Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint.

Chapter 173 Objective: Heading to the Star Spirit Tree

Just like the previous times, Ross vanished instantly after speaking, conveniently blocking the memories of those around him so that they would forget his existence.

Although Phil was used to his elusive nature and his insistence on "only letting her see him," Ross still wanted to be on the safe side.

Even Phil's memories were slightly obscured, such as the things the mercenaries said to him when they were getting impatient—Later, Ross used his mental power to guide them and add hints so that they would simply ignore his presence.

However, I always block them from view before leaving, in case anything unexpected happens.

After several such incidents, Phil had come to accept that he was being targeted by the evil god Ross.

At the same time, Ross also hinted to her that her connection with him would deepen as the pollution progressed.

The girl showed fear, but she quickly asked a question—

Why did Ross help her purify herself from the pollution instead of waiting for her to become corrupted and turn into his follower?
Ross was too lazy to make up a reason, so he simply didn't respond and let Phil figure it out himself.

This time, when Ross directly said that if she continued to allow the pollution to erode her lungs, she would become Ross's servant, the girl's eyes became panicked.

This met Ross's expectations.

But the panic didn't last long; Phil suddenly felt relieved.

"Lord Ross is so gentle, it doesn't seem so bad to become His servant... No, I'm a saintess, how could I have such thoughts? Have I already become His servant?"

As he talked to himself, Phil realized with a start that his mindset shouldn't be like this.

“In the Holy Scriptures, the evil god Ross possesses the power to bewitch people. The gods warn everyone not to blindly believe His words, or they will fall into His clutches and become His followers… I did not believe His words, but He appeared alone to purify me from the corruption… How could I possibly escape?”

Rose's mood followed her thoughts as she did sit-ups.

He was genuinely afraid that Phil would suddenly "come to her senses," choose to embrace pollution, and truly become the Princess of the Abyss.

Fortunately, she didn't have that idea; after thinking about it for a long time, she chose to let things take their course.

She even had a daring and reckless idea—

“If I become His servant, I will definitely persuade Him and urge Him to do good.”

Ross couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This girl is even more naive than Celia.

Is this the Holy Maiden of the Holy Court?
So interesting.

Speaking of which...

Ross thought of another problem.

Besides Celia, the other two saintesses of the Holy Court are also preparing to establish a mental connection as a backup.

or……

Why not just transform all the saintesses into "saintesses of evil gods"?
It is not impossible.

Ross thought for a moment, realizing that he wasn't entirely sure what Doris and Anko's weaknesses were.

"There's no rush for this. Let's stabilize Benovia and Phil first."

Ross manipulates the puppet back to the school camp and arrives at Celia's sickroom.

There was only Celia meditating in the ward; no one else was there.

Sensing the puppet's return, Celia opened her eyes and exclaimed happily, "Mr. Ross, you're back!"

Ross stepped forward and patted Celia's head, then stepped off the puppet and told her to put it back. Afterward, Ross asked, "What are your plans after the trial?"

“Me?” Celia pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, “I plan to go back and visit Mother Vanessa.”

Ross was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that when you go back, you'll find evidence of that high priest's crimes and send her back to court?"

“How could that be! Vanessa’s mother was very kind. If she had done what those high priests did, how could Star Ash Temple have been so dilapidated?”

Ross asked, "Where is Star Ash Town?"

"In the southern part of the Ishtar Empire."

Celia got out of bed and went outside the ward. Looking southwest, she pointed to the faintly visible Star Spirit Tree and said, "Right under the Star Spirit Tree, Star Ash Town is very close to it. The town got its name because after Lord Ross burned down the Star Spirit Tree, the ashes covered the entire town."

"Oh? So your hometown is next to the Star Spirit Tree?"

Celia nodded: "It's very close. The area around the Protoss Tree is a restricted zone, so we can't get in. Star Ash Town happens to be outside the restricted zone, at the northern end of the Protoss Tree."

Ross said thoughtfully, "When the Star Spirit Tree was burned down, the ash that fell should have been excellent fertilizer. Why do you say that Star Ash Town is poor and backward?"

Celia said naturally, "Because the dust of the Celestial Tree is cursed. I've heard that plants that grow from the dust are heavily polluted. Although they are magical materials, they cannot be collected or used."

"Before the end of the Age of Calamity, the people of Star Ash Town were all afflicted with the Astral Curse and lived a very difficult life. It was only after the end of the Age of Calamity that things slowly improved. There was nothing there except for being close to the Astral Tree. In fact, the Astral Tree easily blocked out the sunlight, so most people probably wouldn't go to such a place to develop."

Ross nodded. "I see. Since we're going to the vicinity of the Star Spirit Tree, once you get there, try to get close to it. I have some questions that need answering."

"You're not going to burn the Celestial Tree again, are you?" Celia asked warily.

Ross was both amused and exasperated: "You think just anyone can burn down the Protoss Tree? With your current strength, you couldn't burn it down even if you had a thousand years."

"That's good." Celia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Moreover, the reason I burned the Star Spirit Tree was because it was being exploited so severely at the time, which led to increased pollution and the spread of the Abyss, so I had no choice but to burn it."

Ross did not mention the other reason.

In the game, burning down the Star Spirit Tree is one of the many prerequisites for the War of the Gods, but only by burning down the Star Spirit Tree can the "Heaven" difficulty be unlocked, which refers to ganging up on the twelve main gods.

As to why the Star Spirit Tree had to be burned to start the God War, Ross hasn't looked into the specific background story, so he can only conclude that the Star Spirit Tree was too important to the gods, so burning it angered them and led to the God War.

The current Celestial Tree is not the same as the one before, so Ross doesn't need to burn it again.

Just as Celia was talking to Ross, the ward door opened and Benovia came in from outside.

She saw Celia outside the window and said, "Celia, since the ruins have been conquered, the school has stopped the trials and is preparing to hold the closing ceremony the day after tomorrow. Abros asked me to come and ask if you want to go on stage and give a speech."

Celia shook her head repeatedly: "Forget it, let Doris handle this. She might really like it. I'll pass."

Benovia said, "But you are the key player in conquering the ruins. Doris said she doesn't want the credit; it belongs to you. If you don't go, she won't go either."

"Does Doris have a screw loose?" Celia frowned. "Whatever, I'm not going."

Benovia smiled and said, "That won't do. We are an adventurer team exploring the ruins, and we need to go on stage no matter what. If you don't go, we won't go either. The principal's expression will definitely be interesting then."

Celia rolled her eyes: "Although I'd like to see the principal's expression too, I'll just go. It's just a formality, no big deal."

“Okay, then I’ll go back and tell Professor Abros.”

"Well, please."

　Thank you Yuyi for the 1500 points!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)