The Devil’s Cage

The assassin struck his target in a clean blow, shrinking his body and dodging the attacks from the two servants of the fat middle-aged man like a nimble cat.

The blades grazed the assassin by inches yet the assassin did not panic or get nervous, calmly tossing the dagger out of his hand and at the same time pulling the trigger on the hidden contraption.

Sou!

Puak!

The short yet sharp arrow that was fired from his small crossbow on his left arm perforated a servant’s neck and the dagger plunged into the other servant’s neck.

The two buff servants who wielded their swords to attack fell to the ground with their hands over their neck.

The assassin still wasn’t nervous, standing straight, then grabbing his dagger and pulling it out.

Pak!

The noise of blood spewing sounded again.

The assassin swung the blood off his dagger then put his left thumb up at the soldiers charging at him and slowly moved it over.

Then…

Bang!

Thick smoke filled the surroundings.

The charging soldiers and the people in line to enter the city were enveloped by smoke.

“Quiet! Maintain order!”

The leader of the soldiers shouted loudly, but it was useless.

Blood and bodies shocked the civilians.

Panicked screams and nervous staggering plunged the area in front of the city gate of Edatine into chaos.

Borl stood there without moving. Such a scene was not often seen but he wasn’t a stranger to it.

Blood and bodies were an extremely familiar scene for players.

Other than a newbie, every veteran player knew what they should do when encountering a chaotic scene like this: stay in cover and only do things fitting to one’s identity.

Never try to change it to your benefit, because it wasn’t the time and it would only exacerbate things.

Therefore, Borl wasn’t surprised that Kieran kept quiet at the scene.

One thing worth taking note was that this place was in front of Edatine Castle! The castle that housed God of War and Lady Calamity!

Even the Flaming Devil couldn’t do as he pleased and disregard all consequences!

Though Borl was much more concerned about the dead body.

“Hope that guy isn’t who I think it is,” Borl prayed softly.

“When you are in between good and bad, bad things tend to happen with a much bigger possibility,” answered Kieran.

Borl looked helpless, knowing that the fat middle aged man might very well be the legendary merchant, Kate Harl, but his heart still tried to feel lucky.

However, as the smoke dissipated, Ainte’s face showed horror and was at a loss of action as he rushed towards that body. Borl then showed a bitter smile.

Finished.

His most direct and simple channel of getting a loan died right before his eyes and that still wasn’t the worst.

The worst thing would be that following the legendary merchant Kate Harl’s death, more and more soldiers appeared at the city gate and everyone at the scene would have to go through strict inspection, especially the outsiders who would be the primary targets for questioning.

Looking at the soldiers who surrounded the merchant group with their unsheathed swords and lit muskets, Borl cooperatively raised his hands, signalling that he was harmless.

Kieran expected this scene to happen so he was already back in the wagon.

The soldiers were there to control the scene, the real interrogator wouldn’t be them.

Rather than wasting time with the soldiers down there, might as well have some tea and eat some biscuits.

The tea was aromatic and the biscuits were sweet.

Although it wasn’t as crispy as freshly baked biscuits, it still had an unusual taste with it, feeling like it had sunk through time.

Kieran was certain if the biscuits were put there for a couple more days, bluish green spots would appear.

Fortunately, the spots hadn’t appeared and it was still edible at the moment.

Standing outside the carriage, Borl, with his hands in the air, clearly heard Kieran chewing on the biscuits and sipping on tea. As the cold wind blew into his face, he couldn’t help but shrink his neck.

“Uh… C-Can I go grab a coat?” Borl asked the soldiers.

The soldiers replied by pushing their muskets straight to Borl’s forehead.

“Okay, okay, I got it,” Borl quickly stood still but his eyes were sizing up his surroundings.

The people who were in line to enter the city were apprehended on the other side by a team of soldiers. Several uniformed men were checking their identifications, one after another, the same went for the merchant group.

The only difference was there were a lot more soldiers at the merchant group side and tension was at an all time high between them.

Why?

It was simple. The guards of the merchant group.

The armed guards who had a buffer body and fitter physique than normal men threatened the soldiers presence-wise, making them feel like they were facing a great doe.

Borl shook his head quietly.

The assassin should be long gone and he was certain about it.

The last smoke bomb the assassin tossed out allowed him to vanish without a sight and it made Borl’s heart sink deeper.

He was not worried about that assassin doing anything to him, he was worried about the soldiers, because judging from the assassination, everyone would acknowledge that this was a meticulously planned assassination.

The most important point of all was how did Kate Harl appear at the city gate?

Aside from that, when did Kate Harl appear?

He must have received a letter from Ainte and the letter was sent to Kate Harl because of what happened to the convoy along the journey.

He and Kieran had solved the little incident but of course Kieran was the one who did the heavy lifting, he was just there to clap and cheer.

But… those interrogators would never agree on the same page, albeit both of them were truly innocent!

In order to quickly suppress the assassination, those interogators would never spare any suspicious details and if there were some descpiable souls among them, in order to hasten the process, they might even create false evidence and frame someone to make them a scapegoat.

Right away, Borl’s mind painted out a scene about the interrogators being burned to cinders when they tried to interrogate Kieran

It was true that the Flaming Devil could control himself but definitely not to the point that he could swallow up grievances after being bullied. It wasn’t his style.

“I’ve just arrived at Edatine Castle and haven’t even completed the lowest requirement of my main mission and I have to face something like the God of War and Lady Calamity? I know I might have decided to achieve more than the lowest requirement, but… isn’t this a little too hasty? I’m not ready!”

Borl’s bitter smile grew heavier.

Once Kieran striked, going up against the God of War and Lady Calamity was almost certain.

There was no extra space to turn this around and Borl only hoped that this fight would come at a later time.

However, Borl’s expectation did not come into fruition. A man in uniform talked to Ainte, who squatted down beside Kate Har’s body blankly, and asked some questions before he walked over to Borl.

The man was rather young, the tip of his nose a little crooked, making it look like a hawk’s mouth. His eyes were sharp like an eagle and his long golden hair touched his shoulder, shallowly covering that silver shoulder medal.

The medal represented his identity: a knight.

Although he wasn’t a chief of the knights, he was far higher in rank than normal soldiers and captains, probably in the same rank as the deputy chief of an infantry squad.

Considering his age and the little details in his walk, Borl could tell the young man was from a noble background, not just any noble background but one with an extremely long history.

Otherwise, a young man of his age could not have gotten the position.

On the other hand, there was also something good about a big noble family with a history: good manners and the ability to keep his countenance.

When the young man was in front of Borl, his eagle-like eyes had sized up Borl many times over, so he said directly, “Kuer Horton.”

The young man stated his name.

Horton?

The family name immediately rang a bell in Borl’s mind: the deputy finance minister of Edatine Castle, Marquis Horton.

A noble family with quite the reputation and a long history.

Rumour had it that the marquis was also a blonde.

Borl had a better look at the young man before he bowed slightly to show his manners.

“Borl. It’s a pleasure, Sir Kuer Horton. If you have anything to ask, please do not hesitate, I won’t hide any of the details.”

Borl replied like a merchant that matched his identity.

“Can you tell me about the attack that you saw right here?” Kuer Horton asked.

“Sure.”

Borl nodded and told everything that happened without missing any details. In the end, Borl even added, “We RUSHED to Edatine Castle because of some urgent matters, there are a lot behind me who shared the same situation and problem.

Kuer Horton heard Borl’s elaboration and nodded without truly giving his opnion on the matter.

The young noble of course understood what Borl was say, since Borl purposely emphasized the word ‘rushed’ but he did not have the slightest intention of letting them go.

It was not that he did not believe Borl. When Borl was explaining, Kuer Horton had been scanning Borl and he was certain that Borl did not lie, plus his words matched Ainte’s.

Kuer Horton didn’t know much about Borl but he understood Ainte quite well, which gave him theconfidence to say that Borl did not lie, at least for now.

Though Kuer Horton at the moment did not care about the truth anymore, he showed strong interest in the person who was able to clean up the pagans.

Kuer Horton unconsciously looked towards the carriage.

“Is that Colin inside?” asked Kuer Horton.

“He is,” Borl did not deny but his heart was sighing.

‘I knew it! I’m going to challenge Hell mode right away!’

As a veteran player, Borl clearly knew the rules of the dungeon world.

Whenever a player chooses to carry out or complete the current main mission with extra difficulty, the main mission would change, and from there, the ratings and rewards would increase correspondingly.

Borl wasn’t against that but… could he proceed step by step?

At least let me finish the lowest requirement of the main mission first before throwing me into such a situation! Let me cope, please!

After Borl’s confirmation, Kuer Horton did not care about him anymore. He reached out to the carriage door and intended to open it, but his educational background made him stop the moment he tried to forcefully open it.

He released his hand and changed to a knock instead.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

After Kieran’s voice sounded, the young noble did not hesitate anymore, pulling open the door and boarding the carriage, then closing the door.

He signaled Kieran with a gaze then sat on Borl’s seat and started to size up Kieran with his sharp eyes.

Black coat, black pants, black boots, a sheepskin overcoat hung beside him.

A normal looking face, young but mature, half leaning on the seat, seemingly lazy, with a calm and casual gaze; had long hands but no visible calluses.

But…

Unknowingly, Kuer Horton’s heart throbbed endlessly,like it was looking at a tiger sleeping in front of him.

‘No! Not even a tiger can affect me like this! Only when in front of those councilmen do I feel so pressured!

Don’t wake him up! Do not wake him up!’

A voice in his mind kept telling him that and Kuer Horton was definitely not an ungrateful young man.

He paused for a while to bury the words he was going to say deep in his heart, putting away his sharp gaze and switched to a kind tone before he asked, “Sir Colin, I assume?”

“Yes,” Kieran nodded.

“Kuer Horton,” The young noble introduced himself again and extended his right hand.

After making sure the young noble did not bear any malicious intent or had any hidden traps around him, Kieran’s manners also made him reply to that shake.

Both hands split quickly after a firm shake.

Kieran leaned back on the seat again while Kuer Horton savoured the feeling of Kieran’s hand.

It was like what he saw, there were no calluses, but it was unusually powerful.

The hand could easily crush even steel.

With such comments in his heart, the young noble immediately showed a delightful smile.

“Sir Colin, why are you here in Edatine Castle?” he asked.

“It’s because Borl invited me. I saved Borl on the way and he invited me as his guard to escort him to the castle,” Kieran said without revealing the whole truth.

“Oh I see, I guess the journey here isn’t all that peaceful. I’ve asked Sir Borl about the encounters earlier. Those pagans aren’t that easy to deal with, right?” The young noble went around the question.

“It’s fine I guess. They are used to hiding in the dark but if you can find their weakness, it’s not that hard,” replied Kieran.

This was the complete truth.

This dungeon world might be unique, but it still had rules and traces to follow, including those pagans.

As long as the pagan’s movement patterns were exposed, taking them out wouldn’t be that hard, especially those who hadn’t even achieved descension.

If it was against those who were just born, with enough willpower, a single musket would be enough.

“It’s only for… people like you. About the assassination that just went down, what do you think about it?”

The young noble paused and hid the words that he was going to say, then diverted the topic.

“Nothing in particular,” Kieran said brazenly.

The young noble jolted.

Although it was toned down a lot, he could tell Kieran truly did not care about all of this.

Kuer Horton doubted for a second before he tested the water again.

“Then… how do you see the new ‘royal decree? Allowing the purchase of dukeship using Gold Purton.”

The young noble unconsciously lowered his voice.

“Nothing also,” Kieran shook his head again.

It was something Borl should be concerned about, not him.

The young noble was bedazzled at Kieran’s reaction.

‘Did I guess wrongly?’

Kuer Horton started to doubt his own deduction, but he did not reveal it, instead taking out a small pack of candy and placing it on the tea table.

“I see you are fond of pastries and sweets. Consider this a little something for your time. They are quality candy from Snowy Owl Candy House. I like them and always carry some with me. This pack is a new one, I haven’t opened them yet,” said Kuer Horton.

“Thank you,” Kieran thanked him softly.

He then pointed outside the carriage and said softly, “Be careful.”