Chapter 001: The Underground World

Looking at Count Wade before him, Du Fan frowned slightly. A faint red gas emanating from the count made it clear that what he was conjuring was none other than the most formidable divine power in the continent. At that moment, Du Fan moved his hands simultaneously, drawing forth Robert’s divine power as well. Compared to Count Wade’s divine power, Du Fan’s was not only filled with the righteous energy of the stars but also carried a hint of murderous intent.

“Die!” Count Wade suddenly raised his fist, unleashing an immense surge of divine power.

Seeing Count Wade’s move, Du Fan wasn’t panicked at all. Instead, he licked his lips excitedly, raised his own fist, and shouted, “Let’s see who of us will die!”

The two streams of divine power began to clash in the air. Moreover, as they rubbed against the air, crackling sounds could be heard, and every element in the air was burned to ashes by these powers.

“Arrow of the Elven King!”
“Ax of the Fire God!”
“Heavy Strike!”

Just as Count Wade’s fist was about to strike Du Fan, the powerful warriors behind Du Fan took action. Skills unique to the Fire God, Nature Goddess, and Demon God were unleashed upon him.

Time seemed to stand still as Count Wade’s body was flung backward at extreme speed. His armor had been shattered by these three devastating skills. He was no longer the once-dominant middle-aged man but resembled an old man scavenging for trash.

Next, a sound of wind cutting through the air rang out right beside Count Wade. Somehow, Du Fan had teleported right next to him, holding the Star-Plucking Sword. He stared coldly at Count Wade, slowly opening his lips to utter words that sent Count Wade into utter despair:

“If you don’t eradicate the roots, troubles will persist.”

With that, Du Fan swung his Star-Plucking Sword fiercely in Count Wade’s direction. At the last moment, Count Wade vanished from his spot and reappeared a hundred meters away.

“What?” Du Fan laughed bitterly in frustration as he watched Count Wade rushing ahead. Mocking him, he said, “Old man, at your age, you’d better not run around recklessly.”
“Du Fan, I feel something’s strange,” Rob said at that moment, separating himself from Du Fan’s body. With a puzzled look, he asked, “Why haven’t you gone up and killed Wade yet? Isn’t that letting a tiger return to its lair?”
“Heh.” Du Fan glanced at Rob and said in a domineering tone, “Don’t chase a desperate enemy. If we really chase after him, he might use his last strength to destroy himself along with us. I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
After hearing Du Fan’s explanation, everyone nodded in satisfaction. Meanwhile, they saw that the battle in the city was coming to an end. Aside from the Night Elves and Spiderfolk who managed to escape using their innate skills, almost all human soldiers lay dead on the ground.
It was only then that Wade’s army was completely annihilated. News of this spread like lightning within a day and reached Fischer’s ears.
……
“What a Du Fan,” Fischer said, slapping the table hard with hatred in his voice. “I never thought even that old fox Wade would fall for it. It seems he’ll finally submit to us this time.”
Hearing Fischer’s words, Qian beside him let out a strange cry. Noticing Fischer’s puzzled look, he began to explain, “I don’t think Wade is that simple. If a real fight broke out, he’d likely be able to match Du Fan’s forces. How could he lose so easily? And how did he manage to escape the battlefield?”
“Heh.” Xun, standing beside Qian, smiled indifferently and explained, “Although Count Wade’s forces are roughly on par with Du Fan’s, he has too few skilled warriors. In a real battle, those troops would just be cannon fodder. Whether he can win depends entirely on the strong fighters in his camp.”
“That’s not right,” Fischer said calmly, staring at Xun. Noticing his strange expression, he paused before continuing, “Though Count Wade has few skilled warriors, compared to those in Du Fan’s camp, they should still be able to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements. I can’t believe they were pushed back without even fighting back. Don’t you think there’s something fishy about this?”

“Please, Regent Ming, explain. We two old folks are now quite advanced in age and too lazy to think much anymore,” Qian said slowly, with a smile on his face as he looked at Fischer in front of him.

“Mm,” Fischer nodded upon hearing Elder Qian’s words and continued, “The elves and dwarves are now under Du Fan’s control. If I’m not mistaken, the Bluebloods are also allied with Du Fan. So, in reality, Earl Wade’s army is nothing but a big chicken leg to Du Fan—he can just take it whenever he wants.”

“Oh?” Hearing Fischer’s words, Xun asked in surprise, “Then why hasn’t Du Fan attacked our empire yet? As far as I know, he hates you deeply.”

“Please forgive me, Elder,” Fischer said, laughing awkwardly twice before starting to explain, “Although Du Fan hates me deeply, he’s a smart man. He may have taken control of the entire southern province, but he hasn’t yet consolidated it properly. However, our Gavin Empire is different from the Church—we’ve developed over a long period of time. As the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. If Du Fan really wants to take over our Gavin Empire, he’ll need something truly formidable to do so.”

“Right now, our Gavin Empire is in a state where everyone serves as a soldier. That’s why Wade is eager to send troops against Du Fan. This old fox understands well that if he allows Du Fan to grow stronger right under his nose, and Du Fan were to launch a counterattack, I’d likely be the first to suffer. But the foundation of the Church and the Empire is far deeper than that of this old fox Wade. Even if we suffer such a blow, it would take decades to recover, but we could still reorganize the empire with a single command. But he can’t—unless his mind is broken, would he risk destroying himself along with everything else? That’s why he’s so anxious to send troops to fight Du Fan. I think he’s feigning defeat.”

“Feigning defeat?” Hearing Fischer’s words, Qian and Xun exclaimed in unison, staring at him in disbelief.

Feigning defeat, though extremely shameful for one’s reputation, could preserve one’s life to the greatest extent. If Fischer ordered him to go to war again, he could use the excuse of arranging his troops to decline. Not only that, he could also receive a large sum from the empire’s treasury to reorganize his army. Even if Fischer disagreed, it would be hard for him to withstand the criticism from the empire’s commoners.
“That old fox is really ruthless,” Fischer said through gritted teeth, gripping his teacup tightly. He asked the messenger in a furious tone, “Has Count Wade returned to his estate yet?”
“Not yet,” the messenger replied, barely daring to breathe after hearing Fischer’s question. “It is said that since Count Wade was defeated, he has been fleeing toward the empire on foot, without any mount.”
“On foot?” Hearing this, Fischer sneered and murmured to himself, “That kid is truly ruthless—thinking of traveling on foot. It takes half a month just to walk from the south to the empire, let alone for someone who is seriously injured. I think that old fellow should have already returned to the empire or is hiding somewhere by now. Pass the order—dig through the earth if necessary to bring that old bastard Wade to me!”
“Yes!”
Hearing Fischer’s orders, the messenger rushed out immediately to convey them.
Watching the messenger leave, Qian stood up and bowed to Fischer, saying, “Regent, no—now I should call you His Majesty Fischer. The Church and the empire have maintained a cooperative relationship for many years. Of course, I don’t want our friendship to be ruined because of that old fox Fischer. If there’s anything you can’t handle, feel free to ask us two old men for help. It’s been a long time since we’ve fought each other.”
“Of course,” Fischer replied modestly, standing up as well. He took out two demon cores from his pocket and said obsequiously, “Elders, these are the demon cores left by the previous pope in the imperial palace. They’re of no use to me, so I’d better give them to you two.”
“Hehe,” the two elders, Qian and Xun, said joyfully after receiving the demon cores from Fischer. “Then we two old men will be leaving now.”
……
The Underworld.
Count Wade, who had fled after his defeat, was indeed hiding in the territory of the night elves in the Underworld, just as Fischer had predicted.

At the same time, Hua Musi, Ulbas, Randy, and the others sat beside him with their eyes closed, while five streams of domain power slowly flowed through their hands. At this moment, Count Wade slowly withdrew his hands and opened his eyes.
“The experts around Du Fan are quite strong,” Count Wade said, unusually showing appreciation for Du Fan. With a hint of regret, he added, “If we could obtain the core of a divine-level magical beast, I think it would be Du Fan’s group that ends up in such a mess today. By the way, Hua Musi and Ulbas, how many of your people have been lost?”
Hearing Count Wade’s words, Hua Musi and Ulbas opened their eyes simultaneously and replied calmly, “A few hundred. It wasn’t a significant blow. But your human army was completely wiped out.”
Upon hearing their reply, Count Wade waved his hand dismissively and said, “Forget about those human armies for now. They’re not my people anyway, so I really don’t feel sorry for them.”
“Father, you mean those people aren’t your army?” Randy asked in surprise after hearing Count Wade’s words. “Could it be that these people…”
“That’s right,” Count Wade nodded in response to Randy’s question and said slowly, “These people were stolen from Fischer through my years of connections. I originally planned to have Du Fan eliminate most of them. If we could take this opportunity to weaken Du Fan’s dwarves and blue-blooded race as well, our efforts wouldn’t have been in vain. But I didn’t expect that little fox to use a decoy strategy. Still, it’s good—this way we can be more cautious next time we encounter such a situation.”