The Devil’s Cage

What happened?!

Lucan asked himself.

He remembered striding into the building and then he was ambushed but he was sent flying back out without any proper reaction—he didn’t even get a glimpse of the attacker!

He couldn’t even tell whether the attacker was human or not!

Huaaa!

He took a deep breath, the pain and mouth full of blood not causing this northern young man to retreat. Quite the opposite, his battle intentions rose higher.

Aaaaaarh!

A loud growl came from Lucan, the northern young man started to tighten his muscles and it made his already buff body bigger and stronger.

There was no vigilance from the young man, nor did he observe the situation further for a precise move. He stood up, bent over, and dashed back into the building like a football player.

BANG!

Another loud bang sounded, Lucan sent flying out again faster than the first time.

After the second attack, Lucan was in a more miserable state than before.

Blood gushed out mouthful after mouthful, Kieran even saw that his ribs had caved in but it seemed like Lucan couldn’t feel the pain. He stood up again and growled loudly at the building.

Growl after growl, it eventually got louder and ultimately sounded like a lion or bear’s growl.

With each growl he made, Lucan’s muscles got stronger, his physique getting bigger and his hair getting thicker.

When the growls finally stopped, Lucan had transformed into a towering bearman of 3 meters.

The claws on his hands sharp and shiny.

Lucan stood on all four limbs and then charged inside the building again.

With each step he took, the ground would shake.

When the concentrated steps sounded together, Lucan was like a heavy truck accelerating full speed ahead.

Then…

Bang!

Lucan in his bearman form was sent flying back out again, even farther than the previous two times.

Lucan flew for at least 40 meters, crashing through several trees in the greenbelt area before he landed.

Muddy gold brilliance shone from his bear rug, somehow protecting Lucan from being damaged but the dizziness from the crash landing made him shake his head uncomfortably.

Seconds later, Lucan stood up, his body rapidly shrinking to his original size.

When he returned to his human form, he looked at the tall building with a heavy gaze and then he left.

Northerners feared no death, but it didn’t mean one would simply die for nothing, especially this kind of meaningless death.

Lucan knew what his mission was on this trip, and before he accomplished it, he couldn’t afford to die.

Lucan came and went like the wind. Other than leaving a mess in the area, the little commotion also attracted much attention.

Kieran sensed several more people enter the mall after him and they were eager for a go after Lucan left.

2 to 3 minutes later, another young man jumped out.

His face, hands and legs were rather long and he was wearing a black outfit with a bag behind him.

When he walked to the tall office building, he didn’t charge recklessly like Lucan did, instead he took out a hook rope from his bag.

Swirl, swirl swirl!

The young man swung the hook rope rapidly, tossed it upwards, and the hook latched on the outer wall of the office building.

He pulled the hook rope hard to make sure it was properly latched on and after the confirmation, he climbed up swiftly like he was rock climbing.

A few leaps later, the young man arrived at an opened window, bent over, and snuck inside.

“Aaaaaargh!”

A hurried agonizing cry sounded after the young man went in and it stopped all of a sudden.

The wind blew, causing the hook rope to wave along with the motion, but every other young participant who saw the scene felt chills down their spine.

What was in the tall office building?

Lucan was sent flying back out when he charged in.

Now, the young man who climbed up and snuck in…

The other young participants might not be old enough, but none of them were newbies. The fact that they were able to participate in this Battle of Winter Night had proved how excellent their skills were. Hence, they had experienced many things, including the cry of agony before death. The cry from the opened window was exactly that!

There were still many other ways to get a hold of the geography of this city, like acquiring a map or something, there was no need to take the risk!

The thought bloomed in several young participants who stood guard on the premise, making them turn around and walk away.

After the first few left, many more who hid in the area followed.

Unknowingly, the tall office building became a ‘forbidden place’ for the young participants.

Kieran was still in the corner of the coffee shop after all that had happened.

He looked at the office building, or more accurately, the window where the young man climbed in.

More than 10 minutes later, a figure appeared at the window!

It was the young man!

The young man who was assumed dead was carrying his bag and an extra box in his hand. He leapt out from the window and grabbed his rope before he slid down.

Behind him, at the window, was an irritated, upset roar that sounded relentless.

The roars lingered around the window and went on for quite some time.

The young man landed on his feet on the ground, the hook rope was retrieved, and he looked up to the window, showing a delighted smile.

Paladia had the right to be delighted.

All he used was some little tricks and he was able to trick a great amount of other participants, so how could he not be delighted?

Moreover, he also had some extra gains.

Though he really wanted to check what he got, Paladia knew his priority and it was to find a place to hide.

He sized up his left and right and when he saw the coffee shop at the mall opposite him, his eyes shone.

Carrying the box, Paladia ran towards the coffee shop.

Paladia pushed the door open and went into the coffee shop. He slightly heaved a breath of relief but before he could further do anything, pain struck the back of his neck and he immediately blacked out.

Kieran grabbed the unconscious young man behind the counter and tossed him on the ground, then went over to check the box.

Wooden and gilded, it looked like some accessory box and it wasn’t locked, so Kieran opened it up to check the content.

Inside the box was a vial of potion.

A 20 ml test tube, the liquid was a clear bluish green and the outside of the test tube had mystical carvings.

[Name: Expel Potion]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attribute: Potion]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: Expel Potion in the early days was used by Demon Hunters to secure their safety during their rest time.]

…

[Expel: Able to effectively repel souls and evil spirit, 12 hours duration within a single standard unit of measurement.]

…

“This is the so-called special prize?” Kieran thought as he looked at the potion in his hand.

Although it was nothing but a slightly decent vial of potion, with its appearance, it granted Kieran a more straightforward impression of this Battle of Winter Night.

It was obvious that there would be a lot of special prizes scattered over the venue.

Though it was a little hard to obtain them.

Were they randomly scattered throughout the venue or… after the distribution, it was gathered to a single spot by some ‘local bastards’?

Kieran tended to lean towards the latter based on the information he gathered.

Based on what Huai Cuike revealed to him, the lord who officiated the Battle of Winter Night knew every detail, but his just and fairness ensured that he would never leak any information.

Despite what he heard, Kieran had his own suspicions and now, he got an answer to one of the questions in his head: inside this ‘city’, the good things were hidden in dangerous spots.

After the thought subsided, Kieran put the vial of potion into his pocket and looked to the young climber.

Kieran knew he exerted too much strength on the young man.

Based on the young man’s performance, he should have woken up by now.

1 second.

2 seconds.

3 seconds.

Finally, under Kieran’s watch, the young climber opened his eyes in discomfort.

“Hello, Royan. I’m Paladia, from the Southern Gemstone Sector.”

Paladia’s heart throbbed when he saw Kieran in front of him.

He never expected someone would stay behind and hide in the coffee shop, waiting for him.

Paladia thought his imitation was exceptionally great, and with the limited viewing angles, no one should have seen the real situation inside the office building.

Plus Lucan’s brainless performance, which suited Paladia’s action, he thought his plan was flawless.

However, Kieran’s appearance told him he made mistakes.

Paladia dare not ask where did he go wrong though, just like how kept quiet after he saw his box was opened and the content was missing.

This place was no longer the outside world, it’s the Battle of Winter Night! The battle that promoted fighting and killing of one another!

Even though most of the Herders would choose to make peace with each other, it was only limited to normal circumstances.

Once anything unexpected happened…

Paladia from the Southern Gemstone Sector would never place his safety on top of other people’s mercy, even more so when this someone could simply knock him out yet did not kill him. Paladia was wise enough to know what he should do: tell him what Kieran wanted to know, the secretive keypoints.

Paladia always lurked around the Gemstone Sector, so he made up his mind without a second thought.

“The office building that I climbed into, it’s dark inside and before I ventured any further, I found this body in the corner of the corridor. When I picked it up, I think I must have triggered something, hence releasing monsters from the corridor. The monsters are around the size of a dog, but skinless and bloody, like they were skinned alive! There were only sharp fangs on their face, I can’t see their eyes, nose, or ears properly. But they are extremely afraid of sunlight, even the light from my torchlight frightened them away.”

Paladia told Kieran everything he saw inside the office building.

Kieran looked at him quietly, the pressuring gaze from him starting to make Paladia sweat.

“I swear! What I told you is all real! If I did say anything false or lie to you, I’ll die a horrible death!”

Paladia took a vicious vow to give more credit to his words, his heart throbbing even faster as anxiety troubled him.

Kieran in front of him still did not show any expression, neither did he want to speak.

If it wasn’t for the pressure from his eyes increasing by the moment, Paladia would take him as a statue.

‘Damn it!

You are not a mute!

Say something!

Looking at me without saying anything freaks me out!

I didn’t lie!

What I told you is the truth! I just… skipped some details, but that’s not important!’

Paladia prayed in his heart.

His prayer was answered for Kieran finally moved, walked closer to Paladia, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him out of the coffee shop.

Paladia was shocked when he was dragged out.

He had no idea what Kieran was going to do at first but when he saw Kieran going closer to the office building, his face turned pale.

He knew what Kieran was going to do to him.

“Royan, what are you doing! Sorry! I was wrong! I admit that I left out some details! Other than the little bloody dog monsters inside, there’s something else… Aaaaaagh!”

Before Paladia could finish, Kieran tossed him inside the office building.

An agonizing cry came from Paladia.

He was flying closer to the main entrance of the building and his heart plunged into despair for he knew what was inside.

It was just a glimpse but it was enough for him to know what was inside the building and it was something that he could not afford to provoke.

Otherwise, those little bloody dogs alone wouldn’t have chased him out of the window in the first place.

Damn it!

Paladia shut his eyes as he flew closer and closer.

Just when he was about to welcome death, he felt a pulling force on his body.

Paladia was pulled back from the air by Kieran, flying straight back into Kieran’s hands.

He looked down at his waist and saw his hook rope on him, he had no idea when Kieran latched it on him but he was glad and he heaved a breath of relief.

“I knew it! I knew you were just scaring me! Royan, let’s us have a good talk to remove the misunderstanding betwe- Aaaaaaarh!”

Before he even finished, he cried again.

He was tossed out by Kieran again and he was flying towards the main entrance a second time.

Similar to the first, he was pulled back again before he crashed his face into the door.

The process repeated again for a third time.

Paladia wasn’t stupid, he knew what Kieran was doing to him when he was tossed out the second time—a spinning top!

Paladia always played the game when he was a kid, and he was very happy back then, he even trained his use of ropes from spinning the tops, but he didn’t want to be the top himself!

It was so scary!

Playing the spinning top was a childhood game, but it would only be fun when he wasn’t the top itself.

The monstrous presence behind the main door was getting restless by the teasing.

Paladia almost cried his tears dry. He knew the monster was getting restless, he could already smell death!

No, he wasn’t getting closer to death, he was grazing death every single time he was tossed out!

The terrible feeling started to break Paladia, he thought he was a strong-willed person but after being tossed out and pulled in many times, he was on the verge of crumbling.

He pleaded with Kieran, it was useless.

He then scolded Kieran viciously, it was also useless.

He repeated the pleading and scolding again and again, just like how Kieran tossed him out again and again.

Both of them were repeating the cycle without end.

Kieran turned a deaf ear at the pleading. He had decided to play with Paladia after he found out Paladia was lying.

Moreover, Kieran was actually captivated by the presence behind the door.

It was something different.

Kieran felt how rushed and angry the presence was, he curled his lips into a grin. Everything unfolded as he expected: the fear of sunlight forced the monsters inside, guarding their turf and expelling troublemakers.

Though the passive state wasn’t always constant.

Lucan didn’t take anything from the building with his reckless attempts, so the monsters chose to bear with him.

As for Paladia, who took the box out, the monsters wouldn’t simply let him go, let alone the repeating teasing from Kieran.

Even though the monsters were afraid of sunlight, how long could they hold back?

As a matter of fact, Kieran had already reevaluated the monster’s danger level after they didn’t strike after so many times.

The monsters seemed to have animalistic instincts, yet possessed a certain level of intellect and were extremely afraid of sunlight.

A general conclusion formed in Kieran’s heart, he then tossed Paladia out again.

“Aaaaaaa!”

Covered in tears and snot, Paladia cried in mid-air again.

He cried louder than before this time because a giant figure had charged out of the door.