Chapter 008: The Deal

Du Fan’s figure raced through the air. Thanks to the holy water, his previous injuries had long healed, and with Tasia casting various supportive spells on him, he now seemed to possess endless strength. His shadowy form circled above the ancient city, his immense mental power scanning every corner of it. After a brief search, he easily sensed some special entities.

After finishing this, he glanced at the divine palace from afar. At that moment, Aldas and the others were still fighting against the waves of skeleton soldiers. He suddenly smiled faintly and said, “Aldas… Aldas… Have you… underestimated people a bit?”

As he spoke, his figure flashed and vanished into the air. Moments later, he reappeared in a dark corner of the city. Tasia and Ferre were standing there, waiting quietly for him. Noticing his arrival, Tasia nodded slightly and asked, “Lord Du Fan, what have you discovered?”

Du Fan sized her up before looking at Ferre. Thanks to the holy water in Ferre’s bottle, both of them had already recovered from their injuries. Although their strength was diminished now, they weren’t a burden to Du Fan. Looking at Tasia’s expression, Du Fan smiled gently and said, “Our dear Lords Alfred and Nicholas have already entered the divine palace with Aldas. But if I’m not mistaken, their journey hasn’t been easy at all. Although we don’t have much time, it’s not impossible to prepare a small gift for them before following them in.”

Tasia nodded thoughtfully at Du Fan’s words. Ferre, on the other hand, was well aware of Du Fan’s cunning and ruthlessness. From just one of Du Fan’s expressions, he could almost see the terrifying schemes lurking behind it. But as long as those schemes didn’t target him, Ferre wasn’t worried at all. Seeing others played was a completely different mindset from being played himself.

At this thought, Ferre’s heart inexplicably grew hot. He remembered all the times he had risked his life with Du Fan these past days, only to engage in despicable and shameless acts. Though his behavior was far more evil than that of a temple knight before, Ferre somehow felt a sense of pleasure as if some desire within him had been unleashed!

It was a priest in white who made me do these things!
It was the most pious priest in white ever who made me do these things!

With this somewhat self-consoling thought, Feray handled things with great ease. When he and Du Fan had trapped and killed Oldas and his group before, he had been inexplicably excited. Although the Templar Knights were incredibly combat-effective, they always preferred to confront their enemies head-on no matter what evil they faced—where had they ever used such despicable methods? Yet events proved that such despicability often had profound significance. Du Fan glanced at Feray, seemingly able to see through his true intentions. He suddenly smiled softly and said, “Feray, I’m afraid we’ll need your help with what comes next… As for Miss Tasia, you can continue meditating here. After I finish what I have to do, I’ll have to deal with Oldas’s group. The more magic power we have at that time, the greater our chances of winning.” Tasia nodded slowly and sat cross-legged. Du Fan looked at the protective magic spells set up around her, gave a slight nod, then led Feray toward an ancient building not far away. Halfway there, Du Fan suddenly turned to look at Feray and said, “Feray… Do you still remember what I told you the day I took you to deal with Oldas’s group?” Feray nodded and said, “Lord Du Fan’s teachings are always kept firmly in my heart!” Du Fan smiled faintly and asked, “Very good… So what did I say?” A hint of embarrassment appeared on Feray’s face, but it quickly returned to normal as he replied, “Lord Du Fan said that when our strength exceeds that of our opponent, we should use strength to defeat them; when our strength is inferior, we naturally resort to tactics; but when neither our strength nor our tactics are enough, then we must use despicability and cunning…” Before he could finish, Du Fan suddenly coughed lightly. Feray immediately reacted and said, “Oh no—we should use our intelligence to insult our opponents and our sacred light to influence them…” Du Fan nodded and said, “You remember quite clearly. But what should you do if none of our methods can deal with our opponent?”

Feyre said quickly, “Isn’t this nonsense? If even Lord Du Fan’s cunning… oh no, his wisdom can’t deal with such a person… then of course they would flee in panic… oh no, they would leave quickly to conserve their strength for future revenge, just as Lord Du Fan said. This is what’s called noble revenge—there’s no rush.”
Du Fan laughed and said, “That’s what they call ‘a gentleman’s revenge—there’s no need to wait ten years.’”
“Yes… yes…” Feyre nodded eagerly. “Lord Du Fan’s insight and knowledge are truly astonishing. If I’m not mistaken, this is a proverb from the distant Eastern Continent. Even the most learned philosophers might not fully understand its meaning, yet Lord Du Fan can quote it effortlessly. It’s truly remarkable!”
Feyre, whether naturally gifted or not, was extremely flattering, though somewhat insincere, yet his intentions were clear. Even Du Fan, a hypocritical and shameless man, felt quite comfortable under his flattery. He knew well that Feyre wouldn’t flatter him for no reason. With a smile, he asked, “Feyre… you’re speaking so nicely today. What do you want me to do?”
Feyre looked embarrassed and said, “What I said is sincere… Lord Du Fan, you’ve misunderstood!”
Du Fan waved his hand indifferently and walked around the ancient city with Feyre for a while before saying, “Speak up if you have something to say. Otherwise, you might not get another chance later.”
Feyre’s face changed several times before he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Lord Du Fan… I know the purpose of your journey and what you plan to do next. But no matter what, I’ll help you… I only have one request…”
Du Fan asked, “Oh? You actually know the purpose of my journey? Go ahead and tell me.”
Feyre stepped back a few steps before saying, “At first, I thought you were like the other three lords—here out of faith. But after all, your strength was too weak. I paid closer attention to you along the way. After following you and fighting against the people from Roland Academy in the valley, I finally realized that you’re the kind of person who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. How could you possibly come here to die for some so-called faith? If I’m guessing correctly… your goal must be something inside the Divine Palace. I don’t know if you’re aware of the situation there, but since you’re here, you surely aren’t planning to leave empty-handed, right?”

Du Fan smiled faintly, touched his nose with his hand, and said, “Probably, seemingly, it should be like that… But so what?”
Ferei replied, “No matter what your purpose is, Lord Du Fan, you have saved us Templars several times while we were outside. Although we didn’t say much, when you took me to deal with those from Roland Academy, which Templar didn’t admire you in their hearts? So… just for that reason… I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want. But… I have one request.”
Du Fan sighed and asked, “Kill Alfred and Nicholas?”
Ferei nodded. “Exactly! I can tolerate your actions, Lord Du Fan, but I absolutely cannot tolerate the betrayal of those two. If our ultimate goal of coming here is to be betrayed, then what’s the meaning of our existence as Templars throughout this journey north?”
Du Fan looked into Ferei’s eyes, feeling a strange sensation. If Ferei had known from the start that he intended to use them as pawns, he wondered if he would have said such things now.
It seemed that Alfred and Nicholas’s betrayal at a critical moment had filled these Templars with deep resentment.
After weighing the pros and cons in his mind for a moment, Du Fan made up his mind, but he only shook his head and said, “If it’s just to avenge you… wouldn’t it be better to ask Miss Tasia? In terms of strength, she’s clearly above me, right?”
Ferei shook his head. “Lord Du Fan, though I’m not very useful, I still have some insight when it comes to people. Although Lady Tasia comes from the Divine Might Prison and is strong, she’s no match for people like Aldas. It’s only someone like you, who has always had backups and is willing to use any despicable means, who can deal with people like Aldas in such a situation. So… I can only turn to you?”
Du Fan nodded slightly. He stepped forward a few times, then turned to look at Ferei again, suddenly smiling and saying, “I’ve never had a true attendant in my life. If you don’t mind, after returning to the capital, I’ll talk to Lord Joshua. From now on, will you follow me?”