The Devil’s Cage

Kieran poked his left finger into the scarlet eyes.

The gooey blood instantly gushed out from the shadow’s eye socket but was instantly evaporated by the sudden lightning.

Aaaaargh!

A figure fell to the ground twitching while screaming in agony.

The black figure was soon out of breath while bathing under the moonlight.

[Brutal Lightning Hand, Thunder Strike]!

Despite it being just a Strong electric attack, stabbing the eyeballs and going directly for the weak spot in the figure’s brain turned the single strike into a lethal blow.

Kieran pushed the window open and looked outside the window; the body was lying on the ground.

Even without the light from the moon, with Kieran’s SSS+ Intuition, everything about the body was exposed to Kieran.

Dark leather mail, soft sole boots, the dagger in his hand and also the pack on his waist told Kieran the figure was indeed a robber.

However, the calluses on the robber’s hand were not caused by using a dagger for many years; it should be from a sword with a thicker hilt.

Besides that, the figure’s physique was slightly buff even with the leather mail covering up.

Of course, the most important thing was, every qualified robber should know how to avoid light, especially moonlight.

Kieran leaped out of the window and squatted down before the body to have a look.

When he saw the two brand new potion vials in the waist pack, the identity of the so-called robber was clear.

“A warrior disguised as a robber? This person failed his disguise! Who would find someone like this to commit murder… Was this guy selected because he is the right-hand man of someone? Or someone is eager and anxious to prevent me from seeing the sun on the second day? Seems like my sheriff position has a lot of beef with people.”

Kieran muttered to himself as he showed a smile while ruminating over the issue.

Further away, the startled civilian troops rushed over.

The young captain was leading the group with a basket in his hand.

When they saw the body before Kieran, the troops’ expressions changed to a nervous one as they placed their attention on the new sheriff.

The young captain on the other hand quickly checked the body. After a while, he stood up with a sour expression.

“A mercenary from Edi Merchant Group! These goddamn mercenaries! They really have guts!”

The civilian troops’ captain was young but with enough experience, he knew what happened after a brief check of the body and because of that, it made the young captain even more furious.

Shatterstone Town was the young man’s “home”.

The young man liked his home without a doubt. He welcomed any guest who would bring prosperity to his home but for those who dared to harm his home, he would not show any mercy.

“My lord, I hereby request a search warrant for Edi Merchant Group!” The young man said with an official manner.

“Request granted.” Kieran nodded.

However, Kieran didn’t think Volgen would get any results in his search.

Even though someone was eagerly trying to get rid of him, as long as they weren’t stupid, they would be prepared since they used someone with an obvious identity.

As for the possibility of the mercenary taking his own actions at the last minute?

Come on! The curse of the sheriff spread like wildfire in the town.

A normal person wouldn’t even dare to come near the security office at night.

Volgen took a few men with him and left in a hurry. Two more civilian soldiers guarded the body while Kieran took the basket and Frost Wolf pup back into the office.

Kieran reignited the candle and the hall was brightened up instantly.

There were wheat cornbread and sausages placed in a box after reheating; the bowl beside contained mushroom soup. There was another jar with a faint alcoholic scent which actually was low alcoholic malt wine. It seemed like it was homemade.

Ka!

Kieran snapped the cornbread. The reheated cornbread became crispy and the wheat was completely infused in the bites. Especially after it was eaten, the roughness of the wheat and the fine corn formed a drastic contrast, giving Kieran a fresh unique taste.

He never thought he could taste food like this here.

Filled with anticipation, Kieran took a bite of the sausages.

As his teeth chewed, the thick fat immediately filled his mouth and was mixed with the fine corn. After another gulp of mushroom soup, Kieran squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

Of course, Kieran didn’t forget about his pup.

He took a piece of cornbread and threw it to the pup.

The pup caught the cornbread with its mouth but it was still staring at Kieran with its crystal eyes; it was wagging its tail non-stop.

Obviously, the wolf part of the pup was showing off its traits. The pup ditched the bread instead.

Kieran took another sausage and threw it to the pup.

The pup caught the sausage precisely off and gobbled it down quickly; it continued to wag its tail at Kieran.

“The bread is nice also,” Kieran told the pup but it was not very effective.

The pup sniffed the bread on the floor and ignored it completely before it turned to Kieran, wagging its tail again.

“Fine. I’ll share half. Half for you, half for me.”

Kieran smiled and shared half of the sausages with his pup. He wasn’t stingy at all when it came to his companions.

Kieran also wouldn’t touch the malt wine, despite it having a low alcohol level.

Dinner ended quickly. The young captain who left in a hurry before came back and walked up to Kieran.

Compared to the furious look when he left, Volgen looked sourer when he came back.

“My lord, the Edi Merchant Group was gone! I’ve asked the owner of the hotel, he said he delivered food and wine to the merchant group before dark, so they must have left after that. I apologize for my failure.”

The young captain hated to admit his failure but he wasn’t a person that would neglect his duty before facts.

“Can you bring me to the hotel?” Kieran asked.

Kieran wouldn’t blame the young captain at a time like this because it wasn’t even his fault.

Quite the contrary, Volgen was able to honestly admit his shortcomings which added more points to Kieran’s impression of him.

“Of course.” Volgen nodded.

Soon, Kieran arrived at the biggest hotel in Shatterstone Town with Volgen leading.

Dwarf Wine and Rice Basin.

The security building and the hotel weren’t that far apart; both of them were located beside the square of the town.

The hotel owner was already standing in front of the entrance looking uneasy.

When he saw Kieran and Volgen, he quickly welcomed them.

“Captain Volgen. Lord sheriff.”

Despite Kieran’s recent arrival, it seemed like the news of him taking up the sheriff position couldn’t stay a secret any longer, especially from Old Peeker.

Young Volgen angrily glared at the civilian soldier on guard at the site; the soldier immediately lowered his head and dared not to even look at his captain.

The scene, however, was self-explanatory from how Kieran viewed it but he didn’t care.

Being able to open the biggest hotel in Shatterstone, if Old Peeker didn’t possess that level finesse to escape the soldier on duty, it would be weird instead.

As for the civilian soldier’s negligence of duty?

Civilian troops were not real militias and not real warriors. Despite being paid salary, it was little; it wouldn’t be too over to try to earn more.

However, there was something unusual amidst everything.

Kieran looked at the other side of the Shatterstone Town square, the building opposite the security office: the mayor’s office.

Because of the incident at the sheriff’s office, the whole town was awoken. While the whole town was lit up slowly, the dark mayor’s office looked exceptionally eye-catching.

Especially when the mayor should be inside the office at that time.