The Villain Saint is my secondary account

However, Ella was already very experienced in this kind of thing. Even without the help of special inherited magic, Ella could easily analyze where her target was based on her experience.

Social goblins return to their lairs before noon when the sun is blazing, because their dark green skin makes them very intolerant of light and high temperatures. Of course, this only makes them feel uncomfortable, but not to the point of burning up like Lilia did before.

Furthermore, because goblins are inherently lazy, they often form relatively fixed hunting routes in shady areas, and after hunting, they often discard carcasses and some worn-out, crude hunting tools everywhere.

Ella didn't take long to find the group of little green creatures in a shady clearing close to the mountainside. These little monsters were excitedly dancing in a circle, holding sharpened sticks with the heads of deer or sheep skewered on them.

"Ugh." The priestess hiding in the bushes expressed her disdain for the appearance of these standard monsters from another world.

Ella patted the tin cans next to her. "I'll lure them over. Now it's up to you."

Having said that, he pointed his staff at the goblin that was laughing the loudest and whispered "Fireball".

Suddenly, a fireball with a bright red tail slammed into the goblin's face, startling the surrounding green goblins who scattered in all directions.

After they calmed down, they finally realized that a damned human mage was hiding behind a tree trunk and ambushing them.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Holy Land of Souls

"Eee-yah-yah!" The green-skinned men roared incomprehensibly and swarmed forward.

This is exactly what Ella wanted to see. If these cowardly monsters realized from the beginning that they might not be able to defeat their opponents, they would scatter and run away like birds and beasts, making it difficult to catch them one by one.

But once they discover that their opponent is not very strong and dares to provoke and anger them, they will work together to charge forward.

They are very united when facing the weak; that's the nature of goblins.

But as they rushed toward the evil human mage, a tall figure suddenly appeared before them.

With a single slash, the two-handed sword, as wide as a thigh, cleaved the three goblins charging at the front into six pieces in an instant, the sword tip hitting the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

The attack was powerful but lacked control, indicating a proficiency level. The force applied in this sword strike allowed Ella to discern the Templar Knight's skill level.

Unlike the strange upgrade system that players use around the World Tree system, where there might be bizarre differences like a five-hit combo reaching master level proficiency but a three-hit combo still being at the apprentice level, if a native of another world can reach a certain proficiency level for a particular skill, then their entire skill system is basically at that proficiency level. Therefore, you can judge a native's overall professional level well by their skill proficiency.

Seeing their companion die instantly, the remaining goblins, their faces smeared with gushing blood, finally calmed down, crying out and turning to flee in all directions.

But it was too late. With their backs to the Canned Knight's ferocious two-handed sword, this group of fragile greens was basically swept away in a tornado, just like a chicken farm.

Ella then secretly fired a fireball at some goblins that were trying to escape her attack range.

"These goblins are so weak. I feel like I have nothing to do." Miss Chloe stretched lazily, feeling bored. These little monsters weren't as scary as the Saintess had described.

"Wow, Priestess, the goblin behind you is huge!"

"Huh!!?" ​​Chloe jumped up from the rock she was sitting on, looked around and found that there wasn't a single goblin in sight, then belatedly puffed out her cheeks, "...Lady Havil! Let's get down to business!"

"Hehe." The silver-haired girl squinted and chuckled mischievously, "You still have the guts to be an adventurer?"

"Humph."

The cleanup mission ended smoothly and easily, even effortlessly. Ella brandished her staff and twirled it around. The thrilling chase and counter-chase that her adventure team experienced when they first encountered a goblin horde in her previous life was definitely not going to happen again.

Next time, I should take on more commissions. Otherwise, spending an hour on the road, half an hour finding the target, and then only five minutes fighting is a bit unreasonable.

"Eh, Lady Havil, what is this?" Chloe's puzzled voice came from behind.

Ella approached Chloe and noticed a gray stone slab in the center of the clearing where the goblins had just been resting.

Were those green-skinned people dancing around this thing just now?

Since goblins often dance when they express excitement, Ella didn't think much of it when she first saw them.

She crouched down and could vaguely make out what looked like a drawing on the stone slab: a figure with the lower half of a deer and the upper half of a human.

Is this some kind of deity again? What's going on? Even when I'm out fighting goblins, I run into an evil god?

Ella inwardly complained, but she felt that the stone slab did not have any special magic attached to it; it seemed to be just a stone slab.

Am I being too paranoid?

After thinking for a moment, Ella decided to take the item back with her.

Forget about demons and monsters, just put her back in the sanctuary and suppress her; I don't believe she can cause any more trouble.

Since it was still early, Ella and her group went to do the Adventurers' Guild quests that Chloe had accepted. Because their Adventurer Certificate rank was not high, the quests were all simple tasks involving collecting herbs or common monster materials.

In the face of the Canned Knight, the small monsters lurking at the edge of the forest can basically be dealt with with a single sword strike.

This allowed Ella to earn a small amount of general points and upgrade her attributes a bit.

As for the system shop, cheap items are easily obtained with the wealth of her ducal mansion, while expensive items cannot be acquired with just a few general points, so she basically doesn't look at the system shop anymore.

……

When they returned to the sanctuary, it was only a little past noon.

The church usually gives young clergy a day off to do simple church tasks as training, so there are basically no other things scheduled for this day.

After completing the purification ritual with the help of the nuns, Ella went to the Great Archives of the Sanctuary, intending to use this unexpected free time to study the previously used believer communication magic.

According to her previous calculations, if Liangqiu Ridge could be used as an intermediary for spiritual connections, she and her followers could exchange information through this medium.

However, some theoretical knowledge may be needed to supplement this. It is not convenient to ask someone for more specific information, so I can only do my own research.

The Great Archives is always bustling with clergy and researchers who have applied for access. The walls of the vast, towering hexagonal hall are covered with books so densely packed that they are dazzling to behold.

Ella took some books that might be useful, randomly chose a secluded corner, and began to study slowly.

Most of these things are actually basic books on spell construction. However, Ella, who was not replaced by a soul before, did not study them thoroughly at the noble academy. And the current Ella was a swordswoman who relied on the system to upgrade in her previous life. Therefore, she can only make up for her weak theoretical knowledge of spells in this way.

After gaining some insights, Ella closed her eyes to see if she could try her first magical communication.

The first step was to communicate with Liangqiu Ridge through mental focus. This was not difficult. Perhaps because it lacks the fragile and mysterious structure of the human body, this mountain, which had always held Aila in awe and enthusiasm, did not show any abnormalities after accepting Aila's mental link.

In the darkness, Ella felt a small part of her consciousness gradually leave her body, pass through the crystal chandelier-covered ceiling of the Great Archives, and float above the clouds.

Like the lightheaded feeling after being drunk, or the subtle weightlessness of falling into a dream, Ella felt as if her consciousness was being pulled by something, slowly drifting down from the boundless sky.

When she regained consciousness, Ella could clearly sense that she was in the Great Archives with her eyes closed, and at the same time, she could see a forest shrouded in white mist in front of her.

The land beneath her feet is Liangqiu Ridge, and the benevolent believers of that mountain are embracing and protecting the little bit of spiritual consciousness she transmits.

With a thought, Ella discovered that even this small fragment of her consciousness could access the system panel.

This world tree system is truly outrageous; it seems like I've never encountered a situation where it can't be opened.

Looking at the familiar names on the believer management interface, Ella first tried to communicate with Ye Xiao.

A cloud of mist condensed and churned in the air, finally slowly transforming into a semi-transparent human figure wearing a cloak—it was his familiar male body.

The two looked at each other, and then Ella pondered for a moment before trying to communicate with her next follower—Lilia.

Lilia is, after all, a vampire and the chosen one of the Sunfire God, so her mental strength is far stronger than that of ordinary people.

As the smoke condensed again, the black-haired, purple-eyed girl actually floated slowly down from the sky.

This time, she wasn't wrapped in bandages. Her phoenix eyes, which held a hint of flirtation, first looked around in confusion before quickly locking onto Ella.

"My God!!" The excited girl pounced forward, but she passed through Ella's body like a wisp of smoke.

"Hey, what's going on..." Lilia looked down at her translucent hands. "Oh no, am I going to die!?"

Chapter 47 First Meeting

"No, it's just..."

"Yay! If I die, I can stay close to the gods forever!" Lilia suddenly floated to Ella's location, overlapping with Ella's figure, their black and silver hair intertwined.

"Hehe, we are intertwined, you are in me!"

"..."

Ella's merciless iron hand ripped Lilia's figure out of her body and smacked her on the forehead.

"Ah! Why can the gods touch me!" Lilia covered her head.

“I’m just conducting an experiment.” Ella said, hands on her hips, floating in mid-air. “What’s here is a part of your consciousness; your body is still perfectly fine in the real world.”

"Is that so?" Lilia nodded thoughtfully, then her eyes lit up as if she had just realized something. "Then wouldn't this place be a private world just for me and the God!?"

"Ahem." Ye Xiao, who was standing to the side, coughed lightly twice.

"Wow! When did this person appear out of nowhere!?"

"I've been here for a while now...?" Ye Xiao said helplessly, "You didn't see it yourself."

“The deity actually called this man first and not me… I’m so sad…” Lilia covered her mouth with both hands, looking heartbroken.

Ella was at her wits' end, but the fact that Lilia was alive and kicking meant that the method should be working.

So she decided to see if there were any other believers she could invite into this spiritual space.

Marilyn, Wengerman? Hmm, I remember that these two originally wanted to break free from the control of the gods, so it doesn't feel right to disturb them.

Dean? Forget it, this guy probably doesn't like me much, so he's not a good match.

Hyde... I think I can call him that and ask how he's doing.

In a way, this guy was my first believer.

With a thought, Ella first glanced at what Hyde was doing along the mental link, making sure that her call wouldn't cause any embarrassing situations like leaving the stove on without turning it off, before she began to try to guide his mental consciousness.

Then, a figure materialized from the white mist; it was none other than the old nobleman who loved tinkering with alchemy.

"Ah... Your Majesty." Upon seeing Ella, Hyde knelt down respectfully.

"No need, no need at all." Ella waved her hand, gesturing for Hyde to get up. Her two lives combined weren't even as old as this old man, so there was no need for her to kneel like that.

Besides, she doesn't really feel like a deity, and if we don't count Ye Xiao, she only has two followers she can talk to right now.

Then, she looked at her three followers, "I summoned you all mainly to try and see if I could communicate with you through a mental link. After all, the three of you are now my followers."

“I see.” Lilia nodded. “It’s a prayer meeting of the gods.”

“Hmm.” Ella was pleased that someone could give her magical experiment a more formal-sounding name. “That way, Lilia, you won’t need to send me letters anymore. You can just talk about the information you’ve gathered here.”

“No problem. Since we are all apostles of the God, I will begin.” Lilia crossed her hands in a prayer gesture. “Last night, after you left my residence, the Imperial Guards and Miss Freya of the Holy Temple received the news and rushed here with their men.”

“They had a dispute, and Freya intended to take the guards of the imperial city back to the sanctuary for spiritual quality testing, until the commander of the guards intervened and they switched to investigating on their own.”

Although Ella knew that the Holy Temple and the Loren government weren't entirely on good terms, she thought Freya was being far too audacious by directly handing over the Imperial City guards to the Holy Temple.

Afterwards, Lilia gave a brief account of the questioning and search methods used by both sides. Subsequently, Freya also mobilized a group of holy arcane mages to purify her mansion.

"Although they didn't doubt what I told them, we still need to go to the church for a spiritual quality test just in case. I originally intended to bring the letter to you when I came for the test."

“Spiritual quality detection… uh, wouldn’t that mean your vampire constitution would be detected?” Ella thought to herself, feeling uneasy.

“It was detected when I was born,” Lilia said nonchalantly. “It’s just that the royal family is deliberately hiding it. It’s alright, God. The royal family will hide it this time too… They might even put pressure on the Holy Temple to prevent me from participating in the spiritual quality test. In fact, the royal guards even tried to stop Freya from searching, but there were too many people from the Holy Temple, and they couldn’t stop them.”

Too many people? Although I did report to the elders that the matter concerned an evil god, is it really necessary to bring so many people for a preliminary investigation?

How many people went to the sanctuary?

“Not counting Freya, there were two squads of Templar Knights and one priest.” Lilia remembered it clearly. “My God, although there are only some signs, I feel that Freya is doubting your Templar identity.”

“Not bad.” Ella smiled. “She’s leading this investigation, probably because she wants to find some clues about me.”

“I cleaned up beforehand, and judging from the scene, Freya probably didn’t find anything. After searching the first and second floors, she didn’t seem very satisfied and asked me a lot of questions about you.” Lilia continued, “I didn’t reveal my close relationship with the god. I just said that you tried to cure my illness and were about to leave when you encountered the assassin.”

Intimate relationship? What the heck... We've only known each other for two days... Ella was speechless.

"As for the puppeteer, Winston had already hidden him in a secret room in the mansion before the guards arrived. We interrogated him after the purification was completed."

"He said he was a member of the Mystic Alchemy Society, and that the flesh puppets were the product of his human alchemy experiments. He said he wanted to turn me into a flesh puppet because he coveted my beauty, so he launched the attack."

“…That’s it?” Ella was stunned for a moment, then realized, “Either he’s talking nonsense, or his consciousness has been tampered with.”

“The God is wise. That’s his explanation, though he’s absolutely convinced of it,” Lilia laughed. “But you’ve seen those flesh puppet Gods before; they couldn’t possibly be made with alchemical technology. Secondly, while I’m quite confident in my appearance, the reason for this attack is clearly too simplistic.”

Ella always thought that prolonged periods of staying at home would usually make people more socially awkward, but this little princess seems to be an exception.

“I’ve tried some mental and spiritual magic and discovered that he seems to have suffered trauma at the soul level. So, I would like to invite Your Majesty to visit my manor again to see if you can use your power to recover some information from his soul,” Lilia added.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Contract Spells

I might not be as familiar with soul magic as you are...

Ella, of course, didn't say that. She still didn't want to ruin her great image among everyone. Besides, although there wasn't much soul magic on the evil god's skill tree, those spells themselves were corrupting. Feeding that guy a "healing holy light" might restore him.

In other words, it's worth a try.