Chapter 016: Seizing Power (Part 2)

This single word—“power”—allowed Du Fan to create a gap in the otherwise unbreakable Divine Might Prison. By taking control first and clearly intending to weakenNeo’s influence and control within the prison, he showed remarkable courage.

Looking at Du Fan, Eadlyn nodded reluctantly, saying, “I will obey your orders.”

Du Fan sneered inwardly. Who could survive in a place like the Divine Might Prison without being formidable? Was it so unusual that Eadlyn was afraid now? The power she could now wield was beyond her reach throughout her entire life. Of course, he wouldn’t say such things aloud.

He smiled slightly and said, “But I know it’s too difficult for you to do all this at once… I’ll give you a month to handle these matters. Promote those who deserve it and punish those who don’t… You don’t need me to teach you that, right? Put aside any unnecessary tasks aside from your current ones. Deal with them after you’ve resolved these issues. Do you understand?”

Eadlyn hurriedly nodded. “I… understand…”

Du Fan said, “Good. Also… tell those elders that those with tasks must finish them within a month, and those without tasks should stay in the Divine Might Prison obediently. Within a month, I want to see a completely transformed prison, along with these respected strongmen before me… Do you understand?”

“And… find two people to take those two useless ones away and heal their wounds… But from now on, they’ll mean nothing!”

Eadlyn quickly bowed and issued orders, and soon someone took the injured away.

Du Fan scanned the hall once more before asking, “Is that everyone?”

Eadlyn replied from the side, “No… nearly half of the people are on missions elsewhere. But if there are no new tasks, they should return soon… However, Lord Du Fan, if we keep everyone here as per your order… many tasks won’t get done quickly.”

Du Fan snorted. “What are you afraid of? Whenever a task comes, send it to Lord Нио. Tell him my authority isn’t stable yet and that my subordinates refuse to obey. Have him handle the difficult ones first, and leave the simple ones for me…”

Eadlyn was momentarily stunned, unable to hide her bitter smile.

Are there still things I can negotiate about these tasks assigned by Lord Anthony? Just by looking at Du Fan’s expression, she didn’t dare disobey and could only reluctantly agree. Inside, Du Fan sneered—otherwise, how would he have time to manage these guys from the Divine Might Prison? Only by doing this could he free up time to carefully consider who would join him. Those who agreed to follow him would do so within this month, and they would be promoted heavily; those who refused would be sent to die as cannon fodder without any pity. This way, he could recruit fresh blood from the trained servants. Moreover, the Divine Might Prison was a rare force, and he also had to think about his future as a duke. Only if these people blindly followed him could he use them effectively when conquering territories. “Alright,” Du Fan finally nodded and said, “You all may go… Edeline, stay behind and show me around…” The servants exchanged glances before slowly dispersing. Moments later, the hall was empty, aside from the dozens of servants whose duty it was to stay behind. Who would dare stay? Du Fan looked around before signaling Edeline to lead the way. He then went behind the hall and slowly headed deeper into the Divine Might Prison. Although it was an underground structure, it seemed to have existed for a very long time. Many places were covered in moss, and the facilities were extremely worn out, though still functional. It took Edeline most of the day to show Du Fan a brief tour of the first floor of the Divine Might Prison, explaining the purpose of various facilities. Du Fan listened indifferently, unclear whether he was paying attention or not, but Edeline didn’t dare ask and continued explaining. After a quick inspection to get familiar with the area, Du Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief. From Edeline, he learned that there were two such spaces beneath the cathedral, so the Divine Might Prison was traditionally divided into two parts. However, due to Neio’s long-term control, the Holy Church had seen a decline in talent, and no other warden could be found. Now that Du Fan had taken over, this long-abandoned prison became his territory. Du Fan was very satisfied with this. The place was so dilapidated, clearly neglected for years, lacking the various arrangements Neio had made. He immediately ordered Edeline to tidy up the place within a month. It didn’t need to be luxurious, but there must be sentries every three steps and guards every five steps.

Adeline was amused yet exasperated by Du Fan’s behavior as a nouveau riche, but she had no choice but to obey his orders. Only after giving this order did Du Fan seem somewhat satisfied. He glanced around again before saying indifferently, “What about the lower levels of Shenwei Prison? How do we get there?” Adeline hurriedly replied, “Lord Du Fan, the entrance to the lower levels isn’t here. It’s in a common hall with Lord Neo’s side. According to the rules, although each area is guarded separately, the entrance must be guarded jointly by both sides. But right now, it’s Lord Neo’s people who are guarding it.” Du Fan nodded. Since he had only arrived today, this was the normal situation. As for what he had said earlier about splitting the trainees, ordinary servants, and prisoners in half, Neo would likely just laugh at it… What he needed to do now was to handle these people first; other matters could wait. “So, what else is there down there?” Adeline gave a bitter smile and said, “My lord, I was just an ordinary servant before—how could I know such things?” Du Fan nodded and said, “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know before. Just figure it out in a month…” Adeline could only nod, feeling extremely frustrated. Lord Du Fan kept issuing one order after another, and she doubted she could finish them all in a month. If she failed, her fate would likely be grim. Du Fan glanced around again before losing interest in the prison hall. Frowning, he asked, “Is that all Shenwei Prison has—just people?” Adeline bowed and said, “The wealth and supplies… are all with Lord Neo for now. But I think he’ll send half of them over in the near future. As for magical equipment, weapons, and sacred artifacts, those are only available on his side. If Lord Du Fan has time, he might as well talk to Lord Neo… so we can get half of them. Wealth and supplies aren’t a big deal, but without equipment and weapons, we’ll be in trouble in the future…” By now, Adeline had somewhat regained her composure. Referring to him as “my lord” seemed to satisfy Du Fan. Although he was interested in wealth and supplies, he knew well that Neo wouldn’t dare deceive him and would likely deliver them on time. But as for those magical weapons, equipment, and sacred artifacts… if Neo sent only inferior ones, wouldn’t his own forces become much weaker? Thinking this, Du Fan clapped his hands and said, “Go find Neo now. I want weapons!”

Adeline was momentarily stunned and instantly wished she could slap herself…
Under Adeline’s lead, Du Fan quickly passed through the teleportation magic array and arrived at the prison area belonging to Nio. Most of the guards there had already received orders and bowed respectfully upon seeing Du Fan.
Yet even so, they couldn’t hide the slight disdain in their eyes.
Du Fan knew these were mostly Nio’s men, so it was only natural for them to show such expressions. But since Du Fan was here to get something from Nio, he didn’t feel like arguing with them at the moment.
Upon entering the main hall of this prison area, it seemed Nio had been waiting for Du Fan all along. Seeing him enter, he smiled slightly and said, “Well? Has Lord Du Fan resolved the trouble over there so quickly?”
Du Fan smiled indifferently and then glanced at Adeline.
Adeline sighed but had no choice but to step forward and whisper, “Lord Nio, today Lord Du Fan has come to pick up those weapons.”
Nio seemed not surprised at all. He nodded and said, “Half of those items originally belong to Lord Du Fan. It’s only right for him to retrieve them now… So, Lord Du Fan, come with me and choose them personally.”
Adeline was slightly taken aback, not expecting Nio to agree so readily.
Du Fan, seemingly expecting this, remained calm and said, “Then I’ll leave it to Lord Nio…”
Nio nodded slightly, gestured for him to follow, then led Du Fan to one side, saying as they walked, “Lord Du Fan, I heard you ordered that half of the trainees and half of the regular servants be assigned to different tasks?”