The Devil’s Cage

Sivalka brought the newly purchased frostbite medicine back to the slums at Lower Seventh Ring.

While he was applying the medicine to Ellie, the folks from Sicar finally entered the city after going through the city gate passage and guards. They headed to the slums right away.

Erin had been waiting for their arrival.

Rogart and the preachers of the Mist religious sect walked up to her right away.

Both Erin and the folks from Sicar had gotten the orders from their lord.

When the orders were from the Mist, everything was possible.

After a quick conversation, an area was cleaned up for the new lord of Sicar in the slums. The preachers then headed to the civilians, trying to approach their brothers and sisters of Edatine Castle.

The rest prepared meals for everybody. Fires were built, pots were taken out.

Food was always the best medium to shorten the distance between people.

When a bowl of steaming hot soup appeared before the people, their good relationship got strengthened further.

Sivalka got the set meal for himself too, the bowl had some vegetables and meat and without a second thought, he finished it like a tornado.

Sivalka then waved, stopping Ellie from getting him another bowl. He signaled her to hold that thought and stood up, quietly walking to Bloody Mary.

“Lord bishop,” Sivalka greeted with a bow.

“Good day, Mr. Sivalka,” Bloody Mary replied.

Sivalka wasn’t a believer of the Mist, Bloody Mary was utterly sure, therefore addressing as mister would be the most appropriate.

More importantly, Sivalka’s identity was a little sensitive: the armed deacon of the Dark Hall of War God Temple.

Bloody Mary wasn’t afraid of course, it was just worried that Sivalka couldn’t provide its boss and itself with more information.

Its boss seemed to pay an unusual amount of attention to the ‘unusual attack’ that happened last night in the slums.

Bloody Mary, too, did not view it as purely an accident, therefore Bloody Mary maintained his kind side.

“I have something to discuss with you,” Sivalka whispered.

“Follow me,” Bloody Mary thought about it for a while and pointed at the wagon of the baroness further away.

After Bloody Mary and Sivalka boarded the wagon, Rogart stood guard in front automatically. His bear-like physique and energetic presence formed an unusual deterrent force and, at the same time, attracted people’s curious gazes.

Many who laid eyes on the bear-like young man had gleams in their eyes.

Wearing a thick outer coat, the baroness slightly shook her head.

“Edatine Castle is as unpredictable as always,” she sighed.

Not all things needed to be peeled to the core to find out the truth, a single glance could provide enough information to know it all.

Soon enough, the baroness was captivated by the little girl who shuttled across the crowd. The little girl looked like a mature adult, albeit her size was petite.

Beside the fire, another little girl who shared 60-70% resemblance to the matured little girl sat down quietly with her hands supporting her chin. Her eyes gazed upon the fire as she waited.

Her gaze was pure and clear.

“Sisters?” With doubts in her heart, she couldn’t help but walk up to the little girl, bent down and said with a smile, “Hi, I’m Erin Sicar.”

“I am Ellie. That’s my sister Erin,” Ellie showed the baroness a pure smile as she replied.

“What a coincidence, my name is also Erin.”

The baroness seemed to have been infected by the smile, sitting down and starting to talk to the little girl.

Sivalka, who had been keeping his eyes on Ellie, saw the baroness walk over to Ellie. He couldn’t help but worry, but after he realized the baroness meant nothing ill, he was quickly relieved.

Turning around, he saw Bloody Mary looking at him with a warm look. Sivalka shrugged.

“Ellie is cute and kind. People in a complicated state like me tend to get attracted by her kindness,” Sivalka didn’t hide his feelings.

Firstly, it was obvious.

Secondly, in order to proceed with the upcoming conversation, he should be honest.

“The more you dwell in darkness, the more you walk towards the light, especially when you are once warmed by the light,” Bloody Mary said slowly.

When those words escaped its mouth, Bloody Mary couldn’t help but think of its holiday. Its face looked extremely moving and the feeling seemed to have resonated with Sivalka almost immediately.

“I know right. I always fantasize that I am still a mercenary. The freedom is nice, even with the danger. Now though… I hope to be a guard so I can guard Ellie, watching her grow. That’s why I have something to tell you,” Sivalka looked serious as he spoke.

“Dark Hall has been collecting remnants of the pagans. They used the remnants to revive the dead pagans and forced the revived ones to pledge their loyalty to the God of War. At first the experiment was a success with substantial progress, but some strange things happened lately. Those remnants of the pagans start to produce their own thoughts… or more precisely, they had been covering up their true intentions all along. A disguise!”

When the word ‘disguise’ was mentioned, Sivalka’s brows furrowed tightly together.

He couldn’t understand why the dead pagans disguised themselves, covering up their own thoughts.

“The world is huge, anything is possible. More so, what you are talking about are the pagans. Their existence has defied common logic, it’s natural that you can’t judge them with common sense,” said Bloody Mary.

“Mm. But this would be a chance for the Mist! Based on the information I got, Dark Hall suffered a severe loss from the battle last night and so did War God Temple—otherwise, it wouldn’t be a single squad of elite temple warriors outside the city gate today. We should seize the opportunity and take down War God Temple!” Nodding, Sivalka stated his true intentions.

“Take down War God Temple?” Bloody Mary chuckled.

The God of War was currently fighting Lady Calamity, meaning its boss had a great chance to expand his power and develop his influence. If he took down War God Temple, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse.

Should that happen, the God of War wouldn’t just send out willpower clones to test the Mist anymore, albeit he was frightened away earlier. He ought to take furious action against the Mist.

Bloody Mary was utterly sure of it.

As for Lady Calamity?

Under heavy restraints, she would be eager to swap places with the Mist in fighting God of War.

“Why? Lord Mist has fought the God of War and forced him to retreat! What are we worrying about? Calamity? Her situation is somewhat special, so it will be enough for us to deal with her after we consume everything the God of War left behind.”

Unable to see the bigger picture, Sivalka looked at Bloody Mary in confusion.

Bloody Mary did not provide a direct answer, it glanced over Sivalka and asked, “Did you get your information from the blabbers in your ears?”

“Yes,” Sivalka nodded.

Bloody Mary chuckled again.

Sivalka caught the chuckle, stunned for a moment before he managed to realize something.

However, he still couldn’t latch onto the key point.

…

Anderson called over two wagons and put his friends, the mentally damaged Tandeker and Miers, who was confined in a mummy state, inside. He then looked at Kieran beside the wagon.

The sharp Demon Hunter noticed something different about Kieran. It was weak but something had definitely changed. As for what, the old Demon Hunter had no idea.

“Colin, meaning powerful. What a good name. Your teacher must be proud of you,” the old Demon Hunter exclaimed.

Kieran did not correct Anderson’s mistakes, neither would he explain himself.

He nodded and signaled with his gaze, telling Anderson that he got the message.

“Did anyone ever tell you that your cold attitude is popular with the ladies? No I assume you do, but do you know why? Because it’s all dicks and old men like me around you. You should go experience what the youngsters experienced for once—it will do your strength some good, make you stronger and more tenacious,” Anderson guided Kieran with his teasing and dirty jokes.

As an old Demon Hunter, especially a man, his attitude was not to blame but Kieran wasn’t used to it.

He preferred the Anderson where he first met, vigilant and cautious at all times, not the current Anderson, who behaved like a drunkard in a tavern, guiding some inexperienced youngsters with ridiculing comments and teasing.

“Do you know why my teacher was able to live until a hundred years old and still remain healthy?” Kieran asked coldly.

“Why?” Anderson got stunned for a second before asking back seriously.

A hundred years old Demon Hunter should be respected by any other Demon Hunters out there.

It wasn’t just because of his age, it was also because of all the things that he did in the past.

According to the Demon Hunter’s rules, after finishing the Green Grass trials, one would be eligible to hunt pagans.

Normally, a Demon Hunter would pass the trial around 18 or 19 years old, meaning the 100 years old teacher would have 80 years of experience in hunting pagans under his belt.

How precious would those experiences be!?

If such a Demon Hunter could be here to train the younger generation…

Unconsciously, anticipation rose from Anderson’s heart.

“It’s because he always minded his own business.”

Kieran then turned around and went back to Carrot Hotel.

Anderson got stunned hard by the answer as he looked at the slammed door blankly, regaining his senses several seconds later.

“This young man is not cute at all!” the old Demon Hunter grumbled but his mouth curled up slightly.

In that short moment, Anderson felt like he had returned to the Demon Hunter’s inn, drinking and chatting with his friends, living the blissful life.

Although it was a moment, it was enough for the old Demon Hunter to savour.

“Just you wait! Everything will be rebuilt!” muttered Anderson to himself. He then told the wagoner to go to the Lower Seventh Ring.

It had been decided that the estate outside Edatine Castle would be the new base for the Demon Hunters but it would still require a buffer to ease things up. Carrot Hotel was obviously not suitable, the surroundings were too complicated and it was the perfect place to be put on watch. It was not as suitable as the slums, which were leveled to the ground yesterday night.

Besides, he still had to confirm something about the Mist.

The Wolf Sect was living on their last breath, Snake Sect could never follow the footsteps of its counterpart.

As an elder, Anderson thought he must do something himself and be there himself to witness it.

With that thought in mind, Anderson adjusted his emotions. He kept the laughter and teasing in his heart, for the vigilant and cautious Demon Hunter had resurface.

…

“Are you sure you want to bring me to the king’s banquet?”

Sitting in room 203 and worrying about the funds, Borl looked at Kieran with utter shock.

Then, more thoughts swiftly entered Borl’s mind and he stood up.

“Thank you Colin. What do I need to pay you?” Borl asked and went straight to the point.

Both of them were players, extra courtesy when there was no one else around them was not necessary. Negotiating with the price tag was the mainstream method in dealing in the big city, asking directly and saving each other’s time would be the best for anyone.

“I have to confirm some things about that guy. It might be dangerous, but I’ll do my best to keep you safe,” Kieran was being frank.

That guy Kieran referred to must be Broker, Borl knew everything about it.

He had no idea how he ended up in between the battle of these two major players but he knew compared to the notorious Broker, following the Flaming Devil would be the safer bet.

Although the title literally spelled Devil, Kieran was a trustworthy person, all the promises he made would be kept.

On the other hand, scamming people had become an instinct for Broker.

“Okay!” Borl nodded without even thinking. He had limited choices anyway, his main mission was on his tail and after the ‘unusual changes’ last night, the difficulty for him to gather funds had just skyrocketed.

His plan of gathering enough funds in the upcoming days so that he could buy his dukeship had become an impossible dream, but should he follow Kieran around, things might turn out differently.

It was widely known that Edatine VI had granted Kieran a dukeship and land. As long as he could stay with Kieran, he could eventually get some benefits for himself.

Buying a dukeship at a discounted price might be a possible outcome too! Getting a dukeship directly could also happen with a high chance.

“You better get ready then. We will head to the banquet at night. Bring Aschen as well,” Kieran paused and mentioned the bodyguard’s name.

Borl nodded.

Things might just turn out more dangerous than he expected!

With that thought in mind, Borl went on to prepare himself.

It was 7-8 hours before dark, he had to hurry up.

…

The other one who was also preparing was Horlaika.

Unlike the pressured and tense Borl, Horlaika proceeded with his preparations in an organized fashion. With his teacher’s arrangements, everything had progressed well enough but the nervousness, anticipation, and excitement in his heart did not diminish at all.

Sitting in Mieren’s office back in Silent Night Town, Horlaika adjusted his hurried breaths.

When Mieren came in, Horlaika was able to keep his emotions in check.

“Is it true what you said? The Council Meeting has been passed through?”

Mieren did not question why Horlaika was in the office without his permission.

He was used to it already anyway, he knew his position and status.

A so-called field agent manager could never be compared to the infamous field agent the Undying.

More so, behind the Undying was a councilman!

“Mm, Luncar’s plan worked effectively,” Horlaika pushed everything to Luncar.

“As expected of him!” Mieren praised on the outside but cursed him deep down in his heart.

‘That damn bastard! Foiling my plans! NO! I have to make up for my loss, or else all my efforts will go to waste!’

Mieren’s heart spun rapidly. He then suddenly realized Horlaika was looking at him tensely.

His heart skipped a beat and he feigned a normal look, asking “What’s wrong Horlaika?”

“Nothing. When it gets dark… I want to borrow your head.”