Chapter 006: Collecting the Body

“Boom—”
Almost at the same time, a loud explosion came from the bell tower. The guy who tried to ambush Gabriel and Evan was flung against the wall. Viscount Evan, who appeared as fat as a wine barrel, was actually extremely agile. It was he who punched the attacker and sent him flying.
It was unclear how much combat energy was contained in that punch—the attacked man immediately lay on the ground, unable to move even a little.
Evan slowly walked over to him, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted up his much larger body. After taking a close look, he laughed and said, “Haha… Barbarians… Lord Gabriel, your defenses here are truly excellent. Even barbarians can slip in. I guess this kind of thing has happened more than once over the years, right?”
Gabriel’s expression turned grim. Though he had some skills of his own, he naturally couldn’t compare to Viscount Evan. With an awkward smile, he said, “Lord Evan, you’re joking! I’ll definitely have those useless people investigate this thoroughly.”
Viscount Evan nodded. He didn’t look at Gabriel again but shook the barbarian’s head in his hand and said in a low voice, “By the way, little darling, shouldn’t you tell me how you managed to get in? What do you want? And what have you done?”
The barbarian took a deep breath, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he still struggled and spoke in that strange tone, “The Great God… the warriors of the Great God will bring curses and destroy this land… Before the Great God, you are all ants… Struggle, Rolandians! This is your last chance… From now on, you will…”
By the end, his face became extremely grotesque, as if everything he said would come true. But before he could finish, the barbarian spat out more blood and collapsed.
Viscount Evan held his body, frowned slightly, and after a moment, casually threw the corpse on the ground.
Gabriel asked in a low voice, “Dead?”
“Dead…” Viscount Evan sighed slightly. “Gabriel, if I’m not mistaken, we’re in big trouble this time. All our plans need to be changed…”
“Lord Evan, what do you mean…”

Viscount Evan frowned, gazing northward, and sighed softly. “Those barbarians—I’m afraid this time… they really will invade in force. With just us, we’re no match at all. If we can’t get the Northern Legion involved, all the hard work we’ve put in over the years is likely to be ruined…”

Gabriel was shocked. “Lord Evan, we send them so many things every year. By agreement, they shouldn’t attack us. When we broke ties with the empire, they should have come to help us. Why now…?”

“Agreement?” Viscount Evan sneered. “I’ve always said those barbarians in the northeast are insatiable wolves. The more you give them, the more they demand. If we can’t satisfy their greed, they’ll turn on us… Lord Gabriel, you should understand—wolves aren’t dogs. Dogs won’t bite their masters once tamed, but starving wolves will devour them… And besides, we’re not even their masters…”

Gabriel’s expression changed. “Then should we report this immediately to higher authorities?”

Evan nodded slightly.

Gabriel walked to the top of the stairs and shouted, “Someone…!”

But there was no response after a moment.

Gabriel was about to say something, but Evan sneered. “No need to call… Gabriel, if those useless idiots below you were still alive, they would have rushed up by now. If they haven’t come yet… they’re probably all dead. No matter how much you shout, it’s useless.”

Gabriel froze, his face turning ashen. “Then… Angelina…?”

“She won’t die,” Evan said firmly, a cold smile on his lips. “But what happens to a woman in the hands of barbarians? Don’t you know, Gabriel?”

Gabriel cried out in horror. He grabbed a sword from a decorative item on the wall and rushed downward like a whirlwind.

Evan tried to stop him, but it was too late. He sighed softly and murmured, “Gabriel, Gabriel… you’re still too foolish. Can’t you see that this bell tower is probably full of deadly traps right now?”

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp noise came from the hallway. Evan shook his head and said quietly, “Though you’re useless, we can’t do without you… Ah… what a hassle…”

Yet despite those words, where was any sign of worry on Evan’s face? He smirked coldly, grabbed a long spear from the wall, and slowly made his way down the stairs.
In the darkness, it seemed as though a murderous intent was closing in on him. Evan sneered, thrusting the spear out like lightning; when he pulled it back, it was covered in blood.
He turned the spear in his hand and murmured, “Aren’t barbarians supposed to be strong in body but simple-minded? How did they manage such night attacks? Could it be… there’s someone else behind them this time?”
With another laugh, he added, “But then again, I’m just an arms dealer. As long as there are wars, I’ll have business. Other matters are for the empire’s people to worry about. Why should I get involved?”
As he spoke, he swung the spear again, and this time several muffled groans were heard. Evan sighed bitterly, “Ugh… I haven’t fought in so long. Letting someone escape from me is a real failure…”
While battles were underway here, battles also began elsewhere…
The shaman priest floating in the air saw that Du Fan and Oscar weren’t speaking and suddenly smiled. In a dry voice, he said, “You two… have you finished leaving your last words so quickly? Don’t worry. Take your time. We have plenty of time…”
Du Fan and Oscar exchanged a glance but said nothing. Both recognized the sarcasm in the shaman priest’s voice and knew that even if they delayed, it wouldn’t give them any advantage.
As the saying goes, those who act first control the situation, while those who act later are at a disadvantage. Most people understand this principle—how could Du Fan and Oscar not?
At this critical moment, Du Fan didn’t dare be careless. He slowly released his mental energy, forming a barrier that enveloped him.
This barrier made of mental energy was effective only against magic but had little effect on combat energy.
The shaman priest in the sky understood Du Fan’s actions immediately. Du Fan was trying to defend himself. The priest laughed heartily and said, “Excellent magic! Powerful mental energy! There are few people like you among the Rolandians. Truly rare, truly rare!”

The man’s laughter carried a piercing quality, as if it could pierce through eardrums at any moment, causing extreme discomfort. His peculiar tone held a hint of admiration: “Oh… your mental strength is quite good, but your magic power is only at level three… Wait, no, level four, right? But you’ve hidden it well—really in line with the cunning and ruthless nature of your Roland people… Oh… Am I not mistaken? You’ve even developed level four combat energy, and it’s dual属性
属性? Magic and combat combined? Hahaha… You’re quite an interesting little guy. It seems I can have a lot of fun with you tonight. Alright, little guy, shall we begin?”
As he spoke, the shaman priest slowly raised his hands behind his back. Though his voice was strange, his hands were smooth and milky white, almost as delicate as a woman’s. But Du Fan knew that these delicate hands concealed countless murderous intentions.
The man recited some strange incantations. With his movements, a mass of dark mist appeared beside him. Moments later, the mist coalesced into a bird entirely made of darkness. At first, it was only the size of a palm, but soon it grew several times larger than the shaman priest himself.
The shaman priest stepped forward slowly and stood on top of the black bird, smiling faintly. “Little guy, it’s begun…”
Du Fan felt a bitter smile in his heart.
What the opponent had done was clearly some form of witchcraft. Although he couldn’t understand exactly what it was, if he guessed correctly, it must be some kind of elemental creature. Perhaps that black bird was made of dark magic elements?
But to be able to summon such a thing meant the shaman priest was at least at level seven according to the ranking of mages in the Roland Continent. In other words, this shaman priest possessed the power of level seven magic… while Du Fan was at most a level four mage…
No matter how he thought about it, he seemed destined to suffer greatly in this fight…
Du Fan inwardly smiled bitterly. It was the first time he had encountered such an opponent since he started his journey. Tactics and schemes were useless now, and he had already used up so many magic scrolls. The only hope left was that this “Wanfa” was truly as miraculous as Chenchen had said. Otherwise, Miss Chenchen, you’ll have to come and collect my body…