Chapter 017: Heartbreak

Tatiana had always lived a pure and innocent life, never having been treated in such a manner before. But due to her nature, she didn’t explode in anger. Instead, she stared coldly at Du Fan before finally saying, “Is it enough?”
Du Fan was stunned again, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
Tatiana slowly removed Du Fan’s hand from her chest and pushed him aside before struggling to get up. But halfway there, she felt dizzy and nearly collapsed again.
She shook her head and quickly leaned on the old wall beside her. After catching her breath, she asked, “Where… where exactly are we?”
Du Fan sat up and smiled bitterly several times before saying, “Isn’t it obvious? We’re in that ancient city inside the cave right now. But if you want to know exactly where it is, I’m sorry—I really don’t know.”
“Is this the ancient city at the bottom of the cave?” Tatiana frowned slightly. Though her face was extremely pale, she still looked stunning. She slowly raised her gaze upward, then her body trembled. “Saint Nicholas… they’re probably…”
“The odds are not in our favor…” Du Fan finished what she hadn’t said. “And with all that noise just now, I doubt the people from Roland Academy haven’t noticed us. Although, given Aldas’s current state, it’s unlikely they’ll come after us actively. But I think we’d better be cautious.”
Tatiana nodded slightly. With the wall’s support, she finally stood up. After a moment, she softly asked, “So, Du Fan, what should we do next?”
Du Fan noticed this was the first time Tatiana had called him by name. A strange feeling arose in him, but he showed no outward reaction. He simply said, “What else can we do? We have to go to this divine palace, but we need to prepare more before going. Even if everyone else at Roland Academy dies, Aldas and Kris aren’t easy to deal with at all.”
Tatiana nodded slightly, agreeing with Du Fan’s words. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Then… what do we need to do?”
Du Fan replied calmly, “It’s just a small trick. I’ll handle it. Miss Tatiana, you don’t need to worry… Also, there’s one thing I want to remind you about.”
Tatiana froze and asked, “What?”

Du Fan pondered for a moment before suddenly whispering, “We certainly must avenge Lord Nicholas and Lord Alfred’s feud, but now is not the right time. I know Miss Tasia has astonishing magical power and is an incredibly strong mage, but I don’t want you to act impulsively because of that. Whether Lord Nicholas and the others are alive or dead, we cannot go check on them. Even if we know they’re there, we still can’t go rescue them.”

Tasia glanced at Du Fan and asked, “Why do you say that?”

Du Fan turned to look at the seemingly grayish-white cave walls behind him, sighed, and said, “That undead calamity—Tasia, you must be aware of it. It’s definitely beyond our ability to deal with. Going there would only be suicide… Besides, we still have a mission to complete. How can we risk everything for such a small matter?”

Tasia sighed slightly, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes, but she quickly concealed her emotions and merely nodded.

After another moment, Tasia suddenly gently pulled out her wand hidden in her sleeve and said, “I’ll cast an invisibility spell on you first. That way, it might be useful when we encounter Aldas and the others later.”

Hearing that it would save him a magic scroll, Du Fan nodded eagerly.

Tasia took a few deep breaths, waved her wand lightly, and began to chant.

But halfway through casting her spell, a silver-colored combat energy suddenly shot out from somewhere. By the time Tasia realized it, it was too late to react. The energy hit her chest and abdomen, sending her body shaking as she flew backward.

Du Fan, still crouched on the ground, changed expression instantly. Ignoring the chill spreading through his body, he quickly channeled his combat energy and just before Tasia hit the wall, he squeezed in between them, acting as a human shield. For a moment, he was pressed between softness ahead and hardness behind—a sensation straddling heaven and hell that left Du Fan momentarily stunned.

But his daze didn’t change anything. The blow Tasia took was extremely severe. The inertia from that attack sent both her and Du Fan flying dozens of meters, destroying countless ancient buildings before they finally stopped.

Du Fan felt pain all over his chest and back. Fortunately, his combat energy absorbed most of the damage; otherwise, even if he hadn’t turned into a meat pie, he would have vomited blood.

Oldas’s calm voice rang out, “Oh my, isn’t this the holy Miss Tassia and the pious Priest Du Fan? To meet here is truly coincidental—or should I say, it’s fate bringing us together?”
With that voice, a figure in earthy yellow with a faint silver glow appeared before Du Fan’s eyes. Though Oldas looked somewhat disheveled and awkward at the moment, he still appeared much more composed compared to Du Fan.
Most of his silver armor was damaged, and several wounds on his exposed skin had already scabbed over. Even the long sword in his hand was covered in cracks.
In sharp contrast was the woman he was holding—she had no obvious wounds but was pale, clearly unconscious.
Du Fan recognized her at a glance—it was Kris.
Oldas’s gaze wandered. When he looked at Du Fan, he tried hard to hide his resentment, but when he glanced at Kris in his arms, his expression turned complex, filled with tenderness and pity.
Du Fan’s eyes shifted slightly, and he understood what was going on. Taking advantage of Oldas’s distraction, he glanced around, searching for a way to escape.
Seizing Du Fan’s haste, Oldas turned his gentle gaze away from Kris. He sighed softly and said, “You’re both smart people. How could you be so careless this time? You know that such a commotion would surely alert me. But do you really think I, Oldas, am such a cowardly scoundrel who doesn’t even have the courage to come here and take a look?”
Du Fan sighed lightly but remained silent. After another moment of scanning, he still saw no suitable escape route. Behind Oldas, another man stared at him with hatred. Even if he could avoid Oldas’s gaze, he could never escape that man’s stare.
Perhaps that man was his only chance?
After thinking for a while, Du Fan felt a headache coming on. He suddenly remembered that if Chenchen were here, even Oldas wouldn’t be a problem. He reached into his arms instinctively but was stunned—Chenchen was gone! She had disappeared!

For a moment, Du Fan felt the scene before his eyes blur, and he almost fainted. Seeing Du Fan’s changing expression, Aldas suddenly smiled and said, “How… are you also feeling scared? Or perhaps… in front of the beautiful Miss Tasia, you’re too reluctant to reveal your despicable true nature?” Du Fan was momentarily stunned, not knowing what to reply. Meanwhile, Tasia struggled to get up from his arms. Her face grew even paler, and dark red blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, almost turning her white robe red. She regained her icy cold demeanor, staring at Aldas before finally saying, “It’s been a long time. I didn’t expect Lord Aldas to have learned the trick of ambush as well.” Before she could finish speaking, Tasia opened her mouth again and spat out a mouthful of blood. Du Fan scanned her body with his mental power but was stunned—he hadn’t expected her to be so severely injured by Aldas’s attack just moments ago. Yet still, she stood there, her gaze piercing Aldas as if trying to stab him through. Aldas smiled faintly and said, “Miss Tasia, our relationship has always been good, so today I won’t make things difficult for you. Since you’re already so badly injured, just find a way to get out by yourself. Whether you can survive depends on your own abilities. As for that young master Du Fan behind you, I have some accounts to settle with him, so I’ll have to ask him to stay. What do you think of my suggestion, Miss Tasia?” Tasia smiled faintly. Against the backdrop of the blood at the corners of her mouth, her smile remained breathtakingly beautiful. She slowly shook her head and said coldly, “Aldas, stop wasting words. You’ve already decided to deal with us both here—why bother teasing us?” Aldas laughed heartily. Waving his right hand, he sent another burst of combat energy from his palm, this time aiming at Tasia. Du Fan’s expression changed, and he shot to his feet. He threw a magic scroll he had hidden in his hand, which struck the blast of combat energy. After a gust of wind, Du Fan and Tasia disappeared from Aldas’s sight. But Aldas merely smiled coldly. Staring in the direction of the divine palace, he said softly, “Run? Can you really run away? Sir Du Fan… do you really think using the same tactics twice against me will work?”