The Devil’s Cage

The emissary of the lord of Blossom Flower Land was a middle-aged fat man and had a bald head that reflected the light from the candles.

His outfit was both luxurious and tawdry at the same time.

The man had a linen coat on his body, and it seemed like he was very eager to put on every single piece of silver and gold that he could find. Each step he took, his gold and silver accessories would clink heavily.

“Greetings Madam Priestess, Outpost Master.”

The emissary tried his best to bend and make himself look humble and respectful, but his belly was as big as a cow and he couldn’t even bend over properly even with his best efforts.

The fat man also knew his own problems, so after a slight nod to express the meaning, he went straight to the topic.

“I came on behalf of my lord. My lord wishes to gain the aid of Arya Outpost to fight off those monsters together. Of course, no matter what Arya Outpost’s decision will be, we will stand through it and support it without question!”

His words sounded impressive and dignified, but the meaning hidden between the lines shook Nelson, the Outpost Master.

After glancing at Atrina and getting her permission, Nelson replied.

“Every decision we make? Including helping us build an extra outer wall around the outpost city?” he asked.

“Of course! With Lord Ryan, the Hero, here, helping Arya Outpost build a wall is the right thing for us to do. But we also hope the other lords of the land would play their part and pour in some of their own efforts, don’t you think?” the emissary smiled at Nelson.

Nelson, too, finally understood what the emissary wanted to achieve: harming others without benefiting oneself.

No, more precisely: harming others and keeping themselves where they were now.

But, but…

Nelson was in deep thought for a while. The righteous and just Outpost Master couldn’t think of a perfect word to describe his emotions right now.

He already knew the lords in Yort Fields were unbearable with their actions but not to this extent.

At the same time, he remembered what the last Outpost Master told him when he first got the position. The late Outpost Master said, ‘Don’t care about those bastards in the fields, Arya Outpost exists to eliminate the robbers on the way to Neveya’, and now Nelson finally understood the true meaning of those words.

No need to care?

Nelson couldn’t help but smile bitterly when he thought about the futile efforts he put in the past two years.

The control of the conversation was then passed to Atrina.

With a few words, Atrina made the emissary drenched in his own sweat.

A qualified negotiator would never look at the chips on the tables, but go after the hidden chips instead.

Atrina was a qualified negotiator without a doubt—she doubled the original demands with some simple words.

Rations that could feed two thousand men for a year, labour from strong and fit men numbering no less than a thousand, and ten to twenty skillful craftsmen, not apprentices.

After the new demands were made, when the emissary left, his face was pale and his steps were faltering.

“Really a bunch of boorish fellas who only know how to fight amongst themselves.” Nelson sighed.

He couldn’t imagine what kind of thoughts were going through the emissary’s mind when he agreed to those overly demanding terms. After all, the terms did not benefit Blossom Flower Land or whatsoever.

Blossom Flower Land wasn’t some big land in Yort Fields, ranked last among the dozen other lands.

“It is because he believed that they would get more from this. I’m afraid that his mind is already figuring out how to get back twice the amount for the loss that he agreed to today—from the other lords of Yort Fields, that is! And I assure you, once we have enough manpower here and empty out one of the lord’s labour forces in his land, it will be time for them to march in with their soldiers,” Atrina coldly laugh.

She knew what the emissary was plotting. In fact, in the past decades, the same things were repeating themselves over a thousand times.

It was either the west side triumphing over the east side or the other way around. However, it was different this time because she wanted them all, the entirety of Yort Fields!

“What are you saying?” Nelson was a little slow in reacting and looked at Atrina.

Before Atrina could answer, the ordering officer came in with another message.

“Priestess Atrina, Outpost Master Nelson, an emissary from Tricholoma Land requested a meeting.”

Nelson was awestruck as he looked at Atrina with wide eyes.

Atrina smiled and said, “Like I said, they will not just agree to our terms. They will rush over and try to beat others to it because we have many choices in choosing our collaborators!”

…

The first light of dawn shed its golden brilliance outside Arya Outpost.

The patrolling soldiers looked at the direction of Naveya with utmost vigilance while slightly showing disdain when they looked at the wealthy lands of Yort Fields.

In the past two days, the ridiculous acts of the lords of Yort Fields had spread throughout the outpost.

Fighting with wooden swords aside, they’d named a hero based on the scars one got from falling off a horse. And in order to better ‘decorate’ their lands, they’d added cowhides on top of the grasslands and linens on top of tree branches; all sorts of outrageous, laughable things spread like wildfire.

Whenever the soldiers thought about their scruples in the past against such a childish enemy, they couldn’t hold back their disdainful grins.

But soon enough, their disdain was replaced by seriousness when they looked in the direction of Nevaya City.

Although many scattered batches of monsters tried to attack the outpost in the last two days, each battle was still difficult for them. If it weren’t for their current outpost walls, they might have had to suffer another decrease in manpower again.

Hence, when the watcher of the tower spotted a black line rising from the horizon, he rang the alarm right away.

Fully armed soldiers then quickly boarded the walls.

The knights split into multiple groups, acting as reinforcements and support for any desperate situation in the upcoming battle.

As for fighting beyond the walls?

The size of the black line at the end of the horizon allowed them to make their choice wisely.

However, as the black line drew closer to the outpost, the watcher from the highest tower voiced out a delightful cry.

“Convoy! It’s the convoy from the temples!”

…

His voice echoed throughout the air above Nevaya. Everyone instantly heaved a sigh of relief and turned their eyes further away in that specific direction.

What was more delightful than more refugees from Neveya City?

Kieran, who was in the group!

“Open the gates!” Atrina said anxiously and rode outside the outpost.

Nelson brought a group of knights and followed behind.

The two groups converged a little further away from the gates of the outpost.

The elderly priest stepped down from the wagon, smiling at Atrina and Nelson.

“Archpriest Pelder!”

Despite being from different temples, the essential etiquette was not left behind.

“I am no longer the archpriest.” Pelder shook his hands.

His words were confusing, but Atrina didn’t linger on the topic—it wasn’t an appropriate time, and she cared more about Ryan.

“Where’s Ryan?”

“His Majesty? He is there. Look, there he is.”

The elderly priest smiled and pointed behind the convoy.

A golden tainted figure walked over slowly, his face slightly blurry under the sunlight as if he was bathing in some divine light, making him look like a god.

Atrina looked at the figure, flabbergasted. Her mind couldn’t stop repeating the word Pelder had used to address Ryan.

Majesty?

His Majesty?

Gradually, Atrina’s narrow, jaded eyes widened.