Chapter 005: Assassination

Christopher was surprised by Prince Fischer’s order, but realizing it must have been Archbishop Anthony who discussed it with the prince himself, he said nothing. After bidding farewell to the Fifth Prince of the Lanny Empire and Prince Quested, Count Christopher turned and returned to the capital in his carriage.

Glancing at Du Fan, Prince Quested smiled slightly, then turned and waved to order his troops to set off. However, a sinister glint in his eyes was quite intriguing.

Soon, dust rose as a group of nearly five thousand people, along with twenty carriages, moved forward slowly.

“Duke Du Fan, why are you still using such an old carriage? Come to mine. Prince Quested, please come too. We have a long journey ahead; we can drink and enjoy the scenery along the way,” said Leoport, the Fifth Prince, smiling as he stepped out of his carriage and spoke to Du Fan and Quested.

“Sure! It’ll be a good way to pass the time on this long journey,” Du Fan replied first upon hearing the invitation. It would take at least two more days to reach the Val Province, and since they had already left the capital, they could relax. Du Fan certainly didn’t want to suffer in that old carriage, especially with four Temple Knights acting like guards beside him.

Prince Quested seemed to ignore them, continuing to ride his warhorse slowly behind the carriage.

“Duke Du Fan, how do you plan to leave? Prince Quested will be separating from us in two days,” Leoport asked in a low voice from inside the carriage, having created a soundproof barrier around him first.

“I’ve said I don’t need you to worry about my affairs,” Du Fan replied lazily, lying on the soft furs and squinting as he enjoyed his wine.

“By the way, how many attendants did you bring with you when entering our capital this time?” Du Fan suddenly remembered something and sat up straight to ask.

“Five hundred. That’s the standard rule for envoys from various countries on the continent. You can’t possibly not know that.”

“Oh!” Du Fan merely responded vaguely before lying back down. But if Leoport had observed more carefully, he would have noticed Du Fan’s brows tightly furrowed, with a sly smile still lingering on his lips.

Entering the capitals of other empires, envoys were only allowed to bring five hundred guards. How could Du Fan not know this standard rule? But why did he ask suddenly? That was rather puzzling.

The convoy moved slowly, having left the capital city. Only then did a large force of the Lani Empire’s troops approach to escort their prince.
“Prince Leoport, if I’m not mistaken, the army guarding us now is your personal army, right?” Hearing the sound of horses outside, Du Fan sat up again, showing no signs of being drunk.
“That’s correct. Of course, it’s my personal army guarding me. Why do you ask such strange questions?” Leoport sensed something was off. These were things everyone could easily figure out, yet Du Fan insisted on confirming them, which puzzled Leoport greatly.
Du Fan didn’t reply. He remained lying on the animal skin. Leoport wasn’t sure whether he had truly fallen asleep or was deep in thought.
Two days later, escorted by ten thousand cavalry, the convoy arrived safely in the Val Province.
“Hey! Duke Du Fan, you haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you? Prince Quested is about to leave soon, and his carriages carrying gold coins are now pulled by warhorses, so they’re moving very fast.” Seeing Du Fan still staying in his carriage for two days, Leoport lost patience. After all, his life now depended on Du Fan.
Du Fan lazily opened his eyes and sat up slowly. “Why the rush? I said my affairs don’t concern you.”
“Prince Quested is about to set off!” Leoport glared at Du Fan, his eyes seemingly spewing fire.
“Sigh!” Du Fan let out a long sigh. “Do you really think those boxes are filled with gold coins?”
“Of course. I checked them myself.”
“Idiot. The gold coins are long gone.” Seeing Leoport’s confidence, Du Fan didn’t bother to respond further.
“The gold coins are gone? How is that possible? If that’s true, Prince Quested will be punished when he returns, and the first prince will also be implicated.” Though skeptical, Leoport chose to believe Du Fan after seeing his determined gaze.
“You can say that again if you manage to return alive to the capital of the Lani Empire.” Du Fan, still lazy, didn’t even open his eyes fully, and his speech was slurred, but Leoport heard him anyway.

“Do they really want to kill me? Impossible. Not to mention I’m surrounded by my own private army; even if they did kill me, I’m afraid the First Prince wouldn’t escape punishment either. That’s something everyone knows.” Leoport could hardly believe Du Fan’s words. He went over to Du Fan to ask further, but at that moment, Du Fan started snoring, remaining unmoved no matter how loudly Leoport called out.

Prince Quested left with the carriage loaded with gold coins, while Ducar continued to sleep soundly in Leoport’s carriage, showing no sign of wanting to chase after them. This enraged Leoport greatly. If it weren’t for the last remnants of his sanity, he might have killed Du Fan right then.

Time passed quickly, but for Leoport, it seemed extremely slow. He had no idea what Du Fan was up to, but after some time to calm down, he figured it out. After all, a province and fifty million gold coins were no small sum. Du Fan surely couldn’t stay unmoved. And since he hadn’t acted yet, he must have some plan. However, one thing Leoport still couldn’t understand: he was well aware of Quested’s strength. If Du Fan didn’t take action, it would be very difficult for anyone else to kill him without leaving any trace.

Before long, night fell. The soldiers set up their tents, but even then, Du Fan still hadn’t fully awakened. Dazed, he walked into the tent next to his own main command tent and fell back asleep.

In the early morning, when everyone was most tired, the moon had already hidden behind the clouds, and the sun hadn’t risen yet. The entire land was plunged into suffocating darkness.

After days of marching, the soldiers were exhausted. The main command tent was utterly silent, except for the occasional crackling sound of torches burning.

Groups of soldiers patrolled mechanically, cursing their superiors in their hearts. They didn’t understand why, even though they were under their own army’s protection, they still had to keep patrolling and on guard.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew, and one of the torches went out. At the same moment, a black figure drifted by, passing by two soldiers who were dozing off while holding their spears, and quickly approached the tent that was only slightly smaller than the main command tent.

“Has it arrived?” Just then, the sleeping Du Fan suddenly opened his eyes and muttered to himself.

Boom!

A loud explosion shattered the silence of the night. The central command tent in the middle of the camp and a nearby tent vanished instantly, leaving only deep craters on the ground as evidence of what had just happened.

After the sudden attack, the shadow rushed out in an instant and was outside the camp in the blink of an eye.

“Prince Quested, you’ve gone stealing too?” Just as the shadow was about to leave, a figure blocked his path, ignoring the mask covering his face and calling out his name directly.

“How did you end up here?” the shadow asked in surprise. At the same time, he removed the mask to reveal Prince Quested, the brother of the Princess of the Lanni Empire.

“Duke Du Fan, you were right—they really do want to kill me.” From another tent, Leoport, clad in armor, stepped out, his face filled with disbelief.

“You’re not dead either? Heh, it seems I’ll have to put in some effort after all.” Seeing Leoport emerge, Prince Quested was no longer very surprised.

“Do you think you’re our opponent?” Duke Du Fan said with a laugh. At the same time, four Temple Knights appeared from another tent, staring angrily at Prince Quested. If it weren’t for Duke Du Fan’s warning, they might have been killed on the spot.

With a disdainful smirk, Prince Quested glared at Duke Du Fan and asked, “How did you know I was coming? I decided to come and kill you at the last minute—heh, because I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Yes! Duke Du Fan, how did you know so clearly?” Leoport also asked, expressing his confusion.

Seeing the anticipation on the faces of the Temple Knights nearby, Duke Du Fan sighed and said, “Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, all of this is actually a conspiracy—a conspiracy targeting both me and you.”

“Heh, I didn’t expect Duke Du Fan to be so clever. If you serve our Eldest Prince, I guarantee you’ll enjoy wealth and honor far greater than those foolish rulers like Prince Fischer who are jealous of talent!”

Hmph!

Duke Du Fan snorted coldly and said, “I think your Eldest Prince is just a brave but foolish idiot.”