The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 890

Chapter 889
The Nefarious Pope

Zhengxian’s voice suddenly became agitated, his fingers even trembling slightly!
It was a fragment of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy cast into the Material Realm, containing one-fifth of the Envoy’s power, symbolizing absolute control over the “Water” element—the Water Icosahedron!
However, as a devout follower of the Path of Wisdom, Zhengxian was not overly attached to the power it held. Rather, “power” itself was something “discarded” by Extraordinary beings on the Path of Wisdom.
From the moment they were apprentice mages just entering the Mage Tower, this core principle had been taught to them—
—Spells must never be symbols of violence.
Mages must never suppress others with force and consider themselves powerful simply because their spells possess Extraordinary Power. Spells must not be researched and strengthened for the purpose of showcasing destructive power—all spells are essentially by-products of pursuing wisdom, symbols of the mysterious.
Just as mages tend to keep the discovery of new truths a secret—it is enough to discover and keep it secret, and they will receive feedback from the Path’s power when others rediscover it. Conversely, mages who are particularly fond of showing off in front of others will not be very powerful.
Because of this, mages habitually maintain an air of mystery. Many mages who dislike the research environment of Mage Towers choose to live in seclusion in deep forests or amidst bustling cities.
Although the origin of the principle “spells cannot be used to showcase violence” is unknown—all Mage Towers in the Daffodil Duchy share the same inheritance. And mages who violated this principle in the past have all paid the price without exception—even skirting the edges was not allowed.
During the Land Splitting War, the emergence of many new combat inventions by alchemists, coupled with the active participation of Necromancers and Demon Scholars on the battlefield, caused great panic among these researchers who were pursuing stable research.
The first Daffodil Duke at that time was the president of the Court Alchemical Association and concurrently the vice president of the Mage Association. The title of Duke, Duke Hairsen, was bestowed upon him by the Emperor at the last moment in the latter part of the Empire. Thus, he was also the last noble of the Empire.
However, even so, this incredibly powerful mage was not the foremost individual in the Mage Association. The president of the Mage Association, “Leonardo,” was recognized as the strongest mage in the Hrasal Empire.
He had intended to shift his research direction towards armaments—he attempted to research an “ultimate weapon that could destroy all wars.”
With Hairsen’s assistance, he deciphered the technology of the rune golems on the battlefield. Those Alchemical Products could unleash astonishing lasers… which became the source of the automatic defense devices on Mage Towers today. But this did not satisfy Archmage Leonardo. He intended to continue researching weapons until he created a “weapon that anyone could use to destroy anyone,” thereby ending the detestable war.
But just as his invention was nearing completion, he inexplicably went mad, became a pitiable lunatic, and eventually disappeared completely.
Initially, some believed he was cursed, while others thought he was driven mad by an assassin’s poison. There were also those who said that alchemists, jealous of his intellect, had kidnapped him to interrogate him and find out the whereabouts of his other manuscripts… This most absurd claim, which was obviously a rumor, even became the mainstream view in the Mage Towers that revered “wisdom,” and even triggered a century of hostility between mages and alchemists.
The manuscripts left behind by Master Leonardo became a treasure, but they were still kept secret in accordance with the mages’ rules of secrecy.
It was only later that a few Archmages learned that he had become a secret disciple of a Great Philosopher. However, he still personally warned these few Archmages to cease research related to “power and violence.”
Because of this, mages were always reticent about “additional power.” This was also the reason why, when the Star Antimony people invaded, the mages surrendered so smoothly—since we cannot actively pursue power, what’s the point of fighting? We can’t win anyway.
As the chief, Zhengxian was essentially a reserve tower master. He was naturally aware of this taboo.
However, this “Water Icosahedron” possessed another special meaning besides its unparalleled power!
—As everyone knows, fragments of the Geometric Heavenly Envoys only appear beside the most intelligent scholars and inventors.
Conversely, this means that whoever… whoever obtains a fragment of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy and the fragment does not escape, is the most intelligent scholar and inventor in this world!
The tower masters of the Daffodil Duchy were generally Fourth Tier, with only a very few being Fifth Tier. But even those Fifth Tier mages had to show great respect to Tower Master Sandro.
The reason was simple—Tower Master Sandro possessed a “Fire Tetrahedron”!
He was recognized by a Geometric Heavenly Envoy!
Even Zhengxian’s teacher, the most powerful mage in the Daffodil Duchy today—the old mage who had survived since the founding of the nation, one of the few Fifth Tier mage lords, Lord Yoland… felt intense jealousy towards Tower Master Sandro for being recognized by a Geometric Heavenly Envoy.
He had cursed the other man in private more than once, believing Sandro was merely lucky. Zhengxian had no doubt that if it were elsewhere, he would have tried to snatch the treasure. However, this was the Daffodil Duchy, where mages were respectable people who acted with dignity.
Anyone who committed such an indecorous act of bullying the weak would likely be mocked by everyone as “desperate”—although they were certainly jealous internally, whoever stepped forward at this time would be collectively attacked.
And now, a wild Water Icosahedron was within reach!
But he absolutely dared not make a move—the moment this “Pope” inadvertently uttered the name “Cardinal Galatea” in his thoughts, Zhengxian had already guessed Eivass’s identity.
Although his appearance was different, he had antlers on his head, and the timing of his appearance was incorrect… undoubtedly, this golden-haired youth before him was the Eternal Pope of this generation.
He wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest; this “Pope” codename was his true identity!
If he were to anger the Pope or a Cardinal, it would likely bring about utter destruction.
Yet, even so, Zhengxian could not suppress the surging greed within him—
“Mr. Pope… Your Excellency!”
Zhengxian said with desperate, almost manic longing, “Can you let me have this? I am willing to pay any price—any! All my assets, my loyalty, my soul… No, can I just touch it? Just for a touch…”
He had to consider if this would be his only chance in this lifetime.
Eivass looked at the old mage, quite surprised.
These mages were often indifferent to worldly desires, choosing to live in seclusion. He rarely encountered such a frenzied mage…
He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you want this item very much? Don’t mages shun power?”
“N-no, it’s not for power… How could it be for ‘power’…”
Zhengxian waved his hands repeatedly, flinching as if electrocuted, and vehemently argued, “I won’t do anything with it, even if I obtained it, I wouldn’t use its power…”
“Are you… trying to study the Heavenly Envoy?” Eivass asked.
He himself did not have much use for the Water Fragment. What he needed most was the Fire Fragment, and he wasn’t in a hurry.
He hadn’t even subdued the Water Attribute Beast of Sin yet, and the Ouroboros Ring ritual had not yet taken place. The current world limit was Sixth Tier, and breaking through further was still a long way off.
Eivass had originally intended to give this treasure to Sherlock.
After all, it was said that this item only appeared in the hands of intelligent people, and Eivass believed Sherlock was an intelligent person, so the item would suit him well. Coincidentally, Sherlock didn’t have a staff yet… The Fire Fragment could be used to evolve Little Butterfly, so giving him the Water Fragment was just right. Although Sherlock might not necessarily want it.
It was for this reason that Eivass had not touched it at all throughout the entire process. He hadn’t even checked its properties.
This was Eivass’s concern about not being “smart” enough—or rather, his Path of Wisdom being not sufficiently fanatical—which might cause the item to teleport away directly.
—Although Eivass himself didn’t value the item highly, he was also cautious about it falling into the hands of others with ill intentions. Just like that Child of the Moon.
If one could skillfully utilize this item’s combat capabilities, it could essentially allow a Fifth Tier Extraordinary to exert the power of a Sixth Tier. For a compatible single-attribute caster, it could almost match the bonus provided by the Supreme Holy Crown to Priests—the Supreme Holy Crown allowed Eivass to communicate with the Pillar Gods at any time, which was equivalent to obtaining the private numbers of all Pillar Gods and Heavenly Envoys.
Although Zhengxian seemed somewhat fanatical, he was quite humble for a mage. If he could give Eivass a sufficiently good reason, Eivass wouldn’t mind handing the item over to him—it would just mean finding another better meeting gift for Sherlock.
After all, after not seeing each other for a few months, he had become the Pope upon their reunion. At such a time, he certainly had to give his brother some good stuff to show that he had indeed made a name for himself!
But to Eivass’s disappointment, Zhengxian gradually became timid in response to Eivass’s question.
“No, it’s not… How could I dare? I’m not a Transcendent…”
The old mage chuckled bitterly, filled with regret.
Why wasn’t it him! Why wasn’t it him that was teleported away!
If it were him exploring ahead, if it were him teleported away… wouldn’t the person who obtained this treasure be him?!
“You’re not seeking combat, nor research. Then what do you want it for?”
Eivass countered with confusion.
“With it,” Zhengxian murmured, “people would know I’m a genius.
“Without it, how can people understand my wisdom!?”
He said, his tone growing more manic.
Electric light crackled in the depths of his pupils, gradually revealing a dark blue with a hint of purple.
Eivass immediately became serious.
…Zhengxian’s mental state was not right.
But at this moment, Zhengxian suddenly relaxed, collapsing completely and gasping for breath—he ultimately did not dare to make a move against Eivass, so his eyes cleared just as he was about to descend into madness.
Eivass guessed the meaning behind his fearful gaze.
He chuckled lightly, “It’s not that I won’t give it to you…
“I can give you a chance. The [Water Icosahedron] is useless to me. I want the [Fire Tetrahedron] in ‘Old Sandro’s’ hands more. If you bring that item, I can give this one to you. After all, one person cannot possess two fragments at the same time, you understand, right? Even if you obtain the Fire Tetrahedron, it’s not suitable to display in front of others… But with it, you can show off. How great is that?”
…Is this what a Pope should say?
Zhengxian was astonished.
How could this Pope be so manipulative?!
Most importantly, what he said was indeed tempting…
Zhengxian struggled to maintain his rationality, but he stared intently at the [Water Icosahedron], a hint of dark purple reappearing in the depths of his pupils, “But… Tower Master Sandro is a well-known person… If I act against him… and I might not even be able to…”
Cardinal Galatea’s voice whispered in Eivass’s mind, using illusion to communicate only with him, “His abnormality comes from this tower itself.”
“I know.”
Eivass also said, this statement only heard by Cardinal Galatea.
He then smiled at Zhengxian, giving his wavering rationality the final push, “Old Sandro is already dead. I witnessed his death during the Ascension Ritual.
“This means that the [Fire Tetrahedron] does not have a legal heir. So, do you understand?”
“—I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
Zhengxian agreed without hesitation, his eyes turning fanatical.
At that moment, Eivass clearly sensed—a powerful surge of Transcendence poured into Zhengxian’s body.
It came from above this tower.
(End of Chapter)