The Devil’s Cage

<In his eyes, the Instigator was the typical Silent Night member. Not only would he harm others for the sake of his own benefit, he was also a greedy and ruthless person. If it was possible, the best outcome after the meeting would be killing him right away, but it was not possible for they were working together.

<In order to root oneself firmly in Silent Night Secret Society, strength was mandatory and other than that, one would need accurate and quick intel.

<As the direct subordinate of Councilman Colipo and Councilman Kurtzargert respectively, Luncar and Horlaika each possessed secret intel.

<In order to make everything convenient, a reciprocal cooperation was inevitable.

<Of course, Horlaika hoped to find out more about the Demon Hunters through him.

<After all, Councilman Colipo was always responsible for punishment in the society.

<“The councilman doesn’t want you to steal all the limelight. Therefore, he is ready to send me to destroy the remaining Demon Hunters.”

<Luncar was used to the arrogance of the Undying, so as he walked, he muttered.

<He was very soft but he made it clear enough for Horlaika to hear him.

<Horlaika’s heart throbbed but he didn’t show it on his face.

<“The councilman is contacting others and is currently preparing to impeach Colipo. You will be treated as a priority target,” he said softly.

<Then, both of them walked past each other and headed towards different directions in the shadows.

<The meeting was very short, but to both Horlaika or Lucar, it was more than enough.

<Luncar knew what kind of trouble would be waiting for him and Horlaika got the intel on the remaining Demon Hunters.

<With sufficient gains, both of them were satisfied with the outcome, especially Luncar.

<As he sought to move a step ahead, he started to think of countermeasures and ways to gain related opportunities.

<With that thought in mind, Luncar headed into his secret hideout.

<This hideout of his was located near the market in the Central Second Ring.

<The noise of the day was absent, only the silence of the night remaining.

<Group after group of patrolling soldiers with torches shuttled back and forth. There were also sharpshooters at high vantage points, looking down at everything.

<Luncar, in the shadows, glanced over the direction of the market but did not move forward, moving into the room beside him. Inside the room, a well-prepared member of the society immediately opened up the entrance to the secret passageway.

<The passageway led all the way to the dungeon of Silent Night Secret Society, which was under Councilman Colipo’s control.

<As he walked into the secret passageway, Luncar slightly heaved a breath of relief.

<The sharpshooters in the high vantage points pressured him a lot.

<As a matter of fact, every time he came down to the ‘dungeon’, Luncar’s heart couldn’t help but feel scared.

<He couldn’t understand why Councilman Colipo built his dungeon in this kind of place.

<Although the sharpshooters were intimidating and could easily deter anyone, their high vantage point also exposed them.

<As for bribing the sharpshooters?

<Luncar wouldn’t even think of it, for he knew how loyal the royal court guardians.

<Similar to the Demon Hunter locked up in the dungeon, they were all stubborn knuckleheads.

<“How are those three Demon Hunters?”

<Luncar asked the member who stood guard in the passageway.

<“The same as always. One is still crazy, one is still blank, and one is still in a coma. They are like garbage now,” said the member.

<“Garbage? No matter how useless a piece of garbage is, it still can find use, let alone a person,” said Luncar with a smile.

<On journey to the dungeon, Luncar was talking to the guard in a delightful manner.

<The topic of their conversation was vast but it was all for the sake of collecting intel.

<It was very inefficient but Luncar had no choice.

<Not all were like the Undying, who was able to become his collaborator.

<A small fry like a guard would only cause catastrophic trouble should he become Luncar’s collaborator.

<Luncar was sure the guard would sell him out in a heartbeat.

<As for taking the guard under his wing?

<Just forget it. Everyone knew who the boss was in this ‘dungeon’.

<It was Councilman Colipo, not Luncar.

<‘But… It’s only for now!’ Luncar said to himself.

<Soon, when an iron door appeared ahead of them, the conversation stopped.

<The dungeon guard took out the key to the door.

<Behind the door was a dark and humid passage.

<On one side of the wall were many tools for torture, on the other side of the wall was the dungeon cell.

<There were a total of 11 cells in the dungeon. They once held the enemies of Silent Night Secret Society and not all of them were Demon Hunters, but now only the Demon Hunters were left.

<In the first cell, on top of a pile of dirty grass, lay a woman who looked like a mummy.

<Her breathing was extremely weak, nearly undetectable except for a careful scan.

<When Luncar walked past the first cell, he couldn’t help but pause his steps.

<He too had no idea who the mummy-like woman was, all he knew was that this woman was a strange one. Since her capture, this woman had fallen into a slumber and had never eaten or drank for over a decade, the slumber slowly chipping away at her body.

<She transformed from a healthy lady into a mummy and it was obvious that she was on her last string, barely hanging on. She might die in a few weeks time.

<Due to that fact, the hidden guard that had always been around her left the cell.

<A dead person was nothing to be concerned about, right?

<Neither could he complete his mission!

<With that thought in mind, Luncar continued forward.

<When he was at the fifth cell, a silly laugh was heard.

<This fifth prisoner was much more of a relief than the dying mummy at the first.

<This person had lost his original memories to the experiments of the councilmen, his mind messed up, leaving him with the intellect of a 3 year old child—all he did all day was eat, sleep, and cry when he was hungry.

<If the dungeon guards weren’t afraid to explain to the councilmen about their missing experiment subject, they would have taken him out.

<Luncar stood in front of the iron gate and looked into the little window to see the prisoner inside.

<“Eat! Eat! I want something good to eat!”

<The prisoner, sitting in his own feces and urine, jumped over when he saw Luncar.

<The wicked stench followed him right away, Luncar taking a step back and shutting the looking window tight.

<This prisoner wasn’t suitable either.

<Luncar continued forward.

<He finally saw that crazy prisoner in the last cell, which was also one of the councilman’s experiments.

<However, compared to the previous one, this one was much more aggressive.

<Right after Luncar opened the looking window, the prisoner threw himself over.

<“I’ll kill you!

<I’ll kill you!”

<The prisoner’s hair and beard were long, his eyes red and the killer’s intentions felt very real, but right away…

<“Aaaa!

<Stop! Don’t come near me! Go away!”

<Agonizing screams sounded.

<The dungeon guard lifted his hand off of the iron door and on his finger was an iron ring with electrical sparks flashing.

<“A decent lightning ring,” Luncar praised.

<“He is always like this. He is probably the most troublesome one. If you don’t electrocute him a few times, you can’t even feed him. Thankfully, he only gets a meal every two days.”

<The guard showed a humble smile to Luncar.

<Then, under Luncar’s instruction, the iron door was opened.

<Right after the door was opened, the crazy Demon Hunter wanted to throw himself over again but when the electrical sparks flashed on the lightning ring, he shrunk back at the cell corner with agonizing moans.

<“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a pity! I may not know who you are but once a Demon Hunter, now locked up like a dog. How regretful. No, you are worse than a dog! If a dog barks, it will be kicked, but you? You will be electrocuted!” Luncar sighed

<Curled up in the corner, the crazy Demon Hunter didn’t even care about what Luncar said.

<He curled up like a cooked shrimp, covering his head with his hands when the electrical sparks flashed, his body shivering uncontrollably.

<Luncar was extremely pleased with this.

<The little test that just happened allowed Luncar to confirm that this Demon Hunter wasn’t faking it, he had really lost his mind.

<Although the councilmen would have checked this prisoner’s mind, Luncar trusted only himself.

<He could not be at ease if he did not verify it himself, so that he could proceed with his upcoming plan.

<He shook his sleeve and a test tube appeared in his hand.

<He lightly uncorked it and a rich fragrance came out.

<The vile stench in the cell was swept clean the moment the cork was uncorked.

<The shivering Demon Hunter calmed down immediately.

<However, the dungeon guard quickly ran out of the cell with his hands over his mouth and nose and strode towards the main iron gate like an arrow let loose. He panted heavily outside the iron door and looked behind him with a frightened look.

<He knew about the title Instigator, therefore he wished not to end up as a puppet under strings.

<Ending up under the Instigator’s strings would be worse than death!

<As for that crazy Demon Hunter?

<With the lord’s order, it wouldn’t matter as much.

<Moreover, this was reusing useless garbage, right?

<With that thought in mind, the dungeon guard showed a sinister smile.

<Though when his nose picked up a faint fragrance, his smile turned sour and face turned pale, running far away.

<Luncar listened to the rapid footsteps quietly.

<After he made sure the dungeon guard was far enough away and it was impossible to eavesdrop on him, Luncar showed a smile.

<He came here to complete the task he got from the councilman. He was here to carry out the lord’s order but at the same time, he wouldn’t mind completing some of his own tasks along the way.

<With that thought in mind, Luncar spoke.

<“Demon Hunter, do you know? I thought other than you three, all the other Demon Hunters out there were living on their last breath and would never come back from their desolate state. Or should I say, annihilated? However… never did I expect a backup plan from you persistent guys.”

<Luncar’s voice gradually turned heavy and powerful, fanning out all ten of his fingers and shaking them in front of the Demon Hunter rhythmically. At first, the Demon Hunter did not respond, but more than 10 seconds later, under the stimulation of the medication, his blank eyes uncontrollably followed the waving of Luncar’s hands.

<Luncar was delighted by the scene.

<Even a tough guy with the will of iron could not resist his words and his hand gestures, let alone a madman with a muddled mind.

<More so, he added medication just to be safe.

<“Snake Sect! The Snake Sect that hides in the shadow! Unlike the straightforwardness of the Wolf Sect, they preferred to hide in corners and bushes and watch the death of your comrades with cold gazes. Only with you people dead could they have the right to step up to the light!”

<Spilling his flawed lie, Luncar’s hands waved even quicker.

<He wasn’t worried about his lie getting exposed, it was not that he looked down on a madman’s intellect, it was just that his trust in the secretive existence of Snake Sect fueled his confidence. Only a few in Wolf Sect knew about their counterpart and many more knew nothing about them.

<There might be only one who truly knew but that particular person was dead 10 times over a long time ago, even his soul was dissolved into the best nutrients.

<As a matter of fact, not only that particular person, the other well-known ones followed the same footsteps.

<Therefore, Luncar became bolder with his words.

<“Do you feel anger? Do you feel hatred? You lived worse than a dog and they enjoyed the peace built on your sacrifice! Now, an opportunity has arrived! Kill him! Kill the Snake Snake that is going to enter Edatine Castle! Only then can you be at peace, only then can you be free! Only then… you can truly find yourself back!”

<Luncar was getting quicker with his words.

<He could be heard at first and the meaning was pronounced, but as he went on, his words muddled together and became a reverberating buzz.

<His dancing hands whipped up a series of illusions and his face looked more and more flushed.

<In the end…

<A mouthful of blood spurted on the crazy Demon Hunter.

<The blood transformed into mist and was absorbed by the Demon Hunter, Luncar smiling again.

<Everything went smoothly!

<Now, given the hatred and anger in the crazy Demon Hunter’s heart, he would surely kill that Snake Sect Demon Hunter.

<Then, this crazy Demon Hunter would become Luncar’s puppet, a real puppet.

<As for all those lies about finding back himself?

<It was obviously a lie.

<“Follow me,” said Luncar.

<The crazy Demon Hunter stood up slowly and followed Luncar out of his cell.

<Luncar turned around for a glance and saw an obedient and tamed Demon Hunter. He then started to plan how he should arm his newly tamed Demon Hunter so that he could recover his strength to his prime in a short period of time.

<Going after the Snake Sect Demon Hunter in this state was suicidal.

<Luncar always cherished the puppet he tamed.

<Under the flattering smile of the dungeon guard, Luncar brought his puppet away.

<Bang!

<The iron door of the dungeon closed heavily.

<The mummy-like Demon Hunter in the first cell did not react at all, her breathing slow, as if nothing happened.

<Meanwhile, in the fifth cell, the silly Demon Hunter covered in feces and piss had a sharp gleam in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a muddled gaze.

<…..

<“Snake Sect… Snake Sect…”

<Mutteres echoed in the passageway of the city gate.

<The crazy Demon Hunter found his target.

<A sharp dagger laced with poison appeared in his hand. He swapped his striped prisoner clothing for a black and gray mantle which made him look like a shadow. He quickly approached the wagon.

<Right before he opened the carriage door, it was opened from the inside first.

<A soft delighted voice followed.

<“You’ve finally arrived, brother of Wolf Sect.”