The Devil’s Cage

Kieran had to admit Livezel’s words did make sense.

This complexity in humans would always further complicate situations.

Deep-rooted bad habits, like venting anger, originated from the deepest part of the human soul.

Therefore, Kieran knew he had to divert the people’s attention, which wasn’t that difficult for him.

When his Intuition picked up something unusual, Kieran kicked Livezel’s head to knock him out completely, then jumped down from the carriage and went in front of the convoy.

Kieran’s movement instantly attracted the people’s attention.

They looked at Kieran with confusion as he moved forward with a speed faster than a sprinting horse. When he reached the front of the entire convoy, he lifted his left foot and stomped on the ground powerfully.

Bang!

The ground trembled and an agonizing wail came from beneath the ground before it swiftly subsided.

“It’s the monsters! The monsters!”

The cry of surprise came from the convoy but no one fell into a panic, because anyone was smart enough to know that the monster was killed by Kieran. Aditionally, there weren’t any casualties.

Compared to the previous encounter with the monsters, which resulted in severe casualties, this kind of quick battle was unfamiliar to the people.

They tried to get used to the situation before their heart was at peace, unparalleled peace.

The people looked at Kieran with a more respectful gaze.

‘No, not enough!’

Kieran thought in his heart when he felt the respect from the people. He then walked over to the archpriest.

“Archpriest Pelder, please lead the convoy further ahead,” said Kieran.

“What are you going to do?” the archpriest looked at Kieran in confusion.

Kieran didn’t answer, he only pointed at the end of the convoy: where the injured were.

The west-bound convoy suffered high casualties during the battle with the monsters. Anyone who fought in the battle would end up with injuries, the difference was simply how severe they were.

The lightly injured would continue fighting; the heavily injured would be placed in wagons. It was also the reason why most of the people in the convoy were walking slowly.

Giving up wagon space to the warriors who fought for their lives was something noble to do, no one would have objected. Some temple deacons were trying their best to treat the heavily injured warriors, but… it wasn’t that effective.

In a world where Gods lived, healing using divine spells was the fundamental way. They were healing using herbs but the techniques weren’t that advanced. In a very long period of time, herbs were the last option for the poor. Anyone with a little connection and money would choose a priest to heal them with divine spells.

But now, the Gods of Naveya had went away, leaving herbs ass the only way to possibly heal a person. However, healing a heavily injured person using only herbs with its current technique proved difficult.

Therefore, every one of the deacons taking care of the warriors looked sad. They were helpless against the fading of life, all they could do was hope the warriors could go in peace.

Aroma with sedative purpose filled the wagons.

Kieran frowned when he opened one of the carriage doors, but he didn’t say anything.

He raised his hand and white light engulfed the entire carriage.

Unlike the [Healing] he used previously, the advanced technique of Marulyn Church, [Holy Light] had a stronger healing effect. It didn’t just simply heal injuries, it would recover life too, despite being slow.

When the deacons saw the furrowed brows of the injured loosen up and look better than before, all those who witnessed the miraculous act beside Kieran widened their eyes.

As temple deacons, they had quite vast knowledge and experience, and despite that, they didn’t know what kind of power Kieran had just used.

It felt like a divine spell but definitely not one. The healing process didn’t emanate the feeling of divine blessings like how a real divine spell would.

The healing power came directly from his body, it originated from Kieran’s own power.

How did he do it?

Questions were raised in the deacons heart, but nevertheless, they were grateful.

Every single deacon stood up and bowed at Kieran.

“Take good care of them,” Kieran then went towards the next wagon.

“Yes sir.”

Somehow, the deacon’s reply had never before heard respect.

The respect spread quickly throughout the convoy as Kieran continued healing the injured, especially when a soldier woke up from the brink of death and stood up slowly. Then, the respect from the people had reached a certain peak.

The respect turned frantic!

“Thank you for everything you have done for us,” The soldier’s wife knelt before Kieran.

Behind the wife were others whose family members had been saved, they too chose to kneel down before Kieran to express their gratitude because it was the only thing they could give Kieran, the thing that Kieran could ‘see’.

Meanwhile, in another, less visible place, the fire enveloped in chaos jumped repeatedly.

The fire didn’t grow stronger but it was very active.

The chaotic darkness around the fire was swiftly burned away, thus allowing Kieran to recover the stamina and energy he had used to heal in exponential speed.

“Let’s go. To Arya Outpost. We can have a good rest there and not here.”

Kieran smiled and helped the wife up.

His smile was a sincere one, coming from the bottom of his heart.

It was natural that a sincere smile like that became infectious.

The archpriest saw the smiling faces around him before he looked at Kieran.

“Is this the secret spell from the north? Or…”

“No matter where did came from, this will be a decent outcome.”

The archpriest took a deep breath and showed a soft smile after the convoy freed itself from the sorrowful atmosphere.

The convoy then traveled forward faster, but no matter how fast they traveled, they wouldn’t have made it to Arya Outpost before nightfall.

So, the knights found a temporary spot to set up camp.

The wagons were parked in a circle, surrounding the multiple camps in the middle. The patrolling soldiers spread out to secure the place, while the deacons and civilians went to a nearby river for some fresh water.

Bonfires were built before the sky turned dark. A dozen iron wok were placed around the bonfires by the temple deacons on the command of a temple priest.

When the group evacuated Naveya City, supplies such as food fell under a single command.

Everything, including the dried bread, aged beef jerky, even freshly plucked fruits, was properly organized.

Although the multiple battles made them lose a lot of supplies, it didn’t bring the temple priest down.

“Go find some vegetables and fruits in the forest. I’ll need some fish from the river if anyone happens to find some. Lord Ryan has to eat more to recover his stamina,” said the temple priest.

A group of deacons quickly spread out and carried out their given tasks. A lot of civilians joined them in collecting goods too.

They’d gladly do something for Kieran if it was within their means.

It was widely known that Sir Ryan had quite the interest in food and eating.

The group split up into two: one headed towards the forest, one headed to the river.

Then…

A sudden cry of shock sounded.

“Aaarh!”