The Devil’s Cage

When Reedral and Valentine ended the meeting and left, their faces were as heavy and complicated as the bishop in council, Mortor.

They never thought there would be another God hidden within Edatine.

“Reedral, what should we do next?” Valentine asked out of worry.

“Stand strong and stand by the Mist. If the heir of Edatine’s throne wasn’t the heir of Snake Sect, we could still choose the Snake Sect but now? Other than the Mist, we have no other choice left,” said Reedral affirmatively.

Valentine nodded.

Right, they had no other choices left other than the Mist!

Edatine royal court was completely out of the question, it was impossible for them to reach an accord with Edatine VI, the king was as cunning as a jackal.

War God Temple? Same! They might even be more worthy of caution than the king.

Silent Night Secret Society?

Valentine would never get close, or get himself involved with those bastards who experimented on live human subjects.

One thing worth taking note was that many of his family and Reedral’s died in that plague.

Therefore, the Mist was the only option left.

The Mist didn’t only have a mild creed, they were quite powerful too.

They were really the first choice to form an alliance with.

Valentine sighed, “Then should we spread out our investment?”

“Spread out our investment? No! We need to go all in with this!” Reedral smiled.

“WHAT?!” Valentine was stunned, but as the duke started to think about the situation, he believed Reedral wouldn’t do things without solid reasons.

There must be a reason for him to go all in with this.

Although he had difficulties figuring it out, if Reedral deemed the Mist worthy of all his effort, then so be it.

“You call the shots,” said Valentine.

Reedral nodded slightly, sitting in his wagon, his eyes seeming to daze off. Once again, he thought of the girl of his memories, the girl that he walked past way back then.

‘How is she now?’ Reedral couldn’t help but wonder.

The silent influence was like a shifting shadow. The seeds were planted and time was the best nutrient.

It would one day sprout and then bloom into a fruitful plant.

…

“Boss, the last path has been connected. Be assured about the upcoming gains,” said Bloody Mary in a flattering way to Kieran.

It spent a great amount of effort not just to unite all the factions just so they could search for the clues that Broker left behind, it was also to ensure that the compensation from the southern councilmen of Silent Night Secret Society was safely delivered to Kieran. It was also one of the top priorities.

It might even be just as important, from a certain aspect, as searching for the clues left behind by Broker.

Bloody Mary was absolutely clear since it was very familiar with its boss’ character.

“Mm. There’s still one more thing,” Kieran nodded and said.

“You are saying… the Demon Hunters?” Bloody Mary asked after some thoughts.

“Yes, the Demon Hunters,” Kieran exclaimed and then walked outside the tent.

Bloody Mary didn’t follow. It knew that for its own good, it would be best for itself to stay out of the matters revolving the Demon Hunters.

The people who dealt with evil beings practically all their lives were utterly scary for Bloody Mary, not only strength-wise but also instinct-wise.

Even though Bloody Mary was very good at disguising itself, it was still worried about exposing itself in front of the Demon Hunters, and should it accidentally expose its flaws at such a delicate time…

It wouldn’t just be a simple all effort falling short, it would be going against the whole dungeon world!

With the single thought of that terrifying outcome, Bloody Mary couldn’t help but inhale deeply to calm its mind.

It had to return to the palace now. The king, Edatine VI, had to show up and remind people that he exists.

Otherwise, as time went on and the king was out of the picture, it would attract unwanted attention, even though Edatine VI barely came out to the public eye.

However, just before Bloody Mary left, it picked up a set familiar footsteps.

It was the lord of Sicar, Erin Sicar.

“What’s wrong Erin?”

Out of their ‘relationship’, Bloody Mary thought it should stay for a little while to check up on her.

Erin Sicar entered the tent.

Bloody Mary sharply realized that Erin Sicar had changed into a beautiful new set of clothes and even put on perfume, rose coupled with musk.

The clothes couldn’t prove anything but the perfume? It revealed her intentions bare.

In Edatine, musks had a special meaning.

Thinking about the different treatment that it received from this new lord, Bloody Mary felt numb on its scalp.

It was a Demon, without gender! Without freedom!

Even though its memories had a name called Mary and the life of an assassin, it was still a Demon!

Of course, during necessary moments, it could be considered a she, but that didn’t mean it could accept the affection of a lord.

Rejection! It must be done euphemistically so that it wouldn’t hurt her dignity after rejection.

Bloody Mary swiftly spun its gears in its mind, its mouth uttering some flattering words.

“Erin, you look nice in your new dress. It suits you.”

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t actually flattering, she was really beautiful, whether it was the dress or herself.

Never doubt the genes of the nobles of Edatine. Even though their first generations were nothing stellar, after going through hundreds of years of tempering and grinding, their descendents would be transformed into handsome and beautiful people.

After all, their ancestors would never marry an ugly woman.

Of course, it did not include those who had a problem in the sense of beauty.

“Thank you.”

Erin Sicar blushed as she expressed her gratitude at the compliment, shivering as she passed the letter in her hands to Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary accepted the letter in a daze, Erin Sicar then flushing and running out of the tent.

An indoor person confessing face to face?

Naive! It was already bold of her to appear in front of Bloody Mary.

Looking down at the pink envelope, Bloody Mary couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

“It’s still okay, I guess. I thought I had to escape with illusions.”

Bloody Mary sized up the pink letter in its hands. It didn’t open it, putting it under its arm and then disappearing.

As for opening the letter? Bloody Mary didn’t even think of it!

It would never read it, not in this life!

…

“What’s wrong, Colin?” When Anderson looked at Kieran, who suddenly went absent-minded, he couldn’t help but show some concern.

“Nothing.”

Kieran was actually keeping an eye on his follower, yet he disappointedly shook his head after what happened. He swiftly recollected his thoughts and attention and focused on the matters at hand.

“Can you tell me about the person that has you so concerned?” Kieran asked.

Anderson and Holuff’s stories had a person that both Demon Hunters were very concerned about.

According to Kieran’s guess, that person might very well be Broker’s other agent or might even be Broker in disguise.

Before this, when Kieran asked, neither one of them were willing to speak about that person.

It was obvious that they had qualms about that person.

Demon Hunters were never afraid to challenge power and authority. They viewed money as dirt but even such Demon Hunters had weaknesses of their own.

Stubbornness!

Every single Demon Hunters was stubborn like an ox!

Especially when they were facing people that they were related to, the stubbornness would rise to new heights.

Kinship, friendship, love; all would become fuel for their bonds, even though betrayal was hiding among them.

They would deal with the problems themselves, not trouble others with their own matters, albeit doing so would only make things worse.

Even if they had to risk their lives, it was nothing to a Demon Hunter, but now it was different!

It wasn’t just because the real culprit had started to show itself now, the culprit’s existence might very well threaten the entire Edatine kingdom!

It was closely related to the duty of the Demon Hunters.

So, even they hesitated when choosing between duty and stubbornness.

Kieran believed that the old Demon Hunter, Anderson, would make the right choice.

The person asking Anderson the question was also a Demon Hunter and the person, under these complicated circumstances and timing, was chasing the culprit behind the scenes tirelessly.

“I told you before, he was just a normal man. When we saved him from the pagan’s mouth, I am utterly sure that he was a normal man, but he was really talented and possessed a unique charm,” Anderson emphasized.

Kieran nodded quietly.

These particular traits were evidence that he used to determine whether or not this ‘person’ was Broker.

“I kind of forgot his look, but I remember his voice. Everytime he spoke, it sounded calm and steady, as if he had everything under control. Maybe because of that, he easily won fondness from everyone. His name… I think is… Gasp!”

Right before the name could come out of Anderson’s mouth, pain spread in his head and forced him to stop.

“What’s wrong Anderson?” Kieran asked, holding him by the shoulder.

“I can’t remember, my memories are too damaged for me to remember anymore. Sorry for being no help at all. I’m now starting to suspect that my current state is caused by him. That bastard!” Anderson said in an apologetic tone.

“No, it will suffice,” said Kieran.

It wasn’t a courtesy talk, it was from the bottom of his heart.

The brain is a complicated organ, the stronger he was, the more Kieran confirmed it.

Even with his current rank V Spirit, he still couldn’t see the whole picture of his own brain.

Targeting someone’s particular memories and erasing it was not something any John Doe could do, but Broker could!

Broker’s power level should be on par with Kieran, but the cunning merchant had more tools at his disposal and Kieran admitted that, which was also his biggest qualm.

The other thing was… the big city!

Broker’s Unique Title forced Kieran to calculate and include even the big city in his plan, albeit doing so would cost him a great amount.

However, if his previous deduction was correct, Broker would do it.

Regardless of which, among all the players that Kieran knew, only Broker could do it.

‘Now I got your tail!’ thought Kieran and he continued to ask.

“Anderson, do you have any news on Holuff?”

“Holuff has amassed men and is currently coming to Edatine Castle. He should be here soon.”

The old Demon Hunter showed a smile when the old friend he hadn’t seen for a while was mentioned, and even though his head still hurt, it did not diminish the smile at all.

He looked forward to reuniting with his old friend and anticipated fighting side by side with his old brother in arms.

He believed in the future, in Edatine, and there would be no lack of such experience.

“If Miers and Tandeker can recover, that would be great.”

The old Demon Hunter couldn’t help but sigh at his two badly damaged friends.

“How are they?” Kieran asked.

“Tandeker still has the mind of a child and Miers, she’s even worse. The worst thing is, I couldn’t find anyone to cure them,” Anderson furrowed his brows.

“Maybe I can help. Snake Sect might not be good at healing but the palace has many good doctors. The royal doctors will come here later and check up on them,” Kieran then stood up.

With the basics of his goal achieved, there was no reason to stay anymore.

As for the rest, his follower would be there to settle it for him.

But to Kieran’s surprise, right before he left the tent, the old Demon Hunter held him back.

“Colin, do you want to learn more things? I don’t mean anything else, neither do I look down on Snake Sect’s technique but I think there is also some uniqueness to Wolf Sect’s technique. If you want to learn, I will teach you with all my heart,” said the old Demon Hunter as his eyes showed anticipation.

He really hoped that someone could inherit the Wolf Sect techniques.

Although he had made up his mind to rebuild Wolf Sect, it would take him at least 3 to 5 years to train a new batch of Wolf Sect members, and it was under a very wishful situation where everything progressed smoothly.

If it was not too ideal, it would be at least a decade.

As for completing the apprenticeship earlier?

Impossible!

The teacher and student relationship of the Demon Hunters transcended any kind of blood relationship. The teacher would never allow his own student to die without a reason.

More importantly, Anderson seemed to sense the calm before a raging storm.

A huge war might very well break out soon and casualties were inevitable in the conflict.

And him? He wasn’t sure if he could survive this upcoming conflict.

Then, saving a thread of hope for Wolf Sect to rise would be necessary.

Who else was more suitable than Colin?

As the heir to the throne and Snake Sect, in Anderson’s eyes, he was also the most suitable heir of Wolf Sect.

One’s strength would directly reflect how powerful a faction is.

This was a safety insurance

As for what would happen when the heir of Snake Sect, Wolf Sect, and Edatine’s throne was a single person?

Anderson never thought of that. From what he could see, since Colin was already heir to Snake Sect and Edatine’s throne, adding Wolf Sect to his resume wouldn’t be too difficult.

Kieran thought for a while under Anderson’s gaze.

It was not that he didn’t want to learn Wolf Sect’s technique, he was thinking about the time.

In the end, he nodded.

“My pleasure, but I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time,” said Kieran.

“Don’t worry, with your talents, we will be done in no time,” Anderson smiled.

…

The river current was fast and cold.

There were many rivers in the big city and every single one of them had their own branches, some even interconnecting with others. With the non-stop expansion, no one was able to tell which river came from where or what the name was.

But Broker was an exception, he knew everything about the big city.

Climbing out of the river, he twisted his clothes dry and poured water out of his boots. He quickly glanced over the surrounding buildings and knew he was near Morington Path.

He walked forward with utmost familiarity and took a black robe out.

When he walked into the little path, several players jumped out from the shadow and stopped him.

“This is private property, outsiders aren’t welcome here,” said one of the players.

Broker didn’t say anything, raising his right hand and turning it around.

A strange looking, crying face appeared in the eyes of the players.

“Victorious, Resistance!”

When the crying face was shown, the players spoke together loudly and opened up the path for him to move forward.