Chapter 010: Southward

Upon hearing Garfield’s words, Du Fan pondered for a moment before understanding his meaning. He had no desire to waste words either, so he controlled his horse to change direction instantly and head swiftly southward.

The escape lasted for nearly half an hour. Although he rode a rare and fine horse and his horsemanship was decent, he still had to take care of two injured people along the way, limiting his speed greatly.

The southern plains within the Lanxi Empire were still uninhabited at this time, with wild grass reaching half a person’s height everywhere.

As Du Fan rode through the grass, he inevitably looked disheveled. From time to time, he glanced back and saw a figure approaching on the horizon—who else but Leopold?

He had already mobilized all his combat energy. Though he couldn’t fly in the sky like a saintly warrior, his leaps were extremely fast.

This wasn’t the first time in Du Fan’s life he’d found himself in such a desperate situation. For example, the time he was forced by Ringtone to return to the barbarian tribes in the northern lands was far worse.

Even then, no matter how dangerous the situation, he knew he had Chenchen backing him. But now, Chenchen was in his arms, so weak she might faint at any moment…

Though having a delicate and fragrant woman in his arms, with her unique scent constantly tempting him, made him want to do all sorts of things to her…

Yet the most frustrating thing right now was that the Death God behind him was closing in rapidly. In any other situation, given Du Fan’s nature, he would never miss an opportunity—after all, he still didn’t realize that Chenchen had already taken the greatest advantage for him. But now, though he could eat as much as he wanted, one careless mistake could cost him his life!

After running for a while longer, Leopold was already just a hundred meters behind. His voice could be heard clearly from afar: “Duke Du Fan! Why run so hard? With your status, doing such a desperate struggle—don’t you feel ashamed? It’s better if you surrender; I might spare your life!”

With that, Leopold suddenly surged forward, leaping dozens of meters in an instant, seemingly using some secret technique to boost his speed.

Du Fan glanced back, his heart pounding even more, but his voice remained firm as he shouted loudly, “Lioport, never forget—since I, Du Fan, have the ability to take someone’s life for you, I certainly have the ability to take yours! Today, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll just keep your head here for now and retrieve it another day!”
With that, Du Fan gathered his strength, barely conjuring a wisp of combat energy and stabbing it into the horse’s flanks. The horse, stimulated, galloped even faster, once again leaving Lioport dozens of meters behind.
However, this speed couldn’t last long. Du Fan looked down and saw that the horse was breathing heavily, foam coming from its mouth. If not for its well-trained condition, these horses would have collapsed long ago.
At this point, Du Fan realized that the moment these horses gave out, they would be finished!
Meanwhile, Lioport, who was behind, saw Du Fan’s actions and somehow burst into laughter. “Duke Du Fan, you really think running a little faster will make any difference? If I’m not mistaken, it was my elder brother who suggested you head south, right? Hahaha… If you had gone east, maybe I really couldn’t have caught up to you, but you came south… Hahaha…”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sky-blue wisp of combat energy rushed upward, appearing above Du Fan and his group before exploding violently. Clearly, this move lacked any real power, yet its impact was astonishing.
Gaffield, on another horse, saw this and his expression changed. “Duke Du Fan, I am deeply grateful that you brought me here. If we can survive and get out alive, let’s turn enemies into friends… But for now, you’d better take your woman and leave. If you take me with you, you won’t be able to escape, but if I stay, I can buy us some time!”
Du Fan frowned. “What do you mean? I went through so much trouble to save you, and this is all you have to say?”

Garfield sighed weakly and said, “That attack just now was carried out by Leopold’s Blood Armored Troops. Although they came from afar and surely didn’t bring many men, the fact that they managed to avoid being detected by my men proves they are among the finest of the elite… He must have figured that if I could escape, I would head south, so he left men there in advance. Now that he’s summoning them, he likely intends to encircle us from both sides… If you want to leave, do it now. If we wait until his Blood Armored Troops arrive, you’ll probably not be able to escape!”
To his surprise, Du Fan wasn’t afraid at all; instead, his eyes lit up as he said, “You mean Leopold has hidden men ahead? Then, based on your understanding of him, how strong are these so-called elite troops?”
Garfield glanced at Du Fan and still spoke in a low voice, “The strength of Leopold’s Blood Armored Troops lies in their ability to use a coordinated combat formation, concentrating the power of countless men on one person. Individual strength among them isn’t very high—usually knights around level five or six… But even so, I’m afraid that ten of them would block all our escape routes.”
Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “No fear! No fear! If they’re just knights at level five or six, I can still handle them… This is what they say—others’ misdeeds may be forgiven, but one’s own cannot! Hahaha!”
As he spoke, his horse leaped forward abruptly, crossing the half-human-height grassland. What appeared before them was a vast expanse of bright red land, its vivid red extending all the way to the horizon.
On this red land, twelve Blood Armored Cavalrymen were already standing there, each with two warhorses behind them, clearly prepared for long-distance raids. At that moment, the horses were calmly grazing, indicating that these cavalrymen had been waiting there for a long time.
Du Fan sharply pulled on the reins and stopped just before reaching the Blood Armored Cavalrymen. His gaze fell on them, lost in thought.

Behind him, Leopold had already caught up. With a fierce leap, he landed about ten meters behind Du Fan, resembling a giant bird. His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his once gentle face was now filled with murderous rage. He looked up at Du Fan and laughed heartily, saying, “Duke! This is what they call having tigers in front and wolves behind! What good is your desperate struggle? Who here can save you now? Better surrender and die peacefully!”
Du Fan curled his lips and said indifferently, “I originally thought no one would come to save me, but you happened to send a few people… Prince Leopold, please don’t be so polite in the future!”
With that, he pointed at Leopold and shouted, “Kill this guy!”
As soon as he said this, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood with a “waah—” sound. Clearly, just saying those words had further injured him.
Leopold was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Duke, have you lost your mind? How could my Blood Armor soldiers…”
But before he could finish, he saw the twelve Blood Armor cavalrymen who had been standing in front of Du Fan suddenly draw their sabers from their waists and charge at Leopold.
Shocked, Leopold shouted, “Damn you! Are you trying to betray me? Aren’t you afraid of death?”
But by the time he finished speaking, the twelve cavalrymen had already rushed at him, their swords flashing down.
Leopold wasn’t an ordinary person. Seeing their appearance, he realized that Du Fan must have done something to turn them against him.
However, he knew the strength of these Blood Armor cavalrymen. If ordinary people encountered them, they would surely die. And since these cavalrymen were his own training, he knew their weaknesses well.
But how had Du Fan managed to make them betray him at the last moment? Could it be illusion magic? But there didn’t seem to be such a spell in illusion magic!
Before he could finish thinking, one of the cavalrymen’s sabers struck his back.
Caught off guard, Leopold had initially intended to show mercy, but seeing the situation, he realized that showing mercy would only harm him.

He was also a ruthless man; even when facing his own elite troops, he couldn’t hold back. He swiftly swung his long sword, and with a “whoosh,” he split one of his subordinates in two right down the middle!
Yet despite the death of one Blood Armored Cavalryman, the rest continued to surround him, swinging their sabers filled with combat energy without hesitation. Although Leopold wasn’t afraid, being surrounded by such desperate foes forced him to be more cautious. He knew full well that the sabers of these men were coated in deadly poison—being struck by one of them would definitely not be a trivial matter…