Andrew rushed over.

He should have arrived much earlier.

If not for Barbara's magic barrier blocking him inside Wildfire Town!

"This barrier is a bit too sturdy, isn't it?!"

Just a moment ago, Andrew was all set to rush out of Wildfire Town to reunite with Barbara.

But as the lord of Wildfire Territory, he ended up being trapped in his own territory!

Not only was he blocked by the magic barrier, but even his voice couldn't get through!

He had no way to tell Barbara: "I'm back, you don't have to face it all alone!"

Regrettably, Andrew had no choice but to take drastic measures against his own territory's magic barrier.

Coupled with the fact that breaking the barrier from the inside was significantly easier than from the outside, he finally shattered the barrier and rushed out of Wildfire Town.

The other town members were completely focused on Barbara, not noticing Andrew's struggle with the magic barrier.

It wasn't until Andrew burst through the barrier that An Ya and others sensed something and looked up sharply, seeing the giant egg-shaped orange-red magic barrier shattering!

"...Wah!" a child who had been saved and brought back to Wildfire Town yesterday burst into tears, "Mama, I want Mama!"

The child thought the magic barrier had been broken by the enemy!

Scared them out of their wits!

Andrew, however, couldn't be bothered with the blunder of "breaking his own territory's defense barrier and scaring his own people to tears" at that moment.

After shattering the magic barrier with the "Zero-Distance Water Cannon," Andrew donned the "Water-Traveling Boots" and sped toward Barbara.

Almost in the nick of time, he intercepted between Barbara and the opponent's "Silent Steel Wire!"

At this moment, Barbara closed her eyes, so she didn't see—

Andrew arrived and drew a circle in the air.

Despite clearly being Tier Two facing Tier Four, Andrew used a method of direct confrontation to intercept the "Silent Steel Wire!"

The circle he drew mid-air was a move from the "Fingertip Series," designed specifically to counter soul attacks, named "Spiritual Vortex."

The "Silent Steel Wire," originally coming with extreme cutting power, was sucked in and swept away by the rapidly spinning "Spiritual Vortex," getting directly swallowed!

Andrew's water magic didn't have an advantage in soul attacks compared to the "Heart Fire Series" and "Desolate Language Series."

But when it came to soul defenses, water magic had more advantages over Warm Fire and Earth Fire, these two fire magics!

"It's you?!" Rose's expression changed.

Of course, he remembered this guy who "greeted" him five days ago.

Although Rose didn't know that Andrew had actually disappeared with Ivan over these five days, he did find it odd: how come he only saw Barbara these days, with no sign of Andrew taking any action?

At this moment, Andrew, having blocked Rose's furious full-force "Silent Steel Wire," swayed slightly.

Fighting Tier Four as Tier Two was still too difficult.

Andrew grunted, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

However, Andrew quickly raised a hand, casually wiping away the blood.

His other hand firmly supported Barbara's lower back, helping her stand steady while "Deep Blue Starlight" combined with "Flowing Water Spirit" turned into a powerful healing force, flooding into the girl's waist and spreading throughout her body!

Barbara finally opened her eyes again.

The first thing she saw was the "Silent Steel Wire" not far ahead, now tangled into a mess and no longer imposing, thanks to the "Spiritual Vortex."

She was momentarily stunned, then turned her head to see the apologetic smile of the boy beside her.

"Sorry I'm late," Andrew repeated, his breath slightly steady.

"You, you..." Barbara looked at Andrew, momentarily at a loss for words.

What she didn't see was: behind her and Andrew, the giant egg-shaped magic barrier enveloping Wildfire Town was just now belatedly crumbling from the point Andrew burst through, shattering until the entire barrier collapsed.

This barrier wasn't just one Barbara set up to protect Wildfire Town, but also a magic wall she erected to isolate herself from others in Wildfire Town, planning to take on everything alone.

But now, this wall had shattered.

The fragments of the orange-red barrier, under the sunlight, were not frightening; instead, they were splendid, quite beautiful.

In such a backdrop.

The boy lightly held the girl's slender waist.

The girl stared blankly at the boy's face, so close to her.

Across from them, Fleur, who had brightened up upon Andrew's appearance, "Oh, you're finally out! I've been waiting for you!" now slightly paused at the sight of the intimate exchange between the boy and girl under the orange-red resplendent backdrop, thinking, what is this sudden show of affection?

"That is... Andrew?" From Wildfire Town's direction, An Ya and the residents finally got a clear view of Andrew, becoming excited and surprised, "It's Lord Andrew! He has finally returned!"

The desert residents, driven away by Rose and subsequently rescued and welcomed by Wildfire Town in the past five days, looked at each other, "Who is this guy?" When they arrived at Wildfire Town, Andrew had happened to disappear, so they naturally had not seen him before.

At this moment, Barbara leaned weakly against Andrew's shoulder.

Andrew looked down at the girl in front of him, feeling a pang of heartache for the first time in his life.

Although he wasn't certain of Barbara's thoughts, just from her previous actions, Andrew could roughly guess why she chose this course.

"This seemingly cold, proud, elegant, and beautiful third miss of the Commerce Association is, in reality, just like any ordinary girl, with a vulnerable and sensitive side," Andrew thought.

The key is, in the face of difficulties, she shows no weakness or retreat, instead bearing all the burdens herself.

With this insight, Andrew unconsciously softened his tone and gently said, "Sorry, earlier—whoa!?"

Barbara, without warning, punched him right on the nose!

"You... Where on earth have you been these past five days?!"

The third miss of the Warm Fire Commerce Association was angry, "Did you know everyone was so worried about you? I... I was also very worried about you!"

As she spoke, she couldn't hold back her tears.

In the past five days, Barbara truly endured unimaginable psychological pressure.

She had no idea whether Andrew and Ivan's mysterious disappearance indicated some life-threatening situation, so not only did she have to consider protecting the people of Wildfire Town and dealing with Rose and Fleur, she also had to think of how to find and rescue Andrew after driving Rose away!

Although she punched Andrew, in reality, her fist held no real strength.

From her punch, Andrew instead felt a sense of trust and closeness towards him.

He couldn't help but rub his nose and smile, "One punch enough? If it's not enough to vent, want to throw another?"

But Barbara didn't answer.

Having drained her magic power, upon seeing Andrew—especially after confirming this wasn't an illusion but Andrew really coming back—the string inside her, which had been taut for five days and nights, loosened, and she couldn't help but faint.

Completely collapsing into Andrew's arms.

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