The Devil's Cage

What was Kieran planning?

The hanging bridge was completely straight, its width just enough to fit the charging rhino.

On its left and right side was the castle moat filled with piranhas.

From the look of things, there was no escape route other than the other side of the bridge.

However, there was actually a second option.

The sky!

Kieran was certain that, considering his and Lawless’ physique, if they leapt up in the air, there would be enough time for the rhino to pass by them before they landed back down on the bridge.

It was a sudden thought that occurred to him while he was sprinting for his life.

It sounded plausible, but Kieran did not inform Lawless right away, as he still had one more factor to consider.

The Bestowed Captain, Jorque.

Most people would not miss the chance to watch someone who had embarrassed them die, but if Jorque watched their daring escape instead, what would he do?

The answer was obvious.

He would do his best to prevent that from happening!

Actually, all he’d need to do was fire an arrow.

If Kieran was in mid-air, without anything to rely on, he would not be able to avoid an arrow.

The reason he did not inform Lawless was because he wanted to test it out for himself first.

He would have the confidence to avoid Jorque’s arrow if he was alone.

The armored rhino produced a wild wind as it charged forward.

When the rhino was about thirteen meters away from Kieran, the wind was already blowing hard against him. Kieran instantly felt a tremendous force, although it had not reached [Fear] level yet.

This was good news for Kieran, who opened his eyes wide, trying to calculate the exact distance between them.

When the rhino was less than five meters away from him, Kieran jumped up high.

Just as he leapt up, an air-breaking arrow was fired towards him.

The refined metal arrow tore through the wind at lightning speed as it moved in his direction.

Jorque, who was supposed to be fighting the rebels, lowered his bow and grinned coldly, as if everything was under control.

In fact, it was. By using the armored rhino to get revenge, Jorque had predicted all possible scenarios, including Kieran’s only escape plan.

He wanted to make sure that his plan was flawless.

He wanted to witness the hope on Kieran’s face turn into despair. That was the only way he would get back at Kieran for kicking him.

"Die! Anyone who shames me wi- What?"

As Jorque was talking and smiling coldly, his eyes suddenly widened.

He watched Kieran jump up in the air and his arrow move out of orbit at an incredible speed.

Jorque’s eyesight allowed him to see Kieran latch onto the armored rhino’s horn with something and let the rhino drag him away at full speed. He could not see clearly what that something was because of the distance.

"Damn it!"

Jorque wanted to fire another arrow, but a long sword was slashed quickly over his throat without a warning.

Blood splashed everywhere as Jorque covered his throat and fell to the ground. During his last moments, he saw a mask covered with his blood.

"Did you ever think there would be a day when you would seek revenge even for the slightest grievance?" the masked man said under his breath.

That was not the altered voice he had been using up until that point. That was his real voice beneath that mask.

Even though Jorque pressed down on his throat hard, he was still unable to stop the blood from gushing out.

As the fire of life started fading from his eyes. he heard the masked man’s voice. Coming back to his senses and using his last bit of energy, he opened his mouth.

"Ss... S..."

He wanted to say something, but his slit throat prevented him from doing so.

The masked man roared with laughter. His voice turned back into that sharp irritating voice, but it could not hide his delight.

His loud, wild laughter lasted for two or three seconds before it faded away.

The masked man muttered to himself for a while as he watched Kieran ride the armored rhino.

Then he turned away and towards his next target, Gradon. A much bigger target compared to Jorque.

...

Kieran was standing firmly on the moving rhino. Although its skin was full of bumps and its scales were slippery, the rhino’s back was unusually wide, providing Kieran with enough space to stand.

"Jump!" Kieran shouted at Lawless.

He had already watched Captain Jorque get killed and witnessed the strange moves and silent sword skills of the masked man as he’d killed him.

The whole incident had sent an eerie chill down his spine.

Kieran had tried to place himself in Jorque’s shoes. Even with his full concentration, he would not have been able to avoid such a silent strike without any warning.

The masked man had approached Jorque with strange movements, his body casting confusing shadows.

If Kieran did not know that the man was human, he might have mistaken him for a formless soul.

He was truly fearsome!

Kieran had one thing to thank the masked man for though. He had killed his biggest obstacle, Captain Jorque, indirectly nullifying the possibility of him getting killed by the armored rhino if Jorque had succeeded.

Lawless jumped down and landed on the armored rhino’s back.

After witnessing what Kieran had done, he had quickly understood what he wanted to achieve and obeyed when he’d heard him shouting at him.

Hanses was not stupid either. He had already pulled the three horses away from the charging rhino’s path.

Within a second, the armored rhino had charged over the remaining distance of the hanging bridge.

When it reached the opposite side, they saw a wide field.

Kieran felt relieved. He had been afraid that the rhino might turn around abruptly and rush into the moat.

If that had been the case, Kieran would have lost one of his rewards from the dungeon.

Yes, Kieran had been planning on killing the armored rhino ever since he had laid eyes on the beast. He just hadn’t been able to do so because of the situation at the time.

There were no such restrictions now though. Captain Jorque had even assisted him in carrying out that crucial part of his plan.

Kieran looked at the arrow that was stuck inside the rhino’s eyes. Then he lay down and moved towards it carefully.

"2567! What are you doing?" Lawless asked.

When he saw Kieran grab the arrow on the beast’s eye with his right hand, he instantly understood his intention.

Kieran channeled all his power into his palm and pushed the arrow deep inside the rhino’s eye socket, followed by the other side.

The raging beast was struggling from the pain and shaking even harder, but Kieran managed to hold on.

[Piercing: Lethal Attack, Inflicts 300 Damage to Target HP, Target has Tensile Armor, 200 True Damage inflicted to Target, Target dies...]

As the battle notification popped up, the armored rhino let out an agonizing cry and walked for ten more meters before finally stopping.

Its heart stopped as well. There were no more signs of life on the rhino after its final cry.

Suddenly, a glowing orange piece of equipment appeared next to the rhino’s body.

Kieran’s eyes glowed as bright as the loot.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Guess what the rhino drop?