Chapter 008: Interests

Du Fan said calmly, “Elder brother is right.”
George shook his head again and said softly, “If I’m guessing correctly, the one in charge of this matter in the North this time should be Ordas from the Northern Legion. With his skills, he might even be a match for me, and only that Joshua genius can rival him. Third brother, if you’ll listen to me, although Ordas wants to deal with you, you haven’t suffered any harm after all. I think he just wants to give you a slight lesson. Although our Green family has always had tensions with the Belinger family, it hasn’t reached the point of being mortal enemies. But if you kill Ordas this time, our family will likely go to war with the Belinger family forever. For the sake of our family’s interests… it’s really…”
Before he could finish, Allen snapped angrily, “What do you mean, Elder brother? Are you saying the third brother deserves to be bullied?”
Du Fan waved his hand and said, “Enough, stop arguing. Elder brother, you don’t know about my relationship with Ordas. Maybe you’re oversimplifying things, but we’ve already reached a point where one of us must die—him or me. We both know that. I think if we’re going to kill him, it has to be now. If we give him a few more years, with his talent, he might break through to the Saint rank. By then, my life as Du Fan will likely be completely ruined… So this time, Ordas must die!”
George sighed softly and said, “Since you say so, what more can I say? The family will always stand by you. Father also said this matter must not be left unaddressed. Our Green family isn’t something that can be easily manipulated.”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Actually, Elder brother, you don’t need to worry so much. There are no eternal enemies in this world—only eternal interests. Since Ordas is the designated heir of the Belinger family, there might be many within the family who wish for his death. If we kill him, those people will likely be grateful rather than resentful. In the name of family interests, Ordas can die for nothing. How many times has this happened in history? Has Elder brother forgotten?”

George gave a bitter smile and said, “Since you put it that way, I’ll go arrange things right away. Those who were captured also need to be interrogated; otherwise, it will indeed be impossible to get any information about Ordas. As for you, third brother, what plans do you have in mind? Shouldn’t you tell me? Although you’re in charge this time, if you don’t say anything, I’m really very confused!”

Du Fan sneered coldly and said, “Elder brother, there’s no need for you to ask too much. I do have a general idea of my plans, but they can change. After all, Ordas is a rare genius in the imperial capital, a hero once in several decades for the empire. If he’s to die, I’ll make sure he dies in a spectacular manner, and I’ll also make the Berlinger family suffer in silence without being able to complain. So don’t worry too much about how I’ll arrange things. It’s rare for you, elder brother, to be afraid that I might harm you.”

“Haha, would I be afraid of you?” George said calmly. “If you’re interested in this family, I can just talk to Father directly—it’s not a problem.”

Du Fan replied indifferently, “Elder brother, stop joking. I have no interest at all. Compared to Duke Berlinger, I think ‘Pope Du Fan’ sounds better, don’t you think?”

George was slightly stunned for a moment before laughing and saying, “Third brother, if you can really achieve your goal, why would I be a duke? I’ll just become the emperor myself!”

The two brothers exchanged a glance, and everything was understood without words.

Although Allen was impulsive, he wasn’t stupid. He just didn’t want to think about too complicated issues. But the conversation between Du Fan and George was truly alarming. In this era, any talk of ambition or conquest would send someone to the heresy tribunal!

It was a pity that there were three brothers here, and the Northern Legion was protecting them from all sides. Even if someone outside heard this, would they really dare to go and report it?

George nodded slightly before leaving. Before going, he glanced at Allen and said, “Third brother, your strength isn’t enough. Out of the three brothers, you’re the strongest. So I’ll leave your safety to you.”

Allen quickly nodded. With his cold personality, he was perfectly suited to practice the Green Family’s hereditary Star Combat Energy. Coupled with years of experience on the continent, Allen’s strength had already approached level eight. Although he couldn’t compare to geniuses like Ordas, he was truly remarkable among his peers.

But Du Fan was clear at this moment that although his strength seemed the weakest, if a fight really broke out, he had a bunch of unusual skills and dozens of magic scrolls in his storage ring. Though he didn’t have any powerful equipment to protect himself, if a fight did occur, he could even compete with someone at the peak of level nine. It was just a pity that fighting for him meant spending money—just one random fight could cost a million gold coins, a sum large enough to support an army of a hundred thousand. No matter how rich he was, he couldn’t waste it like this, especially since he actually didn’t have much money to begin with.

As he was thinking, Allen smiled and said, “By the way, third brother, I heard you’ve mastered level three combat energy. But to me, it seems like you’re far beyond that. Have you had any extraordinary experiences these days? I feel like you’re not worried at all about your own safety.”

Du Fan was slightly stunned. Looking at Allen’s half-smiling expression, he inwardly sighed: Which idiot said my second brother wasn’t sharp enough? It seems like he knows everything going on in my mind.

But which of my affairs could I just casually talk about?

While troubled, a announcement came from the entrance of the cathedral. Du Fan looked up and saw Ferre approaching.

Among Du Fan’s barely recognizable subordinates, Ferre was the most loyal. He had previously assigned Ferre some tasks to complete, and judging from Ferre’s expression now, it seemed he had made some progress. Du Fan quickly waved his hand and said, “Come in!”

Ferre bowed respectfully before whispering, “Young master Du Fan, that woman said she agreed!”

“What!” Du Fan was momentarily stunned, but soon a smile appeared on his face. “Very good. You’ve done an excellent job on this. I’m going right away.”

With that, he turned to Allen and said, “Second brother, this is a very interesting matter. Are you interested in coming and seeing it?”

……

The predecessor of the Modo Cathedral was an old governor’s mansion. Later, after a certain governor donated the land to the Holy Church, the cathedral was built on its foundation. But in reality, aside from the main buildings, other areas still retained the characteristics of the governor’s mansion era, such as this rather dilapidated dungeon.

The steps of the dungeon were covered in moss, and the foul water contained the corpses of unknown animals, which made one feel nauseous at the sight. Water kept dripping from the ceiling and walls, and faint screams could be heard coming from all directions. Anyone with an unstable mind would likely collapse completely in such a place.

When the large group arrived at Modo City, Du Fan ordered Feri to take a few Temple Knights to bring Miss Xue Lan to this dungeon as a guest, and her companions were naturally also in this dungeon.

Feri didn’t have much to do—just come every day to ask if Xue Lan was willing to accept Du Fan’s conditions. Of course, he didn’t know those conditions himself.

At this moment, Feri led the way. He was already familiar with this rotten dungeon and led Du Fan and Allen around several times before finally reaching a slightly drier area.

Feri bowed slightly and said, “Young Master Du Fan, we’ve arrived.”

Du Fan nodded slightly and frowned as he looked in. In the dim light of the fire, dozens of people were huddled in the corners of their cells. Across from that cell, Xue Lan sat pale in the middle of the room.

Du Fan hadn’t abused these people much these days—just kept them locked here. Of course, for secrecy reasons, these people had to fend for themselves in terms of food and water.

Those delicate girls had originally been very stubborn, but after a few days in captivity, hunger and thirst could break down a person’s nerves. Since they didn’t want to die, their only option was to find something in the dungeon to eat, though no one knew what that might be.

Du Fan felt nauseous but couldn’t help but sigh. He glanced at Xue Lan, who was alone in the room, and said calmly, “Miss Xue Lan, I heard you agreed?”

Xue Lan raised her lifeless eyes to look at Du Fan and said in a barely audible voice, “I… I… I agree, but you must ensure that my companions not only survive but also receive proper treatment.”

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Since it’s a deal, I, Du Fan, will naturally keep my word. But can you really do it? I’ve already told you the conditions. If you fail, I definitely have ways to make your companions suffer in another way!”

Xue Lan nodded through gritted teeth.

Du Fan laughed and said, “Good, very good! Then, Ferai, send someone to bring food to those guys—three meals a day. As for Miss Xuelan, come with me now!”