The Devil’s Cage

Wu, Wug Wug!

As the cloth was removed, the growling of the wild animal became much louder and it also allowed Kieran to have a clear view of what kind of animal the cage held.

It had grayish-white fur, ice cold eyes together with upright ears and a relatively small size. Despite it still being young, its teeth that it bare was white and sharp.

The most intriguing point for Kieran was when the beast that looked like a hybrid of a hound and a wolf saw the light again, it spat out a breath of ice at Keiran.

It was feeble and not even Weak ranked attack. After the beast spat out the icy cold breath, it somehow looked dispirited but it didn’t change the fact it was one of a kind.

“A natural mystical beast? Or a product of alchemy?” Kieran asked.

“Its father was a purebred Northern Frost Wolf while its mother was an excellent hunting hound. My men spent quite the effort to get him here. It has the bloodline of a Frost Wolf, which granted it abilities to control ice and was favored by shadows since birth. As long as it is well raised and fed, when it matures in the future, it will become an exceptional partner in battle,” Anxico said.

“Nice, but still not enough as leverage.” Kieran shook his head with a smile.

“Of course, this is just a greeting gift from me. It has nothing to do with our real deal and whether you agree to our cooperation or not, this beast here belongs to you. Otherwise, if Priest Lilith gets angry, our little base here that we built with so much effort will have to be destroyed,” Anxico said in a partially joking tone.

Kieran did not believe Anxico had no other protection other than Love Temple; similar to how he did not believe Anxico would present him with a rare beast like this willingly during their first real meeting.

The reason Anxico presented the beast to Kieran was to invest in him from the early stage.

When it was time for them to work together, Anxico would surely take back a hundred times of what he had invested in Kieran.

Kieran was clear on this but he still accepted the hybrid Frost Wolf pup.

Firstly, the young pup was really decent, it was much stronger than other animals and he might be able to turn it into a second companion.

Secondly, Kieran wasn’t worried about the tricks Anxico might play, he had the confidence to deal with it. Despite Anxico displaying some outstanding feats, when it came down to a real brawl, Kieran had the confidence to take him out with a single blow.

“Thank you for this meeting gift then.”

Kieran then opened the cage.

After the cage was opened, the dispirited pup became as fast as a nimble cat as it leaped out of the cage but before it could move further, it was picked up by Kieran by the neck.

The Frost Wolf pup was struggling when it was picked up but it was futile before Kieran.

Awuu!

The Frost Wolf pup growled, trying to be fierce; as a beast of the north, even a pup has its pride.

Soon enough when it met Kieran’s gaze, the Frost Wolf pup that possessed outstanding wisdom and instinct which far surpassed other beasts turned quiet and tamed, allowing Kieran to hold it.

Even a king in the mortal realm had to maintain his respect when he facing a God.

Even a king would shiver when he heard the wails and growls of a God.

Let alone a single pup.

Zacky who was trying to remind Kieran to be careful shut his mouth when he saw the scene, Anxico laughed.

“As expected of Sir Ryan, only a person like you can easily tame this little Frost Wolf. So, should we proceed with the discussion of our collaboration?”

After a nod from Kieran, Anxico continued, “You’ve slain a God and became a Godslayer in Naveya City but… did you ever have interest in becoming a New God yourself?”

Anxico who was actually blind slowed down as he spoke.

After his words, he turned to Kieran and gave an appropriate smile.

Kieran, on the other hand, maintained his silence.

Inside this current dungeon world, some topics could be discussed frankly without scruples while some were taboo to even mention.

Anxico was just another stranger that Kieran had just met, despite the decent meeting gift, it was not worth it for Kieran to voice out his true intentions but his silence somehow stated his stand in the topic.

“Yes, yes, you should remain silent, there’s nothing wrong about that but, these chances are hard to come by. The highest among the Gods are facing some problems, this is a reliable insider tip that my informant gave me. Don’t you want to be closer to Lady Thorn?” Anxico continued with a smile.

“Details?” Kieran asked with a straight face.

He couldn’t determine whether Anxico was telling the truth.

If it was indeed the truth, Kieran had to reevaluate the forces behind Anxico since he was able to plant a mole in the strongest of the temples, Lightning Temple.

It was a common tactic throughout all sorts of organizations to plant moles in other factions but it was different when it involved the temples.

Temples had their own God and the Gods would sift through their believers one by one.

A simple example was dead Reppu. The reason why he could infiltrate Thorn Temple so smoothly was because he had the necklace made by Nikorei, the God of Earth.

In simpler words, if what Anxico said was the truth, there must be someone that possessed alchemy capabilities on par with Nikorei herself and they really exist behind Anxico.

Kieran’s face hadn’t changed but the threat level in his heart skyrocketed.

“We can only share the details after we proceed with the cooperation, please forgive us. I’m taking a huge risk for revealing this much to you,” Anxico said in an apologetic tone.

“I need to think about it.”

Kieran said after pretending to be in deep thought.

“Of course. This is not just some random matter.”

Anxico wasn’t upset but he expressed his agreement too.

Both of them didn’t chit chat futher after that but left together.

…

Kieran who was carrying the Frost Wolf pup in one hand returned to the shop, House of Zacky.

That anxious Love Temple priest came up swiftly to welcome him back.

“This is great! You’ve found a pet that suits you, Ryan! Now we can participate Festival of Partners at Hunter Temple together!” Lilith said with excitement.

Only after that did she turned her attention to the Frost Wolf pup in Kieran’s hand.

“This is… a Frost Wolf?” Lilith said with uncertainty.

“A hybrid Frost Wolf pup,” Kieran said without hiding the fact.

“A hybrid? It looks so tamed! Can I have a look?” Lilith asked.

Kieran handed the pup to Lilith.

He was extra lenient to Lilith since she was harmless and even brought him a companion.

Both of them boarded the wagon from Love Temple side by side before heading towards Hunter Temple.

Lilith was chatting with Kieran in the carriage while fondling the Frost Wolf pup.

The topic was about the seller of the pup.

“The seller is really someone! How did he find a Frost Wolf pup?” Lilith exclaimed.

“I know right, I am surprised myself.” Kieran nodded along with the answer while his heart laughed coldly at the leader of Follower.

“The seller is not only someone with vast connections but bold enough and cunning also.”

Kieran thought in his heart.

He knew that the choices Anxico provided him were actually illusions of free will, he didn’t really have an option.

As long as he wanted to become a New God, he would have to go with Anxico as his collaborator and become the pawn or cannon fodder for opposing Lightning Temple.

“If I was a native here, of course I won’t give up the chance, but I am a player! So, I guess Anxico has wrongly calculated my decision. Anyhow, let me see what are you really up to.”

“The followers of Hero Algor’s descendants and Lightning Temple? If there is only grudge between them… it seems too fake!”

Kieran’s eyes were glimmering as new plans were forming in his mind.