The Devil's Cage

5 am on the second day, the restaurant closed shop on time.

Kieran took back the blackboard that acted as a sign, while Li Jiajia, who had spent the whole night and her heart in studying and working, yawned as she woke up.

Starbeck was still busy in the kitchen.

Container after container was arranged neatly behind him, Starbeck carefully putting the half-cooked food into the containers and wrapping them with plastic wrap.

That wasn't all, beside the cooking table was processed beef jerky, piled up like a mini hill, and bags of dried vegetables packed and ready to go.

Starbeck prepared instant edible food, food that required no heating and many other preserved food for Kieran, prepared according to how long Kieran would be away.

Kieran saw Starbeck was busy, remaining quiet and stepping out of the kitchen.

He then sat back down in his hair and took out the 4 Crossing Gold Coins.

After he released the restraints on the Origin Forces in his body, the gold coins emanated their brilliant radiance outrageously, or more accurately, the golden radiance was 'sucked' out.

Gluttony's cheers echoed in Kieran's ears, Kieran once again greeted by the chains from the void.

Numerous thin, black chains were still around his body and limbs, the nearly invisible and hair-like threads still connected to his head.

Nothing had changed from before, even those translucent chains remained the same.

The breaking of chains was also similar to the earlier one.

Kak!

Kak Kak Kak!

The invisible chains broke first, followed by the black chains and when the black chains broke, the constricting power on his body was slightly lifted, Kieran seizing the window and reaching out his hand to grab the translucent chains.

Clank Clank Clunks!

The chains rattled

The black chains that wrapped his body rattled fiercely when Kieran grabbed them, but the most violent one was the one chain that Kieran latched onto.

That particular chain came alive, struggling violently in Kieran's hand and kept flickering repeatedly like a lightbulb.

It was hard and cold and unknowingly disgusting.

The feeling of disgust flooded Kieran's heart in an instant, wanting to pull the chain off, but the hardness of the chain far surpassed his expectations.

The chain didn't even budge under his strength, it even caused an extreme sense of danger in his heart.

Without a second thought, Kieran released the chain.

Clank, Clank Clunks!

The rattling noise of the chains went quiet, the other chains also slowly going away. Kieran was returned to the restaurant, behind the counter.

"What is that sense of danger I felt?" Kieran squinted his eyes.

He trusted his instinct very much. It wasn't just because of his naturally powerful Spirit, it was also because he tempered it through countless battles, hence he had cultivated a sixth sense that others didn't have. His sixth sense tended to be even sharper than a beast against danger, like what happened just now.

He tried to pull the chain off but a danger that might be related to life and death rose in his heart, like there was a sharp knife in front of his chest.

The sharpness and stinging sensation rose a lump in his throat, but he did not panic.

He was used to lingering around the edge of danger, so he knew what he should do in this kind of situation: be calm!

Being calm sometimes triumphed over being powerful.

Calm Kieran knew what he needed.

"I need more Crossing Golden Coins!" Kieran looked at the mottled coins in his hand.

He needed more coins to better observe the situation and the chains, and on top of that, he still had many more seals to break through.

[Spirit broke through 3 layers of seal, increasing from S- → SS-]

[Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intuition broke through 4 layers of seal, increasing from A+ → SS-]

…

Kieran used the breathing methods from [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] to adjust himself to his newly strengthened body.

Two breaths later, Kieran opened his eyes. He didn't stand up though, remaining seated, and used [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] to detect the changes to his body.

After he made sure everything was in place and he could utilize everything in his body to the fullest, he started to check his equipment and items.

Despite Kieran always carrying his items with him, he'd still habitually check and inspect his items and equipment before any kind of important matter.

The process of tidying up equipment and items allowed Kieran to double check whether or not he had missed something.

Actually, it wasn't just for the items and equipment, he was also tidying up his plans.

[Sharp Standard-Issued Sword] was hung over his waist.

[Acard Knife] was hidden in his sleeve because of its short length.

Two [Gordor's Chain] tied around his left hand, together with [Hound Ring].

The [Healing Potion (Witchcraft)] and the [Philosopher's Stone (Shard)] was also kept on him at all times.

After releasing all the souls from [Soul Keeper Bangle], Kieran equipped it on his left hand too. Although he never thought of keeping souls, treating it as an extra wrist guard was a decent choice.

When Kieran finished his check, the curtains to the kitchen were lifted up.

Starbeck pushed out a big backpack loaded with food, but it wasn't easy for him to push such a heavy load.

The backpack, when laid on the floor, was as tall as a person, it's size requiring at least 2 grown men to hold it together. If the kitchen was any smaller, Starbeck wouldn't have packed such a ridiculous load.

Kieran lifted the backpack with one hand and put it outside the counter.

He then turned around to Starbeck.

"Close the restaurant for a few days. I've put the Hounds on guard in the area. Superior Demon is also on guard. Huai Cuike will send Bain and another Herder over to keep an eye on the place 27/7," said Kieran.

"Em. I understand," Starbeck nodded his head obediently.

Starbeck knew he wasn't much help in battle. He wouldn't recklessly say something like 'let's go together', it would only create trouble for Kieran, and Starbeck knew the best was to listen to Kieran's arrangements.

Kieran caressed Starbeck's head.

"I'll be going then," Kieran then walked away.

When he pushed open the restaurant door, sunlight shone across the sky from the horizon.

Huai Cuike, who had been waiting for Kieran, was dumbstruck when he saw the big backpack. He pointed at the car outside the street and smiled bitterly, thinking the backpack wouldn't fit in the car.

"Hold on," Huai Cuike said and then made a call.

10 minutes later, a truck arrived.

Kieran didn't want to sit in the front seat of the truck despite Huai Cuike inviting him, instead jumping on the truck's back with the huge backpage and sitting down at the little window to the driver's seat while facing the window.

As the truck's engine roared to life, the vehicle went further away from the restaurant.

It eventually turned blurry and a moment before the restaurant went out of sight, Kieran saw a person come out from the restaurant, put his hands up in the air, and wave.

The familiar voice was also carried into Kieran's ears by the wind, "Come back safety! I'll be waiting for you with more food!"

Kieran curled up his lips into a smile, he didn't shout his reply but simply said softly, "Wait for me."

Kieran knew Starbeck wouldn't have heard what he said but he knew Starbeck would cook a lot of good food while waiting for his return.

He had to return as quickly as possible, he wouldn't want Starbeck to wait for him for a long time.

…

The truck made many stops along the way in the city but after it drove out to the outskirts, it sprinted with full speed towards a single direction like a horse on loose reins.

The modernized buildings gradually decreased as the truck went further.

The scene eventually turned into farms and forests and when the asphalt road became a muddy path with holes, a campsite was visible ahead; the truck also slowed down to a stop.

Huai Cuike came down from the truck.

"We can only send you this far. You need to be careful on your own from here on. Remember, if you really can't do it, just give up," Huai Cuike said after a little pause.

"Em," Kieran nodded.

Huai Cuike actually wanted to speak more but when he saw Kieran's reaction, his original intention failed to come out from his mouth. Instead he said, "Follow me."

Huai Cuike then took the lead into the temporary campsite.

The Herder on duty outside the campsite was familiar with Huai Cuike, both of them hugging each other upon meeting and the man seemed very passionate about Kieran also.

"I'm Daliphen, this old man's friend. You will have to follow me around for the upcoming schedule."

The tall, buff Daliphen said with a laugh.

"Royan," Kieran replied the man's enthusiasm with his alias.

"A great name! Hope your name can shine brightly in the Battle of Winter Night. Okay, my old friend, this may be a transfering point, but you cannot enter—only when you let the fletchings fly, can they surely soar."

Daliphen smiled at Kieran again before he talked to Huai Cuike.

"Be careful," Huai Cuike gave his last reminder before he left.

Kieran saw the truck drove off and then landed his attention on Daliphen.

"Relax. There's still time. Do you need me to guide you around the campsite?" Daliphen laughed.

"No thanks. I can manage, but are there any off-limit places here?"

Kieran rejected Daliphen's goodwill with a shake of head.

The campsite was as big as a football field. Even with many camps set up across the field, Kieran could easily get the general picture with a single glance.

He needed no guide or receiving party, though he still had to ask about the forbidden places.

Kieran wasn't scared of attracting trouble, he was worried about unwanted troubles that could potentially affect the Battle of Winter Night

"No! The ones who participate in the Battle of Winter Night are youngsters like you. If you have friends among them, feel free to go find them; if you don't, simply find an empty camp, or make one yourself, to rest. When the time comes, I'll inform everyone," Daliphen answered.

Kieran nodded to express his understanding, then took his huge backpack to a corner of the campsite.

He had no friends here.

Why not rope in the other participants?

Kieran would never do it because he found it hard to trust a stranger.

He simply set up camp by putting his backpack on the ground, pulling out the rain cloth, tying it on the fence on one end while the original end remained at the backpack. Kieran then sat underneath.

It was a simple, probably ugly and crude, camp.

Starbeck did suggest bringing a real camp but Kieran insisted this would be enough.

If he had space to stuff a compact camp in his backpack, might as well put more food in it.

The sun rose up high in the sky, and when it was hanging up in the middle, Daliphen arrived at the entrance and yelled loudly, "IT'S LUNCH TIME!"

The quiet campsite instantly turned merry and noisy.

Herder's representatives came out from their respective camps.

There were men and women, fat and thin, short and tall, and everyone was in various attires and outfits.

Some wore casual clothing like Kieran, others wore robes, light armor, leather armor.

There was one man who bared his top yet covered up in a bear rug, the bear's head acting as the hat on the man. He was very eye-catching and the special look made Kieran take another glance.

The man didn't seem to see Kieran's gaze though, or more accurately, the man was captivated by the food.

Daliphen had prepared enough food for all the participants.

A giant basin, which was used for showers, was filled with vegetables and potatoes that were fried and steamed; the other basin had rice in it.

Though the captivating food wasn't any of the mentioned, behind Daliphen was a little cart with 10 translucent foodboxes.

The foodboxes were big, as big as a big pot of soup and each box was divided into 10 sections; each section had different kinds of food, from fried chicken to braised beef to shrimp and crabs.

The color was very alluring, when the two big basins of carbohydrates were in front of them, the carefully prepared food looked even more mouth-watering.

"There is an old rule when it comes to having a meal."

"I'll explain it one more time for the newbies."

"These two basins of food are free for all, but those 10 boxes behind me requires you guys to think. Whether you buy everyone with money, or beat everyone with brute strength, or even cause a scene and grab one amid the chaos, as long as you can get your hands on it, the food inside the box is yours. Casualties are not tolerated, or else you will lose not only the food but also the qualification to participate in the Battle of Winter Night. Now, begin!"

After a loud start, all the anxious Herder representatives jumped towards the boxes.

Only Kieran sat in his spot without budging.

Kieran was never picky about food, but if he already had Starbeck's handmade food, why would he eat someone else's?

Those food in the boxes was nothing but the best of common cooking.

They were nothing, incomparable to Starbeck's cooking.

Kieran also knew what Daliphen was trying to achieve: Daliphen was giving a chance to the participants to get to know each other.

Therefore, Kieran sat back and watched the fight between the representatives in zest.

The man with the bear rug was indeed eye-catching, a single swing of his hand throwing a few competitors away. He allowed the attacks from others to land on his body, but he didn't care as he reached out to one of the foodbox.

"That's Lucan. The representative from the North Forest, very powerful, always hungry, he can eat 3 servings in one go. Though the other young ones are also decent, everyone has an appetite! Aren't you hungry? If you don't hurry up, there won't be anything good left."

Daliphen went up to Kieran and emphasized on the word 'appetite'.

"Are those foods even nice?" Kieran smiled.

He reached into his backpack, took a thermal container out and slowly opened the lid.

The food that Starbeck prepared for him emanated a ridiculous aroma, instantly spreading all over the campsite.

The fierce fight among the participants instantly paused, everything falling into silence as they were attracted by Kieran.

Kieran slowly picked up his chopsticks while everyone stared at him.