The Devil’s Cage

Horlaika left Silent Night Town.

When he walked out of the secret passage and returned to Edatine Castle, he went around in circles many times to make sure he wasn’t followed. Then, the Undying could no longer hold back the excitement in his heart.

He could already see the rise of Snake Sect!

Silent Night Secret Society would surely be doomed!

As a member of the Snake Sect, he was eager to announce his identity, but he knew he couldn’t, at least not yet. He still had to wait for the dust to settle once and for all.

Inhaling deeply several times to calm himself down, Horlaika was ready to head down to the slums of Lower Seventh Ring. That was the place where he could contact his allies in the most straightforward way possible.

However, before he even took a step forward, a dagger silently appeared at his neck.

Even when the edge of the dagger touched his neck, he still failed to notice the presence of the dagger, and when the icy cold feeling appeared, Horlaika was astonished.

‘There’s someone behind me? Since when did…’

Horlaika assumed that he was vigilant enough, even drowned in excitement just now, still keeping an eye out for his surroundings, but he failed to notice the person approaching his back.

This person behind him was powerful, it was the first impression Horlaika had.

Then, Horlaika started to think about where this person came from.

War God Temple? Or the internals of Silent Night Secret Society? Or the Edatine royal court?

The thoughts in his heart did not slow him down or cause him to hesitate, raising his hands in surrender.

Since the person had the chance to kill him directly but didn’t, it meant that there was still ground for negotiation.

If he could negotiate, it would be easier.

He was the Undying after all!

Although sustaining death would cause some serious after effects, it would be better than dying for real.

“What do you want? My purse is at my right waist. If you are looking for answers, ask away,” said Horlaika.

“Ho? Since when did Silent Night Secret Society become this kind and true to the heart?” A cold chuckle came from behind him.

Horlaika clearly felt a cold presence behind him. The moment the person spoke, the presence seemed to materialize, pushing against Horlaika’s back strongly as if it were a knife.

Powerful! The person was much more powerful than he expected! At least a councilman level!

Horlaika evaluated this in his heart and tried to make himself look relaxed and harmless, knowing his struggle would be useless against a councilman level opponent.

Even though he was confident in his own abilities, the gap in strength shouldn’t be neglected.

Horlaika’s relaxed state was obviously felt by the person, who chuckled.

“Bring me to Silent Night Town,” as he spoke, the dagger pushed against his neck.

Horlaika’s neck immediately bled.

“F-Fine! I’ll comply, but… do you think I can bring you in like this?”

Horlaike laid his hands open with his back at the person. He actually wanted to shrug but the dagger had cut his neck and any big movements would enlarge the wound, so Horlaika wisely gave up.

There wasn’t an answer.

The dagger then left Horlaika’s neck. Not only that, Horlaika even got to see the person behind him, the person appearing right before his eyes righteously.

Under the black mantle was a leather armor of the same color, and other than a dagger in his hand, a row of daggers were strapped to his waist. The daggers gleamed coldly in the night.

The man wasn’t hooded, hence his aged face was revealed—it was Anderson!

Horlaika immediately recognized the old Demon Hunter.

He had never truly come in contact with the old Demon Hunter before but he heard of Anderson due to his identity as Wolf Sect.

It was also because of this that Horlaika instantly knew what Anderson was trying to do.

Wolf Sect Demon Hunters would never wait passively.

Since Silent Night Secret Society had appeared in the slums in Lower Seventh Ring, then Anderson ought to make the folks at the secret society know what kind of cost they’d have to pay for the unwanted visit.

A very straightforward thinking, stubborn in a sense and likewise, not likable.

Many higher-ups hated this kind of straightforward method, but not Horlaika.

Do note that he too was a Demon Hunter, despite the fact that his identity was hidden, so he too preferred the straightforward way.

However, he knew the important thing was to hint Anderson about his identity.

Otherwise he would be the first Snake Sect to die under an ally’s blade.

According to how Wolf Sect carried out their work, they’d never spare mercy to their enemies.

Therefore, at the next moment, Horlaika signed with his hands quickly and cast a shadow of a wolf on the wall, his mouth the hissed.

‘He’s Snake Sect?’

Anderson got stunned.

The old Demon Hunter would never have thought that the person that he simply seized would be one of his own.

Of course, the old Demon Hunter would never believe Horlaika easily either. He sized up Horlaika with a dubious gaze.

“Let’s talk somewhere else. You pick the location,” Horlaika was being direct.

The old Demon Hunter thought for a second before he nodded slightly, “Fine.”

…

The old Demon Hunter never expected things to unfold this way.

He was going to do exactly what Horlaika expected of him: teach Silent Night Secret Society a lesson—kill one or two councilmen and create chaos in the organization.

He knew how Silent Night Secret Society worked a little too well.

While the southern councilmen hadn’t truly broke free from their shackles, using assassination against the secret society would be the best approach.

Both the Mist or Snake Sect would be the same, at least before this.

Now? He was forced to alter his plan.

The old Demon Hunter really never expected Snake Sect to successfully infiltrate Silent Night Secret Society’s ranks and acquire a certain position for himself.

In his original thought, even though Snake Sect was inconspicuous, being able to successfully infiltrate Silent Night Secret Society as a normal member was already good enough. Who would have thought the spy would be an elite field agent. He didn’t even dare to imagine. These elites of Silent Night Secret Society were only second to the councilmen and above everyone else after all.

Of course, a validation of his identity would still be necessary.

Therefore, the old Demon Hunter brought Horlaika to the palace of Edatine.

He needed Colin to help him verify Horlaika’s identity.

But…

Right after the old Demon Hunter snuck into the palace, he was astonished by the news he heard.

Colin was the true heir of Edatine VI!!!? How was it possible?!

That was what the old Demon Hunter had in mind when he first heard of the news.

As for Horlaika, he was surprised.

‘As expected of Snake Sect! This is what Snake Sect should be!’

Unconsciously, a sense of pride appeared on Horlaika’s face.

The old Demon Hunter saw the sense of pride, and he started to believe Horlaika was truly a Snake Sect member because the pride came from the bottom of his heart and it wasn’t something that a Silent Night Secret Society member would simply show.

“I think we need to be more respectful when we meet Sir Colin,” said Horlaika.

As for the respectful address of sir, it wasn’t because of the identity of prince but because Colin had a very special position in Snake Sect as well.

If things went smoothly, Colin would become the leader of Snake Sect.

It was what his teacher told him.

Horlaika had zero intention of arguing on that point, the thoughts of his teacher were something a student like him could never understand, all he needed to do was learn and complete the tasks his teacher assigned to him, like what he was doing now.

Horlaika suddenly understood why Colin would become the leader of Snake Sect in the future, because nothing would be better than the king of a country being an ally.

As he thought of Colin ascending to king and taking over Snake Sect as leader, Horlaika’s eyes shone brightly.

The rise of Snake Sect was never as simple as he thought.

Silent Night Secret Society would eventually be replaced, together with… War God Temple!

‘Fight! I want to fight! I want to help Snake Sect return to its peak!

I want to let the world know how powerful Snake Sect is!’

Horlaika was aroused with the thoughts of the future in his mind.

Looking at Horlaika’s reaction, the old Demon Hunter once again confirmed that Horlaika was indeed a member of Snake Sect and might even be a core member.

The old Demon Hunter could even guess what Horlaika was thinking because he was young before too.

He understood a young man would always have some ridiculous ideas risen in their mind at a special point of time, and they’d think they were right and others were wrong. Of course, as they got older, the idea would change and they probably would be ashamed of the idea that they once embraced wholeheartedly.

But, so what?

If a young man has no dreams, what is the difference between him and a salted fish?

Even if he’d be a salted fish, he’d be the saltiest one!

The old Demon Hunter nodded as he understood Horlaika’s thoughts and also agreed with Horlaika’s suggestion.

…

Monte strode to the kitchen.

He had a clear grasp over His Highness’ whereabouts and also knew why His Highness would go from the garden to kitchen with Kuer Horton. Among the higher-ups of Edatine Castle, the hobby of the young noble wasn’t exactly a secret.

In fact, in the eyes of the higher-ups, there was barely a secret.

There were sufficient agents and brain trusters to deduce things accurately, but the vassal cared more about his Highness.

“His Highness is fond of eating,” muttered the vassal, thinking about how he could win over Kieran.

The vassal wasn’t at all conflicted about sucking up to Kieran, it was his forte after all.

Of course, he also knew that he should finish his own tasks first.

The royal kitchen was behind a corridor beside the garden.

The vassal, who strode all the way, arrived there quickly and was stunned on the spot.

What did he see?

20 chefs were sweating like fountains as they cooked, and despite that, they still couldn’t keep up with Kieran’s eating speed!

Meat slices the size of a palm were stacked into rolls from a side and stuffed into his mouth directly.

Small chunks of steak with a little cinnamon powder over them were tossed into the mouth for several chews before he swallowed even the bone.

A whole lamb was being roasted on the roaster, the golden exterior alluring. His Highness tore a strip of meat with his hand, the skin crispy and the meat juicy. The juicy oil rolled down from the edge of his mouth, but before it truly fell off, his Highness sucked it back into his mouth.

Then, even his hands moved in a flurry, so fast that they whipped up layers of afterimages.

In a blink of an eye, the whole lamb was gone, the same thing went for the beef.

The roast beef that required five people to work around was left with that iron stick after His Highness got near, not even the bones left behind.

There were no table manners, let alone the bearing of a gentleman.

However, the vassal did not feel rude at all, he felt an unknown happiness, a happiness towards food blooming from the bottom of his heart.

Gulp.

Unconsciously, the vassal gulped his saliva, suddenly feeling hungry.

He was eager to grab a piece of roast meat, mimicking his Highness in curling them up and then delivering them into his mouth.

However, his instinct told him that it would be best for him not to.

Monte trusted his instinct a lot, so he walked over while swallowing his saliva.

When he got near, only then did he realize Kuer Horton was hugging her stomach from eating too much, leaning back and panting heavily.

It was obvious that she overate.

“Your Highness, Demon Hunter Anderson requests a meeting.”

The vassal wisely kept his eyes away after a very short glance and reported to Kieran.

Although the two of them still hadn’t verified their relationship, who’d know about the future or anything about it?

He couldn’t afford to offend the future king, same went for the future queen.

“Let them in,” said Kieran after he chewed and swallowed a piece of meat fried with egg batter.

Through Bloody Mary, Kieran saw everything and was not at all surprised.

It was time to put the Wolf Sect Demon Hunter onto his chariot, thought Kieran from the bottom of his heart.

Then, he swiftly swept the food on the plates clean.

He stood up and walked outside.

A holy ground like the kitchen shouldn’t be used to discuss proper matters.

A holy ground must be protected, its purity must be retained.

The chefs finally heaved a sigh of relief after they saw Kieran walk out.

It was too scary for them, they had never seen someone with such a ridiculous appetite.

His stomach was like a bottomless pit, not even legends or myths mentioned something this scary before.

It was truly terrifying.

Suddenly, Kieran, who was walking out, paused.

The chefs, who had just heaved a breath of relief, were frightened once more.

Kieran stopped, turning around and saying in a solemn manner, “Thank you for the food, it was delicious.”

Kieran then bowed and left.

The chefs were stunned. When Kieran’s figure completely vanished from their sight, only then did they regain their senses.

It seemed like… his Highness wasn’t scary at all, it’s just that his appetite was a little big.

What was so strange about a person with a great appetite?

Who never felt extremely hungry at one point in their lives before?

The nervousness in the chefs vanished completely.

Kuer Horton felt the change, her eyes gleaming colorfully.

She felt like she found the most anticipated moment in her life. She held the table and carefully stood up, struggling to bend over and said, “Thank you for the meal.”