The Devil’s Cage

‘Be careful?’

Kuer Horton jolted, but reacted right away since he was no idiot, nodding at Kieran gratefully before pushing the door open.

Outside the carriage, Borl was still surrounded by the soldiers.

“I really don’t mean any harm, I won’t cause any trouble either. I’m a legal merchant!”

Borl explained to Kuer Horton in a bitter smile.

The soldiers around him also looked at the young noble, waiting for a new order.

Kuer Horton waved his hand. He was actually on guard but he did not show anything on his expression.

“It’s fine, he…”

BANG!

Before the young noble finished, one of the soldiers suddenly pulled the trigger.

Flash shone at the muzzle of the musket and the pellet shot out was flying towards the young noble.

As though he could predict the future, right after the soldier pulled the trigger, Kuer Horton stepped aside then drew his flintlock pistol along with the motion, then pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The pistol was certainly not a common good, the pellet that flew out was so fast that it looked unconceivable.

Almost instantly after the second shot sounded, the soldier who fired the musket fell to the ground.

Blood spewed out from his chest but the shot did not kill him.

After falling to the ground, the soldier rolled away and tried to run towards the convoy.

He wanted to create a scene and escape using the chaos, but Kuer Horton was quicker.

Bang!

Without loading, the young noble pulled the trigger again.

The pistol wasn’t directly pointed at the rogue soldier, it was slightly tilted forward and when the pellet was fired, it precisely hit its target.

It seemed like other than boosting the speed of the fired pellet, this flintlock pistol also had the ability to fire multiple times.

The rogue soldier fell on the ground again, and this time, he stayed down.

Kuer Horton waved his hand.

The other soldiers who were still in shock regained their senses and gathered around the fallen soldier… assassin.

Those who weren’t too stupid could already tell what was going on.

Kate Harl wasn’t the real target, Kuer Horton was, but the young noble had been prepared and was able to foil the assassin’s plan.

Unconsciously, the soldier’s gaze at Kuer Horton had a trace of admiration.

Borl was shocked too.

He looked at the young noble in an astonishing gaze but quickly shifted his gaze to the carriage, thinking this little incident could be related to Kieran.

While he was pondering the question, the fallen assassin was tied up.

“Is it him?” Kuer Horton asked Borl.

“It’s not. The previous assassins were thinner and had longer face structures, their eyes are different too,” Borl replied firmly.

Although he was a little far away from the previous assassin, Borl thought it was not possible for him to see wrongly.

“Is that so. Fairly organized I see.”

With ridiculing words, Kuer Horton waved his hand and smashed the handle of the pistol on the assassin’s face. The assassin once again fell to the ground and this time, all his teeth falling out too.

“Check him again, see if he is hiding any of those poisons with him. Find a doctor to treat him, I don’t want him to die just yet,” Kuer Horton told several interrogators in uniforms, who ran over because of the second attempted assassination.

“Yes, Sir Horton,” the leader of the interrogators assured the young noble.

Then, a syringe appeared in his hand and was poked into the assassin’s neck.

The struggling assassin was instantly silenced, and other than the fact that he was still breathing, he was no different from a dead man.

The interrogators then carried the assassin away. The soldiers also followed them and left the scene because they would also be questioned.

After all, the interrogators had run a quick inspection on this assassin. This assassin did not put on any makeup, neither did he alter his looks, his face was the same as when he first appeared.

In short, this assassin was a spy who had been hiding among the soldiers for quite a while now.

Kuer Horton knew the odds were slim but he didn’t mind trying.

It wasn’t just because it was a necessary standard operating procedure, it was also because everyone tended to hope for the best outcome in their hearts.

Though he was grateful that he didn’t try to be lucky in front of real danger, otherwise it would be him who got carried away.

Kuer Horton turned around and headed to the carriage again.

This time around, the young noble was much more polite than before because he knew if it wasn’t for the hint, the situation would have ended differently and it wouldn’t be pretty.

He knocked on the door lightly.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in,” Kieran’s voice sounded again.

Kuer Horten entered the carriage and bowed by bending his waist forward 90 degrees.

Although it was quite uncomfortable bowing to such extent in the carriage with limited space, the young noble insisted and then expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you. I know words cannot express my gratitude enough, so if you run into any problem in your time at Edatine Castle, you can always come to me at Marquis Horton mansion. I will do my best to return the favour.”

The young noble gave a promise which sounded like it had no upper limit.

Kieran looked at the young man and shook his head.

“No need for that. You’ve thanked me enough, they tasted quite nice.”

Kieran pointed at the packet of candy from Snowy Owl Candy House on the table. The packet was opened and the red, green, blue, and yellow candies inside were revealed.

Each candy was round and sparkled like a crystal, the clear parts reflecting the sunlight and shining an unusual color.

Kieran picked a red one and tossed it into his mouth.

A faint watermelon taste came, the sweetness rich but not overwhelming.

It seemed like the quality product of Snowy Owl Candy House was not some half-baked product.

Looking at how Kieran responded, the young noble got stunned. He then thought of something and shook his head helplessly.

“As you wish then, but my promise is still valid,” said Kuer Horton.

He bowed again before he left the carriage.

Kieran didn’t stop him and saw the young noble off, having the least intention of keeping him in company.

As for the promise he gave?

He might be able to solve some normal problems but against problems that exceed his comprehension, it would be useless to ask him for help, so Kieran wasn’t moved at the promise without an upper limit.

One must always be vigilant, and on top of that, know one’s self-worth.

Both elements were crucial for anyone.

Borl returned to the carriage, saw the candies on the table, and smiled.

Everything was just as his expectation, Kuer Horton received a hint from Kieran.

“What a lucky guy! I’m a little bit jealous!” said Borl.

He was saying that from his mouth but he mimicked Kieran and leaned on the soft cushion of the seat.

As for the other matters, like the relationship with Kuer Horton and solving the problem at hand?

Borl never thought of it because he knew how Kuer Horton would treat a merchant.

Perhaps because Borl and Kieran travelled together, discounts and benefits would be given but there was definitely a limit.

Unless… that young noble could rope Kieran into his own side, but would it be possible?

Borl wished not to sabotage the decent relationship with Kieran. Once broken, no amount of Gold Purton could compensate him.

Speaking of Gold Purton, he would come up with a way to get around it.

After all, Edatine Castle was huge, there would always be some dark corners which should not be seen by the public, right?

After he made up his mind, Borl released the worries in his heart and relaxed,placing the teapot on the heater.

When the water boiled, Borl casually started to chat.

“Edatine Castle is much more dangerous than I thought. There aren’t just those two Gods, things behind the scenes are brewing fiercely also. An heir to the marquis was almost killed in front of my eyes. Thankfully he did not, otherwise our Edatine trip would have to end before it even began. Colin, who do you think is aiming for that young man’s life? Could it be Marquis Horton’s enemy? Or those… who do not agree with Edatine VI’s royal decree?”

As he talked, Borl unconsciously sat straight.

It was impossible for everyone to favour the new royal decree issued by Edatine VI, there must be resistance among the people.

Though going up against Edatine VI directly wasn’t a good idea for the resistance, they ought to do something in the dark.

Therefore, as one of the most loyal people to Edatine VI, Marquis Horton was a decent target.

It wasn’t just because Marquis Horton was extremely loyal to the king, it was also because the marquis was Edatine Castle’s deputy financial minister. Many rumours suggested that he was the one who suggested the new royal decree to the king.

Given such circumstances, the situation revolving the marquis was quite self-explanatory.

“All is possible, but unlikely. It’s too obvious. It might act as a deterrent but it would only make things worse and loud, I don’t think those old nobles are willing to commit to this extent either, they are more towards getting benefits and gains for themselves. Though… there is someone who is likely to see this happen.”

Kieran voiced his opinion.

Regarding the situation in Edatine Castle, Borl had spoken about it more than once during the casual chats, plus the information he collected along the way. The scene that happened just now wasn’t that hard for Kieran to decipher.

Borl also quickly reacted to the hint.

“You are talking about… the king?” Borl softened his voice.

“Mm,” Kieran nodded.

Only the king, the one responsible for issuing the royal decree, hoped to make things worse and from there, the king would have a valid reason to make a move against those who opposed him, cleaning them up in the end.

“It doesn’t sound right! Marquis Horton is on the king’s side, even if it is a ruse of inflicting injury on oneself to win the confidence of the enemy, wouldn’t the cost be too huge to pay?” Borl frowned.

“Since he is going the hard way, paying the greater cost would make it look real,” said Kieran.

Earlier in the carriage, Kieran clearly sensed a faint and vague killer intent outside. The faint feeling told him that he wasn’t the target.

So if it wasn’t for his hint, the assassin disguised as a soldier would have had a very big chance to heavily injure Kuer Horton.

As for truly taking his life, it was impossible.

Based on what his Intuition picked up, Kieran was sure the young noble had at least 3 magical items with him and one of them was to save lives.

Borl did not have the powerful Intuition like Kieran but he too had deducted a similar scenario.

“Kuer Horton would die? No, that’s not right. As the heir to the marquis, he must have one or two items on him to save his life, therefore he would surely end up only severely injured. The old marquis would go lodge a complaint to the king, followed by the king’s fury and starting to investigate this assassination attempt. Wait! Since we kinda messed up the king’s plan, will he come to us for revenge?”

Borl then looked at Kieran with a rather worried look.

He knew all the rumours and legends surrounding Edatine VI, he would never want to end up as an enemy to the king.

From a certain aspect, offending the king would carry more severe consequences than offending the God of War and Lady Calamity because the whole of Edatine Castle belonged to him. All of his subjects were supposed to be loyal to their king and only a portion of the subjects were believers of Gods.

In short, Edatine VI had the advantage of numbers and manpower.

Perhaps the number of powerhouses under the king’s command might not be as many as the two Gods, but he definitely had the ability to completely seal his enemy’s movements in his turf.

Borl would not want to see such an outcome.

“He won’t. What he wanted is exactly this, not Kuer Horton severely injured or on the verge of dying. More so, speaking of death, someone is already dead,” Kieran shook his head.

“You are talking about Kate Harl? Mm. The person behind Kate Harl should be that old Marquis Horton. Only under such circumstances can Kuer Horton appear the fastest after Kate Harl was assassinated. Otherwise, given his identity and position, unless it was the assassination of some nobles, he would never have come to the scene,” said Kieran slowly.

After listening to Kieran’s explanation, Borl heaved a breath of relief.

Borl wasn’t surprised at Kieran’s sharpness in noticing the details of the scene.

Viewing it from a certain aspect, Borl thought this was the true face of the Flaming Devil.

Among all the solo players, relying on brute strength and zero brains, he could never have lasted long in the game. Even if they were lucky enough to clear the newbie stage, it would be hard for them to tread forward.

Brains and brawns are both as important, not one should be missed out!

As for why the Flaming Devil preferred to solve problems with force?

It was because solving those problems with force was easier than solving them with brains!

With the speculations lingering in his heart, Borl picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Kieran.

While he was pouring tea, the wagon finally moved again.

All the interrogators had retreated, returning the gate of Edatine Castle to its normal operation.

As things were proceeding at a normal pace, the wagon travelled forward a lot faster.

Half an hour later, Borl’s wagon was released from inspection.

The soldiers weren’t idiots.

The scene that happened earlier told them the people inside this particular wagon weren’t people they should give a hard time to.

The thickness of the gate was half a meter and the walls were over 40 meters wide.

When the wagon travelled through the gate, it was like moving through a tunnel.

On both sides of the wall, there was a torch installed every five meters.

The fire on the torches was fluttering, the shadows cast by the light distorted.

A hidden figure in the dark locked his gaze on the wagon and muttered repeatedly, “Snake Sect? Snake Sect? Snake Sect…”