Chapter 014: Deacons

Du Fan smiled and said, “It seems my medical skills have improved a bit again. Look… isn’t this person already cured? Is there anyone else who’s mute and needs my treatment?”
At that moment, the priests and nuns in the hall all stared at Du Fan in disbelief.
After all, those who could survive in the Divine Might Prison all possessed strength at level seven or eight, with extensive combat experience—far beyond what ordinary experts could match.
The one who had challenged Du Fan was even an eighth-level mage with superb magic skills and astonishing combat experience.
Yet such a person was knocked down by Du Fan with just one move?
Although Du Fan might have used some trickery, the fact remained that he had repelled them with a single strike.
Du Fan snorted and pointed at another person, saying, “Well… can you go call someone for me?”
The person’s expression changed, but they still quickly stepped back.
Du Fan glanced casually at the crowd below and after a moment pointed at a nun in her twenties who appeared quite beautiful, asking indifferently, “What’s your name?”
The nun was slightly stunned, but she didn’t dare underestimate Du Fan’s strength after what he had shown earlier. She cautiously glanced at him and reluctantly replied, “My name is Adeline.”
Du Fan nodded and pointed to a spot beside him, saying, “Good. Adeline, you look nice. Come with me from now on as my assistant. Now tell me—what’s the situation in the Divine Might Prison, and how many people do I have? Give me details.”
Adeline’s face turned pale, but seeing Du Fan’s half-smiling gaze, she reluctantly stepped forward, stood properly, and said respectfully, “Currently, the Divine Might Prison has 13,487 people in total. Among them, there are over 3,800 deacons in training, 8,230 ordinary deacons, 37 deacons specializing in military strategy, 862 deacon-mages, and 1,300 deacon-warriors…”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “Are all the people in the Divine Might Prison called deacons?”
Adeline nodded. “Yes… deacons.”
“Alright,” Du Fan said. “Then stop wasting words. Just tell me directly—how many people can I use?”
Adeline thought for a moment before saying with a troubled expression, “I’m not sure about that. All I know is that there are only about 2,000 truly useful deacons in the Divine Might Prison. If you are one of the two prison lords, then Lord Neo must have divided the deacon-warriors and deacon-mages equally between you…”

Du Fan snorted and said, “So that means I only have about a thousand people I can use? What about those ordinary servants? And those in training?”
Eadlyn’s expression turned grim. She wasn’t sure whether Warden Du Fan truly didn’t understand or pretended not to. She could only say in a low voice, “My lord… Those in training aren’t assigned tasks, so… As for the ordinary servants, they’re all below level six. They can only guard inside the Divine Might Prison and can’t go out on missions… So…”
“Level six isn’t enough?” Du Fan touched his nose. “So, the over a thousand people under me are all above level six?”
Eadlyn hurriedly nodded. “Yes.”
“Above level six? Very good!” Du Fan smiled. “Then pass down my order now—have people select half from those in training and half from the ordinary servants. Remember, I don’t care about their strength, but you must pick half for me…”
Eadlyn’s expression grew even darker. “This… My lord, without Lord Nio’s order, I’m afraid…”
Du Fan sneered lightly. “From now on, Nio and I will each handle our own affairs. Will you listen to me or to Nio?”
Eadlyn paled and simply shook her head. “The ones in training are fine, but the ordinary servants are all guarding prisoners in the lower levels. I’m afraid…”
“Prisoners?” Du Fan laughed. “You made me forget. When selecting people, remember to pick half prisoners as well… They’re useful resources. I can’t forget that.”
Eadlyn wanted to say more, but at Du Fan’s cold gaze, she shuddered and quickly issued the order.
When the order was passed down, the servants in the hall were all astonished. Du Fan’s actions were equivalent to declaring war on Nio and splitting the Divine Might Prison in two…
Yet no one dared stop Du Fan at that moment. A few of them went to carry out the order with strange expressions on their faces.
By now, other servants had also received orders and were arriving in the hall one after another. When they saw Du Fan sitting on the high platform, they were all shocked.
Many of them might not know Du Fan, but seeing him seated in the warden’s position, they all showed strange expressions.
The position of the other warden of the Divine Might Prison had been vacant for years. Now that someone finally sat in it—a youth who seemed to be under twenty—it left these battle-hardened servants utterly astonished.

Seeing these deacons approaching one after another, Du Fan casually scanned them with his mental power and was quite satisfied. The Divine Might Prison was indeed one of the Holy Church’s most elite forces—none of those who came were below level six. With such strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to wage war, let alone massacre entire cities. Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but smile a few times. With such power at hand, who could he possibly fear? Power was indeed a fascinating thing. Most of the deacons who had arrived now saw the one still groaning on the ground. Although their expressions grew increasingly strange, none dared to ask further questions. After scanning them for a while, Du Fan glanced at Adeline again and asked, “Are there any deacons above the sacred rank in the Divine Might Prison?” Adeline was slightly stunned before replying, “Don’t you know, my lord? As soon as a deacon reaches the sacred rank, they’re immediately transferred back to the Holy City.” Transferred back to the Holy City for what? Naturally, to join the Divine Might Prison under the Pope’s direct command. This wasn’t hard to understand. Du Fan grasped it instantly. He nodded slightly and asked, “Then how many are like that good-for-nothing?” He pointed at the deacon on the ground. Adeline shook her head slightly and said, “Well… you’ll have to ask Master Doni… I’m just an ordinary deacon mage… I’m not aware of these matters.” Du Fan nodded casually and said, “Who is Doni? Come out yourself!” After a while, a deacon in his thirties stepped forward. He stared at Du Fan with indifference, showing no change despite Du Fan’s earlier display of power. Seeing his expression, Du Fan smiled and asked, “Adeline, what does Master Doni do?” Adeline gave a strange look and replied, “Master Doni is one of the elders of the Divine Might Prison…” “Elders?” “Deacons who reach level nine are called elders.” “I see.” Du Fan nodded and looked at Doni below, saying, “Then, Master Doni, please tell me… how many elders are under my responsibility?” Doni’s expression remained unchanged. After a moment, he replied indifferently, “My lord warden… among the elders in the Divine Might Prison under your command, there are only half, that is, eight… five of them are warriors, and three are mages.” “Eight?” Du Fan sighed inwardly… Eight level-nine powerhouses—not bad at all! With that thought, he sneered again and said, “Master Doni, please tell me… where are those eight elders, other than you, right now?”

Master Doni originally didn’t want to answer, but seeing the anger gradually spreading in Du Fan’s eyes, he said indifferently, “The elders of the Divine Might Prison all have privileges. Even if the warden calls them, if they don’t want to come, they naturally can refuse… Plus, a few elders are on missions outside. At this moment, I’m probably the only one available.”

“Is that so?” Du Fan wore a smirk. “Then gather all the elders who don’t have missions… If they don’t come, when I go after them myself, things won’t be so easy for them!”

With that, Du Fan raised his hand slightly, and a sword aura shot toward Master Doni with a whoosh.

Master Doni’s expression changed instantly. He quickly pushed forward with both hands, unleashing a burst of magic to block Du Fan’s sword aura. There was a loud boom, and Master Doni was left in a mess, looking utterly disheveled.

He stumbled back a few steps, glaring at Du Fan and saying, “Warden! What do you mean by this?”

Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just telling you that I have the strength and the ability to change the Divine Might Prison… Since you’re now under my control, forget those old ways of Neo’s. Otherwise, I definitely won’t be gentle with you… I give you three minutes. If you can’t get those elders here, your head will end up on the ground…”

Master Doni’s expression shifted, and he couldn’t help but say, “Warden! This is blasphemy! You…”