The Devil's Cage

Panic was an unfamiliar term to Perry Kaner.

She experienced it once before but was soon shut outside her door with her rapid power-ups and unique talents.

She believed that strength would earn her everything yet when she came across a stronger presence than her, the more she believed in her ideal, the more panic she felt.

Kieran was approaching her step by step. Perry Kaner could even hear her own heartbeat with her ear and her throat was getting itchy and dry.

However, she expelled those unpleasant feelings soon enough because she wanted to live.

If her strength couldn't guarantee her survival, then…

Benefits!

"The secret on Mary has something to do with the vanished Dragon Sect!"

Perry Kanner spilled it directly without any more tricks but she was speaking so soft that only Kieran who was walking towards her heard what she said.

Mary who stayed behind only heard a little of the revelation.

As for the soldiers behind, all they heard was ceaseless hissings.

Kieran didn't stop his steps though.

He wanted to know the secret because it was related to his sub-mission but obviously the leader of the Viper Sect had much more benefits with her.

It was always been Kieran's aim to maximize his benefits and if he couldn't, he wouldn't mind using a more direct way to get what he wanted, such as killing her.

It might be hard for Perry Kaner to drop Legendary rank items but there was a higher chance of dropping a Rare item.

The biggest possibility was some decent skill books which would be a great deal for Kieran.

"I can share the secret with you!"

Perry Kaner said even quicker but she couldn't sense any intention of stopping in Kieran.

The panic that she suppressed rose up again and filled her heart, this time it brought the presence of death with it.

The moment Perry Kaner first saw Kieran and noticed the coldness in his eyes, she knew he wasn't a merciful person and when killing intent was present…

As the thought came, Perry Kaner brought up her biggest ace card.

"I can lead the Viper Sect in aiding you against the Prairies invaders!"

She purposely emphasized the Viper Sect.

What was the most feared aspect of the Viper Sect?

Their techniques? Their way of handling things? Or their abilities to come and go like shadows?

Each aspect might be fearful on its own but once they were combined together, it would be an existence that the enemy couldn't neglect.

It was quite decent for Kieran to gain the aid of a bunch of skillful assassins.

Kieran finally stopped.

Compared to one or two skill books, he hoped for more insurance towards his main mission.

Otherwise, if he were to fail the main mission, it wouldn't matter regardless of how much rewards he obtained. Besides, after setting up a channel to communicate with Perry Kaner, obtaining a skill book from her wasn't all that hard either.

"Very well then. I want you to make an oath in your Viper Sect way and form a contract with me in my way," Kieran said.

Kieran wouldn't take words without substance. "Word of Sects" were specifically mentioned how highly all the sects viewed of such oath, it was a kind of spirit of language that was related to life itself.

Kieran had no idea how the sects did it but he wouldn't mind an extra layer of insurance.

His way of forming a contract was from Pro level [Mystical Knowledge]. It wasn't as absolute as the system contract but it was much more convenient.

Seeing Kieran pulled out a goatskin contract from his bag, Perry Kaner scanned over it and after making sure it was just a "contract of credibility" without any hidden contents, she wrote down her name without any hesitation.

"So I can leave now?" Perry Kaner asked.

"Be my guest." Kieran nodded.

Kieran then used [Ring of the Serpent King]'s [Dominate Reptile] to disperse the sea of snakes.

A path then opened up before Perry Kaner as the snakes dispersed and she disappeared into the darkness without further obstruction.

Kieran then turned back to Mary to signal her and then quickly went up to Lightning Fortress's wall.

The commotion that happened had caught the attention of the Prairies invaders.

A few hidden scouts were already lurking around Lighting Fortress's wall.

No doubt those scouts had crossed the line that Kieran drew and in reply, Kieran would need to show some response to their action.

After all, a man must uphold his promise.

Kieran drew out his brand new [Hunter's Bow] from his bag. The purple cedar wood was gloomy and dark under the moon hanging over the night sky but as the string was pulled back, the arrow that Kieran infused his tremendous strength into was fired out with a roar, as though there was a tiger in the mountains.

Souuuu!

After the first arrow was fired, the second and third followed instantaneously.

Kieran's hand which drew the arrow and pulled the strings were moving so fast that it left afterimages around.

Common eyes couldn't even tell when Kieran drew his arrow or when he loaded them onto his bow. The common ears too couldn't catch the sounds of his actions as the air-breaking noise sounded continuously yet like a single fire at the same time.

Musou level [Sharp Weapon, Bow]'s [Musou Reload] granted Kieran an extra +4 temporary buff to his S+ Agility. Even though it was only effective against the reloading of arrows, it was enough Kieran to carry at least ten men worth of work and not just ten common archers but ten sharpshooters.

Half of the twelve arrows in his quiver were fired off. Six scouts that went over the line fell under the arrow without exception.

The agonizing cries were loud but after another six arrows were fired, the cries halted abruptly.

Their bodies fell to the ground twitching and soon absent of any signs of life.

The other scouts that hadn't gone over the line quickly back off in fear, none of them cared anymore about concealing presence and ran back to their main camp bareback.

Kieran turned around and jumped off the fortress wall after seeing those panicking figures. He did that on purpose though.

Musou level [Sharp Weapon, Bow] would never have spared anyone's lives, it was just that he needed the screams from the scouts to create a cruel and vicious atmosphere.

One must use the sheep's way to communicate with a sheep and the same goes for jackals.

The weapons in hand were always more effective than soft talks.

After exchanging gazes with Mary, Kieran went back to his tent under the soldier's revered eyes. They assumed that he was going to rest but only Mary knew what Kieran was going to do.

...

Perry Kanner spent all her effort and got back to her base in Riverdale yet she was a step too late.

The traitors were much more than she expected and some of them were even out of her expectation.

She stared at the young man before her, Bicker her left-hand man which was also one of her most trusted ones.

Perry Kaner's eyes were filled with rage yet absent of necessary questions. She disliked asking questions under such circumstances as she didn't want mercy and empathy from a traitor.

"Don't want to ask why?"

Bicker a handsome young man who was standing in front of Perry Kaner with a warm smile. He was sure that she had lost her ability to resist. The daggers at his waist were not only sharp but also laced with poison from five different kinds of snake venom and when it touched Perry Kaner, it robbed her of any remaining resistance.

Of course, she would still remain conscious and in the opposite, the poison would be much more effective that way.

"Fine then, if you don't ask, I won't tell. I'll speak with my actions!"

Bicker then took off his mantle and unbuttoned his leather armor.

"You don't mind the increase of audience right?" Bicker said.

His hands were moving faster as he was eager to strike.