The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1329

Chapter 1327
The Goblins’ Resistance
— For Eivass now, flying was no longer a difficult thing.
His status as the King of Winged Ones meant his wings were no longer mere decorations. And the divine position of Earthly Heavenly Envoy meant the Four Elements were no longer an obstacle to him.
He spread his giant white wings and sped southwest against the strong wind.
Eivass easily broke the sound barrier—because the atmosphere was not an obstacle but rather an aid to him.
It was like how Gryphons could tear apart the strings of the atmosphere and lightning, flying effortlessly through storms as if flapping their wings and summoning countless bolts of lightning.
The Heavenly Envoy Fragments of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy granted Eivass the highest level of affinity with the Four Elements.
This was only natural… after all, the concept of elements was originally created by the Geometric Heavenly Envoy and perfected by the Ring Heavenly Envoy.
Before the Geometric Heavenly Envoy was born, this World indeed had no concept of elements or “attributes.”
The Old World then relied on the decompression of Sin Thorns; everything, including the sky and the Earth, was an inheritance from the previous generation.
No one attempted to seek an answer, just as no one would consider creating something new that did not exist within their perception. To them, “creation” was undoubtedly the responsibility of the vast daylight above.
The Geometric Heavenly Envoy’s greatest achievement was to open a new path.
Although the Theory of Four Elements was not perfect, it could at least function normally with the lubrication of the “Hypothetical Element: A.” Thus, this World could shed its old code and naturally undergo renewals according to the new Four Elements laws.
If Eivass were a Mage, he could basically fully replicate the power of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy.
However, it was a pity that Eivass was not a Mage. Although he possessed the highest affinity with the Four Elements, he lacked the means to apply them efficiently.
But fortunately, spell power alone could not bring about miracles—just as the Geometric Heavenly Envoy could not save the World. While the power of elemental spells was immense, it was not even a drop in the bucket for the fully six-winged Eivass of today.
Eivass flew for less than an hour before he saw the Southern Continent.
At this time, Isabel had just summoned Grandet and informed him of the matter.
“What do you think, Lord Grandet?”
Isabel asked imposingly, her hands clasped. “Do you think those Goblins will submit?”
“In my opinion…”
Grandet pondered, shaking his head slightly. “They will not.”
Grandet now resided permanently in Wanning along with his family.
As a “traitor to the Goblins,” he obviously could not return to the Southern Continent. Many Goblins blamed him for his betrayal, believing that “if he hadn’t actively lowered prices, perhaps they could have negotiated a higher price.”
It wasn’t that they couldn’t surrender, but at least they deserved a sufficiently high price!
While ordinary Goblins were insignificant, the Goblin Chamber of Commerce was a world-class financial organization capable of easily manipulating the rise and fall of nations based on Star Antinomy and Iris Flower!
They also had no shortage of Fifth Tier powerhouses, and they had obtained ancient technology sold by some Dwarves—rumored to be weapons capable of rivaling ancient Elves!
For any country or organization, the Goblin Chamber of Commerce was a colossal entity that could not be ignored.
And Wanning was merely a newly established nation.
Did they not need the various resources provided by the Goblins?
Of course, they did!
— Since they have a request, there is actually room for negotiation!
— It’s all Grandet’s fault, that impatient good-for-nothing, for defecting first and driving down the prices for everyone else!
— Is this a trade war? Are they trying to start a price war?
Many Goblins—even many high-ranking Goblins within the Chamber—thought this way.
Although in name, these stateless Goblins were united, as if attacking one Goblin boss would lead to retaliation from others—in reality, it was because their common interests were harmed. Internal disputes and attacks among Goblins far surpassed the imagination of other races.
Because the market was limited.
Competition between capital was a zero-sum game. If one fat cat fell, others could eat their fill; and if established capitals made no mistakes, then lower-tier capitals could only be slowly eroded.
— Since the price had already been driven down by Grandet, it was too late for them to surrender now. No matter what, they could not catch up to Grandet, who had seized the initiative; if they tried to catch up, they would only face a slow death.
What they could do was to nullify Grandet’s investment.
Even if this was difficult…
They had to do it.
“—Based on my understanding of my foolish kin, they would rather die than admit defeat. Unless you put a knife to their throats to force them, they might submit… but the moment you lower the knife, they will start plotting betrayal.”
Grandet said slowly in his deep voice, unfitting for his ugly appearance, “We Goblins are such a race. We are born for profit and die for profit. It’s like a child who was severely deprived of childhood, desperately trying to satisfy those unmet desires when they grow up.”
“…You mean, they would rather die than admit defeat?”
Isabel found it somewhat unbelievable.
This was too difficult to comprehend within her understanding.
How could these cowardly Goblins suddenly become so resolute?
“It’s because of gambler’s mentality.”
Grandet gave a wry smile and sighed, as if he had foreseen the death of his kin. “Every successful capitalist has three demons living within their hearts.
“One is called Cruelty, because we live by harming others. Those who were not ruthless enough have already been killed by more ruthless peers; only those who are resolute and most selfish can go the furthest.
“One is called Greed, because the chances of seizing opportunities driven by luck far outweigh individual strength. Ten years of slow operation are not as good as a leap during a favorable wind. And the greedier one is, the higher they leap and the more they seize.
“One is called Cowardice, because we climbed this ladder ourselves; once we ascend, we want to pull the ladder away to prevent others from following. This is because we all know that every competitor removed increases the probability of succeeding in the next leap. Doing our best to resolve victories and defeats outside of the direct contest is precisely because of cowardice.
“Don’t you find it familiar, Great Sultana? This is no different from a gambler.
“Arrogant like a gambler, greedy like a gambler, cowardly like a gambler… and dying like a gambler.
“—This is destiny.”
At this moment, Eivass had already broken into the atmosphere.
Even though his flying speed was so fast, he made no sound of breaking the air—no piercing howl like a bomber, nor did a white line explode in the sky.
His flight was so quiet that it even maintained complete invisibility.
In a sense, this was also a state of unity between man and nature.
“…Oh?”
Eivass noticed the Goblins’ deployment and his eyes widened slightly. “Interesting.”
The Goblins weren’t hiding. Or rather, they weren’t simply playing hide-and-seek with Eivass.
On this wild continent, they had deployed an astonishing amount of military equipment!
Not purely extraordinary armaments.
But rather, modern-style battle preparations that Eivass found somewhat familiar, even a little nostalgic…
Dense arrays of artillery, much like the “super long cannons” in a certain game with their extremely long barrels and massive bases; tens of thousands of armored magical golem formations, clad in steel armor, standing ready, reaching a height of ten meters; and metal fortresses similar to tanks, but closer to Star Antinomy, called “Cordon” and “Pacifist.”
They were all self-operating.
The Goblins were scattered and hidden within them… rather than controlling these weapons, they were hiding inside.
— The Goblins’ arrogance indeed had grounds.
When most technologies could be bought with money, and most alchemical creations could be replicated through funds, “having money” actually meant “having strength.”
And they were also well aware that Eivass, as an Extraordinary who could defeat multiple Heavenly Envoys, his priority must be very high.
This meant that most extraordinary techniques would be difficult to break through against Eivass.
Spells, Rituals, and Divine Arts, however, could easily construct immunity to high temperatures, lasers, flames, shockwaves, and other such methods.
Therefore, the Goblins chose pure physical attacks—
Attacks that did not consider Energy Level priority, did not involve any mysteries, and purely pitted numbers against each other…
In most cases, such damage would appear too clumsy and cost-ineffective.
But when cost-effectiveness was completely disregarded, this was indeed a solution.
However…
“What a pity.”
Eivass sighed. “If it were a month ago, perhaps it might have been useful against me…”
But now, in front of the fully realized Eivass, they held no meaning at all.
He raised his left hand and summoned forth the Book of Law.
Sensing Eivass’s sudden appearance, the self-operating artillery emplacements covering nearly half of the Southern Continent stirred.
“Hold on, Leah…”
Eivass murmured softly, persuading the newly transformed Butterfly not to be too hasty. “You’ll get your turn.”
The next moment, the artillery locked onto their targets and fired.
In an instant, deafening, continuous explosions and flames engulfed the sky.
Although these attacks did not even break through the instantaneous protective ritual Eivass had set up—
A transparent barrier blocked all physical attacks.
The protective barrier initially set up by the demon sorceress from the Pelican Bar could not withstand Eivass’s shot; yet now, Eivass could use a similar ritual to block the roar of these tens of millions of cannons.
However, Eivass was not overconfident. He was unsure if the Goblins had any backup plans.
What he needed to ensure was a hundred percent victory.
Furthermore, with just one summoning, Eivass was enough to completely obliterate the Goblins’ chance of an upset victory through a weak-vs-strong strategy—
“—Come forth, Don Quixote.”
(End of Chapter)