The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 574

Chapter 573
Destroying the Future with a [Warrior]

“Ascension ritual? But my ascended profession is the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s ‘Great Sin Scholar.’ If the Ring Heavenly Envoy holds malice towards me, have I chosen the wrong path?” Eivass was very worried. “Moreover, I am being hunted by the Bear Heavenly Envoy… even if I am fine, those who ascend with me will also be in danger. This is unfair to them.”

“The former is not a problem. The Ring Heavenly Envoy is your Shepherd. Although He will be your enemy, He will do His utmost to protect and nurture you until the fated day arrives,” the Lord of Scales and Feathers nodded joyfully. “Therefore, this will be a solo ascension ritual.”

“—In the future you can see, this should not be uncommon, right?”

…It was indeed not uncommon. Eivass nodded slowly.

Besides the New Moon Ritual and the Full Moon Ritual, there was also the “Eclipse Ritual.” This ritual could only be established under two circumstances: one was due to the imbalanced version updates of the game. Based on the “Ouroboros Ring” ritual’s setting, the level cap breakthrough progress for different Paths was disrupted. Because of this, when professions were imbalanced, there would always be someone unable to complete the highest-level ascension ritual.

Secondly, in the mid to late stages of the game, new players who started in the early stages would not be able to gather nine people for a dungeon run. This was because there were not enough new players, and their Paths were also imbalanced. Therefore, after a certain version update, the “Eclipse Ritual” was introduced. This allowed for solo runs of high-difficulty dungeons, with a difficulty even higher than the New Moon Ritual. However, considering the catch-up mechanism after the level cap increase, new players in the early stages would have all-attribute increases, making it not too difficult. For whales, professional boosters, and streamers, they could also solo high-difficulty Eclipse Rituals as soon as the version was released to break through the energy level limit and reach the new hard level cap.

And considering the situation in this World… the Eclipse Ritual was essentially an active “Absent Seat Ritual.”

…Wait? Eivass suddenly realized, “You will be the Host yourself? And I’m doing a solo ritual…”

“Yes.” The Lord of Scales and Feathers gently stroked Eivass’s head. Although He had no face and thus no discernible expression, Eivass felt that His smile at this moment was benevolent.

“You bear His triple imprint… perhaps you can lure the Bear Heavenly Envoy over, can’t you? If He takes the bait, you will be more at ease later. Even if He cautiously sends other Apostles, you can continue to sever His limbs and weaken His power.”

“…Why are you targeting the Bear Heavenly Envoy?” Eivass was somewhat doubtful. If the Silver Crown Dragon targeted the Bear Heavenly Envoy, it would be one thing, or if the Candlemaster targeted him, Eivass could understand. But it was the Lord of Scales and Feathers who was actively working behind the scenes.

“Hmm, how should I put it.” The Lord of Scales and Feathers crossed his arms and pondered the answer. He suddenly let out a laugh, “Ah, let me put it this way. You must have played those fantasy-themed RPG games before, right?”

“…Yes.” Eivass replied, finding the sensation very strange. Because in his understanding, this World originated from the game “Ouroboros Ring.”

“This World is like a fantasy-themed RPG. And in this game, there are Paladins, Mages, Assassins, Archers, Priests, Monks, Necromancers… but don’t you feel like something is missing?”

“…Warriors are missing?” Eivass blurted out.

“Precisely.” The Lord of Scales and Feathers nodded with satisfaction. “Adapting through combat and war, surviving on the cruel battlefield… I believe this is also a profession belonging to the Path of Adaptation. —The days of the Bear Heavenly Envoy monopolizing the ‘Warrior’ profession are over. It’s time He gives me this [Power].”

“…Are you going to create the [Warrior] profession?” Eivass was astonished.

The Lord of Scales and Feathers clicked his tongue somewhat displeasedly. “Your reaction… you should have said, ‘If you want it, come and take it yourself. You know the rules.’ Did He not even give you that memory? It seems He didn’t cut it very cleanly.”

It sounded like some kind of meme, Eivass thought. But he had no time to remember this strange meme… Because Eivass immediately realized that the future of this World was likely to change drastically. Even more so than Avalon counter-attacking Star Antinomy, or the Church no longer being divided! Undoubtedly, this was a development never before seen in “Ouroboros Ring.”

He knew that many players had deep feelings for the “Warrior” profession. But in “Ouroboros Ring,” there were no Warriors… it was a purely villainous profession that only appeared among enemies of the Supreme Heaven faction. The closest to the Warrior profession’s positioning were the Knight professions, stripped away by the Silver Crown Dragon, or the Rangers, ascended from Hunters—a physical profession proficient in both close and ranged combat.

If the Lord of Scales and Feathers could truly defeat the Bear Heavenly Envoy and create the Warrior profession, it would mean a significant change in the future. A large part of the current shortage of Extraordinary beings in the world was because hundreds of years ago, they were all professionals of the Path of Power. Since the promotion of the Professional System, “Warriors” of the Path of Power had become the most populous professionals. Whether using swords or axes and hammers, whether melee or ranged, whether bows and arrows or firearms… as long as the purpose of getting stronger was for combat and to become even stronger, it already fit the characteristics of the Path of Power.

Those Knights, Warriors, Swordsmen, Berserkers… these were all Extraordinary professions with the lowest entry barrier. They did not require Grimoires nor attending universities to study arcane knowledge. One only needed to find a master and train Martial Skills to achieve the Extraordinary.

In past wars, both sides would fight fiercely, but their territories would change little. This was because both sides had a sufficient number of “Warriors,” and these Warriors were primarily consumed in wars. But since the fall of Supreme Heaven and the change in dominance of the Paths… the war situation had changed significantly. Those brave warriors who could fight ten enemies at once disappeared, replaced by technical strikes—Spells, Necromancy, Law Spells, Traps, Poisons, along with Alchemical Products, Curses, Rituals, Assassins… essentially, consumption and disruption occurred before the armies clashed.

Once formal engagement began, one side would inevitably be instantly routed. Because after the engagement, the counter-relationships between Extraordinary beings became exceptionally clear—Mage spells were difficult to effect against Rune Golems and Gargoyles, and Priests could easily disperse powerful Gargoyles, Undead, and Demons. Rune Golems that could regenerate infinitely would collapse if an Assassin infiltrated and destroyed their runes. Once caught in a large ritual trap, even with several times the number of enemies, they could be instantly wiped out…

After the fall of Supreme Heaven, “War” instantly became this kind of concept. Whether it was the Land Split War, Star Antinomy’s annexation of other countries, or the original Cruel Autumn, or even Avalon’s air raid on Star Antinomy’s capital today, these were all battles where the two sides hardly engaged. Rather, the rebellion of the Daffodil Duchy was closer to what “War” should have been—a war for survival. And subsequent events like the Church’s fragmentation and Star Antinomy’s internal divisions… were basically fought with this kind of tug-of-war strategy.

But if the “Warrior” profession reappeared, the situation would be completely different. Warriors were professions born for the battlefield. Overwhelming survival ability and comprehensive stats, along with versatility that was useful on any battlefield, would directly change the war situation… and consequently change the future of the entire World. —The most obvious would be that Avalon and Black Hawk would instantly become much stronger. Star Antinomy and Daffodil were essentially spellcaster nations, and the Iris Flower was a land of love and beauty, plus the Path of Adaptation that controlled the underworld. They would have difficulty nurturing a large number of Warriors. However, Avalon, as descendants of Knights, and the former Black Hawk Duchy, which produced many mercenaries, could instantly double their number of Extraordinary beings. Not to mention other regions—those areas with frequent friction and wars would instantly gain a large number of Extraordinary beings, and within a short period, they would reach around Third Tier.

The entire global situation would change. The future would completely lean in a direction that Eivass could not predict. But…

“—I agree.” Eivass nodded in response. …As it was said, he was more willing to trust the Lord of Scales and Feathers than the Ring Heavenly Envoy.

Professor Moriarty. Grandfather Jacob. Cardinal Loki. These three individuals, each with their own agendas hidden in the darkness, were finally glimpsed by Eivass as he learned of his partial identity, revealing a corner of the iceberg in the night. Although he still couldn’t fathom their schemes, through their mutual interference, Eivass had finally grasped the end of the rope! Loki and Moriarty, who knew many secrets through astrology, and Jacob, who was suspected of being an Apostle of the Ring Heavenly Envoy and summoned Eivass to this realm… they had been plotting for far too long. Even though Eivass had some understanding of this World, it was ultimately the memories given to him by the Ring Heavenly Envoy. That was the part He had cut off and discarded! If he wanted to defeat the Ring Heavenly Envoy, he had to break free from this precognition given by Him, just as a lamb must eventually run out of the sheep pen. —And what he could do was to flip the table. To directly change this World, to disrupt everyone’s plans, and to bring everyone back to a similar playing field!

Here, another Chess Player needs to be introduced—the Lord of Scales and Feathers. As a breaker of the game, the Bear Heavenly Envoy was an important part of His plan. Just as juice was squeezed from Enyo, the Lord of Scales and Feathers also coveted the residual power of the Bear Heavenly Envoy. To change the situation of the entire world… and thus destroy the predetermined future.

“…Then let me cast the bait.” Eivass took a deep breath and said slowly, “If I can’t kill Bear, then I will remove His limbs, strip His skin, and strip Him of everything he possesses….”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your share too.” The Lord of Scales and Feathers lightly touched Eivass’s bloody chest and said in a low voice, “After all, I am…

“—God of Lightning-Fast Final Payments, the God of Generosity.”

Eivass was instantly startled. …Wait, He heard that? As the Lord of Scales and Feathers finished speaking, the surrounding World shattered again. Eivass woke up in a trance and looked at Cardinal Cyril, who was still sitting motionlessly.

“It seems you two had a good talk,” the old Cardinal nodded with satisfaction. “Then only the final step remains.”

Hearing this, Eivass lowered his head to look. The ring on his chest, like an Ouroboros, had vanished without a trace—its edges receded and turned into black Sin Thorns that resembled scars, forming a crack shaped like a vertical eye. Inside the crack was a high-quality peridot. It looked like a piece of raw emerald that had been cracked open.

“Before we complete the final step, it’s time to tailor some clothes for you,” Cardinal Cyril asked with a smile, “What color do you like? I mean, your Cardinal robes—what color do you think would suit you?”

(End of this Chapter)