The Devil's Cage

Under the sunlight, the golden glowing box looked even more astonishing and dazzling.

Both [Gordor's Chain]s wriggled closer to it like two long snakes.

The chains were fast and somewhat anxious, but when the chains were 2 meters away from the golden box, the two chains spun on the spot and lashed out one end at the fallen and withered tree trunk with a loud clap.

The presumably dead tree trunk moved back quickly and dodged the whiplash.

An illusory and withered face popped up from the tree trunk and growled loudly at the two [Gordor's Chain]s, but the growls stopped abruptly.

Kieran jumped down from the ceiling and swung [Acard Knife] down across the wooden face, leaving a straight, cold line in its motion.

Starting from the center of the brows to the bottom of its chin, the cut line was very straight.

The ugly, illusory face twitched and its lips moved a few times before it broke into pieces.

Pak!

Like a mirror shattering, the pieces turned into smoke and got carried away by the wind.

After the illusory face got vapourized, the dazzling golden box swiftly turned gloomy.

The box was still intact but it had started to decay, the contents inside vanishing along with the decay.

Kieran wasn't anxious though, he knew what he should do to locate his spoils, like how he never underestimated any opponent.

Kieran had no idea whether this box was a trap or not, but his habitual vigilance told him what he should do.

Two [Gordor's Chain]s whipped the withered tree trunk again.

This time, nothing extra happened, the tree trunk got whipped into shards and a stone the size of a fist fell out.

Kieran used one of the chains to pick it up, examining it carefully before he touched it.

[Name: Seodi Stone (Intact)]

[Type: Wonder Item]

[Rarity: I]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I]

[Attribute: 1. Oath of Allegiance; 2, Dominate]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Spirit A]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: Seodi Stone is considered rare even among the miraculous stones. Its existence far surpassed people's knowledge towards ancient alchemy, it also strengthened the argument of those who claimed the stones were a product of nature. In order to use it, you need to have a powerful spirit energy]

…

[Oath of Allegiance: Use the stone as a medium to form an alliance with any living being you see. Requires the target's blood and oath and a Spirit authentication of the target's Spirit level +1 will happen. When passed, both sides will form an alliance of trust]

[Dominate: On top of the alliance of trust, initiate another Spirit authentication of the target's Spirit level +3. When passed, you can have full control of the target, but a Spirit authentication of the same level will happen every 24 hours.]

[Note 1: When Seodi Stone is lost from your possession, Oath of Allegiance and Dominate effect will wear off.]

[Note 2: Specialized items can free target from Oath of Allegiance and Dominate effect.]

[Note 3: When the number of dominated targets is more than 3, 7, 9, +1 to Spirit authentication to each threshold.]

[Note 4: When the number of dominated targets is more than 12, your spirit energy will be occupied, highest Spirit rank -1. As the number further increases, the more the Spirit rank decreases. This effect is irreversible even if the dominated target dies, unless Seodi Stone is damaged, otherwise you cannot recover your Spirit rank.]

…

Kieran squinted his eyes at the many notes of [Seodi Stone].

"A powerful and dangerous stone!" Kieran commented.

Over-relying on [Seodi Stone] will eventually lead to self demise, but the feeling of dominating others to gain rapid growth of power and forces was intoxicating enough.

Though for Kieran, it wasn't really a problem because he knew his own strength!

He had witnessed powers far more powerful than this stone, so he would never be tempted by this kind of power.

It, however, did not stop Kieran from using it.

Kieran glanced over the setting sun, quickly cleaning up his battlefield, but to his disappointment, from the top floor to the 41st floor, there was nothing noteworthy at all, those several huge monsters not dropping anything like the first one.

Kieran raised his hand, allowing the two [Gordor's Chain]s to return to their physical chain form on his hand before he went down.

Outside the main door, Paladia, who was still tied up, saw Kieran come out. He twisted his already wriggling body fiercer, not trying to hide his intention of escaping because he knew his thoughts would not escape Kieran's eyes.

Although it was but a few hours, Paladia knew what kind of person Kieran was.

Never trusting others, calm, decisive, and always doing things in an extreme way.

Once he deemed someone as hostile, that person would not end up well.

Paladia, who tried to hide his true thoughts and trick him, would naturally be categorized as a hostile.

So what would happen to Paladia since he was still breathing?

Paladia already had speculations in his mind due to being the 'bait' earlier, but he would rather not speculate what would happen for it was too scary to think!

A single experience of grazing death was enough for him.

A second time would frighten him to death even if he did not end up in the monster's stomach.

Therefore, Paladia chose to save himself, but… what's wrong with the rope tying his body?

The rope didn't just lock all his joints, it even tied his arms and calves together and his palms were placed together without any seams in between. The worst thing was his body was tied up in a way that his body would arch forward, hence forming an irregular circle and robbing him of the ability of exerting strength.

If he was tied up in such and was placed on the ground, he would have been able to wriggle away with tiny movements. It was possible if there wasn't another rope tying his waist to the marble pillar outside the office building.

Paladia racked his brain for methods of escaping, but none came to mind.

His joints and fingers were all locked down, he couldn't exert strength at all, and he felt even more despair than before. More so, when Kieran returned from sweeping the building clean, the despair level had fallen to a new low.

"Ugh, Mhmm, Mhmmmm!"

The grass and dirt in Paladia's mouth prevented him from speaking properly.

Kieran took out [Seodi Stone] right away, having no intention of having a chit-chat with Paladia.

"Understand?" Kieran asked.

Paladia's eyes shrunk when he saw [Seodi Stone]. It was obvious that he knew the stone but he denied it with a strong shake of his head.

Since Kieran was right in front of Paladia, he saw every single expression change on his face, so he gave Paladia a slap on the face.

Pak!

The loud clap sent Paladia to the ground.

Blood, together with dirt and teeth, sprayed out of his mouth.

"Understand?" Kieran took out [Acard Knife] and poked Paladia's finger, then asked again.

"U-Understand! I understand!"

Paladia nodded repeatedly, then said, "I, Paladia, am willing to be an ally… obeying to… the oath… of allegiance…"

He spoke in a blurry way but it was definitely not because of some missing teeth.

Kieran gave him another slap without a second thought.

Pak!

Paladia was slapped to the ground again and this time was harsher than the first. Paladia started to see stars before him and despite the dizziness, he dare not lie down anymore due to the fact that [Acard Knife] was pointed at his neck.

"I, Paladia, am willing to be an alley with this person in front of me, obeying to all the rules he forms and…"

Before he finished, [Seodi Stone] shone but it only lasted for a second.

Kieran then cut the ropes with a quick swing of [Acard Knife].

Pak.

The ropes were all cut off but Paladia wasn't happy at all. He looked depressed, probably even losing the hope to live yet he stood up.

He knew about [Seodi Stone], this stone was one of the items he fantasized of getting by participating in this Battle of Winter Night. Though what he fantasized was forming an alliance with others with the stone in his hand, not the other way around and was forced to submit.

Fantasies were perfect, reality was harsh.

An alliance was an euphoric way to describe the relationship and the more realistic word would be slave contract.

Now, Paladia had agreed to a slave contract, he had agreed to ruin his future and put his life in Kieran's hand.

Would he work to death?

It was highly possible based on what Kieran did to him, he would probably become the most suffering worker in history.

Life had just ended for him.

Paladia obediently stood beside Kieran, as if he had accepted his fate, waiting for Kieran to toss him out like 'bait' again.

Surprisingly, Kieran tidied up his loot and went off and based on the direction he was walking… he was going out of the city?

Paladia was astonished.

"Are we leaving?" he asked.

It might be hard for him to accept though.

There were many monsters lurking in the city and they had many mirrors in their possession. Should they work on it, they would get themselves some scrumptious loot.

Although the sun would eventually set, it was still a little early for that. There were at least three to four hours left and it will be enough time for multiple hunts!

Could it be that Kieran was satisfied with a single [Seodi Stone]? He was going to hide under a rock and wait for the Battle of Winter Night to end?

Paladia was running through all kinds of thoughts in his mind while he looked at Kieran's back.

Paladia's questioning gaze would never escape Kieran, plus [Seodi Stone] in effect, Kieran knew what Paladia was thinking.

The reason Kieran wanted to leave the city was indeed because of [Seodi Stone] but he was not satisfied, not at all.

How could Kieran be satisfied with a single stone after he deemed the whole city as his loot and spoil production factory?

He related more things through the acquisition of [Seodi Stone] though.

Which place in the city would be the darkest, where the sunlight could not reach?

The answer was obvious, it required almost no thinking at all: underground, or more accurately, the sewers!

Tha tree-like monster did not move underground and chose to settle down in a high spot because it was immobile from the start. Kieran had made sure of that because he examined the monster carefully.

Even though the monster was being burned by direct sunlight, to the point that its face started to distort because of the pain, it did not move at all.

But that wasn't the case for the other monsters!

The other monsters had legs, they wouldn't just root themselves in a single spot and wait for their demise.

In fact, Kieran was certain that the little skinless monsters would have ran underground if the tree trunk monster didn't use [Seodi Stone] to control the bigger skinless monster, hence indirectly controlling the smaller ones.

Using sunlight reflection to control and eliminate the monsters above and underground were two different concepts.

Underground had a much more complicated environment, the mirror method wouldn't work anymore, unless Kieran could move step by step, little by little and build his 'mirror fortress' and venture inside to clear out all the monsters, but this kind of work was impossible to complete with one or two men.

Even if Kieran had a team, it would be hard for him to truly accomplish it.

Aside from the large amounts of mirrors, the limited daylight would be the biggest problem and obstacle that he would have to overcome.

When the sun set and the night rose, without the lethal sunlight, those monsters wouldn't just sit back and watch the idle mirror without doing anything to them.

There was a way though, which would be the most direct and simplest way: destroy the whole sewer infrastructure.

But before Kieran got a clear picture of the situation underground, he would never blow up the whole thing.

With Paladia following him, Kieran quickly left the central area of the city and arrived at the edge before he stopped abruptly.

Within his sight, he saw a puddle of blood and Paladia reacted fairly quick as well.

Paladia looked around in vigilance when he saw the blood puddle and Kieran slowly walked closer to it.

The distribution of blood was unnatural, sprayed left and right on the ground, like abstract art, and there were some leftover bone shards and meat, but not much.

Kieran could tell the victim was human.

He looked around and examined his surroundings, searching for more blood or bones.

After he got nothing from his surroundings, he looked up to the sky.

Judging from how the blood sprayed on the ground, this person got ambushed without knowing, he couldn't resist at all, and was killed within one chomp by a monster from the sky.

The monster flew off after several munches on the person.

Being able to chomp off a whole human being stated that the monster was definitely huge and was also able to render a Herder representative helpless against such an ambush, meaning that other than its size, it was powerful and its flight ability was rather inconspicuous and fast.

More importantly, this aerial monster appeared in broad daylight!

It wasn't afraid of sunlight!

Kieran noticed the details on first glance.

Paladia wasn't slow either, the Gemstone Sector representative opened his mouth and wanted to speak but before he could, Kieran pushed him into the bush in the woods.

A moment later, a monster with a crocodile's head and a chicken's body, with wings as long as 10 meters, silently appeared above the spot where they stood.

Paladia's face turned sour as he looked at the flapping monster, the motion on the monster defying physics because the flapping did not produce any sound at all.

He knew if it wasn't for Kieran, he would have ended up in the monster's stomach like the unlucky victim from before.

Paladia then looked at Kieran, wanting to know what Kieran would do against the monster, and hoped to spot something different from his expression.

However, Paladia shockingly realized Kieran didn't even care about the aerial monster. Instead, he was looking at the direction where they came from.