Chapter 005: Imperial Laws

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
Time passed unbeknownst to them as everyone stared in astonishment at Du Fan in the training ground…
This Du Fan had actually scared away that Silver Sheath Sword Saint Francis?
That’s impossible!
How could that be?!
After all, Francis was one of the strongest warriors in the Roland Continent. There were surely no more than ten people in the world who could fight him, yet this Du Fan…
What exactly had happened? What had taken place between the two of them?
Since both Francis and Du Fan had deliberately lowered their voices when speaking last, outsiders had no idea what had happened. All they saw was Du Fan being captured by Francis, who then grabbed him as if trying to strangle him. But at that moment, a holy light erupted from Du Fan…
Could it be… that Du Fan was actually some kind of divine magician?
Could it be that some powerful divine spell from the Holy Church had scared Francis away?
Thinking of this, everyone found it somewhat plausible. After all, just earlier, Du Fan had forced Francis to use his holy-level domain in one move, and after doing so, Francis had even spat out blood, with his armor shattered all over!
Clearly, Francis had suffered a heavy loss from that move!
And then, thinking back to the end, when Francis fled in panic… Could it be that he sensed Du Fan about to use some extremely powerful move, so he ran away first?
But what did those last words of his mean?
Could it be that he mistook Du Fan for someone else?
Even Prince Fischer’s face was filled with shock. Although he had always tried to win over Du Fan, it wasn’t because he admired Du Fan himself—it was only because of the Green Family and the Northern Army behind him… But he never expected that Du Fan could defeat that Silver Sheath Sword Saint Francis!
After all, even he had to exert great effort using the protection of the Holy Angels to fight against Francis and barely maintain an unbeaten record…
With these thoughts, Prince Fischer couldn’t help but glance at Du Fan, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
Soon, he stepped forward and declared loudly, “Du Fan has won! In this battle, Francis fled in panic, so naturally, Du Fan is the winner!”

Everyone on the Great Prince’s side had their expressions change drastically. After all, Francis was a crucial ally of the Great Prince. He had planned to use him to boost morale after winning and then seize the throne outright. But who would have thought that now… he had lost?
A subordinate he had painstakingly trained had simply run away!?
With his keen eyesight, the Great Prince had long recognized Du Fan as the person to whom he had given the Sacred Radiance Staff… He just hadn’t expected him to possess such strength! So, had he been a bit foolish by giving up the Green Family to gain the support of the Belinger Family?
Thinking of this, the Great Prince couldn’t help but glance at Duke Belinger beside him!
Obviously, his face was also extremely pale as he stared in Du Fan’s direction with an expression of disbelief.
At this moment, Du Fan finally snapped out of his shock. At the last moment, he had thought he was doomed, but in that instant, the divine essence deep within him triggered a trace of angelic power remaining in his body, unleashing the purest holy light…
This was originally just a natural reaction of the divine essence in a time of danger… After all, his current strength wasn’t enough to control the divine essence; he merely used it as a catalyst to strengthen his own power!
But who would have thought that once it was unleashed, Francis would end up like that…
It seemed Francis had also recognized the divine essence…
Moreover, it appeared the divine essence had some connection to the three barbarian secrets he knew…
He definitely needed to uncover the secrets behind this, since even someone like Francis had lost his composure because of it. It was clear the secrets were quite significant…
However, this seemed not the time to investigate such matters!
Du Fan stood firm and looked around…
Under these complicated circumstances, no matter what secrets existed between the divine essence and the three barbarian secrets, he had to put them aside for now!
“Good heavens! He actually defeated Francis?”
“That’s impossible! Oh, Almighty God of Light! Could it be that You protected Your most devout believer at the last moment!?”
“A miracle! This must be a miracle! After all, Du Fan is known as the most devout person in history!!!”

After a long silence, various cries of shock erupted around the training ground. Whether it was the faction of the Crown Prince or Prince Fischer’s faction, or even those high nobles who had not yet chosen a side, all let out sighs.

Duke Green watched his son with excitement. He had originally thought Du Fan was doomed to death, but who would have imagined that Du Fan could still defeat Francis and achieve such great feats? How had his once worthless son grown to such a level? This was a blessing for the family! It was a blessing for the empire!!!

King Austin III also stared at Du Fan with a strange expression, his face showing subtle confusion. As the supreme ruler, he had encountered countless strong warriors in his life, but Du Fan, at this age… was he not a bit too young? Thinking of this, King Austin III couldn’t help but marvel at his own wisdom. He had already arranged a marriage alliance with the Green family earlier, and now with such a strong warrior on their side… the glory of Austin’s faction would shine for at least another thousand years!

Prince Fischer, on the other hand, wore a joyous expression mixed with something odd… After all, Du Fan’s strength was indeed impressive… but the prerequisite for this good thing was that he would always stay on their side. If he turned against them… it would be a disaster!

Looking at this unexpected development, Prince Fischer felt mixed emotions. But regardless, Du Fan was currently on their side—he had driven away Francis and brought considerable influence to their cause, without a doubt! He had originally had some backup plans against Francis, but now it seemed those plans were unnecessary.

What a remarkable figure Prince Fischer was! With Du Fan on their side, even though Best had been defeated earlier, Du Fan’s victory had tipped the balance back in their favor. With Du Fan at their disposal, even though the Crown Prince had thousands of imperial guards, they still couldn’t compare to such a skilled warrior! Thinking of this, Prince Fischer grew even more delighted. As for the possibility of Du Fan turning against them, he completely ignored it… If he had wanted to turn against them, why would he have intervened earlier?

Moreover, even if he harbored any heretical thoughts, he would have ways to deal with them later. As for now, as long as his heart was stabilized, that was enough! What did he want? Beauty? Money? Power? Give it to him—give him everything… With such an unparalleled strongman by his side, plus the hundred thousand troops behind him, not to mention the eldest prince’s rebellion, even if the entire Lanney Empire came at him now, he wouldn’t fear anything!

Thinking of this, Prince Fischer smiled at Du Fan from afar and said, “The people of the Green family are truly loyal from generation to generation… Du Fan, I still say the same thing: as long as the Austin line endures, the Green family’s glory will remain unshaken for a thousand years!… And right now, I promise you—no matter what your request is, just speak it out. As long as I can fulfill it, I will definitely do so!”

After saying that, Prince Fischer didn’t wait for Du Fan to reply. Instead, he glanced in the direction of the eldest prince and declared loudly, “Elder brother, do you still have anything to say? No matter how you count it, I won’t lose either of these two battles. What other tricks do you have? Go ahead and use them all!”

The eldest prince’s expression was extremely ugly… But since he could orchestrate all this, he was naturally a formidable figure. His mind raced for a moment, and soon he made up his mind. He first glanced in Prince Fischer’s direction and said calmly, “Fischer, my brother… Even if you win two battles, so what? Everything isn’t decided yet. You can be so arrogant once everything is settled!”

After saying that, he stopped looking at Prince Fischer and instead bowed deeply to Duke Green from afar, shouting, “Duke… You said something earlier that I found very true. You said the Green family has always been loyal… That is, the Green family has always been loyal to the empire, to the royal family, and to the imperial laws, right?”

Duke Green was slightly stunned. He seemed puzzled as to why the eldest prince would suddenly say such things, but he still stepped forward from the crowd and said, “That’s indeed the case. But does it have anything to do with what’s happening now?”

“Of course it does,” the eldest prince said with a faint smile. “The imperial laws state that the eldest son of the royal family inherits the throne. In other words, that position will eventually be mine… And right now, Prince Fischer, my brother, has taken my father hostage along with the court mages, trying to force him to abdicate so that he can inherit the throne himself! But you people of the Green family have sided with Prince Fischer… Is this also considered loyalty?”

With that, the eldest prince’s half-smiling gaze fell on Du Fan, his meaning clear—Du Fan’s actions at this moment certainly did not constitute loyalty!