The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 970

Chapter 969
Locust Plague and Gold

At noon, the sky gradually darkened.
A hint of fishy stench heralded an ill omen.
This was not a precursor to a storm—within the control range of the Mage Tower, even a true tempest could be easily dispersed at will.

“——What on earth is that!”
Inside the Mage Tower, the panicked mages cried out in fear.
They were the first to see what it was.
Sweeping in with an intensity that blotted out the sun, it was a swarm of flies!
But they were not ordinary flies; they were a strange insectoid race, a hybrid between flies and locusts.
They were black and yellow in color, possessing the red compound eyes of flies, the slender bodies and folded hind legs of locusts, and similar wings and mouthparts. Each of them was about twenty to thirty centimeters long, not as large as two adult fists put together.

As they flew past, a fine dust, like spores, began to fall from the sky. This turned the sky dim yellow, as if a vast expanse of yellow sand was surging.
The stench was a fusion of rotting meat and fermented feces. And anyone who was dusted with that “spore-like” ochre dust would also emit a foul odor.
As the swarm advanced, the increasingly thick stench drew closer.
When they flew over human cities, people collapsed to the ground, writhing in violent vomiting and convulsions—after vomiting came unconsciousness and a sudden onset of high fever. Those who did not faint began to weep uncontrollably, their skin erupting with transparent blisters, followed by weakness and incontinence.

At the very center of the swarm, there was a peculiar being.
He appeared to be a giant, three-meter-tall, humanoid fly—he had a human body but no sexual characteristics. His head was that of a fly, with a ferocious and sharp fly’s proboscis. He had no hair, but instead two butterfly wings like those of a dead leaf butterfly. His arms, from shoulder to wrist, were healthy and strong human arms, while from the wrist down, they were root-like structures.
He had no fingers; his ten fingers were ten proboscises.
The fly demon elegantly waved the proboscises of his hands like a conductor, and the sound of stringed instruments resonated in the void. These were the “flies” he had transformed into musical instruments, emitting sounds as they marched.
As for his legs—he had no legs, but rather a mass of root-like tentacles that burrowed into the emaciated body of a human male, who looked like a wilting shrimp. The human male’s eyes were vacant and lifeless, his limbs hung limply, and his pale, bloodless body was naked.
Two bloody gashes opened on his back, and his curled spine was covered in ferocious crimson spikes, connected to the lower half of the fly demon’s body.
—It looked as if a cicada was molting halfway, not fully emerging.
Indeed, that was the case.

Normally, a fly demon should not have a “human lower half.” Their lower bodies should be multiple, overlapping insect legs like those of an insectoid race. And he should have had wings on his back, but this fly demon’s wings were pressed tightly against his back, unable to unfold.
This strange “half-baked” state, a fusion of a human and an Upper Demon, exerted an unparalleled pressure on the mages.
Because when the mages realized they couldn’t let these bugs get close to the army, they controlled the Mage Tower and launched an astronomical strike.
Rainstorms and lightning fell in succession—wet bodies should be more afraid of thunderstorms, and soaked spores would reduce infectivity.
But the lightning, which was so effective against demons, was now incredibly weak and thin, unable to inflict any significant damage on these demonic flies!
Or rather, it was useful. Each lightning strike could kill dozens of demonic flies. However, their reinforced bodies could block the lightning, preventing it from piercing the entire swarm.
Meanwhile, other demonic flies could absorb the mana that dissipated when the lightning struck, rapidly birthing new demonic flies!
As they absorbed mana, their abdomens would begin to swell unnaturally. Once they reached their limit, they would burst open. From them emerged many demonic flies the size of a thumb. They would then absorb mana from the air and cruelly devour each other, quickly maturing into adult bodies the size of two fists.
At this point, the mages understood why their weather magic could not threaten the swarm—
Because they were constantly devouring the mana scattered in the air!
Mages cast spells by combining the faint mana in the air, and the swarm even devoured clouds!
They were like an eraser, wiping away all the “clouds” and leaving behind only the pure azure of the sky.
The swarm approached to the accompaniment of increasingly frenzied violin music, even charging into the dark clouds, desperately absorbing mana at the cost of their lives!
This was why it did not directly approach the army through a portal.
Because the swarm it summoned still needed to absorb mana and develop gradually!
Undoubtedly, even an Upper Demon hatched from a Demon Avatar could not possess such power.
—It was power on the scale of a catastrophe. Even without the Fallen Heavenly Envoys, the mere existence of this fly demon was enough to destroy a nation!
That was the power of the Sixth Tier!!
Synchronously, another demon stepped out of an immensely large purple portal, appearing directly in the midst of the army!
“Hahahaha!”
Accompanied by earth-shattering hearty laughter, a giant, red-skinned demon emerged.
He had a pair of black bull horns, stood over ten meters tall, and resembled a strong male demon with a massive belly. The thickness and color of his shoulders even evoked the image of braised pork knuckles; his hands were immensely large, even larger than his bald head; and his face was as handsome and defiant as that of a seasoned reveler, with a dark beard and eyes that shone with dazzling purple radiance.
He was adorned with all sorts of treasures; countless jewels were casually draped over him, forming a thin and absurd “garment.” A giant treasure chest hung from his left hip, like a fanny pack. It was filled to the brim with gold coins, which clinked and collided as he walked, causing gems and coins to rain down.
—This was a demon that had never appeared in the Material Realm; no one present knew its race or its name.
Most notably, he had no navel on his abdomen, but rather a large, long umbilical cord—its end seemed to be connected to something but was tightly grasped in his right hand, withheld from anyone’s view.
“Come! Come! Come!”
The demon laughed heartily, swaying as he walked, continuously filling his giant hands with gold coins from the treasure chest and scattering them like rain upon the crowd: “Gold, jewels! Come! All for you!”
The soldiers’ eyes were dazed by the brilliant gold. Some unconsciously picked up the coins to examine them, while others suspiciously bit into them.
“It’s, it’s real gold!”
Someone, it’s unclear who, exclaimed excitedly.
When some people began desperately picking up coins, the resolve of others seemed pathetic. As the rain of gold coins fell, the formation instantly collapsed. “Gold, gold!”
“Don’t grab, it’s mine!”
“Mine, mine, all mine!”
It was a cacophony of wails.
Their pupils gradually took on the shape of gold coins, and strange smiles of happiness appeared on their faces.
And as they lost control, the giant demon did not take the opportunity to attack them—he didn’t need to. Once the fly demon arrived, these people would naturally die of illness.
Instead, the demon extended his left hand, cut open his own skin, and more gold and silver jewels flowed out.
“Come! My blood, my flesh, all is wealth! I bestow it upon you!”
He laughed heartily.
Since he had teleported directly into the center of the camp, the powerful individuals had no time to react.
But fortunately, the terrified mages had not forgotten their duties—they instantly teleported Saint Joan and the others to the vicinity of this giant demon!
Saint Joan was also startled to see him.
It was not common for her to feel an unfamiliar demon. So Saint Joan directly asked the Great Philosopher via divine art for information about the demon before her.
But she received an unbelievable answer: “—That’s a Greed Demon, how is that possible!”
“A Greed Demon?”
Cardinal Siegfried beside her was also shocked: “How can there be such a large Greed Demon! We must stop them quickly!”
Greed Demons were not Upper Phantom Demons, but rather small, red-skinned demons, usually less than the average human height, thin and malnourished like children.
They liked to collect treasures, even burying them within their own bodies. If they continued to do so, they would transform into Treasure Box Demons. If treasure was taken from the treasure box, they would gradually become possessed and turn into slaves controlled by the Treasure Box Demon.
Those stingy misers and misers like Grandet would become these demons after death… In the same Path of Love, in the same sequence as the Imprint of Greed, this was even a demon half a level lower than the Blood Demon.
The biggest difference between a Greed Demon and a Blood Demon was whether the transformed individual “cherished their life and youth.” If so, they would become a Blood Demon, but if they simply valued wealth over life, they would become a Greed Demon.
The correct evolution of a Greed Demon was the Annoyance Demon. This was a demon of the Path of Wisdom, existing as an idea and a book. After being read and understood by others, it would possess venerable monks, highly respected elders, or sages, pretending to alleviate others’ suffering, but secretly planting more extreme seeds in them, making them obsessed with their obsessions and increasingly demonized.
Fallen Heavenly Envoys disliked them because Demon Scholars dared not summon these demons, making it difficult for them to offer souls. And these Annoyance Demons had no physical form, only thoughts… thus, they could not form combat power.
Generally, the larger the Greed Demon, the more intelligent, powerful, and calm it would be. The more treasure they collected, the larger their size.
When they became sufficiently intelligent, they would directly evolve into Annoyance Demons!
The commonality between Greed Demons and Annoyance Demons was that they disliked fighting, unless it was to rob others of their treasure. And when they robbed, they would only take the treasure and would not kill everyone.
But disliking combat did not mean they could not fight.
—A Greed Demon of this size was undoubtedly of the Sixth Tier!
“No, it’s too late… If they accept the Greed Demon’s bribe, they could be controlled at any time.”
Saint Joan looked at the crowd reveling and scrambling for gold coins, completely losing order and reason in the rain of gold, and frowned, shaking her head. “We have to find another way, attack the main body directly.”
“Ordinary Greed Demons are at most Third Tier, but this one should be Sixth Tier, which is clearly abnormal…”
Just then, the Greed Demon staggered over.
It showed no fear, but instead greeted everyone in a rough, uncle-like voice, “Hello, little heroes!
“Why aren’t you going to grab some? Shy? Come! I’ll give some to you too! There’s enough for everyone!”
Saying this, he directly inverted the treasure chest in his arms, revealing a giant mountain of gold before them.
Intense dizziness caused the heroes who were supposed to be quelling Heavenly Envoys to freeze. The outlines of gold coins gradually appeared in their pupils.
Isabel was the first to regain consciousness.
She was only dazed for a moment before instantly regaining her rationality—followed by Saint Joan and Mu. Wealth held no meaning for them, so the charm of wealth was thus negligible.
But everyone else had fallen into a deep illusion.
“Come! You get some too, little Pope! This is real, not an illusion!”
And at this moment, the Greed Demon reached out and tore open his thigh, digging out a piece of “flesh and blood”—it was a gleaming, incredibly magnificent jewel.
With each shout of “Come!” people became more dazed. It was like the command “Sit!” for a pack of dogs.
“Come!”
He directly threw these treasures onto “Eivass”: “This is for you, and there’s more if it’s not enough!”
It was like tying a piece of meat covered in honey to someone in a hungry pack of beasts.
—In that instant, Isabel saw many people turn their heads in unison, their faces contorted into strange smiles, and look back at her with greedy eyes.
It sent a shiver down her spine.
(End of this chapter)