The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 314

Chapter 315
Child of the Moon’s Aperitif
—What an ugly and barbaric banquet.
The Philosopher watched it all with cold eyes, even though she herself was about to become a dish at the banquet.
If her Blood Demon were still with her, she would have killed every single vampire staring at her with those disgusting gazes. She was particularly skilled at extracting the blood of the living—perhaps she could let these weak man-eating beasts joyfully feel that they too could bleed the same liquid.
But for now, she had to endure.
Unlike regular Extraordinary individuals, she had participated in many New Moon Rituals. This had been the case since she was a Demon Scholar. After accumulating sufficient experience and strength, it was only natural for her second Path to also participate in the New Moon Ritual.
Unlike the Full Moon Rituals, which were like children playing house and required hidden identities and role-playing, the New Moon Ritual had the simplest solution—over ninety-five percent of New Moon Rituals would grant a significant advantage, or even lead to a direct victory, if one could simply kill everyone capable of being killed.
This was a rarer type of fully restricted ritual—meaning physical strength, Mana Pool, casting resources, and movement space were all limited. It would be difficult for those skilled in close combat, mages and summoners, as well as stealthers, Ritualists, and hunters to exert their full strength.
Therefore, the professions with the greatest advantage would naturally be those that relied purely on external objects. For example, Alchemists and Fiends, or Writers and Chanters.
—Fortunately, their team had an Alchemist.
And she had also prepared casting equipment beforehand. Considering that one often entered New Moon Rituals in a bound or restricted state, it was easy for cumbersome equipment to be confiscated and even cause trouble.
So her casting equipment was two artificial clavicles implanted into her body by a Necromancer.
If someone with X-ray vision were to look, they would see that her clavicles were dark gold and engraved with complex runes. These were actually her two staffs—with the help of these staffs, she could cast spells at a lower cost.
So what if her Mana Pool was restricted?
If she was restricted, then everyone else must be too.
If everyone was restricted, then it became a matter of equipment.
—When it came to equipment, they were naturally not afraid, as their team had an Alchemist.
Alchemists were naturally fully equipped in such rituals.
Although their strength might not be that great among these over a hundred Children of the Moon, as they were transitioning from the Second Tier to the Third Tier… it was still enough to kill other Ascenders.
Not to mention, Mr. “Ban” had a huge home-field advantage…
…So, endure a little longer. Endure a little longer.
At this moment, Miss Number 7, with her slightly curly silver long hair and a magnificent pinkish-white dress, sat stiffly on the lap of an old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are you in a bad mood today?”
Count Alonso asked with concern, greedily licking her slender, fair neck.
“Count…”
Number 7 replied in a slightly trembling voice: “I just didn’t sleep well…”
Her killing intent surged infinitely—she used to be the one drawing blood from others, and today she was the one being bitten by a mosquito!
I’ll kill you sooner or later, you old geezer!
If I can’t kill you here, I’ll dig up your grave after we get out!
I’ll scatter your ashes!
But at this moment, the Philosopher suddenly felt a moment of dizziness.
A strange feeling arose from the depths of her heart.
Count Aloson suddenly seemed amiable and approachable.
She wanted to do something for him—anything, as long as it made him happy. It seemed she could grant any request he made with ease.
“I love you very much, sweetheart.”
The Count whispered.
He reached out and poured the scarlet wine from the glass bottle on the table into a white ceramic bowl.
This was not blood from Blood Slaves, but blood extracted from humans kept like livestock.
The slaves bought or robbed by the Children of the Moon were all of the type with a special blood aroma. However, some were not obedient enough—or simply too old or not attractive enough to become Blood Slaves.
They were locked up and their blood was extracted. This blood was preserved with blood magic and could remain fresh for a period of time. It was then labeled, just like bottles of fine wine. In an era where glass bottles were usually expensive as they were alchemical equipment, the price of a beautiful bottle could sometimes exceed that of a person.
This was the “aperitif” of the Children of the Moon.
He dipped a finger into the fresh blood in the ceramic bowl, took a sip, and commented: “They say this is extracted from a child—it seems even children are no longer pure these days. The Empire has truly become decadent.”
He dipped his finger in blood again and brought it to Number 7’s mouth. Watching her suck on his finger intently like she was licking a lollipop, with blood flowing down the corners of her mouth, Count Alonso finally smiled with satisfaction.
As if holding a doll, or perhaps a pet dog, he affectionately kissed the girl’s cheek. Then, he revealed his fangs and sunk them into her neck.
Eivass witnessed it all.
She was only about ten meters away from this place.
She had also changed out of her simple white nightgown and into an expensive moon-white silk dress.
A young woman, who looked to be in her twenties or thirties, held her in her arms, her arm around her waist. The long dress was tightened by external force, outlining her body’s silhouette.
“My dear young lady… what are you looking at?”
Her hoarse, magnetic voice inexplicably reminded Eivass of a Shadow Demon. “You are also part of it.”
Miss Beyad was a woman with black hair and blue eyes, and her somewhat stiff, straight long hair cascaded to her waist.
She exuded a stern aura. Her hairstyle, hair color, and skin tone were very similar to the little girl Eivass was currently impersonating. Although she couldn’t see her current appearance, she intuitively felt… perhaps their appearances might also be similar.
Eivass suddenly felt an icy chill at the back of her neck.
It was Miss Beyad’s metal-framed glasses pressing against Eivass’s neck.
She subconsciously lifted her head, trying to avoid the glasses. However, this action of exposing her neck made Miss Beyad’s breathing become somewhat heavier.
She was about to bite—but she held back at the last moment.
She extended her tongue and licked Eivass’s neck. The special secretion quickly flowed into her veins through her skin, and Eivass’s head began to swim.
—Eivass knew that this was the Charm Kiss of a Child of the Moon. These vampires would use biting, licking, kissing, or other methods of exchanging bodily fluids to anesthetize their prey before hunting.
The anesthetized prey’s mind would become muddled and sluggish, unwilling to believe that the other party’s words were lies—not because they couldn’t see through the other’s intentions, but because even if they could logically discern it, they would emotionally prefer to believe them. It could make the most vigilant person drop their guard and expose their neck. It could also make people willingly invite vampires into their homes and remove their own protective items that could harm them or protect themselves.
Similarly, if these Children of the Moon desired money or jewelry, they would receive a generous commitment from the other party during this period. It was like asking a request from one’s best friend; one would feel happy even after handing over the items—happy that they could finally help.
This was because the fangs of the Children of the Moon were actually very fragile.
As their blood-sucking organs, their fangs were hollow. Therefore, struggling during blood-sucking could easily injure them… even subconscious resistance could easily harm them. So they would first use the Charm Kiss to remove the blood-sucker’s resistance.
Every time blood was sucked, one would fall into such a state. After the blood-sucking was completed, the “Charm” state would slowly transform into a “Satisfied” state. That was the feeling of euphoria Eivass experienced when she first woke up. If the Charm state was applied and not satisfied for a long time, it would turn into an “Emptiness” state, and they would beg these vampires to make small requests of them and let them suck their blood.
Charm was a curse, and therefore it could be dispelled. However, the cursed person could not dispel it themselves—because they would not want to resist their Master.
It was impossible to complete the “Master-Slaying” mission in such a state. That was why this mission offered so many Points.
Similarly—with such a state, it was also impossible to deceive one’s Master. This would cause trouble for the missions of other Ascenders.
Eivass realized this as soon as she saw the mission requirements.
However, Eivass knew how to dispel the Charm curse without purification.
This was also knowledge taught in the Seminary’s classes.
Family, elective courses are really useful.
As long as these Children of the Moon attempted to put themselves or their extremely close associates in mortal danger, or cause unbearable losses to life and property—that is, when the command crossed the bottom line—the cursed person would immediately wake up.
—In other words, if these Ascenders wanted to act freely… they had to find a way to first dispel their Charm state.