The Devil's Cage

Simones pulled out a couple more potions and quickly loaded them into his special crossbow that was equipped to his left arm.

Bang bang bang!

The crossbow was fired repeatedly and the couple potions flew towards the swarm of locusts. Before it came into contact with the bugs, the potions exploded and turned into giant fireballs.

Similar to the previous fireballs that devoured the ships of the East Coast, the fireballs burnt the locust swarm without mercy.

Simones didn’t just rely on his transforming potion to disguise himself as Charles. He also relied on the crossbow on his left arm and the special potions that he cooked up himself.

The panicking crowd was slightly relieved when they saw that the locusts swarm were being burned. But before they could completely release their breath, the buzzing noise sounded once more.

The locusts have penetrated the fiery obstacles!

The fire was ineffective against the bug swarm!

Everyone was stunned. Despair in their heart grew larger.

This time around, Simones and the messenger’s face turned ugly as well.

Simones has also utilized his ace but it was still ineffective.

Although the messenger didn’t activate his ace card, he knew that if Simones’s fiery potions were ineffective against the swarm of locusts, then his would be even more useless.

The messenger then looked at Simones with a bitter smile.

"I’m sorry!" Simones said.

Not only was he apologizing to the messenger but it was addressed to everyone present in the crowd as well, even though he knew such apologies were more than useless.

Compared to the weight of life, all kinds of words were feathers without weight.

Yet, it was the only thing he could do for now.

The apologies were not completely overpowered by the locust’s buzzing. It was dimmed down to a faint level. Some of the others heard it and some of them didn’t.

The ones who heard it lost their minds in action and those who didn’t act the same as well.

Against an impending doom, the mystical individual crowds were no better than the common man.

The crowd started to scatter away, trying to find cover and protect themselves to prolong their lives a little bit longer even though each of them knew it was a waste of effort.

Wuung Wuuung Wuuungs!

The locust swarm was drawing closer.

Some of them decided to stand against reality in the last moments of their lives.

Simones, the messenger, and many others halted their steps, raising their head to the death swarm that was descending upon them.

Then...

The buzzing suddenly disappeared. Countless locust swarms that covered even the sky disappeared without a trace and was replaced by a gigantic monster that appeared in the sky.

Arms and legs were tangled and intertwined. It had scarlet red eyes all over and was glowing in a rainbow shine, shedding its light over the dark sky.

The most eye-catching spot was its big mouth, filled with layers of teeth and was spinning ceaselessly.

If the crowd saw such a monster during normal times, they would have been terrified beyond reason or would have shivered non-stop but now...

The West Coast mystics felt nothing but glad, grateful and fortunate!

Fortunate beyond reasons!

The monster was swallowing the swarm of locusts!

The locusts were unharmed even under high-temperature fires but under the suction force of the big horrifying mouth, none of them could resist. Each and every locust was crunched, ground and swallowed without any leftover.

The West Coast mystics were shocked over such a scene.

"What happened? Is it a miracle?" The messenger muttered after escaping from the verge of death.

His muttering could be heard clearly among the silence of the crowd but none of them refuted his statement because it was what they thought as well.

Some of the younger ones even cried joyful tears. The elder ones let out a breath of relief and started to examine the monster before them with a more serious gaze.

Even though the looks of the monster were not to be complimented but after being saved by it, they didn’t see the monster as vicious and terrifying anymore. Especially when they saw the figure standing on top of the monster’s body, a series of gasps sounded one after another.

"The Bird of Death!"

A shocking cry broke the silence at the port.

Simones turned his head to the night sky. The monster floating in mid-air under the night sky was twisting its body. Thousands of its eyes were turning around, bringing its huge body around.

Before that biggest core eye of the monster, which was also the highest point of its body, a figure was standing against the wind.

The night breeze of the West Coast sea was blowing the feathered mantle that was darker than black. The front hair at his forehead was blown backward, fluttering and revealing a familiar face in Simones’s sight.

"2567!" Simones said softly.

His heart was completely relieved because he knew that they were saved and they had already won the battle.

...

"The Bird of Death!"

On the deck of the East Coast ships, the shock and teeth grinding noises from the terrifying scene were very different from the delightful voice of awe at the port as most of them had escaped death.

The fear and shock came from Gertrude and the teeth grinding came from Norm.

Gertrude turned his head around and asked his master with a near questioning tone, "Master Norm, didn’t you say that the Bird of Death was headed for Ciaran City and will surely be stuck there? Why...Why would he appear here instead!?"

With Gertrude’s character of bullying the weak and flattering the strong, it seemed like he was totally enraged by uttering those words.

Truth be told, how could Gertrude not be enraged?

Because of Norm’s words, he gambled all his properties, his wealth, and everything else on the assault of West Coast.

Should the mission fail, he would have nothing left. Unlike his previous mistakes which were only small accidents that occurred in certain spots that caused him to lose a little, this time, he was going to lose everything! Everything!

Everything that he had operated for more than a decade was going to be gone, blown away by the wind.

The Bird of Death, the Fiery Devil and the assistant of God of Earth!

Gertrude knew Kieran with all the titles under his belt was not someone that he could compete against.

If the assault on West Coast was victorious, it might turn out better for him. At least East Coast mystics would have protected his safety to save their faces. Even the Bird of Death couldn’t touch him at all. After all, he was just the assistant of God of Earth, not Nikorei herself.

That was the reason why he dared to encourage his group to retrieve the former pride and glory of East Coast!

Yet everything has come to an end with Kieran’s appearance.

"What the hell is Braid doing?"

"He thinks that his little squabble with me can surpass the will of that person?"

"Fool!"

Norm was enraged and he spoke in anger.

He glanced at Gertrude and the hatred in his ferocious eyes made the ever-anxious Gertrude tremble.

Gertrude quickly reacted to what happened and thought about what consequences will befall him after his questioning tone.

He has lost everything he had and since he was a weaker person himself, Gertrude has lost the qualifications to bargain with Norm after losing the last bit of leverage.

All it required was a thought from Norm to control Gertrude’s life and death.

"My apologies Master Norm. Forgive me rashness! I swear..."

Gertrude quickly kneeled without a second thought and said in a quivering voice.

"Enough! Retreat for the time being!" Norm waved his hand angrily.

He really wanted to kill Gertrude right away, but he gave up that thought when he saw that there were many other mystics on board.

Although none of them were strong individuals, they were the best ingredients. At least Norm could redeem the loss this time.

Yet when the thought of losing appeared in his mind, the rage appeared again, causing him to breathe heavily and rapidly from his already calmed breath.

Norm turned around and looked at Kieran from afar as he was floating under the night sky.

He shouted loudly, "2567! Consider yourself lucky this time! The next time you see me, I will make you remember my presence!"

Norm’s voice could be heard in Kieran’s ears despite the distance and sea between them.

Kieran then looked at the ships of the East Coast, fleeing at a speed that exceeded his expectation.

No doubt it was what Norm relied on to cause a clamor after he had lost the battle.

Norm assumed that Kieran’s speed couldn’t catch up with his speeding ship.

"You think you are fast? But are you faster than light?" Kieran said.

Wuuuush!

Thousands of evil eyes on the [Creature of Desire] lighted up all at once.