The victory of a religion in another world is so easy?

“We’ve established a relationship of trust, haven’t we?” Ellie found a chair and sat down, her expression returning to seriousness. “Although the process was quite unpleasant, we now have a foundation for cooperation.”

Rand greatly admired Ellie's composure; having just been embroiled in a scandal, she was now able to speak seriously: "What's in it for me?"

“You can invest in us, and you will receive a share of our profits from the ruins.”

It's a pretty good proposal; you don't have to take any risks and you can still benefit from it.

But Rand still resolutely refused: "Impossible. If you die in the ruins, the White King will still cause us trouble."

“I have a way to deal with the Iron Golem,” Ellie said.

Rand sneered. He recalled the CG of the Ruins event, which was so difficult that even with the entire main cast assembled, they almost suffered a total wipeout. Now, with only you and a high-ranking member, Rand personally felt that it was far less suitable for an adventure than having all three main characters together: "You think the Ruins only have the danger of the Iron Golem?"

"You've investigated?" Ellie seemed to understand something and asked astutely.

Rand did not refute this; in a sense, he might indeed be quite familiar with the ruins: "Not now."

"why?"

“You are too weak,” Rand said mercilessly. “Wait until you have at least enough strength before you talk.”

Seeing that Rand's stance was firm, Ellie observed Rand's current residence, stopped pressing him, and turned to leave with Olena.

"Wait." When Ellie and Olena stopped and turned around, Rand didn't explain much, but started writing on the parchment with a quill.

The two of them were not in a hurry and stood quietly to the side waiting.

Olenna and Ellie both have brown hair and common blue eyes, but with the same conditions, some people can be as ugly as trolls, while others can be as exquisitely sculpted as by a master sculptor.

Take Olena and Ellie, for example.

Olena and Ellie were dressed in typical Northern attire, except that they weren't wearing fur vests because of the hot weather.

Looking at them quietly now, they do seem somewhat like sisters. Olena is slightly more mature, and her hand is habitually placed on the hilt of her sword at her waist. Perhaps because of what happened last night, her posture is a little strange.

Ellie, on the other hand, was a bit more lively. Like Olena, she stood there somewhat uneasy. Although she was just standing there quietly like Olena, her eyes were restless, glancing around.

After Rand finished writing, he handed it to Ellie.

Heritage Development Proposal

In short, the plan is to wait until Ellie defeats the steel golem at the entrance of the ruins, then promote the ruins as an adventure paradise, send a large number of adventurers to test the waters, and once the progress is nearly complete, the faction will then reap the rewards.

Moreover, since the hideout is located in the village closest to the ruins, they can make a fortune from the adventurers' food, supplies, accommodation, and medical care when they arrive.

Of course, all of this is contingent on Ellie cooperating with the publicity campaign and finding a way to deal with the steel golem at the entrance of the ruins.

Ellie read it carefully, then looked at Rand's young and handsome face in astonishment, and felt a sense of fear.

A powerful cult stronghold with exaggerated potential, whose members even possess divine messengers who have descended through unknown means.

This divine messenger not only possesses a thorough understanding of human culture and factions, but also has a remarkably innovative mindset.

It can be said that if this child is not eliminated, he will surely become a great threat in the future.

After seeing that Ellie had finished reading, Rand said, "How about six months from now? If you can assemble a complete adventure team that complements each other in all aspects, then we can have a chance to cooperate."

At this point, Rand also needed time to buffer. He needed to find a way to kill the baron stationed in the Kingdom of Narensa, then seize control of the baronial territory, and then take advantage of the impending internal strife in the country to gain actual claim to the territory.

If not handled properly, no matter how well the operation develops, it will only benefit others.

Despite receiving such a detailed plan, Ellie was somewhat hesitant.

If such a potentially lucrative cult were allowed to develop, wouldn't Ellie become a sinner?

Ellie closed her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "I want to stay here for a while."

She planned to stay and observe. Since this Rand was rational, there was a possibility that this hideout was not actually a particularly evil cult.

Recalling the stench of blood and corpses she had smelled the night before, Ellie chuckled self-deprecatingly, thinking that perhaps her current actions were merely self-deception.

Olena looked at Ellie with a look of utter despair, wondering if Ellie had been possessed by this evil messenger, but she dared not show it in front of Rand.

Rand looked at Olena's expression with a dark expression, then decided to ignore it and said to Ellie, "Go ahead, but food and lodging aren't free."

Chapter 26 Lysa's Ambition

After leaving the sacrificial chamber, Ellie confirmed that the room, which was called the sacrificial chamber by other believers but was actually Rand's bedroom, did not show any signs of having a place for sacrifices.

This cult hideout has a strange atmosphere, except for the bloody smell I smelled yesterday, which fits the image of a cult hideout.

From the outside, it appears to be a fairly vibrant human village.

The villagers were not like the cultists one might imagine, either muttering incoherently or plotting evil schemes.

The villagers in this area are either farming, logging, or raising livestock.

All Ellie could say was that the disguise was incredibly convincing.

After walking a little further away and returning to the room that had been arranged for them the day before, Olena looked at Ellie with concern: "Let's go back, Ellie. It's too dangerous here. There's a strange atmosphere everywhere."

Ellie said helplessly, "Oleena, you don't think I'm being controlled by that Rand, do you?"

Olena certainly didn't think so, but she still suspected that Ellie was too affected by what happened last night. After all, Ellie was still young and might become addicted to that kind of thing, which was very dangerous. If she stayed here for too long, Ellie's life would likely go down a twisted path.

This is something Olena absolutely cannot accept.

“No, Ellie, I just think we don’t need to cooperate with them at all. Once we get back, as long as we forget about this, everything that happened here will be over. After all, as long as we pretend we don’t remember, that divine messenger won’t release the recording.”

"Then we came for nothing, didn't we?" Ellie sat on the edge of the bed. The sheets had been destroyed to cover up the body, leaving only the bare bed frame.

“We traveled such a long way from the capital to here, and then wandered around in the mountains for five or six days, and in the end, that bastard recorded that kind of thing.”

“We’ve already paid the price, so why can’t we collect some interest?” Ellie said, since he can’t do anything to us now anyway.

“Aren’t you afraid he really…” Olena said worriedly.

“So what?” Ellie said. “If my sister doesn’t have a suitable weapon, those disgusting monsters won’t give up.”

Ellie tugged at her collar: "For this, even if I have to lose something, I'm willing to do it."

Olena looked at Ellie with concern, worried that she was just saying it and had actually been seduced by the evil messenger, but she couldn't think of a practical solution.

For the first time, she felt utterly powerless about the supreme power she was so proud of.

Force was useless, and her identity had already served its purpose, rendering it meaningless. Now, she seemed no different from any other ordinary, weak woman who couldn't even kill a chicken.

Even her life experience and wisdom are not as good as Ellie's, who is younger than her.

dong dong——

knocking.

After receiving permission, Lysa came in.

Olenna and Ellie both blushed a little at the sight of the elf who had watched them the night before.

"Would you be interested in doing volunteer work?" Lysa asked.

"What does Rand mean?"

"No, what I mean is, you don't need to have much prejudice against this place. Whether it's a cult or not is not for people to define."

Olena is a top-tier swordswoman, an agile duelist who uses swift swords; Ellie is a high-tier sorceress; and Lysa is a top-tier ranger.

If we add Tanl, the heavily armored knight, it would actually be a very complete adventurer party. In other fantasy game worlds, it could already be called a legendary adventurer party.

If such a team is lucky, they might be able to accomplish an epic story that will be sung by bards, such as slaying a dragon, or defeating a demon king and rescuing a princess.

But this time, Lysa invited Olena and Ellie to do something that was a reconnaissance mission. Although Rand didn't say it, Lysa could already sense his desire for the Baron of this land.

A clever ranger should know how to scout out the terrain in advance and plan the route.

There happen to be two rather capable idlers here.

Lysa said, "If you agree, I can show you around the hideout."

Ellie scoffed dismissively, but didn't say anything more: "Sure, but don't do anything disgusting."

Lysa knew there were still many misunderstandings between them, but since these two were willing to stay, they would be able to clear up the misunderstandings sooner or later.

They are just a group of people trying to survive in this world.

To be honest, she was still looking forward to seeing just how far that intelligent Rand could go. In her eyes, this somewhat twisted and unkempt divine messenger, apart from his strange ability which she didn't know he had, didn't seem to have any combat power.

But he certainly has the qualifications to become king.

Therefore, she only received a small reward today. Lysa touched the whip marks on her waist, gently put her fingers in her mouth, and after feeling them for a while, she took the initiative to set off to clear obstacles for Rand's plan.

At this point, Ellie and Olena were unaware that Lysa was a pervert. They just thought the female elf ranger was a bit strange, but it was normal for people in a cult to be a little strange, so they didn't ask any more questions. After making some preparations, they set off with Lysa.

Rand didn't pay much attention to Ellie and Olena's movements. He could completely understand Ellie wanting to assess the strength of the hideout, since the method to defeat the Iron Golem must be priceless.

If the hideout doesn't have enough power to control this area, then it's possible they won't choose to cooperate. But Rand isn't worried, because after reading his proposal, he's sure these two won't think that they can just go down into the ruins, complete the adventure, and obtain the artifact.

Moreover, he had just obtained some important intelligence.

The Torch Church's mediation has begun, and it is estimated that Lenza will withdraw its troops soon.

This was a perfect opportunity for Rand to attack the Baron. The stronghold, now equipped with iron weapons, was far more powerful than the Baron, whose forces had been largely redeployed. Moreover, Rand was not worried that the Kingdom of Lensa would pass through here during its withdrawal.

This area is remote, and the previous attack here was purely for surprise. When retreating, there are naturally flat roads to take, so it is unlikely that they would pass through this area.

This baron, presumably, did not intend to share the wealth he had amassed with his colleagues, and it was unlikely that he would specifically invite friends and companions to accompany him.

The training of the villagers in the hideout has never stopped recently, and the real battle against the regular army is about to begin.

Chapter 27 The Greedy Baron

The baronial estate where the hideout was located was crescent-shaped. Rand didn't know its official name, but he called it Crescent Land.

The baron of the Kingdom of Lensa, who was stationed here, looked at the military report and knew that withdrawal was inevitable.

He thought he would be very frustrated, as he was one of the most radical pro-war factions in the country.

They were among the first military nobles to lead troops into the Northern Union.

But later, he offended his superiors and was ostracized, ending up stationed in this remote rural area.

But now it seems that compared to those nobles who risked everything on the front lines only to end up with nothing, his current job is incredibly comfortable and lucrative.

After his tax collectors had collected a hefty sum of taxes, he had already recouped all the expenses of this military campaign and even had a considerable surplus.

He knew about the recent unrest in the villages below, but what did it have to do with him?