Chapter 009: A Glimmer of Hope

Du Fan frowned and after a moment, let out a sigh. “It seems I miscalculated a bit. I always thought that as long as Prince Garfield wasn’t dealt with, you wouldn’t dare attack me… I never expected this…”
Lioport smiled and said, “Lord Du Fan, what’s there to be surprised about? Since both you and my brother are going to die now, what’s the point of being so cautious? Does it matter if you die a step earlier or later?”
At these words, Lioport stepped forward, his aura instantly surrounding Du Fan. After all, among the four people present, only Lioport and Du Fan could still move.
Although Lioport had calculated that Du Fan must be severely injured, his understanding of Du Fan made him cautious nonetheless.
“Enough,” Lioport sighed. “Enough talk. It’s time for me to send you all on your way!”
With that, he raised his long sword, and a cold aura of combat energy began to swirl above its blade…
Seeing this, Du Fan sighed and said, “Prince Lioport, though your intentions are good… do you really think I, Du Fan, would die so easily? If I weren’t prepared, why would I stay here waiting to die?”
“You might be prepared,” Lioport sneered. “But I don’t believe you have any useful tactics left after fighting my brother… Duke Du Fan, further talk is pointless. Please go!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold sword aura rushed toward Du Fan’s chest with a whooshing sound. Du Fan frowned slightly and swiftly swung his left hand, which was holding a storage ring. With a loud crash, the sword aura struck the wind shield that suddenly appeared, barely blocking the attack.
Lioport seemed surprised for a moment before saying calmly, “Legend has it that Duke Du Fan always relied on magic scrolls in battle. I thought it was just a rumor. But it turns out it’s true. Yet, Duke… do you really think a few magic scrolls can stop me, Lioport?”
“When did I say I wanted to stop you?” A hint of a smile appeared in Du Fan’s eyes. “As long as I can buy some time, that’s enough…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Du Fan waved his left hand several times in quick succession. Instantly, several magic scrolls were hurled out at high speed toward Leoport’s face. Not daring to delay, Leoport quickly stepped back several meters before waving his hand, sending out several streams of icy combat energy that collided with the magic scrolls.

However, as soon as he swung those attacks, he felt a sense of stiffness throughout his body, as if he were stuck in mud. Moving even slightly required immense effort…

Startled, Leoport quickly glanced in Du Fan’s direction. He saw that Du Fan had already finished reciting the binding spell quickly, using the last remnants of his magic to cast it on Leoport.

After doing this, Du Fan pulled out several more magic scrolls. Without even looking at them, he recklessly hurled them at Leoport.

It was only because Du Fan was extremely wealthy that he could come up with such a shameless tactic. An ordinary person would never have the ability to do such things.

The magic scrolls Du Fan threw were not very advanced, and they were completely useless against powerful enemies like Gaffield who were above the Saint rank. Although Leoport was strong, he was likely only at level eight or nine, so these magic scrolls posed a significant threat to him.

Seeing a bunch of magic scrolls flying at him aimlessly, Leoport was shocked. He couldn’t care about anything else and immediately channeled all his combat energy. After all, his strength was considerable. In less than a moment, the magic binding him was shattered.

But by that time, the magic scrolls had already hit Leoport’s face. No matter how brave he was, he didn’t dare swing his sword to block them and could only retreat dozens of meters again.

Seeing himself forced back nearly a hundred meters in just a few exchanges, Leoport was extremely frustrated. Only after the magic scrolls landed did he snort, swing his long sword, and send a blade charging straight at Du Fan’s face!

Seeing this sword strike, Du Fan was also shocked. He knew that with his current abilities, he had no way of avoiding it. He could only wave his hand again, causing several magic scrolls to explode. A barrage of fire dragons, hail, and other attacks rushed forward, barely managing to block the sword strike.

Even so, Du Fan was secretly frustrated.

He knew that although he had quite a number of magic scrolls, they had dwindled over time due to infrequent use. With them being scattered and damaged, most of them were now exhausted. As for any other methods to fight Leoport, they would surely lead to disaster! Realizing this, Du Fan understood that he absolutely could not stay any longer! With a grunt, he released a surge of mental energy, causing the magic scrolls already on the ground to explode, unleashing bursts of various magical elements. Taking advantage of the distraction caused by the magic, Du Fan grabbed Chenchen and flew to the horses brought by those black-armored knights, jumping onto one of them. After placing the weak Chenchen in front of him, Du Fan glanced around, waved his hand, and instantly killed Leoport’s horse. He then tied the remaining three horses together and prepared to flee eastward without hesitation. At that moment, Chenchen suddenly whispered, “Take him with you!” Du Fan was slightly stunned and couldn’t help but look at her. Chenchen shook her head and quickly said, “He’s also an extremely powerful warrior. Although we must have him dead, we shouldn’t let him die in such humiliation.” Du Fan frowned, not quite understanding what Chenchen meant, but then he had an idea and thought of taking Garfield with him. After all, Leoport wanted Du Fan’s life this time, and it would be false to say Du Fan wasn’t resentful. But under the current circumstances, even if he managed to escape, he wouldn’t be able to take revenge right away. However, if he took Garfield with him, Garfield would surely make life difficult for Leoport without him having to say anything! As for Garfield’s threats, since Du Fan had saved him now, would he dare to attack him? With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Du Fan didn’t have time to consider further. He rode over to Garfield, pulled him onto another horse, and pulled the reins—prompting the three horses to gallop away quickly. Garfield merely gave Du Fan a puzzled look but said nothing, simply leaning over the horse’s back. Du Fan chuckled and said, “Your Highness, I’m taking you with me this time. Whether you survive depends on yourself. If you’re not lucky enough and fall off along the way, don’t blame me!” Behind them, Leoport had dispersed some of the magic with his sword and looked in the direction Du Fan had been in—only to be shocked!

At this moment, Du Fan and his two companions had already ridden their horses for several hundred meters. LeoPorter was furious—how could he give up so easily? After all, by attacking and killing people today, he had already fallen out with both sides. If those two groups got away, neither Du Fan nor Garfield would easily let it go! By then, the revenge would surely be severe! So today, he must kill them no matter what! With this thought, LeoPorter rushed to his warhorse. When he looked down, he was furious—Du Fan, in order to prevent LeoPorter from chasing him on horseback, had struck the horse earlier. Although it didn’t kill the horse outright, it certainly made it unable to run anymore. LeoPorter couldn’t afford to be angry now; gritting his teeth, he channeled his combat energy and rushed in the direction Du Fan and his group were fleeing. In the distance, Du Fan saw LeoPorter chasing after them, feeling even more frustrated. Although two human legs can’t outrun four horse legs under normal circumstances, that’s just in ordinary situations. With a master like LeoPorter, they would likely be caught in no time. Moreover, he wasn’t familiar with the area and didn’t know where to run. Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. At that moment, Garfield, who was lying on another horse, struggled to sit up. After looking around, he said weakly, “My lord, let’s head south. If we continue east, we won’t be able to escape!” Du Fan glanced at him. Taking a breath, he continued, “If we go east, it’s the Dusk Mountains—what’s inside is uncertain. In our current state, even if we manage to shake off LeoPorter, things probably won’t get any better. If we go south, we enter the territory of my Lan Ni Empire. Though we don’t know which faction controls it, as long as we encounter the imperial army, even LeoPorter, no matter how bold, won’t dare act recklessly… So, going east is a dead end, but going south might give us a chance…”