Chapter 015: Not a Loss

Seeing the sword coming, Du Fan finally moved.
It wasn’t Du Fan who wanted to move—it was his fighting spirit that reacted spontaneously under these circumstances, without his brain intervening, as if his subconscious demanded he act.
It was a strange feeling; it wasn’t Du Fan choosing to act, but rather a passive reaction under Oscar’s pressure. The Holy Radiance Staff in his hand seemed to gain a sense of its own will, twisting slightly as its sharp end, charged with fighting spirit, pointed toward Oscar’s sword.
This could be considered acting on impulse—under Oscar’s pressure, Du Fan delivering this strike already exceeded his limits.
The strike aimed at the palm holding Oscar’s sword, targeting a spot he would surely defend.
Fortunately, Oscar hadn’t fully mastered the “Rules” yet; otherwise, Du Fan’s strike wouldn’t have been possible at all.
Upon seeing Du Fan’s attack, a flicker appeared in Oscar’s eyes. With a slight twist of his wrist, there was a “ding” sound as his sword struck the Holy Radiance Staff.
Du Fan immediately felt a shiver run through his body. The staff trembled in his hand, nearly slipping away, but he gritted his teeth and held on, twisting it slightly before sending it toward Oscar’s palm again.
Seeing Du Fan persist with the same strike, a hint of sarcasm flashed in Oscar’s eyes. His sword remained motionless, still pointing at Du Fan.
This level of skill was beyond Du Fan’s understanding. His previous strike had been beyond his normal capabilities yet still posed a slight threat to Oscar. But this strike reflected his true skill—nothing threatening in Oscar’s eyes, so why would he care?
This was a realm of “enlightenment” in martial arts, beyond Du Fan’s current level of comprehension.
As his strike neared Oscar’s hand, Du Fan suddenly realized that his once-incredibly fast attack paled in comparison to Oscar’s extremely slow one—utterly sluggish…
And under Oscar’s overwhelming pressure, Du Fan couldn’t even think of changing tactics.

It was as if he could only watch everything happen without being able to change anything. Du Fan felt as though there was a lump in his chest that he couldn’t expel no matter what, causing extreme discomfort… Finally, a crisp “ding” sound was heard—the sword Du Fan swung hit Oscar’s palm first, but an ice-blue combat energy naturally appeared on Oscar’s skin, preventing Du Fan’s sword from piercing through. Seeing Du Fan’s move succeed, Oscar suddenly smiled eerily, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. An ice-blue combat energy surged from his sword, and with a “bang,” it struck Du Fan’s chest. Instantly, the clothes on Du Fan’s chest turned to powder under Oscar’s combat energy, and dozens of wounds appeared on his skin. Before blood could even flow out, it was frozen by Oscar’s combat energy! Du Fan shuddered violently and spat out a large mouthful of blood, splattering it all over Oscar’s face… But at that very moment, Oscar’s sword pierced Du Fan’s chest without any obstruction. Du Fan saw the ice crystals on his chest shatter into fragments, followed by a burst of blood mist. Then he felt a chill invade his body along with the sword strike. Strangely, he didn’t feel pain after the strike; instead, he only felt an icy coldness that penetrated to the bone… What a strange feeling… Suddenly, Du Fan felt as though all his strength had vanished in an instant. His body weakened, and he almost lost grip on the Holy Radiance Staff in his hand… The next moment, he saw the murderous intent in Oscar’s eyes turn into a smile… “Boom—” Countless icy combat energies exploded from the sword buried in Du Fan’s chest, as if countless insects were burrowing into his body, tearing at it everywhere. Then, with a “spurt,” it seemed as though all of Du Fan’s blood vessels burst at once, turning his entire body red with blood. But under Oscar’s combat energy, the blood coagulated the moment it left Du Fan’s body, as if his entire body was covered in layers of blood-colored ice crystals.

A bitter smile appeared on Du Fan’s lips. He struggled to lower his head and saw that his chest skin had been completely blown away, his ribs turned to powder, and his internal organs were clearly visible. Oscar’s sword had pierced through his beating heart and exited on the other side… With that sword strike, his heartbeat had completely stopped… But strangely, Du Fan felt extremely clear-headed. Under such circumstances, he should have lost consciousness completely, yet he felt perfectly alert… Could it be… I’m dying like this!? Could it be… this is what death feels like!? Could it be… it’s Oscar who has traveled through time!? Faced with this last strange thought in his mind, Du Fan couldn’t help but force another bitter smile… Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Oscar’s expression remained unchanged. Suddenly, he raised his hand, and Du Fan was lifted into the air before being thrown heavily to the side. Crack!!! At the moment he hit the ground, Du Fan could hardly feel anything. He only felt his body being compressed by Oscar’s combat energy and then destroyed. Everything inside him had been ruined. Even if he survived… he would likely be a cripple from then on! Strangely enough, his mental strength didn’t weaken; instead, it seemed to become clearer at this moment. As Du Fan’s body lay on the ground, his pierced heart pumped out large amounts of blood with each beat, growing weaker and weaker. Once it stopped beating, Du Fan’s life would likely vanish in an instant… Oscar suddenly sighed, walked over to Du Fan, and murmured, “Lord Du Fan… If you had known this day would come… would you still have opposed me?” As soon as he said this, Du Fan, who was on the verge of losing consciousness, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at him, but couldn’t say a word. Yet, as if understanding the meaning in Du Fan’s eyes, Oscar said calmly, “You’ve already lost…” Suddenly, a glint appeared in Du Fan’s eyes. With all his remaining strength, he shouted at Oscar, “Oscar! Can you die for me!?” Can you die for me!? Can you die for me!? With a strange tone, Du Fan shouted these last words before spewing a mouthful of blood, his wounds on his chest and abdomen gushing even more blood…

But seeing Du Fan like this, a strange idea suddenly popped into Oscar’s mind… Yes! Why couldn’t he die for him!? As soon as this thought arose, Oscar swung the sword in his hand and thrust it at his own chest… Thud—A gush of blood sprayed out immediately, and Oscar staggered badly… Doubt finally appeared in his eyes. Quickly, he glanced at the sword in his chest and muttered, “This… how is this possible…?” Before he could finish speaking, he was already on his knees. With great effort, he raised his head to look at Du Fan on the ground, then, as if suddenly realizing something, he said slowly, “So… you used speech magic on me!” The moment he said this, Oscar collapsed to the side. Although the combat energy flowing through his body instantly sealed his blood vessels and stopped the bleeding, the sword piercing his chest was still terrifying… Oscar was at the peak of level nine, and though controlled by Du Fan’s speech magic, he still retained some clarity. Otherwise, if Du Fan had simply sliced off his head with a single strike, he would likely have died instantly. At this moment, he had only pierced his own chest because, deep down, he seemed unwilling to die… Seeing Oscar fall, Du Fan weakly closed his eyes. Spitting out some blood, he muttered, “Damn it… I never thought, I never thought I, Du Fan… Hmph, at least I found someone to take the blame at the last moment… It’s worth it… totally worth it…” After saying this, he spat more blood and then lost consciousness…