The Devil’s Cage

Midnight, the bright moon hung up high in the sky.

The underground Silent Night Town also felt the ‘moonlight’ through some spells.

14 figures stood straight under the center tower of Silent Night Town. Under the ‘moonlight’, the shadows of these figures intertwined, as though they were overcooked noodles.

The 14 of them looked cold and filled with malicious intent, as if they were the ferocious wolves that had their eyes on Horlaika, who was walking closer.

Horlaika looked back at them calmly. He didn’t just stand boldly. Quite the contrary, the gaze of the Undying was pressuring. He knew he couldn’t afford to be weak now.

Unlike the normal members of the Silent Night Secret Society, these field agents who were like himself no longer represented themselves but the councilmen behind them.

Although Councilman Kurtzargert had turned into his teacher, and because of that, Horlaika couldn’t allow himself to step back one step.

Sharp gazes clashed ceaselessly, invisible sparks were ignited in the air.

Respective auras were brazenly emanated.

Strange, gloomy, and wicked.

All sorts of auras made the residents of Silent Night Town instinctively step back, but they had no fear in their looks.

It wasn’t just because these men were all members of Silent Night Secret Society, the stronger they were, the better it would be for them. It was also because among all 15 of them confronting each other, Undying Horlaika was obviously the strongest.

He might not be as gloomy or wicked as the other 14 but the strangeness in him was great, only a glimpse of it would numb one’s scalp.

[Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon]!

The one who mastered the technique deemed rare by Silent Night Secret Society themselves would not be a simply John Doe.

Especially with his teacher’s explanation, Horlaika had a deeper understanding towards [Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon]. He was now confident enough to kill any field agent who was once regarded as the same rank as him in a single blow.

But… if it was 14 of them at once, it would be beyond his capabilities.

Quantity incites qualitative change.

It wasn’t just an empty phrase. Moreover, his teacher had other plans.

With the thought in mind, Horlaika didn’t stop and continued forward.

When they saw Horlaika walking on by himself, the 14 field agents, representatives of their respective councilmen, who rushed back from the north, shrunk their gazes, their auras becoming stranger.

They heard of the Undying before, but it was the first time seeing him in person.

He was much stronger than rumoured, then… how about his immediate superior? That Councilman Kurtzargert?

What about Councilman Colipo who had always been Councilman Kurtzargert’s rival?

And that inconspicuous Councilman Ludus?

Before they arrived, the 14 of them had done sufficient homework on investigating the three councilmen of Edatine and their surrounding members, no one liked to fight a cloud of mysterious mist.

But now?

The danger level that they concluded from their investigation was elevated once more.

The 14 of them stood in a semi-circle, watching Horlaika walk towards the tower’s door and walk up the wooden stairs.

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.

The wooden stairs couldn’t bear his weight and squeaked everytime a step was taken forward.

Horlaika bore the way of walking that he got from his teacher in mind, not daring to make even the slightest misstep.

As the tower in Silent Night Town, though most of the time it was merely a decoration, had anyone thought it would be easy to tread forward, such a thought would be a grave mistake.

Either the door opening, the way of walking forward or the way of ringing the bell, all had their own unique way.

The slightest mistake would present a graveless death to the careless.

Horlaika even sensed the presence of death swirling around him.

Fortunately, his memories were decent enough, allowing him to remember every single step clearly.

When Horlaika finally stood in front of that bronze bell the size of a flower pot, he bit his left index finger and oozed his blood out 3 times separately.

Wung!

A light vibration later—

Dang, Dang, Dang!

The bronze bell rang.

It didn’t require anyone to ring it. In fact, no one could have rung the bell. Blood was the only medium and the only safe way to activate the bronze bell.

Kakrooom!

Following the echoes of the bells, the ground of Silent Night Town started to tremble. Beneath the tower, a brand new building rose from underground.

An ominous black color was the exterior and it had no windows.

The door was wide open yet the interior was as black as a black hole. Anyone who gazed upon it, his soul would tremble.

The tower became its roof, making the whole building look stranger. Even more so when the vines that crawled all over the tower started to swing down and cover the entire building underneath, making one feel unusually eerie.

It was the first time anyone at the scene saw the ‘council hall’ of the Council Meeting.

Everyone frowned. They never thought the council hall looked like this, everyone’s attention was unconsciously captivated.

They pried on the council hall, as if they tried to expose the danger within.

Then, a figure appeared without footsteps.

The silent figure quietly stood behind the field agents that represented their respective councilmen.

“Gentlemen.”

The figure suddenly spoke, shocking all 14 of them, who were focusing on the building. They took a step forward then turned around and looked back with utmost caution.

And when they finally got a clear look at the figure, the 14 of them were deeply astonished.

Kurtzargert!

They had seen the portrait of this councilman before, they’d never be wrong about it.

However… The information didn’t seem to mention that the councilman was skilled in undercover techniques. It should be the other councilman, Ludus, who was skilled.

Despite the fact that most of their attention was placed at the council hall, being able to quietly approach them had clearly stated the suppression of power.

If it was Councilman Ludus who was skilled in undercover… they might not even notice if he was staring at them right now.

With that thought in their minds, the 14 of them uncomfortably twisted the muscles on their back, unconsciously scanning their surroundings. Unfortunately, they found nothing.

Bloody Mary paid no attention to the 14 of them.

“Let us go in,” Bloody Mary said as it stood in front of the door, walking in first, followed by Horlaika behind it.

The 14 field agents exchanged a gaze. They followed the plan that they made before they arrived: one of them would move first.

Dak, Dak, Dak.

Heavy footsteps sounded intentionally, yet amid the footsteps, everyone entered accordingly.

Even the second last of the line maintained the intentional steps, and the last one of them listened with utmost concentration.

After realizing the 15 breaths in the council hall didn’t change, they stepped in.

The abysmal darkness was like a water veil. After going through it, they were welcomed by light.

On top of their head was light from magical candles, shedding light over the council hall.

A round table was placed in the middle of the council hall with 17 chairs surrounding it.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

Kurtzargert sat down on one of the chairs and Horlaika stood behind him. The other 13 field agents who came in later also stood behind their respective chairs, including the last one who came in.

It might be intentional, or it might not, but both chairs beside Kurtzargert were emptied out.

They were obviously reserved for Colipo and Ludus, even though neither of them didn’t attend the meeting.

14 field agents stood behind the chairs, then simultaneously took a prism-shaped crystal, the size of a palm, out of their inner pocket.

After the crystal’s power was activated, the 14 of them let the crystals float on top of the chair. There was nothing supporting the crystal, it just floated in the air by itself.

Projection images then formed above the crystal.

Every single one of the projections had a thick mantle over their head, blocking their faces. Even their body or hands had no accessories that would leave an impression.

“It’s been a while Kurtzargert.!

The councilman at the left of Bloody Mary took the initiative to speak first.

Other than him, the other projections of the councilmen kept quiet, but the gazes underneath their hoods were concentrated on Bloody Mary.

“Hmph.”

Bloody Mary wasn’t nervous at all when it was stared down by the 14 councilmen of Silent Night Secret Society. It chuckled before glancing over all the councilmen at the meeting.

Its confident look seemed to be making a statement that the mantles on the councilmen were unnecessary, it had seen through everyone’s expression.

Its gaze naturally attracted dissatisfaction from some of the councilmen, but before they could voice it out, Bloody Mary, seized the moment. Speaking first, it said, “There’s a traitor among us!”

As its voice echoed, the council hall plunged into silence.

The councilmen who ought to speak halted their words.

The field agents behind each of the councilmen heightened their concentration too.

They knew why they were here.

After all, they already knew how the councilmen fought in the bright and the dark side, yet the internal conflict had always been carefully contained, they had never involved outsiders, especially the Demon Hunters, whom they annihilated a long time ago!

“What’s the matter with the Snake Sect Demon Hunters?” asked an impatient councilman.

“Just like their name, they are like snakes, a Demon Hunter Sect that hides in the shadow. Being different from the traditional one, the Wolf Sect demon Hunters, the Snake Sect Demon Hunters hid themselves during other times and only showed up during a critical moment. This time, if it wasn’t for Luncar going after the survivors of the Wolf Sect, we might not even have known about the so-called Snake Sect Demon Hunters. But because of their appearance, we discovered some huge secrets,” Bloody Mary spilled out the script that it had prepared.

Just as it expected, the moment its words subsided, one of the councilmen spoke.

“Colipo could never be a Snake Sect Demon Hunter!” he said.

It was without a doubt that the councilman who defended Colipo had a tight relationship with him. They might even be allies and they weren’t worried about their relationship being exposed.

Bloody Mary felt it was a little bit wasted.

If it had sufficient time to prepare, it would have used this relationship to send the entire Silent Night Secret Society deeper into chaos.

Instigation and whatnot was its forte!

Unfortunately… it did not have enough time!

Bloody Mary sighed softly.

“Since when did I say Colipo was a Snake Sect Demon Hunter?” Bloody Mary asked back.

Its question stunned everyone at the meeting.

Those field agents who stood behind their councilmen didn’t even hold back as they lifted their heads and looked at Bloody Mary.

All of them indeed received the message from Silent Night Town. The message clearly stated that Colipo was suspected to be a Snake Sect Demon Hunter.

Could it be…

A quick daze later, they regained their senses.

The subordinates understood quickly enough, meaning the councilman got it too.

“It’s not you who released the news?” asked a hot-tempered councilman.

“No, it was Mieren,”Bloody Mary shook its head.

“Then why didn’t you stop it? You wanted to watch us run back and forth like monkeys? Or… you are trying to confirm something?” asked another councilman gloomily.

“Do I still need to confirm those things? Isn’t it obvious enough?”

Bloody Mary mocked the councilman who asked, pointed at its temple with its fingers and continued, “Use your rotten brain and think about it. Why didn’t I stop it?”

Bloody Mary sounded merciless, blasting the question without holding back.

Then, before the councilman could answer, Bloody Mary added, “Of course I’ve discovered something and I think it is necessary to hold the meeting. So I went along with the plan. Do you think I missed you people? Don’t worry, this kind of disgusting thing would never happen.”

After that, Bloody Mary signed Horlaika with a wave of hand.

Horlaika then took a box out of his backpack and put it on the table.

Then, the box opened up.

A human’s head was in the middle of the unveiled box.

The head was obviously shaved and taken care of, it didn’t smell too bloody, yet a single glance at it would still send chills down one’s spine.

Though not a single one in the room was a normal man.

The councilmen and the field agents behind them looked at the head with a nonchalant look, even though they were familiar with the head—it was Mieren!

The manager of Silent Night Town and the supervisor of the field agents in name.

But this time around, no one spoke anymore, even the councilman who emanated malicious intentions earlier.

He was just trying to mock Kurtzargert with his words earlier, even he didn’t believe Kurtzargert, the old fox, would do something without a solid reason.

If he claimed there was a problem, there would be a problem.

Mieren?

If his head was on the table, there would surely be a reason for his death.

Moreover, he was just a mere field agent supervisor in name, what was there to be concerned about?

Under everyone’s gaze, Bloody Mary slowly opened its mouth, “He betrayed us. He thought he concealed himself well enough but never did he expect Colipo to find out. In order to lure out the person behind him, Colipo purposely feigned it and intentionally caused a misunderstanding with Luncar. What happened next is what you people know, but… all of you have no idea who’s the person behind him.”

“Other than War God Temple, who else could there be?!”

A councilman replied with disdain at Bloody Mary’s intentional ridicule.

The rest of the councilmen nodded, one after another.

To Silent Night Secret Society, they never took anyone or any organization seriously since a long time ago, all except for War God Temple.

As a matter of fact, it was indeed as such.

With Lady Calamity on their side, other than the God of War, who else could rival her?

“War God Temple? Hmmm, you can say that but you are not entirely right,” Bloody Mary chuckled.

“There’s others?”

The councilmen sounded dubious.

“Did every one of you forget how things unfolded into the current state?”

Bloody mary was being vague, it purposely removed the words like Black Cataclysm.

Instantly, all 14 of the councilmen thought of something and were shaken by their own thoughts.

However, before any one of them could continue asking—

BOOM!

The sound of a loud explosion suddenly came into the council hall.