The Devil’s Cage

The palace’s garden.

Horlaika stood under a small tree, Anderson habitually standing in the shadows.

Demon Hunters weren’t thieves, but when they hunted, necessary undercover techniques would always halve the work and double the result, branding some habits into his bones and changing it was totally impossible.

The old Demon Hunter stood there silently, glancing over the garden around him.

It was the first time he came to the palace of Edatine.

He was quite satisfied with the arrangements before his eyes, not in terms of aesthetics but in terms of security.

Within his sight, there was not a single tree taller than 3 meters, all were trimmed necessarily.

All it needed was a guard stationed in the watchtower outside the garden, watching over this place, and he would be able to see everything in the garden.

It was able to maximize the security in the garden and protect whosoever was in there and at the same time able to save manpower to distribute it somewhere else.

“The location of the agents are reasonable and the patrols are decent as well,” commented the old Demon Hunter one after another.

Similar to his undercover instinct, his instinct of looking at things changed a long time ago.

Practicalism was always what the Demon Hunter sought, but Horlaika was different.

His mind was thinking over and over again about whether or not he missed something.

It wasn’t the first time Horlaika went out for a mission, but a mission related to whether or not Snake Sect could rise smoothly was a first for him.

As a spy for Snake Sect, Horlaika couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Fortunately, when Kieran appeared within his sight, the calm and nonchalant face and the casual walking pace swiftly calmed Horlaika down, as if as long as Kieran was around, things would be fine.

It also felt like any kind of problem would solve itself in front of Kieran.

It was a very strange feeling but Horlaika didn’t dislike it.

“Greetings, Sir Colin. I am Horlaika, here on behalf of Silent Night Secret Society,” Horlaika greeted respectfully.

He wanted to call Kieran lord or perform a Demon Hunter salutation, but now was not the time, not yet.

He wasn’t sure whether or not this place was under the surveillance of the southern councilmen.

Kieran glanced over the old Demon Hunter who hid in the shadows, then placed his attention on this ex-Silent Night Secret Society member who Bloody Mary tricked with its acting (illusion).

His follower seemed to have poured quite the effort into this Horlaika, at least it made it easier for him to converse with this ex-member.

Horlaika would feel an unknown calmness and compliance when he saw Kieran, he would never have the thought of disobeying Kieran—Bloody Mary’s abilities were really useful here, but unfortunately, it was useless against most of the people as it was only effective against those whose soul was damaged or had a weak willpower; people with weak willpower could hardly be of use to Kieran.

As for soul damaged ones? Similarly difficult.

Horlaika was an extremely rare case.

Under normal circumstances, no one would ever choose to learn the mystical spell that would damage his own soul.

Horlaika? He was just a pitiful soul deceived by Kurtzargert. That councilman wanted a good tool to use, hence the Undying Horlaika.

Kieran was utterly sure about it as he got access to Kurtzargert’s memories but Horlaika had no idea about all of those.

Maybe before Horlaika came forth, he had doubts but now in his heart, he was reborn as a Demon Hunter and in order to win Kurtzargert’s trust, he was forced to cultivate the mystical spell [Hazy Moon Shifting Shadow].

Kieran feigned a cold expression at Horlaika.

Horlaika needed a suitable identity for himself, as did Kieran.

“A little while ago at the slums of Lower Seventh Ring, it seems like a little misunderstanding had happened between us. Councilman Kurtzargert is willing to compensate you,” Horlaika bowed once more after briefly explaining.

“Compensation? Silent Night Secret Society? Hmph,” he said with a chuckle with an indescribable sense of mockery.

But on the other hand, the old Demon Hunter had verified Horlaika’s identity as Snake Sect.

Kieran’s eyes weren’t cold at all and there was not a bit of killer intent from him.

Although the old Demon Hunter did not spend a lot of time with the Snake Sect Demon Hunter, based on Kieran’s way of conducting business, the old Demon Hunter was quite confident of it.

Other than the special vigilance and carefulness of a Demon Hunter, conducting business in a clean way was the most straightforward impression that the old Demon Hunter had on Kieran.

In short, if Kieran was meeting a non-relevant Silent Night Secret Society member, he would have taken Horlaika down or even killed him right away.

Yet until now, Kieran didn’t make his move.

The fact that Horlaika was a Snake Sect member had slowly floated up to the surface.

Silently, the old Demon Hunter sighed.

He once again sighed about the secrecy of Snake Sect and at the same time related into more things.

If Horlaika was the spy from Snake Sect, then… would there be other spies of Snake Sect in Silent Night Secret Society?

The answer was almost certain and the old Demon Hunter was happy with the answer.

Given that Wolf Sect had fallen, the stronger Snake Sect was, the better it was to the Demon Hunters.

The only thing that he had to consider was how to make the ‘strong’ last.

While the old Demon Hunter was pondering upon the question, Horlaika had completed his official ‘mission’.

A black invitation was passed to Kieran.

“Please believe me, this benefits me and you both, after all… given your identity, you should know about that incident as well,” Horlaika said inconspicuously.

Kieran glanced over the invitation, then nodded without really commenting on the topic.

“I’ll be looking forward to our meeting again in the afternoon,” said Horlaika. He then bowed at Kieran and the old Demon Hunter before walking out of the garden.

Outside, the palace guards had been waiting for the meeting to end and they were there to guide Horlaika out of the palace.

“Monte,” said Kieran. He wasn’t loud but the moment his words faded, the vassal appeared beside Kieran like the wind.

“Your Highness,” the vassal bowed.

“Send some reliable men to escort him back,” said Kieran.

“Understood, your Highness,” the vassal nodded and then disappeared.

After making sure the vassal was gone, Kieran finally turned to the old Demon Hunter.

Act until the very end.

Do note that his audience wasn’t just those in the palace, it also included those who had their eyes on Horlaika.

Kieran believed that once Horlaika stepped out of the palace, the people from ‘War God Temple’ would surely tail him.

Although Horlaika was the Undying, Kieran didn’t want his followers to die too many times to the point that they became useless, especially in a critical timing like this.

“Do you need me to follow him?” asked the old Demon Hunter straightforwardly.

Anderson wasn’t an idiot, he knew what Horlaika would face once he stepped out of the palace.

He didn’t want something to happen to his allies either.

Kieran shook his head.

“I have something much more important to ask of you,” Kieran then passed the invitation to the old Demon Hunter.

The old Demon Hunter immediately caught Kieran’s intention.

He nodded, then strode away.

After half of the prying gazes vanished from Kieran’s perception, he frowned.

The infiltration level of Edatine palace was far more thorough than he expected, no wonder Edatine VI spent most of his time in the small council room.

Only there could the king make sure that he wasn’t under people’s watch.

“If the palace is already like this, then the slums of Lower Seventh Ring… Please don’t let me down,” Kieran muttered to himself.

Then, he turned around and headed to his chamber—the vassal had arranged all the trivial things properly and made sure they were properly carried out.

Since his current identity couldn’t escape eyes, he might as well expose himself completely under the watchers’ gaze.

Kieran believed that by doing so, he would get some unexpected gains, like what had just happened.

In fact, it was exactly like what Kieran expected.

His meeting with a Silent Night Secret Society member in the garden of the palace had become widely known following Horlaika’s absence.

When those with ulterior motives saw the news delivered to them, they were either in deep thoughts or silence, some even reacting with gnashing teeth.

Duke Valentine was the latter.

The noble, whose family was very well-known throughout the long history, was currently smashing a wine glass on the floor fiercely.

The glass, made out of metal, didn’t shatter. It didn’t even produce a heavy thud but the wine spilled over a white goat skin carpet, tainting it red.

The red was very eye-catching, to the point that Duke Valentine, with his bloated body and short limbs, stepped on it to vent his anger.

“Damn it! Damn it! How did it become like this?” bellowed Duke Valentine as his neck thickened.

On his temples and forehead, green veins popped up, making him, who maintained his looks, seem extra ferocious, especially the ruthlessness in his eyes. It’d shock people to the core.

“Calm down, Valentine.”

The one who spoke was also a middle-aged man.

With long, silver hair over his shoulder, narrow eyes, thin lips, and a slightly crooked nose, he looked like an eagle. Even with him sitting there, one could tell he had a long physique, an elegant temperament emanating from him the moment his hand was lifted.

“Reedral, how can I stay calm? The efforts we spent in locating that bastard’s weak spot… now, everything has gone to waste! I-I am not going to sit back on this!” bellowed Duke Valentine, though the ruthlessness in his eyes gradually faded away.

It seemed like as a friend and an ally, Viscount Reedral’s words were effective against Duke Valentine.

“Do you think this is a coincidence?” asked Reedral.

“Coincidence? To hell with coincidence! That bastard must have realized we were investigating Svenson, that’s why he put a stop on us, once and for all! Damn it!”

Whenever Valentine thought of the spending he used to investigate the fake prince, his heart ached.

Do note that what he spent wasn’t just money, there were many things that money couldn’t buy.

“Then, do you think that Colin is the real heir?” Reedral continued his question.

Valentine got stunned.

“You are saying?” The duke turned to his ally.

“I didn’t say anything,” Viscount Reedral smiled and shook his head, making him look like a fox with an eagle’s beak.

Valentine’s eyes shone.

“Then, should we do it?” Valentine sighed with a clenched fish.

“Of course we should. We all hoped that his Majesty would retract that foolish decree of his and retract his larger than life ambitions. That is why we kept searching for the truth, and before we get to the bottom of this, I will not say anything and so will you,” Viscount Reedral’s words held some strong meaning in between the lines.

“I understand, I’ll keep an eye out for that pawn,” Valentine nodded.

The two nobles then discussed further in mutters.

Half an hour later, the two prestiged nobles left the study room at the same time.

Reedral boarded his wagon and headed to the slums of Lower Seventh Ring; Valentine boarded his wagon to the cathedral.

At this time, the first light of the sun had appeared over the horizon, the brightness from the sky gradually expelling the darkness of the night. Those with experience could tell today would be a sunny day.

The people started to wake up after resting for a whole night.

A new day had begun, together with the work for the day.

Being able to stay in bed at such a time was considered a luxury, attracting jealousy from others.

Gino was the one that people were jealous of.

But if he could choose, he would never want to lie down on his bed.

He was more used to waking up early in the morning and grabbing his sword to train with everyone else at the field.

However…

After the scene that happened yesterday morning, Gino obviously sensed a change of attitude in everyone else.

An invisible barrier appeared in between his teammates and captain, and when he was ordered to rethink his actions in his room, the barrier started to grow and suffuse.

The attendants and deacons looked at him with a strange gaze, as if they were looking at a… prisoner.

The young man shook his head strongly right away. He’d never acknowledge his current identity.

He was still in his room, he wasn’t cuffed up, he wasn’t a prisoner!

So he told himself. Again and again, he inhaled deeply and when everything calmed down, he wore his coat, grabbed his sword and went to go to the confession room to confess his sins.

He shouldn’t feel lost because of a heretic, he wasn’t strong enough yet.

He shouldn’t forget the tenacity of God of War just because the Mist showed him tolerance.

“It’s because I am not strong enough! It’s all my fault! I have to confess my sins!”

The young man opened the door and what he saw stunned him.

Outside were two deacons, obviously from Dark Hall, guarding his door.

“Knight Gino, without permission from an armed priest or the lords from the higher-ups, you are not allowed to leave the room.”

One of the deacons straightforwardly told the young man when the door was opened.

The other deacon saw the sword in the young man’s hand.

“Please leave your sword with us.”

Looking at the vigilance and hostile gazes of the deacons, the young man handed over his sword in a daze. He didn’t even know how the door was shut on him.

He sat back on his bed blankly, some part of his strong heart seeming to have shattered.

A cloud of darkness following the shattering silently appeared in his room and started to whisper in the young man’s ears.