The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 992

Chapter 991
I’m Looking for Someone, Not Something
Arsen’s expression suddenly turned solemn.
His deep eyes narrowed slightly, his lips subconsciously pursing. His arms and palms exerted force simultaneously, like a solidified statue.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Arsen?”
The man, who gave off a “pale” impression, flashed a brilliant smile, deliberately or unintentionally revealing his sharp, beast-like teeth: “Did I mistake you for someone else?”
Alice’s eyes suddenly widened.
Her eyes held vigilance and shock. She had to do her best to use reason to control the chattering of her throat to prevent herself from screaming.
—A vampire!
As a member of the Eagle Eye organization, she naturally had a considerable understanding of the Child of the Moon lineage.
However, her own strength was insufficient, and her identity was too noble. Coupled with the fact that she had just had trouble in the Church not long ago, the organization now dared not assign her to any dangerous missions.
Therefore, until now, Alice had not personally carried out even one mission to assassinate a Child of the Moon.
And this Child of the Moon before her… just by looking at him, Alice could clearly feel an extremely strong sense of pressure.
The intense pressure was like the deep sea, suffocating and dizzying. Yet, she dared not reveal any anomaly, not even dare to show that she had recognized his identity as a Child of the Moon… because ordinary people of Iris Flower should not have too much in-depth knowledge of Children of the Moon.
Even in Iris Flower, Children of the Moon still hid in the dark side of society. To most citizens, “Vampire Death Go Tree” was still an urban legend, and certainly not something a naive young lady should know.
But…
Alice felt that the man deliberately baring his fangs was to provoke her into losing her composure.
—Did he already recognize that she was from Eagle Eye?
This filled Alice with fear, as if she were standing on the edge of an abyss.
She of course knew how these Children of the Moon dealt with their captured Eagle Eye members—death was considered the most merciful.
Most assassins would be subjected to inhumane torture, dismembered to become “living blood bags,” their blood squeezed out and poured into blood pools, or tortured to death with cruel punishments. The torture and humiliation she, as a female assassin, would suffer would be several times more than that of men…
At this moment, Arsen reached out and took Alice’s hand, affectionately patting her hand.
The not-so-light force and the warmth in his palm suddenly awakened Alice.
“…Not bad, I am Arsen.”
Arsen smiled, but there was no trace of a smile on his face.
He pursed his lips and cautiously asked slowly, “May I ask… what is your name, sir?”
“Just call me Ibn.”
“Ibn” chuckled and said calmly.
Ibn…
Arsen’s heart stirred.
Combining this white robe and the somewhat strange and awkward Iris Flower language, he could basically confirm the guy’s identity.
…A Child of the Moon from the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi? How rare.
After brief self-introductions, silence resumed at the table.
In this atmosphere, if one were to ask about the other’s identity or purpose first, they would be at a disadvantage in terms of presence.
The gaunt, white-robed vampire just smiled slightly and drank the beer on the table with gusto. He showed no sign of the elegance and evil of a Child of the Moon, instead looking like an ill-mannered barbarian.
Alice stood there, somewhat uneasy. She felt conspicuously out of place standing there foolishly, but having missed the opportunity to sit with Arsen earlier, she felt that if she suddenly sat down now, it would seem out of sync…
The bustling bar at this moment was like a furnace deep in purgatory, making her sweat trickle down her back. Even the Bard playing the lute did not help her relax.
But after the two fell silent, she clearly heard the Bard telling a story:
“Then that white-robed Pope cried out:
‘Even a meteorite, I can catch it! Sun, go back to your rightful place!’
‘Even the fallen sun suddenly awoke and became sacred and bright once more…’
“Heh heh…”
Listening to the story, the white-robed vampire inexplicably burst into laughter.
The perceptive Alice could hear that it was a sarcastic mockery.
Discontent immediately arose in her heart—even though she was captured alive by that young human Pope, she had no resentment towards Eivass. Instead, she greatly admired him and believed that the only way out for the Eagle Eye organization was to defect to the Church.
Not to mention, that was the hero who defeated a Fallen Heavenly Envoy and saved the world!
Seeing this vampire dare to disrespect the Pope, she immediately became hot-headed and couldn’t help but blurt out, “Do you have any opinion about that Pope…?”
“How could I?”
The white-robed vampire just smiled casually and said in a joking tone, “I wish he could conquer this world. Bathing in the light is better than walking in darkness.”
This statement seemed somewhat inappropriate coming from a Child of the Moon… but “Ibn” specifically glanced at Alice as he said it. This made her tremble for a moment, as if he had seen through her true identity.
Walking in darkness… was he referring to her?
As expected, Ibn then casually asked, “Miss, what is your name?”
“…Alice.”
Alice placed her hand on her chest and truthfully answered her name.
“Surname?”
The white-robed vampire smiled, “Do you think… if you say your surname, I’ll know who you are?”
“…”
Alice pursed her lips, feeling the increasingly powerful pressure.
“You have such resolve.”
He said slowly, “Even so, you are unwilling to give a false surname… Is this your pride and sense of belonging to your family?
“—Miss Alice de Harcourt?”
Hearing this, Alice was startled.
She trembled uncontrollably, her legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the seat.
A verdant glow flickered intensely in the depths of her pupils, ebbing and flowing.
She wanted to flee, to escape from here. This thought subconsciously activated her Path Adaptation power, allowing her to enter Path Resonance.
However, Alice knew very well that if she revealed her identity as an adapter in front of a Child of the Moon… it would undoubtedly mean death.
So she became even more fearful, restraining her survival instinct; yet, forcing herself to abandon her instinct to survive was precisely in line with the principles of Path Adaptation, and instead strengthened the Path Resonance.
Normally, she lived in comfort and could not resonate with Path Adaptation at all. Now, the understanding of the Path gained in just a few minutes was even greater than in the past several months…
Arsen, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief, appearing inexplicably more relaxed.
“Don’t scare us anymore.”
Arsen raised his eyebrows and pretended to speak briskly, “You’ve only been in Iris Flower for a short while, yet you’ve managed to investigate our identities so clearly and have the leisure to chat with us here. I presume you have something… you want our help with?”
As he said this, he was ready to flee at any moment.
—If he guessed wrong and the other party was indeed a Child of the Moon sent to capture them based on internal information, then he would likely be finished.
Although not a local Child of the Moon… judging by the oppressive force, this guy should be a Fifth Tier “Grand Duke” level Child of the Moon. Even if slightly inferior to that Red Phase one from Star Antinomy, it wouldn’t be by much.
Putting all his effort in, he might be able to create an opportunity for this young lady to escape. He dared not bet on being able to stall the other party here, but at least if the other party was willing to play around for a while instead of directly draining all her blood from afar, there would be at least a chance of survival…
The white-haired Child of the Moon just grinned, put down the wine glass in his hand, and slowly revealed a cruel and evil, ferocious smile.
“If I recall correctly,” Ibn said, looking down and cleaning his fingernails leisurely, “Mr. Arsen, the ‘Righteous Phantom Thief,’ wouldn’t associate with those sewer-dwelling ruffians, swindlers, and murderers from Eagle Eye, would he?”
He looked at Arsen, then at Alice. Just one glance was almost enough to make Alice wet herself with fear.
“—Or are you just giving them a lecture on theft as a guest instructor?”
Hearing this, Arsen finally confirmed his idea.
The other party indeed had something to ask of him!
He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his body slightly. He narrowed his eyes cautiously, not answering the question, but directly asking, “Do you need me to help you obtain something, Lord Ibn?”
Unknowingly, he had changed “sir” to “Lord.”
“It’s not something.”
Ibn smiled, “I want you to help me find someone.”
“Please rest assured, I have enough friends. As long as he is still in Iris Flower, I can find him for you anywhere!”
The phantom thief said confidently.
“That’s very good.”
Ibn smiled gently, making his thin face look less terrifying.
But before Arsen could catch his breath, the next sentence made him feel suffocated:
“The person I’m looking for is that famous detective from Avalon—Mr. Sherlock Hermes.
“According to my information, you should know his whereabouts, Your Excellency.”
These were gentle and calm words, yet filled with a suffocating sense of pressure.
(End of this chapter)