The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 296

Chapter 297
Cassiem was excited.
The giant Cassiem was unusually excited.
— The aimless search that had been causing him immense headaches was finally coming to an end.
His highness the prince had given him a vague clue: “The place closest to death,” and ordered him to find something he had never even seen before. It left him with no idea where to start.
Where exactly was the place closest to death?
What did this “Book of Law” look like? Was it a book, or something else? What did it look like? Where might it be stored now?
The answer was, “I don’t know, but find it for me anyway.”
…What else could he do?
He had been given a strict order to find it. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be allowed to return—No, then at least give me more information?
But he couldn’t.
Because Prince Wolfram didn’t know anything either; his only clue came from that Eye Demon.
Eye Demons were demons with the power of the Path Adaptation, possessing abilities like clairvoyance, X-ray vision, invisibility detection, and precognition to manipulate information.
However, Prince Wolfram was not a Demon Scholar, but a great wizard. His Eye Demon was not bound by a contract but was merely his partner—because that Eye Demon had once been his brother.
In the era when the Supreme Heaven still existed, he had already become a demon, feared and loathed by his own kind. Now that the giants were almost extinct, that Eye Demon had instead become the lucky one.
But in Cassiem’s opinion, the Eye Demon might not be reliable.
Although demons retained some memories of their past lives… once they transformed into beings of the Path, they were no longer their former selves.
Cassiem’s knowledge as a Demon Scholar told him that in the past, many people had been killed after trusting their fallen demon friends or relatives, their souls becoming food for demons.
But in Prince Wolfram’s view, perhaps Cassiem was the unreliable one.
Cassiem was not of giant royalty, nor was he a royal guard serving the throne. Those giants had all been killed long ago… Although Cassiem was a pure-blooded giant, he had only been a commoner in the past.
He had managed to escape the purge simply because he was lucky; he hadn’t gone to the Everfrost Empire in the North because he still couldn’t control his anger and was therefore not recognized by his former brethren who had turned to the Path of Wisdom.
In other words, he was a homeless outcast.
Not only did the people of Avalon despise giants, but so did the Star Antimony people and the Iris people. If he wanted to run, he could only go south, cross the sea, and see trolls and great apes baring their teeth. He might even be captured and sold by goblins.
It was because he had nowhere to go that Cassiem could only follow Prince Wolfram—he wasn’t a person, but a dog.
If the giants couldn’t restore their kingdom, he would be a homeless stray dog. He would be beaten to death if seen on the street.
But if the giants could restore their kingdom, even if they only got a small piece of land… then he would not only have a home to return to, but he would also gain glory and wealth. He might even be able to eat people openly.
He had no choice. So, with that thought in mind, he followed Prince Wolfram and joined the newly formed Noble Red Society.
It was precisely because he harbored such an extreme thought of “I have no room to retreat”—that he, as a commoner, could reach the Fifth Tier—he had now become a true Demon Avatar, capable of shedding his mortal form and becoming a demon at any time.
Or rather, his past self was already dead. It was just that the newly born demon was still acting through his uncorrupted former body.
— So Prince Wolfram’s wariness was not without reason. Because if necessary, he could betray Prince Wolfram at any time.
Demons did not possess human conscience.
But conversely, precisely because of this… Cassiem did not trust his own kind. This “own kind” did not refer to Prince Wolfram, but to his brother, that Eye Demon.
Cassiem strongly suspected that the so-called “prophecy” it made was a complete fabrication, intended to drive him away.
Because more than ten years ago, it had repeatedly told Prince Wolfram about the “Book of Law.”
That Eye Demon believed that the “Book of Law” contained secret knowledge about Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods, and great power that could change the world and influence the future.
If the right person obtained it, there was hope that the Giant Bear could return to the position of a Pillar God… If they could also regain a Sacred Entity, there was even hope of ascending to the position of a Heavenly Envoy or even a Pillar God as a mortal.
…No, big brother. Do you really believe this?
Cassiem found it preposterous. With his normal intelligence, he couldn’t understand it at all.
— The “Book of Law” was, at best, a book written by Jacob, the former leader. He was at most Fifth Tier, not even Sixth Tier. And this book wasn’t even a Grimoire.
A book written by a mortal, containing knowledge that could turn a mortal into a Pillar God—if this were true, why didn’t he become a Pillar God himself? Or if a third of this was true, then you could have become a Disc yourself, right?
But Jacob wasn’t even a Disc; he had died completely.
At that time, the Eye Demon asked Prince Wolfram to search for the Book of Law. But they searched and couldn’t find it. So, with Cassiem’s repeated dissuasion, Prince Wolfram gave up.
And recently, that Eye Demon came again—it claimed that the reason they couldn’t find the Book of Law back then was because it hadn’t yet appeared in the world. But now that the Book of Law had appeared, they could search again.
So Prince Wolfram sent Cassiem out again, demanding that he find the Book of Law.
— Now Cassiem strongly suspected that this was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Eye Demon. Its purpose was to drive him away, and Prince Wolfram had definitely seen through it. He intended to use this opportunity to eliminate or suppress the forces loyal to Cassiem.
After all, Cassiem was somewhat of a Transcendent.
There were no completely loyal Transcendent beings in this world—he did indeed have his own influence.
And according to the tacit understanding between Transcendent beings, when Prince Wolfram began to clear out his own forces, it meant he no longer had the ambition to transcend!
Although Cassiem maintained respect and loyalty outwardly, he was actually elated by this.
The prince was starting to weaken, so…
Was there a chance for him to replace him and become “Prince Wolfram”?
After all, to humans, giants all looked alike…
In any case, Cassiem had done what he was supposed to do. They had searched all the surrounding graves and hospitals, and then they were wandering in the forest, trying to make themselves look busy…
As it turned out, they suddenly found a road.
— He swore, this road had not been there just now. It was as if, from a certain moment, a road had suddenly appeared.
In other words, they had inadvertently stumbled upon a magic barrier.
So Cassiem’s heart suddenly stirred.
Because he sensed a very strong aura of twilight…
Could this be the “place closest to death” where the “Book of Law” was located?
Or rather…
Did the “Book of Law” truly exist?
Cassiem’s mind immediately came up with another thought.
If the Book of Law was indeed here, and it possessed at least a third of the power boasted by the Eye Demon… then he might not need to hand it over to the prince.
Thinking this, he walked through the dark forest.
After admiring the quiet village under the twilight before his eyes for a moment, and feeling the deathly power filling the air, Cassiem took a deep breath.
— My life is about to change!
The village hidden within the magic barrier must hold something special.
Since that’s the case…
Cassiem sneered.
“Search carefully, brothers and sisters.”
He ordered slowly, with a deep killing intent, “Search every house thoroughly.
“Remember to leave all the elderly and scholars behind and gather them in the center of the village square.”
Writing the third update yesterday was exhausting. I overslept today, so this is a little late—
There will be a second update around 2 PM!