Chapter 016: Life and Death

Yet these warriors seemed unaware of this. Although over a dozen of them had died, none retreated; they continued to charge at the Bone Dragon. Even those secret guards, after discarding their spears, drew the sabers at their waists and leaped at the Bone Dragon.
With Ampere’s abilities, facing these people alone wouldn’t have posed much of a threat. But the sudden betrayal by his comrades was truly shocking. Moreover, even those monsters loyal only to the Crown Prince…
Dozens of warriors and a dozen secret guards launched wave after wave of attacks at the Bone Dragon. Normally, the Bone Dragon could kill several warriors with just a slight movement, but after being pierced by the spears of the secret guards, its body was pinned in place, unable to move easily. As the secret guards rushed forward, the Bone Dragon struggled to open its mouth and breathe a dragon breath. The armor and flesh of the first few secret guards rotted instantly, leaving only their skeletons on the ground. But before it could breathe another breath, more secret guards reached it, and dozens of combat auras flashed simultaneously, striking the Bone Dragon’s skull. Its once impenetrable skull cracked under the combined assault!
The Bone Dragon could no longer stand and staggered to the ground. The surrounding warriors swarmed it, and various combat auras quickly overwhelmed it. Though the Bone Dragon exuded a deadly aura that could rot several warriors with each breath, even in their dying moments, these warriors would unleash their combat auras at it. In less than a moment, the once shiny bone structure of the Bone Dragon was severely damaged, and it was on the verge of losing its combat capability.
Ampere had already flown high into the air. The Bone Dragon he summoned was a monster brought forth by using a forbidden spell from dark magic to open a portal to the abyss. Even high-ranking warriors might not have been able to defeat it. But now, this Bone Dragon had been betrayed by its own people for no apparent reason. Given Ampere’s temperament, he was extremely frustrated.
He naturally realized that the sudden betrayal by these warriors and secret guards was likely related to Du Fan. Yet he couldn’t help but be surprised…
This Du Fan was so young, but why did he possess such strange magic? Moreover, it seemed he never ran out of magic scrolls…

Thinking of this, Ampere couldn’t help but glance at Du Fan below. Du Fan also looked up at Ampere, offering a faint smile before saying from afar, “Master Ampere, even the Bone Dragon couldn’t defeat me… What more do you want? Are you planning to leave now, or fight a few more rounds? Remember, half an hour will pass quickly—when the court magicians arrive, even if you try to run, you won’t be able to escape!” Ampere snorted, still staring at Du Fan. But after a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, his eyes flashed with greed. He glared at Du Fan and said coldly, “I see now… The reason these guys fell is because of the effect of your word magic… Little Du Fan, I didn’t expect you to know barbarian witchcraft too! Hahaha, now I even more desire to obtain your soul… Do you think I’ll be helpless just because they’ve fallen? You underestimate me too much!” With that, Ampere quickly recited a strange spell and pointed in all directions. The flesh on those bodies lying on the ground suddenly exploded, and one by one, bloody skeletons stood up… Ampere waved his hand at the skeletons and said, “Du Fan, if you can find help, can’t I do the same?” Du Fan snorted and casually threw a magic scroll, lifting himself into the air. Naturally, those bloody skeletons couldn’t hurt him at all. Ampere didn’t mind either; with a few gestures, the skeletons rushed at the warriors and secret guards still attacking them. Soon, both sides fought fiercely, with combat energy filling the path—the scene was extremely intense. The two silently stared at each other in midair. By this point, Ampere no longer underestimated Du Fan just because he was a fifth-level mage. He carefully searched for Du Fan’s weaknesses but dared not strike first. As for Du Fan, he was also anxious—most of his killing techniques had already been used, leaving only one move, Space Tear Slash, to save his life… He had no idea what Master Ampere would do next… He really felt uncertain! The two continued to confront each other, with fierce fighting going on below, yet they remained motionless in the air.

A moment later, Ampere finally raised the Sacred Radiance Staff in his hand again. The multicolored light on the staff began to flicker. He was about to use his ultimate move to spare Du Fan’s life, but at that exact moment, an extremely powerful pressure surged forward. Under this pressure, all the blood skeletons below shattered into pieces, and the warriors and secret guards also collapsed unconscious on the ground.

Only Du Fan and Ampere in mid-air, thanks to their strong mental strength, remained upright despite being on the verge of falling under this pressure.

Du Fan felt a stir in his heart. This familiar sensation—he had experienced it before. It was clearly the collision of sacred realms between saints… Looking in that direction, it was the location of Francis and Prince Fisher. Could it be that both Francis and Prince Fisher were already saints? Francis being a saint was understandable for Du Fan, but if Prince Fisher was also a saint, that would be too exaggerated… Yet this feeling was almost identical to when Gannon and Spalitis fought each other—there was no way he could be mistaken about this.

Ampere, meanwhile, was both shocked and enraged. He had long known Francis was a saint and had sensed that powerful aura emanating from him. But he never imagined Francis would be this strong.

However, this was not the time to worry about such things. Ampere cursed inwardly, “Idiot!”

This Francis was emitting such astonishing pressure around the imperial capital—didn’t he fear alarming those powerful figures within it?!

After all, whether it was the royal family of the Gavin Empire, the Holy Church, or the Mage Guild, these giants had stood firm on the continent for thousands of years—how could they be so easily disturbed?

But Francis was flaunting his saintly aura in such a place, which was nothing short of a challenge to all three parties!

Ampere didn’t dare delay any longer. In the past, he might have harbored some hope that the magic arrays he had set up could conceal the killing intent and fighting flames in this forest, but he absolutely couldn’t hide a saintly aura. After all, alerting those three powerful forces would bring serious trouble. Not to mention he was wanted by them—even if he wasn’t, he still couldn’t afford to provoke them!

Hmph! For the first time in all these years, I’ve encountered a mage who can use barbarian sorcery—and even one of the three greatest secrets in sorcery: speech magic. I thought my long-held wish might finally come true, but it seems that arrogant Francis truly deserves to die. The Crown Prince sent him here only to cause more harm than good! As for this Du Fan, though young, he’s by no means easy to deal with. It seems I can’t handle him today, but thankfully, knowing who he is makes it easier to take action against him in the future…

Thinking this, Ampere snorted, concealing his aura. From afar, he sneered at Du Fan before saying, “Little Du Fan, it seems our battle today has to end here. But don’t worry—once a battle between mages begins, it ends only in death. Little Du Fan, I’ll keep coming after you… Before dying at my hands, make sure you don’t die at anyone else’s!”

Du Fan sneered back, “If you’re scared, just admit it. Why all the nonsense?”

Ampere snorted again, gave Du Fan a deep look, and said nothing more. Instead, he leaped into the air and rushed toward where Francis and Prince Fischer were fighting.

Watching Ampere leave, Du Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been incredibly lucky to escape this forbidden magic master today. He glanced several times at the battlefield between Francis and Prince Fischer, hesitated for a moment, then forced a wry smile. “It’s been such a tough fight. If I run now, it won’t be fun at all… Prince Fischer, I hope you don’t die… Otherwise, all my efforts for you will be completely in vain!”

With that, Du Fan touched his nose, shook his head, and said, “The capital… The capital… It truly isn’t a place for ordinary people to stay!”

After saying that, he frowned at the unconscious bodyguards and warriors on the ground before slowly descending. Sighing, he said, “Everyone, you’ll die today. Go hold your Crown Prince accountable. This isn’t my fault for being ruthless!”

With that, Du Fan tossed a few magic scrolls. Only after seeing the rest drowned in flames did he sigh and quickly fly toward where Francis and Prince Fischer were.

Less than a moment after Du Fan left, someone rushed into the sea of fire and leaped out twice, rolling around several times before extinguishing the flames on their body. They looked up at the direction Du Fan had gone, frowned involuntarily, and coughed a few times. “Your Highness, you actually used that thing…” As he spoke, he spat out blood. After resting for a while, he continued, “And then there’s this Du Fan…” With that, he shook his head, slowly stood up, and ran toward the woods nearby…