Chapter 020: The End of the Music, the Dispersal of the Crowd

Du Fan calmly drew out several magic scrolls and placed them on his own body in front of Gannon. In the divine realm, various magic elements could no longer be summoned due to changes in spatial rules. However, magic scrolls stored a large amount of mana, so their use was not restricted by such rules. As Du Fan applied several auxiliary magic scrolls to his body and equipped himself with various colorful magic shields, Gannon’s expression changed. Having lived in the human world for many years, Gannon knew well the value of magic scrolls. Yet, Du Fan treated them as if they were worthless paper. Although Gannon knew most of these scrolls were hidden in the ring thrown at Du Fan by the green dragon earlier, his way of using them showed that there were countless scrolls in that storage ring—so many that Du Fan could use them at will even with his eyes closed. At this moment, Gannon sighed inwardly. He had earlier thought of taking advantage of the green dragon’s inattention to kill Du Fan, but now it seemed that chance was gone. Du Fan smiled as he placed the last magic scroll on his body, then drew out a few more and fiddled with them casually. After a moment, he chuckled softly and said, “Lord Gannon, are you regretting it?” Gannon frowned and asked, “Regretting what?” Du Fan laughed heartily and replied, “Of course, I regret not killing you sooner! If you had spoken less nonsense, I might not be dead by now. As for your desires and ambitions—such trivial secrets would never be revealed, right, Lord Gannon?” Gannon grunted. He glanced at Isella and whispered, “I’m just glad I didn’t kill you, Young Master Du Fan. I truly underestimated you. It seems the secrets you possess are beyond my reach. The master of a green dragon’s master… Just that title alone makes me too afraid to do anything to you! I certainly don’t want to face an enraged green dragon. Hmph, an enraged green dragon—in terms of strength, it’s no weaker than that Spartalis at all!”

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Lord Gan Nong is joking… But it seems now that we both can put the past behind us. What do you think we should talk about at this moment?”
Gan Nong snorted but remained silent.
Du Fan continued, “It seems Lord Gan Nong isn’t in a good mood. How about I just state my conditions directly?”
As he spoke, Du Fan glanced at Gan Nong. Seeing his unchanging expression, he added, “In my opinion, knowing or not knowing Gan Nong’s so-called secret makes no difference. I have no interest in revealing it, and even if I did, no one would believe me, right, Lord Gan Nong?”
Gan Nong snorted and said, “So what?”
Du Fan replied calmly, “Of course, if I refrain from saying these things, Lord Gan Nong will still have to pay some price, right? You probably don’t care much about worldly power. Otherwise, why not give me the entire Kara clan?”
Gan Nong frowned and said, “Young Master Du Fan, if you want it, just take it. But I don’t have control over the Kara clan. You’ll need to handle the specifics yourself.”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Of course. I suppose Lord Gan Nong isn’t in a position to search for the Lord of Demons right now. I’ll also send people to keep an eye on that cloaked warrior. Any news can be sent to you. As for the Kara clan, Lord Gan Nong will need to take more care of it. I’ll send people to deal with it soon. For now, how about these people temporarily help me supervise it?”
After hesitating for a moment, Gan Nong nodded and said, “As you wish, Young Master Du Fan!”
Du Fan laughed heartily. He stepped back a few steps and stood on Isella’s dragon claw, then turned to look at Gan Nong and said, “Lord Gan Nong, there are no eternal enemies in this world—only eternal interests. Although we only have a verbal agreement today, I hope you won’t break your word to me… Of course, I will definitely fulfill what I promised Lord Gan Nong… Under normal circumstances, we should hold a celebration, but I’ve been away from the Gavin Empire for too long, and there are many matters I need to attend to… So, Lord Gan Nong, I’ll be leaving first! As for your student, I’ll take care of him for you. We can return him to you once our deal is completed, how about that?”
With that, Du Fan tapped a few times on Isella’s dragon claw.

Isela had actually long wanted to leave, but she didn’t dare act rashly at such a time. Now, upon receiving Du Fan’s order, she immediately flapped her wings and slowly flew upward.

When they reached mid-air, Du Fan realized his back was drenched in sweat. If that High Priest Gannon had attacked earlier, he wouldn’t have stood a chance—this useless green dragon certainly wouldn’t have been a match either. It would have ended in certain death.

Fortunately, though Isela wasn’t very useful, she could still intimidate people. Otherwise, he would have died a miserable death this time!

Letting out a soft sigh, Du Fan couldn’t help but look down again and found that the High Priest Gannon was still standing in place. His once-pale face was now extremely ugly.

…

Sitting on Isela’s claw, after breaking through the sealing barrier at the top of the World Tree, the submerged valley they had traveled through for countless days rushed past beneath them in an instant. Even the mountain range that had blocked their way into the barbarian tribes passed by in a flash.

Along the way, Du Fan figured out why Isela had suddenly appeared. He knew that Chenchen must have planned all this in advance. Given Chenchen’s personality, if she had known he was in danger, she would have rushed to save him even if her strength hadn’t recovered yet.

After flying for a day and night, Isela had covered most of the northern region. But when they approached populated areas, she slowly landed on the ground, refusing to fly any further.

After asking a few questions, the green dragon said, “My respected and great master said that no matter why your master left, your disappearance has caused a huge uproar. If I were to take you back directly, it would be difficult to explain the troubles that might arise. It’s better if you return slowly. My master and I can make arrangements first, and you should also prepare yourself to deal with all the possible issues.”

After saying this, Isela set Du Fan and Ringtone down on the ground and flew away quickly. Although Du Fan knew this was the least bad option, he could only sigh and prepare for the remaining journey.

The place where Isela set Du Fan down was a small town in the north. Ringtone was still unconscious, and Du Fan had no way to hurry. He had to pay for a carriage along with warm clothes and food, then travel slowly southward in the carriage.

Du Fan had originally planned to find the local garrison to escort him, but after some thought, he realized that although this northern region was claimed to be the territory of the Northern Legion, the power dynamics here were extremely complex. If he were to go there recklessly, it might be fine if he encountered his own people, but if he ran into those from the major northern group, his life would likely be at risk.

Although the local garrisons were nothing compared to Gannon’s forces, Du Fan had no desire to fight at the moment; he preferred to drive his carriage. Less than half a day after leaving the town, he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him. He stopped and glanced back, only to see snow and ice flying as a large group of horsemen rushed toward him—probably around a hundred riders.

There were already few pedestrians on the roads in this northern region, and it was clear that this cavalry unit was heading straight for him. Du Fan frowned secretly, already gripping several magic scrolls in his hand. If it were the Northern Legion, it would be fine, but if it were those from the major northern group trying to attack him, even without the magic scrolls, he could still give them a tough time. Moreover, he had plenty of magic scrolls in his storage ring, so even if he faced someone at the peak of level nine, he was confident he could hold his own.

If these people really were that stubborn, then things might get tough this time! But the group just rode past him without stopping, seemingly not targeting him. Du Fan frowned slightly, wondering if something serious had happened in this northern region.

After pondering for a while with no answers, and since he really had no interest in dealing with these matters, he shook his head slightly and got back into his carriage, ready to leave. But just then, another sound of thunderous horse hooves came from behind. Upon hearing it, Du Fan’s expression changed. From the sound, there were at least a thousand riders this time, and their formation was orderly. Even as they rushed at high speed, their formation remained intact. Judging by their momentum, they were almost certainly the Northern Legion!

Before the thousand cavalrymen even approached, the one at the front started shouting loudly. Despite the distance, his voice was crystal clear, clearly infused with combat energy: “Over there! It’s Young Master Du Fan from the Green family!”

Book 13: On the Road South