Chapter 004: Strange Phenomena

The room was so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling to the ground could be heard. Du Fan could only hear his heart pounding wildly. He smiled bitterly inwardly—apparently, he had overestimated himself. His journey had been smooth sailing, and even when faced with minor setbacks, someone would always help him resolve them. He had always believed that schemes and tactics were the true essence of power, but this time, he had learned a lesson!

Du Fan resolved that if he managed to return alive this time, nothing else mattered—he would focus on cultivating for a while. After all, if he couldn’t even protect himself, what use were all his schemes?

“Damn it!” Du Fan muttered. “Did you really think I spent three months training for nothing?”

In the darkness, another invisible gust of wind seemed to strike. Du Fan didn’t have time to cast a spell, so he simply swung his Silver Moon Sword, unleashing a holy light cross-cut.

There was a muffled thud, followed by the sound of metal clashing. Du Fan felt as though someone had kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. The kick landed right on the wound in his chest. As he flew through the air, he even saw blood splattering out.

The kick almost made him vomit everything he had eaten that night. His head spun, and he nearly lost consciousness. Du Fan realized that the poison on the opponent’s sword must have taken effect. Though panicked, he couldn’t do much at the moment. As soon as he hit the ground, he got up immediately, leaning against the wall while scanning the surroundings warily.

Yet, he still saw nothing. Du Fan cursed inwardly. He was now even more convinced that the opponent possessed some strange invisibility technique, allowing them to remain hidden even from his powerful mental senses. If it weren’t for the Divine Origin enhancing his vision and hearing slightly, he would have died countless times by now.

Thinking of this, Du Fan spat in frustration. If he remembered correctly, everyone who had obtained the Divine Origin in history had become the strongest figures on the continent. Yet here he was, being assassinated—who would be embarrassed if word got out?

He reminded himself to be careful, but how could he be cautious in such a situation?

Suddenly, Du Fan heard a strange sound, like wood cracking. An idea flashed through his mind, and without hesitation, he lunged forward again. Just as he moved away, he saw a hole about half an inch long appear on the wall he had been leaning against. Getting up from the ground, he glanced at it and felt his scalp tingle—his attacker had struck from behind! Such an unimaginable method of assassination made it impossible to avoid. If not for his quick reaction, he would already have a transparent hole in his body!

Du Fan couldn’t think too much at the moment; unknown fear filled his heart. He couldn’t help but shout a few times, but outside the house, it remained eerily quiet, with no sign of movement.

He wondered why. Although he had been careful earlier, there should have been some noise. Now that he was shouting for help, even if those barbarians were crazy, they should have realized something was wrong by now! But why wasn’t anyone coming to check?

Then he thought that since the attacker hadn’t yet learned the secrets of his Word Magic and Space Tear Slash, they probably wouldn’t let him die right away. So this situation was extremely strange.

Du Fan had originally wanted to use Word Magic to force the hidden attacker to reveal themselves, but without being able to see them, his Word Magic was useless, so he had no choice but to give up.

With a wry smile, he realized that most of his abilities came from Word Magic and magic, with only a small portion being combat energy and martial skills. But in this situation, neither Word Magic nor magic worked, leaving him in a very awkward position in a fight!

All sorts of chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind as he scanned the surroundings warily, but still saw nothing. With a cold laugh, he thought that if he couldn’t see, he could at least rely on his hearing!

Suddenly, another gust of wind hit him. This time, Du Fan was better prepared. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward without holding back, using both Light Combat Energy and All Magic simultaneously. A faint blue holy light burst from his Silver Moon Sword, while his entire body burned with combat energy. Surrounded by these two completely different types of combat energy, he charged forward with all his might!

There was a sharp “thwack” sound, as if his Silver Moon Sword had struck something. Followed by a muffled groan—seemingly, his attack had dealt a heavy blow to the opponent as well.

Du Fan, having succeeded with one strike, became even more ruthless. He slapped his left hand, preparing to cast several spells. But before he could finish reciting the incantations, he felt another pain in his chest, as if a powerful force had struck him.

With a groan, Du Fan swallowed the half-uttered spell words. Cold sweat poured down his body as the pain nearly made him convulse. If it weren’t for the combat energy protecting him, that strike from the opponent could have killed him outright. The opponent was truly merciless, using only deadly moves without hesitation. Since being attacked, he didn’t know how many times he had been on the brink of death!

Gritting his teeth tightly, Du Fan saw stars before his eyes and felt dizzy—seemingly, the poison was affecting him more deeply. He forced a bitter smile but was helpless.

At the same time, Du Fan realized he didn’t have time to let the opponent cast more spells. He casually shoved the Phantom Wand into his storage ring and pulled out some potion from it. Clutching it tightly, his mind was in chaos—he didn’t even know what he was supposed to do with it.

With a few more rustling sounds, Du Fan swung his sword instinctively. This time, with experience, he relied not on his eyes but on his sharp hearing to defend himself. Several blows were blocked, but his hand became almost completely numb, barely able to hold the sword.

Suddenly, another wind-like sound came from behind. Gritting his teeth, Du Fan didn’t wait for the opponent to finish his move. Instead, he turned and swung his sword. Another “thwack” sound followed—as his sword was blocked by the opponent’s. In a flash of determination, Du Fan threw the potion at them.

It was originally an accidental strike, but a gasp was heard—the potion spilled out. He didn’t know what it was for, but in the darkness, it glowed blue, like fluorescence. He vaguely remembered it was a highly poisonous substance that only worked if ingested. Such a bottle was extremely expensive, yet here it was, wasted as if poured like water!

But before Du Fan could finish feeling pity, he saw the spilled potion seem to solidify in midair. Its blue glow condensed into a strange human face!
Du Fan was shocked, thinking he had seen a ghost. But he quickly realized he wasn’t hallucinating—it was pure luck that he had accidentally broken through the other party’s invisibility spell!
Now that you’ve shown your face, do you really think you can run away?
Without saying a word, Du Fan swung his Silver Moon Sword repeatedly. Forced to breathe heavily, he unleashed a series of rapid sword techniques, quickly throwing the opponent into disarray.
The sound of metal clashing echoed, and finally, with a light thud, the opponent’s weapon seemed to fall to the ground.
Du Fan roared and swung his Silver Moon Sword like a meteor, channeling great amount of combat energy toward the opponent’s head. The man seemed to still have a weapon and managed to block it briefly, but with a “crack,” his other weapon also flew away.
The opponent spat out a mouthful of blood, looking unstable, as his eerie face retreated a few steps in the air.
Du Fan knew clearly that he had pushed the opponent back. He stepped forward, swung his Silver Moon Sword, and placed it beside that strange face. Feeling it rest atop the opponent’s neck, he sneered and said, “Kneel!”
But at that moment, Du Fan felt a chill on his neck—a piercing cold sensation—followed by a strange and cold voice: “Rolandian! Kneel before me!”
Though the words sounded odd, they were indeed in the Rolandian language.
Du Fan’s mind flashed—there must be two people. That’s why the attacks had been so strange. From the way it was spoken, it sounded like the kind of odd emphasis only barbarians used when speaking Rolandian… Could this assassin really be a barbarian?
Realizing this, Du Fan gripped his sword tighter. He sneered and said, “Drop your weapon, or I’ll kill your companion. Don’t you Karans value your people the most? It wouldn’t be good for you to see your own kin killed by me alive.”
The strange and cold voice behind him also sneered, “Go ahead and kill them! Rolandian! Since we dared to come, we’re already prepared to die!”