Chapter 004: “Ordinary” People

Du Fan rode on his horse, eyes closed in pretended sleep. He could sense Old Mark staring at him intently, as if afraid he might fall off the horse at any moment.
Du Fan’s injuries weren’t severe, but it still took half a day to heal them. By now, Baty’s caravan must have reached the valley. It was already night, and they hadn’t lit any torches. Du Fan had also asked them to wrap the horse’s hooves with clothes. Meanwhile, under the pretense of resting, he pondered the sudden appearance of the Dark Demon clan.
Initially, Du Fan thought they were being too reckless—exposing themselves like this only made him more vigilant. But it seemed they were confident enough to kill him on the spot, which was why they were sent out. Anyway, he had just arrived here, so it seemed they had acted too early.
Or maybe they attacked because they saw him alone? Was this completely unexpected? Could the four fierce beasts have tried to warn him from the start? That wasn’t impossible either…
If that was the case, Du Fan became even more worried about the situation in Province Rose. The four fierce beasts were just one of the five pirate gangs, not even the strongest. Yet they possessed the strength of level seven or eight. What about the third, second, and first pirate gangs?
The strength of these people alone was enough to indicate there was something wrong. Old Mark, under Du Fan’s command, was merely a level six swordsman—and that was as a personal bodyguard for a duke’s son. So what kind of status could a level seven warrior have? Level eight experts were even rarer.
For level eight experts to become pirates? It would be laughable even if they were gang leaders!
The four fierce beasts ranked fourth, already comprising four level seven or eight experts. Even if only one level eight expert existed in the other three gangs, that would still mean at least four such experts in total. Could level eight experts really be as common as cabbage on the streets, easily found in large numbers?
Regardless of the strength of the Dark Demon clan, just having so many level seven or eight experts was enough to raise concerns! And Du Fan felt this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Province Rose was truly an extraordinary place.
The only thing that comforted Du Fan was that they wouldn’t appear in large numbers, nor would they reveal their identities in crowded places. They seemed to be afraid of someone and hid themselves. Just like now—they had almost disappeared from human memory.

If they’re not afraid to expose their identities and come out, not to mention that dilapidated Doha City, even a fully intact Doha City might not be able to stop them! For an eighth-level powerhouse, city walls are nothing but obstacles.

Although it was already very dark and Old Mark wasn’t very familiar with the area, he still relied on his experience and the map to find the valley in the middle of the night. When they were still some distance away from the valley, they heard sounds of fighting coming from inside. Old Mark and Du Fan’s expressions changed instantly. Du Fan gathered his combat energy and jumped off his horse, rushing toward the valley.

Old Mark and Du Fan reacted at the same time, but because Old Mark was slower than Du Fan, he was a step behind. The others also dismounted, realizing that riding through the dense forest was slower than traveling on foot. They followed Du Fan’s example and rushed forward as well.

When Du Fan arrived at the valley, he saw that their carriages were parked at the edge, in a defensive position, yet they hadn’t even entered the valley. Inside the valley, there were a hundred or so wooden houses, some built of stone, resembling a small village.

Du Fan had already heard Old Mark’s plans and could roughly guess what was going on. Bati and the others must have been unable to enter the valley because it was already occupied, and they couldn’t leave either. Since Old Mark had told them to wait overnight, and it was already late when they reached the valley, it wasn’t suitable to keep traveling, so they stopped there.

As for why they were fighting, it was probably because those people were interested in the goods.

“Stop it all!” Du Fan shouted first. He had no interest in fighting these commoners. Bati and the others were excited to see Du Fan return safely. When they heard his words, they were momentarily stunned but then stopped fighting as well.

However, just because they obeyed Du Fan didn’t mean those other people would do the same. And the reason they dared attack Bati and the others was because they still had some confidence in their own strength.

Seeing their enemies stop fighting, how could they give up such a good opportunity? They all lunged at their opponents with knives. But Du Fan’s men were all battle-hardened. Although they had to defend themselves awkwardly against the attacks, few were injured, and if they were, it was only minor injuries.

But their actions angered Du Fan. With a furious shout, he made it clear that although he didn’t want to fight commoners, it didn’t mean he was afraid of them—he had never been a kind person!

Frostfall Snow suddenly appeared in Du Fan’s hand. In that village, someone suddenly shouted, “Come back! Defend! Go back and defend!” But it was too late for his cry. Du Fan leaped forward and appeared in front of that person, who stared at him in terror. Du Fan, however, focused on the person who had spoken earlier, frowned, and changed his attack from a slash to a slap. He slapped the person in front of him, sending them flying three meters away before they rolled several meters further. The change was too fast; the others hadn’t even had time to run. They hadn’t seen the “God of Death’s” movements at all—only to see him suddenly standing there as if he had been there from the start. Everyone was stunned for a while before reacting, their first instinct being to flee. As they ran, they shouted, “Level 9! A Level 9 warrior!” Du Fan raised his eyebrows and stopped chasing after them. If it had been people from big cities who had received systematic training, especially those at Level 6 or above, who could recognize his strength through a single move, perhaps Du Fan wouldn’t have been so surprised. But the person who claimed to be a Level 9 warrior was actually a Level 3 swordsman—or should it be a warrior? His attire was odd, and Du Fan couldn’t tell what class he was. It was clear that this person had taken a wild path to grow strong. And yet, at Level 3, he claimed to know his own strength? Du Fan touched his nose—was the world gone mad, or was there something wrong with his head, or was his Rose Province extremely abnormal? Just picking any random person, and they turned out to be perverts? It wasn’t just a guess—he said with certainty that he was a Level 9 warrior, though he didn’t mention that his strength had already reached its peak. The claim of being Level 9 was accurate. This wasn’t something a Level 3 swordsman could discern. Although Du Fan’s gaze toward the others also showed shock, it wasn’t because of what that Level 3 swordsman said; it seemed they had also realized their own strength. Moreover, could an “ordinary” small village have thirty or forty Level 3 warriors, seven or eight Level 4 warriors, three Level 5 warriors, and one Level 6 swordsman? There was even a Level 4 mage behind them. Was this the strength an “ordinary” village should have? Level 3 was a hurdle—some people might never be able to overcome it. Ordinary imperial soldiers often didn’t even have combat energy. If a Level 3 warrior became a knight, they would at least be a squad leader. Old Mark was only at Level 6!!

Du Fan felt like a cat with its tail stepped on; all the hairs on his body stood on end. How could such a village be ordinary? If it weren’t for the fact that those houses seemed to have been built for about a year, he might have thought it was another trap! If it weren’t for the lack of murderous intent in those people, he might have thought they were ruthless bandits!

Of course, their willingness to act like this meant they didn’t care about killing. People die for wealth, birds for food. But Du Fan could understand their behavior—he was carrying so many supplies, which was indeed tempting.

Those people huddled together around the village. Yet they knew that even the village walls meant nothing to Du Fan, let alone their wooden fences. Du Fan didn’t act immediately; behind him, Old Mark was organizing his men to assess the casualties and form a battle formation.

From within the village in the valley, an old man in white robes stepped forward and gazed at Du Fan from afar. The old man was a bit hunched, but seemed otherwise in good health. The other villagers lowered their heads in surprise upon seeing him.

The old man was entirely white—white robes, white hair, and a white beard. Yet his face was rosy and as delicate as a baby’s. Such skin would make even those nobles who spent time taking care of their skin feel ashamed.

When the old man saw Du Fan, he said, “You must be the new lord of the Rose Province, right? Not bad, not bad. My children committed some mistakes while I was napping. I apologize on their behalf. Thankfully, no one was killed. I also thank you, Lord, for showing mercy.”

Du Fan didn’t know what those two “not bad” comments referred to. But he hadn’t been in the Rose Province for long, and even people in Doha City didn’t all know him. How could someone like a village chief in such a seemingly isolated village know him?

Damn it! No matter how he looked at this old village chief, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person! But with his strength at the peak of level nine, he only saw him as an extremely ordinary person. No combat energy, no magic—nothing at all. Although he sensed no pressure from the old man, he couldn’t bring himself to resist him. It was as if facing an elder, like Old Mark sometimes speaking to him—he would just listen and not oppose.

If he had felt this from Old Mark, Du Fan wouldn’t have been surprised. The problem was he didn’t know this old man at all!!