The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 483

Chapter 482
Bishop Mathers: I was just speaking casually
—Given that Pillar God’s personality, no matter where they run, the army will probably catch up.
After all, being the Sherlock he is, he’d have to flee with Princess Isabel.
Since the necessary mission is to escort Isabel, it means they’ll definitely encounter danger. It could even be the greatest danger.
But with Grand Arbiter Shafiya accompanying them, how could they possibly encounter danger? If Eivass also tagged along, he might bring the guardian spirits with him too… If even a lineup of this scale encounters danger, then the Advisor can only think of one possibility.
That would be the two Prime Ministers making a move. Or, multiple Fifth Tier extraordinary individuals would arrive with the army.
Otherwise, nothing makes sense.
It was precisely for this reason he wanted to kill Isabel in the first place. That way, he would be freed from the bind of playing “Sherlock,” no longer needing to fulfill his duty, and thus wouldn’t have to risk his life with Isabel.
What if he killed Isabel and stayed put?
He also had the mission “The Day of Destruction is Approaching,” which required him to stay on Glass Island until the last day.
The chaos surrounding the change in Avalon’s throne could be quelled in about two to three days. Therefore, “The Day of Destruction” mentioned in this mission should refer to something else.
For instance… the complete destruction of Glass Island.
This indicated that something would happen on the last day, leading to the annihilation of everyone remaining on Glass Island.
Moreover, the Advisor believed that other Ascenders probably had this mission as well.
The Advisor also had another mission: to assist the Grand Guardian in commanding the Gryphon Legion to carry out a decapitation strike.
Putting aside the fact that he had no understanding of the Gryphon Legion—after all, the Advisor was not a pure Path of Wisdom mage, nor had he ever commanded in war. He lacked confidence in his command abilities, unsure if it would risk exposure or worsen the situation… Thus, he decided not to touch it at all.
And both of these missions were worth five hundred points.
This implied that, in the eyes of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, the danger involved in undertaking these missions was essentially the same—merely two hundred points for keeping all secrets and escaping safely from Minister Dross’s confinement and torture.
But now, it was clearly evident… If Isabel was truly this kind of person, the plan to assassinate her could be immediately discarded.
She might even pierce his identity the moment he harbored murderous intent.
The extraordinary intuition of the Path of Beauty was just like that—difficult to deal with and unreasonable.
The Advisor sighed silently.
… He truly never expected that, as a high-ranking member of the Star Antinomy people, he would one day be chased by the Star Antinomy army during an Ascension Ritual, with his head in his hands.
After his weakened and exhausted body, which had been tormented by Minister Dross, was healed by Eivass, his energy was replenished. His brain could finally function normally.
Then, the Advisor took a deep breath and activated the power of the Path of Wisdom.
As azure flames ignited in the depths of his pupils, a refreshing coolness spread through his brain, and his thoughts instantly became clear. The Advisor entered the “Super Wisdom” state, beginning to rapidly strategize and organize action plans.
—Although there were many missions in this Ascension Ritual, there were essentially only three paths.
Retreating with Isabel, staying on Glass Island, or fleeing to the countryside.
The dangers they would face respectively meant “facing multiple Fifth Tier extraordinary individuals”; “waiting for the Star Antinomy army under the threat of a Flame Demon that could explode at any moment”; and “facing the Star Antinomy army in a state of isolation.” Undoubtedly, the third option was the safest, yet the most difficult for scoring points.
As for whether to kill Isabel, it was merely to gain the initiative in ending the Ascension Ritual. But if the number of survivors was less than six, the initiative could be relinquished.
In that case, only one more Ascender needed to be killed!
With two of the nine Ascenders already gone, killing one more would ensure that all remaining Ascenders, as long as they could survive until the end, would complete their Ascension.
So, how could they ensure survival?
—There was only one answer: to help Isabel complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual.
If the Avalon Ritual could be triggered when there was still one person left from Du Lac… then now it was either already activatable, or killing Prince John would activate it.
What he overheard while pretending to be unconscious was not just about the secrets of Avalon and Isabel.
It was also the key clue to this Ascension Ritual!
This was a plot development favored by the Lord of Scales and Feathers, perfectly aligning with the behavioral logic of the Path of Adaptation, obtained through methods akin to “feigning death” to gather intelligence.
Of course, he also had to avoid deductions.
If completing the Shadow of Avalon Ritual was part of some Ascender’s mission… then as a ritual, it most likely belonged to the Transcendent Path. And it would definitely be the final task, thus the most difficult one, because obtaining the clue to this mission alone was already incredibly difficult.
… Fortunately, considering the abundance of Star Antinomy Demon Scholars, the three Paths he rejected did not include the Transcendent Path.
So, in addition to finding his two students and sharing this vital information with them…
He had to do three things.
First, find the Transcendent Path Ascender “Olive” and cooperate with him to complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual within three days; second, persuade Isabel to hand over the Shadow of Avalon Ritual. After all, this was information he overheard and couldn’t directly ask her for specific details; third, if no one had died by then, find a way to kill another Ascender.
—Olive would be a suitable target.
Using the excuse of “silencing him,” he would incite Isabel to kill him. Given Isabel’s deep personality and ruthless methods, she would likely agree… This would easily achieve the goal of using a borrowed knife to kill.
The deep blue flames in the Advisor’s pupils gradually subsided.
He rubbed his head with a slight headache, feeling the heaviness in his skull.
… What was going on with this body.
He had only been in the Super Wisdom state for a short while, and his head felt like it was about to explode… He usually kept it active all the time.
Sherlock’s body was too weak!
He hadn’t heard of him having any incurable diseases, though…
He could only close his eyes and lie down to rest for a while.
After sleeping for a short while, he was awakened again by the Outside Sounds.
The Advisor quietly got up and walked to the door, quietly listening to the sounds outside.
He soon realized that someone who absolutely should not have appeared at this time had appeared—
“…Royal Alchemist Nobel?”
The Advisor murmured, his eyes widening in disbelief.
—Albert Lore, is that you?
Your most prized student, a genius whose talent in necromancy made half the mentors at the Spirit Tower jealous… yet clearly lacked sufficient life experience.
As a Royal Alchemist, you’re going to Moriarty Manor to find the Princess.
Don’t you think what you’re saying is a bit foolish?
What does the Princess have to do with you!
Nobel is a Star Antinomy person!
You, a Star Antinomy person, having safely escaped from the burning Silver and Tin Hall amidst the suspicion that the Queen was assassinated by Star Antinomy people, and wanting to find the escaped Princess Isabel…
…The only upside is that because the action is so foolish, he probably won’t be exposed.
But he might be imprisoned—and being locked up means he won’t be able to complete his mission. And if he’s interrogated, it’s even more dangerous… The Path of Authority has the ability to make people speak the truth, and it’s easy to reveal his truth as an Ascender under interrogation.
That would be trouble.
He just can’t keep an eye on him for a moment without him causing trouble…
The Advisor felt a slight numbness in the back of his neck.
… No, I still have to find a way to save him.
Thinking this, “Sherlock” cleared his throat and pushed the door open.
Meanwhile, Bishop Mathers also pulled Eivass aside.
His expression was also clearly somewhat astonished.
“…Princess is really here with you?”
“What do you mean ‘really here’ with me?”
Eivass raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice to ask, “What happened? Tell me in detail.”
Bishop Mathers’ face looked grim, “Something might have happened, Eivass… Remember to lock up Master Nobel later.
“He told me what happened at the Silver and Tin Hall. The beginning is the same as what I know, but there’s a problem later on.
“The two princesses are identical, so why is he so certain that the one rescued by Madam Shafiya is the real princess? Furthermore, he’s trying to find this escaped princess… I think this is definitely not right. So I brought the child from the Carter family and tricked him into coming to you, and as a result…”
—As a result, Princess Isabel is indeed here with you.
Bishop Mathers had originally come out of the Great Cathedral of the Candle Holder wielding a fragment of the Holy Sword, going against the crowd to check the situation at the Silver and Tin Hall.
If that Phantom Demon, which gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, was the legendary Flame Demon… perhaps his self-sacrifice would be needed to expel the Flame Demon from the Material Realm.
“I really didn’t know Princess Highness would be here with you…”
Bishop Mathers couldn’t help but explain.
He felt a sense of frustration, as if he had easily told a lie but ended up becoming a whistleblower.
He truly knew nothing at all!
(End of this chapter)