The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1279

Chapter 1277
Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s Special Mechanism

“You—?!” Mahidifran was shocked and furious.
— I was kindly healing and blessing you, and yet you want to use my blessings to attack me?
She reluctantly stopped her dance, dodging this groundless sneak attack.
But before she could react further, a large hand emerged from behind her and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up like a cat.
Purple sacrifice patterns instantly crawled across her skin. However, Mahidifran was also a Ritualist, and she retaliated, grabbing the hulking man who was lifting her and attempting to sacrifice him instead.
But before any of that could happen—

The second strike of the Thunder of Truth did not miss.
This time, it pierced through Mahidifran’s abdomen. She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her pupils suddenly dilating. As countless truths flooded her mind, the skin on her head instantly turned purplish-red and swollen.
The third Thunder of Truth hit Mahidifran completely.
Her head exploded instantly!
Her headless body swayed and knelt down.
Her numerous ritual spells were never cast, as she was repeatedly sneak attacked by her frenzied teammates. Mahidifran died with deep unwillingness and regret… she never even realized what was happening as her consciousness completely faded.
— And Eivass knew that was the maddening gaze that bewitched the mind and drove people insane.

In the game, this mechanism was a typical “action-detection mechanism.”
During the second phase, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy would unleash a two-second “Crazy Gaze” every nine seconds. Before each gaze, it would let out a roar as a warning.
Upon hearing the roar, one must immediately turn their head or look away. It was forbidden to look directly at the Abyss Heavenly Envoy during the Crazy Gaze, otherwise, “Madness Value” would accumulate rapidly.
If one were to endure the full two seconds without moving, the Madness Value would increase by about 80% in a single instance. Madness Value could only be reduced by spells like Spirit Pacification or Mind Healing. Once it reached 100%— madness would set in immediately, and one would start attacking teammates. It would require eight control effects to be accumulated and applied in various ways to break free from this state of madness.
However, Eivass used this ability without entering the second phase and without issuing any warning.
It was like the Little Butterfly, who had become his Beast of Sin, could use its burst abilities without waiting for the mechanism.

“I’ll do it!”
Aimel Nour acted without hesitation.
He didn’t give them a chance to injure others further, nor did he allow other Lords of Blessing to counterattack and make the situation more chaotic.
He simply extended his staff, and in an instant, turned the two frenzied Lords of Blessing into skeletons made of gold.

“—The Great Abyss understands what we’re saying!”
He suddenly understood something.
Their sea monster god, who had been insane for tens of thousands of years and completely lost its reason, had actually understood their previous conversation—it knew Isma’i would attract its attention, so it directly washed Isma’i away with a wave; it knew Mahidifran could endlessly heal and buff them, so it bypassed Aimel Nour’s protective spells, and by manipulating others’ minds, directly focused fire and eliminated this troublesome healer!
The Great Abyss was not insane at all, and could even be said to be cunning!
But…
Was that truly the Great Abyss?
Aimel Nour gazed at the Abyss Heavenly Envoy.
This abnormal behavior…
Could it be Eivass controlling this body?

“—If you don’t act now, it will be too late, Your Majesty!”
Aimel Nour couldn’t help but cry out loudly towards the sky.
However, Calamity Red still did not respond.
She had betrayed their prior agreement.
“Damn it…”
Even Aimel Nour couldn’t help but curse.
Fortunately, he was hidden behind the invincible mirror barrier, so he was relatively calm.
But at this moment.
He suddenly felt the flow of the earth’s veins.
Immense mana was condensing, that was…

“—No!”
The Lords of Blessing cried out in despair.
They still had many spells left unused, they still had many trump cards…
Some Lords of Blessing couldn’t bear the encroaching despair and rushed out of the barrier.
But the next moment, the transparent tentacles flowing from the seabed tore them apart completely—
This was why Eivass called the Abyss Heavenly Envoy the “most troublesome Heavenly Envoy.”
In the original timeline, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy had already submerged more than half of Anxi. As the controller of the sea, they naturally could not stand in the water to confront the Abyss Heavenly Envoy.
Therefore, their original combat method was to create “mirror barriers” on the surface of the sea.
They had to stand on these incredibly smooth mirror surfaces, moving at high speed like ice skating, with no way to brake and considerable inertia.
The mirrors that had already formed would be continuously destroyed by tentacles, and friendly NPCs would constantly create new mirrors. Once they fell into the sea, they would be instantly torn apart by countless transparent sea tentacles.
This was why “turning back” became a test— on flat ground, turning back seemed to have no effect. It was just an ordinary mechanism like “Red Light, Green Light.” But on a narrow, moving ice surface, if enough safe distance was not left, turning back would directly lead to falling into the sea.
The Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s basic attack method was tentacle attacks with exceptionally high damage. Unlike other BOSSes, these attacks could be dodged or parried.
Each attack was a fatal blow for anyone other than a full-health tank choosing to defend or parry. Other classes could not withstand even a single attack. And even tanks could not endure two consecutive attacks.
However, players could not choose to “dodge.” They could only choose to “receive” it.
Every nine attacks, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy would launch a double attack. This attack had to be withstood by a summoned creature, as players could not survive it without damage reduction. And after any missed tentacle swing, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy would immediately launch a sweep with doubled range and halved damage; if this still missed, it would further double the range and halve the damage, destroying all mirrors within the attack’s range. These additional swings would not prevent new tentacles from continuing to summon and attack.
If even one attack was missed, the rhythm would become increasingly chaotic. If anyone couldn’t help but use a damage reduction skill, then everyone would have to stop and wait for the damage reduction skill’s cooldown to recover.
When the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s health dropped to 50% and entered the third phase, it would stop attacking and summon the ocean currents from the seabed. Instantly, all mirror surfaces would be shattered.
At this time, players had to gather together and, through stacking group damage reduction and defensive barriers, forcibly resist this attack, then use the characteristic of spherical barriers created by Preservation Technique to be repelled when attacked, adjusting their angle to fly directly onto the giant whale.
This was an extremely cruel mechanism check. Only when everyone used their damage reduction could the reduction be stacked to the maximum of 99%. If not everyone used their damage reduction and maintained full health, they would be wiped out here. Even one person missing their damage reduction would result in death. Only a very few classes with invincible skills could survive alone, but it would be meaningless.
And clearly…
The Lords of Blessing, as “first-timers,” could not possibly know the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s mechanism. Eivass, to be safe, had preemptively killed the healer with the only potential countermeasures—when a BOSS first eliminates both the tank and the healer, it becomes invincible.
— Of course, bringing only one tank and one healer into an eleven-person team was their own fault.
Feeling the destructive mana gathering beneath their feet, as if a volcano was erupting, the Lords of Blessing were in despair.
The accumulated mana was enough to turn half of Anxi into ruins!
They had done nothing, and some even knelt down, weeping and begging for the Great Abyss’s forgiveness. They had no pride or spirit as top-tier powerhouses in the world.
However, Eivass ignored them.
— Because they didn’t realize they were wrong, they just knew they were going to die.
Eivass cautiously observed these Lords of Blessing, watching from a safe distance to see if they had any remaining trump cards. He absolutely did not act recklessly and try to play with them just because he was now in a true BOSS template.
Although his current state was perfectly healthy—in Ultraman terms, he had just transformed and appeared.
But who said one couldn’t unleash a big move upon appearing? Did they have to exchange a few rounds first?
Eivass didn’t want to give the Lords of Blessing any face.
Amidst the pathetic state of the Lords of Blessing, Aimel Nour remained relatively calm.
He subconsciously reached towards his mouth, clearly intending to light his pipe, but the tobacco wasn’t in his hand, which made Aimel Nour seem a bit regretful.
“…A miscalculation.”
Aimel Nour sighed, not at all surprised: “I didn’t expect… that Calamity Red would betray us.
“But… why? Does she think this is better?”
In the next instant.
A “fountain” erupted from beneath their feet, piercing the sea surface and soaring into the sky—
Within the sea, now hundreds of meters high, a white trail, like a space elevator, rapidly ascended.
In the blink of an eye, it shot out of the sea and straight towards the sky!
The wave, rising from below and striking the Sky’s Equilibrium Veil from bottom to top, caused the starry sky to emit a signal of distress!
The midday sun also instantly extinguished, and then slowly reignited. Even after reigniting, its brightness was significantly weaker than before.
— Even Xi Tian Si of the Dream Realm was injured by this strike from the Material Realm!
And those Lords of Blessing participating in the Ouroboros Ring had no chance of survival.
The moment the wave rose, they were torn into fragments by the full power strike of the Worldly Heavenly Envoy.
…Or rather, the vast majority of the Lords of Blessing died in this manner.
Only Aimel Nour was different—
Thanks to the “Chain of Friendship,” he actually managed to survive this blow!