Chapter 016: The Purpose of the Conspiracy

At Du Fan’s command, soldiers from the Northern Legion promptly pushed out ten large cages. Inside were people of all ages and genders—those whom George had ordered to capture from the northern regions based on the list provided by Xuelan. Of course, this was only a portion of them; many others had already been tortured beyond recognition by the Northern Legion. Any force would be ruthless toward its enemies, and the Northern Legion was no exception.
The remaining prisoners were simply those who hadn’t been called upon yet—luckier for them!
The cavalry of the Northern Legion casually cut through the locks of the cages, freeing the prisoners, but left their shackles intact. Soon, they were herded before Du Fan and Aldas.
Du Fan pointed at them with a low laugh and said, “Young Master Aldas, these are the stakes we agreed upon. But since most of them are strong and young, I’m afraid they might try to escape along the way. You can deal with them properly when we return. As for now… it’s better to keep them here.”
Aldas snorted and said, “Thank you, Young Master Du Fan.”
Du Fan laughed heartily and turned to the nobles behind him, saying, “Gentlemen, since Young Master Aldas is setting off, I, Du Fan, must see him off. As for you, enjoy yourselves. I’ll be back soon!”
Aldas’ expression changed, and he said, “Young Master Du Fan, there’s no need for that. It’s more important to entertain our guests!”
Du Fan replied calmly, “What are you saying, Young Master Aldas? As the saying goes, guests are guests. How could I face myself if I didn’t treat Young Master Aldas properly? Besides, with only so few people with you this time, how can you take these guys away? But don’t worry, Young Master Aldas. I, Du Fan, will personally escort you to ensure your safety along the way!”
With that, Du Fan ignored Aldas’ expression and gave an order. In less than a moment, a cavalry unit of five hundred men, already prepared, appeared before him.
Du Fan laughed heartily and said to the puzzled Aldas, “Young Master Aldas, please go. With these five hundred cavalrymen as escorts, not a single one of them will be able to escape!”
Aldas’ attendants had already returned to his side. One of them frowned and said, “Young Master Aldas…”

Oldas waved his hand slightly and said in a low voice, “Don’t talk nonsense. Since Du Fan is offering to escort me, let him do it. I’m curious to see how long he can keep up with me…”
Under the “escort” of this northern army, Oldas and Du Fan led the way on horseback, while the hundreds of prisoners were herded along. Though they tried their best, how much faster could they go?
According to noble etiquette, a guest on a journey should be escorted for thirty li. Du Fan didn’t hesitate at all and treated Oldas as such a guest. Normally, those thirty li could be covered in moments, but with hundreds of prisoners, it took a full hour to reach the destination.
The group slowly came to a stop, but Oldas said to Du Fan calmly, “Young Master Du Fan, thirty li is enough. We can handle the rest on our own. We really don’t want to trouble you any further.”
Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “What are you saying, Young Master Oldas? It’s just an escort for a short distance. As you know, there are many bandits in the north. So please be careful on the rest of the journey!”
Oldas replied solemnly, “You’re too kind, Young Master Du Fan!”
Du Fan replied calmly, “It’s you who’s too kind. But Young Master Oldas, although I lost this bet, there will be a trial of heretics in three days. Please be sure to attend…”
Oldas frowned and said, “If I have time, I will definitely go!”
Du Fan smiled oddly. Though their words were polite, how many of them were true? If he hadn’t brought five hundred cavalry with him, would he still be alive right now?
Of course, he couldn’t say such things aloud.
After delivering him here and wasting so much time, his goal had already been achieved. He really didn’t care whether Oldas and his group lived or died from now on!
With such a smile, Du Fan bowed slightly before returning to the main group of the northern army. Soon after, a horn sounded, and in no time, the cavalry of the northern army disappeared beyond the horizon.
Oldas stood there, watching Du Fan’s retreating figure, and couldn’t help frowning slightly before shaking his head.
A cavalryman approached behind him and asked, “Young Master Oldas, what should we do with these people?”

Oldas glanced at them a few times and said, “Have their handcuffs and shackles removed; only then can we speed up our journey. Once we reach the next city, we’ll find a place for them to rest temporarily and send a message back to our family. I’m sure someone from the family will come to handle this!”
The cavalryman replied, “Yes! But, Young Master Oldas, do we not need to wait for the others?”
Oldas suddenly sighed softly and said, “There’s no need to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because they can’t come back.” Oldas gave a bitter smile. “I was wondering why Du Fan wanted to escort us away. He never acts without a reason. So on the way, after thinking for a while, I understood… Du Fan must have figured that there were still people in ambush nearby, so he sent someone to deal with those people… As for him, he pretended to be escorting us, but if we showed the slightest sign of trouble, that escort would turn into an ambush… Although we’re not exactly afraid of them, if a fight breaks out, those people we managed to save with such difficulty would be in danger…”
“But those people…”
“It’s too late to go back now.” Oldas sighed. “In this hour, those people in ambush have probably already fallen into Du Fan’s hands. It’s unwise to go back and try to save them now. The only option is to go back and see what our teacher has to say… No matter how much we plan, we still ended up falling into Du Fan’s trap. This Young Master Du Fan… really can’t be underestimated!”
The cavalryman nodded, but hesitated for a moment before saying, “Young Master Oldas, do you think… maybe Du Fan predicted… that we would come back this time? So, his real goal might be…”
As he spoke, Oldas shuddered violently and couldn’t help but say, “That’s impossible! Impossible! Du Fan can’t possibly know we would definitely come here… Unless… unless… unless that Xuelan… and there’s no one by Kris’s side, nor by our teacher’s…”
At that moment, Oldas suddenly felt fear spread throughout his body. Xuelan’s strange behavior, the sudden appearance of family assassins, all the guards taken away, and that strange smile on Du Fan’s face—all these things seemed to be connected in some unseen way, and behind those connections was everything related to those he loved, all pointing to Kris!

Ordas was well aware that Du Fan was never one to accept losses. Having suffered such a great loss this time and still having to return, would he just let it go after almost being assassinated? Or… could it be that he actually wanted to kill his beloved as revenge against him?

But there were still teachers present! As long as the teachers were there, not even an army could harm Kris in the slightest!

Ordas shouted these words in his heart, but deep down, a sense of fear made him tremble uncontrollably. His palms were already torn from gripping so tightly, with blood flowing continuously… He could hardly bear to think any further!

“Lance!”

“What is it, Lord Ordas?” the knight who had been standing behind him whispered.

“Among the guardians of my Beringer family, you possess the greatest strength and the sharpest military tactics. From now on, you will lead these fifty knights behind me. You must bring them back to the Beringer family alive. As for these people… protect them as much as possible, but if it’s impossible, abandon them. We’ve already lost too much—we absolutely cannot lose these fifty knights! As for those captured by Du Fan, most are from Roland Academy. Roland Academy will surely take care of them on its own; we don’t need to get involved. Your task is to return alive!”

Lance was shocked. Looking at Ordas, he said in disbelief, “Then, Lord Ordas…”

Ordas sighed lightly and said, “You might be right. Du Fan brought us here for Kris. Though I’m not sure if that’s the case, I won’t be at ease unless I go back right away! My mind is in chaos; I can no longer analyze the situation. So, I’m entrusting these people to you! Lance, remember—no matter what happens, the interests of the Beringer family come first!”

Lance fell silent for a moment before saying, “Lord Ordas, you must return alive at all costs!”

Ordas patted Lance’s shoulder and smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. No matter how skilled Du Fan is, unless I go to him willingly to die, what can he do to me? Killing me, Ordas, isn’t that easy!”