The Devil’s Cage

A hound that was twice the size of a calf, looking like a cartoon tiger with a disproportionately large head and small body, appeared all of a sudden behind the bandit leader.

Without showing any mercy, the hound chomped off the leader’s head and dashed into the other bandits like a gale. It went on a rampage in the group, toppling men from horses and stomping over them after they fell.

The well-trained bandits wanted to counter, but the buff and somewhat swelled hound was unusually nimble and agile.

No! It wasn’t just nimble and agile anymore, but its movements were also remarkable!

A moment ago, the hound was in front of them, yet it had now vanished from sight. A moment later, it appeared behind the bandits and delivered a lethal chomp to the back of their necks.

A few chomps later, when the surviving bandits saw the increase in headless bodies, chills went down their spines and all of them had intense goosebumps.

Right at that moment, Forv gave the order to retaliate.

Forv had no idea where the hound came from, but he knew this would be their chance!

“Kill!”

A loud shout later, Forv charged towards the bandits. He wielded his sword along the horse’s neck, grazed the seams of the enemy’s armor, and successfully stabbed the bandit in the stomach.

Splat!

The bandit fell with his hands over his stomach, and before he could react, a second strike from Forv thrusted his sword into the seam of the armor around his neck.

The dead bandit fell off his horse, allowing Forv to snatch it quickly. He grabbed the spear hanging at the saddle, leaned forward, and charged toward the other bandits.

The other young men behind Forv followed behind him with loud and energetic shouts. The believers who were once hunters drew their bow strings back and loaded them with arrows.

In an instant, the tide had turned and favoured the other side.

Carl, who was at the peak of Great Sparrow Valley, heaved a sigh of relief.

He had prepared himself to go down and help the believers. He wouldn’t even have minded if he exposed himself because if his captain or teammates were still alive, they would do the same.

They were the patrol team, they were assembled to protect everyone in Sicar Land.

It was his duty and honor to protect, even in death; that would never change.

Thankfully, right before he rode down, the situation on the battlefield took an unexpected turn.

The large hound that came out of nowhere turned the tide’s arrow. Carl sensed how remarkable the hound was.

It wasn’t just because of the hound’s ability, which was similar to undercover. Its speed and strength far surpassed other common canines’, and even a tiger would feel lackluster in front of that hound.

Carl pictured another outcome in his mind. If the hound changed its approach and went toe to toe with the bandits, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop its fury.

The gap of strength was far too great, a total suppression.

“Is it similar to Phernesa?”

“No, I think it’s more thorough than Phernesa. It’s a natural transcendent being!” Carl’s soul fire flickered vigorously.

There were a lot of transcendent beings mentioned in legends and transcripts, but there were only a few in reality. Before the Black Cataclysm, there were still some myths that floated around, but after the disaster, everything died, even the rumours.

Carl was very curious about the transcendent being, but again, once he remembered his current state, his curiosity died off.

After all, technically speaking, he himself was a transcendent being, a skeleton that had transcended beyond life.

Should he be caught, he would either end up staked and burnt to cinders or sent to Edatine Castle for some cruel experiments.

Carl was once in the noble ranks, he heard many things about the research facility in Edatine Castle, and he hoped that he would not end up on their dissecting table.

And of course, he wouldn’t want to die a second time, so he turned around and readies himself to head back to the graveyard.

He didn’t want to talk to the people down there, even though they were the believers of the God of Mist. However, after he turned around, he felt something behind him. He immediately turned back and saw nothing in sight. However, the judgmental gaze he sensed was real.

The gaze felt like it was from an ally and also an enemy.

‘It even possess a high level of intellect?’ Carl thought quietly. He raised his hands to show that he was harmless and also told Phernesa to stand down.

Soon, the judgmental gaze faded.

‘An excellent hunter,’ Carl commented before he disappeared from the peak.

At the valley foot, the battle was nearing its end.

After the hound bit off the last bandit’s neck, everyone stopped. They looked with confusion and doubt at the hound, which was as big as a grown man when it sat down. In the end, as the representative of the group, Forv came down from the horse.

“Are you here on behalf of our lord?” Forv asked respectfully.

Other than their lord and savior, Forv couldn’t think of any other being that could tame such a ferocious hunting hound.

That’s right, it was actually a hunting hound. As someone from the mountains, Forv was certain that it was a hunting hound.

Even though it was bigger, stronger, and faster than the common and even had the ability to hide itself, it still highly resembled a common hunting hound.

The hound sat there and tilted its head sideways, as though it was figuring out what Forv just said. It then nodded.

The believers discarded their last bit of worry when they saw the nod. Everyone cheered happily.

“Oh, our supreme lord!”

Excited cheers sounded continuously.

They were still worried about returning to Sicar City before this; however, after the battle, after the appearance of the hound, the believers were boosted with confidence.

What else was more comforting to the believers than their god looking after them?

That would be protection, like what the hound did!

“My lord, please wait for a while. We will clean the battlefield quickly and then prepare to return to Sicar.”

Forv tried to sound as calm as possible, but the trembling proved how excited he was.

Forv was also one of the younger ones, a devoted believer of the God of Mist. How could he not be excited?

If he wasn’t the leader of the group, he would have shrieked out of joy.

The other three groups of believers were also ambushed by attackers, and the other hounds also saved them from danger.

Kieran, who was having breakfast, watched everything through the power of [Lord of Mist] quietly.

The Hounds were a safety measure that Kieran sent out just in case—he wouldn’t want anything to happen to the group of believers who could potentially become his strength.

Judging from the scene, the bastards who had their eyes on his believers were much faster and vigorous than he thought.

Kieran?

He was also quick and somewhat more straightforward than his enemies.

After he finished the last cup of milk, Kieran looked at the Elite Hound who was lying down beside his feet.

[Hound Ring] was able to summon 5 Hounds that were stronger than their common counterparts and 1 Elite Hound.

Kieran sent out four of them to watch over the four groups of believers; one more was sent to follow Shegal, the young man who stood out from the bunch of believers, as Kieran thought he should pay more attention to him.

The strong Elite Hound was always beside Kieran.

“Got the smell?” asked Kieran.

Perhaps the others would have a hard time tracking down the enemies behind the scenes who ambushed his believers, but it was a piece of cake for Kieran.

When the Hounds came in contact with the attackers, their smells were exposed to the Hound’s nose, and as the boss of the Hounds, Elite Hound was able to receive the smell from the others.

Elite Hound nodded obediently.

Kieran curled his lips into a smile and said softly, “Find them… and rip them to pieces.”

He ate everything but ‘loss’.

Therefore, he deemed it necessary to teach the enemy a lesson.

Of course, for the sake of safety, other than summoning the Hounds to his aid, he also had the two [Silent Guards] from [Sight of Light]. The two guards could last for 12 hours and were able to be on guard in the dark. Although they only possessed a Strong attack, their elusive presence and the ability to ignore most physical damage made them a great helper to Elite Hound.

Wuuu!

Elite Hound softly whimpered before it brought the two Silent Guards along and vanished on the spot.

Kieran turned his attention to the [Lord of Mist].

It was still a morbid crystal that was the size of a palm, but its attributes changed a little.

[Name: Lord of Mist]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: I]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I]

[Attribute: 1. Mist Control; 2. Poison Mist Assault]

[Effect: 1. Land of Sicar; 2. Reply]

[Prerequisite: Spirit I]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: A product of accident during the Black Cataclysm]

…

[Mist Control: Summon a 150 meter radius mist and shroud everything in sight, 2/day]

[Poison Mist Assault: Induce Poison to the targets caught by the mist. Targets will have to go through 3 B rank Constitution authentications. Targets who fail all three times will be inflicted with lethal poison damage; targets who fail twice will be inflicted with Powerful poison damage; targets who failed once will be inflicted with Strong poison attack; targets who pass all three will be immune but still be trapped in the mist.]

…

[Land of Sicar: Within the Land of Sicar, the title of Mist has been recognized. You, who possess the Lord of Mist, can move natural mist at will and induce it with poison, but it will consume your stamina accordingly.]

[Reply: You, who are treated as the God of Mist, can use the Lord of Mist to reply to the simple prayers of your believers. It will consume your stamina accordingly.]

……

[Lord of Mist] was powered up once again on top of its original stats.

[Mist Control] and [Poison Mist Assault] was nothing stellar in Kieran’s eyes, but its effect, [Land of Sicar], was different. With the item in hand, Kieran was like a bird in the sky, looking down at all of Sicar. The other places were blurry, but as long as there was mist, Kieran could see.

On top of that, he could even move the mist at will.

With a single thought, a cloud of mist blocking the believers was moved into the pinewood forest beside the path.

The mist moved so fast, as if it had legs.

The believers who were traveling were slightly stunned before they cheered the name ‘God of Mist’ in a more frantic manner.

Kieran wasn’t just looking after this particular group of believers, but also taking care of the other three.

Of course, he didn’t do it just to feel great. He was also experimenting with something.

‘Simply moving the mist around consumes less stamina than I thought. It’s like how I wield my sword at normal times, but if I keep this up, the consumption will multiply and… The poison mist!’

As the thought came afloat, Kieran looked into the city of Sicar.

Elite Hound, with the two Silent Guards, entered a rather nice-looking civilian residence.

Though the building only looked like a civilian residence, inside the building was an offering altar and some fanatic zealots.

Kieran had no idea which pagan believers they were, but he was sure they weren’t from God of War or Lady Calamity.

Those two would never ask for bloody worship or offerings.

When Kieran saw the head impaled on the altar, he raised his alertness to the surroundings.

There was no danger inside the building. Having Elite Hound and two Silent Guards would be enough, but outside on the streets, many more unfriendly people were approaching.

They might be in different attires, but the urge on their faces and the overflowing killer intent told Kieran what he should do with them.

The mist quietly shrouded them.

A while later, when the mist scattered, they had fallen to the ground as their bodies rotted badly.

“Poison mist consumes quite a lot of stamina, probably 10 times that of simply moving the mist around, but it’s still acceptable. What a convenient ability,” Kieran commented as such.

He was ready to release his bird’s-eye view over the city when he suddenly noticed a wicked presence over the city that shook vigorously.

It was a mix of anger and killer intent!

It reacted to the altar that the Elite Hound raided, and the presence from the wickedness felt exactly the same as with the altar!

A sense of coldness flashed over Kieran’s squinted eyes. He curled his lips into an icy grin.

It was much easier than he thought, as the mastermind behind the scenes came out on his own.

Everything had to continue as planned.

Repay the favour of a single meal, take revenge for a single gaze.

Moreover, the Mist required a boost in its name and a proper ‘grand entrance’.

The appearance of this mastermind would make a good entrance.

…

Fuuu!

In the morning, the people who were forced to stay back at Sicar because of the emergency lockdown felt a sudden strong wind.

No, it wasn’t the wind, but the mist!

Thick mist came from the wilderness. The soldiers on top of the city walls clearly saw it surround the city walls and crash onto the walls like endless waves.

A few breaths later, the walls of Sicar were shrouded in blurriness.

The soldiers on the walls were petrified; they dare not move a muscle.

Mist that could surround a city?

A monstrosity!

The voice in their heads told the soldiers not to move recklessly.

The soldiers who heard of the God of Mist before hesitated. They carefully and subtly prayed in their hearts.

This was the soldiers’ reaction though. As for Shegal and the other believers who were camped at the west gate, they danced and cheered excitedly in the mist.

They wished they could pray out loud, but their sane minds told them not to expose their identities just yet.

They held their urge back and prayed loudly in their hearts instead.

Purer Power of Faith appeared in the young people’s hearts and transferred to [Lord of Mist]. Gluttony again licked his lips in anticipation, but without his big brother’s order, he dare not move.

He looked at his big brother and noticed that he was in a good mood.

He seemed like he found something… interesting?

Gluttony watched in confusion as his big brother quietly left Anan Hotel and went outside the city walls.

He had no idea what Kieran was doing. Similarly, he was also confused about the words coming from the food that hid in the city; they were heard through the mist.

“Mist, stop! What are you doing?”

“Mist, don’t forget who you are!”

“Mist, are you trying to ruin the alliance?”

There were three voices in total.

The first two were familiar to Kieran; one belonged to the head who controlled lines and the other was the skeletal deer. The last one was a new voice.

There was another pagan god who did not speak because it was anxiously heading towards the altar that Elite Hound raided.

Kieran controlled the mist and stopped them from moving forward.

He sculpted the mist into a human figure: a giant with blurry facial features.

The walls of the city were only at the giant’s knee. A single punch from the giant could destroy the whole street.

However, it simply stood there silently like a descending god and gazed over the places where the pagans were.

The three pagans who spoke were forced to a delay; even the one running stopped.

It looked up at the mist giant blankly.

In fact, not just the four pagans reacted that way. All the Sicarians who saw the scene were flabbergasted. Seizing the window, Kieran quietly entered the mist giant’s body.

The next moment, killer intent that almost materialized shrouded the land.

The divine might of the God of Mist was as harsh as purgatory on earth.