The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 496

Chapter 495
“Advisor” Little Fernando
Within the Silver and Tin Hall, there might have been many knights controlled by Flame Demons.
However, these mindless Flame Demon derivatives were no different from mindless dungeon monsters when not under the direct control of a Flame Demon. Once they were lured and gathered, the Butterfly of Paradox Flame could send them all to their demise with a single strike.
As for the main body of the Flame Demon, it had fallen into a brief slumber under the control of another Twilight Path transcendent. Even with all the commotion, it still hadn’t woken up.
And after a long while… when the old man in the black robe walked in slowly, the place was already empty.
He was not late, nor did he accidentally let the intruders escape.
—The old man did it on purpose.
Little Fernando Blumberg was not from a major noble family. Although he was of noble birth, his father, Old Fernando, was merely a dissolute viscount who had even sold his ancestral lands. His current position was due not only to his talent in the Twilight Path but also to his usual caution and prudence.
If he were to face the enemy head-on, a battle would have to occur. If he directly let them pass, it would be his responsibility; but to fight them directly…
Little Fernando was already a Fifth Tier transcendent!
As the Dean of the First Department of the Spirit Tower, the newly appointed Count Blumberg, Honorary Colonel, and Deputy Minister of Railways, he was only one step away from succeeding to the Black Star position!
Being such an important figure, why risk his life playing games?
He would just go through the motions to fulfill his duty… come take a look, so that Queen Louise wouldn’t ask him later about what happened outside.
He cautiously controlled phantoms, spreading them out from afar to search the surroundings—these phantoms were spirit bodies he had urgently intercepted and made into his own spirit servants when those knights were transformed into Flame Demon Knights.
After confirming that the enemy had left, the old man cautiously approached, carefully sensing the residual Path Power in the air.
The old man couldn’t help but tremble inwardly.
—Because he not only detected traces of an extremely high-level Path of Devotion but even vaguely sensed divinity!
“…Is it a divine art? No, it doesn’t seem like it…”
Little Fernando muttered.
So, it was a powerful Phantom Demon of the Path of Devotion?
The old man quickly identified the opponent’s identity.
It should be a passing Phantom Demon of the Path of Devotion who sensed the birth of the Flame Demon and came to take a look… he hoped so. Or rather, it had to be.
Because if it were any other situation, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Little Fernando’s presence here was more to act as a limiter for the Flame Demon.
Much of his power was used to suppress the Flame Demon, and some of it was used to protect the Queen and Prince. He himself didn’t have much combat power left. If there were too many enemies, or if they were too difficult to handle, he might have to unleash the Flame Demon and flee.
If that happened, the Flame Demon rampaging on Glass Island would likely destroy the entire city… His teacher would definitely be unhappy.
His teacher was the current Black Star, and he had hopes of becoming the next Black Star. Currently, he had only one competitor.
His trip to Avalon this time was to gain experience under his teacher’s arrangement. Because his teacher had lived for nearly three hundred years and planned to imitate the first Black Star by transforming himself into an undead being. Before that, he needed to compete with another young lady.
Although he was over seventy years old this year, by the standard lifespan of a Twilight Path transcendent, this was at most considered his prime. A Fifth Tier Twilight Path transcendent could live at least over 150 years… if they used potions for longevity, they could even live easily to two or three hundred years. As for the decay and deterioration of the body, it actually aided in the perception of the Twilight Path.
Without knowing the pain of aging, one could not feel the weight of life and the mystery of death.
Little Fernando was not yet a hundred years old. If he could succeed to the position of Black Star, he could at least hold the position for thirty to forty years.
…Perhaps it would be better to just ignore it.
Looking at the earth and palace completely destroyed by immense power, which had opened a long tunnel, the old man pragmatically decided to turn a blind eye.
In any case, it had nothing to do with him; it was a problem with the current plan formulated by His Majesty the King.
General Karl’s assassination and transformation into a Flame Demon directly led to the knights of the Round Table Hall and the fake princess perishing in the sea of fire. Although “puppets” could be made at any time, they did not have extra materials with them this time—it would be bad if they were discovered. The Golem Master in the rear main force was urgently manufacturing new puppets, but it was already too late.
—This directly led to the collapse of the original plan.
Without “Princess Isabel” to withstand the pressure and actively surrender, the palace engulfed in flames and the Round Table Knights assimilated by the Flame Demon… instead turned the people of Avalon from fear to anger.
Even though the Star Antimony army easily broke through Avalon’s weak land forces from the front, even though the War Golems had already entered Glass Island, and even though these rebels did not even have a true top commander… they were still fighting tooth and nail in a bloody street war.
—A three-day bloody battle with no intention of surrendering.
Even the civilians were infected, gradually becoming angry from their initial fear and resistance. The descendants of those who once fought against giants had their fighting spirit reawakened… such overwhelming rage was something Little Fernando did not want to touch.
Those unnoticed small villages were one thing; as long as they were cleaned up thoroughly, no one would know where they were. But it was different in the capital, Glass Island.
Even the cruelest Star Antimony generals dared not easily harm civilians—the War Correspondents from the Iris Flower were like flies drawn to the smell of dung; reporters from Iris Flower had arrived even before the Star Antimony vanguard.
Little Fernando dared not imagine what photos they would take and what absurd stories they would compile when they returned. And if they attacked the reporters, the matter would be even bigger.
Avalon and Star Antimony did not have any enmity. This war actually had little support within the country. It was only due to the military’s assurance of a quick victory that this risky plan was ultimately executed—its purpose was three-fold: to gain the support of the founding family, to obtain Avalon’s ice-free port and friendly trade relations with the Church, and to divert the internal conflict between Alchemists and Demon Scholars.
With this incident, all three objectives were likely in jeopardy.
If they attacked civilians, even without considering the Church’s reckoning afterward… it was likely that even their own citizens would strongly oppose it.
Because of this, relying on the Star Antimony army’s indecisiveness, the Supervisors, Light Cavalry, and Law Masters who relied on residential areas to launch street battles, despite being lower-tier professions, caused immense trouble for the Star Antimony army.
The most troublesome was the Lloyd District.
There were also some transcendent beings from other Paths mixed in, and they were extremely familiar with the very complex terrain of the Lloyd District—they even had a large amount of alchemical explosives, could set traps, and had rich experience in street and night combat. When night fell completely, the dark alley entrances made it daunting to venture deeper.
Street fighting had been ongoing since this morning and had been stalemated until now.
It was now four in the morning… dawn was approaching.
After a giant golem was destroyed by a group of low-level transcendents, the Star Antimony army commander seemed to finally harden his heart. He ordered the use of golems to suppress the Lloyd District.
This would undoubtedly cause collateral damage.
But the effect was remarkable.
The golem’s attacks left no hiding place for the transcendent beings who were engaging in guerrilla warfare from the alleys; one attack was enough to completely clear an alley. This was literal clearing, with even the buildings being flattened.
Given the structural integrity of Avalon’s architecture, any building not reinforced with the Preservation Technique would collapse the moment it was brushed by that scorching flame stream. A beam attack that could cause severe injury or even death to Fourth Tier transcendents if directly hit, could kill civilians and low-level transcendents if they were even grazed by it.
—Since they had already taken action, killing once was still killing, and killing them all was still killing.
Little Fernando thought that once the commander responsible for suppressing the Lloyd District arrived at the White Queen District, he would be able to suppress the knights there. As for the Gryphons at the entrance of the Silver and Tin Hall, they originally had no intention of touching them… because once Avalon was controlled, these white-feathered Gryphons would be spoils of war.
How powerful would Star Antimony be if they had their Gryphon Legion!
Gryphons enhanced by alchemical products… they would surely be much stronger than their primitive use by Avalon!
But who knew that Karl would be inexplicably assassinated!
He had only stepped away for less than five minutes, and when he looked back, his teammate had become a Flame Demon, and the distress signal hadn’t even been sent. If he hadn’t been with the Queen and Prince at the time, protecting them promptly… they might have been burned to death and turned into puppets by the out-of-control Flame Demon as well.
The result was that the Gryphons, which were originally spoils of war, had instead become powerful enemies.
The main forces that launched the resistance were the high-level transcendent beings and students in the school. They, along with the pure-blooded Gryphons on Gryphon Bridge, had almost wiped out the small garrison in the White Queen District.
They had even launched several offensives towards the Silver and Tin Hall, but they were all easily intercepted by the Flame Demon Knights.
Fortunately, although the Flame Demons were out of control and the Gryphons had gone mad… with the help of the Round Table Knights infused by the Flame Demons, and the spirit bodies he had hastily summoned, they were sufficient to defend the Silver and Tin Hall until the main forces arrived.
Although it seemed like he hadn’t done anything—but those things were not what he was supposed to do.
Little Fernando’s approach was all about indifference.
—It was impossible to gain merit now… anyway, let’s shift the blame first.
The slaughter of civilians was the fault of the army commander, the failure to execute the plan was due to General Karl’s dereliction of duty, and it was normal for the vanguard to be unable to defeat the white-feathered Gryphons and the teachers and students who were transcendent beings. The root cause was the failure to prepare “backup puppets” in advance and to consider the possibility of the fake Isabel being assassinated.
As a supervisor and protector, his control over the Flame Demon to prevent it from going berserk and his protection of the Prince and Queen were sufficient.
As for the “unidentified transcendent of the Path of Devotion,” Little Fernando didn’t even want to touch them.
He didn’t want to participate in this inexplicable war in the first place… If not for gaining experience, which Twilight Path transcendent would take such a risk and travel so far?
…What should he do then?
So Little Fernando thought for a moment, manipulated the earth to rise again, covering the previously dug tunnel and wall, making the surroundings look roughly the same as before. Then he used the Preservation Technique again, completely solidifying the buildings and the ground.
This way, when dawn broke, no one would realize that a battle had taken place here last night.
And no one would know that the Flame Demon Knights inside the Silver and Tin Hall had been almost completely cleared… Relying on the residual might of these Flame Demon Knights from the past two days, they would probably be able to deter further probing.
If it really came to it… acting was not impossible…
Little Fernando was still somewhat reluctant.
His strong adaptability to the Twilight Path made him extremely annoyed by this situation that had completely spiraled out of control and was becoming increasingly troublesome. It was only through the rationality provided by the Path of Balance that he could properly think about what he needed to do next.
Everything he could do now, he had already done.
The rest was not his responsibility if he didn’t interfere. Once he interfered, if he didn’t do well, he would take the blame; if he did well, it would be nothing more than icing on the cake—so he thought very clearly, he just needed to protect the Queen and the Prince. He didn’t need to worry about anything else.
He couldn’t do anything else until the “new Isabel puppet” arrived with the main force—
Fortunately, Princess Isabel had escaped. This way, the puppet that would be brought over later could be said to be “the escaped Isabel recaptured.” This sounded more reliable than “escaped unharmed from the palace burned by Flame Demons”…
On the other side, Eivass and the group were moving rapidly through the Red Queen District.
There were more enemies in the White Queen District, seemingly flowing from the Lloyd District; the Red Queen District side had far fewer. As Eivass and his group passed through, they encountered no organized resistance. The few scattered soldiers were easily defeated by them.
Eivass and Olive, neither of whom were skilled at combat, did not even need to act—Advisor and Grape alone easily defeated them.
Advisor had a very proficient mastery of spells. Although he was also Third Tier, he was clearly more proficient than Sherlock.
The most obvious sign was that when he cast spells, he only opened his mouth slightly and chanted in a low voice that only he could hear, making his mouth movements impossible to discern. He would also make some feinting motions to mislead the enemy about his casting time—his chanting time and casting gestures did not match at all. This combat style greatly enlightened Eivass.
Clearly, this was something players could not do. And since Eivass arrived in this World, he had not experienced many true battles between transcendents—while Mr. Advisor had clearly risen from very low levels.
Sherlock, perhaps because his main profession was Law Master, required his spells to take effect only when the target could hear him speak. This led him to habitually chant loudly even after becoming a Mage—this was a habit he would have to remind Sherlock to correct later.
Grape’s combat style inherited that of Advisor.
Her chanting voice was also very low, making it impossible to hear clearly. Even while using Mycroft’s fat body, her dodges were very agile—Eivass also noticed that her combat style was very rare, centered around creating barriers with the Preservation Technique and Petrification Spell.
This was what was known as a control-type tanky healer. This was quite common among players, a very mainstream and even overpowered build in 3v3. Continuously strengthening defense, controlling enemies… Eivass even noticed that a “Cursed Infant” summoned by a Demon Scholar was easily intercepted by her, and even its shield did not break.
That was a burst spell that a Fourth Tier tank profession would need to withstand to survive!
With Grape defending and Advisor attacking, they defeated three waves of enemies and finally reached St. Genevieve’s Chapel.
The key was in Eivass’s possession—he had obtained the holy sword from Bishop Mathers when he first met him.
It was now time for its application.
Eivass inserted the key into the main entrance of the chapel, injecting a bit of Light and Fire attribute mana into it.
Golden and red tree-like patterns flashed, completing the runes on the great door.
Then, with a slight turn of the key, he opened the tightly shut grand doors of the chapel.
(End of this chapter)