The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 916

Chapter 915
Calamity of Demons

Eivass was unaware of when exactly Isabel and Yulia would travel to Star Antinomy.
However, Eivass had already contacted Isabel beforehand—when Yulia traveled to Star Antinomy, Isabel would go with the Queen’s Guard.
This was to suppress the Children of the Moon who were currently “ruling” Star Antinomy.
Although the Red Phase was dead, the remnants of the Red Fortress and the Demon Scholars of the Rose Cross might not have abandoned the idea of opening the Hrasal Secret Treasury using Yulia’s blood. Isabel accompanying them with the Queen’s Guard was primarily to make them abandon this dangerous thought… and if anyone was still persistent and decided to act forcibly, it would provide Avalon and the Church with an excuse to intervene in Star Antinomy’s situation.
… However, this plan was prepared under the assumption that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy would not descend.
Now, the Rose Cross had gone mad for some reason, suddenly activating the Ouroboros Ring ritual in advance, leading to the descent of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy…
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy was completely unafraid of those Fifth Tier Pope’s Guards, who were now the Queen’s Guard. These mass-produced Fifth Tier beings without special priority buffs were useless to the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, no matter how many there were.
That was a Heavenly Envoy descended to the mortal realm!
Even if their level was suppressed to the Sixth Tier, it was by no means something that could be solved by “numbers.”
What’s more… the side that held the advantage in “numbers” could never be them.
That vast demon legion was precisely the legion brought by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy upon their descent.
In another timeline, when the Shadow Heavenly Envoy descended upon Avalon, they would transform the entire Avalon into the Shadow Realm. Within this “cursed” territory, all rules would gradually overlap with the Shadow Realm.
It was equivalent to these Heavenly Envoys overlapping their own domains with the mortal realm.
And their Apostles, servants, and legions could naturally be summoned there at will.
—In other words.
As long as the Fallen Heavenly Envoy wished, the number of demons they could summon could be “all.”
All the souls of the fallen, from before humanity was born to the present day!
And Isabel was now even in a state of pregnancy, which inconvenient for combat!
Eivass had no idea what Star Antinomy had become… To prevent anything from happening there and him being too late, he could only rush to Star Antinomy first.
Fortunately, this was originally a port, and it wouldn’t take long to travel to Star Antinomy by boat.
Eivass didn’t have time to eat or rest—he had to grab some food, pack it quickly, and head to Star Antinomy with Zhu Tang, Mu, and Cardinal Galatea.
This was for precautionary reasons.
As for contacting Isabel… he could wait until the evening, when he could dream and ask her about the situation on her end.
On the other side.
—When the Ouroboros Ring took effect, Star Antinomy was, in a sense, stripped from this World.
Although people could still enter and exit normally—both by land and sea, and without any obstacles—all communication, whether by phone, telegraph, radio, or even rituals, between the inside and outside was completely cut off.
Therefore, although something had happened in Star Antinomy, other places were basically unaware of it.
At most, they might think that an earthquake had occurred there, and that the earthquake might have caused something to crack, leading to the temporary spectacle of purple-hued light appearing in the sky. Or, it could have been a precursor to some disaster.
Now that the earthquake had subsided and the purple light had gradually faded, people lost their interest in discussing the matter. On his way to the port, Eivass could still see many people planning to take boats to Star Antinomy.
Eivass knew that preventing them was impossible.
But he could still do something—
He had come to Port Baset by the Church’s Elf Warship. Therefore, he didn’t need to wait for anyone or look for a boat. He directly boarded the Elf Warship and set off for Leipzig at full speed.
Eivass set off as dusk began to fall.
In today’s archaeological exploration, both Eivass and Zhu Tang had almost completely exhausted their mana.
After eating, Zhu Tang immediately went to sleep.
To prevent him from being unable to sleep or sleeping poorly due to insomnia, thus not recovering much mana, Eivass gave him a piece of Drunken Dream Tincture.
Although it wasn’t time for an Ascension Ritual, using this to sleep was somewhat extravagant—however, aiding sleep was one of the most proper uses of Drunken Dream Tincture.
As the most mainstream sleep aid drug currently, Drunken Dream Tincture’s advantage was that… its harm to the body was relatively the least.
And the “Prototype: Drunken Dream Tincture” from hundreds of years ago, which had not yet been dispelled by Alchemists, would make people unable to distinguish between reality and dreams; other sleep aids from the same period would either cause addiction or have strong toxicity.
After being dispelled and diluted, the hallucinogenic effects of Drunken Dream Tincture had been greatly reduced. Its toxicity was comparable to that of a weak poisonous mushroom, and it no longer had addictive or irreversible toxic properties. Even an Ordinary Person who took it would, at most, experience abdominal pain or dizziness after waking up.
Of course, its function was now limited to “immediately entering dreams.”
Zhu Tang had clearly never used this thing before.
Under Eivass’s guidance, he dissolved it with potent liquor he carried and took it. He fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.
Eivass, on the other hand, planned to first assess the situation outside—he had focused on praying to the Candlemaster and the Lord of Scales and Feathers along the way, beginning to recover his mana. He also “reported” his itinerary to his Boss in detail.
At ten o’clock in the evening, the warship had arrived at Leipzig.
Eivass was sitting upright in his chair, his hands clasped together and held at his forehead.
—Now, when praying, even facing a Pillar God, Eivass did not need to kneel. This was a privilege belonging to the Pope. Although the current true Pope had become Pure White, Eivass still enjoyed this privilege.
The prayer to recover mana had ended shortly after boarding the ship.
What Eivass was currently engaged in was a true prayer—
“I beseech the Candlemaster, God of Holy Number Three, God of Sin Thorns Binding the Body, God of Burning Body Chasing Away Darkness…”
Eivass murmured softly, “My Father God, the Stag of the Candlemaster. May you protect the children affected by the disaster, and prevent demons from stealing their souls.
“I earnestly request the Heaven-Defying Envoy, the Heavenly Envoy of Righteousness, the Heavenly Envoy of Vengeance…
“Please bestow upon the frightened the courage of a knight, and grant power to those who act righteously.
“I beseech the Silver Crown Dragon, God of Holy Number Seven. The Unquestionable God, the God who Crowns and Wields the Sword.
“Please grant people rational minds, and do not let people go mad from fear and despair. Please protect those who maintain order, and do not let them be killed by villains stirring up trouble…”
Eivass continued his prayer.
Now, he did not have the Supreme Holy Crown, nor the privilege of directly contacting all Pillar Gods without prayer. But he was still a Fifth Tier Clergy, a former Pope with an extremely short tenure—and more importantly, a Child of the Candlemaster.
—It was as if Eivass was making individual calls, reaching out to all Pillar Gods and Heavenly Envoys who might be able to help.
Whether they were willing to help or capable of helping was another matter—but the call still had to be made.
For this was the meaning of “prayer.”
If no one wished for this matter, then for Pillar Gods and Heavenly Envoys to directly interfere with the Material Realm would be equivalent to destroying the balance between the two realms. It would be like a country sending troops to intrude into another country’s territory without any reason, which would be considered an act of aggression. Even without sending troops directly, merely providing substantial military aid or funds to one side would be considered interference in another country’s internal affairs.
However, if the civilians of one side had a strong desire for the assistance of international forces—then the interference force could be slightly amplified.
The “prayer” of a Priest was such a technique.
No Priest—strictly speaking, even High-Tier Divine Art—even a Cardinal of the Church, could force Pillar Gods, Heavenly Envoys, and Apostles to use their power. But most gods had some desire to interfere with the Material Realm, but it was difficult for them to achieve this.
On one hand, these gods were anthropomorphic deities, and they had their own affairs they wished to attend to. Heavenly Envoys with multiple Paths had complex personalities, and the personalities of Pillar Gods became even more extreme due to the purification of their Paths.
On the other hand, although Pillar Gods did not require faith, they needed to expand their influence in the Material Realm.
In other words, they did not need people to believe in them wholeheartedly, but they needed believers to help them do certain things.
The expansion and demise of concepts could not be accomplished from the Dream Realm. The Dream Realm was a collection of information, unable to generate new information, and existing information could not suddenly disappear; it could only be exchanged, copied, and merged.
Pillar of Flame could also transform into a Pillar of Machine, and the birth of the Winter Envoy directly stemmed from Valentine VII’s ritual—this was the expansion of concepts and the elevation of existence.
Fallen Heavenly Envoys also needed more people to tread the path of corruption to obtain more demons; Shadow Heavenly Envoys would also send their witches and fairies to seduce strong warriors and hunters into the Shadow Realm… this was the resources that gods obtained from the Material Realm.
Whether it was to expand their own concepts or to obtain more souls, they needed to expand their influence in the Material Realm and shape this World in a direction they desired. The prayers of Priests provided a channel for the gods to release their power—
And Eivass’s prayers were particularly potent.
At the same time, the eighty crew members serving as sailors on this ship were all Third Tier Priests.
Under Eivass’s inspiration, they all spontaneously gathered around Eivass.
They knelt on the ground like knights, with their fingers clasped before them, and began to pray devoutly.
“May our voices reach the heavens…”
“May the souls of the innocent be protected…”
“May the weak become more inconspicuous, and may demons not find their hiding places…”
The Pillar Gods, Heavenly Envoys, and Apostles who heard the prayers were all carefully selected targets by Eivass.
They were either not on good terms with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy originally, or they would definitely act in such a situation.
Although Fifth Tier prayers could only summon Fifth Tier power, and Third Tier prayers could only provide minor assistance and concealment… the combined prayer was a grand ritual. As long as it was a ritual, it could magnify small things and leverage greater power—
Threads of Path Power of various colors permeated into Star Antinomy, which was being transformed into the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s territory.
In a basement bar in Leipzig, a large number of panicked customers were crowded. Outside, numerous winged demons flitted past—these were Lower Demons, not even reaching the Second Tier in strength.
They had not been personally branded with the Mark of Sin by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy; their souls were taken through demon contracts, or they were the souls of villains plundered by demons in the Material Realm.
The souls of these people were not of great value; even entering the Origin River would only result in them being pulverized and becoming nourishment for new souls… They had all their self-awareness erased, turning them into unintelligent Lower Demons. They served as the cornerstone of the demon legions and were the first weak demons summoned by low-level Demon Scholars.
However, when they gathered together, let alone Ordinary People—even a Second Tier demon herd could pose a threat to a small team of Third Tier Extraordinarys. While some of the bar’s patrons were Extraordinarys, they were utterly incapable of fighting this demon legion, which covered the sky like locusts.
Those pedestrians who couldn’t hide in time had already been captured by them, and the fear of being discovered at any moment plunged those hiding inside into chaos.
But just before internal strife was about to erupt, they were inexplicably soothed by a surge of power, their minds becoming calm.
Until the demons flew past, they were not discovered.
In a university elsewhere, a group of students who had recently become Extraordinarys were bravely attempting to fight the demons.
Some gargoyles without stone shells, along with some Demonic Hounds without metal shells, had surrounded a group of students who had been separated from the main force.
They had little intelligence, only craving flesh and blood, and were simultaneously ordered to bring back souls. But for these students, who were at most Third Tier, they were undoubtedly a threat to their lives.
But at this moment, a miraculous radiance suddenly shone from some of the students—
They were suddenly imbued with mysterious enhancements, their strength and speed doubling instantly!
If a Teacher were present, they would know—this was an enhancement obtained from the prayer of a Third Tier Priest!
With the blessings of Third Tier Priests, their strength surged explosively—their blades cut through flesh and blood that was originally impossible to cleave, as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter!
Amidst the cheers of the people, the tide of battle began to turn!
And those who had already been killed, their physical bodies shattered—their souls wailed in silent agony.
After being captured by the small demons, they were offered to the demon administrators and commanders—the Punisher Demons.
Those were true Upper Demons, who impaled these souls on their backs with chains crackling with lightning, packaging them into groups—these could serve as food and fuel for demon evolution, or could be transformed into new demons.
Originally, for demons, souls were extremely expensive materials obtained through fulfilling contracts. Even the soul of an Ordinary Person required years, or even decades of complex deception, temptation, and corruption to obtain just one.
—But now, all of this was free!
They were everywhere on the streets!
For humans, it was as if banknotes and jewels were scattered across the land, obtainable with a mere raise of a hand. This was enough to drive demons into a frenzy.
However, at this moment, several rays of light fell from the sky—phantom knights appearing within the rainbow bridge severed these soul-laden chains, and amidst the encirclement of demons, they snatched these souls and quickly retreated into the Dream Realm.
“Alert—”
At this moment, the Pope’s Guard on the warship suddenly issued a warning: “Demons approaching!”
The demons, almost immediately, sensed the source of these strange powers. Possibly because there were wise beings among the demons, or because the Eyes of the Demon’s clairvoyance locked onto the source of the prayer power…
—The demonic tide surged directly towards Eivass!
(End of this chapter)