Chapter 012: Show Mercy

“You’d better not move, or if anything happens, I won’t be able to explain it.”
A gentle voice sounded in her ear, startling Chris again. What exactly had happened? How had she ended up in the hands of strangers? Ignoring the pain all over her body, she gritted her teeth and sat up abruptly, slowly opening her eyes.
Three figures came into view. Chris clenched her teeth and demanded, “Who are you?”
“Is it important who I am?” Nicholas smiled. He was curious to see how long this girl could remain calm.
Chris finally focused on Nicholas’s face and was slightly taken aback. “Are you people from the Holy Church?”
Nicholas replied calmly, “Dear lady, it’s not important who we are. What matters is that you understand—you are now our prisoner. But we’re reasonable people and don’t intend to harm you. So, please don’t resist or struggle. We should cooperate peacefully… At least until we meet my master. We hope you remain unharmed. Is that acceptable?”
Chris forced a bitter smile. She was a smart woman, knowing what to say and what not to say.
“Then… can I say no?”
“Of course not!”
Tasia and Ringo stepped forward, each supporting her from one side as they pulled her out of the crystal coffin. Nicholas gave a slight nod, and the four of them vanished instantly. Unnoticed by them, less than a moment after they left, the magnificent crystal coffin suddenly cracked with a loud sound and turned to dust…
A figure hiding in the shadows appeared outside the bell tower—it was Xuelan.
She watched everything before her, feeling uncertain, but after a moment, she looked toward the direction of Modo City…
Hoping everything would end soon!
…
In the dense jungle, weeds and fallen leaves covered everything. The rotten soil emitted a foul smell that made one want to vomit.
Du Fan covered his mouth and sighed softly, “This really isn’t a good place. If I had known, I would have just hunted in some grassland. What’s there to enjoy in this forest?”
As he spoke, he raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “So that’s how it is. What a cunning little guy. You thought hiding so high would stop me from catching you?”

With that, Du Fan suddenly stretched out his hand and smiled faintly. Tiny spheres composed of various magical elements kept swirling around his fingertips. He fixed his gaze on a towering tree ahead and declared loudly, “Cute little thing, are you waiting for me to force you out, or would it be better if you came out on your own? Remember, if I force you out, things won’t end well for you at all!”
After saying that, Du Fan stood still, holding the reins. But after a while, apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind, there was no other sound.
Du Fan sighed and said softly, “Why does everyone think they’re so smart? Little thing, this is your own choice—don’t blame me!”
With that, Du Fan waved his hand sharply, and several magical balls shot out like lightning. A scream was heard as a figure tumbled down from the tree.
Du Fan’s expression turned cold, but then he suddenly threw a wind magic spell that caught the “prey,” preventing her from dying on the spot.
The “prey” was covered in wounds of various sizes, likely from trying to escape through the forest. There was a large charred area on her chest, the result of Du Fan’s earlier magic spell.
At that moment, the girl wasn’t unconscious; she just stared at Du Fan in terror, barely able to speak.
Du Fan smiled at her and said, “See? If you had climbed down on your own earlier, you wouldn’t have suffered such injuries… So there’s no need for you to curse me in your heart. After all, this is all your own doing…”
The girl glared at Du Fan before gritting her teeth and saying, “You devil…”
“No, I’m not a devil,” Du Fan smiled. “The real devil is your dear master… If he hadn’t ordered you to assassinate me, you’d still be living a happy life, right? It’s a pity that your master, though capable of sending you to assassinate me, lacks the ability to save your lives from me… What a worthless man… But don’t worry. I won’t kill you this time. Your little master, Aldas, has already done his best. I wonder how many of these last ten people he can save?”
With that, Du Fan waved his hand, sending a burst of combat energy that landed right on the girl’s forehead. She grunted once and then fainted.

Du Fan shook his head and said, “Alright, this is the first one… Ah, but then again, deliberately losing is really a very difficult thing! How fast—another one appears beside me already?” With that, Du Fan waved his hand, and the girl was lifted into the air by wind magic, floating slowly forward alongside his warhorse. Du Fan realized his luck was somewhat excessive—in just a short while, he had already captured four prey. There were only ten left, meaning that if he caught just one more, he wouldn’t necessarily be considered a winner, but he certainly wouldn’t be a loser either. “Ah… Aldas, you’re really useless. I deliberately slowed down so much on my way back, and you still lost?” Du Fan sighed and murmured. Suddenly, his ears twitched as he looked in another direction, and he couldn’t help but sigh again, “Is… this the fifth one?” Du Fan took down his crossbow from the horse, loaded an arrow, then spurred his horse toward that direction. He raised the crossbow, ready to shoot and end this trouble, but at that moment, he heard Aldas’ cold voice not far away: “Young Master Du Fan, didn’t we agree that we need to catch them alive this time?” As soon as the words faded, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Du Fan, blocking his path. Aldas’ beautiful face was filled with coldness as he stood on the ground, staring at Du Fan, wishing he could kill him on the spot. Behind him, two girls were huddled on the horse, with the remaining three following beside it, all looking like they had just escaped death. Du Fan glanced at them and inwardly sighed—this Young Master Aldas wasn’t completely useless after all. At least he could capture five girls, meaning the last one would be the deciding factor. If Aldas caught her, he would lose, but if Du Fan caught her, it would result in a tie. Aldas must also understand this, so he would surely use every means to get that girl. Although Du Fan had decided to admit defeat, he couldn’t make it too obvious. When it came to fighting, he still needed to fight. Thinking this, Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Young Master Aldas, which eye of yours sees that I haven’t caught them alive? Look carefully—these four behind me are all alive!”

As he spoke, Du Fan waved his hand, and the four floating girls flew right in front of him. All four were knocked unconscious by Du Fan’s strike, but they weren’t dead—something Oldas could easily tell. Seeing this, he merely snorted and said, “Young Master Du Fan’s magical skills are quite impressive!” Du Fan laughed heartily and replied, “Oh, no! Young Master Oldas, you’re just joking! Look, I haven’t even killed them. Aren’t you relieved now, Young Master Oldas? So please stop blocking our way. We need to follow the order of who arrives first. Since I found these people, I doubt you’d want to snatch them away by force, right?” Oldas sneered and said, “Young Master Du Fan, don’t exaggerate. We’re just making a bet. Even if I took away the people you’re after, or even those behind you, it wouldn’t be impossible. After all, we never set any rules saying we can’t take people from each other, did we?” Du Fan hummed in response, “Great! Very good. It seems Young Master Oldas had this in mind all along! It looks like we both have no choice but to fight! We still haven’t had enough from that last fight. With no one blocking us this time, I really want to see just how powerful the genius of the capital really is!” Oldas let out a cold laugh. He had already wanted Du Fan’s life, but his attempt to take him was thwarted, leaving him filled with anger. Now that Du Fan was clearly provoking him, how could he swallow this insult? Besides, even if he killed Du Fan, as long as no one saw it, he could simply deny it—who could do anything to him? With Oldas’s status, if he killed Du Fan silently here, even the Green family would be helpless and unable to prove it was his doing. As long as they had no evidence, who could do anything to him? A killing intent surged in Oldas’s heart as he quickly drew the long sword at his waist. With a “whoosh,” combat energy swirled around the sword tip, forming a brilliant rainbow in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he sneered, “Young Master Du Fan… this time, I won’t hold back!”