The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 971

Chapter 970
Slaying the Greed Demon!
—The jewels that smashed onto “Eivass” were, in essence, a type of “spice.”
A condiment applied to tender, juicy roast meat, causing its allure to spread to the maximum.
Originally, these Greed Demon servants whose pupils had turned into gold coins would spontaneously attack anyone who dared to take “their treasures.” They might even attack each other, killing one another.
However, the colossal Greed Demon’s actions seemed to pinpoint them, condensing everyone’s “greed” into a single point.
Just as concentrated light can ignite flames, the place where these greedy gazes converged also ignited a golden fire—
“—Ugh!”
“Eivass” grunted, letting out a suppressed cry of pain.
Golden flames ignited on his body, liquid fire the color of gold coins. Brilliant like molten gold churning in a foundry, his flesh and skin split and vaporized in the scorching flames, his bones turning to gold—
However, “Eivass’s” clothes were not burned. This was undoubtedly a type of illusion, just like the illusion the Greed Demon used to control others!
At this moment, “Eivass’s” pupils transformed into vertical slits like those of a dragon.
She roared with immense anger:
【—Enough! Wake up!】
That was not Eivass’s voice, but a childish and clear one, like that of a child.
As her words fell, silvery-white radiance bloomed.
Those who looked at her with greedy eyes instantly turned to fear. Their bodies shook, and more than a third of them woke up, their pupils imprinted with gold coin patterns returning to their original color.
As the wooden red mask fell off, shattering on the ground, “Eivass’s” body transformed into the petite Lixia amidst the violent shaking of the intense flames.
With her own resistance to illusions, Lixia saw through the illusory fire. The moment she realized it was false fire, the golden flames vanished into thin air.
【I command—those who are bewitched shall awaken immediately!】
Lixia roared again.
Her voice, filled with supreme authority, was like a dragon’s roar, exploding like thunder. The immense sound spread for miles, its violent vibrations making the earth hum.
Instantly, Grand Guardian Siegfried, Master Amber, and the two Cardinals from the Church awoke!
“I… I even…”
Cardinal Siegfried muttered in disbelief.
He clearly believed that his noble soul could render him immune to external temptations. But in reality, he was instantly captivated, not even waking up the first time.
“…Tsk.”
Cardinal Galatea on the side lowered her expression, frowning deeply.
She, on the other hand, knew what she was greedy for.
The essence of greed is discontent—dissatisfaction with what one already possesses, a desire for what does not rightfully belong to them. And she had already fallen too deeply in this aspect.
Grand Guardian Siegfried was accustomed to it. After all, it wasn’t the first time he had been controlled.
As an Extraordinary on the Path of Authority, the will of the “Sky Cavalry” advancement profession was relatively the weakest. Both Law Masters and Arbitrators had much stronger mental resistance than him.
But being controlled often had its advantages; at least his recovery time after breaking free was shorter.
As one of the controlled, he clearly understood that the power was definitely beyond the Fifth Tier—because less than half a year ago, he had been controlled by a Fifth Tier Succubus. And now, the Greed Demon’s control over him was significantly stronger.
“—It’s indeed Sixth Tier!”
Grand Guardian Siegfried immediately shared the information: “This is not right!”
According to the information previously provided by Eivass, within the “Demonic Nation” ruled by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, Sixth Tier beings were no longer suppressed by the equilibrium power of the Hourglass. However, they had previously assumed that only the Fallen Heavenly Envoy was Sixth Tier, and now there were two more appearing out of nowhere…
Yes, two.
Although the Magic Tower was helpless against the Buzzing Demons that could absorb mana, they managed to transmit information and were closely monitoring the swarm’s movements. After regaining consciousness, they immediately realized that these two demons had acted simultaneously.
And the Magic Tower accomplished more than that!
While the Buzzing Demons were flying, they even found an opportunity to clearly see the face of the “cicada molting” attached to the lower half of the Buzzing Demon’s body!
These mages were all from the Daffodil Duchy, which had belonged to Star Antinomy not long ago. Therefore, although most mages were reclusive, some mages had a relatively strong grasp of information control. They immediately recognized who the “cicada molting” was.
It was one of Star Antinomy’s rare artistic masters, a composer named Adrian Levequin!
This composer achieved fame at a young age, a renowned prodigy. Even the Art College of Iris had “Masters” inviting him to study, but he proudly refused. On one hand, he did not want to leave his hometown; on the other, the young man at the time had an exceptionally arrogant thought—he wanted to surpass Iris, famous for its art!
But he could not go to Iris for advanced studies, as people would attribute his success to “the excellence of Iris’s educational standards.” If he planned to establish an art college in Star Antinomy, people would think it was “the artistic style of the Iris school”; even if he severed ties, he would be considered ungrateful.
And this was not just prejudice—facts might indeed be so. Because artistic styles acquired through study would completely change a person’s essence, leaving behind indelible creative traces that could not be dispelled or forgotten.
In this regard, Levequin was right.
But his mistake was… his talent was not as unparalleled as he imagined. He didn’t even have a talent for The Path of Beauty, allowing him to step onto the path of the Extraordinary.
Lacking the nourishment of acquired education, his inspiration quickly ran out. Without talent and skills, the once-genius eventually became like an ordinary person. He eventually grew up to become a doctor of mathematics and physics.
But the research in mathematics and physics was ultimately not his passion. The further he advanced on the Path of Wisdom, the more he craved excitement and sought inspiration like a madman.
He began to take forbidden drugs, engaging in crazy acts with many men and women, even contracting venereal diseases. Hallucinations gave him a little inspiration, but not enough—so he delved deeper into the abyss.
He crossed that line and began to actively kill. Performing ancient, ineffective forbidden rituals, even attempting to summon demons—without understanding how to summon demons or what demons could do. Eventually, the Rose Cross noticed him, granting him relevant demonic and ritual knowledge, guiding him to become a Demon Scholar.
The demons he summoned did not give him inspiration, but the opportunity to come into contact with this forbidden knowledge allowed him to establish a connection with a mysterious Night Demon within the Rose Cross. The demon signed a contract with him, buying out his soul after death, and bestowing upon him inexhaustible inspiration—in return, his body would begin to decay continuously, and he could not receive any form of treatment.
The more pain he endured, the closer he was to death, the more ferociously inspiration surged; the more he squandered his inspiration, the dimmer his flame of life became.
He quickly weakened to the point where he could not leave his home, yet masterpiece after masterpiece was produced.
Finally, Dr. Levequin, with a frail body and driven by the strong will of “I don’t want to die,” continuously stimulated his desire for transcendence. In just over a decade, starting from scratch, he entered the Fifth Tier and became one of the high-ranking members of the Rose Cross.
—The demon in his body was a “Buzzing Demon”!
Now, a Sixth Tier Buzzing Demon was connected to Dr. Levequin’s body, proving that it was the demon hatched from Levequin’s soul!
“They must have received power injected by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, forcibly advancing to Sixth Tier!”
Grand Guardian Siegfried spoke rapidly: “But this kind of evolution must have a price or limitations—they are not like normal Phantom Demons, but have physical bodies in the Material Realm, making them more powerful! That Buzzing Demon is connected to Dr. Levequin’s body… this Greed Demon should be the same!”
“If that’s the case…”
Hearing this, Cardinal Siegfried, who also had strong combat awareness, reacted: “Its right hand!”
If there was any part of the Greed Demon that could be connected to someone else, it would be its right hand!
A long, translucent red umbilical cord extended from its abdomen, stretching outward, its end tightly grasped in its right hand by the colossal Greed Demon.
—That might be its true body inside!
The Greed Demon naturally heard their words.
The triumphant smile on its face turned somber, exuding an overwhelming sense of threat: “You really don’t know what’s good for…”
But before the Greed Demon could finish speaking, Siegfried directly clenched his right hand in the void, summoning an invisible Holy Sword and charging forward!
The Holy Sword in his hand gleamed with silvery-white light, accompanied by a chilling aura.
His movements suddenly accelerated—not with more power or agility, but as if a VCR tape had been sped up to triple speed, all movements appearing discordantly “fast”!
In his triple-speed charge, with every step he took, an ice staircase materialized under his feet. These were icy steps that would make an ordinary person slip, but instead, Siegfried ran faster and faster as if ice skating—
He traced an arc, instantly reaching the Greed Demon!
Sword raised—
—Radiant Slash!
“…You—Urk!”
The Greed Demon hadn’t even finished its words when it let out a muffled groan.
In an instant, the silvery-white sword energy, which bloomed elegantly like a lily, was like the breath of a white dragon. Upon reaching the Greed Demon, it froze a large portion of its body!
It was not the “cold” that froze the moisture in the air.
It was the “absolute ordering” that solidified all components in the atmosphere into “crystals”!
Its right hand, covered by the sword energy, stuck to its waist. But it still kept its fingers close to its abdomen. Even with its fist frozen against its stomach, it did not loosen its right fist.
Although Fifth Tier, it could inflict some effective damage on a Sixth Tier with High-Tier Divine Art and equipment!
At this moment, Grand Guardian Siegfried leaped high.
Philip let out a crisp cry, diving down to catch Grand Guardian Siegfried.
When he merged with the Gryphon, mana formed a stable circuit between them—storms and lightning instantly enveloped his entire body, turning into a sharp arrowhead pulsating with electricity, piercing towards the Greed Demon’s chest!
Simultaneously, Mu arrived, seemingly slow but actually fast… with just a light leap, he gracefully landed on the Greed Demon’s other side, without making any sound of breaking the air.
He glared at the Greed Demon, his right hand grasping the void, pulling out a long, bright golden staff made of dense runes.
As he held the staff with both hands, it lengthened and enlarged—striking directly at the Greed Demon’s hind leg!
The Greed Demon’s left leg was severely struck by the staff from behind, forcing it to involuntarily kneel down.
At this moment, the Greed Demon’s left hand subconsciously blocked its face, attempting to ward off Grand Guardian Siegfried’s surprise attack.
It succeeded!
Neither Cardinal Siegfried’s sword energy nor Mu’s staff caused the Greed Demon to bleed profusely. Although they could inflict damage, they could not instantly cut it in half or tear it apart like they would an opponent of the same level!
Grand Guardian Siegfried’s first strike, imbued with lightning, struck the Greed Demon’s finger, producing a clang!
Like a saber hitting a rock, it left only a deep scratch, revealing blood-like gold coins and pearls, but it did not sever the finger!
However, at this moment.
Saint Joan’s prayer took effect—
A rainbow glow flashed across all the weapons in their hands simultaneously.
Grand Guardian Siegfried’s first strike might have deflected, but his second strike cut in!
Two fingers, accompanied by cries of pain, fell to the ground!
As the fingers landed, they were filled with gold and jewels, with only a thin layer of outer skin!
The moment they saw the treasure, all attacks on the Greed Demon stopped simultaneously.
But as the fingers hit the ground, Lixia’s “Dragon Blood Edict” descended again:
【—Awaken!】
Lixia’s timing for uttering the Word Spirit was even earlier than the time they were controlled!
This was Lixia’s prediction!
The period of being brainwashed lasted less than half a second before being instantly released.
Although this Greed Demon was powerful, it was limited—because it was missing a hand, and they were too many!
Cardinal Siegfried swung his sword again, this time like wielding an invisible hammer, shattering the solid ice along with the “fist” encased and assimilated within it!
After “ordering,” came the “violence” that destroyed “order”!
A clatter of gold coins and gems scattered like a river. Siegfried, who had just woken up, fell into confusion and daze again.
He subconsciously raised his sword, about to strike Grand Guardian Siegfried!
But at this moment, Mu pushed off the ground with his staff and leaped into the air.
Like playing golf, he swung Siegfried away from the crowd!
He used a subtle force; although Siegfried flew out, he was not harmed.
At this moment, Grand Guardian Siegfried closed his eyes, made a ninety-degree turn, and charged straight down!
“Ahhhh!”
The Greed Demon panicked, roared in a meaningless rage, and reached out to grab Grand Guardian Siegfried!
Its palm was as heavy as a mountain; if it fell to the ground, it would cause an earthquake. Its speed was so fast that it might catch up to Grand Guardian Siegfried’s dive…
But at this moment, several chains materialized out of thin air, tightly binding its left arm!
As a colossal demon, the Greed Demon possessed the strength to shake mountains, but now it felt a power similar to its own from those chains—it had to struggle against itself!
However, as a demon that controlled illusions, it realized in an instant that they were illusions. The chains spontaneously collapsed and disappeared.
—But it was too late.
That mere instant was enough for Grand Guardian Siegfried to completely shatter the broken fist, flowing with gold and jewels!
Grand Guardian Siegfried’s twin blades fell simultaneously, shattering the fist!
Like an eggshell breaking layer by layer, revealing its contents.
—It was an extremely old woman, her skin as pale as a statue.
She curled up like an infant, but her legs were slightly parted. Beneath the black long skirt covering her calves, a pulsating red umbilical cord was connected!
And upon directly looking at the treasure, Grand Guardian Siegfried’s will was seized the moment the attack landed.
He, with Philip, charged directly into Mu in the sky—a lightning charge capable of shattering city walls!
At this moment, Mu had just sent Siegfried flying, had not yet released his momentum, and had nowhere to dodge.
Just as he was about to be directly shattered by Grand Guardian Siegfried, a shield of lightless amber suddenly enveloped him.
Grand Guardian Siegfried, who was charging, was not repelled but instantly lost his kinetic energy. He went from extremely fast to extremely still.
At this moment.
Lixia, holding her scepter, leaped high, her body twisting into a silvery-white young dragon amidst a roar!
Wrapped in shimmering silver radiance, she completely ignored the seductive power of the treasure and flew directly over, biting off the umbilical cord!
Although she was sent flying by the Greed Demon’s slap the next moment, a large amount of purple aura leaked from the severed umbilical cord.
“No, no!!”
The Greed Demon roared hysterically, surprised and angry: “You bunch of—”
Before it could finish speaking, the peacefully sleeping old woman truly turned into a stone statue, then silently collapsed and shattered.
Then, the colossal Greed Demon, like a deflating balloon, rapidly shrank, regressing to just over two meters tall, a Fifth Tier being.
A Fifth Tier Greed Demon naturally could no longer control these people.
—A fully conscious Siegfried charged again at triple speed, cleaving it in half with a single sword strike!
The brainwashed soldiers originally wanted to “rescue their lord,” but they were too weak—they ran too slowly, and the Greed Demon was killed before they could reach it.
—All in all, the Sixth Tier Greed Demon lived for only one minute from engagement to death!
Was this how strong a typical Sixth Tier being was?
They even felt somewhat dazed… after all, their perception of Sixth Tier was the Eternal Pope.
But now, they realized—it seemed not that Sixth Tier was strong, but that the Eternal Pope was strong!
“It’s just as I thought!”
Lixia, who had been struck by the colossal Sixth Tier demon, covered in blood with many broken bones, laughed heartily while receiving treatment from Saint Joan: “I knew it! It’s impossible for two Sixth Tier beings to appear out of nowhere… they must have a weakness! That Buzzing Demon is surely the same, just kill the host!”
Their Sixth Tier mode was fake; by directly killing the host, they could be stripped away—leaving only Fifth Tier level!
And a Fifth Tier demon would not last three moves against any of them!
(End of Chapter)