The Devil's Cage

The street at night got quieter.

When a dark cloud blocked out the last bit of the moon—

Sou!

A sharp, air-breaking sound came from behind Kieran’s head.

Kieran tilted his head to one side, the arrow grazing his hair.

At the same time, mist rumbled to his left, and from the shadow behind it, the giant viper mirage jumped on him.

It was really similar to a real venomous viper that hid in the bushes to hunt its prey.

Not only fast but ferocious as well with its huge bloody mouth.

The sticky saliva was watering up and down on its fangs, its red tongue like a whip sweeping at Kieran and its cold eyes were expressing its ruthlessness towards its prey.

Kieran looked at the giant viper mirage. His eyes were as cold as the viper’s, but his countenance had a sense of calmness that was absent in the viper.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen an attack like this.

He had experienced it more than one from the Prairies King, and each time he would end up in an ugly state, damaged or even barely escaping from death.

But…

That was before.

And now?

For the natives in the current dungeon world, maybe it was a few days ago that Kieran had fought the Prairies King, but for Kieran, it was eight dungeon runs of a difference.

Throughout those eight dungeon runs, there were special dungeons and normal dungeons plus the Limit Break dungeon and also the competition for the Unique Title.

He would try his best in excavating the best of each dungeon, and each time, he would face an unknown danger.

Why though?

Other than a sizable reward, wasn’t it just for this moment?

He didn’t want the danger that he knew of to trouble him any longer.

He didn’t want to continue relying on luck against the known danger.

He wanted to take it leisurely.

He wanted to accomplish it skillfully.

And he did it. Quite well too, to be honest.

Huu!

The night gale blew.

Scorching streams rumbled throughout the streets.

A pungent sulphuric scent filled the air.

The Devil mirage roared loudly with its head up.

Its willful and arrogant gaze showed nothing but contempt.

Its chaotic and rampant aura swept its enemies clean.

When the magma arms raised up high, their scorching heat forced the giant viper mirage to the brink of crumbling. Despite the coldness in the reptilian eyes never changing, it didn’t boost the viper or grant it any kind of advantage, instead making the viper look dull and helpless.

When the two magma arms grabbed the upper and lower jaw of the giant viper mirage, the mirage started to fall apart but the crumbling speed was still too slow for the Devil’s taste, to the point that it couldn’t wait.

So, the Devil “helped”.

Tsss!

The magma arms pulled away from each other, tearing the giant viper mirage in half; there were a series of skin tearing noises. The mirage then turned into light particles and vanished into the air, but the eight-headed viper tattoo man was nowhere to be found.

When the arrow was dodged and the giant viper mirage was jumping out, the eight-headed viper tattoo man was silently approaching Kieran from the right.

A dagger dipped in poison didn’t produce any air-breaking noise as it was hurled toward its target. On top of that, the dark environment granted the dagger with a more powerful attack.

It could even pierce iron, let alone flesh and blood.

That was if it could hit its target.

Kieran didn’t move to dodge. Instead, he dished out a right kick that was like an iron whip, and the moment he struck, it multiplied by 10 times and brought up keen air streams behind it.

The air streams were like many small snakes. The moment they appeared, hisses followed and then drowned their target ferociously like a tiger.

[Hundred Violent Kicks]!

[Thousand Viper Kick]!

The eight-headed snack tattoo assassin might not be familiar with [Hundred Violent Kicks], but he was very familiar with [Thousand Viper Kick] to the point that it felt like second nature to him, thus he didn’t back off.

He knew that the air streams caused by [Thousand Viper Kick] could easily rip his skin, but there were just some flesh wounds and bleeding, nothing lethal.

As for its effect towards Spirit?

Perhaps the assassin was not completely immune to the effect but the hellish training that he had been through every day, wasn’t it exactly for this moment? To resist these kinds of attacks?

Moreover, Viper Sect had its own secret technique against other abilities that could affect one’s mental state.

Exchanging mild injuries for a kill.

What could be a more suitable trade?

Enduring the stinging pain in his mind, the assassin’s dagger was quicker than before.

Then…

He was struck by Kieran’s kick and the moment he was hit, his face changed drastically for the worst.

The power contained in the kick was tremendous, making the assassin feel like he was trampled underneath a rampaging primordial beast.

After getting hit by the kick, the dagger in the assassin’s hand couldn’t even move, let alone exchange injuries for a kill.

This was a trap!

The boy had fooled him into looking down on him by using a technique that he was familiar with!

This realization came into the mind of the assassin when he saw that Kieran’s face didn’t even change throughout the attack.

But it was too late.

Bang!

Boom!

Amidst a heavy, loud bang, Kieran kicked the assassin through a dozen buildings as though he were a fired cannonball. The assassin was buried beneath the ruins, absent of any signs of life.

Assassins would never fight head-on like warriors because shadows provided them with the best cover.

They were the dancer on the tip of the blade, they were the dancing partner of death.

Life and death were determined within a fraction of a second.

For foes and for oneself.

When the assassin had looked down on Kieran, the outcome had been determined.

Kieran never looked down on anyone, especially in battle. He would never relax his vigilance even after he beat his opponent, maintaining the necessary carefulness to assure himself even when he was in the same environment.

This habit might be exhausting but it wasn’t a bad habit, especially against sudden ambushes.

Like now!

After the eight-headed viper tattoo assassin was covered in debris, another dagger came from the shadows and tried to strike Kieran from behind.

This assassin dressed similar to the previous one and also had the same tattoo on his exposed right arm. The only difference was that this eight-headed viper tattoo had two tails instead of one.

When the new assassin saw Kieran standing still and seemingly not reacting to his presence, the assassin’s face showed a vicious, bloodthirsty smile.

“Perfect timing! This is how an assassin should be fighting!” His eyes were filled with delight.

As for his comrade that died?

He didn’t care. A dead comrade wasn’t worthy of his sympathy, it would only be wasteful to his feelings.

Really, he didn’t have any feelings, to begin with.

All he had was the joy of killing his target.

Close!

Closer!

The assassin’s face flushed irregularly as he got closer to his target, his body even shaking in excitement.

Then…

His neck was snapped in the bite of a giant white wolf, which had been waiting for a while.