The Devil’s Cage

It seemed like James VIII’s prediction was wrong.

When the thunderous gallops sounded, his face turned pale as well and his body was wobbling hard.

Mary who also turned pale quickly went over and helped the king.

Even though she was still reluctant to admit the man’s identity as her father, she didn’t want him to fall like that on the ground.

A king who fell to the ground was an unbearable scene!

”Mary, leave now!” The king said in a hurried tone.

The girl shook her head.

”Trust 2567!” She showed her trust in Kieran.

During her most helpless times, Kieran was always with her, helping her to overcome difficulties and he also straightened and eased out her anxiety in his own unique way.

Although it might seem cold from other’s point of view, the girl felt like she could trust that kindness.

Trust and kindness.

Whether was it her trust that brought the kindness out from Kieran or the kindness from him strengthened her trust, Mary had no idea.

She helped the king sit back down on the mattress and waited patiently.

Though, the others didn’t share the patience.

The soldiers that were stationed at the rebuilt Lightning Fortress were already scared and frightened and when the thunderous gallops echoed in their ears, it horrified them.

The reason they didn’t abandon their post and flee the site was that a couple of higher rankings officer yelled at them the moment the gallops sounded. However, Kieran knew it was just a temporary measure that would not solve the problem.

Once the Prairies army broke through the weak defensive line of the fortress, every soldier would surely abandon their post. Even the higher ranking officers would follow the fleeing troops as well, regardless of their honor and duty.

All that mattered at desperate times was life itself!

Three thousand against fifty thousand, after losing Lightning Fortress’s original defensive line, it would be an insensible attempt trying to hold out against the overwhelming number of enemy forces.

Death was coming for them and before it arrived, the moment felt like forever, to the point that despair loomed in their hearts.

Kieran felt the soldiers were breathing heavily and saw their struggling gaze.

He then strode over and went through the panic crowd.

His figure was very eye-catching in the sense of loneliness as his black feathered mantle fluttered under the night breeze. The dim moonlight shed its light over the black feathers, making it look like the surface of a lake.

Gawk!

The Fire Raven then took off from his shoulder.

Despite being at night, it didn’t obstruct Fire Raven’s vision and Kieran saw the Prairies’ main troops at first sight because he shared a link with the raven.

It was as though the sky was connected to the earth.

When the Prairies soldiers reached a certain number, their figures were so many that it seemed like they connected the sky and earth. Ten times that number and it would look boundless and beyond countable numbers.

Kieran had read similar descriptions only in books, it was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.

The overwhelming feeling from the sheer numbers was enough to stop his breath.

But, it didn’t stop his steps even though he noticed something different among the main troops.

Dak Dak Dak!

Kieran went along the simple stairs that led to the fortress wall after the rebuilding. Every step he took, the plank would squeak loudly.

The rebuilt fortress wall wasn’t high by any means, only around 3 meters in height.

Even though the soldiers of Warren gave their best effort, it was beyond impossible to completely seal the breach within Herr Valley in a matter of days, let alone rebuilding the original height of the fortress wall. Truth be told, the 3-meter fortress wall mixed with stones and woods was already enough to impress Kieran.

Though the defensive capabilities were not something to be complimented.

The fact that the Prairies troops charged forth with their riders directly had proved as much.

Kieran reached on top of the fortress wall after the last flight of stairs.

He saw the Prairies riders were gushing down like a raging tide.

At the same time, the Prairies riders saw Kieran’s lonely image on the top of the wall as well, which accelerated their charge even more.

Each of the Prairies riders were whipping their war horse furiously, hoping that they could gallops faster so that they could chop Kieran’s head off with the blades in their hands.

It would be a major achievement for any of them.

After that, they would breach the defense of the weak fortress, massacre the people of Warren and plunder wealth and women. They would return with fruitful spoils of war.

Greed was like a burning booster injected into the rider’s heart, causing them to growl out of control, as though they were the wolves that roamed the grasslands. Before they even showed themselves, their growls would scare their prey to death.

However, Kieran was no prey by any means.

He stood tall on the wall and saw the riders quietly. The myriad of troops made it felt like a tidal wave was crushing on him, even [Fear] notifications kept spamming his vision.

Kieran was glad once again that his strongest attribute was Spirit otherwise he would fall into a similar state of the soldiers behind him and whatever methods should he use to cleanse the [Fear] debuff, it would also delay his movements later.

”Quantity incites qualitative changes eh?”

Kieran mumbled that phrase once more.

He raised his left hand as sparks of fire appeared on his palm and it expanded rapidly into a giant fireball.

The sudden scene stunned the Prairies riders for a while but right after that, they kept on charging without further concerns.

The Prairies riders knew about the existence of the wizards. The reverence for the mystical powers forced them to cut ties and not to be tainted by the powers but it was a different matter on the battlefield.

No matter how powerful a wizard was, one man couldn’t change the tides of war, not even Frandrall the strongest wizard of Warren, let alone others.

The charging didn’t stop, quite the contrary the riders started to provoke Kieran with their words amidst the charge. All sorts of vulgarities were mixed with the gallops, echoing in Kieran’s ears ceaselessly yet he replied with a calm face.

Kieran, however, would not refute. It was like a dog bit him but he didn’t need to bite the dog back, instead, he could just turn the dog into a pot of stew.

Fuuu!

Kieran hurled out the burning fireball. The blazing wind assaulted the rider’s face but despite the brightness from the fire, the riders felt darkness above their head.

They raised their head instinctively and saw a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Intertwining legs and arms formed from thin air and red eyeballs glowing in rainbow shine came from the intertwining points. At the brightest part of the limbs, rings of sharp grinding teeth took form and spun like an electric saw.

The horrifying scene gave birth to a monster!

Such thoughts bloomed in the riders’ hearts ceaselessly and a moment later, they felt the eyeballs of the monster became brighter…

A heavy sense of danger surged in their heart, they instinctively wanted to turn their horses around but it was too late.

Thousands of burning rays of beams showered down on the troops like a fiery storm.

[Creature of Desire, Thousand Evil Eye Strike]!