The Devil’s Cage

“I pledge my allegiance to the person behind me!”

General White spilled out the words almost without consideration.

Compared to its own life, temporarily pledging allegiance to the person behind it was nothing!

However, never did General White think even after it shouted its allegiance, the knife on its neck did not go down, instead it cut its flesh quicker.

“That’s why I said you are brainless. If my lord wants your allegiance, how would he not know what you are thinking? These kinds of bluffs will only kill you faster!”

The minotaur and horseman laughed together.

The shackles of truth!

General White instantly reacted to the situation.

It had multiple contacts with the kings of Ring City, so it knew how scary those things were and once formed, it would be equivalent to handing over one’s life and death.

Even those kings in Ring City wouldn’t simply use this method!

It wasn’t because of mercy or compassion, it was because the toll and the cost was huge.

It was not possible for one to only form a contract with a single target. Should that happen, the person who initiated the contract would have to consider the people’s reaction and in order to eradicate chain reactions caused by ill-intended parties, forming contracts with everyone inside was the best option and it was something those kings couldn’t bear.

Only the false king on the surface was forced to resolve matters in this extreme way because he couldn’t move. While he gained many ‘loyal’ subordinates, at the same time, he had lost the qualifications of the ‘true king’.

General White really hoped that it wouldn’t fall under such a contract but… it had no choice!

The knife was almost halfway through its neck, if the knife went further, even with its monster’s traits, it would perish!

A second later, General White sighed helplessly.

“I pledge my allegiance to the person behind me!”

This time, [Seodi Stone] captured the vows quickly and the Oath of Allegiance was in effect after a breath’s time.

However, Kieran did not choose to use [Dominate] on General White.

Unlike the cunning Du, this white monster was obviously less smart, so he wouldn’t waste his effort.

The power of the Oath of Allegiance started to spread in its heart, General White standing still like a dead person, as though it was really dead, but after a while, it realized it still retained its own thoughts and mobility, feeling delighted.

‘I’m not a puppet?!’

General White looked at the minotaur and the horseman.

“Of course you are not a puppet! We are not those bastards who think they are so smart and do all those things!”

The minotaur and horseman replied frankly.

Without a doubt these two monsters were at the same rank with the white monster in Kieran’s point of view. They were all not that smart, so Kieran could save his energy.

“My lord, what do you need from me?”

Since General White retained its self-consciousness and did not lose its mind to the stone, it turned around to Kieran and asked him.

“I want to know everything that is going on inside,” Kieran said.

“You mean Ring City? I understand, I will tell you everything.”

General White did not keep any secrets, it told Kieran everything it knew.

Unlike the minotaur and horseman, who had never been into Ring City, General White had a better understanding of what went on beyond the gate.

Mou City Sector, the farthest outer ring. In fact those unnamed sectors were all considered part of Mou Sector and it was the biggest area of Ring City. Many monsters that served the kings in Jia City Sector lived here.

Ding City Sector, the secondary outer ring. The place for the monsters who got recognition from the kings. There were secret magic formations cast by the kings around the area to generate more negative energy.

Bing City Sector, the outer ring, was also the military base. The soldiers of the kings lived here, so the negative energy there was denser. The part connecting to the secondary outer ring had a market and would only open every 15 days. Those monsters in the secondary outer ring could pay some cost to get into the outer ring.

Yi City Sector, the inner ring. The place for the generals, commanders of the army of the kings.

Jia City Sector, the core of the whole Ring City, the place where the kings lived.

“Pay some cost when the market opens?” Kieran asked about the part that caught his attention.

“Yes. Have you heard of Crossing Coins?” General White asked.

“Crossing Coins?! This kind?!” Kieran was shocked, he quickly took out a Silver Crossing Coin and showed it to General White.

“Yes!” General White nodded.

Kieran squinted his eyes at the fact.

This world used Crossing Coins as a currency unit? So what was the relation between here and the outside world?

This world was once part of the outside world?

Or the Crossing Coins from the outside world came from here?

Many thoughts popped up in his mind but it didn’t stop him from seeking more answers.

“The kings, how many are they?” Kieran asked.

“There were 4 kings from the start but only there’s only 3 left now. The 3 kings are King Liao, King Reow, and King Qi. They were all the founders of Ring City, together with the missing King Ren. Legend says when Ring City was born, the four kings had been around.”

General White showed respect when it mentioned the kings of Ring City.

“So is that King Ren dead?” Kieran asked.

“I don’t know, he should be missing though. When King Ren went missing, I’d just gotten the post of gatekeeper outside Mou City Sector. I don’t know a lot about him but in my blurry memories, Ring City was in chaos back then, wars would break out once every few days. However, the monsters said because King Ren was missing, it allowed the enemy to seize the chance to attack,” replied General White.

When General White mentioned the enemy, it looked rather strange.

The minotaur snorted at the explanation.

“What enemy? It’s a civil war! The other 3 kings were causing a scene during King Ren’s absence! Those three bastards!” The minotaur grumbled.

The minotaur’s reply attracted an angry glare from General White.

It stared at the ox-head and the ox-head stared back without stepping back, but both of them did not fight, knowing who was in charge here.

The horseman?

There was no expression on its horse-face but it stood by the minotaur. It was ready to beat up the white monster with the minotaur should a fight break out.

Kieran wasn’t interested in the monsters’ comment. Whether it was a civil war or an invasion, he had no interest at all.

He waved at it and continued asking, “What about that red skull? What is that thing?”

“He is an ally to the kings. He came to Ring City after King Ren went missing and lived in the Jia City Sector but most of the time, he wanders all over the city and rarely goes back. Though he just brought a man into the city to meet the kings.”

White monster then described the man’s look and emphasized on the smell from the man.

“That man must have come from the Reek River. Rumour has it that the Reek River is connected to the outside world. I never knew it was true,” the minotaur exclaimed.

“That guy is a warrior!” The horseman was also astonished.

The minotaur and the white monster knew what was in the Reek River, so they nodded in agreement.

Reek River was scarier than a fermenting cesspool and someone swam through it to come into Ring City.

Although the distance in between was unknown, it wasn’t something that could be achieved in a short period of time.

The three monsters pondered upon the fact and showed respect to that man from their heart.

They would rather die than swim the Reek River because there was a high chance that they would drown in the rapid current. Rather than die in a filthy river with rapid current, you might as well just die on the spot.

“He brought a man?” Kieran pondered on it for a while.

He didn’t ask who he was but based on what the white monster told him, he was sure the man was Victor.

He didn’t know how Victor faked his death but he knew why Victor went into Ring City: to incite war between the humans on the outside world and the monsters in Ring City.

Just like what he speculated earlier.

Then… was there any ‘Whitet’ in Ring City that could incite war?

“Where is the treasure vault in Ring City?” Kieran asked without further ado.

“It’s inside King City but I don’t know where it is,” the white monster answered.

“You don’t need to, someone will guide us there,” Kieran said before he headed towards the hanging bridge.

The three monsters were confused but they followed nonetheless.

Paladia, who acted as Whitet earlier, tended to lay low and be as quiet as possible so that he would not attract attention. He really wanted to leave with Pangnard and the others but he knew it was not possible because he was different.

With the Oath of Allegiance in effect, Paladia was a grasshopper tied to a rope and the rope was in Kieran’s hand.

He couldn’t run at all, all he could do was hop forward into the darkness.

But… could he not walk on the path of self-destruction?

Going straight into the treasure vault of the city?

This wasn’t the right way, even if he had a death wish!

The treasures were good but one had to stay alive to enjoy them!

Dying over the treasures would do him no good!

Paladia fell into despair as he followed the group.

Lucan, who stayed beside Paladia, didn’t mind at all. He was very happy to tag along.

He came into this Battle of Winter Night to find the treasure of the Northern Woods and he was very sure that treasure was hidden inside Ring City, plus, Kieran did save his life before.

If he could search for his treasure of the Northern Woods and help Kieran along the way, in Lucan’s point of view, it was killing two birds with one stone.

When they arrived in front of the hang bridge, General White went over to retrieve its stick filled with vengeful spirits but it did not open the door. Instead, it led Kieran to another side.

“What are you doing?” The minotaur asked with a suspicious glare.

“My lord wants to go to the treasure vault, so we have to go through Ding, Bing, Yi and Jia City Sector, but there’s a lot of guards along the way and when we enter the inner city, the generals and commanders of the army are everywhere. Do you think my lord can bring all of us in?” General White grunted coldly.

“You have a secret passage to reach the vault?” The minotaur got stunned.

“Not secret passage, an emergency passage!”

General White emphasized before it pushed the wall open, revealing a tight passageway that only allowed one person to go through at a time.

The passageway was crude and simple. It didn’t look like something that was built with the city, it looked more like someone dug the passage out little by little.

The minotaur, horseman, and Lucan looked at General White in surprise.

“I’ve stood guard here for a hundred years, can’t I get myself a hobby? What’s wrong with digging a passage?” General White said while straightening its neck.

“Nope, there’s nothing wrong, it’s just that I never thought we were the same!” The minotaur chuckled in an evil way.

The minotaur’s hobby was robbing and snatching from other weaker monsters, it enjoyed taking food and treasures from others that it blocked on the road, hence its name was notorious even among the monsters.

General White was well aware of the notoriety too.

“I hate monsters without techniques like yours,” General White showed disdain in its words.

It naturally attracted an angry reaction from the minotaur, the argument starting again.

Paladia couldn’t care less about the argument, turning a deaf ear and looking at Kieran with a pitiful look.

When the passageway was revealed, he knew Kieran would assign him a new task, but he really didn’t want to accept it.

The passageway dug out by General White might not be safe, and aside from that, going into the passage alone and sneaking into the King City would put Paladia in a dangerous situation.

He didn’t want to step into the chambers of the three kings alone.

“Go scout it out,” Kieran said.

“Yes, my lord,” Paladia walked into the passageway with a crying face.

Right before Paladia stepped inside, he turned to General White and said, “You better pray the passageway is safe, otherwise I will haunt you even if I am dead!”

“After the passageway was complete, I went through it once or twice every year and nothing ever happened to me, so why would something happen to you? There are markings on the wall, they will tell you which exit you are at and remember to check whether it is safe outside before you open the doors.”

General White was very confident in the passageway that it dug up.

Paladia asked General White about the meaning of the markings before he went into the passageway.

…

Ring City, King City Sector.

Victor was in a guest room and was looking at the red skull with doubts.

“I can’t smell, so it won’t affect me but the three kings are different. If you don’t want to get thrown out before you even meet them, I suggest you clean yourself carefully here before the meeting,” said the red skull.

“Since when did the kings of Ring City add so many unnecessary rules?” Victor frowned.

“Since the birth of the city and when they were crowned king, everything changed after that.”

The red skull then stepped outside the room and closed the door.

Looking at the closed door, Victor showed a grim smile.

‘What a lousy cover up,’ Victor thought before he walked into the bathroom.

While the water showered down, the red skull was already in the center of the King Sector: the royal hall.

Three gold-forged thrones towered over everything at one end of the hall, three figures sitting on top of it and because of the intertwining light and shadows, their faces were blacked out yet it made their figures look bigger.

The veil of mystery shrouded over the three kings.

The red skull felt the grandness and the mysterious presence from the kings, its heart overwhelmed with praises.

It wasn’t the first time the red skull met the three kings but it would exclaim how powerful the kings were every single time.

At the same time, it would also remind itself what it should do in front of the kings.

After a bow, the red skull said, “Your Majesties, Victor is here and he… bears ill intentions.”