The Devil’s Cage

Kieran squatted in front of the pile of ash that belonged to the illusory figure.

After a careful check to make sure there wasn’t any problem left, he stood up.

Pro level [Mystical Knowledge] limited Kieran’s reach towards more profound knowledge about souls but after the short encounter with that figure, it allowed him to understand he could never be too safe when facing off against a soul controller, especially in this dungeon world which has curses that could be cast by souls.

Kieran turned around but he didn’t walk over to Perry Kaner or the Elder. Instead, he swept the battlefield clean.

Aside from the four low-tier Magic items, Kieran was concerned about one mechanical item and two skills books.

[Name: Rapid Snake Crossbow]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rarity: Great]

[Attribute: 1. Continuous Shot, 2. Scatter Shot]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a skillful crossbow, able to load a maximum of 5 arrows once. The favorite of assassins!]

...

[Continuous Shot: The crossbow was made with extensive spring mechanics, able to fire continuously until arrows are depleted without reloading.]

[Scatter Shot: Able to fire all the arrows in one shot.]

...

[Rapid Snake Crossbow] had a common crossbow size but with a knuckle-sized arrow loader.

It wasn’t a Magic rank item but a purely mechanical made crossbow yet its powers were almost on par with a high-tier Magic weapon.

He opened up the arrow loader and saw the glinting arrowheads giving out a faint sweet scent before he nodded in satisfaction.

It wasn’t against any rules place poison on crossbow arrows.

In Kieran’s point of view, anyone against him was his enemy and it was really nothing regarding trying to kill his enemies by all means necessary.

The other two skill books were glowing in green.

One of them was named [Viper Sword] and the other, [Viper Dart]. The skill books were just as their names implied.

After putting everything into the [Crimson Ghost Stomach], Kieran finally turned to Perry Kaner.

Though, from Perry Kaner and the Elder’s eyes, Kieran swept and inspected the battlefield seriously.

The elderly however slightly frowned, expressing his dislike of Kieran’s actions.

Even though Kieran saved him and killed the traitors, the traitors were once Viper Sect members, each of them had secrets that belonged to the Viper Sect.

Perry Kaner stayed quiet though, the Elder also kept quiet out of respect for his leader.

”How is it?”

Perry Kaner looked at Kieran when he came over. She didn’t even care about what Kieran had gotten out of the traitors, all she cared about was what he discovered.

The Prairies people’s secret technique being present on the Viper Sect traitors was a thing that caught her attention. The elimination of the Viper Sect back in the days was exactly the deed of Folly being affiliated with the outsiders.

With such an example imprinted in her mind, Perry Kaner wished for the Viper Sect to not repeat the same history under her leadership.

”Nothing.” Kieran shook his head.

It wasn’t being evasive but the true fact. He really didn’t find anything worth noticing.

Kieran didn’t think he cut off the lead after destroying that illusory figure.

The subordinates or even closer men were killed but the mastermind behind decided to show up in an illusory image just to scare him?

What a joke.

Unless the person behind this was a complete idiot, otherwise the reason for the illusory image to appear must have some other meaning.

Before completely grasping the goals of his enemy, Kieran wasn’t himself if he didn’t strike first to display his strength since he knew it was one of the stronger ones from the Prairies invaders.

”Is that so?” Perry Kaner looked at Kieran with doubt.

Both of their cooperation started off one-sided, one side being forced to comply.

When cooperation was built on such a base, the complete trust of opposite sides was impossible.

Kieran didn’t bat an eye at her anymore.

”Don’t forget our contract and your promise. I can spare you another day or two after this little incident so you can quickly clean up your own mess. Remember to bring what you promised back to Lightning Fortress. Though, I don’t mind further helping you to solve problems given there are enough rewards.”

Kieran then left the temporary base after finishing.

The reason he was there wasn’t to save Perry Kaner but to reap some extra rewards.

Now that his goal was met and he gained more than he bargained for, there wasn’t any reason for him to stay.

Although there were arrangements made in Lightning Fortress, Kieran couldn’t afford to be absent for a long time.

Kieran sprinted all the way back to Lighting Fortress and when he saw Lighting Fortress within his sight, he slowed down his steps.

But he frowned quickly. Although he slowed down, it didn’t mean he stopped and judging from the distance between him and Lightning Fortress, he should have reached the campsite already but instead, he was walking on the spot?!

Kieran glanced over the campsite torches and shifted to the darkness around him.

He then carefully took a step forward.

There was an obvious footprint made by his feet and he himself had indeed moved forward but the distance did not shorten.

Hex Labyrinth?

Kieran was stunned but soon enough he noticed something different.

The book ”Hex Labyrinth” did mention that the maze relied on sight to confuse the targets and cause a ”loss of direction” effect but what he experienced was not the case.

His sight was normal and so was his hearing, he could clearly listen to the clunking noise of the soldier’s armor in the campsite.

”It isn’t sensory confusion! Then… Illusion? Or Illusory realm?” Kieran guessed.

He knew he did kill that illusory figure without hesitation but it seemed like he had fallen for its tricks without knowing.

”Soul secret techniques can be cast without a trace or sound… scary!”

Kieran couldn’t hold back his exclamation in his heart. He sized up his surroundings after seeing there were no notifications on his vision.

Despite him being extra careful, the difference in knowledge caused him to make mistakes. Still, he wasn’t anxious at all because he knew the person who trapped him on the spot wouldn’t just leave him as he was.

Even though Kieran had a limited amount of knowledge, Pro level [Mystical Knowledge] allowed him to know the person who cast this on him without any sound or trace must have paid quite the price for it to succeed.

If the person did nothing and just trapped him there, it would be a wasteful decision.

Just as Kieran was grinding his gears, changes occurred to Lightning Fortress.

A storm of arrows rained down at the patrolling soldiers, causing them to fall down on the ground without further signs of life.

With his absence, Lightning Fortress was broken through by the Prairies riders easily.

The Prairies riders gushed through the gate and left behind a land of destruction.

Then, black vultures flew down from Herr Valley and fed on the corpses.

Soon, the corpses became mushy as the vultures feed on most of the flesh.

The remaining bits of flesh withered quickly in the sands of time, giving birth to white maggots over the remainings of the soldiers.

The vile stench filled the air as the temperature began to surge and was blown toward Kieran.

The awful vomiting stench made Kieran wanted to cover his nose but as he moved his hand, he felt that he hand was held back.

It was a skeleton palm that withered through time. It was small and thin, looked nothing like an adult.

Kieran’s movement froze for a second as a thought suddenly came to his mind.

”Why didn’t you save me?”

The rough, dry voice sounded with hate and grudge but Kieran could tell it was Mary.

Kieran slowly turned around to the eerie voice.