The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 90

Chapter 91
Holy Sword Appears!
The presenter for this commendation ceremony was none other than Inspector Gordon, who had now transferred to the Inspection Department.
He put on his helmet again and slung the Sword of Honor across his back. His silvery white armor made him look both divine and solemn.
“—May the Silver Crown Dragon protect Her Majesty the Queen. Long live Her Majesty the Queen.”
Old Knight Gordon stood in the center of the stage and proclaimed loudly.
His voice was clear and resonant, capable of filling the entire club and even reaching outside without any amplification equipment. “In the name of Queen Sophia Du Lac, I hereby, in accordance with ancient tradition, award the Warrior Eivass Moriarty the Sacred Sword Medal.”
He personally pinned the silvery white Sacred Sword Medal onto Eivass’s right chest. He then saluted him like a soldier.
Afterward, he drew the gleaming silver blade and gently rested it on Eivass’s shoulder.
“I swear to uphold this honor, and I shall fight for Her Majesty the Queen.”
Eivass proclaimed loudly, “God bless the Queen—may she always be victorious and bathed in glory.”
His voice became clear and powerful, a stark contrast to his usual gentle and amiable demeanor, appearing mature, steady, and reliable.
As he held this pose, applause erupted from below the stage. Reporters began to rapidly take photographs from various angles.
The brilliant flashes illuminated the stage, momentarily turning both of them completely white.
In addition to the two on stage, the applauding crowed below also needed to be photographed.
As the reporters quickly captured shots from all angles, the people below also wore smiles, cooperating with the sustained applause. The thunderous applause filled the club venue for a long time.
Unlike other medals.
Because recipients of the Sacred Sword Medal were usually warriors who had displayed brave deeds on the battlefield, only soldiers could be awarded it.
According to the original etiquette, the recipient should kneel and perform a knight’s salute during the award ceremony, with the award being given by their direct superior.
However, Eivass was in a wheelchair, appearing frail with leg problems; he was also not a soldier and had no superior.
Therefore, after the Inspection Bureau specifically inquired with the Minister of Ceremonies, the Minister subtly suggested that Gordon could present the award on their behalf—this was also an effective way to eliminate the negative reputation of the Inspection Bureau.
—This scene would be photographed, and when people saw it in the newspapers, they would believe that the Inspection Bureau had a good attitude in this matter.
While it was unclear if the saying “Director Gordon ultimately failed to catch the assassin” was true, seeing this scene confirmed it was likely false. Otherwise, would they allow Gordon to present an award to someone who had achieved meritorious service?
Since Gordon was promoted and awarded, that person must have been caught! It was just that due to sensitive intelligence, it hadn’t been announced!
“…Huh?!”
But at this moment, a photographer suddenly exclaimed.
Although the ceremony had been successfully completed and only the final procedures remained, his disruptive action caused many to turn and look at him with displeasure.
However, they soon understood why the photographer had exclaimed.
In the direction he was photographing—at the very back of the left seating, behind a man with vacant eyes clapping intensely—a tall, slender white spectral figure emerged.
It was like a butterfly struggling out of its cocoon. It twitched its limbs, raising its four completely dislocated and unevenly sized arms.
Its upper body resembled a hunched, thin man. Its ribs protruded outwards, appearing sharp and ferocious.
Its abdomen and back were taut white skin, and a bald head, more than twice the size of an ordinary person’s, was haphazardly scattered with the facial features of multiple individuals. Instead of facing forward like a human face, they were evenly distributed across the four sides of the entire head.
Its two legs, not yet fully emerged from the man’s back, were withered and tall with reverse joints, resembling goats more than humans.
Was that… some kind of demon?
Just by seeing its posture, the reporter felt his breath catch.
A chilling, damp sense of fear washed over him, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. The reporter couldn’t move an inch, let alone speak, as if electrocuted, his trembling fingers continuously pressing the shutter.
The demon’s volume was even larger than the man serving as its vessel! No one knew how it had gotten inside.
“—[Freeze]!”
“—[Arrest]!”
“—[Expel]!”
But in the next moment, the Law Masters detected it.
However, their decrees all failed without exception. Only the man acting as the vessel deflated and fell to the ground, breathless.
And the white demon moved with extreme speed, like lightning—
It didn’t walk on two legs but crawled rapidly on the ground with six arms, leaving afterimages as if it were accelerated video, its movements appearing unnaturally jerky, as if frames were missing.
“—It’s a Deformed! Maintain distance!”
Gordon noticed it immediately and roared, raising the sword he had used to award Eivass.
With his rising status, the silver flames bursting from his blade were more intense than they had been a few days prior.
The sword in his hand seemed not like a sword, but a torch. The entire stage was illuminated by his radiance, and the demon hissed, emitting scorched green smoke.
Gordon moved swiftly, thrusting his sword towards the demon’s chest.
But the Deformed was exceptionally agile.
It pulled out an afterimage, easily dodging the fatal thrust. Its six arms suddenly elongated, and two of them grasped the chandelier above. Swinging like an ape, its goat-like hooves suddenly elongated into sharp lances, piercing the two Inspectors who rushed forward first.
After swinging it twice, the chandelier directly fell. It was thrown straight at Eivass. Gordon shoved Eivass out of the way—Eivass’s wheelchair slid away as if drifting, and Gordon was engulfed in dust.
Of course, he wouldn’t be injured by something like that.
In the smoke, the Deformed, which didn’t need to rely on eyesight, wreaked havoc.
It continually extended extremely long arms or hooves from within, piercing the chests of those who charged at it, or snapping their necks, or piercing their eyes.
Gordon’s battle cries occasionally echoed from the smoke, his exchanges with some of the Deformed’s arms going back and forth. Streaks of sharp, dazzling silver light, like crescent moons, carved the stage into pieces. But the Deformed’s limbs were so robust that Gordon’s attacks only grazed its skin, and the Deformed would instantly heal.
The Inspectors immediately shielded Isabel, attempting to have her evacuate first.
As people on the second floor panicked and fled, a man with an ordinary appearance calmly blended in, muttering something repeatedly.
Amidst the screams of the crowd, the wall on the first floor suddenly turned into scarlet flesh.
Tendrils of flesh, colored like internal organs, whipped out, briefly tying down the Inspectors who were standing at the edge of the wall.
On the other side, a glass jar filled with eyeballs was suddenly thrown from the second floor.
Edward looked up and scanned the second floor repeatedly, so he noticed this immediately. As the jar just began its descent, he immediately extended his right hand towards it and shouted, “[Return what is yours]!”
The glass jar instantly stopped falling and instead began to flow backward, heading towards a brown-haired girl with a look of stunned disbelief.
Her face was filled with shock and fear as she watched the jar flying towards her, and she reached out as if to catch it.
Inside this jar were the “Eyes of Fear,” which were enough to plunge everyone on the first floor into a state of panic! And if she didn’t catch it…
At this moment, a fireball
streaked through the air and shattered the jar.
It was the flames summoned by Madam Maya—golden-red flames burning fiercely, incinerating the eyeballs emitting black smoke.
Her right hand slowly condensed another, larger fireball, and she glared at the person with ill intent.
“I beseech Amber, God of Sacred Number Nine, God of Supreme Attainment, God of Perfect Eternity—grant me the fire of Amber.”
Bishop Maya murmured, and the fireball in her hand gradually turned dim yellow. The flickering flames seemed to freeze as if solidified.
The brown-haired girl was about to flee when she suddenly found herself rigid, unable to move. A Law Master had noticed her and, while fighting against the tendrils, managed to spare enough time to cast a “[Freeze]” decree.
Golden flames rushed towards her, hitting her precisely without affecting anyone beside her.
Her shrill scream lasted only an instant, and as the dim yellow flames dissipated, she transformed into a grotesque stone statue.
Giving it a cold glance, Maya once again coalesced flames in her hand.
“I beseech the Lord of Scales and Feathers, God of Sacred Number Six…”
This time, she didn’t use an instant prayer with limited uses. Instead, she stood with her eyes closed amidst the crowd, hands clasped, beginning a full incantation.
“—Be careful, Eivass!”
But Gordon’s startled cry interrupted her prayer.
She raised her head in surprise, opened her eyes, and looked at Eivass in the corner.
At the instant the Deformed suddenly attacked Eivass…
She saw that a simple ancient-looking sword had appeared in Eivass’s hand at some point—
It had a crimson hilt. The blade was engulfed in blazing flames, emitting dazzling holy light. Pure light and fire energies constantly fluctuated, creating visible ripples in the air.
It was the Holy Sword—Red-Hilted Sword, formed by first channeling the light and fire attributes of the “[Key to St. Genevieve’s Chapel]” and then using the stored spell—”[Sacred Sword Technique]”!
It was a golden “Holy Weapon” with four attributes: “Exorcism,” “Sharpness,” “Tenacity,” and “Lightness.”
The most important among them were “Lightness” and “Exorcism.”
The former allowed Eivass, who lacked strength and was in a wheelchair, to wield it with ease; the latter was most crucial…
The moment the Holy Sword appeared, a silent, divine atmosphere spread, as if this place had become a shrine. The fear in people’s hearts also subsided considerably.
And the Deformed’s movements, illuminated by this light, began to slow down, its power also starting to wane.
Seizing the moment the Deformed’s movements slowed, Eivass swung the Red-Hilted Sword.
Like a hot knife cutting through butter, it easily severed the arm the Deformed had extended!
Update complete!
Oh, and regarding the first-order lottery in the book club, the operations officer “Guanguan” will be live-streaming the prize draw on Bilibili under the account “[A Jar Without Food]” tonight at 9 PM. Those who participated, please remember to tune in (sternly)!