The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Freya was speechless, then began to clench her fists.

Seeing that Freya seemed to be getting anxious, Ye Xiao quickly tried to smooth things over, "Um, I didn't mean to shake your faith or anything, it's just that religion is a thing... never mind, this is my fault, I shouldn't have argued with you about this, it's all Mammon's fault, that bad thing."

Unfortunately, it's normal for such feudalistic religious ideas to be imperfect in the face of modern thinking. Moreover, opinions vary. Freya looks only sixteen or seventeen years old. She may only know to believe in the Holy Light, but she may not have thought about why she should believe in the Holy Light.

Of course, this was also because Freya's young mindset hadn't yet formed a fixed pattern; she was still trying to use reason to understand and deconstruct. If it were the High Priest, she wouldn't argue with Ye Xiao about this; she would have simply swung her staff at him: "You blasphemous heretic, you deserve to die!"

This is true religious ideology.

“At least Mammon’s actions have a clear motive, and he may have been doing this for a long time. According to your analysis, it won’t cause any major disaster in the short term.” Ye Xiao helped Freya sort out the topic so that she wouldn’t still be confused. “That Crafts Society is much more suspicious and dangerous. That kind of blasphemous technology looks no different from the corruption of evil gods.”

If it were just alchemical modifications to the body, it would at most be considered a knock-off cyberpunk, and Ye Xiao wouldn't think much of it. But those strange and bizarre flesh puppets were clearly not just simple mutations in their bodies.

“Well… I’ve investigated some related incidents before.” Freya pursed her lips. “But I don’t know much about them. At least in the Sanctuary’s archives, there are no records of such a thing that can cause alchemical metal mutations in living beings.”

"We don't even know what kind of magic this is, or even if it belongs to the category of magic." Ye Xiao sighed. "In the end, it seems we still have to go out and fight that thing."

Chapter Twenty-Six: Choice

"No, it's too dangerous!" Freya didn't hesitate this time, frowning in denial. "You believe the Demon God's words? If He really wanted to know, why doesn't He send his apostles to challenge him himself?"

“His apostles couldn’t defeat him.” Ye Xiao shrugged. “I think I understand why.”

"How could He only have that many people under His command!"

"It's really hard to say." Ye Xiao suddenly thought of the girl in the private room, and wondered if that guy really looked a bit lonely, though it could be his imagination. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's worth the risk."

The Industrial Design Society is hiding too well; this may be the only clue.

"I already said no! Something bad could happen!" Freya's voice was somewhat agitated.

What, you're concerned about me?

"Who cares about you! I..." Freya stamped her foot in frustration, not knowing why she was so agitated. "I just feel that I shouldn't have made a decision so hastily!"

"Then what do you say we should do?"

Freya clutched the brim of her hood with both hands, pacing back and forth. "I..."

"You can't do anything about it, can you?" Ye Xiao said helplessly, hands on his hips. If there were other options, who would want to take the risk? He couldn't very well ask Ella to come and fight the beasts herself.

Even if something were to happen to him, rationally speaking, given Ella's current condition, she wouldn't be able to step in to save him.

Since they are all his own clones, they naturally won't get caught up in romantic feelings for each other. They will inevitably make the choice that maximizes their own interests. If he were to die by accident, he could at most recuperate for a while and Ella could create another clone. However, if Ella were to take the stage, even if she were to disrupt the scene and rescue people by bringing the Holy Temple's forces without revealing her evil god abilities, it would lead to Ella being regarded as an open threat by both the Society of Craftsmen and the demon god Mammon.

Moreover, there is a mysterious Dream God hiding in the imperial city. If he were to step into the limelight and deal with so many forces at the same time, it would only make the situation worse.

To put it bluntly, it's because our current strength isn't enough to crush everything... I wonder how that blasphemous saintess dealt with these guys in her previous life.

"I... our situation isn't that urgent right now." Freya thought for a long time before managing to come up with a reason. "If we investigate other clues further, maybe we'll find other solutions."

“Theoretically, it makes sense.” Ye Xiao nodded. “But knowing that there is an unknown conspiracy brewing, and that we have seen a way to dig out information, yet we choose to wait—this is not the kind of decision you would make… By the time we truly realize the urgency of the situation, will it still be too late?”

From the perspective of an adventurer, Ye Xiao could have easily distanced himself from the situation. He could have simply told Li Cheng to lead the guild and run away from this turbulent imperial city.

From Ella's perspective, however, these are all potential threats to her development in the capital, and turning a blind eye to them as if they don't exist is not the right way to deal with them.

"What do you know!... I had no choice..." Freya didn't know why this guy insisted on taking this risk; he didn't seem like a selfless person at all.

"Hey, don't be so unconfident in me." Ye Xiao smiled, easing the increasingly tense atmosphere. "You've seen my swordsmanship before, that's nothing, just one strike from me."

"That's what they say, but you'll be facing far more than just the lion-tailed scorpion on the surface. And last time I saw you drink a power-up potion before you swung that sword, but this time, forget about potions, you can't even bring any equipment!" Freya's eyesight was surprisingly sharp; Ye Xiao hadn't expected her to notice this.

As if she had made up her mind, Freya bit her lip. "No, if you insist on going, then I'll go with you."

"No, what are you going to do...? You, a mage, are going to go up and fight the alchemical lion-tailed scorpion hand-to-hand?" Ye Xiao was dumbfounded.

"I'll go watch over you from the sidelines. If you're too badly injured, I'll cast a healing spell."

"Are you stupid? If you, as a member of the Holy Temple, stood out all alone in that place, wouldn't all the demons, sorcerers, and dark cultists present swarm us and kill us both?"

“They wouldn’t dare.” Freya took off her hood, revealing blonde hair and emerald green eyes. “I…I am Freya, the former prospective saintess of the Loren Sanctuary, and my current position is a branch priestess of the Sanctuary. If I state my name, and they dare to touch me again, it will be tantamount to declaring war on the Sanctuary!”

"You..." Ye Xiao had never expected Freya to reveal her identity under these circumstances. "...To be honest, I'm just a small-time adventurer, is it really necessary?"

"You can't tell me what to do!" Freya said angrily.

"Alright, Your Holiness." Ye Xiao smiled wryly. Now that things had come to this, even if he felt that Freya might be a burden, he would have to take her with him tomorrow.

It's somewhat ironic that Ella herself rationally considered giving up on standing up for him, while another candidate saintess, who had nothing to do with her, was willing to take huge risks to help him.

……

The next day, Ye Xiao and Freya met again on Anstan Avenue.

Ye Xiao was still thinking about how to sneak Freya, who was wearing a blue cloak, into the inner gate of the Paradise Pavilion when he saw a fellow dressed in black robes, acting suspiciously, approaching from the nearby street. "Sir, the master asked me to wait for you here."

Ye Xiao recognized the hoarse voice immediately, "Tuta?"

"Heh heh, that's right." Tuta bowed. "Thanks to you, sir, the lord has promoted me directly to high priest."

It's one thing to get promoted after all your superiors die, but Ye Xiao was speechless. The Demon God's management style was quite arbitrary.

"Please come with me. By the way, who is this...?" Tuta asked cautiously, looking at Freya, who was completely covered up beside Ye Xiao.

"My assistant," Ye Xiao casually offered a reason. "There shouldn't be a rule against bringing assistants, right?"

“There’s only one challenger representing the manager, but there are no restrictions on assistants.” Tuta nodded. “However, you’ve also been assigned an attendant.”

"It's alright, one more is one more," Ye Xiao said casually, leading Freya and following Tuta into the gambling den next door.

The smell of hookah and the cacophony of voices here seem to never disappear, and the clanging of dominoes and dice is incessant.

Ye Xiao followed Tuta up the stairs, winding his way through the building until the pungent smoke slowly dissipated.

Ascending a spiral staircase, Ye Xiao arrived at the familiar entrance to the private room, where a maid dressed in a black and white halter dress seemed to have been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing him, she gently pushed open the door, which was covered with magic arrays.

"Invite the three of you."

The maid's pleasant voice was unlike the loud and clear voices of the other servants Ye Xiao had met before; instead, it was languid and soft, making it inexplicably comfortable to listen to.

Her clean and tidy long dress was simple yet very flattering, and her pink and white hair contrasted with her fair face, making Ye Xiao glance at her a few more times—even Ye Xiao, who was used to seeing beautiful girls, found that this maid's appearance was unusually high.

However, Ye Xiao didn't get a good look because Freya quietly pushed him from behind and shoved him into the doorway.

Inside the door, a man in a white suit and wearing a mask stood with his hands behind his back beside the observation deck, asking in a slightly childish voice, "Who is this person next to you?"

"Huh, where is your master?" Ye Xiao didn't answer the man's question, but looked around and couldn't see the greedy witch wearing a mask.

"You can't just see the master whenever you want," the man sneered. "Since you're here, I'll take that as your agreement to the deal."

"Tsk, I feel a little embarrassed talking to you." Ye Xiao sighed.

“You…” The man in the suit wanted to retort, but when he thought of the terrifying swordsmanship Ye Xiao had displayed last night, he hesitated. “…I’m only responsible for conveying the message left by your master: ‘After defeating the Lion-Tailed Scorpion, you can accept the invitation from the Craftsmanship Society without worry.’”

"He has so much faith in me." Ye Xiao scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm not even sure if I can beat that guy."

"The message has been delivered. No need to see me out." The man waved his hand.

"Uh, they made me run up here just to hear this one sentence. As expected of a deity, they even have to add a sense of ceremony to this." Ye Xiao turned and left the private room.

“Oh, right,” the man in the suit suddenly added, “that maid at the door… she’s an attendant assigned to you by the master, you should take her with you.”

"Huh? There's such a good thing." Ye Xiao walked out the door and saw the pink-haired maid smiling at him. He politely returned the smile.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Each Has Their Own Merits

The arena's format was somewhat different from what Ye Xiao had expected. He thought he would be challenging the Lion-Tailed Scorpion right away, but he didn't expect there to be another relatively short match.

As the final event, the Lion Scorpion cannot fight from day to night; it only participates in battle during specific time periods at night.

To meet the requirements for challenging the Lion-Tailed Scorpion, in addition to having a manager, Ye Xiao's challenger points must also reach more than 32 points to be allowed to register for this final battle.

Challenger points are reset to zero for all participants every day, but different challengers will be given different hidden points by the organizers based on their previous performance.

Each challenge cannot have a hidden score difference of more than twelve points, so a maximum of twelve points can be earned in a single challenge. As a first-time participant, Ye Xiao needs to defeat at least three opponents to reach thirty-two points in one day, starting from zero points.

Originally, selecting specific opponents would have taken some effort, but fortunately, Tuta had already arranged it for him, with each opponent being the maximum number he could challenge with his current score.

Speaking of Tuta, Ye Xiao didn't understand why this guy was always busy in the lounge, even serving him tea and water. He would have thought that this guy was his servant.

Judging from the other party's efficient manner, Ye Xiao even began to wonder if the priests of the Demon God really did include this kind of work.

On the contrary, Ye Xiao's "assistant" and the maid, one wrapped in a dark blue robe, sat in the corner like a wooden doll, while the other sat next to him, occasionally raising her small hand to admire her nails.

Seeing Tuta huffing and puffing as he brought him another towel, Ye Xiao felt a pang of guilt. "Thank you for your hard work, brother."

After he finished speaking, he saw that the lazy pink-haired maid even yawned, and he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine—who hired this vase? Is the human resources department here really doing its job properly?

“It’s your turn next, sir. You need to get ready,” Tuta said with a hint of respect. “Also, um, what title are you planning to submit for your challenger position?… The master has chosen one for you, but I’m a little worried…”

"The title doesn't matter, it's just a formality," Ye Xiao stood up and stretched his wrists. "I'll trouble you to look after these two for me for a while."

“Of course.” Tuta nodded.

Despite saying that, after Ye Xiao left for a short while, Tuta hurriedly closed the door to the lounge and fled as if he were escaping.

The room fell into silence.

As a sponsored challenger, Ye Xiao has his own private lounge with a good view of the ring.

However, even though the two shirtless barbarians were fighting fiercely on the stage, with blood and flesh flying everywhere and the audience shouting deafeningly, the two sitting in the lounge seemed completely unconcerned.

"Miss Assistant, you're sitting there without moving. What exactly are you here to help Mr. Ye with?" The pink-haired maid asked lazily after taking a sip of the tea that Tuta had poured for her.

Her voice was as soft and gentle as the white clouds floating in the sky in the afternoon.

"It seems the maid hasn't done anything either, has she? She's called a maid, but she's not doing any servant work at all," Freya said coldly. She had felt something was off about this guy since earlier, but it was just an instinctive aversion to him without any concrete reason, so she couldn't tell Ye Xiao anything.

"Anyway, someone else is doing it, so I can slack off a bit." The maid didn't seem to care, and started admiring her pale pink nails again. "What about you? Are you slacking off too?"

"I don't know your background, but don't think you can get away with this." Freya frowned.

"Hey, speaking so arrogantly on someone else's turf, Miss Assistant, you're quite brave." The maid chuckled, covering her mouth. "But I know your background, Miss Freya. A candidate for saintess of the Loren Sanctuary, what brings you to be an assistant to an unknown adventurer?"

Freya was immediately startled, but she found that when she was not facing Ye Xiao, she was still able to control her emotions well. This was the composure and calmness that came from being in a high position in the Holy Temple for a long time.

Therefore, she remained calm and composed, her voice icy, "Ha, you really are the demon god's lackey."

"That's not a nice thing to say. Didn't the sanctuary teach you basic manners?" the maid said casually.

Freya was about to retort when she suddenly realized she couldn't open her mouth.

She instinctively tried to raise her hand to check, but her limbs felt as if they were made of lead and she couldn't move an inch.

The only part of her body that seemed to be able to move was her eyes. As her gaze moved downwards, she was horrified to see her body under her robes gradually melting, slowly forming a pool of gold that flowed down her clothes and dripped onto the floor.

Illusion? Spell?

Without any warning, my body was simply melted into gold!?

Freya's mind raced, but she couldn't find a way to break the spell. She couldn't even move a finger, let alone cast a holy light spell.

Her vision blurred, and the sounds from the outside world grew more distant and indistinct. The pink-haired maid in her field of vision was still smiling, and her playful gaze seemed to see her consciousness sinking into darkness.

But the next second, Freya felt as if she had woken up from a nightmare.

She gasped for breath, her vision returned to normal, the bustling noise outside the room continued, and she seemed to have regained control of her limbs.

She quickly raised her hand to her eyes. Her body was still intact, but there was a faint gold ring around her cuff. She carefully touched it and found that it was actually a layer of silky gold.

"Considering our continued cooperation, consider this a small gift to scare you," the maid said lazily, her eyes slightly narrowed, her pale golden pupils reflecting the horror on Freya's face. "But there won't be a next time, okay?"

Freya swallowed hard. She was quite confident in her magical abilities, but against this guy, she didn't even have a chance to fight back.

"What... exactly do you want to do?"

Even Freya, who was slow to realize things, finally understood the other person's identity at this point.

But she didn't understand what was so attractive about Ye Xiao that made her want to investigate him personally.

"You tell me first, and I'll tell you."

"...I'll protect him."

"puff."

"What's so funny?" Freya gritted her teeth.

“It’s nothing,” the maid said, resting her head on the back of the chair, a few strands of her pinkish-white hair falling down like branches laden with cherry blossoms. “It’s just a pity that our goals are exactly the opposite.”

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to take him to hell."