The Devil’s Cage

Once again, Luphus woke up from his unconscious state. He looked at Kieran quietly, the familiar pain in his neck making him shut his mouth.

It wasn’t the first time or even the second time anymore. Along the journey, he had woken up more than once and each time he spoke, he had been knocked out again.

The continuous hits on his neck made him doubt how many more times his neck could endure it before it broke.

Since Luphus had fallen unconscious multiple times, he had lost count of the time, but based off of the hunger in his stomach, he knew they were close to Gordor.

It was too late to say anything now, since they would be arriving soon.

In fact, the very next moment, Luphus realized things were much worse than he had expected.

Through the carriage window, he saw smoke pillar after smoke pillar, and since Gordor didn’t have farms or plantations, open burning of dried straws shouldn’t be happening. In addition, the air reeked of burnt human fat, with many people covering their mouths along the way, meaning something had happened.

“The outbreak has begun?” Luphus mumbled.

The sorrow that appeared on his face was unconcealable, already picturing the destruction of his home.

Throughout the process, Kieran kept his calm and dull expression.

In his perception, the burning bodies before his sight were only the tip of the iceberg.

The Plague of Decay, which caused the joyous state of Plague Force, had enveloped the entirety of Gordor Land and was spreading to the other lands of Yort Fields with exponential speed.

The unusual speed has far exceeded the natural speed of spreading.

“Someone is behind this? Or?”

The speculations in his heart made his face colder and duller.

The wagon gradually slowed down. They had reached Gordor Land!

After going through a large area of low buildings on the empty streets, the wagon reached a four story building that was surrounded by walls without hindrance.

The tall walls blocked the prying gaze of intentional people.

The guard in front of the gate was responsible for everyone going in and out of the building.

However, at the time being, the guard looked scared, heavy worries and anxiety smeared all over his face.

“Hello. Hello?” Luphus had to ask twice before the guard react.

“Huh!? Who goes there?!” the guard cried in shock, placing his hand on his sword, but faltering backwards as if he was scared of Luphus getting too close.

Only when the guard had a clear look at Luphus’ healthy face did he finally stop being scared.

“I am Luphus, the Sand Counter. I am here to see Lord Gordor. I’ve brought some potions, I hope they can be of use to fight the plague,” Luphus introduced himself.

When the guard heard the word ‘potion’, his eyes shone but quickly turned gloomy. Still, he went inside the building to deliver the message.

A little while later, an elderly man in plain clothing and a half a meter long metal mask, which resembled a crow’s beak, came out.

“It’s been a while, Luphus!”

The moment the masked man came out, he wanted to hug Luphus, but he quickly stopped, realizing the situation.

“I’m sorry, it’s clearly not the time,” the elderly smiled bitterly.

“I understand. The crow mask isn’t that effective even if you disinfect it everytime. Here try my potions. It might not work every time though.”

Luphus nodded and reminded the elderly man, the smell of medicine on him very distinct.

Plague of Decay was not a common plague.

“It’s better than nothing,” sighed the elderly man, looking at the wagon.

“That’s my student Eden and the wagoner cum bodyguard is Roffu. With him around, our trip was much smoother. It’s just that my neck can’t take it anymore. And…His Majesty Ryan.”

Luphus rubbed the back of his neck and spoke in his usual tone, but when he mentioned Kieran, he lowered his voice to the point that only him and the masked man could hear.

“Is His Majesty here to help us?” the elderly man asked excitedly.

“No, His Majesty is here to find information about something and he brought me along,” Luphus shook his head, spilling the truth.

He knew he must not cause any misunderstanding, otherwise Gordor would be truly doomed.

The human heart was as fragile as glass in front of death.

“This, this… Sigh.”

The masked elderly sighed.

A moment later, a sudden cry sounded further away. A few figures were running out of a building, one of them was a kind young man in a white robe. He shouted quickly, “Everyone, go back and wash your hands and body with my potion! Remember, clean yourself properly! And mark this house down and evacuate everyone around here! No one will be allowed to enter except for the body keepers.”

“Yes, Sir Ager.”

“Understood, Sir Ager.”

The replies sounded in succession before the group of people scattered away swiftly.

“Ager? The Wandering Doctor Ager?” Luphus was stunned.

“Yes, it is him. Thankfully, Sir Ager arrived at Gordor for some research studies by coincidence, otherwise the situation would have grown out of control. Do you want me to introduce you to him?” the masked elderly asked.

“Of course! I’ve heard of his meritorious deeds for a while, but I never thought I would run into him here,” Luphus nodded, showing quite the interest in the wandering doctor.

The doctor was known for his reputation and his medical skills.

Likewise, it also sparked some interest in Kieran’s heart.

The plague, a doctor, wasn’t it all too much of a coincidence?

Not really, if the plague and doctor didn’t appear in the same place.

Kieran glanced over the doctor’s back and slowly walked down the wagon.

“Greetings Your Majesty. All of Gordor’s book collection will be opened to you. Please follow me.”

The elderly man in plain clothing saw Kieran, who came down from the wagon. He bowed, greeting Kieran and telling him to follow him into the mini tower.

The group then walked along a wooden corridor, reaching the balcony, where many well distributed houses appeared beneath their sight.

“This is the book collection of Gordor Land. Other than the mess hall in the middle, the other places house all sorts of books and tomes on different topics and genres. You can read anything you like. Please excuse me, I know I should guide you through the books myself, but as you might have noticed, Gordor has fallen into a desperate state,” said the elderly man in plain clothing.

“Sure. Where is the record about the contract between Yort Fields and Nevetya?” Kieran asked.

“There is no precise record about this particular contract but the records on the incidents 300 years ago are all in that house, the one furthest away on the edge. You can read whatever in there that you like,” said the elderly as he pointed at the house outside.

Kieran nodded and the elderly walked away immediately, as if he was busy with attending to matters about the danger that had befallen Gordor Land.

Everything seemed so reasonable and natural.

Though, almost 20 minutes later, when Kieran arrived at the old house, before he could sit down and read the books and scrolls, a big group of civilians came over unannounced.

“Oh merciful Majesty, please save us!”

“Merciful Your Majesty, please bless us with your divine blessing!”

“Your Majesty, please show mercy to us, the lost sheeps!”

…

The cries entered the house almost instantaneously.

Kieran put down the book that he had just picked up, curling up the corner of his mouth into a little grin, before returning his face to his calm and dull looks.

It seemed like someone was much more anxious that he had anticipated.