Chapter 018: Kill One for Every Mistake

Led by Du Fan, the three of them, including Bruce, made their way to the cathedral’s underground dungeon. But compared to before, this place was now heavily guarded—every few steps, they saw fully armed soldiers standing there coldly.
Du Fan nodded at them with a smile but said little, merely telling Fei Lei to take Bruce and continue deeper.
Finally, they reached the depths of the dungeon. After opening a tightly shut cell door, Fei Lei glanced inside and couldn’t help but gasp.
Inside, there were hundreds of iron pillars, and nearly half of them had a man with his upper body naked tied to them. Each of these men was covered in whip marks—some scars had already scabbed over, while others were still bleeding profusely.
After taking one look, Du Fan couldn’t help but say, “Ah, it seems my second brother put quite a bit of effort into capturing these guys. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to beat them to vent his anger.”
Fei Lei couldn’t hold back and asked, “Young Master Du Fan, who are these people?”
Du Fan snorted and said, “If I’m not mistaken, these are all Bruce’s subordinates, people from Roland Academy… Hmph, I never thought there were so many from Roland Academy lurking in the North. Over a hundred of them… It seems that if I hadn’t been lucky enough and accidentally attacked by them, I too would have lost my life.”
Fei Lei frowned and said, “If these people cause so much trouble, why not just kill them? Why keep them? If the people from Roland Academy find out, even you, Young Master Du Fan, will likely get into a lot of trouble.”
Du Fan sneered and said, “Get into trouble? Of course I know that. That’s why I won’t kill any of them. I’ll even have someone help treat their wounds and take good care of them. But don’t worry—since I’m not killing them, someone else will surely do it for me… Those who dare attack me, Du Fan—if I don’t keep them alive, they might think I’m really that easy to deal with.”
Fei Lei nodded and said, “It’s good that Young Master Du Fan has a plan.”
Du Fan snorted, pulled up a chair, and sat down. “Tie up our Lord Bruce. Make sure to use wet ox sinew—otherwise, it wouldn’t be worthy of his status. I still have many questions to ask our Lord Bruce!”
Fei Lei replied, “I understand, my lord!”

As he spoke, he dragged Bruce to the nearest iron pillar near Du Fan. Naturally, the soldiers watching from the dungeon came over to help!
Du Fan glanced at him a few times before suddenly asking, “Where’s my second brother?”
One of the soldiers replied, “Young Master Allen interrogated him for a while but didn’t get anything out of him. He said he’d go find something to make these guys suffer properly.”
Du Fan sneered and said, “Suffering? Just hitting them a few times won’t do anything. These guys were trained by Roland Academy—they’re not much different from the Holy Temple Knights of the Sacred Church. They have firm beliefs; ordinary torture can’t touch them. But if my second brother likes to play around, let him do it. Just make sure he doesn’t kill any of them!”
By then, Bruce had already been tied to the iron pillar. The wet sinew ropes bound around him immediately sank in. Bruised and injured as he was, he naturally couldn’t break free from those ropes. But even if he had the strength, Du Fan wouldn’t let him use it.
After respectfully presenting the torture instruments, the soldiers quickly retreated.
Du Fan sighed and said, “Let our Lord Bruce wake up!”
Feyre responded by picking up a bucket of ice water nearby and pouring it over Bruce’s head.
Bruce shuddered a few times but soon came to his senses.
Seeing his expression, Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Lord Bruce, it’s really been a long time. Life’s fates are so strange. Last time I saw you, you were in a high position, but now you’re my prisoner. I wonder what you’re thinking right now—are you feeling extremely moved, or a bit helpless?”
Bruce had fully regained his consciousness. He glanced at Du Fan and said in a hoarse voice, “Du Fan, you actually dared to hurt me! Even that old bastard Anthony had to treat me with respect. How dare you hurt me! Aren’t you afraid of my revenge?”
Before he could finish speaking, there was a “swish” sound—as Du Fan picked up a whip and whipped it at Bruce. Without any combat energy to protect him, how strong could Bruce’s body really be? He immediately shuddered.

Du Fan struck once before smiling faintly and saying, “Lord Bruce, the most important thing about a person is knowing when to back down. Look at yourself—right now you’re my prisoner, yet you still dare call my direct superior an old man. Do you really think I, Du Fan, wouldn’t dare kill you? To be honest, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re still somewhat useful, I would have already beheaded you and fed your head to the dogs! So, Lord Bruce, don’t be so arrogant in front of me… Arrogance never leads to a good outcome!”

As he spoke, Du Fan whipped his whip a few more times, instantly leaving Bruce covered in wounds. Bruce couldn’t help but scream in pain, shouting, “Du Fan, you bastard! If I get out of here alive, I’ll make you pay!”

“You?!” Du Fan sneered, his eyes gleaming with cruelty. He delivered a few more whips before saying, “Lord Bruce, tell me, do you think you can leave now?”

Bruce snorted, seemingly trying to sneer, but suddenly his expression changed. “My… my combat energy! What have you done to me?! What have you done?! Du Fan!!!”

Du Fan put down his whip, adjusted the collar of his mink coat, and laughed softly. “Hehehe, Lord Bruce, did you only realize this now? It seems you’re indeed getting old! Well then, let me ask you—since you’ve lost all your combat energy, how do you plan to leave here? Admittedly, if you still had strength, leaving here would take mere moments, and even killing me now would be easy. But remember, Lord Bruce, everything is ‘if’… yet the truth is, you’ve lost all your combat energy and have no strength left. Right now, you’re nothing but a worthless fool in front of me! Do… do you understand what I mean?”

“Hehehehe…” Bruce suddenly laughed coldly. “Du Fan, on this Roland Continent, no one has the power to destroy my combat energy yet. At most, you’ve used some trick to seal it! Once my combat energy is restored, you’ll regret this!”

Du Fan nodded. “As expected, the teacher of Aldas. You two are so alike in this regard. To be honest, I, Du Fan, really appreciate your arrogance! But don’t forget—who actually defeated you? If that person were willing to act, do you think he couldn’t destroy your combat energy?”

Bruce’s face turned deathly pale. Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “But you needn’t worry, Lord Bruce. You still have great value—immense value. How could I, Du Fan, simply waste your combat energy? So in that regard, you’re right. Though I don’t know exactly what methods she used, it’s true—your combat energy has just been sealed! As long as you obey me, it’s not impossible for me to help you restore it!” Bruce snorted and said, “Tch!” “Hehehe…” Du Fan sneered, “Lord Bruce, perhaps you’ve forgotten your situation. How dare you still act like this toward me? As one of the strongest in the continent, shouldn’t you always be aware of your surroundings? So, could you take a look and see if there’s anyone else here besides you?” Hearing this, Bruce was momentarily stunned but couldn’t help turning to look. Yet just that glance made him exclaim, “What! Everyone from Roland Academy has been captured by you! Impossible! How could you capture them all alive? Where’s Ordas? Where is Ordas?” Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Dear Lord Bruce, I’m truly impressed that you’re still worried about your students under these circumstances. But rest assured, for my own purposes, I definitely won’t touch him now. So your dearest student, the genius of the capital, the pride of the Belinger family—our Lord Ordas—is safe for now. Of course, he won’t be completely trouble-free, but I think my minor arrangements won’t cost him his life. However, they can buy him some time… Though it’s not very long, it’s enough for me to do many things… Well then, Lord Bruce, if you don’t want everyone from Roland Academy to die here, it’s best you cooperate a bit. Answer whatever I ask! Remember, if you misanswer even one thing, I’ll kill one person from Roland Academy. As for those who want my life, I, Du Fan, will never show mercy… Please keep this firmly in mind, Lord Bruce!”