Chapter 018: Bread

Someone! There are others here!
Du Fan was shocked, feeling uncertain about what to think—how could he not have known he was being followed?
But the three Nether Wolves reacted even faster than Du Fan. Before the cries of surprise could stop, one of them already lunged at him.
Suddenly, a blood-red magic blade appeared in the air and slashed at one of the Nether Wolves. Yet another wolf also pounced.
Immediately, a loud crash was heard, and a layer of ice crystals formed over the cave entrance high in the air, sealing off the small opening. Standing far below, Du Fan groaned in frustration—wasn’t this cutting off his escape route? He had no confidence in breaking through those ice blocks and leaving under the watchful eyes of the three Nether Wolves!
But before he could finish thinking, a dark figure seemed to appear in mid-air, then landed softly with a light sound.
Du Fan frowned slightly, but quickly understood—those magic blades were clearly barbarian sorcery, and that sudden ability to vanish was also some kind of barbarian secret technique. It was obvious the person following him was a barbarian. As for his exact identity, Du Fan couldn’t guess yet.
That person fell at great speed, but he clearly didn’t expect there to be a third Nether Wolf in the cave. As soon as he landed, the last wolf lunged at him. With a “boom,” the man seemed to dodge aside, but the ice layer grew thicker from the impact.
The figure vanished again. Du Fan pricked up his ears but heard only faint footsteps. By now, the two wolves that had been in the air had landed. The wolf struck by the magic blade had a long scar on its body; clearly enraged, it rushed forward at the slightest sound, spewing a blast of magical flame.
Another cry was heard, but the flame missed its target. The Nether Wolf, as if mad, charged in that direction. With a “thud,” a figure appeared in mid-air—overthrown by the wolf—it tumbled toward Du Fan’s location and crashed heavily onto the ground in front of him.

The remaining two Nether Wolves had already sensed the movement. Their two heads turned simultaneously, staring menacingly in Du Fan’s direction. It seemed these Nether Wolves had some form of communication among themselves—when one was injured, the others would learn from it. The three-headed Nether Wolves slowly approached from different directions…

Du Fan smiled bitterly. It wouldn’t matter if this barbarian died, but watching a living person being torn apart by a magical beast right in front of him was beyond his ability to remain calm. Moreover, judging by this person’s skills, they were likely stronger than him. If the two of them cooperated, they might be able to escape this place.

At that moment, Du Fan gritted his teeth. He put the Silver Moon Magic Sword back into his storage ring, took out a gold coin, and jumped out of his hiding place. He rushed over to the man, who was wearing barbarian leather armor, revealing most of his snow-white skin. His chest was prominently bulging, and his black hair covered his face, with what seemed to be a veil on it. But Du Fan already realized—it was a woman!

However, time was urgent. Du Fan didn’t have time to think further. He picked up the woman and turned to run, throwing the gold coin he still held toward the distant mountain wall.

With a crisp “ding,” the gold coin hit the mountain wall. The three Nether Wolves immediately rushed over like lightning, crashing into the wall with a loud noise.

Du Fan took the opportunity to retreat quickly. He had no other choice but to run into the cave where those three Nether Wolves had appeared!

Inside the cave, the three Nether Wolves were fighting fiercely. Du Fan channeled wind-based combat energy, making himself lighter. Although there were occasional noises, they were drowned out by the roaring outside.

As he ran into the dark cave, Du Fan felt a chill run down his spine. He wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right or wrong. If this was the lair of Nether Wolves, his life would likely end here.

But thinking of the power of those three Nether Wolves behind him, Du Fan forgot everything else. Holding the woman in one arm, he rushed along the cave’s path, fearing that even a slight delay would mean falling into the jaws of those wolves.

After running for what felt like an eternity, Du Fan realized that since Nether Wolves were here, there must be other strange things in this cave. It was one thing, but if more Nether Wolves appeared, his life would be over—turned into an ice popsicle!

As he kept running, Du Fan suddenly felt his feet go weak—he didn’t know what he had stepped on. He stumbled and rolled down the dark cave. After rolling for dozens of meters, he finally stopped. Du Fan struggled a bit, feeling pain all over his body. He couldn’t help but curse Ling Yin, who had led him here, countless times in his mind. After finally catching his breath, he reached around him and found the area seemed quite flat. He groped around and suddenly felt something in his left hand! He squeezed it a few times—it was big and soft, with something supporting it in his palm, just like the most popular French bread in the capital. He kneaded it a few more times, wondering how French bread could be in such a place. He tried to pick it up to smell it, but it was heavy. “Huh?” he exclaimed, reaching out with his right hand as well. But halfway there, he froze—seemed there was another bread somewhere else. That was too strange; how could he have found two breads after falling down the cave? Confused, he applied more force. Suddenly, he heard a groan. After a moment, he realized he must have saved a barbarian woman earlier. So what about the bread in his hand now?… Damn the bread! Du Fan’s cheeks warmed slightly—he must have lost his head from the fall to do such a thing. But given the circumstances, that awful feeling passed quickly. The place seemed filled with cold winds. Afraid that the shadow wolves might follow them through the cave, he groped around and picked up the woman, holding her in his arms. As soon as he did, he smelled a delicate fragrance. After further exploration, he couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. The barbarian women’s leather armor was tied with ropes. During the chaotic fall, the ropes must have broken, causing the armor to fall off. He hadn’t realized when he touched her. It wasn’t his fault. Du Fan quickly took off his robe and wrapped it around the barbarian woman. After hesitating for a moment, he drew his wand and quickly summoned a few fireballs.

The place he was in now was eerily strange. Although summoning small fireballs might attract some deadly creature, not figuring out his own situation would only cause more trouble. A moment later, everything around him was illuminated. Du Fan placed the woman in his arms on the ground, glanced around, and couldn’t help but frown. The place he was in resembled the altar in the Great God Temple to some extent, but it was much smaller. There were signs of artificial construction everywhere, and no exits seemed to be visible—only the entrance he had rolled in through appeared to be the only passage. Could it be that those barbarians had painstakingly built this secret passage just to create such a place? Frowning, Du Fan circled the area several times and noticed faint signs of carving on one wall; nothing unusual else was present. After circling a few more times and thinking for a while, he realized it was impossible to return the way he came. Not to mention anything else, even just a few Nether Wolves were beyond his ability to handle. But if he waited until that barbarian woman woke up, he might have a chance. With this thought, Du Fan stared at the entrance he had come in through, then gathered all the stones he could find around to block it. This way, even if those three Nether Wolves followed him in, it would buy him some time and prevent him from being unprepared. After doing all this, Du Fan gathered several floating small fireballs near the barbarian woman. He slowly turned her body over, took advantage of her for a while, then swept the hair from her face and removed her veil. An extremely ugly face appeared before Du Fan’s eyes. After just one glance, he felt anger rise in his heart. Without any courtesy, he slapped her repeatedly, shouting angrily, “Great, it’s really you, dear High Priestess Ringtone. We truly have old and new grudges now… I really wanted to find out what you planned after tricking me here.” After saying this, Du Fan grew even angrier. He slapped her several more times, but halfway through, he suddenly let out a soft “Huh…”