Chapter 002: Underestimating You

“All of you, retreat! Go deep into the jungle and cut off the heads of those prey. As for what happens here, let me handle it myself.”
Du Fan gave cold orders to the cavalrymen behind him.
One of them said, “But Young Master Du Fan, he…”
Du Fan smiled and said, “There’s no ‘but’. Young Master Aldas isn’t someone you can handle. Just follow my orders… If anything goes wrong later, I won’t be able to protect you!”
The cavalrymen exchanged glances and quickly understood Du Fan’s meaning. They lifted their whips slightly and prepared to retreat.
Aldas watched this all coldly before suddenly laughing loudly. “Since you’re here, why rush to leave? But since it’s Young Master Du Fan’s request, then have your heads cut off before you go!”
With that, Aldas grabbed a handful of arrows from his quiver, flicked them lightly, and shot them at the cavalrymen.
Yet before the arrows could reach them, a burst of flames erupted from the side, instantly turning the arrows to ashes!
Taking advantage of this, the cavalrymen quickly retreated.
Du Fan, holding the reins in one hand and his other hand hidden in his sleeve, said with a fake smile, “Young Master Aldas, I’m different from you. You can stand by and watch so many of your own people die… but I, Du Fan, can’t. I certainly won’t care about the lives of others, but killing those in front of me? I think you don’t have the ability to do that.”
Seeing the cavalrymen retreat and Du Fan blocking his path, Aldas realized it was impossible for him to chase after them. He dismissed the idea but still stared at Du Fan coldly and said, “It seems Young Master Du Fan isn’t an ordinary person after all. That magic trick just now was by no means simple… It seems not only me, but everyone in the capital has been deceived by your worthless appearance.”
Du Fan looked at Aldas’s expression, slightly puzzled, but still laughed and said, “Young Master Aldas, you’re too kind. If we’re talking about being extraordinary, who could compare to you, Young Master Aldas? A genius at level eight—no matter where he is, his presence alone could shake the land!”

Ordas frowned and said, “Du Fan, you’re only good at talking, aren’t you… Let me guess—you’re trying to buy time so that the cavalry who left just now can come to your aid?”
Du Fan let out a scoffing laugh and said in a low voice, “To deal with someone like you, Ordas, do I really need any reinforcements? It seems I, Du Fan, have been underestimated!”
Ordas snorted and said, “Young Master Du Fan, can I take your words as a challenge to me?”
“Call it a challenge if you want!” Du Fan smiled faintly. “But between us, given our relationship, do we really need all this talk before fighting? Haven’t you wanted my head since the beginning, Young Master Ordas? But let me tell you… though you might think so, I won’t do it! At least not yet… If the great Young Master Ordas is to die, he should die gloriously… So, Young Master Ordas, do you want to know what I’ve prepared for your death? If you can defeat me… I’ll tell you!”
Ordas laughed heartily and said, “Very good, Du Fan. Your words have successfully angered me! But you’re right about one thing—there’s indeed no need for all this talk between us… So, you… die!”
Before his words faded, Ordas grabbed the girl in front of him and threw her far away. Then, with a slight snort, he drew his long sword from his waist. As combat energy flared, the sword grew several inches longer. Ordas was enveloped in combat energy, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Without any hesitation, he swung his sword straight at Du Fan, aiming to kill him with a single strike.
If it had been the old Du Fan, he would have fled in terror at this move. But this was not the same as before—Du Fan’s strength was now far beyond what it used to be. He deflected Ordas’ attack and suddenly drew his own long sword. With a surge of combat energy, he swung a half-circle slash in one swift motion.

With a loud “boom,” the two streams of combat energy collided violently. Although Aldas was slightly stronger, his move was merely exploratory; he was mostly focused on guarding against Du Fan’s unpredictable magic. He never expected Du Fan to have the strength to withstand such a strike, so the impact between them was fairly even.

A shockwave erupted violently from where their long swords met, clearing a circular area in the surrounding trees. The colliding combat energies produced a intense glow before shooting upward like a beam of light.

Both men shouted and stepped back several steps at the same time. Du Fan’s right hand, which held the sword, trembled slightly, but he still sneered and said, “A genius from the Imperial Capital, an eighth-level warrior—nothing more than that… Young Master Aldas, if that’s all you’ve got, then today it won’t be you who saves my life, nor will I spare yours!”

Aldas narrowed his eyes, a hint of surprise appearing on his handsome face. He stared at Du Fan deeply and said meaningfully, “A genius from the Imperial Capital? Young Master Du Fan, better not make fun of me, Aldas. I always thought you were at most hiding your magical abilities. I never expected you to be truly proficient in both magic and martial arts… It seems I underestimated you… But Young Master Du Fan, do you really think that was my full strength? Then you’d better be careful. For the sake of your head, I’ll go all out!”

As he spoke, Aldas slightly raised his long sword. The combat energy above the blade fluctuated erratically. The once-burning combat energy had completely disappeared, as if Young Master Aldas had suddenly lost his combat energy.

Yet upon seeing this, Du Fan felt a chill. Since Ganon had instilled in his mind the true essence of combat, his perspective had transcended ordinary limits. Thus, he instantly saw through Aldas’s true move!

Although Aldas hadn’t ignited that astonishing combat energy, he had concentrated all of it in one point on his body, ready to unleash maximum power when needed. It was like compressing infinite combat energy into a single point. So, though Aldas appeared ordinary now, he was actually utterly terrifying.

Du Fan felt a chill spread throughout his body—an instinctive fear of danger. Looking at the seemingly ordinary Aldas at that moment, Du Fan’s left hand already gripped several magic scrolls.
“Du Fan, then farewell!”
As soon as the words were spoken, Aldas thrust his sword forward. With that light strike, Du Fan suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. He couldn’t defend himself and could only retreat several steps back.
But Aldas was like a persistent ghost; his sword strike was relentless, aimed straight at Du Fan’s forehead. Du Fan knew clearly that if struck there, unless his strength increased tenfold, his only outcome would be death!
Gritting his teeth, Du Fan, having no further room to retreat, channeled his combat energy wildly, directing it toward his long sword. The sword tilted slightly before charging forward to meet Aldas’s light strike.
The blue and white combat energies merged, creating a brilliant light. The light split into two streams in midair, resembling a cross, and rushed toward Aldas.
A flicker passed through Aldas’s eyes, and he suddenly sighed, “I never thought I underestimated you, Young Master Du Fan. I thought it was impressive enough that you could master both magic and martial arts, but you also know two types of combat energy… Everyone said you were a waste, a once-in-a-century failure of the Green family. But now I realize you must be a once-in-a-century genius… It’s a shame this genius will perish here… Is that the Holy Light Cross Slash of the Holy Church? Though it is indeed powerful, it’s useless…”
With Aldas’s calm words, his light sword met Du Fan’s Holy Light Cross Slash. Yet that immensely powerful strike was cut through like cheese by a hot knife…
Du Fan’s expression changed slightly, but he hesitated no longer. With a flick of his right hand, he threw his long sword forward, along with the several magic scrolls in his left hand. Instantly, several spells rushed blindly toward Aldas.

Although Aldas was arrogant, he never expected Du Fan to be able to cast so many spells at once. Though he had ways to counter these spells, he was forced to withdraw. With a twist of his long sword, a surge of combat energy flared up, instantly blocking all the spells behind the barrier formed by the combat energy. Aldas smirked coldly, glanced at Du Fan from afar, and said, “I forgot—Young Master Du Fan is also a magician!” Du Fan gave a bitter smile, touched his nose, and murmured, “Capital genius, level eight warrior, Aldas… It seems I still underestimated you after all…”