Chapter 004: Secret Guard

Alva was severely injured this time and could no longer return to his original position. With no choice, he landed on the ground, only to see those wounded warriors rushing at him, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
Yet Alva didn’t even grunt. He propped his sword on the ground with one hand to stabilize himself, while his other hand swiftly grabbed the head of a warrior nearby and flung him away. The man was sent flying into the air, where he exploded mid-flight, his combat energy killing several of his comrades.
Even so, the warriors didn’t retreat. A few of them had noticed Alva’s weakness and already switched to crossbows, preparing to fire at him.
Just then, another bright light appeared in the night sky. This time, it wasn’t an arcane missile but a giant fire dragon. Clearly, the magician fighting back also ignored the risk of being identified and went all out!
At that moment, Alva was still far away, surrounded by the warriors and unable to defend himself in time. Du Fan was about to intervene. But this time, he saw two of those strange figures who had been standing in the corners—two of them had leaped into the air. With a wave of their hands, a burst of combat energy flashed forth.
Obviously, their combat energy was weaker than Alva’s and wouldn’t last long against the fire dragon. They were already on the verge of collapsing, but the two strange figures didn’t back down. Almost simultaneously, they roared, and their energy surged violently! The exploding fire dragon was pushed back by them, followed by a loud scream. Their bodies grew larger in the air until they resembled giants, before exploding with a “boom”—turning into flesh paste!
Clearly, those two had paid with their lives to repel the magic.
The fire dragon rushed back toward its origin. Du Fan frowned as he sensed magical fluctuations coming from the forest in the distance. A wall of water shot upward and blocked the fire dragon. In less than a moment, both disappeared almost at the same time.
It was obvious—the enemy magician was by no means ordinary!

Du Fan’s expression changed. The opponent’s magic was so powerful that although Prince Fische’s guards were strange, they surely couldn’t withstand even a few attacks. They would likely be wiped out before the court magicians arrived.
And what about the top expert in the palace?
Du Fan glanced over and saw that Alva was already in a fierce battle. He had unleashed his combat energy, using the corpses of his opponents to injure several enemies. After that, the warriors switched to crossbows to fight back. Although Alva could still hold his own, it was extremely difficult for him to cause harm. It seemed his injuries earlier must have been severe!
As Alva’s combat energy continued to burn, it radiated out in waves with his movements, clearly at its peak. Though the warriors wanted to kill him, they couldn’t do anything to him for now.
Even so, Alva couldn’t hold on much longer. The warriors had cleared a path, with a few of them charging toward the carriage, while those behind it also rushed forward.
Of the remaining six strange guards, two rushed at the other warriors, while one of the four quickly went to Prince Fische’s side and said solemnly, “Your Highness, we can’t hold on any longer. Please leave quickly! Sir Du Fan, I know you’re skilled. I entrust Prince Fische’s safety to you!”
With that, he said nothing more and waved his hand. The remaining four rushed toward where the magician had been, their bodies glowing brightly, clearly preparing to use those strange techniques against the magician.
Watching all this, Du Fan inwardly groaned in despair. The situation was far more dangerous than before. What other option did he have but to flee?
Moreover, although the enemy warriors kept charging, the cavalry remained motionless, clearly waiting to act at the critical moment. If he didn’t leave now, he really wouldn’t have a chance.
With that thought, Du Fan couldn’t help but pull Prince Fische aside and whisper, “Let’s go!”
Prince Fische still appeared calm, but upon seeing Du Fan’s expression, he nodded and pointed at the horse pulling the carriage, saying, “Get on the horse.”
At that moment, two screams were heard—the two guards who had tried to block the advancing warriors had been cut into pieces.

The warriors bypassed the local corpses and rushed toward Du Fan and Prince Fischer. Du Fan tucked his Phantom Wand into his waist, snapped his hand, and threw a magic scroll—fireball magic. Several approaching warriors were instantly engulfed in flames and turned into charred corpses. At this moment, Du Fan didn’t bother hiding anymore. He grabbed Prince Fischer’s hand, swiftly mounted his horse, and with a flash of his combat energy, cut the ropes binding the two horses. Du Fan pulled the reins, intending to retreat the way they came. But Prince Fischer waved his hand and said, “No, they must have guessed we’d run and set up a large ambush ahead. Let’s go forward!” Du Fan agreed. They both crouched on their horses, spurred them on, and the two horses galloped rapidly toward the path ahead. As more warriors rushed at them, Du Fan waved his hands frantically, throwing magic scrolls like there were no limits. Flames, ice, wind, and lightning appeared around them almost simultaneously. The attacking warriors died in various ways. Though they kept coming, none could get close under Du Fan’s relentless magic barrage. Although this tactic was effective, the two warhorses were greatly frightened, forcing Du Fan and Prince Fischer to carefully control them. Instead of running at full speed, they moved more slowly. Just then, loud “bang” sounds came from behind. The four guards who had rushed to attack the mages exploded into flesh in midair. The intense smell of blood could be detected from afar. Du Fan and Prince Fischer exchanged a glance, both showing shock. But they knew they couldn’t stop now. Du Fan gave a signal, and Prince Fischer understood. He quickly drew his knight’s sword from his waist and stabbed it into each horse’s flank. The two warhorses let out a loud cry and finally galloped away at full speed. A few more warriors rushed at them with swords, but Du Fan waved his magic scrolls, freezing them all into ice. The panicked horses didn’t stop this time but trampled over the warriors, crushing them into pieces. Even if the ice melted later, their bodies would likely never recover.

As both men were about to break through the encirclement, the cavalry at the outermost edge finally stopped just watching. Almost simultaneously, they threw aside their crossbows and picked up their nearly three-meter-long spears. Slapping their horses hard, they charged at Du Fan and Prince Fischer.

These cavalry were clearly stronger than those warriors. With fluid movements, their combat energy flowed continuously, and their murderous intent was so intense it seemed to freeze the air around them.

Upon seeing these men, Prince Fischer’s expression finally changed. Leaning forward in his saddle, he roared, “It’s the Dark Guards! It really is the Dark Guards! Brother, do you really want my life?”

Hearing such a cry from the usually calm Prince Fischer, Du Fan knew trouble had arisen. He could no longer afford to hide his strength. Raising both hands, he threw several magic scrolls at them. At the same time, he drew out his Phantom Wand from his waist and quickly recited magic spells. Under the control of his powerful mental strength, his abundant magical energy surged forth like a tide.

Soon, the magic scrolls exploded one after another. Interacting with each other, the spells lost their form and turned into raw magical elements, exploding in waves.

It was only fitting that these Dark Guards met such misfortune. Having seen Du Fan’s previous actions, they assumed it would be spells again, but they never expected it to be raw magical explosions. The first few Dark Guards were caught off guard and were knocked off their horses.

Yet the Dark Guards were inhuman monsters. The remaining ones, seeing this, didn’t even flinch. Instead, they simultaneously raised their spears and charged fiercely!

Seeing this, Du Fan was utterly terrified. He had thought the magic scrolls would at least disrupt them, but now they seemed ready to lure him into a trap, their calmness terrifying.

No wonder even someone like Prince Fischer couldn’t help but scream.

By now, his spells had taken shape, leaving no time for anything else. But Du Fan knew he couldn’t do anything else either. If he tried to pull out more magic scrolls now, the formed spells might explode in his hands.

At that thought, Du Fan felt cold sweat drench his entire back!