The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 253

Chapter 254
The Boss Didn’t Log Off, He Got Caught
It’s over! Everything is over!
I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky! Just as I thought, there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
Augustus Cantor was extremely dejected.
His hands were clasped in front of him, bound by two illusory triangular manacles. His Path Power was sealed as a result.
In fact, Augustus himself had not resisted violently at all throughout the entire ordeal.
Or rather, the moment the cargo ship docked and over a dozen fully armed inspectors on gryphons suddenly appeared, Augustus’s mind had simply shut down.
And it was at this very moment, as Augustus watched the people on the ship who had been chatting and laughing with him switch into combat mode as if they had a prearranged plan… he was completely stunned.
A barrier was instantly erected, and numerous large-scale rituals, ready to go, mixed with ritualistic spells, altered the surrounding atmosphere.
Demons were summoned behind him, and spells of cold and fire intertwined; some immediately vanished into the shadows, while others drew longbows. Even the Bard who had been drinking and singing with him earlier pulled out two drums and began to play a war song.
Augustus even saw them bring out cannons—
My God, they still have these things?!
In that instant, he suddenly understood his current role:
This isn’t a smuggling ship, is it?
The people on the ship wanted to rush out, as if they could melt into the crowd if they just charged forward, and the law enforcers on gryphons had seen through their intentions and were blocking them tightly on the ship.
Standing in the center of this battlefield, Augustus was frozen like a puppet, completely motionless. The others, as if they hadn’t seen him at all, fought each other without hesitation, even going for the kill—
Perhaps because of the intense confusion and fear in Augustus’s eyes, the spells completely avoided him. It was as if he were an outsider.
The inspectors who rushed into the fight also paid him no mind, at most glancing at him.
But the intense battle didn’t last long before it began to tilt heavily in one direction.
The armed forces on the ship numbered over sixty people, with a full range of professions and excellent coordination.
The people on the ship seemed to have clearly underestimated their opponents—
They thought they were just supervisors, but they didn’t realize they were inspectors… The result was that their formation didn’t last long before they were routed by these elites. This was even though the latter were trying to protect their cargo and weren’t using lethal force.
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and gryphons, carrying hurricanes, directly broke through their front lines.
Assassins moving in the shadows, before they could even get close, were convulsed by crackling electric arcs and discovered; their spells were dispersed before they could even land, and arrows whistling through the air were shattered by wind blades stirred by the gryphons’ claws.
As soon as the demons emerged from the summoning circles, they were shattered along with the circles by streaks of majestic lightning. The leader, a woman, raised her staff and summoned bolts of electricity, making them crackle and leap among the crowd.
Augustus saw it clearly—an assassin less than two meters away from him, just as they materialized and were still paralyzed, was pierced through by the electric light, his entire body illuminating before turning into charcoal. The intense static made his hair stand on end, and he could even feel a faint numbness on his skin.
The few powerhouses who were still fighting one against many, maintaining a drawn-out struggle, refused to surrender. One by one, they drank alchemical potions and entered a berserk state.
—And the “knights” in silver-white armor were not afraid at all.
Lightning crackling with electricity and gryphons entwined with storms charged forward.
Their attitude was less heroic and more desperate—in this situation, if they were even slightly slow, they would be blocked by their own comrades. Those who were not decisive enough were even getting impatient and starting to curse.
And those “powerhouses” were like lions being hunted by hyenas. They were divided onto different battlefields, then repeatedly pulled apart by these highly mobile inspectors, bound by spell after spell of Law Spells.
Although they only needed to hit their opponent once to kill them, they couldn’t even mount a single effective counterattack.
As the fight wore on, the armed forces on the ship unhesitatingly jumped overboard, trying to dive into the sea—but they couldn’t even do that.
The result was them being ensnared by pure white Law Spells, bound in mid-air by two triangular circles of light.
By then, the reddish-brown gryphons, with their sharp, eagle-like beaks, were all stained with blood. The remnants of those who resisted most fiercely were so mangled that it was almost cruel.
The commoners nearby, having never witnessed such a scene?
But they weren’t afraid of this bloody spectacle; instead, like spectators at a gladiatorial arena, they became unusually excited—
After all, most people might not see a crime scene involving Extraordinary Power once in ten or twenty years, let alone such a colorful and diverse large-scale brawl.
In the end, these supervisors, numbering less than twenty, defeated and even killed three times their number of Extraordinary individuals. They didn’t even cause a single death, with only three suffering minor injuries.
When Augustus, who had been frozen in place the entire time without moving a muscle, was also bound by a Law Spell and thrown aside, he felt a sense of relief.
Thank goodness, I wasn’t killed in passing…
This hellish scene was finally over…
He closed his eyes and pretended to be dead. He hoped to disguise himself as an innocent traveler or someone who had been kidnapped—he regretted so much that he wasn’t a young boy or girl, otherwise he could have claimed to be smuggled merchandise.
But the people who tried to jump ship and were captured for it were the first to betray him.
—I just came to sell goods!
Didn’t Mr. “Antler” say he had great influence in Avalon?
Mr. Antler, save me!
As Augustus struggled, he revealed his identity and his reason for being there to the woman in front of him. He noticed her gaze upon him become strange.
“The ‘Antler’ you mentioned is likely former Minister Dross.”
The woman kindly explained to Augustus, “He was the former Trade Minister. And the cargo ship you are currently on is his private smuggling vessel.”
“…So, that Minister Dross…”
Although he had already guessed the answer, Augustus still wanted to struggle a bit.
“He has already been sentenced to death for multiple crimes including treason, espionage, murder, and smuggling. The execution took place a few days ago,” the woman replied.
Mr. “King” was instantly disheartened.
Good news: the big client didn’t skip out on payment.
Bad news: the big client got caught—and dragged him into it as well.
Despite Augustus’s repeated explanations that he had nothing to do with this matter and didn’t know Dross… it was too late to say such things now. He was dejectedly taken to the Inspectorate.
As he was about to arrive, Augustus heard even more terrifying news—
Princess Isabel, Avalon’s current heir apparent, was waiting for him inside. The Minister of Affairs was also paying attention to this matter and had specifically requested to see him.
Is it that serious? Is it that serious? Is it that serious?
It was just an order for eight hundred silver coins—of course, that was a lot for me, but you important figures shouldn’t care about such a small sum!
Augustus’s heart screamed like a stray dog whose paw had been stepped on, but his expression became even more dejected.
So, as the woman led him inside, he smoothly knelt before the most dignified and noble-looking adult in the room and blurted out a speech he had rehearsed many times in his mind: “Please spare my life, Princess Isabel! I’ll tell you everything, please spare my life. I have a daughter of a few years old to raise. If you need me as a witness, I can cooperate…”
However, he secretly peeked upwards and noticed that the other person’s expression was somewhat odd.
“You’ve mistaken me, sir.”
The person couldn’t help but laugh and pulled out a girl who looked the youngest among those behind her. “This is our Princess Isabel of Avalon. I am Eivass Moriarty, Minister of Affairs of Avalon.”
“…Ah, ah. That’s right, I don’t look much like a princess… It’s okay, Mr. King…”
The girl, who looked frail and delicate, said somewhat awkwardly, “People do say that sometimes. Like Eivass…”
—It’s over! Everything is over!
Augustus shrieked in his mind.
But at this moment, he suddenly noticed something.
…Wait, hold on?
What did she just call me?
“Nice to meet you… Long time no see, ‘King’ sir.”
The Eivass Moriarty, whom he had mistaken, sat with his legs crossed, his left hand propping up his chin.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he were very pleased. “Allow me to introduce myself—I am Fox, and this is Lulu.”
…An acquaintance!
Hope instantly flared in “King’s” eyes.
But he soon noticed another matter.
—Why did I name myself “King” ahhhhhh!
He let out a terrified scream in his mind once more.
Who would have thought that one day, a small fry like me would have his life held in the hands of a real “Princess”!!
It’s over! This time it’s really over!
Update complete!