Chapter 002: Victory or Defeat

At this point, Garfield stopped speaking and merely gazed at Du Fan with a strange look.
Du Fan was also shocked. Though he knew that Garfield could say such things, it meant that even if he used those few moves, he would likely not be a match for him. Yet, he couldn’t show weakness under these circumstances. He simply smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness, you overestimate me… Whether I can use those three moves depends on your own abilities.”
Garfield wasn’t angry. He simply replied, “Then go ahead and try.”
Seeing Garfield’s expression, Du Fan somehow felt as though the latter’s aura had suddenly intensified countless times. But even so, how could he refrain from acting in such a situation?
However, the spatial rules he had vaguely understood were no match for Garfield, so he had to resort to other methods.
With this thought, golden combat energy surged throughout Du Fan’s body as he quickly recited a series of magic spells. Then, under a burst of light, with a slight motion of his palm, a water ball formed in the air between him and Garfield. Under Du Fan’s control, the water ball instantly transformed into a water dragon, which surged toward Garfield like an unstoppable force.
Seeing this, Garfield shook his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips. Then, with a casual flick of his hand, a spark shot out toward the water dragon.
The spark seemed insignificant, but when it hit the water dragon, it blocked the entire creature. Soon, white mist rose as the water dragon, created by Du Fan, was completely dried up in just a moment…
It should be noted that Du Fan’s ability to draw water out of thin air was a technique only a mage at the Saint level could use. It was the result of his mastery over countless spells and his dual cultivation of magic and martial arts. Yet, he never expected that this ability would be outmatched by Garfield’s simple flick.
As the spark continued to evaporate the water dragon, it also spread backward along Du Fan’s magical energy waves. Du Fan clearly felt his own magical energy being burned away…
His expression changed rapidly. He quickly used several movement techniques to retreat several steps. But no matter how far he moved, he felt as though the spark was locking onto him, creeping closer. Soon, it was almost at the edge of his clothes…

Du Fan finally had nowhere left to retreat. He knew clearly that if he didn’t block this attack, he would lose. With that thought, he suddenly reached out vacuously and drew out Frost Snow from his waist. With a casual gesture, he activated the icy sword energy within Frost Snow, which immediately blocked those sparks and sent them flying to the side. But as soon as Du Fan threw the sword, he realized something was wrong! The sparks not only weren’t deflected but continued to spread along the blade’s edge… It seemed as though those sparks had spread with his magic earlier but now with his combat energy… Fortunately, after breaking through to the Saint level, although his martial skills hadn’t improved, his combat energy had grown significantly. Without time to think further, he quickly channeled more combat energy, causing a blade of light to appear on the edge of Frost Snow. With a casual flick, he sent it flying to the side. The sparks were also flung away with that blade of light, and upon touching the ground, they vanished silently, leaving a deep pit dozens of meters long in what had once been a flat surface. Gaffield watched this and nodded, glancing at Du Fan before saying, “Not bad. I thought you wouldn’t be able to avoid this attack, but it seems you do have a bit of cleverness. Yet, with just cleverness, you can’t defeat me… I think you’d better admit defeat. I originally wanted to kill you, but I’ve changed my mind. As long as you admit defeat and I impose another soul curse on you, what’s the harm in giving you a chance to live?” The so-called soul curse meant placing a restraint deep within the target’s soul, thereby putting their life and death in the other’s control. Even if Du Fan was useless, he would no longer accept such terms. With a cold laugh, he said indifferently, “Wait until you’ve really beaten me!” After saying that, he picked up Frost Snow and slowly walked toward Gaffield. At this moment, Du Fan realized that the other party understood the rules of the Saint level better than he did. Whatever he knew, the other party almost certainly knew as well, and there were things the other party knew that he completely didn’t understand. So, it was impossible to win by cheating. His only option now was to fight hard with his strength!

Thinking of this, Du Fan secretly smiled bitterly. He knew that this time he had calculated everything carefully—even if Garfield was a Saint-level powerhouse, he wouldn’t be afraid with Chenchen as his backing. But he never expected that Chenchen still hadn’t appeared at such a critical moment. Since breaking through to the Saint level, he had clearly felt that under the influence of the Divine Origin, the mysterious connection between his soul and Chenchen’s soul seemed to have faded a bit…

Although he was now at the Saint level, it didn’t seem like a good thing either…

As Du Fan stepped forward, the faint golden combat energy around him kept rising, emitting a soft glow that illuminated him like gold…

Finally, with a “boom,” the golden combat energy throughout Du Fan’s body ignited. The sword energy, enhanced by the frosty aura, became even more chilling. At this moment, Du Fan’s combat energy had reached its peak, and even the air in the surrounding space began to emit explosive sounds under its pressure.

Du Fan slowly extended his Frosty Sword—though he only gently thrust it forward, in an instant, it seemed as though countless versions of Du Fan twisted in the air, with the sword changing through countless angles before ultimately returning to its original position.

As the illusions dissipated, Du Fan let out a low sigh. Before the sword tip could even reach its target, a black crack appeared in the air and instantly reached Garfield’s chest!

This was the first direct confrontation between the two since they started fighting, and this experience calmed Du Fan’s anxious heart a bit.

But before he could relax, he saw the surrounding space seem to freeze. His boiling combat energy suddenly halted mid-air, while a wave of cold spread outward, freezing all his combat energy in mere moments!

Even the Space Render he had unleashed was frozen!

If it was already surprising that combat energy could be frozen, the fact that space itself could be frozen… what kind of realm was this?!

Du Fan almost thought he was hallucinating!

Back then, Francis couldn’t even block his Space Rending Slash, but… Garfield had frozen it!

Could this be the mystery behind the Ice Frost Combat Energy, the secret technique of the Lanny Empire’s royal family!?

At this life-or-death moment, Du Fan’s mind was in complete chaos; he had no idea what he was thinking. But things were far from over. As the combat energy in his body froze, countless waves of cold instantly invaded his body, acting like countless sharp knives cutting through his flesh at once. Du Fan clearly felt his body beginning to burst from the skin outward… Unable to hold back, he let out a groan. He took a deep breath, knowing he must not panic. Shouting loudly, he unleashed the magic energy within him, barely blocking the invading cold. Then his entire body trembled as he broke free from Gaffield’s grasp and retreated backward. At this point, Du Fan was covered in wounds of various sizes, oozing blood. He didn’t look any better than Randy before. If not for his quick thinking, he might have already turned into an ice cube. Around him, the area had somehow been covered in ice and snow, and everything seemed frozen—even the wind carried a chill. Shocked, Du Fan blurted out, “A sacred realm!?” Gaffield, as if not hearing him, merely said, “I didn’t expect you to escape from my realm! Rare! Truly rare! You see, I’ve fought against sacred-level warriors before—one or two of them were frozen into ice blocks, leaving no bones behind. It seems I underestimated you!” Without even moving his eyes, he casually shook his hand, causing the remaining combat energy on Du Fan’s body to explode. Du Fan’s body trembled violently, his internal organs feeling icy cold, and with a “pfft,” he spat out a mouthful of blood! After just this brief encounter, Du Fan was utterly defeated. Now severely injured with most of his combat energy and magic depleted, he likely had less than two or three percent of his strength left. But even that little strength wouldn’t be enough against others—let alone a sacred-level warrior, who would leave him without even the energy to run. Du Fan had originally hoped to find an opportunity to pull out the Grand Festival Staff to turn the tide, but now he knew full well that even if he used the power stored within it, he would still be no match for Gaffield. Because he hadn’t lost due to strength, but because of his lack of understanding of the rules of power…