The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Phew." Ye Xiao covered his arm, glanced at the trembling body on the ground, and reached out to rip open the other person's thick coat.

Beneath the clothes, countless irregular metal blocks were crudely glued together with the shattered flesh. The flesh was bluish-white and looked lifeless, while the metal blocks embedded in it were like restless worms, contracting and expanding.

Ye Xiao didn't know how to describe this bizarre scene. The surrounding audience should have seen the nauseating body, but they still shouted and clapped as if they didn't see it.

"The winner of the competition, 'Miss Mammon's Hound'—Ye Wuming!!!"

As usual, the host loudly announced the results of the competition to the crowd.

Chapter Thirty: An Unconventional Invitation

As soon as Ye Xiao opened the door to the lounge, Freya, looking worried, rushed forward. "Are you alright? I'll treat you right away."

"It's just a superficial wound," Ye Xiao said, closing the door and lowering his voice, "but it does hurt a bit. Will using holy light magic here be detected? And..."

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at the pink-haired maid who was slowly walking over with a roll of bandages in her hand.

"Sir, let me bandage your arm." The maid walked to Ye Xiao's side and gently took one of his arms.

"No need for magic, I have prepared healing ointment." Freya took out a small bottle from her bosom, unscrewed it, and a pleasant fragrance immediately filled the room.

"Uh, okay..." Ye Xiao didn't know how to answer for a moment, and then watched as the two of them each grabbed one of his hands and dealt with it without interfering with each other.

Ye Xiao immediately recognized the ointment Freya took out as a product of the Holy Temple. It was a healing ointment mixed with holy spring water, but judging from the bottle, it should be a bit more advanced. Of course, the actual effect was indeed better than what Ye Xiao knew. The pain in his arm was immediately relieved, and the wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What puzzled Ye Xiao even more was the maid. She was just haphazardly tying a bandage in her hand, but the wound covered by it no longer hurt.

Is there some kind of ointment on that bandage?

Ye Xiao was a little curious, but there was something more important to say than that. He leaned closer to Freya's hood and asked, "Did you see that guy's body in the ring?"

"You mean his arm? Those steel claws that can grow out of the flesh are indeed bizarre." Freya nodded slightly.

"I mean his body under his clothes, those writhing metal fragments that held his flesh and blood together."

"what?"

"Strange, didn't you see it?" Ye Xiao described what he saw at the last moment on the stage again.

"Huh?" Freya looked up in confusion. "You mean under the challenger's clothes... What I saw just now seemed to be an ordinary body."

Seeing Freya's reaction, Ye Xiao seemed to understand something.

No wonder the surrounding audience and the host didn't react. If it were just steel claws extending from his hands or his skin turning metallic, ordinary viewers would only associate it with magic or alchemical technology.

But the sight of metal and flesh seemingly bound together as if they were alive cannot be explained in a simple way.

Besides, even if they hadn't seen that strange body, the audience here shouldn't have missed Thompson, who was killed by the Lion-tailed Scorpion last night—no matter how bad their memory was, at least some gamblers who lost money should remember that the player they bet on was torn to pieces.

This can only mean that something in the entire Colosseum was influencing people, and not just visually, but more likely mentally.

But how was I able to discover it? Not only could I see the strange physical structure under Thompson's clothes, but I could even remember how he died last night.

Ye Xiao was very puzzled. Even Freya's magical skill hadn't detected this strange effect, so how did he overcome it?

Just then, Ye Xiao, who was deep in thought, suddenly saw the door to the lounge open and Tuta rushed in.

"Sir, the Lion-tailed Scorpion challenge has ended. There will be no final monster challenge tonight."

"Huh? Why??" Ye Xiao was stunned. Did the Industrial Engineering Society notice his problem? That shouldn't be the case.

"They said it's because of some kind of celebration, maybe because of tomorrow's pilgrimage festival?"

"Is this even possible?" Ye Xiao sighed helplessly. It seemed he would have to wait until after the Pilgrimage Festival to continue the challenge here.

“Well, the attendant at the counter asked me to pass this letter on to you,” Tuta said, pulling an elegant envelope from his pocket.

Ye Xiao took it and saw that the envelope simply read, "To Mr. Ye."

He opened the envelope, took out the folded paper inside, and brought it close to Freya's side. Just as he was about to unfold it, he was surprised to see that the little maid on the other side of him was also peeking over.

"Why are you looking over here? Don't look around." Ye Xiao pressed the maid's head back down.

The maid pouted in dissatisfaction. Ye Xiao looked at her for a moment, then got up and pulled Freya to a corner of the room.

"Um, is it really necessary to be so mysterious?" Freya whispered.

"Let's try not to involve unrelated people," Ye Xiao also lowered his voice. "It doesn't matter that Tuta is a priest of the demon god, but that little maid looks stupid and should be an ordinary person. Let's not involve that guy in these kinds of events related to evil gods."

Freya covered her mouth and coughed lightly, glancing behind Ye Xiao.

Freya's large hood obscured most of her face, so Ye Xiao didn't notice her expression. He simply took out the letter and unfolded it:

Dear Mr. Ye:

"Your outstanding performance on the ring was truly remarkable. It is a pity that the final match could not be arranged as usual tonight due to the needs of the celebration. It is a great regret for us that we cannot see Mr. Ye, such an outstanding warrior, bravely fighting against the monsters."

"However, we still admire Mr. Ye's superb fighting skills and admirable warrior spirit. Therefore, we would like to invite Mr. Ye to attend the celebration held in our internal organization tonight. Normally, this is an honor reserved for champion beast fighters, but we are making an exception and extending an invitation to Mr. Ye today."

"I wonder what Mr. Ye thinks? If you are interested in participating, you only need to wait until sunset, and an attendant will come to lead the way for you."

The signature reads in four elegant characters: "Industrial Design Society".

"Heh, then it seems my efforts weren't in vain." Ye Xiao smiled.

The letter came so deliberately, it was as if it couldn't wait to invite him to touch it.

“This is too strange.” Freya pursed her lips. “If you were invited after defeating the Lion-Tailed Scorpion through the normal process, that would be fine, but this letter is clearly aimed at you.”

"It's good. To be honest, I was a little worried about how to deal with that lion-tailed scorpion."

I struggled a bit against an alchemical cyborg just now, so I can only imagine how fierce the battle against the modified lion-tailed scorpion will be.

Ye Xiao's original plan was to kick down his fellow challengers at the start, steal their swords and medicine, and then unleash his ultimate attack on the Lion-Tailed Scorpion.

This would make up for his lack of weapons.

However, it seems that this strategy of forming alliances and counter-alliances is no longer useful, which is a bit of a pity, as he had been thinking about it for a long time.

“But now I feel even more in danger,” Freya said, somewhat uneasy.

"Let's take it one step at a time. Since they've already lured us into a trap, there's no reason not to go and meet them." Ye Xiao put the letter back in his pocket, turned around, and said, "Hey, where did that silly little maid go?"

"Mr. Ye, perhaps you should reconsider your wording a little..."

“Ah, it’s really not nice to call someone that, it just came out of my mouth,” Ye Xiao scratched his head. “Speaking of which, I just realized that I don’t even know what that person’s name is. They didn’t even introduce themselves. Is that person really a professional maid?”

As they were talking, the door to the lounge suddenly opened, and a masked girl wearing a dark blue dress appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, isn't this the Demon God, who came especially to comfort me?" Upon seeing the visitor, Ye Xiao's lips curled up and his eyebrows were slightly raised.

Chapter Thirty-One: The Pilgrimage Banquet

"what?"

At that moment, Ella, who was trying on her ceremonial gown in the sanctuary, raised an eyebrow.

Why did Ye Xiao suddenly lose consciousness?

The unseen spiritual link sensed that the other side had suddenly fallen asleep and even saw their great-grandfather waving at them... Wait, what's going on??

Fortunately, Ye Xiao's physical condition did not seem to have changed in any way, so Ella was only a little puzzled, and she couldn't just run over there for that reason.

"Lady Ella, does this dress fit you well?" Nia, the little nun who was adjusting Ella's clothes and accessories, noticed a slight change in Ella's expression and assumed that the ceremonial gown was not cut properly.

“It’s good, it’s good,” Ella quickly replied.

“Lady Ella, just put this on last.” Another nun, Mino, gently covered Ella’s eyes with a white gauze and tied it in a knot behind Ella’s head, wrapping it around her silver hair.

"Can you see clearly from here..." Ella blinked and discovered that she could indeed see the outside world through the lace-trimmed silk covering her eyes.

It's like there's a thin white mesh filter over your field of vision.

“Done.” After tying the ribbon, Mino took two steps back to admire the beauty of the saintess, and couldn’t help but clap her hands lightly, “So beautiful, Lady Ella.”

But the pure white ceremonial dress outlined the graceful curves of the girl's body, with mysterious golden magic patterns engraved on it, slowly flowing with the faint halo surrounding her.

With her alluring deep red eyes veiled by a light gauze, Ella, whose fair face was only partially visible, looked like an angel bathed in holy light under the sunlight streaming through the glass windows.

Two young nuns led Ella out of the dressing room, and outside the door was the inner corridor on the third floor of the ceremonial hall.

Looking out from the railing, one could see a group of clergy bustling about in the main hall, ordinary lower-ranking priests making arrangements around the perimeter, and elders busy receiving distinguished guests who had arrived from all over.

On the day before the Pilgrimage Day, the Church of Loren needs to receive invited guests and organize a grand banquet as a way to pray for good fortune for the Pilgrimage Day the following day.

"It's said that even the Holy City's delegation has come for this pilgrimage festival," Nia, who was attending to Ella, said softly, watching the bustling scene downstairs.

"As expected of Lady Ella, even the elders of the Holy City have come here because of her reputation," Mino said happily.

The fact that the head office sent senior executives to attend the branch office's holiday celebration certainly showed them enough respect, Ella thought.

"It seems like you two little ones are more informed than I am," Ella chuckled, resting her hands on the railing.

"Hehe, unlike Lady Ella who is busy with many affairs, we often chat about random things and naturally learn some inside information."

The Templar Knights stationed in the corridor saw Ella come out and immediately ran to report to the elder who was reviewing the itinerary scroll. Upon seeing this, the elder immediately put away the scroll, took his priest's staff, walked to Ella's side, bowed respectfully, and then led Ella to the wide steps in the center of the second floor. Facing the crowd below, he gently tapped the floor with his staff.

Invisible ripples spread out, like a soothing melody, causing everyone present to involuntarily stop talking.

The scene gradually quieted down. Servants, priests, foreign guests, nobles, royalty... regardless of age or gender, all in the vast hall turned their gaze to the holy figure on the central steps.

Two rows of Templar Knights descended the steps in unison. A lower-ranking priest in a shepherd's robe bowed and approached Ella, gently rolling the velvet carpet he was carrying onto the ground. The solemn and majestic deep red carpet, under the control of engraved magical patterns, extended along the white marble steps all the way to the entrance of the hall.

The ritual elder standing beside Ella gently raised the ceremonial staff again, and the crystal-clear red gem on the staff emitted a rainbow of light under the reflection of the huge glass window that spanned five floors behind them.

All the Templars in the hall stood with their feet together, and their ceremonial halberds tapped lightly on the floor, producing a synchronized clanging sound.

"The chosen one of the great God of Light, the High Priestess of the Pilgrimage Ritual, Lady Hevil, has arrived!"

As the priest proclaimed in a loud and resounding voice, the sacred bands on both sides of the hall, who had been prepared in advance, simultaneously played their trombones, and the magnificent music resounded throughout the entire Loren Church.

Regardless of the internal considerations and conflicts within the sanctuary, in formal settings, Ella, the Chosen of Light, is the symbol of the sanctuary and must be given full respect as the official figure.

However, since she has not yet been formally crowned in the Holy City, even though everyone in the Holy Temple privately refers to Ella as "Saintess," in official settings, she can only be addressed by her current title for the time being.

After all, the Holy City located in Morningstar Ridge currently has an active Holy Temple Master in charge. Although Ella will inherit the title at the coronation in a month, it is still inappropriate to directly take away someone else's position and title now.

To some extent, Ella, this saintess who appeared out of nowhere, not only brought misfortune to Freya, who was being groomed as a candidate for saintess by the Loren Sanctuary, but also to the Sanctuary Master who had finally become an active member after undergoing trials.

After Ella takes over, the latter will also degenerate into the High Priest and Archbishop of the Holy City of Morningstar Ridge, and may also serve as the High Priest of the Holy City from which he originated.

Two young nuns, also dressed in magnificent ceremonial servant dresses, stood on either side of Ella. Seeing this grand occasion, they couldn't help but feel a little nervous. After all, if they weren't with the Holy Maiden, they had never been watched by so many people at once.

Ella recalled the opening remarks she had memorized, her thin lips slightly parted, "As the chief priest of the ceremony, I would like to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the Loren Church to all the distinguished guests for accepting our invitation to visit."

A voice as light and melodious as a lily rang in everyone's ears, flowing like a clear spring, soothing their minds and spirits.

"The Pilgrimage Festival is an important annual event at the Loren Church, and I pray that the great God of Light will protect the celebrations tomorrow."

"May our Lord bless you, our honored guests, and grant you your wishes, and dispel all your troubles; may our Lord's followers be with the divine and remain devout; and may the lost sheep be guided by the holy light and pass through the darkness."

"Finally, we pay homage to the great God of Light, and praise our Lord and the Holy Light."

Ella almost blurted out "Amen" without thinking, but thankfully she stopped herself in time.

As the melodious and gentle voices faded, countless chants of "Praise be to my Lord! Praise be to the Holy Light!" echoed throughout the hall. Only after these chants were completed did the long and lavish banquet, which lasted for half a day, officially begin.

The church's doctrine does not include any dietary restrictions or abstaining from alcohol, so the long tables in the basilica are filled with all kinds of food, from juicy baked goods to delicate and sweet cakes.

Ella, surrounded by a group of Templar Knights, gracefully descended the steps to join the banquet.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Second Prince's Gift

However, Ella didn't have time to eat these things. In fact, in order to prepare for this grand "banquet," she ate a meal in advance to fill her stomach.

As the chief priest of the celebration, she needed to socialize with all the important guests from various sanctuaries, from the holy city delegation from Morning Star Ridge to various royal nobles and believers from other places. She could probably chat with them until the end of the banquet.

This was originally the High Priest's job, but since Ella became the High Priestess, she had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

Speaking of the high priest, Ella looked around and found that he was not in the main hall.

It's rather strange. Logically, on such an important occasion, even if the high priest isn't the chief priest, he should at least be present as the administrative head of the Loren Church. But now he's nowhere to be seen.

However, Ella didn't have time to think about that; as soon as the banquet started, she had to rush off to greet the guests.

The first thing to deal with was the delegation from the Holy City, led by the Holy City's cardinal elder, whose red robes stood out among the pure white clerical robes.

This is a clergy position unique to the Holy City, ranking only below the saints and the archbishop of the Holy City. In terms of authority within the sanctuary, it is even a level higher than Elder Evans.

But he looked surprisingly young, like a young man in his early twenties. He was not tall, with a tuft of long golden hair tied into a short ponytail at the back of his head, and a thin gold-rimmed monocle on his left eye, which looked like a slit when squinted from a distance.

The clergy from the Holy City were chatting happily with the nobles and local clergy who came to greet him, but he alone stood silently in the crowd, smiling, without saying a word, until he saw Ella walk down the steps, then he picked up a glass of red wine and slowly walked over.