had intended to say that no matter the circumstances, they should always prepare for the worst, that Andrew is a good person, and she, like her daughter, believes in him. But sometimes one has to leave some room for oneself.

Before she could say it, she saw that—

"Hoo, hoo..." Little Sophie was already soundly asleep!

Firstly, over these five days, the little girl had been keeping watch in this underground warehouse day and night, not having rested well.

Secondly, Andrew had just said, "Little Sophie, having a good sleep is the best help," and little Sophie, trusting Andrew unconditionally, simply did as he suggested.

Aunt Sofia clutched her chest and felt a bit stifled.

Suddenly she understood what it meant for a girl to be outwardly focused!

A thought even flashed through Aunt Sofia's mind: "Damn, Andrew, you brat, did you sneakily cast some strange magic on my daughter?!"

She couldn't help feeling a little sour, "This girl has never been like this with me!"

A moment later, she sighed softly.

Of course, she knew Andrew hadn't cast any bewitching magic or anything like that. If he had cast any "magic," it was back in the sea of flames when he disregarded his own safety to rescue little Sophie! That was the "magic" Andrew performed.

Aunt Sofia looked at her daughter's peaceful sleeping face. Little Sophie's trust in Andrew had unknowingly infected her too, and she felt a bit more at ease.

There was a subtle idea in her heart: "As my daughter grows, perhaps from now on, I should allow more freedom and trust in little Sophie's own judgment?"

She glanced again at the still-unconscious Ivan and couldn't help but worry, "Without Ivan's support, can they really... win this battle?"

Aunt Sofia's worries were not without reason.

Because the situation was indeed dire.

Strategically, Andrew certainly underestimated Rose, but he remained vigilant tactically without the slightest negligence.

His feet clad in the "Water-Traveling Boots," Andrew first returned from the underground warehouse to the laboratory on the surface.

Then, without pausing, he rushed out of the laboratory and headed straight out of Wildfire Town.

Why not rendezvous with Barbara at the laboratory first?

Andrew thought to himself that he would like to!

But... Barbara wasn't in the lab at the moment!

Just a short while ago, Wildfire Territory had just endured another wave of "Vanguard" assaults.

While Barbara was stationed in the lab's fortress—back then she was in the lab—slaying all the invading Desolate Beasts, and Alpha led a team to rescue all the displaced desert residents, which, under An Ya's coordination, held the line once more and stabilized the situation.

But everyone knew: the next assault would be undefendable, no matter what.

Water and food supplies were nearly depleted, and Wildfire Territory itself had reached its capacity limit; what could they do?

Even An Ya was still trying hard to maintain morale.

However, it's hard to cook without rice. Even with An Ya's strong management skills, she felt a sense of being capable of nothing more.

To put it bluntly, with water and food almost gone, how do you keep people calm?

It's impossible to maintain morale!

Even An Ya, and Andrew's "Water Spirit Technique" and "Seed of the Water Spirit" were ineffective.

People need to eat and drink.

Without food and water, yet expecting people to remain calm—it's just being unreasonable!

"Just keep stalling until Andrew and Ivan return!" That was An Ya's suggestion to Barbara, "Didn't you say Andrew and Ivan's presences were in the underground warehouse and never disappeared? So what we can do now is trust that they will certainly return!"

An Ya, soft outwardly but tough inside, the harder the situation, the braver she became. In fact, given the situation, the lack of infighting within the entire Wildfire Territory was already a miracle created by An Ya's management skills and the sense of security she inherently provided to everyone.

Barbara heard An Ya's words but seemed not to truly take them to heart.

For these five days, Barbara had been in a state of high tension.

Yet now, she unusually relaxed somewhat, even revealing a slight smile.

"We can't drag this out any longer," Barbara gently shook her head, saying, "Let me... end this all."

With that, she made her way out of the laboratory, through Wildfire Town, and past the surrounding temporary camps.

She walked straight toward the Desolate Beast encirclement outside Wildfire Territory, like a water bucket formation.

An Ya felt a strong sense of unease: "Miss Barbara? What... what are you planning to do?"

Wanting to catch up, she suddenly looked up.

She then saw an orange-red magic barrier, centered on the laboratory, enveloping the entire Wildfire Town and all the surrounding temporary camps!

This undoubtedly was Barbara's handiwork.

She protected everyone, yet walked out of the magic barrier herself.

Above the desert, under the scorching sun.

Barbara walked step by step to the space between the small town and the Desolate Beast immense crowd.

Her increasingly slender figure over these days exuded an aura set on shielding the people of Wildfire Town from the elements.

In stark contrast to Rose, who continued to hide behind the Desolate Beast horde.

"Come out."

Her eyes swept across the Desolate Beasts, and Barbara spoke faintly.

No response.

Barbara's expression didn't change, she continued speaking as if to herself, "Your mission is to capture me, right? I admit it. Your vanguard tactic really disgusted me. I admit defeat, I submit! I'm willing to go with you! The condition is: withdraw these damned Desolate Beasts! Spare everyone else besides me!"

The young woman's voice echoed across the desert sky.

Very calm, very tranquil.

The people of Wildfire Town, who had been on the verge of a breakdown, were stunned upon hearing her words.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.