The Devil's Cage

Luphus knew what the lords were good at.

Should he succeed, it would be reasonable because their plans were perfect.

Should he fail, it would be his fault and he would pay for ruining their perfect plan.

Therefore, Luphus helped Eden, his student, up, not pausing for a moment and dragging him all the way out of Arya Outpost.

When the duo were out of Arya Outpost, they went straight for the two horses they hid in the forest. The horses were of fine quality and would be enough for them to ride back to Yort Fields in the shortest amount of time possible.

Of course, Yort Fields wasn"t the final destination. The fields were rich and scrumptious, but there wasn"t any security for them there.

The true safe haven was far north. It may be a little cold, but it was much better than losing their lives.

As for the south?

After the horrifying things that had happened in Naveya, it would be suicidal for any common man to ride south without support.

"T-Teacher, where are we going?" asked Eden, as though his mouth was leaking air.

Compared to the att.i.tude he had earlier, Eden was now less hateful, even though he was speaking in a strange manner because of the missing teeth. Instead, he sounded smart and quick-witted.

"We have to reach Smochker Hills at least. The safest way would be to go through Weiss Hills and enter Rinya Mountains," explained Luphus without stopping.

"Smochker Hills? That"s the home of the bandits!" Eden cried out in surprise.

"At least it"s better than facing the monsters. We can still talk to people over there!"

Luphus stopped his hurried steps and looked further away.

There should have been the two horses that he had prepared earlier, but the spot was empty.

It seemed like his plan had been discovered by someone. However, just like what he had said earlier, as long as his opponent was human, it was still possible for him to talk his way out and maybe turn it around.

"May I know which lord is behind this? I am just a defenseless old man. Eden here is just a normal young man. We are both unarmed so don"t be alarmed. Instead, we might be able to bring you wealth."

A deep breath later, Luphus shouted into the air, and as his voice reached a secluded corner of Arya Outpost, a large man walked out.

The man"s torso was taller than a normal man and he wasn"t just tall, he was buff and strong too. The muscles exposed outside of his leather armor had thick veins all over them, like the roots of an old tree.

Eden couldn"t help but gulp when he saw the man had a face full of scars and arms thicker than his thigh.

"Lord Doyl"er."

Luphus tapped on his student"s shoulder while his mind was searching for the man"s information.

Doyl"er was once the leader of a bandit group in Smochker Hills, but compet.i.tion and rivalry in the hills was fierce and unforgiving. Two years earlier, he was swiftly uprooted by the younger ones and everything he owned was destroyed, turning him into a homeless dog. However, he managed to survive in the harshest conditions and was recruited by the lord of Dovetail Land because the lord was in a good mood back then. Since then, Doyl"er had become one of the best swordsmen under the lord.

Doyl"er was ruthless, greedy, and fearful, but Luphus didn"t mind the greediness. He was grateful that Doyl"er was greedy.

"I have quite the savings, and Lord Doyl"er, if you are interested, I can offer all of it to you," said Luphus.

"How much is your savings? If it"s enough, I can grant you a quick death. If it"s not…"

Doyl"er smiled ferociously, the malicious intent in his eyes obvious.

"Of course it"s a lot, it will be at least twice what you are getting right now. You"ve gotten the mission from the lord but you don"t have to truly complete it and still get twice the rewards. One from your lord and one from me. Of course, if you want a third, I can make that happen too."

Luphus obviously knew his way around greedy people, as he had sparked Doyl"er"s interest.

"A third?" Doyl"er looked at Luphus. He knew the old man would try to bribe him. He didn"t mind getting twice the pay and killing the old man but he hadn"t thought there would be a third.

An unexpected third!

"The two horses that you"ve taken from me just now, I"ve hid a treasure map in one of their saddles. It"s a treasure map that I got from Smochker Hills. It"s the treasure of those "guys"!" Luphus said seriously.

"Those "guys"?!" Doyl"er squinted his eyes.

There was only one group of notorious men in Smochker Hills, which coincidentally was also the same group of men who took everything from Doyl"er, turning him into a homeless dog.

However, Doyl"er immediately thought of something.

"How did you get your hands on their treasure map? You are lying! They never had any treasure map!"

Infuriated because he thought he was being lied to, Doyl"er stepped up and pushed the young man away, grabbing Luphus by the collar.

"In the eyes of commoners, those guys come and go like ghosts in the wind, their targets varyingfrom different ranks of people. But… they are still human. They need food and rest, they have to prepare a retreating path for themselves. It"s just that they hide it better than others. In order to confuse and strike fear into people"s hearts, they won"t touch items whenever they plunder. However, the most valuable ones were already taken away. What is left was just something for people to see," Luphus tried to explain clearly, or rather, tried to present his lies clearly. What he said was all lies.

As for those bandits, Luphus had heard rumours about them, saying that each time they strike, life would perish but the valuables would remain. 

Luphus had researched this peculiarity out of curiosity before but his attempts were futile.

Though, it was really useful to lie to Doyl"er. Luphus knew he had the man on his hook, judging by how bright his eyes were s.h.i.+ning.

"Do you know how big of a treasure itis? It will be enough for us to live the rest of our lives in luxury!"

Luphus threw out more bait.

"Then why didn"t you take the treasure yourself?" Doyl"er asked, for he was moved by the story.

"I couldn"t disappear without a reason and I lacked a strong helper."

Luphus spilled the answer that he had prepared long ago, attempting to fawn over Doyl"er subtly.

"Very well! I"ll bring you two with me but if I find out that you are lying, you will wish you were dead! Now, follow me! I"ve moved your horses somewhere else."

Doyl"er turned around and Luphus quickly followed.

Given how greedy Doyl"er was, after taking two fine quality horses for himself, it would only be natural if he didn"t deliver them back to his base. It was all a part of Doyl"er"s plan, making him feel as if he had everything under control.

But in fact? 

Luphus, behind Doyl"er, shook his sleeves and uncorked a tube of liquid.

An odourless scent started to spread in the air. After a dozen steps, Doyl"er fell to the ground and pa.s.sed out.

"Take his sword and armor. Search for anything valuable and take it. That will be our traveling fee."

Luphus ordered his student to strip Doyl"er clean as he followed the traces left behind by the horses, trying to recover his transportation.

Soon, Luphus located the missing horses, but beside the horses was a young man, who had left quite an impression in Luphus" mind.

It was the young man who had smacked the teeth out of his student"s mouth.

When Luphus saw the young man, he quickly put on a harmless smile.

"My lord, is there anything that I can help you with? If there is, I have a treasure map to offer!" said Luphus sincerely.

As a reply, the young soldier raised his sheathed sword and hit the old man in the back of his neck very powerfully.

Pang!

A heavy blow later, the "wise man" fainted onto the ground.