The Devil’s Cage

Alisritter got off the train and looked at Huke Alley in front of him. The Swordsmith’s blurred out face showed helplessness.

What kind of debts were the hardest to repay?

The debts of favour!

Therefore, whenever Alisritter talked to Rachel, he would automatically lower himself because back in the days, Alisritter owed Rachel a lot, and until now, he hadn’t truly finish repaying his debt.

The reason why he appeared in Huke Alley, the headquarters of Freedom Alliance, was to repay a debt.

Decoman, one of Freedom Alliance’s members, wasn’t really a core member nor a boarder one. He did not really want to become a solo player, so in the end chose to join Freedom Alliance.

This Decoman helped Alisritter before in his earlier days, which resulted in substantial gains. Speaking from a certain angle, Decoman was truly the key person that led Alisritter to be boosted into the ranks of Supernova.

So when Alisritter received the call for help from Decoman, he came over to Huke Alley.

He saw the colorful alley with a pebbled path and short houses, and pouted because he did not like this kind of fairytale design.

Alisritter didn’t think Huke Alley was childish though. He thought some fairy tales weren’t as simple as they looked; a little bit of digging and the darkness beneath would be exposed.

The feeling of destroying childhood stories was the worst for Alisritter.

Maybe that was why adults did not like fairy tales.

With that thought in mind, Alisritter walked into Huke Alley, and the moment he stepped in, he heard wheels rolling.

It wasn’t from the alley but from behind him. Alisritter turned around.

Three pumpkin wagons of different colors were coming from afar. They weren’t fast, and they were 50 meters apart from each other. The wagoners wore decent suits, but they weren’t alive, they were skeletons

However, being skeletons didn’t stop them from speaking.

“Do you want to go to your destination? 10 Points.”

The first black pumpkin wagon arrived, and the wagoner in black pulled the reins to stop the black horse before asking Alisritter.

Alisritter did not answer so the black pumpkin wagon drove off and vanished beyond Huke Alley.

“Do you want to go to your destination? 100 Points.”

The second pumpkin wagon was red, the skeleton wagoner was also wearing red, and it stopped the horse by pulling the reins before asking the question. Alisritter still did not answer.

The red pumpkin wagoner went off, similar in fashion to the first black pumpkin wagon.

“Do you want to go to your destination? 1000 Points.”

The third pumpkin wagon was white, and when the white horse stopped, the skeleton in a white suit stood up, bowed to Alisritter, and asked his question.

“Yes.”

Alisritter didn’t stay quiet anymore. He nodded and boarded the white pumpkin wagon.

After entering the carriage, Alisritter didn’t pay mind about the 1000 Points deduction notification. Instead, he touched the yellow bronze ring on his left index finger.

The yellow bronze ring was plain with no patterns or garnish. It looked like some ring that a farmer girl in the rural area would choose. However, only its owner, Alisritter, knew of its value.

The ring could sense danger and also tell him whether it was safe or not.

Throughout his adventures, the yellow bronze ring had become an irreplaceable item to Alisritter.

When the black and red pumpkin wagons drove over, the ring warned him about the danger, and when the white pumpkin wagon came over, the ring signaled him that it was safe to board.

Alisritter would not doubt the validity of the ring since he had been through countless life and death situations with it.

Groom Groom.

The skeleton in the white suit shook its reins and drove the white pumpkin wagon deeper into Huke Alley. Alisritter, from inside the carriage, watched the buildings fly over the window and sent another message to Decoman.

However, he did not get a reply at all.

Other than the lit name, which indicated that Decoman was still alive, there was nothing at all, not even intel about the enemy.

Alisritter also searched through his memories, but he couldn’t remember anything. There was no one he remembered that used the ‘pumpkin wagoner’.

Of course, Alisritter believed that as long as he got deeper, the enemy would show up and he would be able to spot the flaws.

After all, there were only a few in the big city who he was really concerned about.

“Dear guest, you have arrived at your destination.”

The ride in the wagon was bumpy, and after the skeleton wagoner spoke, the door of the carriage opened up. Alisritter alighted from the pumpkin wagon and sized up the castle before his eyes showed doubt.

The castle top was blue, and its walls were white; colorful banners rolled down from the highest tower. The hanging bridge was lowered, and a group of knights in shining armors lined up in two rows along the sides of the bridge, the line extending all the way to the castle entrance.

From where Alisritter looked, he could easily see how merry the castle was, but that wasn’t the point.

When did the castle appear?

Alisritter might not acknowledge Freedom Alliance, but he had business connections with them and they had looked for him for weapon forging a few times now, so he had been to Huke Alley multiple times. He was very certain Huke Alley had no such castle as this before.

Groom Groom.

Once the guest was safely delivered to the destination, the skeleton in a white suit bowed before driving the wagon away, leaving Alisritter alone in front of the hanging bridge.

He touched his yellow bronze ring.

There wasn’t any danger alarms, but there wasn’t a safety notice either.

“No danger and not exactly safe either… An unknown territory?”

Alisritter hated this kind of situation.

If he had a choice, he would rather turn around, but the debt to Decoman forced him in. He walked along the hanging bridge, and as he walked, his footsteps told him the hanging bridge was real.

Chang!

Pak Pak!

After Alisritter stepped on the bridge, the two rows of knights drew their swords. They didn’t attack but hit their shields with their swords in a rhythmic manner, as though they were performing a war song.

One would easily be aroused and feel hot-blooded when hearing it.

Alisritter was no exception either, but he suppressed the excitement in his heart and walked over the hanging bridge and the two rows of knights. When he arrived at the castle door, a tax officer in a vest and boots came over with a smile.

“10 Points to enter the castle,” said the tax officer.

Alisritter paid the price.

The tax officer smiled even more sincerely after the payment. He turned aside, bent over and performed a ‘please’ gesture. Alisritter walked in.

The ring did not signal him of any danger, and he too did not sense any through his instincts.

Everyone he walked past smiled at him, and the few shops he walked past sold real items; there was food, wine and daily items.

Despite the scene, there was not a trace of anyone from Freedom Alliance.

“Is it here?”

After a big round, Alisritter stood in front of a gate connecting to the inner castle. He carefully hid himself and slowly approached.

However, when he was a dozen meters away from the inner castle, the yellow bronze ring on his finger burned him with extreme heat.

A danger alarm!

Alisritter quickly stepped away, but nothing in the inner castle changed.

Looking inside with a dubious gaze, he did not notice that his shadow beneath his feet was quietly moving on its own.

…

Kieran got off the train and saw Huke Alley within sight, but an uncomfortable feeling arose in his heart right away.

Frowning, he contacted J.Pearlman.

2567: Where are you?”

…

He waited for five minutes but there was no reply.

Based on their earlier conversation through messages, this shouldn’t happen unless J.Pearlman was dead.

However, J.Pearlman’s name did not go dark. He was still alive, yet he did not reply.

Kieran curled his lips into a smile.

He had been thinking about compensating his loss with the Freedom Alliance’s mole, but he did not expect the mole to have prepared a big surprise for him.

“This is interesting.” Kieran squinted and looked further away.

As the wheels rolled, the three pumpkin wagons of different color appeared again.

The wagons weren’t fast at all. From the moment they appeared until the first black wagon stopped before Kieran, two minutes had past.

“Do you want to go to your destination? 10 Points,” the skeleton in black suit said to Kieran.

Kieran had just given out hundreds of items to Rachel; he still hasn’t recovered from it. When he heard the provocative words, he raised a brow and dished out a roundhouse kick at the skeleton.

The skeleton, the pumpkin wagon and the horse were destroyed by a single kick. Everything shattered into pieces.

A while later, the second red pumpkin wagon arrived before Kieran.

“Do you want to go to your destination? 100 Points.”

BANG!

Another roundhouse kick later, the red wagon followed the black wagon’s footsteps.

Lastly, the white pumpkin wagon.

The skeleton in the white suit clearly saw the black and red wagons’ broken pieces beside the road as it stood up for a bow. As though it was blessed by the holy spirit, the skeleton changed its words.

“Do you want to go to your destination? White Jack at your service.”

“Em.” Kieran nodded.

The white skeleton jumped down the wagoner’s seat and opened the door for Kieran.

“Please.” The white skeleton bowed.

Kieran stepped up the little stairs and entered the carriage. The carriage was all white, the seats were opposite each other, and beside the window was a small cabinet, allowing the guest to perfectly place his hands or items on top.

“The cabinet has drinks, please help yourself. If you would like to request anything, please tell me; I’ll be in front.”

The white skeleton closed the door politely, and after the skeleton shook the reins, the pumpkin wagon slowly traveled forward.

The wagon traveled smoothly, and Kieran didn’t feel bumpy at all.

Inside the little cabinet, Kieran found two bottles of drinks and a pastry basket.

The two bottles of drinks were wine and tea; the pastry basket had a baked butter waffle.

Kieran sniffed the waffle, and after he made sure there wasn’t anything extra added to it, he stuffed it into his backpack, as it wasn’t time for tea.

The smooth and quick travel lasted for a few minutes before the wagon stopped.

“Sir, you have arrived at your destination.” The white skeleton opened the door and pointed at the castle outside.

“Are you sure it’s here?” Kieran did not move from the seat and asked.

His voice was calm, and his body didn’t budge or flinch.

An invisible aura appeared, and it enveloped the white skeleton like a ferocious beast on the hunt.

“I…This… I might have driven to the wrong place. My memories served me wrong. Please sit tight, we will arrive at the true destination shortly.”

The door closed, and the wagon moved again.

Kieran still didn’t move from his seat.

Meanwhile, the white skeleton was driving the wagon in fear. The soul fire in his skeleton was trembling, and if it could sweat, it would be drenched.

It was anxious and scared.

After receiving so many guests, it was the first time White Jack received a guest like Kieran.

White Jack met guests who threw tantrums at the slightest disagreements. They’d even attacked them, but it was the first time it saw a guest that could truly hurt them.

“Poor Black Jack and Red Jack, hope the dogs won’t take your bones away. Also, please bless me so that I won’t end up like you two!”

As a companion with independent intellect, White Jack started to pray as he drove the wagon. It turned the wagon around and drove towards the true destination.

It didn’t know how Kieran realized the destination was a fake, a trap; it just wanted to take revenge on Kieran for not paying the fare. However, it knew that in order to stay alive, or whatever its current state was, it better not play tricks anymore.

This time around, the wagon travelled longer than before, and it finally stopped after 20 minutes.

“Sir, we’ve arrived, I swear this is the true destination,” White Jack opened the door and told Kieran.

Kieran glanced over at the castle outside. It was similar to the first on the outside, but as for the inside?

There must be something different.

Kieran alighted from the wagon.

White Jack heaved a breath of relief after Kieran disembarked, but just when it wanted to drive away, Kieran spoke.

“Wait.”

Kieran didn’t just call White Jack back, but he even grabbed the reins and tied White Jack up.

“S-Sir, what are you trying to do?” White Jack stuttered.

“Nothing much, I want you to lead the way,” Kieran said in a righteous way.

“But I’m a wagoner, I can’t… OKAY! I may be a wagoner, but I have excellent pathfinding abilities too!”

White Jack changed its words when it felt the coldness from Kieran. It even ran first towards the castle gate.

The two rows of knights drew their swords and performed the war song again by hitting their shields.

Powerful Spirit protected Kieran from being affected. He glanced over at the two rows of knights before he saw a smiling man run over to him.

The man introduced himself when he arrived in front of Kieran.

“Sir, good day, I am the tax officer of the castle. If you wish to enter, you’ll have to pay 10 Points.”

As the tax officer explained, he was ready to perform his duty.