The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 653

Chapter 652
This is the [Warrior]
“I see.”
“… I’m dreaming.”
Like thunder striking during a rainstorm, Haina jolted awake from her dream.
She was currently standing in a dark grove, the air filled with a thick, bloody stench—the smell of fresh blood.
Haina clearly remembered such a blood rain.
On the day Queen Isabel was attacked, there had been a blood rain over Glass Island.
At this moment, she felt a shiver run down her spine.
It was as if someone had quietly pulled out a gun from behind her and aimed it at her back—that intense sense of danger instantly made her sober and alert.
Haina turned back, looking in the direction where the danger came from.
The next moment, she saw lightning falling like rain.
A Lizardman with a ferocious and terrifying face, wreathed in lightning and wielding a halberd, was charging towards a giant engulfed in flames!
Haina happened to recognize the halberd in his hand—or rather, she had even held it herself.
It was the innate weapon of the Punisher Demons, a halberd that could summon heavenly lightning when raised above the head!
It instantly captured Haina’s attention.
But the next moment, Haina’s gaze was completely captivated by the Lizardman’s martial skill!
It was an incredibly fluid series of consecutive attacks, embodying both power and beauty!
The giant, as terrifying as a demon from hell, was forced to retreat under his blows.
“Is this… Lightning Strike? And Great Strength Blow?”
Haina dimly recognized one or two moves from the Lizardman’s weapon deployment.
These were martial skills she had painstakingly practiced for years—and even then, she had rarely had the chance to use them.
These moves originally required charging, but the Lizardman had an almost divine technique for integrating the charging process into the execution of other martial skills. “Lightning Strike” also required a specific stance and a certain attack speed—but he used the finishing move of another skill to meet the requirements of this one.
That’s right… it was impossible to be wrong.
—It was the art of “Combo”!
Haina had heard of this Extraordinary Skill from her teacher in school.
This was a combat technique unique to agile Extraordinary beings like assassins and monks—by linking multiple different moves with a special combination and transition, it greatly reduced the skill requirements and allowed for greater power to be unleashed in a shorter time!
However, it was reasonable for Extraordinary beings who used daggers and unarmed attacks to master combo techniques. After all, these weapons were light and short, their moves had many similarities and were easier to control.
…But this Lizardman was actually able to use a heavy and unwieldy polearm like the “halberd” for such smooth, storm-like, and ceaseless furious combo attacks!
It wasn’t like slaughter; it was more like a dance—not a graceful dance, but one filled with power and vitality, a dance celebrating the sun!
Haina watched with unblinking, greedy eyes as the small figure annihilated the colossal demon god, hoping to engrave these moves in her mind so she wouldn’t forget them after leaving the dream…
But just then.
A voice, incredibly familiar—so familiar it startled her—suddenly rang out from beside her.
“Young Arbiter…
“Do you wish to… become a [Warrior]?”
Although the voice was deliberately blurred and distorted, as if coming from a distant, echoing hallway, and carried faint sounds of thunder and wind…
Haina heard it clearly.
—It was definitely the voice of Minister of Affairs Eivass!
“Who are you?”
She shouted in astonishment but not fear.
Although she had suddenly heard a familiar voice, she wasn’t too surprised—after all, she was dreaming right now.
She didn’t know why she had suddenly woken up… but since it was a dream, hearing a familiar voice wasn’t strange, right?
“I am [Star].”
Eivass’s voice became clearer. Even the hollow, echoing effect disappeared, as if Eivass were standing beside her and speaking.
In an instant, she saw an empty white robe appear before her.
There was nothing inside the white robe, but it was as if someone were wearing it. Within its hood, there was only a mass of dark mist.
But looking at the vague human shape outlined within the white robe, Haina felt it increasingly resembled Minister Eivass…
But at this moment, she shuddered—an extremely sacred and majestic feeling descended from the heavens, filling her with inexplicable awe.
Without any basis or information, she suddenly knew in her heart that this white robe, calling itself “Star,” was an Avatar of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, a Disc, or something else.
“The Path of the [Warrior] was once buried in history,”
The white robe spoke, a clear, youthful voice sounding in her ears, “It once belonged to the Pillar God of the Path of [Power], the Supreme Heaven.”
The white robe slowly “walked” forward—as it took a step, the Lizardman warrior had just slain the giant demon god wreathed in flames!
Cascading electric light and flames surged like waves, and the empty white robe was stripped away, revealing a vague, illusion-like human form.
A straight back, hair reaching to the waist, broad and powerful shoulders. And arms that naturally spread to the sides as it walked slowly, as if about to embrace someone before it.
Haina was lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly came back to her senses.
…Wait, Supreme Heaven?
She shivered, fear flashing in her eyes—she did know this secret, but this secret was not to be spoken of in Avalon!
However, the transparent soul, resembling Eivass and clad in a white robe, continued to walk forward: “He was the protector of the Giants. A man-eating race that had lived on Avalon Island for two thousand years. Humans, Dwarves, Lizardmen, and Elves were all on the Giants’ menu.
“—It wasn’t until five hundred years ago that the Silver Crown Dragon led the gods to defeat Supreme Heaven, and the Giants’ kingdom was thus shattered and defeated by the Knights of the Round Table. Thus, Avalon came to be as it is now.
“And before the destruction of the Giant kingdom, there existed the most widespread Extraordinary Profession in the world…
“They were the Extraordinary beings with the lowest entry barrier, and also the first Extraordinary Profession.
“Their destination was ‘War,’ their primary duty was ‘Combat.’ Anyone who actively or passively used force could embrace it. It required no books, no teaching, no mentors, and no materials; even a village bumpkin could take up the profession—as long as he had the courage to face combat.
“To face danger directly, to taste suffering, to praise hope—to adapt amidst hardship and danger, to stimulate the primitive power of life, to awaken the animal essence of survival…
“The purpose of contention was better survival. To change oneself in order to live, to adapt to the environment, to master violence, and thus gain the ability to injure others or to prevent being injured by others….”
The white-robed figure suddenly stopped.
He finally spoke:
“—This is the [Warrior].”
Haina looked up and noticed that she had somehow walked out of the forest.
She was now standing on a cliff, overlooking the distant land.
Continuous war cries and sounds of combat erupted, like thunder.
It was a fierce war between a band of Lizardmen and a winged race.
Countless warriors were clashing.
(End of Chapter)