Chapter 007: Clashing Forces

The man behind him laughed, seemingly with a hint of mockery, “Lord Du Fan, you are neither a Kara nor a member of our Fire Tribe. If you kill Magnus, then naturally, no one will dare to blame our Fire Tribe. And even if someone wants to hold you accountable, by then you’ll already be a noble lord in the empire. In that case, no one would dare to confront you, right?”
Du Fan thought for a moment before sneering, “I doubt that’s the case. If I help you kill Chief Magnus, but you fail to keep your promise and capture me instead to claim the reward, then you conspirators will become heroes for catching the murderer. That would be good for you, but I’d surely be at a disadvantage, wouldn’t I?”
The man snapped, “We Karas keep our word. Do you think we’re as despicable as you Rolands?”
“Indeed, we Rolands are despicable,” Du Fan sneered. “But to seize power, we resort to using outsiders to assassinate another tribe’s chief. I doubt that’s very noble either.”
The other man was stunned and fell silent. The atmosphere became extremely strange, with no one speaking first.
After a while, the other man took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Lord Du Fan, we swear by the name of the Great God that if we break our promise, our souls will burn in the Abyss of Purgatory for ten thousand years!”
Having spent time with barbarians, Du Fan understood well that for them, the so-called Great God was the supreme being, and no one dared to violate any oath related to him.
Hearing this, Du Fan realized that for this so-called Fire Tribe, killing Magnus would be the best outcome possible. Although carrying out such an act might not be easy, it wasn’t a bad idea to agree to it for now.
After thinking for a moment, Du Fan suddenly remembered another issue and said, “By the way, I forgot another thing. I suppose the Moon Inviting Tribe also knows this invisibility technique, right?”
The other man was taken aback and replied, “It’s a secret technique passed down from the Great God’s Temple. Of course, the Moon Inviting Tribe knows it!”

Du Fan sneered and said, “Very well. If I help you kill Magnus, you’ll send me back safely. But even then, I doubt I’ll be safe. If the Moon-Inviting Tribe really wants to take revenge, they’ll send a few fighters as skilled as those two. Even if I’m a bit stronger, I’d still have trouble sleeping at night, wouldn’t I?”
The other party seemed stunned for a moment before saying, “Young Master Du Fan doesn’t need to worry about that…”
“How so?”
“By then, the Moon-Inviting Tribe likely won’t have the mood or the ability to do such things!”
Du Fan took a slight breath in sharply. He sensed a strong sense of bloodshed in those words and couldn’t help but say, “Weren’t the people of the Great Divine Palace forbidden from killing each other?”
“By then, it won’t be up to us anymore.” The other party seemed to wave their weapon fiercely a few times. “Alright, Lord Du Fan. After talking so much nonsense, will you agree or not?”
After thinking for a while, Du Fan sighed and said, “I really do want to agree, but such an important matter—can it really be resolved by just the two of you? We need to meet with your leader. If that’s not possible, consider it as if you never came!”
The other party snorted, “We understand that. We came tonight just to greet you, Young Master Du Fan. Tomorrow, someone will naturally get in touch with you!”
Du Fan sneered, “I doubt that’s the case. If I refuse, won’t you two fight to the death to keep me alive?”
The other party seemed to laugh slightly and said, “Are you still upset about what happened just now, Young Master Du Fan? Even if we want to find someone to cooperate with, we need to know their strength first. If you, Lord Du Fan, can’t even fend off one or two assassins, what skills do you have to deal with Magnus? We Karans only respect the strong. Our partners are also strong. Congratulations, Young Master Du Fan—you’ve already won our friendship with your strength. Well… we’ll be leaving now!”
“Wait!” Du Fan shouted. “I have a few words I’d like you to convey to your leader. If he agrees, then send someone to contact me. If not, let’s drop this matter!”
The other party hesitated for a moment before saying, “Please go ahead, sir.”
Du Fan thought for a while and said, “If I’m to take such a huge risk for you, I can’t expect no benefits at all. So, I need you to agree to a few conditions!”
“What conditions?”

“First, send me back to the Gavin Empire safely!”
“That one I can promise you right away.”
“Second, to ensure my safety, your Flame Tribe needs to send dozens of warriors as skilled as you to protect me. Of course, I won’t take advantage of you too much—every year I’ll send you supplies as part of a fair deal, how does that sound?”
“That… I need to go back and consult first…”
“Finally, you still need to tell me what Ringtone plans to do with me after capturing me, and what will happen at the Great Temple tomorrow. I think on this point, our interests align…”
This time, the other party didn’t speak. After a moment of silence, the strange-looking figure in front of him slowly disappeared into thin air. These barbarians truly came and went without a trace. In less than a moment, only Du Fan was left in the room!
Du Fan felt a wave of relief. He sat down on the ground, his chest aching from the strain. Although the fight hadn’t lasted long, he had taken several hits from his opponent and was quite injured. During the negotiations, to maintain his composure, he had suppressed his pain and pretended to be calm. Now that those two were gone, Du Fan felt his body trembling as if it might explode.
It was the first time in his life he had suffered such a heavy loss, which served as a lesson for him. He sighed, touched his lips, and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
But thankfully, what happened tonight wasn’t entirely bad—it brought a glimmer of hope to his situation. If he made good use of this opportunity, he could gain a great deal! If those barbarian warriors truly joined his forces under his leadership, they would become a powerful force in the future.
After all, he was just a useless nobleling. If he wanted to achieve something, he had to build his own power. Although barbarians were like insatiable wolves, that was only true for sheep. In front of a lion, even the hungriest wolf would submit!
So, was he a sheep or a lion?
Du Fan asked himself silently. The events of these past months flashed through his mind like a dream. With a bitter smile, he fell into a deep sleep on the ground…

At dawn, the Invite the Moon Tribe sent two maids to serve Du Fan. But when the two maids entered the room, they saw it in complete disarray—blood everywhere on the floor. Their esteemed guest, Du Fan, had a long scab on his chest, his clothes stained with blood, and his face pale. Even though these barbarian women were usually very composed, they couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

Du Fan sat up, casually took out a set of robes from his storage ring and changed into them. He said casually, “Don’t be afraid. I, Du Fan, always have the habit of sleepwalking, and whenever I do, I end up fighting. It’s nothing serious; I’ll get used to it eventually…”

Yet Du Fan spoke in Roland language. Although these two barbarian maids had slender waists, full breasts, and delicate faces, they simply couldn’t understand Roland language.

In the end, the two maids ran out shouting. Moments later, a group of barbarian warriors came to “serve” Young Master Du Fan. These warriors didn’t say much; they simply sent someone to clean up the scene, tidying it up.

Soon, Du Fan was taken to the temple in the square. Chief Magnus seemed even more lifeless after not being seen all day. Ling Yin and Stuart stood behind him. Magnus gave Du Fan a deep look and laughed heartily, “Lord Du Fan, did you rest well last night?”

Du Fan’s mind flashed—could he have figured something out? Yet he still wore a smile and said, “Thank you for your concern, Chief. Although a few little mice disturbed my sleep last night, I drove them away and rested well after that.”

Magnus nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Then rest easy tonight, Lord Du Fan. I’ll make sure those little brats catch enough mice so you can sleep soundly!”

Du Fan smiled and said, “Then I thank Chief in advance.”

Magnus nodded, seemingly pondering something. After a moment, he said calmly, “Lord Du Fan, do you still remember what I said yesterday?”

Du Fan was momentarily stunned. “Chief said so many things yesterday. How could I possibly remember them all? Please remind me, or I really won’t be able to recall anything.”