The Devil’s Cage

With Daliphen on their backs, dinner ended in 10 minutes.

Everyone returned to their tents and started to pack, and a while later, even their tents were packed into their travel bag.

Daliphen nodded, very satisfied with the youngster’s packing speed but his eyes still twitched when he saw Kieran, or more accurately, the backpack on him, which was taller than a person.

After dinner started, Daliphen decided to not spare any attention to Kieran for the sake of his heart, but… the backpack was extremely large!

It wasn’t just tall, it was wide too. Kieran with the backpack was extremely eye-catching, it was hard for him to not enter anyone’s sight.

Daliphen, at the front of the group, saw him in a single glance. He saw Kieran naturally go to the back of the ground, the scene making him forget everything that he was prepared to say to the group, the script that was prepared in his mind discarded.

Every time he saw Kieran, his mind reminded him of the thermal container with the tasty food inside.

It smelled really good!

Daliphen’s mouth started to salivate, yet he managed to keep away his thoughts and suppress the hunger in his stomach.

“Move out!”

The script that he had prepared for days became a very simple two words.

Daliphen walked to the campfire, picked up the lit torch, and headed out.

The other young men and women followed.

No transportation was prepared, everyone had to travel on foot.

In the middle of the dark, torches lined up along the long path, like a fiery snake moving through the dark.

The line wasn’t long, but by no means was it short. Not a sound was made, everyone had nerves and anticipation on their face. Such expressions did not go away even when they had reached the destination, instead the expressions intensifying. Each and everyone of them tried to hold their attention in one piece, adjusting their breathing to concentrate on themselves, trying to be as calm as possible so that they could be prepared for what was coming next.

Only Kieran was different.

Kieran had been through so much, his mental state wasn’t affected in any way.

He had time to size up his surroundings and even the people around him.

Up until now, the group has been walking for 2 hours and they had arrived in the wilderness; not too far in front of them was a mountain.

The mountain wasn’t too tall, but it looked like a monster crawling on the land in the middle of the night, a heart-strickening scene.

The group finally arrived at the foot of the mountain and Daliphen was talking to another middle-aged man.

“The Inhumans and the Monsters have arrived and gathered up, you guys are the last to enter. Those guys are really anxious, eh. Though this Battle of the Winter Night is unlike others, it’s unprecedented and probably doesn’t even hold the same meaning anymore. That’s why I don’t suggest these young souls join. Daliphen, be wary, some things are not anything you and I can change.”

The unacquainted middle-aged man displayed helplessness.

Kieran saw the man pass Daliphen a box and then stepped aside. Daliphen then walked back to the ground with the box.

“Okay guys, this is the last thing that I can do for you.” Daliphen stood still and opened the box.

Inside the box were many neatly arranged watches.

Daliphen took one and started explaining, “This is a tracker, it is also your last ‘hope’! You can simply use it as a watch but the most important part of this watch is this—see this white button? Whenever you run into danger that you cannot overcome, press it! It will disqualify you from the battle but it will save your little life!”

Daliphen was extra serious during the explanation.

“Daliphen, you are telling us to give up, to concede?”

Lucan wasn’t happy about it, his background as the wild soul from the north and the teachings he received throughout his life taught him to never give up, the word ‘concede’ wasn’t in his dictionary.

“No! This is not giving up, not conceding! It’s ‘hope’! Just like what I said, it is and will be your last ‘hope’!”

Daliphen shook his head and raised his voice, the white haired elderly with the buff body glancing over every single one of the young participants.

He continued, “It’s not just your last ‘hope’, it’s also… ours! I’m not married, I don’t have a wife, I don’t have a child, I’m going to retire as a Herder yet I don’t have an heir. There are many others like me in the Herders. I’m considered a lucky one because I didn’t have anyone from the very beginning, but not everyone is as lucky. They had someone from the start, but they lost them due to various reasons! Believe me, that kind of pain is unimaginable unless you experience it yourself. Thankfully, they have you guys! You call them teachers, uncle, aunt, father, mother, all sorts of names. You may call them differently but every single one of them treated you all the same—as their child, their hope! You are the last light in their life! Do you really want to kill the last light and send them into darkness, for the rest of their lives? So, before you do anything reckless, or act on impulses, think, think of them! They are waiting for you to arrive home! Come and take your watch, one each!”

Daliphen subtly turned to Lucan, then tossed him a watch.

He carefully looked at every young participant who stepped up and took the watch, having no idea how many of them would come back alive from the Winter Night.

Although he and the other old men tried their best to fight for their ‘last hope’, the battlefield was constantly changing, no one could guarantee whether or not the young participants would have the chance to even press the white button.

‘I hope every single one of you return safely.’

Daliphen looked up to the dark sky and gave his blessing in his heart.

Then, a shadow shrouded the night sky.

Daliphen was startled by the huge backpack that shrouded even the night sky.

A weird feeling rose from his heart, it was indescribable with words, but he was sure it brought along hunger.

“Hey boy, you are the one who owns a restaurant?” Daliphen asked when he saw Kieran size up the watch he took.

“Em. Leaf Dining,” Kieran answered.

“I’ll go there for a meal if I have a chance, remember to give me a discount,” Daliphen joked.

“No discount,” Kieran replied seriously.

Daliphen took the seriousness from Kieran as a joke, the old Herder already felt better.

“Be careful, now go along!”

Daliphen pointed at the mountain.

Kieran didn’t say anything else, following the other participants, going closer to the mountain’s base.

There wasn’t a line anymore; after everyone took their watches, they started to climb the mountain.

The middle-aged man also saw the young participants off, and when Kieran, the last one, started to climb, he took his communicator and wanted to report it in.

Though before he could, Daliphen snatched the communicator away.

“I feel terrible. Drink with me,” Daliphen said.

There were only a few words but the meaning was substantial.

“Daliphen, you know it’s useless right? Even if I don’t report it in, HQ will also contact the Inhuman camps and Monster camp on time.”

The man pointed at the communicator in Daliphen’s hand and said with a bitter smile.

“Then?” Daliphen rolled a white eye.

“Then… I’ll drink with you!” the middle-aged man sighed at Daliphen.

He then took two bottles of beer out from his backpack, tossed one to Daliphen, and opened the other one for himself before he gulped down half a bottle.

The man’s face turned red soon enough.

The alcohol started to take over his sight. He fell on the ground and leaned on a rock, looking at the mountain.

“A minute longer is a minute longer, good luck.”

The man put his bottle up in the air and then he started snoring.

Everything happened lightning fast. When Daliphen realized what happened, the man was already soundly asleep.

Daliphen was surprised, pushing the man with the tip of his foot.

“Dishonest fella.”

Daliphen sat before the man and also looked at the mountain.

The late autumn breeze blew in the middle of the night.

A cloud of mist suddenly appeared around the peak of the mountain, even the cold wind couldn’t blow it away.

“It has begun,” Daliphen muttered.

The snores beside him got louder.

…

When the mist came, Kieran frowned.

The mist didn’t just appear abruptly, when it appeared, Kieran’s senses, perception, and intuition were all blocked: not just his sight, but his hearing as well.

Deep inside the thick mist, Kieran could only see 2 meters ahead of him and only hear his own footsteps.

The stranger thing was, the mist kept a 2 meter distance from him, the visible and hearing range following him as he climbed the mountain, like an invisible barrier had covered him.

The mist felt like it came alive with its own consciousness.

Kieran stopped walking and looked at the rumbling mist, squinting his eyes.

He immediately activated [Gordor’s Chain]’s illusive form, the chain appearing around him and slowly wriggling towards the mist.

This time, the mist did not move along with the chain.

The mist behaved like a normal mist when [Gordor’s Chain] swirled around, it rumbled and dispersed and not only the part where the chain swirled dispersed, the whole cloud went away altogether.

Like how it appeared, the mist came and went abruptly.

Sunlight shone down from the sky and showered over Kieran’s body.

Sunlight?!

Kieran squinted his eyes at the unusual radiance on his hand, feeling the warmth and the light.

He remembered they had started their journey in the night and when he started climbing the mountain, the sky was still dark.

He had probably spent at most 20 minutes, it was impossible for the sky to turn bright.

On top of that, not only had the time changed, even the surroundings changed together.

Before this, he was on the rocky path of a mountain in the wilderness, and now, he found himself in an abandoned street.

The street was heavily mottled and filled with moss.

The buildings, some intact and some broken, were covered in green as well.

The closest trash can to him was also heavily mottled, it’s original color far beyond recognition.

There was no one around him and not a sound was heard.

It was utterly silent.

Kieran looked down at the moss that filled the street. After he made sure he was alone, he carefully moved towards the shadowy spot beside him.

When he covered himself in shadow, he carefully sized up and examined his new surroundings.

The structural style was similar to Ai City, yet a little bit different.

The age of the plate was very similar also.

There were street lamps, signs for public transportation, trash cans, all kinds of public facilities, but within Kieran’s sight, he couldn’t spot a single vehicle, regardless of bus or private cars.

“They all left in an organized manner? Is this another place? Or another… world?” Kieran wondered.

He then looked at a particular building. The building was 50 stories tall, very eye-catching even for Kieran, who hid in the corner.

The tall building would surely be a good observation point and he was certain that if someone else came into this city, or this world, with him, they would also head to the highest vantage point.

The ‘watchers’ would be around also and some of them might bear ill intentions.

It was not only the Herders who came into this place, there were Monsters as well!

Kieran didn’t want to be ‘watched’ by others, Herders or Monsters, he tended to become the ‘watcher’ himself.

For the sake of safety, Kieran did not go straight to the tallest building, instead choosing another nearby building as a vantage point.

The 50 story building was an office building and the one Kieran chose beside it was a mall.

The reason for his second choice was, other than it being a decent vantage point, it was because the mall was spacious enough. Kieran could simply find a decent location and do not have to worry about being noticed if the numbers of participants suddenly increased.

He believed only the minority would be willing to stay as ‘being watched’, the majority would prefer to be the ‘watcher’.

Since everyone was trying to be the ‘watcher’, the options for ideal locations weren’t that many.

Compared to the other tall but risking exposure building, the mall would be a better choice.

Kieran moved along the wall and arrived at a coffee shop located at the corner of the mall, carefully putting his backpack down and hiding behind the counter.

The coffee shop used French windows, inside and out.

In short, Kieran behind the counter could easily see what happened outside and inside the mall with a slight adjustment of his viewing angle.

Those from outside would have to get close to the coffee shop and the counter to find Kieran.

A moment after Kieran hid in the coffee shop, a tall and buff figure appeared on the street outside.

Lucan didn’t even check his surroundings, he strode straightaway towards the tall building.

His straightforward personality determined how he did things and he didn’t want to waste time.

He hoped to settle everything before those troublesome ones came in.

As for the potential danger?

Lucan had absolute confidence in his own strength.

He strode straight into the building without pause.

Moments later…

BANG!

A loud bang later, Lucan flew out from the building and crashed into a street lamp.

The street lamp was heavily crooked, Lucan covering his chest with his hand and blood gushing out of his mouth.

Yet he did not care about his injuries for he was astonished at the direction of the tall building.