The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 769

Chapter 768
He Will Rise, and He Will Fall

“Everyone here has consumed me—the Child of the Moon consumes their blood slaves, and I let my lovers consume me.”

Count Leipzig said slowly, “With those years of love, when they ate enough of me, they gradually became another me. It’s not about taking their souls, but rather about merging their souls with mine.

“Therefore, they are not entirely themselves, but another me. In other words, I have made myself into these forms. Did Star Antimony stipulate that one cannot carve their own severed limbs? Or, who stipulated that people cannot turn themselves into works of art? They all volunteered—not by offering their bodies, but to the extent that they participated themselves.”

As Count Leipzig’s voice fell, the “vase woman” opened her eyes.

She let out a hoarse and ethereal voice, “If you don’t believe me…”

Immediately after, the antlered youth, pursued by bullets, put away his fear and turned back, “Then I can find someone else.”

The Saintess, sewn into the tree, looked over with difficulty, “To say the same thing as you.”

“To verify the truth of this matter.”

“To prove the fervent, thick, and deadly nature of this love—”

“…Hmph.”

General Karl snorted, his brows furrowed, and he spat out a few words fiercely, “What a monster.”

As his words fell, the sculptures all returned to their original positions.

Count Leipzig walked up behind him with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder, “The Child of the Moon is like this… However, you just said you were a Fifth Tier Transcendent? Now… I’m afraid that’s no longer the case.”

“That’s right. I am now a ‘Warrior,’ a ‘Flame Igniter’.”

General Karl said calmly, tilting his head slightly.

His originally dark gold pupils had turned into raging infernos. It was as if they were just two windows, and one could see a burning building in the dark through them.

“What, are you going to kill me?”

General Karl retorted, “Because I know something I shouldn’t know… like the Ouroboros Ring ritual?”

“Red Phase made that demand, but I saved your life.”

Count Leipzig patted General Karl’s shoulder, “You should thank me.”

“Then I am truly grateful—then I take back what I said about you being like a teenager.”

General Karl was not particularly surprised, merely nodding slightly and speaking in a tone that could be interpreted as sarcasm or praise, “At least you can negotiate with your parents… What do they say?”

The General did not mention any specific matter, but Count Leipzig knew what he wanted to ask.

“I was just about to head back to Leipzig when Father called me back.”

Count Leipzig complained, “First, that idiot Alphonse had an accident… Father started throwing things in anger again, this time even smashing through the ceiling. But it’s also fortunate that he has such good habits, at least he doesn’t vent his anger on anyone.

“And after Father calmed down a bit, it was the matter of Banquet Heavenly Envoy’s Ascension—he was even more furious then, throwing whatever he could get his hands on, even throwing me away. After all, Count Dawn’s dragon liver was something he had coveted for a long time… After I stopped him from silencing you, he demanded that I list Count Dawn as a sacrifice for the Ouroboros Ring.”

“…Sacrifice?”

General Karl was taken aback.

Count Leipzig said frankly, “Yes, a secret of the Ouroboros Ring ritual is that a Fifth Tier Transcendent must be chosen as a sacrifice—originally, that position was yours. Since you are no longer a Transcendent, there is no harm in telling you this secret.”

“You’re just telling me this, aren’t you afraid I’ll tell others in the Rose Cross?” General Karl was quite surprised.

“Heh heh,” Count Leipzig smiled, “Is it possible that almost everyone knows about this—except you? They know about it, but haven’t told you… or even mentioned the details of the Ouroboros Ring ritual to you. You should know what that means, right?”

“…Hmph.”

General Karl snorted, knowing that Count Leipzig had again done him a favor.

Compared to the Demon Scholar, he appeared too upright, making him seem out of place. Precisely because of this, compared to other Fifth Tier Demon Avatars, he had the weakest control over the demon within him… and in this matter of “needing to choose someone to sacrifice,” General Karl, being the least favored, naturally received everyone’s “joint recommendation.”

Not even a single person came to warn him.

General Karl could only nod, accepting this cheap, expired favor, “I’ve noted it—both you and them.”

“Don’t blame me. You know, my joining the Rose Cross was purely due to my father’s influence. In the entire organization, no one doesn’t know that I am not the original Prince Heinrich. I could only inherit the social connections of my predecessor because I represented Red Phase…

“Count Leipzig smiled, “And because of this, they won’t consider me an absolute insider. At the very least, they will keep me away from plans concerning the Child of the Moon. In this regard, my information might not be as good as yours…”

“That’s true.”

General Karl nodded and said, “I have some information here that you might find interesting.”

“I have some here too—how about you go first?” Count Leipzig said gently.

“Not just within the Rose Cross. The entire association now believes that Count Dawn was personally killed by Red Phase—and the association is very dissatisfied with this. Red Phase’s son was retaliated against by Sprenger for it, and Red Phase chose to remain silent about it.

“A few Demon Scholars of lower rank within the association were ordered by their superiors to provoke Red Phase, demanding a response from him… Among them were members from the police and media circles, who spread the news that ‘Red Phase is suspected of murder.’ Following this, many people received orders and began writing articles denouncing the Child of the Moon and propagating the Child of the Moon’s many vices.

“Of course, in my opinion… these are all truths. At least they didn’t lie; they just wrote down what they weren’t allowed to write before.”

General Karl commented critically.

“Is that all?”

Count Leipzig smiled, “I know all of this—do you want to know what happened to those people?”

“What?”

General Karl was startled and subconsciously tightened his grip on his cane, “You said… what happened?”

Count Leipzig raised an eyebrow and said leisurely:

“After Father calmed down the second time, his mood actually improved. He told me… that we no longer need to endure, because the god belonging to us, the Child of the Moon, has already been born.

“Whether it’s Blood Heavenly Envoy or Hengwo, they won’t easily respond to our prayers; the Fallen Heavenly Envoy worshipped by the Demon Scholars is also a god of wickedness, and cannot bring protection to Star Antimony; the Amber Heavenly Envoy worshipped by the Spirit Tower also does not provide protection to the living; alchemists even lack any related divine protector.

“Now, we, the Children of the Moon, are most suited to become the rulers of Star Antimony—unlike the Banquet Heavenly Envoy and those Heavenly Envoys who are indifferent to the Material Realm, the Dragon Lord is our ancestor and a famously hospitable god. He will surely be able to protect Star Antimony, just as the Silver Crown Dragon protects Avalon.”

“…So?”

“So, those ‘members of the association’s subordinate organizations who denounced the Child of the Moon’ have all been killed by us.”

Count Leipzig replied, “All their blood has been drained, and we will hang them all upside down in Leipzig’s city square tomorrow morning. From now on, Leipzig will be the new capital… I bought you a house in the very center of the capital, happy?”

“…All killed?”

General Karl was shocked, “And their blood was drained? Aren’t you afraid that people’s resistance to the Child of the Moon will further increase?”

“Resistance? What will they use to resist?”

Count Leipzig laughed upon hearing this, “Anyone who dares to resist, we will kill them all.

“Father said that we don’t need to care about laws, public opinion, and news—the Blood Moon belonging to the Child of the Moon has already descended, and we must seize this opportunity. The Star Antimony people have longed for a god truly belonging to them for too long… and the Children of the Moon all over the world have yearned for this day for too long.

“Now, the time has come. It is time to hold a drunken feast to congratulate our Lord’s Ascension.

“Anyone who dares to speak now will be hanged; anyone who dares to resist will be killed… Regardless of who killed Count Dawn, it means that the Winter Demon has become extinct, and we no longer have natural enemies.

“You must know that during the Empire era, demons of the level of Flame Demon, Winter Demon, and Night Demon were worshipped as gods by the ignorant populace… They were all Disciples of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, and could not be summoned at will.”

“Then… what about His Majesty?”

The moment General Karl spoke this sentence, he already had a bad premonition, “And… Black Phase? What about the Spirit Tower?”

“Father said…”

Finn Heinrich von Leipzig said calmly, word by word, “He will personally deal with Little Alfonso, and there will be no problems. His resolve is set; even ‘The Principal’ cannot stop him.”

“The curtain he raised must be lowered by him. He will rise, and he will fall. Just like the sun, moon, and stars, they revolve eternally, day and night…

“—This is called, having a beginning and an end.”
(End of this Chapter)