The Devil's Cage

Outside Arya Outpost, the process of cleaning up the battlefield was progressing smoothly and neatly.

On top of that, for the sake of safety, Nelson sent out three groups of scouts to investigate the surroundings of the Outpost, especially toward the direction of Naveya City.

During dusk, the battlefield was cleaned up neatly.

There were a few lingering monsters around during the cleanup, but none of them could cause any harm to a group of fully armed knights.

Instead, Nelson found a lot of things in their stomachs after slaying them.

Most of the items found were brooches, rings, and necklaces, the findings made the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield even angrier.

As long as they weren't idiots, the soldiers would know how these accessories ended up in a monster's stomach. Besides, a lot of the accessories bore the 'mark' of their owners.

"Pitiful souls. May you rest in peace."

Nelson took off a ring from a little finger, threw the ring into the collection bag, and carefully placed the little finger into a box beside him.

The outpost master wasn't sure whose little finger it was, so the least he could do was lay it to rest.

Many similar small boxes were carried back into the Outpost by the soldiers. As the only priest in the outpost station, Atrina had taken up the responsibility of taking care of the boxes.

After praying and blessing the deceased, the remains would be buried in a public cemetery in the Outpost.

"The choice between life and death is merciless, but fate can change…"

"May the souls be compensated in the land of the dead or the kingdom of Gods."

"May you rest in peace."

Unlike the burial for Thorn Temple believers, since the deceased were unnamed and unrecognized, Atrina chose a general eulogy from Lady Thorn and prayed for everyone.

Perhaps she had her own thoughts and ambitions, but when she prayed for the deceased, Atrina was very meticulous with the process.

Everyone had the same respect for the dead, especially when among the deceased, there may be someone familiar to her. Atrina became even more serious, she took out the 'holy water' that she kept with her at all times, touched it with her fingertip, and sprinkled the water on each of the boxes, not even one was missed out.

After the sprinkling of holy water, Atrina began a second round of praying.

Three rounds of praying later, Atrina told the soldiers to move the boxes away.

Just like how they were moved here, two soldiers used a wooden plank as a stretcher, placed the boxes on top, and carried them away.

Atrina also followed the soldiers away because there were still some necessary ceremonies she had to officiate in the public cemetery.

The group headed towards the cemetery, so no one noticed the little changes on the ground where the boxes were.

The sun had set, and darkness shrouded the land.

Torches and braziers were lit up throughout the Outpost. The night patrol soldiers climbed up the walls and performed their duty. They widened their eyes and scanned their surroundings.

Soldiers and knights without night duty swiftly went to sleep, they had to replenish their stamina for the possible battle the next day.

Soon, Arya Outpost fell into silence.

Other than the sparkling braziers and footsteps of the patrolling soldiers, only the buzzing of insects and rattling of nocturnal animals could be heard.

On the ground where the boxes of body parts were, a small dark green snake, the size of a grown man's little finger sprung out. Its dark scales allowed it to blend into the surroundings perfectly, and its remarkable intellect allowed it to swiftly lock on to its target: the independent house of the outpost master.

The little snake nimbly and hiddenly approached its target and quickly snuck inside through the window seam.

Then, it saw 'Kieran' who was soundly asleep.

It didn't move any further though, it lifted its upper body up and stared at Kieran with its cold reptilian eyes. As it opened its mouth, its tongue suddenly extended forward like a long thin rope, tying up 'Kieran,' and when it retracted its tongue, 'Kieran' was shrunk down into the size of a grain together with its tongue.

The snake then closed its mouth and left in the same manner it came. However, this time, it didn't go back to the ground where it sprung out from but went outside Arya Outpost.

After the snake left Arya Outpost and gained a considerable distance, it started to increase its speed like it was gliding on the ground. The snake was heading towards a forest in the direction of Naveya City.

Around 15 minutes later, the snake finally entered the forest. A figure had been waiting for the snake there for a long time, and when the figure saw the snake, he bowed.

"Lord emissary, please follow me," said the man before going deeper into the forest.

The small dark green snake followed close behind.

Many turns later, when the small snake was hissing out of impatience, the man finally stopped and knocked on a big tree trunk beside him rhythmically.

Dok Dok Dok!

The knocks echoed in the hollow trunk and at the next moment…

Kak!

A spring contraption was heard, and a spot beside the big tree slowly sank downwards, revealing a dark passageway leading underground.

"Please," the man bowed again.

The dark green snake wriggled its body down the stairs.

Along the dark passageway, torches were ignited on the walls on both sides, and at the end of the passageway was a hall, a well-lighted room; an elderly man in a long robe was waiting patiently there.

"You are as punctual as rumored," the long-robed elder smiled at the small snake.

"I hope you people are as good at keeping your promises as rumored."

The small dark green snake didn't hiss anymore but spoke in the human tongue. Its voice, however, sounded very weird. Its intonation wasn't just long, it was blurry like it was mumbling to itself but clear enough for the elder to hear.

"Of course," the elder nodded firmly.

"Here!"

The snake opened its mouth, spat out the soundly asleep 'Kieran' on the ground with saliva all over his body. It seemed gross, but the elder didn't care; he walked up to 'Kieran,' wiped away the saliva, and sized him up.

After verifying his identity, the elder showed another smile.

"Very well. He didn't resist at all?" the elder asked out of habit before nodding.

"Nothing. He was already overextending himself. After that one slash, how much energy do you think was left in his body?"

"Earlier today, when he faced those idiots, he was 'performing' on his last straw, and it further proves that he is tough on the outside, but weak on the inside."

"But… I have to say he is more interesting than I thought. That kind of power… If I didn't make a promise with you people, I'd study him carefully."

The small snake said with interest as it gazed at the sleeping 'Kieran.'

"Of course, he is special; otherwise, we wouldn't have picked him either."

The elder replied with a nasally voice. He then took out a pouch from his pocket and threw it to the dark green snake. The snake opened its mouth and swallowed the pouch.

Without saying goodbyes, the dark green snake wriggled its body into darkness.

After making sure the snake had left, the elder laughed coldly.

"Hope you people can last a little longer."

He then looked at 'Kieran' again.

"And you? You will be a perfect candidate!"

The elderly showed a smile before he grabbed Kieran and walked into the secret room behind him.

Inside the room was a large stone sacrificial platform.