The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"No problem, no problem, Your Holiness, and all the esteemed members of the Holy Temple, this way... please."

As the village chief spoke, he led Ella and her group slowly into the village, supported by other villagers.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Mission's Whereabouts

Most of the low farmhouses along the way had their windows and doors tightly closed. Occasionally, a figure could be seen flashing by behind a hazy glass window before being covered by a coarse cloth curtain.

In the distance, you can see a mill, with a huge windmill slowly turning amidst the leisurely white clouds.

The village chief, who was leading the way, spoke in a weak and hoarse voice, which drifted slowly along the country lane as he recounted his story.

"It was probably late at night nine days ago..."

Unlike today's sunny weather, it rained heavily that day.

The rainy nights in early winter are often quite cold, so most villagers stayed at home and didn't notice the few figures that suddenly appeared at the village entrance.

The Wood family's house at the village entrance was the first to be knocked on. Because recently, cattle or horses kept in the village had been going missing, he hesitated for a long time with his axe in hand, until he heard the name of the Ocean Sanctuary announced outside the door before he dared to open the door.

The men were indeed dressed in the formal attire of the Ocean Sanctuary, only more elaborate than usual. They all seemed somewhat anxious, and upon entering, they immediately inquired about the village chief's residence from Wood.

Despite the heavy rain, Wood led them to the village chief.

After meeting the village chief, they introduced themselves as an envoy delegation heading to the imperial city to participate in the pilgrimage festival.

However, the road from Storm Harbor to Howling Mountains does not pass through Horn Village. Although the village chief found this strange, he did not dare to ask any further questions.

They then inquired about the course of the Horn River that passed through the village, and after learning that it led into the northern mist forest, the group hurriedly set off again.

The village chief found it strange that they had to rush to their destination despite the heavy rain and the late hour. Also, the priests' wooden floorboards in the village chief's house were damp, perhaps because they had been caught in the rain.

“Your Holiness, in theory, the clergy of the Ocean Sanctuary are blessed by the Ocean Goddess Undine, and should be proficient in water magic, let alone the elders who can participate in the pilgrimage delegation.” Freya expressed her doubts softly, “Even if it rains, they shouldn’t be this soaked.”

"Thank you for your addition, sir. That was also something I was somewhat confused about at the time," the village chief said slowly, pausing every few words because of his advanced age.

At the time, the priests' outer garments actually looked quite dry and clean, and although their conversation with the village chief didn't last long, they drank quite a bit of water.

"Water?" Ella stroked her chin.

“Yes, more than half of the water that was stored at home has been drunk,” the village chief said, stopping in his tracks. A small river, not very wide but crystal clear, appeared before the group.

The banks of the stream are covered with lush green grass and farmhouses. A delicate stone bridge spans the river, and along the stone piers, some brightly colored wildflowers grow.

“This is the Horn River,” the village chief said leisurely, raising a hand to point north at the end of the path, where a forest shrouded in mist lay behind several rolling hills. “Its upstream stretches all the way to that forest in the distance. After we finished talking, the adults from the Ocean Sanctuary delegation went out, and judging from the direction they were heading, they should be going there.”

"Thank you, sir. We'll go take a look there first and probably come back in the evening. I wonder if your village would be a convenient place for us to stay?"

"Ah, we'll be at your service anytime, it would be our honor, Your Majesty."

Ella led the group to thank the village chief and the villagers who accompanied them, and then left the village along the course of the stream.

On the hill, there were some small monsters such as horned antelopes. When they saw Ella and the others riding over, they curled up into a wheel-like shape and rolled away.

“By the way,” Li Cheng finally couldn’t help but speak up as the group moved further and further away from Horn Village, “isn’t there a bit too few people in their village? Most of the places along the way have been deserted.”

“Perhaps it’s because Stormport isn’t far from here, so most of the young and middle-aged people moved there,” Freya replied gently. Since joining the Septian Society, her tone had rarely been so cold.

Ella nodded, then suddenly noticed Greta sitting behind Freya.

The lazybones in the black and white maid dress refused to ride the horse himself, so he sat on the horse behind Freya, arms crossed, with a lazy and disdainful expression on his soft oval face.

When Ye Xiao wasn't around, this guy barely paid attention to anyone, only occasionally scrutinizing Ella with a critical eye.

When she saw Ella looking back at her, she squinted and met her gaze, displaying a proud and defiant attitude.

It's clear that the little guy is still troubled by what happened this morning.

Seeing her adorable, bewildered expression, Ella couldn't help but smile and turn back around.

"What's so funny, you cunning woman!" the maid muttered through gritted teeth.

……

The mist forest was not far from Horn Village, and the group soon arrived at the forest.

At the edge of the mist forest, there was only a thin mist that did not seriously obstruct the view. Ella and the others dismounted and, based on the information given by the Ocean Sanctuary and Horn Village, began searching for traces of the delegation near Horn River.

Nine days is neither a long nor a short time. Many traces of activities may have disappeared during this period. Even though there were players who also practiced the hunter class, and everyone was scattered and searching everywhere, they couldn't find any valuable information for a while.

"So, Xiao Deng, are you up to it?" Li Cheng said, one hand on his hip, leaning against a tree trunk, watching the player called Xiao Deng lying on the ground examining a few weeds. "Your brother Li spent a lot of money on those hunter skill books. Don't let them be useless in the first quest."

"There's nothing we can do, boss." Xiao Deng shook his head, stood up, and looked at the other players nearby who were also bending over and searching for clues. "It's strange. Even if nine days have passed, such a large delegation should have left some traces if they had passed through here."

"Is it possible that it was washed away by the rain?" Li Cheng asked. "It seems like it was raining here for the past few days."

“It’s hard to say,” Xiao Deng scratched his head. “But rain shouldn’t be able to erase signs of camping so quickly. According to the old man in the village, it’s already late at night and the delegation is still heading this way. They must have to find a place to camp on the edge of the forest, right? It’s a bit outrageous for them to go deep into the forest overnight.”

“The river is prone to flooding during the rainy season. Why don’t we find some high ground nearby?” Ella, who had been walking over and overheard their conversation, suddenly spoke up. “Experienced adventurers also choose to camp on higher ground to avoid flash floods. The priests of the Holy Temple may not know this, but the servants in charge of camping should.”

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment, then gave a thumbs up, "Impressive, the Holy Maiden actually knows these things."

"What, do I look like someone who doesn't understand the ways of the world?" Ella frowned slightly, feigning displeasure.

"Not at all, Your Majesty is wise!" Li Cheng hurriedly replied.

"Pfft, look how nervous you are." Seeing her good brother's panicked expression, the silver-haired girl smiled playfully, patted Li Cheng's shoulder, and walked towards a nearby hillside.

Li Cheng stared blankly at the petite figure until Xiao Deng nudged him in the chest with his elbow, bringing him back to his senses.

"What's going on, boss?"

"Oh dear, Xiao Deng... I feel terrible, like I've been played with."

"Isn't this a reward?"

"Wow, Xiao Deng, you've broadened my horizons."

"...I haven't gone far yet, you two."

"Ahem, hahaha, we're coming right now, Your Majesty."

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Fishman

Li Cheng and Xiao Deng followed Ella to search the nearby high slopes. Before long, they actually found a campfire remnant buried under some soil and burned to ash.

Xiao Deng picked up a piece of charcoal that hadn't completely burned off and, relying on his hunter's "Insight" skill, gave an approximate time: "About eight or nine days ago."

“The timing does match.” Li Cheng rubbed his chin.

"But the stones around this campfire are stacked so neatly," Ella said softly, bending down slightly to examine them. "Normally, they would be fine just placed randomly."

“Um…obsessive-compulsive disorder?” Xiao Deng analyzed.

"Are you stupid?" Li Cheng patted Xiao Deng on the shoulder. "This thing looks so standard, it must be one of the 'campfires' sold in the system store."

"Oh!" Xiao Deng immediately understood.

Indeed, the system shop will always sell some items for wilderness survival, otherwise players without wilderness survival experience would not be able to get through the beginning of the game scattered in the wilderness.

Ella could tell at a glance that the campfire was generated by a system item, but she couldn't say it directly, so she could only give the two of them this hint.

"There are 'players' in the delegation too?... Oh no, then this shouldn't have been left behind by the delegation." Xiao Deng's brain slowly started working, gradually coming to a realization.

“Even if it’s not an envoy group, we can still track them down. Since there’s an overlap in the timing, maybe they saw something too.” Li Cheng stood up and observed the nearby trees.

His attention was drawn to an unusually large tree, about the size of five people's embrace. The roots of the tree were covered by several clumps of tall weeds. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the weeds did not grow from the ground, but were picked up from the surrounding area and used to cover the tree.

Li Cheng then walked over, picked up a long branch from the ground, and poked it twice into the bushes hidden next to the big tree.

When he poked the branch into his back, it felt hollow. Just as he was about to use the branch to lift up the weeds, he suddenly felt something pull the branch and yank him forward.

Li Cheng, remaining alert, quickly let go, staggered a couple of steps but wasn't pulled into the bushes. The next moment, a dark shadow suddenly leaped out of the bushes, rushing straight at his face.

Having already noticed Li Cheng's movements, Ella snapped her fingers, and a tentacle burst forth from the ground where she was standing, shooting over and grabbing Li Cheng, who barely managed to dodge the attack from the dark shadow.

The commotion attracted the attention of players and Templar Knights who were also searching for clues. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the dark figure that had jumped out of the tree.

It was a deformed human covered in fish scales, with a few tattered strips of cloth hanging on his dark blue body. The knuckles at the ends of his limbs were webbed by a thin membrane, and the white gills on both sides of his neck trembled.

Its face is covered with follicles of varying sizes, with black seeds churning and swimming inside.

His pale, lifeless eyes were squeezed among the follicles, and his lower face had a mouth that looked like a fish's lips, opening and closing slightly.

"Holy crap, I'm going to throw up. How can there be such a disgusting monster..." Li Cheng wasn't exaggerating; his face was genuinely pale, and he covered his mouth.

Even Ella's composed expression faltered slightly, but she still reminded them, "This isn't a monster, it's a corrupted one."

After saying that, she waved her hand casually, and several more tentacles rose up from the surrounding area and rushed towards the strange "fishman".

The monster was incredibly agile. It leaped onto a nearby tree and darted into the canopy on all fours. Only its tail, extending from its rump, could be seen flashing and disappearing into the dense foliage.

But several long, thin tentacles shot up into the sky, like black vines piercing into the dense canopy. After tumbling and dropping a few green leaves, they wrapped the monster up like a dumpling and dragged it down.

The monster was dragged to the ground by the tentacles. It saw a bunch of small tentacles, like takoyaki, crawling up the large tentacles that were binding it. The monster trembled and tried to struggle.

But all that was in vain. The tentacle ball clung to the distorted face, used its tentacles to forcefully pry open the thick lips, and burrowed inside.

With a "glug" as the tentacle went down into its belly, the monster's abdomen made a strange sound, and pale cracks appeared on its body, from which countless small tentacles grew.

"Ah..." Seeing this scene, Li Cheng's expression became increasingly uncomfortable. He felt that just seeing this scene had already traumatized his spirit.

Ella, standing to the side, was rather disappointed. Perhaps because he had been completely transformed, even using the "Healing Holy Light" couldn't restore the strange man to normal. It simply meant that Ella had taken control of him, turning him from a corrupted being of an unknown evil god into her own corrupted being.

Furthermore, due to the mixture of pollution from two sources, its composition has become more complex.

But to be honest, this thing's appearance is just too unbearable to look at, and Ella doesn't need such a terrible servant.

But killing him outright seems a bit... unnecessary.

Ella then used her mind to command the corrupted one to part the grass under the big tree, and then let him climb into the canopy to hide—out of sight, out of mind.

Beneath the grass was a large tree hollow, about a foot wide, just big enough for a person to crawl into. It was pitch black inside. Only after shining a fluorescent light on it could one see the tangled tree roots surrounding a hole that went deep into the ground.

"We're not going to go in, are we, Your Majesty..." Li Cheng's voice trembled slightly.

"I will protect you." Ella smiled gently.

If it were Ye Xiao, she would have gone in and found out for herself.

But as Ella, even with magical protection, she felt an immense aversion to this dark, damp cave, which might contain those "fishmen" running rampant.

Li Cheng let out a wail, but as the guild leader, he had to take the lead. "Holy Maiden, could you grant me a request?"

Seeing her good brother's pained expression, Ella felt a little guilty. "Okay, if it's not too much, I'll try my best to satisfy you."

"Really!" Li Cheng was overjoyed. Just when Ella thought she wouldn't fall for the trap, the other party took out a square blue crystal.

“You can just stand still.” After saying that, Li Cheng moved the crystal around in front of Ella. “Can you smile? Oh, yes! That’s great, Your Majesty.”

"Uh... is that all?"

"I have no regrets even if I die." Li Cheng looked at the smiling silver-haired girl on the crystal, placed it to his chest, tears welling in his eyes, the emotional wounds he had just suffered were healed. "Then I'm off, Holy Maiden."

"It doesn't have to be that tragic." Ella was exasperated.

"Holy...Holy Maiden, may I also..." Xiao Deng said tremblingly from the side.

"Hurry up, don't waste Her Majesty's time." Without another word, Li Cheng grabbed Xiao Deng and then turned back to call out the names of the players who had come up, eager to speak to Ella, "And you guys, all of you, follow me into the cave!"

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Missing

A short wooden stick with a flame fell into the dark cave entrance, rolled down the sloping cave wall into the depths, until the flame disappeared completely.

Li Cheng swallowed hard as he looked at the deep cave, tightened the climbing rope around him, and then watched as the "fishman" enslaved by Ella swayed in and crawled into the cave on all fours.

Although I know it's the Holy Maiden's good intention to have this thing clear the way, I still find it a little hard to accept.

He descended slowly, stepping on the cave wall, afraid that he might slip and have a close encounter with the monster crawling below.

It's alright, it's alright. As long as you imagine that it's the Saintess's clone, you won't feel so resistant.

Li Cheng continued forward while brainwashing himself.

The cave was deep, and the surrounding soil was somewhat damp. Holding a short stick inlaid with pyroxene in his mouth, he finally reached the bottom with the tip of his shoe after about a few minutes.

As soon as I landed, a cool breeze blew over me. I held the pyroxene rod in my hand. The cold white light had a limited range, but I could see that the space below was surprisingly vast, about the size of two living rooms, with gray-black rock walls all around.

The rock face is riddled with holes of all sizes, like a honeycomb, from which the wind blows. Some holes even have clear streams of water flowing out, like a tap that's not turned off completely.

Underground river?

Li Cheng looked up at the cave he had descended into, which looked exactly like these other caves. They seemed to be naturally formed. He wondered if these caves might extend to other different places.