The Devil’s Cage

At dawn, before the day truly turned bright and the hustle really began, a wagon drove off swiftly and steadily through the empty streets.

Carl’s skilled driving and whipping could be heard while John was moving his body in an awkward way.

To the big and buff John, squeezing himself in a tiny carriage was already a terrible thing to do, moreover, the carriage was carrying four people including him.

John looked at Kieran who sat together with him and looked at Sister Moni and Lisa on the opposite. He has started to regret why he didn’t sit outside in the driver spot with Carl.

Stuffing himself inside the carriage, John felt like he was going to suffocate at any moment but still, John didn’t try to open the carriage window.

As a police officer, he had enough experience dealing with danger and it made John understand what should he do at this particular moment. Even though what he was facing now couldn’t be explained by common sense.

Kieran looked at the anxious chief officer and he couldn’t hold back his smile.

“It’s fine if you want to open the window,” Kieran said.

He knew that the chief officer was so nervous not just because of the tight space in the carriage but also because the upcoming battle.

“It’s better to be careful!” John shook his head and said in a heavy tone.

His vigilance increased Kieran’s smile though.

No one wished for their own teammate to be a clumsy fool, even though the teammate wasn’t an in an offensive role but a backup support.

Who was the main offense?

It was clear with a glance over the carriage.

The elderly and weak Sister Moni would never be; Lisa who was still blank and dazing off because of her erased memories wouldn’t do either. Even though John was big and buff, he was nothing but an amateur against the mystical forces.

So, Kieran was the only candidate.

In his mind, Kieran was properly recalling the target details that Gateli provided.

Gateli gave him 3 names.

These 3 uninvited guests more or less had ties to the mystical realm and one of them was certain to be of sorcerer origins.

Likewise, the sorcerer also became the first target for Kieran to strike, not just because of the things they did in the station but also the potential big reward from them.

Yes, entering the dungeon world through a special ticket couldn’t acquire spoils of war the traditional way but the drops from the opponents and enemies weren’t included in that rule.

No doubt the likes of a sorcerer had valuable drops, Kieran didn’t mind reaping some gains for himself while trying to fool Gateli at the same time.

As for the fake intel Gateli had given, Kieran wasn’t worried at all about that.

As long as Gateli believed he had gotten Kieran’s trust, he would definitely provide him with the real thing and not just this time, the next meeting as well.

To be honest, Kieran was already anticipating their next meeting, what kind of surprise Gateli would bring forth?

So, Kieran had to play his part and make a move, making Gateli believe his plans were effective. Therefore, getting rid of the names Gateli provided would be the best move to make.

The thought flashed through Kieran’s mind, he maintained his smile and said to John, “Keep up the vigilance.”

John nodded. After a slight pause, he looked at Kieran again.

“2567, you sure you don’t need me to call in more men?”

It wasn’t the first time John asked, the moment they met up, John asked before but was rejected by Kieran and this time, it was no exception either.

“We don’t need that much manpower. Sometimes, more doesn’t equal good, quite the opposite, it will cause unnecessary panic,” Kieran answered.

“I know but… against such enemies, I really don’t have any confidence in my heart!”

John smiled bitterly as he took out his flintlock, checking it up and down again.

All men has their own habitual actions when they encountered nerve racking situations.

Some would shake their legs, some would walk back and forth and some would gobble down as much food as they could.

John’s was checking his weapon. The flintlock in his hand was no different than the common flintlock, it also relied on fire powder to fire the iron pellet but the iron pellet he used was different. It wasn’t the common led or iron-made pellets but a silver one! And it was soaked in the holy water from the Church of Dawn!

“Believe me, as long as you hit those guys with your bullets, they will get more than they’ve bargain for!” Kieran provided some confidence to John with his assurance.

It wasn’t a lie or empty encouraging words, but the truth.

Silver pellets offered astounding effect against the mystical beings, in addition to the effect of the Church of Dawn’s holy water, it was like adding wings to a tiger, it could even one shot some high level demons or negative beings, given that John could hit them with his shooting though. It was nearly impossible to effectively guard against the ambushes and illusions of a high demon.

Kieran didn’t tell John anything about the high demon.

First, it wasn’t necessary.

Second, given how nervous John was now, knowing too much wouldn’t do him any good.

The wagon traveled on forth.

A few minutes later, Carl’s voice sounded.

“Chief, Sir 2567, we’re here!”

Kieran threw a gaze at John before jumping off the wagon, sprinting away to the other street.

Facing off against a mystic, even if it was declining, the necessary precautions were essential. Kieran would never allow the wagon to appear on the street where the mystic was located because it would be too eye-catching. Aside from mystics, even commoners with higher levels of awareness would notice.

The facts proved that Kieran’s precaution was very necessary.

The moment Kieran entered the street where the mystic was, he saw a spirit similar to the wandering souls standing high on top of the roof of the building.

Commoners couldn’t see it but under [Tracking]’s vision, Kieran could even see the blank expression of the spirit.

Using the covers from the shadows, Kieran easily avoided the watch of the spirit.

Transcendence [Undercover] might not be able to fool the senses of powerful spirit beings but fooling such low levels wandering souls was more than enough.

Kieran picked the lock on the entrance with a steel wire and moved in with a flash.

There was no light in the area but the corridor, the living room, and the kitchen were still clear under Kieran’s sight.

Then, conversation sounded from the study room.

“I’ve said it before, I want more materials! I don’t care whether you are being watched or not!”

…

“Yes, my lord! Everything in the Church of Dawn is progressing smoothly. I am sure Guntherson is not here, it’s the tricks they played on us before this. I’ll deal with these matters as soon as possible and get my hands on that thing.”

…

The two conversations came from the same person.

The former was swollen with arrogance; The latter sounded obsequious and even flattering.

Kieran’s curiosity was piqued instantly.

“As a sorcerer yet he address someone else as lord? So who is this lord that you are referring to? And the thing that you want to get?”

A couple of thoughts came up in Kierna’s mind and at the same time, the door to the study room opened up.

A scrawny, tiny man walked out of the room.

Kieran dashed up to the man without a second thought.