The Devil's Cage

The moment the [Piercing Spear] stabbed into the lance shield, the wooden shields coated with iron broke into pieces.

Boom!

The shields burst open as if there had been a grenade explosion.

The debris from the shields flew inwards because of the tremendous force of the [Piercing Spear].

The Knights behind the shields were blasted off instantly, blood splashing out as cries of agony were heard.

Their seemingly indestructible shield formation had crumbled within an instant.

Kieran’s wild rush did not stop there though. The giant rhino mirage covered his body and trampled over the Knights, crushing their bodies and limbs into bits.

The beastly mirage trampled through its enemies, leaving a bloody trail behind it as it charged directly into the jungle.

After knocking down four big trees, Kieran stopped. The effect duration had ended.

The giant rhino mirage roared again and dissipated as fast as it had appeared.

"Come on!" Kieran turned around and shouted at Lawless.

Meanwhile, he was running deep into the woods.

Lawless followed tightly behind him in a sprint.

When both of them were in the woods, they exchanged a gaze and went in different directions, heading towards the Forest of Pilgrimage, just like they had planned.

By the time the Hurricane Knights reached the jungle, their figures had already disappeared from sight.

"Halt!"

A squad leader raised his hand and stopped his troops from entering the jungle. He turned around and saw the bodies and the heavily wounded men. He looked infuriated, yet he did not lose his temper, despite his rage.

He knew very well that once his troops entered the jungle, they would lose their manpower advantage and eventually turn into lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

The countless trees were obstacles for their crossbows and decreased their horses’ nimbleness.

He needed to use his backup plan.

A signal flare flew up into the morning sky. The red flare was very eye-catching as it exploded under the bright sun.

A couple of falcons rose up high in the wind right after.

...

A signal flare?

Kieran turned around for a second when he saw the flare.

He glanced over the light red sky above the jungle and saw a couple of falcons fly up.

"The Hurricane Knights have even more reinforcements? They are already one of the Grand Duke’s three major forces! Who else would they call?"

A terrible feeling rose in Kieran’s heart again.

Suddenly, a completed mission notification popped up and a new Sub Mission followed it.

[Pursuers! (Completed)]

[Eliminated: 21 Hurricane Knights, Rating: Great]

...

The completed Sub Mission [Pursuers] had gotten a Great rating, which had exceeded Kieran’s expectations.

The battle log notifications that appeared in his vision gave him a clear idea of how powerful the [Reckless Rush] was.

[Reckless Rush, Piercing: Target Defense Level is below Powerful, 500 Damage inflicted to Target HP, Target has Multiple Armor Defense, [Piercing Spear]’s Armor Penetration Level is higher than Target’s armor, 500 True Damage inflicted to Target HP, Crushing Effect activated…]

[Crushing, Sputtering: Inflicts 400 Damage to Target HP, Target has Multiple Armor Defense, 350 True Damage inflicted, Target dies…]

[Crushing, Sputtering: Inflicts 400 Damage to Target HP, Target has Multiple Armor Defense, 350 True Damage inflicted, Target dies…]

[Piercing Spear: Durability damaged, Rarity decreased]

...

Notifications about killing the Hurricane Knights kept popping up.

No doubt, the [Reckless Rush] was a lethal skill against enemies without a Powerful defense, even more so when combined with the right weapon.

The decreased rarity of the [Piercing Spear] had been unexpected though.

The spear’s rarity had been Magical, and its rank had not decreased, but a "Damaged" tag had been added to it.

Kieran was slowly adapting to the game mechanics, but he was clear on what had happened to the weapon.

Most weapons were categorized as Common, Damaged, Destroyed, or Trash.

A newly-forged weapon or a well-kept one could also be Superior or Minted though.

Magical and Rare equipment fell under the same category.

If a weapon was well-maintained or newly-forged, its rarity would be Magical or Rare, but if it was damaged, a Damaged, Destroyed, or Trash tag would appear.

If a Trash tag appeared, the weapon would be literally useless.

"When a weapon is combined with the [Reckless Rush], the damage it inflicts increases, but does this also cause damage to the weapon itself?" Kieran speculated.

As always, he frowned over the unfamiliar issue puzzling him.

The Magical Rank [Piercing Spear] had originally been a better than Common equipment, but after using the [Reckless Rush] once, its rarity had gone down. If it had been a Common weapon to begin with, it might have turned directly into Trash after the [Reckless Rush].

Even if Kieran had known though, he still would not have let that opportunity slip away.

Using a strong skill such as the [Reckless Rush] could enhance a weapon’s power. Even though it might have some side effects, he would still take that chance.

If his life was at risk, he would not care about one or two pieces of equipment, although this did not include Rare or more valuable equipment.

After a quick glance at the [Piercing Spear], Kieran counted the amount he had so he could reimburse Lawless afterwards, and then turned his attention to the new Sub Mission.

[Sub Mission Unlocked: Prevention]

[Prevention: After escaping from the Hurricane Knights’ pursuit, you have been targeted by their reinforcements for killing their comrades without restraint. You need to escape the new pursuers’ grasp or kill them, thus showing your strength to the entire Morko Principality.]

...

"Well, well..."

The new Sub Mission confirmed Kieran’s bad feeling.

"You have been targeted by their reinforcements for killing their comrades without restraint."

That was enough to prove that the person the Hurricane Knights had asked for reinforcements was much more powerful than them.

It had to be a single person, and not some squad or brigade, as the Hurricane Knights were already one of the Grand Duke’s major forces.

Other than the Bestowed Squad, there had to be no equal forces in the Grand Duke’s ranks.

If the Bestowed were still intact, Kieran would have thought that they’d be the reinforcements. However, Captain Jorque had been killed during the castle uprising, and the other members of the squad had also put their lives on the line.

The Bestowed Squad was out of the question, and Kieran had no idea what other infantry could be considered reinforcements by the Hurricane Knights.

Only one person was left.

Coincidentally, the only person that was stronger than the Hurricane Knights was somewhere around that area.

Stagner! The Grand Duke’s sword master and the teacher of all three of his sons.

He was known as the strongest swordsman and general in Morko Principality.

Still, Kieran prefered to address him as the masked man, the mastermind behind the uprising of the Grand Duke’s second son.

"Stagner?" Kieran uttered, his mind lingering on the last part of the mission description. He had to escape from him or kill him, thus showing his strength to the entire Morko Principality.

No doubt, if he was able to kill Stagner, the whole principality would give up their pursuit of him, but from what Kieran had seen, that was impossible.

According to Hanses, when Stagner had put on that mask to hide his identity and fighting style, he had only used less than half of his strength.

Still, this had been enough to make Kieran afraid. If he faced Stagner head-on in his prime form, then...

That was a situation Kieran would like to avoid at all costs. No matter what he planned or thought, he would not be able to escape Stagner’s blade.

Kieran felt completely helpless, but he was still not ready to give in.

He had been through a lot of desperate situations, but he had never given up.

He kept racking his brains for a way to get out of this.

Suddenly, he stopped walking.

"I can’t go to the Forest of Pilgrimage anymore! It’s too obvious that my intention is to leave the principality. Unless he’s blind, Stagner will know! If he caught up with me there, it would be really game over!"

Although hiding by using his Musou Level [Undercover] was one of Kieran’s most effective techniques, it still did not mean that he was not afraid of being discovered.

If a big group of people were on his tail, it would be easy for him to expose himself.

Kieran was certain that Stagner would not come for him alone. There would be a bunch of men with him.

All he would need to do was let his men search for Kieran and then strike.

It was all too easy for him.

Kieran stood stiffly as his brain kept spinning as fast as lightning.

As the gears turned, a risky idea popped up in his mind.

"I could go back where I came from! Stagner will definitely head towards the Forest of Pilgrimage after seeing the flare, so if I return the way I came, I will brush past him! He would never guess that I’d go back to the castle, and even if he did, it would only be two to three days later! That will give me enough time to treat my injuries and find another way out of here!" Kieran muttered to himself before clenching his teeth.

Then he quickly turned around and headed back the way he had come.

Translator's Thoughts

Dess Dess

There goes the team dungeon...

Vote people! Few more days left!