"Okay, I'll arrange it quickly. Mr. Kent, you'll have to stay here tonight," the soldier said, locking George and the others in separate cells before leaving.

The cellblock was noisy, with many people packed into each room—usually four or five per cell.

Only Liam and his group were exceptions. They each had their own cell. This was done to keep them safe.

George noticed that the cell next to his had four people inside: three big guys and an old man.

The three big guys were grouped together, while the old man sat alone on some dry grass, eyes closed, taking up most of the space.

This old man seemed to be someone important.

"Hey, kid, you're not from the Sovereign City, are you? You're from outside, right?"

The old man seemed to sense George's eyes on him and opened one eye, asking with some confusion.

George nodded. "You're sharp, sir. We really did come from a remote city."

"Ah, you guys are really unlucky to get caught in this mess," the old man sighed.

George asked curiously, "Sir, do you know what exactly happened?"

"Some," the old man leaned closer to George's cell and said, "There was an accident in a secret area outside the city. A lot of Bloodmist came out. Some people thought it was a treasure, so they went in to explore. But after they came back, they went crazy at night, lost their minds, and started killing people."

Bloodmist?

George was confused. "Sir, is it because they inhaled the Bloodmist?"

The old man shook his head. "We don't know. Some people went into the Bloodmist and came back without getting infected. We're still trying to figure out what's causing it. So far, no one has found the answer."

"Then what happens to the infected people?" George asked.

"Dead," the old man said coldly. "Either they're killed, or they explode from the power. After they go berserk, their strength increases a lot. They can't handle it. Even if they survive, it's a terrible life for them. They've lost their minds and are no better than monsters."

"Sir, don't scare us," one of the big guys said nervously.

They three had all gone into the Bloodmist.

The old man looked at them and said, "Don't worry. If you're really infected, I'll act fast. I won't let you suffer too much."

The others looked at each other, then moved back to the corner of their cells.

"Hey, food time!" The door of the cells was knocked on. A soldier brought a meal for George and the others.

If George wasn't sure he was a special person, he might have thought this was their last meal.

It looked like the soldiers didn't want to mess with Liam.

The smell of food filled the air, and the cellblock got even more noisy.

"We want food too! We want meat and wine!"

"Right, I'm not your prisoner. If you don't treat us right, you'll hear from me!"

"Soldier, I'm sure I'm not infected. Can you let me go?"

Some people begged.

The people in the cells were all strong adventurers. If they weren't infected, they were still in danger if others were.

"Quiet! You have food. Stop making noise and stay put!" The soldier shouted, then left.

George looked at the big plate of food in front of him. He couldn't eat it all.

"Old man, you haven't eaten either, right? Let's eat together," he said, bringing the food over to the next cell.

"Okay," the old man said without refusing. He patted his seat and sat down across the bars from George.

The three big guys next to him couldn't help but swallow hard, but they didn't dare anger the old man. They could only hold back.

Luckily, the soldier soon brought them their food.

It wasn't the rough stew that prisoners usually ate, but it wasn't much better either. The cells were full of complaints, but the soldiers didn't care at all.

"Old man, it's been a while since I had such good food. The only regret is no wine," the old man said, grabbing a chicken leg and eating it hungrily.

George smiled and said, "Sir, if we get out of here, I'll treat you to a drink."

"You're a good kid. I'll remember this meal," the old man said with a small smile, then went back to eating his food.

In the next cell, Lilia watched the old man carefully. This old man gave her a dangerous feeling. He was definitely a strong person.

...

Night fell, and the cells grew quiet. But many people were still nervous.

A lot of them had gone into the Bloodmist before. They were worried they were infected.

Even if they weren't infected, they were scared of someone else in the same cell being infected.

So everyone spent the night in fear.

"Ugh!"

Midnight was near, and George let out a painful groan. He felt a burning, sharp pain at his forehead.

"Master, what's wrong?" Lilia in the next cell noticed something wrong and asked with worry.

"I don't know. My forehead suddenly started hurting," George rubbed his forehead, feeling uneasy.

He was a 50-level warrior. He didn't get sick. There was no reason for this sharp pain.

Had he been infected too?

George felt worried. According to what the old man said, anyone infected would die for sure.

"Master, could it be the demon mark?" Lilia thought of something and whispered.

Demon mark?

George was surprised. He remembered the demon mark that the black dragon Asos had planted in him in the Underworld secret zone. It could bring demon race warriors to hunt him down.

Roar!

Suddenly, a loud roar broke the quiet of the cells.

"Help! Someone here is infected!" A scared voice called out, but it stopped suddenly.

George clearly saw that in the cell in front of him, a man suddenly grew a little bigger. His eyes turned red, and his face looked terrifying. He brutally tore a person apart, with blood and meat flying everywhere.

"Shit!" George covered his forehead. The pain got worse.

Roar! Roar!

More roars filled the cellblock. People in the cells started changing. They became wild and angry.

"Are there really infected people?" Liam was shocked by the situation and shouted, "Where are the soldiers? Come here!"

"Roar!"

Another roar came, as if right next to George's ear.

He turned around and saw the three big guys in the old man's cell. They were changing. Their bodies grew bigger, and their red eyes stared straight at him.

The three guys suddenly ran toward George. They hit the iron bars and bounced back.

But they didn't seem to feel it at all. They got up again and tried to tear the bars apart, growling and snarling at George.

George backed away and ran to Lilia's cell.

It wasn't just those three guys. All the infected people were shouting at him, angry and trying to tear their cages apart.

"Hey, kid, why do these guys seem to want to kill you?" The old man sat on the dry grass, watching this and asked in surprise.

"It seems like that," George realized. It must be because of the demon mark that the black dragon Asos gave him.

That bastard was really evil. In that situation, he probably wouldn't be able to move an inch in the secret zone.

Bang!

A loud crash. The iron bars cracked and broke apart. A wild, berserk big guy ran into the cell.

"Master, watch out!" Lilia shouted, and a glowing sword formed in her hand. She slashed at the guy.

Plop! Blood sprayed everywhere. The guy's head was cut off and fell to the ground. A small throwing knife was still stuck in his back.

George was shocked. He looked at the old man sitting calmly in the next cell and said respectfully, "Thank you, sir, for saving us."

The old man smiled bitterly. "I guess I overstepped. I didn't expect you to have such a strong ally."

He looked at Lilia, his expression puzzled. "The girl must be a Blazing Angel. But why is your aura so strong? I've never heard of a Blazing Angel like this before."

Lilia ignored him and controlled her light sword, cutting down the other two guys rushing toward them.

But the danger wasn't over.

Another cell nearby was smashed open. A red-eyed infected person ran wildly toward George's cell.

Bang!

At that moment, Lilia cut through the iron bars between their cells and said, "Master, come here."

A flood of infected people had already broken free.

George didn't waste time. He ran into Lilia's cell.

The light sword flashed, and holy light filled the room. The infected were strong, but Lilia was even stronger. And the Blazing Angel's power naturally worked against monsters.

One by one, the infected were killed, but more kept coming.

There were thousands of people in the cells, and more than half were infected. The space was tight, and it was hard to move. Soon, George's cell was completely surrounded.

The old man also acted quickly. A few small throwing knives flew around his body, moving as if they were part of him. They pierced the necks of infected people, killing them in a pool of blood.

Wow!

George was shocked. He had never seen such a strong and strange ability before. He was curious about what kind of class this old man was.

"Quick, kill all the infected!"

At that moment, the prison gate opened. A group of elite soldiers ran in, working together to kill the infected.

George's pressure dropped. Soon, all the infected in the cells were dead. Only over a thousand people were left.

Many innocent adventurers were killed by the infected. It was only because George had drawn most of the attention that the losses weren't even worse.

"Clean up the battlefield. Check if these infected have anything special," the leader soldier ordered. Seeing that Liam and the others were safe, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then he walked directly to the old man, bowed, and asked, "Sir, did you sense anything unusual?"

This old man was definitely no ordinary person.

George had already guessed that.

The old man frowned, then looked at George and asked curiously, "Kid, why are all these infected coming after you? Do you have some secret on you?"

"Old man, don't talk nonsense. Maybe these guys are the genius who passed the secret zone test?" Liam defended George.

"Genius?" The old man was confused. He looked at Lilia.

If anyone was a genius, it was definitely this girl.

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