The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 556

Chapter 555
Imprint III
That night, before Eivass slept, he pondered for a long time and decided not to drink any alcohol.
Bram’s previous words had made Eivass very concerned—he had said that he had already been marked by the Bear Heavenly Envoy.
Eivass didn’t know if this was true, or if the socially maladjusted giant baby Bram was just bragging… Although ordinary people wouldn’t brag about such things.
But since he believed the Bear Heavenly Envoy, it was hard to say for sure.
Bram was even an Avalon native, and his father was close to achieving the Great Perfection of the Round Table Hall—before Bram committed his offense, his father, by serving his time, could have possibly been promoted and joined the Round Table Hall.
He could at least be considered upper-middle class.
Yet, coming from such a privileged background, Bram chose to defect to the Giant God Bear Heavenly Envoy, who had an ancient feud with Avalon. It was known that the subjects of the Bear Heavenly Envoy considered humans like him as mere snacks for grinding their teeth hundreds of years ago. This was an even deeper hatred than the enmity between the Daffodil Duchy and the Star Antimony Kingdom; it was a hatred on a dietary level.
But he chose to do so.
Therefore, Eivass had to consider the possibility that he was mentally ill or an idiot.
He didn’t know what would happen if he met Isabel while being marked by the Bear Heavenly Envoy.
Would it draw the Bear Heavenly Envoy’s attention to Isabel, or would the location of “Morgan’s Wonderful Dream House” be exposed? Or would Isabel also be dragged in, or would nothing happen…
Eivass dared not gamble.
Considering the worst-case scenario, he would keep his distance from Isabel for now.
Trade on the Southern Continent could be discussed at any time, but Isabel was his treasure.
And thinking about how he had spent the entire day rushing around the Church due to a mysterious major event, and might be busy with it for some time to come, yet he couldn’t see Isabel at night. Eivass’s annoyance towards the Bear Heavenly Envoy further increased.
“What an annoying family…”
Eivass muttered, and fell into a deep sleep with a sense of disgust.
When he woke up again, he heard the crackling sound of a bonfire near his ears.
Eivass slightly adjusted to the intense flames around him, and his heart sank as he realized he had been dragged into the Dream Realm again.
“You’re awake.”
A deep and steady male voice suddenly sounded in his ear, “Or should I say, you were asleep?”
Eivass felt the skin on the back of his neck being grabbed by someone, and then his whole body was lifted up—only then did he immediately realize, he wasn’t human.
He was still that thin, four-legged little beast covered in burn marks. As he was lifted, pain finally began to spread throughout his body. Immediately after, he heard a woman’s light laughter from the surroundings.
“This little fox doesn’t understand what’s happening yet.”
“This is no ordinary fox,”
The man’s deep voice replied, “Look. On his forehead, there is a golden-red pattern, black markings around his right eye, and a white mark on his claws. These peculiarities are all divine marks.”
Being shaken violently, Eivass finally managed to see his surroundings clearly.
He saw an incredibly huge, crimson giant sitting before a bonfire.
And behind him, a huge white lion was lying down. The lion possessed extremely sacred golden radiance, while the giant was clad in crimson armor.
Eivass looked closely and found that the giant had no skin at all, and the muscle texture could even be clearly seen. The armor was burning hot and crimson, with flames burning on it, as if branded onto him like a hot iron, emitting sizzling white smoke. Yet, despite enduring such pain, the giant did not make a sound.
Because of his lack of skin, the giant looked extremely ugly and frightening. But beside him, two extremely beautiful ethereal beauties attended him. They were both pure white and semi-transparent, looking like ghosts; but they were not frightening at all, and instead glowed like warm candlelight.
The one who lifted Eivass was one of these ghost girls.
She looked at Eivass with curiosity and reached out to gently touch Eivass’s chest, “Little one, how did you offend the Bear Heavenly Envoy?”
A wave of cool sensation gradually diminished the pain in Eivass’s body.
He looked up, somewhat dazed.
—After repeated confirmation, this was indeed a giant.
And it was the most ferocious ace type among giants—the Skinless One.
This was an ancient inheritance from the giants, considered an upper-tier version of the Berserker. Nowadays, there were probably very few inheritors, mostly in the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi.
Inheritors had to flay their own skin alive, and they could not use any anesthetic during this process, not even drink alcohol. The only lubrication was the meat paste made from defeated powerful enemies.
As long as they endured immense pain and completed this ritual alive, they could obtain terrifying power from unending wrath—rage was a special ability belonging to the line of followers of the Bear Heavenly Envoy in modern times, while in ancient times it was a professional scale on the Path of Power. Among them, the Skinless One was permanently at full rage.
If the White Feather Gryphon paired with the aerial cavalry was the ace unit of Avalon.
Then the Skinless One was the ace unit of the Giant Kingdom.
Eivass had an extremely deep impression, even some PTSD—in some difficult dungeons later on, as long as something was related to the Bear Heavenly Envoy, he would always encounter elite monsters like the Skinless Ones. They were fanatical followers of the Bear Heavenly Envoy, powerful and dangerous.
An unnamed Skinless One could be considered a wave of minor monsters, while a named Skinless One was at least a dungeon’s first boss.
The mechanics of the Skinless One could be simply summarized in one sentence—if a monster only had a charge attack, it was invincible.
The so-called “charge” referred to the charging mechanism where the monster rushes over with fierce momentum, and players would be crippled or killed if hit; they could only quickly dodge to the sides. Although not invincible during the charge, they were immune to most crowd control effects; and they were very fast, making it difficult to hit them with skills.
The general mechanism of the Skinless One was a charge that repeatedly knocked people back, requiring players to use several layers of damage reduction, shields, or invincibility to face him head-on once or twice to stop him. Otherwise, he would charge endlessly like a runaway cement truck, letting out roars, and if melee teammates were reckless, it could even lead to a team wipe at the elite monster stage.
However…
Eivass gradually came to his senses.
Although Eivass’s reactions would be somewhat slow and simplistic in the Dream Realm, he instinctively sensed something was wrong.
This Skinless One… was he perhaps too rational?
Logically, all Skinless Ones should have been completely consumed by unending rage, losing their rationality—the intense pain they endured every moment filled them with destructive desire and self-destructive intent. Yet, the Skinless One before him was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed… possessing a certain Zen-like quality.
“You’re looking at Lord Heavenly Raksha with such fear… You know the Skinless Ones? That’s quite rare.”
A ghost girl beside him said surprisingly.
Heavenly Raksha…?
Eivass suddenly realized the true identity of this great being.
“It seems you may have heard my name, and that is good,”
The Skinless giant, referred to as “Heavenly Raksha,” replied slowly, “I was once the ‘Raksha,’ one of the ‘Four Annihilations’ who followed Supreme Heaven. But now I am a follower of the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy, atoning for my past sins at all times.
“This armor I wear is a gift from the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy. Those souls I killed and imprisoned within my body, suffering eternally, are now attached to this armor. As long as even one of them still hates me, that hatred will transform into hellfire that scorches me; only when they all let go of their hatred, are reincarnated, can I be freed from this刑甲 (punishment armor).”
The white lion behind the man narrowed his eyes, its overflowing golden divine light possessing radiant divinity. His tone was rational and calm, “Now I am the guardian of the Devotionals. Devotionals are those who endure and torment themselves, often choosing silence when faced with hardship.
“But not all wicked people will repent through forgiveness; some forgiveness is also indulgence. What the benevolent cannot do, ‘Heavenly Raksha’ shall act on their behalf.”
It was indeed Heavenly Raksha!
Eivass’s eyes widened, showing a look of joy.
Heavenly Raksha’s functional scope was extremely narrow, but all priests had to study the prayer to summon Heavenly Raksha.
—Because “Heavenly Raksha” was the legendary god who punished malicious lawsuits!
If a devout person saved others, but was then slandered, attacked, or framed by the person they saved. If they endured harm and were powerless to retaliate, they could seek Heavenly Raksha for divine revenge.
He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t speak and could only let out weak cries.
“Perhaps because you have not yet attained enlightenment, you cannot speak in the Dream Realm. Hence, you are in beast form,”
The giant shook his head slightly, “But I know what you want to say.
“You have already been branded by the Bear Heavenly Envoy—I am powerless to stop it, and can only bring you here to prevent Him from harming your soul in the dream.
“—However, little fox,”
The ugly, skinless giant leaned forward slightly and replied slowly, word by word, “If there truly comes a day when the Bear Heavenly Envoy fights you to the death in the Dream Realm; if on that day, you can formally battle him in the Dream Realm, rather than it being merely the hunt of a giant bear for a cub…
“Then call my name. I will become your aid—
“As my atonement.”
This voice echoed clearly in Eivass’s mind.
So clearly that when Eivass woke up, it was still echoing infinitely in his mind.
Eivass’s chest was branded with a deeper bear claw mark, but it had already healed… or rather, it had been scorched by fire and turned into a scar.
[You have obtained the Trait: Authority – Imprint III]
[Authority – Imprint III: The Bear Heavenly Envoy has swung his future claw, declaring that this blow will end your life. This is the third imprint, the number of which cannot be seven—]
(End of Chapter)