The Devil's Cage

A sparrow-like bird landed on Raven’s hand and started chirping nonstop.

Raven was listening carefully.

He used his other hand to pick up some grains that birds loved, and the sparrow jumped over and started pecking at it.

Although Kieran knew Raven had that skill, a look at his performance still left him in awe.

He unconsciously inspected him carefully.

He was an average-height guy with a thin body. His face was blurred by the system.

Other than a normal backpack, he had a knife and a handgun strapped to his waist.

Kieran was certain that those were just for show.

Thanks to his Master Level [Sharp Weapon Dagger] and Musou Level [Firearm Weapon, Light Weapon], he knew that Raven could not have reached for the gun or knife while he was walking or standing.

On the contrary, Raven placed his right hand on his bag from time to time.

Judging by the way Raven walked, Kieran knew that his Strength, Agility and Constitution were not that high, probably just a little stronger than normal people’s.

"An average body, a knife and a gun that are just for decoration… Is his real ace in the backpack?" Kieran guessed.

He had a general idea about what was inside after witnessing Raven control the birds. It had to be something that could summon a powerful monster.

What it could summon though, Kieran had no idea.

After a few minutes, the bird flew away.

"She says three men are leaving this place!" Raven pointed at the left side of the T-junction.

"And?" Hanses asked eagerly.

"She does have a decent memory, but that does not mean that she can recognize human behavior and process more information," Raven said in his unique rough voice.

"Fine, I’ll lead the way! Heads up, folks!" Hanses reminded everyone in a loud voice.

Kieran drew in a deep breath and leaped up one side of the wall with Ramont, the two of them advancing together.

Their formation had not changed one bit. Only the altitude had.

Hanses, Raven and Lawless were on the ground, while Kieran and Ramont were on top of the alley wall.

The five of them were 120% cautious while they advanced. Kieran paid close attention to any suspicious movements.

He also activated his [Tracking] from time to time to check his surroundings.

Things were getting clearer as they proceeded.

After the bird-spying incident, even a newbie like Kieran would suspect the animals in his surroundings, let alone those veterans.

As for those evil killers, they would only be more careful now.

Under normal circumstances, no more birds would be discovered by Kieran and co.

Unless those birds were a sign purposely left behind by the killers to lure them to a designated spot.

A spot with a trap or an ambush waiting for them.

The five of them proceeded carefully along the small alleyway and took two turns.

Each time they took a turn, they would be extra careful, because that was the only moment the group would split up for a short time.

That would be the best time for the killers to strike. After two turns though, nothing unusual had happened.

"Goddamnit! What are they playing at now?" Ramont, who was guarding the left side, ranted.

Ramont was a strong man with a double-edged blade. On his left side he had a short dagger, and on his right side there was a satchel.

Kieran was more concerned about Ramont’s back though and the flying axe and short spears strapped there.

Unlike Raven, Kieran knew Ramont was a really good fighter.

Every time he took a step forward, the tip of his foot would touch the ground first, followed by the rest of it. His muscles would also tighten every time he moved.

Kieran knew Ramont’s stance allowed him to attack and defend himself easily at any time.

Kieran and the team had heard his rant, but none of them said anything in reply. No one knew what was going on.

Coming up was a third turn.

"Careful, everyone!" Hanses said again.

As their guard, Hanses was under the most pressure. Even though he was a veteran, he still needed to chit chat to ease the pressure and prevent himself from making any mistakes.

His boots collided with the ground as his body shrunk behind his giant shield.

He advanced forward toward the turn slowly.

After many dungeon runs, the shield in his hands made him confident enough. No matter how powerful the monster or person before him, they could not break his shield with just one hit.

If Hanses was not struck down with one hit, he still had a chance to counterattack.

Plus, he was not alone this time.

Kieran and Ramont, who were on higher ground, could already see around the turn.

They scouted the place carefully, but there was still nothing.

"Relax! Nothing as usual!" Ramont told Hanses.

Just as he spoke, a black veil appeared high over the five of them.

Kieran, who was still in his [Tracking] mode, could clearly see that the veil had no physical form.

"Careful! It’s formless souls!" he warned his teammates, his boots already burning with hot flames.

Kieran launched his burning kicks right away. His barrage of lightning-fast kicks and the flames formed a mini flaming tornado.

The tornado engulfed the formless souls the moment they threw themselves at him.

Ramont had lightning-fast reflexes as well. As soon as he heard Kieran’s warning, his sword started burning with bright flames as well.

Unlike Kieran’s [Flaming Iron Boots], which was just an embedded item, Ramont’s sword was a Magical one. The sword itself could ignite flames from the blade’s body and burn even fiercer than Kieran’s boots.

Even though Ramont struck a little slower than Kieran, the two of them finished off the formless souls together.

The fastest ones were the trio though, Lawless, Raven and Hanses.

Lawless threw a couple of incendiary grenades and blocked the road ahead with the flames. The formless souls were burned into ashes as soon as they passed through them.

The battle ended quickly. However, everyone was looking uneasily at the black veil above them.

It was over 100 meters in diameter, and it seemed to be formed by steam or a reflection of light.

Kieran could not really tell what it was.

Hanses, who was looking up, suddenly recalled something.

"Is… Is it that bastard?" His stuttering words made Kieran understand that he was panicking.

Ramont and Raven also turned pale, their faces filling with fear when they guessed who Hanses was referring to.

Even Lawless’ expression was extremely serious.

Only Kieran knew nothing about what was going on.

"Who is that bastard?" he asked.

Translator's Thoughts

Dess Dess

The bastard is someone related to Lawless?