Chapter 005: A Life-or-Death Deal

Du Fan heard the cold tone in the other person’s voice and couldn’t tell if what was said was true or false. He sneered a few times, but then applied slight pressure with his hand, feeling his Silver Moon Sword seemingly cutting through the skin of the man in front of him. Blood slowly flowed from the man’s neck, and as more blood spilled, most of his body became visible. Du Fan applied more force, causing the blood to flow even faster. The man in front seemed unable to suppress a low groan, but the one behind him acted as if nothing had happened. He gave a strange smile, and then Du Fan felt a pain in his own neck—clearly, the other party was imitating him!
“A Rolandian,” the man said in a low voice. “If you don’t kneel down now, I’ll cut your throat. I’m sure you can feel it too—if I wanted to, with just a little force, your life would be over!”
Du Fan sighed inwardly. He had been careless, and now he was in this situation. With no time to use his other skills, he was extremely frustrated. He also knew that it was due to the barbarians’ nature—if he didn’t obey, his life might indeed be lost.
At that moment, Du Fan could only gently release his Silver Moon Sword and slowly kneel on one knee.
As soon as the man in front was freed, he didn’t attend to his own wounds. Instead, he quickly picked up his weapon from the ground and placed it against Du Fan’s neck again.
Du Fan frowned slightly and sighed, “Who exactly are you? What do you want?”
The man behind him smiled strangely and said, “It doesn’t matter who we are, but as a Rolandian, I want to make a deal with you.”
“A deal?” Du Fan sneered. “If it weren’t for my good luck just now, I’d probably be split in half like that bed. Is this how you barbarians make deals?”
“How could that be?” the man replied calmly. “Since we’re here to make a deal with you, we certainly won’t kill you. We had so many chances earlier yet didn’t strike. Can’t you sense our sincerity, Young Master Du Fan?”
Sincerity? What nonsense!
If it weren’t for my good luck, I’d have died countless times already! Is this your sincerity?
Du Fan cursed inwardly, but such thoughts shouldn’t be revealed to outsiders. He put on a surprised expression and said, “You know my identity?!”

“Hmph,” the man sneered. “The third young master of the Green family, captured alive by the Bell Sound Priest of the Moon-Inviting Tribe—none of us Karans is unaware of this! But you, Young Master Du Fan, needn’t be so arrogant. We’re not the Moon-Inviting Tribe, nor that old scoundrel Magnus… In their eyes, you’re a distinguished guest, but in ours, you’re just an ordinary Rolandian!”
Du Fan frowned. “Magnus?”
“That worthless clan leader of the Moon-Inviting Tribe,” the man replied indifferently. “The same old fool who talked to you politely for half a day!”
Du Fan was surprised. “You’re not from the Moon-Inviting Tribe?”
The man behind him sneered. “It seems Young Master Du Fan isn’t that smart either. If we were from the Moon-Inviting Tribe, would we need to act in secret? We could just take you and throw you into the Submerged River!”
Du Fan pondered for a moment and began to grasp the situation. These two assassins seemed not to belong to that barbarian clan leader, Magnus, but rather to another faction within the barbarians. It appeared that Magnus wanted to use him for some purpose, but those plans conflicted with the interests of another faction, which was why they sent assassins after him!
If Du Fan was right, this other faction must have prepared for both possibilities—killing him if he was worthless, or negotiating with him if he had some skills!
Though in grave danger, Du Fan felt calm for the first time since being captured by Bell Sound—after all, he’d been held captive for days.
If he analyzed things this way, the barbarians weren’t monolithic. If he could understand the situation clearly and act wisely, he could surely deal a heavy blow to these savages.
With this thought, Du Fan had an idea. His mind raced, and since he wanted to extract information from these two attackers, he paused before saying, “So you really aren’t from the Moon-Inviting Tribe! But since you’re not from them, why attack a distinguished guest of their tribe? Aren’t you afraid the Moon-Inviting Tribe will hold you accountable? If I’m not mistaken, that Stuart is the strongest warrior in your Karan tribe. With him around, do you think you can get away?”

The man behind Du Fan sneered and said, “Lord Du Fan, it would be better if you avoided such unnecessary thoughts. Our tribe’s high priest has already cast spells around this room. Unless you can get rid of the high priest, not only will you not be able to say a few words here, but even if we fight fiercely, those useless people from the Moon-Inviting Tribe won’t be able to detect anything. So, Lord Du Fan, it seems you have no other choice but to cooperate obediently!”
Du Fan thought to himself that it was indeed the effect of magic. After pondering for a moment, he pretended to be helpless, sighed, and said, “Alright, then tell me what you need me to do. What kind of deal do you plan to make with me?”
The man behind him seemed slightly surprised upon hearing Du Fan’s words. The tension in their grips on their swords lessened slightly. After a while, it was still that man who spoke calmly, “Our tribe wants Lord Du Fan to kill that useless Magnus!”
Although he tried hard to control his emotions while speaking, Du Fan could clearly hear the excitement in his tone!
Du Fan sneered inwardly. If he really killed Chief Magnus, he would likely be killed by Ling Yin right away. How could he agree to such a thing? But if he refused, they would surely have no problem ending his life as well!
After thinking for a while, Du Fan shouted in a low voice, “Nonsense! Kill Chief Magnus? Why should I help you? And with my current status, how could I even have the qualifications or ability to kill Magnus for you?”
The man behind him replied calmly, “If Young Master Du Fan agrees, we promise to send him back to the Gavin Empire safely, ensuring that no one here dares to touch a hair on his head. How about that?”
Du Fan’s heart stirred, but he sneered and said, “So that’s it! Isn’t this condition a bit too simple? Even without your help, can’t I, Du Fan, get out of this barbarian tribe? Moreover, to take such a huge risk to assassinate Magnus for such a small benefit? It’s absurd! I think you know better than I do about Ling Yin and Stuart’s skills!”

The man paid no attention to Du Fan’s refusal and instead continued in his peculiar tone, calmly saying, “If you agree to my conditions, I guarantee that the Karans will never set foot in your northern lands for three years… no, five years. How about that?”
Du Fan laughed bitterly. “That’s ridiculous! You won’t set foot in the northern lands for three or five years? You think I’ll help you with such a laughable offer and an irrelevant excuse? Are you idiots, or do you think I’m an idiot?”
The man seemed annoyed. He tightened the weapon in his hand against Du Fan’s neck and shouted, “Will you agree or not?”
Du Fan sighed. “Is this how you barbarians handle things? Can such matters really be decided in just a few words?”
The man sneered a few times and said, “If you refuse, I’ll cut off your head right now. Anyway, as long as we have your head, we can report back as having completed our task!”
Du Fan laughed in anger. “Go ahead and try! If you’re so capable, just cut off my head! It’s utterly absurd! Suddenly trying to assassinate me, then threatening me—if I refuse, you’ll kill me! Great! You’re really skilled… If you’re that good, go and assassinate Magnus yourselves. Don’t you all want to die? Why involve an outsider?”
Ignoring Du Fan’s words, the man still said coldly, “Will you agree or not?”
Du Fan curled his lips. “Calling Magnus useless? I think you’re the useless ones. Realize your current situation—you’re trying to make a deal with me! To put it bluntly, you’re begging me to do business with you! If I’m not wrong, as long as I refuse, no matter what you originally planned to do, you’ll definitely fail!”
As soon as Du Fan finished speaking, he felt the two weapons on his neck tremble slightly. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly and said, “Gentlemen, be careful. If you shake them any harder, my life will be in danger!”
The man behind him didn’t respond to Du Fan but hesitated for a moment before saying, “What you say makes some sense!”
Du Fan sneered. “When begging, act like you’re begging. Don’t think your worthless conditions are attractive! Five years without setting foot in the north? Go ahead then! Are the Northern Legions just there for show?”