The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1221

Chapter 1219
Autolycus
Hearing this, Hassan’s heart stirred.
He looked at Morgan hesitantly, but his lips were tightly shut, and he did not speak.
“You’re tempted.”
Morgan smiled and affirmed, “You can’t refuse.”
“…I understand.”
Hassan chuckled, “So that’s how it is, I completely understand.
“—You want to resist Calamity Red yourself, don’t you. You killed the Silver Crown Dragon, and you want to kill Calamity Red too? The first Disc to kill two Pillar Gods… are you trying to achieve Heavenly Envoy, or even Pillar God, with this accomplishment?”
“You’ve revealed it.”
Morgan said smilingly, “Then we are accomplices, my dear.
“Just as the Hrasals defeated the Arks in the past… the weak knights back then relied on the determination to be ‘unfettered by hostages’ to defeat the giants.”
When the Knights of the Round Table conquered Avalon in the past, there were almost no natives left.
With the cunning and卑鄙 of the giants, they would surely have forced these residents to betray the knights, or used their lives for moral blackmail—they had done so before, and Helchin had died because of it.
But it was clear that the Knights of the Round Table were intact. Arthur, cold and resolute, was not tricked by this.
The fate of those humans living in Avalon, raised like livestock by the giants, was therefore predictable.
Morgan knew how Eivass viewed this matter—he, who understood High-Tier Divine Art and Ritual Studies, could undoubtedly see the symbolism of the war between the Red and Heaven City: this was the symbolism of Calamity Demon Dragon and Silver Crown Dragon.
The rebel burning with wild flames, and the cold Monarch sitting high upon the throne. Even Calamity Demon Dragon himself saw it that way—Arthur truly believed Morgan was working for him, and that all this was to help him digest the power of “Authority” within him as quickly as possible.
Even the Pillar Gods on high were deceived by Morgan!
And no one realized that in this grand Ritual, which was about to sacrifice over a hundred thousand people, there was another invisible Ritual nested—
The Lord of the Sacreds of Heaven City, who favored silver-white creations, could indeed represent the Silver Crown Dragon; but if one looked at the entire Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, those Lords might not be fitting enough for the Silver Crown Dragon—some, however, were fitting enough for the giants of Avalon in the past, the “Arks”!
Worshipping an old god, raising human slaves as materials for live sacrifice, barbaric, rude, and unruly—they even ate people. Compared to the Silver Crown Dragon, weren’t they more like the Giant King and the Giant Priests?
Then, a fragment with Heavenly Envoy power, coming from a foreign land, was used as a pawn by another Pillar God, leading a group of people to try to resist these “giants”… Even the night of ambiguity with Arthur was perfectly replicated by Morgan.
The rebels defeated the rulers. Civilization defeated barbarism. The new defeated the old.
It was a power contrary to “barbaric slaughter of civilization”—
A war for righteousness, an angry rebellion. For freedom, not conquest; for protection, not plunder; for resistance, not suppression.
One king surpassed another, and what was chosen by the people surpassed what was hated by the people… Who was the ultimate victor?
The king?
Or the people who supported him?
It was like how barbarians easily defeated civilization, yet couldn’t bear to part with the culture the other side had accumulated for years, and tried to annex it… The process by which Calamity Demon Dragon defeated Silver Crown Dragon was also too easy, and thus Calamity Demon Dragon, holding absolute initiative, would not bear to annihilate Silver Crown Dragon completely.
When barbarians tried to learn from civilization and assimilate its strengths, their minds were gradually controlled by the revitalized civilization.
Just like Calamity Red now.
He wanted to completely digest Silver Crown Dragon, so he had to fight this war to the end. Because the world was basically at peace now, and there weren’t many wars left for him to fight, let alone wars to resist Authority.
But if he defeated the man-eating evil civilization, and once again became a clean and peaceful good civilization, allowing people to live in peace and stability… wasn’t this also a concept belonging to “Authority,” rather than “War”?
Hassan did not notice the blood-red flames burning in his pupils as he gazed at Morgan.
That was the resonance of the Path of War, proof that Calamity Red was constantly infusing him with power and influencing his thoughts.
And at this moment, in the staff held in Morgan’s left hand, the soul of a small white dragon was restlessly spinning in the crystal in front. It seemed to want to say something, but could not utter a sound.
Lord of Scales and Feathers had once made a prophecy—
“…Morgan will surely kill Arthur, and the Red Dragon will surely defeat the White Dragon.”
On the other side, in Heaven City, Eivass was softly reciting the prophecy of Lord of Scales and Feathers.
This was information he had found in the past two days… In the current situation of Calamity Red’s victory, this information was not hard to find. Calamity Red was spreading this prophecy everywhere to prove that his victory was predestined.
Setting aside how guilty this act seemed… Eivass felt something was wrong with the content of the prophecy.
Of course, the prophecy made by Lord of Scales and Feathers, who had stolen the Authority of “Eight Trigrams,” was the unchangeable future itself—it was a destined fate.
The power of destiny belonged to the Void.
Without the miraculous power to break through the Void’s blockade, even Pillar Gods could not change a destined fate.
And clearly, neither Silver Crown Dragon nor Calamity Red had the power of the Origin River required to piece together a “miracle”… This meant that neither of them could change their destiny.
But… the cage of destiny also had its gaps.
Lord of Scales and Feathers did not specify precisely when this prophecy would occur, nor which Arthur Morgan killed.
“The Silver Crown Dragon killed by her, after the true Arthur appears… shouldn’t he be called Vothigern?”
Eivass murmured, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
The “death” of the Silver Crown Dragon might be a conspiracy!
If viewed from this angle, it was perfectly understandable why he would willingly be consumed by Calamity Red, and why he would try his best to preserve the complete composition of the Knights of the Round Table…
Because the true Arthur seemed to be—
“—Lord of War, Calamity Red.”
At the same time, Morgan extended his hand to Hassan, “If you also do not wish for war to sweep across the Earth… then cooperate with me.”
“…With you? Or with you? Do you have any companions?”
Hassan did not hesitate to extend his hand, showing no fear towards the rebellious Pillar God’s actions. Instead, his mouth was filled with questions, “I don’t think this is a plan you would come up with.”
“Indeed.”
Just then, a woman’s voice appeared behind him.
It was an Elf woman Hassan had never seen before. And after a brief blur, she became a male Troll, then a female Dwarf, then a male Half-Elf…
“…Autolycus?”
Hassan’s eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief, “How is it you?”
—That was the “clever person” who truly used the Heavenly Envoy Fragment. A Phantom Demon summoned from the Dream Realm by the Demon Craftsman and bound to his arm.
This was before he obtained the Heavenly Envoy Fragment.
This was a friend who had been by his side since Mr. Grandet constructed his prosthetic arm for him. It was a “phantom” residing in Hassan’s prosthetic arm, visible only to him… a Phantom Demon soul that had stolen power by being compressed by the Demon Craftsman’s artistry.
That soul called itself Autolycus, a Scammer of the Path of Love. Although a Scammer, he possessed a sincere heart, a moral code that valued the weak, and a heart willing to devote itself to others.
Although they had at times mistrusted and doubted each other, they gradually grew accustomed to it. During their long and lonely journey, and in their studies in foreign lands, they were the only ones who were close. In addition, the intellect of the other party, which Hassan admired and which was so intelligent that it was recognized by the Geometric Heavenly Envoy Fragment, had provided Hassan with many ideas and even helped him cheat on several exams.
He had long since become a close friend with this bonded Spirit.
“—If there is an Arthur, there must be a Merlin… That’s what it should be, isn’t it?”
Autolycus said smilingly, “Of course, as a gesture of sincerity… why don’t I tell you my true identity.
“People call me the Grey Heavenly Envoy, the not-true-not-false Heavenly Envoy, the silent-and-wordless Heavenly Envoy—well, at least part of the Grey Heavenly Envoy.
“And Autolycus… that is my real name. Not false in the slightest, my brother.”