Chapter 003: Fierce Battle

Even the usually calm Prince Fischer looked extremely displeased at this moment. He stared at LeoBote for a few seconds before coldly asking, “What did you just say?”
LeoBote snorted and said, “Just a bunch of losers, right? Do you still want to cause trouble for me?”
As he spoke, LeoBote’s figure flashed—somehow, he crossed past Alex’s position and appeared right in front of Du Fan. Without even glancing at Du Fan, he reached out to pull Eileen away.
Du Fan snorted, stepped to the left, and blocked LeoBote’s path. Then he turned to look at the pale Eileen and said calmly, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one can take you away!”
Eileen had been a bit scared, but upon hearing Du Fan’s words, her face showed surprise. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with a strange glow.
LeoBote seemed unprepared to encounter someone who dared to block his way. He glanced at Du Fan with interest, then sneered and said, “Move aside! I won’t say it twice!”
Du Fan gave LeoBote a cold look and said, “It’s you who should leave… Take advantage of the fact that I’m in a good mood today and don’t want to kill. If you don’t leave now, you’ll regret it when your head rolls, but it will be too late!”
“You don’t want to kill?” LeoBote laughed as if he’d heard a funny joke. “That so-called commander from the south of the Gavin Empire said the same thing to me at first… But in the end, he was utterly defeated by me. His wife and daughter were taken to my camp to become military prostitutes, and I cut off his limbs, leaving him to suffer on the battlefield for three days and nights before he died! Look at yourself! What are you? What right do you have to speak to me like that!?”
The southern commander? Defeated?
Du Fan’s mood darkened. He had a vague idea of what was going on. He turned to look at Prince Fischer, only to see that the usually calm prince also looked extremely displeased!
Turning back to LeoBote, he wore a smirk. Seeing Du Fan’s expression, he snorted and said, “Can you leave now!?”
Du Fan gritted his teeth, staring at LeoBote, but didn’t take a step back.

Although he wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, he could guess something from Leoport’s words—most likely, the Gavin Empire had lost the war against the Lani Empire, and the other side was either here to negotiate peace or to demand compensation… Judging from his attitude, it seemed no one in the Gavin Empire’s high ranks dared to confront him!
But in such a situation, did he really have to give in and hand over the woman behind him?
He didn’t know this woman named Eileen, nor did he have any relationship with her. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t hesitate if someone tried to take her away. But now, with the other side clearly using force, handing over Eileen would mean admitting he was afraid of them. That way, he wouldn’t even be able to leave the capital anymore!
Moreover, as a man, he absolutely couldn’t act like a coward at a moment like this.
With these thoughts, Du Fan glared at Leoport once again. His astonishing mental strength radiated outward, exerting subtle pressure on Leoport, as he said sternly, “I’m saying this one last time! Get lost!”
“Very good!” Leoport raised his eyebrows. In a flash, he returned to his original position, pointing at Du Fan and saying, “You really do have some backbone! Other nobles in your country either flatter me or tremble in fear. You’re the first to dare threaten me like this! Very good! Only by killing someone like you can we prevent our Lani Empire’s swords from being defiled! Marcus! Kill him!”
After saying that, Leoport’s sinister gaze fell on Du Fan, studying him with interest.
The bald man named Marcus grinned viciously upon receiving the order. He stepped forward with his copper hammer in hand, sneering as he sized up Du Fan, “Daring to be rude to our prince! Little brat, I’ll crush you into meat!”
With that, he swung his hammer and charged at Du Fan from afar.
Just then, Prince Fischer suddenly snorted and said, “Alex!”
Alex nodded slightly. Seeing Marcus charging at Du Fan, he darted back a few steps, swinging his long sword in a reverse motion toward Marcus’s arm.

This Marcus is also no ordinary person. He had originally intended to charge at Du Fan, but when Alex suddenly attacked, he calmly hummed, swiftly turned mid-air, and used his copper hammer to block from behind. A loud “clang” was heard! Sparks erupted where the long sword met the copper hammer, and both of them stepped back almost at the same time. Alex held his long sword horizontally in front of Du Fan and said calmly, “Lord Du Fan, with me here, this bald guy won’t be able to touch you. Please rest assured!” Marcus also stepped back a few steps, twisted slightly, and his gaze toward Alex sparkled with intensity. After a moment, he said grimly, “You’re good! You managed to block my attack as if nothing happened! You’re interesting! But my task is to kill the man behind you! Get out of the way—I’ll kill him first, then come for you!” Alex hummed and said, “Are everyone in the Lannian Empire as physically strong but mentally simple as you? Just because you tell me to back off, I’ll do it!? Want to touch Lord Du Fan? Ask my sword first!” Marcus hummed in response and remained silent. Leoport, who was watching from afar, chuckled and said, “Kill him too!” Marcus nodded and, without wasting words this time, charged at Alex, swinging his copper hammer down fiercely. Alex frowned but didn’t step back. He gripped his sword tightly and charged forward, his long sword meeting the swinging hammer. A series of “clanging” sounds were heard—obviously, their weapons had collided countless times after that initial strike. Marcus’s attacks were bold and powerful; most ordinary warriors would likely not be able to withstand even one or two of his moves. Fortunately, Alex wasn’t an ordinary person either. He lifted the tip of his sword and finally managed to pierce Marcus’s arm with a “ding” sound, causing both of them to step back a few steps. But clearly, Marcus’s black armor was nothing ordinary—Alex’s sword strike didn’t even leave a scratch. Seeing Marcus spin his copper hammer and charge again, Alex frowned. This time, he dared not engage head-on. He darted behind Marcus, lifted his sword, and with a glint of cold light on its blade, aimed it at Marcus’s side.

Marcus snorted and turned around, but he couldn’t quickly put away the copper hammer in his hand. In an instant, Alex rushed at him like a shadow, accompanied by the sound of clanging metal. It was impossible to tell how many swords had struck Marcus, but his black armor was incredibly sturdy. Despite having the upper hand, Alex couldn’t injure him in the slightest!
At this point, pride surged in Alex’s heart.
“I, Alex, the noble Knight of the Lakes, can’t even beat you, a bald guy?”
Marcus grinned viciously and charged at Alex again. Alex took a deep breath, suddenly leaping high into the air. An astonishing amount of combat energy surged through his long sword, glowing red as if it might burn the sword into an iron tool. Even the surrounding air grew scorching from the intensity of the energy!
Prince Fisher frowned and quietly stepped back a few steps. Du Fan hesitated for a moment before pulling Eileen behind him for protection. After all, anyone with even a little insight could see that Alex had unleashed his true power. If it were just martial skills, there would be no problem, but with combat energy involved, the elves were in serious trouble today!
The two women at the beginning had already paled and started screaming loudly. With their status, when had they ever seen a battle of this scale?
Jerome, though looking sickly, suddenly shook his head and sighed, “Such beautiful women—would it be a shame if they died?”
With that, he stepped forward, lifting one of the women in his arms and retreating to a corner of the pavilion!
Lioport’s faint smile grew even clearer as he stared at Alex in mid-air. He exhaled softly and said, “Using combat energy in such a place? This Gavwen really is interesting! Truly interesting!”
Immediately afterward, Alex plunged downward from the sky, his figure almost like a phantom. Marcus sneered, paused slightly, and black combat energy spread across his body. Then, he swung his hammer at Alex!
But at that moment, Alex’s fast-moving figure split into two, then four, attacking Marcus from all four directions. All four phantoms appeared real, clearly as Alex had used his combat skill—Splitting Slash!