The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 123

Chapter 124: Cooperation and Betrayal

A faint white veil seemed to befall Eivass’s eyes. When he could see the world clearly again, the surroundings suddenly plunged into darkness, rendering him unable to discern anything.

Yet, he could distinctly feel that he had been bound.

This was not the method of restraining prisoners with handcuffs or shackles but with tough ropes thicker than an adult’s arm, wound from his shoulders down to his ankles, binding him like a zongzi. Eivass felt a surge of immense power coursing through him; this body was far stronger than his own. However, this power was accompanied by intense hunger and a feeling of weakness. He needed food.

But Eivass discovered that brute force was useless against the ropes; they seemed to possess a peculiar elasticity, absorbing and dissipating any outward force.

At this moment, a deep, hoarse, yet charismatic and magnetic voice echoed in Eivass’s mind. He immediately stopped struggling and focused on listening to the dungeon’s introduction, which would only be presented once:

“You wake up with a throbbing headache, only to find that you’ve forgotten your own name. But that’s not important. Your remaining memories tell you why you’re here.

This is your second day of being imprisoned here. The nine of you are unacquainted with each other, all having fallen into a trap while searching for the Holy Lance and captured by the giant Pankor Family as provisions for winter. Your only commonality is that you are all strong warriors.

The giant couple has placed the nine of you separately into three storage rooms. In one hour, they will head to one of these rooms to select a person as their meal. The selection of the meal is entirely random. However, if the giants discover that someone is already dead, they will cook and preserve all the deceased humans.

Sealed within the giants’ display cabinet is a powerful Holy Lance, a spoil of war obtained after they killed an Apostle of the Path of Devotion. They also possess a Magic Cauldron, a gift from Supreme Heaven, which can resurrect and enlarge dead food in the pot. Thus, even though humans are small to them, a single human can be eaten for a day.

Although you are all strong, confronting the giants is impossible. The Pankor Family is protected by Supreme Heaven and cannot be harmed by any means other than the Holy Lance.

However, the giants are afraid of the cold. Therefore, unless disturbed, they will remain in their beds. But if the giants hear a sound, they will investigate.

This is all you know. You don’t know if you can escape, but you at least want to survive today.”

The next moment, the mission for this ritual appeared before Eivass’s eyes:

[Mandatory Mission—]
[Survive (Points: None)]

[Optional Missions—]
[Unnecessary Slaughter: Kill other people (Points: 300 per person)]
[Escape the Crisis: Leave your current storage room (Points: 500)]
[Maintain Stealth: Remain undiscovered by the giants until the very end (Points: 500)]
[I am a Saint!: Possess the Holy Lance (Points: 50 per minute)]
[I can also be a Saint: Kill the holder of the Holy Lance and seize it (Points: 500)]
[Feeding Machine: Cause the giants to ultimately choose to cook those you have killed (Points: 1000)]
[Nature of a Transcendent: Actively attack a giant and deal effective damage (Points: 1000)]
[Successful Escape: Find the key and escape the Pankor Sanctuary (Points: 2000)]
[Supreme Heaven Ceases to Exist: Use the Holy Lance to shatter the Magic Cauldron without being discovered (Points: 1000)]
[Courage of the Underdog: Use the Holy Lance to kill a giant (Points: 3000)]

Eivass narrowed his eyes slightly, lost in thought.

This was clearly a mission tailored for the Transcendent Path. It was entirely different from the missions Eivass had faced during his previous Ascensions. Of course, it was possible that the difference was due to the mission being issued by Father Snake this time, unlike the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ missions during his last Ascension Ritual.

The mandatory mission was essential; failure meant elimination. Since everyone had the same mandatory mission, it bore no points. Among the remaining missions, the killing intent was palpable. He wasn’t sure about the others, but “Escape the Crisis,” “Maintain Stealth,” and “Successful Escape” were likely common to everyone, indicated by the distinctly different text style of those mission names.

From this perspective, cooperation was possible in this ritual. After all, no matter how many people escaped, only one key was needed to open the door. In other words, under normal circumstances, three people could find the key and escape together.

Nine people were divided into three storage rooms. Three people per room made them natural allies. If one person was missing, their efficiency would be lower than other teams. This ritual’s style was significantly different from Eivass’s Full Moon Ritual. While the previous one focused on plot, this one emphasized strategy. The plot was even intentionally vague; Eivass didn’t even know the name of the body he was currently inhabiting and had no role-playing requirements.

All Eivass knew was that this place was called “Pankor Sanctuary.” Their task was to carefully avoid making any noise and find a way to escape…

No.

Eivass suddenly realized—this was not a Full Moon Ritual but a competitive New Moon Ritual. If everyone escaped, it would be as if no one had escaped. The total number of points was irrelevant; advancement was determined by ranking. This ritual would only promote three people, but it came with two Special Victory Conditions. Therefore, only the person ranked first in points was guaranteed to advance. The second and third positions could easily be displaced. This would only change if the two individuals who completed the Special Victory Conditions happened to be ranked first and second, in which case the third spot would be deferred.

Consequently, banding together as a group of three to collectively earn points was not secure. No one knew the mission content of others, nor was there a real-time scoreboard. Even if the three of them acted together, their points would inevitably be different.

I see.

—No wonder the first mission was called “Unnecessary Slaughter.” This ritual didn’t necessarily require killing others. It wasn’t a gladiator-style, life-or-death scenario; in fact, it seemed to require a degree of cooperation. However, due to the uncertainty of their temporary teammates’ current points and overall missions, suspicion could lead to their demise. Because of the two Special Victory Conditions, a team of three was inherently unstable, with positions potentially being usurped at any moment. Therefore, the more sincere and efficient their cooperation, the more likely they would have to kill each other in the end, as their teammates’ points would likely be higher due to their shared accomplishments. This was a ritual of cooperation and betrayal.

“Help me, Shadow Demon,” Eivass called out in his mind.

Thick shadows seeped silently from his body, easily corroding the ropes. With a strong tug, he broke free and sat up. He wore little clothing, just a clean linen cloth that was unbuttoned. From the perspective of being a food source, it was less like a robe and more like a diaper.

There was still no light source around, and Eivass could see nothing. But then, a faint blue radiance suddenly appeared in the darkness. That radiance caught Eivass’s attention. He soon saw that it was the densely packed phoenix tattoos on someone’s body. The next moment, the tattoos erupted into raging flames, burning away his ropes without scorching the linen cloth on his body. Illuminated by the wildfire emanating from this human torch, Eivass guessed who it was. This must be the silent monk who had not spoken a word until now. Although the body he was currently using had hair and clothes, that silent aura allowed Eivass to recognize his identity. The monk looked at Eivass, who had silently broken free from his bonds, and nodded slightly. Then, he slowly raised his right hand, the flames on his body flowing like liquid along his skin and gathering in his palm. He thus became a lamp, illuminating the pitch-black storage room. Eivass’s eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and he took the opportunity to survey their surroundings.

He felt incredibly small—the massive bronze door was about thirty meters high. Judging from this perspective, the giants must be at least twenty meters tall. —That’s about half the height of Ultraman. They were truly enormous! For the warriors, this was indeed an impossible foe. To the giants, humans wrapped in linen were probably about the size of a pancake. How large could the Magic Cauldron make a person to sustain a pair of giants of this size for a day?

The third person in the room, seeing that the other two had broken free from their restraints, hurriedly called out, “I am Hong, save me!”

Eivass turned his head and found that Madam Hong was not currently using a female body—instead, like them, she was a male youth warrior with muscles all over. Hong was also bound like a zongzi, but she didn’t seem urgent. Unlike Eivass and the monk, she lacked the ability to break free from the ropes—or perhaps she wanted to conserve her magic and refused to use her Extraordinary Ability to escape. Eivass leaned towards the latter. She wanted to hide her strength from the start? —Then you might as well just die here.

“Alright, Madam Hong,” Eivass said, narrowing his eyes slightly and slowly approaching. He spoke in his own voice, not through the Shadow Demon’s throat, “I am Alistair…”

But just as Eivass was about to get closer, the monk suddenly stretched out his other hand to block him.

“Don’t save him,” the monk said curtly. “Kill him.” His voice was filled with killing intent.