Chapter 008: Utter Despicability

“Good! Very good!”
A voice of praise came from in front of Du Fan, accompanied by light claps. Then, the screen gradually disappeared, and Laku floated in mid-air, observing Du Fan with keen interest.
Du Fan could see a certain intent in his eyes—bloodthirst…
The “War Puppet” sat on his shoulder at that moment. If Du Fan hadn’t learned about her strength earlier, he might have thought she was just an innocent little girl… though the large sword in her hand was quite striking.
“Very good,” Laku said with a smile. “Generally, those who fight me can’t avoid my first move with this ‘War Puppet.’ Yet you managed to dodge two moves—excellent! Truly impressive… Sir Du Fan, it seems you’re someone worth my effort.”
Du Fan frowned slightly but replied calmly, “The ‘King of the Night’ truly lives up to his reputation…”
Laku shook his head. “That’s not important. It’s your strength, Sir Du Fan, that interests me greatly… How about we end this pointless testing? Show me everything you’ve got.”
“Fine!”
Du Fan sneered and wasted no time. With a wave of his hand, his combat energy took shape. Though it didn’t reach the level of forming a sword at the Saint stage, Du Fan’s solid foundation in combat energy, combined with his mastery of both magic and martial arts, allowed him to instantly create an ice sword in his hand. The sword was infused with blazing combat energy, glowing faintly golden.
Like a meteor, the sword shot toward Laku.
Laku hadn’t expected Du Fan to act so quickly. In the blink of an eye, the sword was already before him. He had no time to resist and could only lift his hand slightly, sending a white thread from his hand to meet Du Fan’s ice sword.
With a “bang,” Laku’s thread shattered, but Du Fan’s ice sword continued to pierce toward him.
Yet Laku, known as the “King of the Night,” was no ordinary person. Though he couldn’t resist in time, he quickly drifted backward. With a flick of his other hand, the “War Puppet” on his shoulder lunged at Du Fan, its large sword flashing with a cold light.

Du Fan suddenly sneered. The ice sword in his hand flew out abruptly, and a wave of cold energy shot from his fingertips, instantly forming a massive ice wall. The “War Puppet” was frozen inside it in an instant.
Laku’s expression changed slightly, then he swung his hand violently. With a “boom,” the “War Puppet” broke through the ice wall and charged at Du Fan again. By then, Du Fan was already almost upon him. Pointing at Laku with his hand, several streams of combat energy rushed forward, forming a huge net that lunged at Laku.
Laku’s eyes flashed, and he swung his right hand sharply. Several streams of combat energy met those fired by Du Fan. With another “boom,” Laku quickly retreated backward.
Du Fan sneered and threw his hands backward. Dozens of small fireballs rushed at the aggressive “War Puppet.” At the same time, he hummed and said indifferently, “Trying to run? It’s probably too late if you try now!”
As soon as he spoke, there was another “boom” behind him. The thrust propelled Du Fan even faster.
Given his affinity for the wind element, Du Fan was already extremely fast. Coupled with the push from the explosion behind him, his movement was like that of a phantom. He instantly appeared in front of Laku. A murderous intent flashed in Du Fan’s eyes as he casually raised his hand, forming another ice sword that landed on Laku’s shoulder.
With a “boom,” Laku’s shoulder was blown apart, revealing bloody bones beneath.
Yet instead of getting angry, Laku smiled and said, “Good! You can’t escape anymore!”
Then a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
He delivered a fierce punch to Du Fan’s stomach. Du Fan hadn’t expected this move from Laku. The pain made his vision blur, but fortunately, his body had already regenerated, so he wasn’t seriously injured. Still, the pain was nearly enough to knock him out.
Du Fan gritted his teeth and prepared to retreat.
But Laku seemed to read his intentions. Swinging both hands at once, he threw a punch at Du Fan’s chest from ahead, while the “War Puppet” behind him also charged at him.
The dozens of small fireballs Du Fan had fired earlier hadn’t even scratched the “War Puppet” at all.

Du Fan was now stuck, unable to advance or retreat. It was the first time in his long career that he had to fight without cheating—no magic scrolls or such were used; he had to rely on his own strength. Though he had extensive combat experience, it was experience in sneaky tactics, not direct confrontations, so he lacked the skills for this kind of fight. With enemies approaching from both sides, he had no way to dodge. With a gritted tooth, Du Fan released his ice sword and met Laku’s punch head-on, simultaneously thrusting his other hand backward. A surge of combat energy shot toward the “War Puppet.”

“Boom—Boom—”

With two loud explosions, the two were separated again. Du Fan wasn’t badly hurt behind him, having repelled the “War Puppet” with his combat energy. But ahead, his punch met Laku’s, and due to the distraction, his strength was weakened, causing his arm to ache severely, almost preventing him from lifting it.

That direct clash seemed to give Laku a slight advantage.

But actually, Laku was also suffering. His shoulder had already been pierced by Du Fan’s sword, and now another punch hit it, causing the wound to flare up and sending pain shooting through his eyes.

Originally, he thought he could deal with Du Fan quickly even at the cost of his own injuries, but he hadn’t expected Du Fan’s body to have been reshaped from its core, making him far beyond ordinary people.

If any other level-9 warrior had taken that punch from Laku, they would likely have vomited blood, but Du Fan seemed unharmed—how could this not surprise Laku?

Neither of them held back this time. Du Fan was secretly impressed—Laku was indeed a formidable opponent. Meanwhile, Laku also began to feel reluctant. Though he was known as the “King of the Night,” he wasn’t skilled in assassination. And since his most powerful weapon, the “War Puppet,” failed against Du Fan, he had already lost the advantage.

Neither was in a hurry to attack anymore; they simply stared at each other intently, now aware of each other’s strength.

Indeed, Du Fan had initially feared puppet magic, but after a few encounters, he saw no extraordinary skill in the puppet master, so his fear diminished. Laku, on the other hand, had long heard of Du Fan’s reputation, and now seeing that Du Fan’s strength was roughly equal to his own…

Still, the capital wasn’t a place for prolonged battles. Though it was remote, most of the capital’s defense forces had already been alerted…

Du Fan didn’t care much. It didn’t matter if the imperial city’s defense forces were alerted, and even if the Holy Church and the Mage Guild’s people were involved, most of them would be his allies. But Laku couldn’t wait any longer. After all, he was a killer—the longer things dragged on, the worse it would be for him. Moreover, Old Mark, who was eyeing him warily, was ready to strike at any moment.

Suddenly, Laku acted. He pointed vaguely at a point in the air, and instantly several tornadoes appeared out of nowhere, swirling toward Du Fan. At the same time, the “War Puppet” disappeared into the tornadoes.

Du Fan understood Laku’s plan. He wanted to use magic to disrupt Du Fan’s senses before having the “War Puppet” attack him from behind…

He knew well that their strengths were roughly equal. Even with such tactics, Laku would likely not be able to defeat him… But he couldn’t let Laku get away either. Though he had his own motives, capturing him and uncovering the mastermind behind him would bring endless benefits.

With a grunt, Du Fan floated into the air. With a slight gesture, countless spells were sent flying toward the tornadoes launched by Laku.

Du Fan had anticipated Laku’s desire for a quick victory, but instead of engaging head-on, he used magic and combat energy to dodge continuously, firing spells to block Laku’s waves of attacks.

Under the sunlight, countless spells flashed, mixed with combat energy. These two pure forces collided repeatedly, producing loud “boom” sounds.

The houses around them had all been shattered, and sections of the river were blasted into high water columns. The scattered energy made the ground uneven and pitted.

Laku grew increasingly frustrated. Once known as the “King of the Night,” he was accustomed to striking secretly. With his “War Puppet,” he had always been invincible when acting in secret. But this time, he encountered Du Fan, a freak who could see through his “War Puppet”’s tactics, forcing him to fight in open combat…

Fighting in chaos was one thing, but this bastard was clearly trying to buy time and wait for reinforcements—utterly shameless…