Chapter 015: Seizing Power (Part 1)

Du Fan’s eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. Staring at Elder Dony, he sneered and said, “Elder Dony, could you please say it again… What’s wrong with me?”
Elder Dony sensed the coldness in Du Fan’s words and finally couldn’t hold back. “Du Fan… the seat you’re sitting in is reserved only for the prison warden through the ages. How dare you, a mere child, sit there! Although LordNeo said it was an order from Lord Anthony, I will definitely verify this personally with Lord Anthony!”
Du Fan chuckled twice. His gaze shifted from Elder Dony to the panicked Eadlyn, and he patted her head.
Eadlyn tried to dodge but failed. After those pats, Du Fan smiled seductively and said, “Miss Eadlyn… you’re now my deputy. Right now, someone has insulted me, your superior… Don’t you think you should go help me avenge myself? Ah… ‘a mere child’ is indeed a fitting description, don’t you think?”
Du Fan’s tone was extremely gentle, as if whispering to a lover. Yet the look in his eyes made Eadlyn break into cold sweat. How could she speak?
The Du Fan before her was no longer the white-robed priest from the temple. The experiences over these days, along with his growing strength, had brought about slight changes in his personality. Back then, he had killed dozens of Temple Knights to survive. Now, to seize power?
Du Fan narrowed his eyes at Eadlyn for a moment, but she only kept avoiding his gaze, not daring to say a word. Being so close to him, the faint murderous aura and the pressure from his divine essence pressed down on her, making it hard for her to breathe.
“Well,” Du Fan smiled, “since my useless deputy can’t handle these trivial matters, I, the prison warden, will have to step in myself.”
Hearing this, Elder Dony raised his eyebrows slightly, about to speak. But before he could open his mouth, Du Fan was already in front of him, holding a dazzling magic staff that appeared out of nowhere.
At that moment, the colored stones on the Sacred Light Staff emitted a brilliant glow. Everyone felt a sharp pain in their eyes. Then, with a “pfft,” blood gushed from Elder Dony’s forehead, splashing all over Du Fan.

Elder Dony let out a painful scream as he collapsed to the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. Given Elder Dony’s strength, even in a fight, Du Fan would have to put in a lot of effort to defeat him. But he never expected Du Fan to attack in such a manner. Moreover, to create a dramatic effect, Du Fan didn’t use any of his own combat energy—instead, he relied solely on the remaining energy from the rainbow stone. Although the strike didn’t seem heavy, it caused Elder Dony’s entire body to convulse repeatedly.

Du Fan slowly retracted the Holy Radiance Staff and wiped the blood from his face before smiling slightly. “Elder Dony… from today onward, you are no longer an elder. Do you remember that?”

By now, hundreds of clerks had gathered in the hall. Seeing Du Fan not only strike swiftly but also instantly strip Elder Dony of his authority, they couldn’t help but rush forward. Du Fan stepped on Dony’s back, glanced around, then sneered and said, “What? Do you all want to rebel? Never forget—I am one of the two warden chiefs of the Divine Might Prison… Back off! Whoever dares take another step will end up like him!”

The rules in the Divine Might Prison were strict. As the warden, Du Fan naturally held absolute control over the lives of those beneath him. Though no one spoke of it openly, Du Fan was somewhat aware of these matters. At his cold shout, the clerks immediately remembered the consequences of defying the warden and stopped in their tracks; some even slowly retreated to their original positions.

In the Divine Might Prison, there was only obedience, no tolerance… This was the original nature of the prison under the light of the Holy Church. Thus, by rule, even if Du Fan killed Dony now, not even Anthony himself would be allowed to intercede.

Seeing everyone retreat, Du Fan stomped hard on Dony’s back. With a crack, countless ribs broke at once. Then, with another light kick, Dony’s body flew to a corner of the hall and crashed heavily, leaving him too weak to even get up.

Seeing this, Du Fan nodded in satisfaction. He glanced around once more before saying coldly, “Since I am the new master of the Divine Might Prison, you all belong to me… If you don’t resist me, I have no strange habits of destroying what’s mine. But whoever dares defy me will face far worse consequences.”

With that, Du Fan’s figure flashed slightly as he sat back down on the throne above the altar. Deliberately showing his authority, he resolved two highly influential figures in the Divine Might Prison in just a short while, instantly calming the deacons below. Looking at Du Fan’s young appearance, they were reluctant to accept him as the head of the Divine Might Prison. Yet recalling that every previous head had seemed ordinary on the surface but was actually ruthless, the deacons inwardly took a deep breath. Even those who had initially had other thoughts lost interest after seeing what happened to the two ringleaders. Du Fan sat on the throne and gently clapped his hands before saying indifferently, “Clean me up.” Eadlyn, standing nearby, was already pale to the point of appearing translucent, but she managed to maintain her composure and forced a smile. “Yes, Lord Du Fan!” she said. She tried to find something to wipe the blood off Du Fan’s body, but after searching for a while, found nothing. Looking at Du Fan’s expression, she finally bit her lip, tore a small piece from the hem of her robe, and carefully began wiping him clean. After a while, the blood on Du Fan’s face and neck was completely wiped away, but the blood on his clothes could not be cleaned. Eadlyn broke into cold sweat but continued working. Seeing this, Du Fan waved his hand and said, “That’s enough… leave it at that… Next time, remember to bring something else with you. Having my deputy tear his clothes to clean me isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.” Eadlyn nodded in agreement. Only when she saw that Du Fan wasn’t angry did she feel relieved. For some reason, she felt immense fear toward this young master of the Divine Might Prison, yet strangely, she didn’t even know what exactly she was afraid of. The hall was now silent; although deacons kept arriving, no one dared make the slightest sound. After what seemed like an eternity, Du Fan finally smiled slightly and said indifferently, “Now, I am one of the heads of the Divine Might Prison, your new master… I wonder if anyone still doubts my status?” Du Fan listened for a moment but heard nothing but breathing.

This scene satisfied him. He nodded slightly and said, “Very good. Since you have no objections to my identity, that’s great… From now on, the rules of Divine Might Prison are simple: do whatever I tell you to do… Of course, finish any unfinished tasks you have right now… But starting today, no matter what tasks are assigned from above, you must get my approval before acting… If anyone acts on their own, it won’t just end with a few broken bones and some blood spitting, right? Edeline!”
Edeline, already feeling uneasy, nodded hastily upon hearing Du Fan’s words. “Yes, Lord Warden.”
Du Fan nodded again, glanced at her a few more times, then said, “If I’m not in Divine Might Prison when something comes up, come and report to me personally… Whoever disobeys your orders when I’m away is also disobeying mine. Do you understand?”
Although Du Fan’s words were an expression of delegating power, Edeline was still sweating profusely. “I… I’ll do my best…” she said.
Seeing her expression, Du Fan smiled slightly and suddenly reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “Why are you so nervous? I’m not trying to kill you or force you to sleep with me—why be so afraid? All I’m asking you to do is take control… Don’t worry. I know you’re just an ordinary servant with no power in Divine Might Prison before… I guess Nio had given all the power to those elders. But remember, I am the new master now. This half of Divine Might Prison belongs to me… Whatever I say is law… I’m telling you to take control now—see who dares not comply?”
Du Fan spoke these words loudly and without any pretense, and everyone in the hall heard them clearly.
Power struggles are inevitable everywhere. With his words, Du Fan was already implying that from now on, Edeline would be above everyone else, and Nio’s previous power structure seemed useless in this half of Divine Might Prison.
Those who once held power were now thinking about flattering him to seize more power, while those without power understood that Du Fan’s simple order would create a power vacuum in Divine Might Prison, prompting their minds to become more active.