Chapter 014: Imperial Envoy

Prince Fischer gave Count Christopher a half-smiling glance before saying indifferently, “Is that really what you think?”
At Prince Fischer’s look, Count Christopher immediately broke into a cold sweat. He quickly knelt on the ground and stammered, “Your servant is terrified…”
Prince Fischer smiled faintly and made a gesture, saying, “Alright, get up.”
Then he pointed at the scroll and added calmly, “Although people from the Laney Empire have also come, I’ve already sent them away… I don’t want to deal with them in these peace talks. Christopher, since you’ve already held talks once, you surely know better than I do what to do. I leave this to you… Choose a day and go to the Siluo Province by yourself. Discuss it carefully with Du Fan—do as you think is best.”
Hearing Prince Fischer’s words, Christopher felt somewhat relieved, but he still spoke cautiously, “Your Highness… so what do you mean…”
Prince Fischer sneered and said, “What else could I mean? You decide for yourselves…”
Decide for yourselves!?
As soon as these words were spoken, Christopher’s smile froze on his face…
Decide for yourselves… decide for yourselves…
Was… was Prince Fischer trying to start a war or seek peace…?
At least make it clear!
…
The setting sun of summer dyed the streams, forests, and hills red. The hot wind blew by, offering no relief at all, only making things feel even more stifling.
The air seemed to carry a tense, explosive scent, making it impossible to calm down.
Du Fan rode on a snow-white warhorse, dressed in a white warrior’s robe with a long sword at his waist, looking quite dignified.
At that moment, he covered his eyes with one hand and gazed at the fortress ahead under the setting sun.
Calling it a fortress, Du Fan had been truly astonished the first time he saw Odin Castle.
The southern plains, though not as flat as imagined, had very few hills. Yet Odin Castle was built in a valley between two mountains. Besides its natural geographical advantages, its walls were even higher than those of the capital of the Gavin Empire—truly a perfect turtle shell…
How could an ordinary army possibly invade such a place?

After examining it carefully for another moment, Du Fan finally lowered his hand and said indifferently, “Grandpa Mark, it’s only today that I realized just how useless those guys from the Southern Legion really are…”
Old Mark followed beside Du Fan. Hearing this, he smiled slightly and asked, “What do you mean by that, young master?”
“Grandpa Mark, you’re acting stupid again,” Du Fan said with a smile. “With Odinburg in such a state, not to mention having 150,000 troops inside, even if there were only 50,000, it would still be impossible to take it down using conventional military tactics without at least 500,000 troops… But back then, the Southern Legion claimed to have 100,000 troops stationed in this fortress, right? Yet they were still forced to flee in disarray by the Laney Empire’s 200,000 troops. If that’s not uselessness, then what is?”
Old Mark didn’t answer this question. He simply looked around before continuing, “So, young master… shall we fight in this battle or not?”
Du Fan snorted and said, “I don’t even know who the commander of the Laney Empire is this time. Since they’ve come here, they don’t even dare send someone to meet us. Their forces are as weak as turtles—how can we fight them? With the few people I have, a surprise attack might work, but a proper battle? I can’t afford that… Not to mention I still need to develop my territory. Even if I had endless money, I still can’t do this! As for asking the empire for help? I’m acting on my own this time. If Prince Fischer agrees, that would be strange… If I’m guessing correctly, the Laney Empire’s peace envoy should already be in the capital. As for Prince Fischer, he’s definitely deciding whether to fight or not… Although I’ve won a few battles this time, it hasn’t been of much use… Given the current strength of both sides, a war like this definitely won’t start within three years…”
Old Mark was slightly stunned and said, “Young master, since you’re aware of this, then why…?”
Du Fan sneered and said, “I’m aware of this, but others need to understand it too, right? If I want to develop properly over the years, I need a stable environment. If I don’t take action this time, I’m afraid that half of my progress will be ruined once the Laney Empire gets reckless and tries to attack me. If I don’t teach them a lesson… how can that work?”
“Anything else?”

“Anything else?” Du Fan smiled. “What exactly is that prince in the Imperial Capital thinking? We can take this opportunity to find out his limits… Does he want a powerful guardian or a useless watchdog? If we don’t seize this chance, we’ll never be able to figure out that prince’s intentions!”
Old Mark’s eyes twitched slightly, but he eventually nodded and said, “Young master is wise!”
Du Fan sighed. “Grandpa Mark, this isn’t wisdom—it’s just what has to be done.”
Old Mark’s eyes twitched again. “So, young master… what do you mean…”
Du Fan snorted. “What else could it mean? Under these circumstances, fighting is impossible. We can only wait for news from the Imperial Capital… The Lani Empire’s cowards must have realized this, which is why they keep hiding… But, huh, just hiding is enough?”
With that, Du Fan looked in the direction of Odin Castle. In the distance, flags fluttered atop Odin Castle, and large groups of troops patrolled there. Although some people had noticed those outside the fortress, it was clear that the Lani Empire had issued strict orders: as long as no one attacked the fortress, no matter how many troops the Gavin Empire sent, they should be ignored.
“Just hiding like this is enough to deal with me? You’re dreaming!”
Du Fan sneered repeatedly. After a moment, he suddenly clapped his hands and shouted, “Someone! Bring a bow!”
Two cavalrymen who had originally belonged to the Northern Legion but now served as Du Fan’s personal guard quickly brought him an iron-reinforced bow.
This kind of bow was made from polished steel, with a string woven from the sinew of some magical beast. Ordinary soldiers simply couldn’t draw it.
Du Fan had taken this bow from the treasures in the Divine Might Prison. Since he wasn’t good at archery, he hadn’t used it before. But today, in a fit of mood, he wanted to take a look at this fortress as impregnable as a turtle shell, so he brought it along.
Taking the iron-reinforced bow casually and a feathered arrow from his guard, Du Fan slowly stood on his horse’s back and gently drew back the bow.
With his current strength, drawing back this bow was an easy task.
As the string tightened, there was a “whoosh” sound, and the feathered arrow left the bow, shooting toward the top of Odin Castle with a faint golden aura of combat energy.

Then a “click” was heard, and the flag on Odinburg immediately fell. Chaos erupted both above and below the fortress. Du Fan used his eagle-eye skill to glance up at the fortress and saw that the soldiers were extremely angry, but due to strict orders, none dared to descend on their own. With things having reached this point and still no reaction from the other side, Du Fan finally gave up hope. Since they had decided to play it safe, what else could he do? At that moment, Du Fan waved his hand slightly, and someone else took over the iron bow, after which the entire group slowly dispersed. Over the next few dozen days, Du Fan sent people to challenge Odinburg every day, but in reality, he knew they wouldn’t dare fight. His own army also withdrew almost completely, with only ten to twenty thousand left as a pretense, while the rest had long disappeared without a trace. About ten days passed in this way. To be precise, it was the forty-fifth day after Du Fan’s ambush on the Lani Empire. An envoy from the imperial capital arrived in the capital of Siluo Province. After learning of Du Fan’s activities at the front lines, he rushed there without delay. This envoy was protected by two thousand imperial guards, and his carriage was specially made for the royal family, showing the emperor’s keen interest in the matter. What the envoy brought was not only a blank document signed personally by Prince Fischer but also an imperial decree! “It is ordered that Siluo Governor, Southern Envoy, and Court Guard Du Fan Green be appointed as imperial envoys to handle the disputes between the Gavin Empire and the Lani Empire as appropriate, with full authority granted. Duke Du Fan is instructed to act judiciously to uphold the empire’s glory and honor!” The person who brought this decree was none other than Count Christopher, who had shared the blame with Du Fan back then!