The Villain Saint is my secondary account

This also explains why the delegation was in such a hurry in Horn Village, and why they did not rest there in the pouring rain but rushed on their way – because they had to race against time to find the missing persons.

So, what clues did the delegation discover?

It's easy to guess from the fact that the delegation's urgent questioning of the village chief about the upstream of the Horn River as soon as they entered Horn Village that this clue must have been brought by the river.

This also relates to another matter mentioned by the village chief—"The delegation appeared extremely thirsty at the time, and left wet tracks wherever they went."

This indicates that they have been infected with the fish-scale disease to some extent, but the question is, without the active activation of the false saintess, why did they start to show signs of depravity so quickly?

Ella speculated that it was because the delegation ate some kind of contaminated fish from the Horn River.

These fish are different from ordinary contaminated fish; after being eaten, they will immediately begin the process of decay, rather than remaining dormant.

Ella's suspicion about the existence of this special kind of fish, different from ordinary polluted fish, stemmed from the "fishman" they encountered in the mist forest.

The "fishman" was originally supposed to be a player.

Based on the campfire produced by the mall system that Xiao Deng discovered at the time, it can be inferred that a group of players accidentally entered the Fog Forest around the day before or the day the delegation disappeared.

This is not hard to understand, because they found a package left by the players below the big tree hole, which should belong to the same team of players if nothing unexpected happened.

But why would the same group of players appear in the cave under that big tree hollow one moment and set up a campfire outside the next? What happened that forced them to change positions when they were only a few steps apart?

If it's just to avoid the rain, the big tree hollow is enough, so why climb into that deep underground cave?

Ella already had a picture in her mind—a group of players who were camping at the edge of the misty forest at night were resting peacefully when suddenly someone underwent a strange change and began to kill their teammates.

In the chaos, some players fled into the big tree hole, but the big tree hole was only covered by some weeds. In order to avoid being discovered by their companions who had turned into monsters, they hid in the underground cave.

Of course, judging from the backpack that was finally torn, it's likely that no one survived.

They either became food for the fishmen or became fishmen themselves.

However, there is a crucial piece of information here: some players exhibited evasive behavior.

If it was that fake saintess who activated the corruption and wanted to wipe out these players, Ella didn't think they would have any chance to escape from her and hide in the tree hole underground. She would have killed them all without leaving a trace from the very beginning.

In addition, there is another point, which is that the village chief of Horn Village once mentioned that "the cattle and sheep in their village have been frequently disappearing at night recently."

However, Ella and her group did not encounter any particularly threatening monsters on their way to Horn Village. The antelope that could curl itself into a wheel and roll around was clearly not a creature capable of doing that.

The reason for the livestock's disappearance is quite intriguing—if this was the work of those fish-scale corrupted beings, why would the false saintess create these corrupted beings so early?

Since her goal was to "secretly" spread the pollution, wasn't she afraid of being discovered by triggering a group of fish-scale corrupted individuals so early?

This only shows that the emergence of some fish-scale corrupted individuals is beyond the control of the false saintess.

Therefore, it is very likely that the delegation members accidentally ate this kind of fish from the Horn River, and then perhaps found the object that could identify Beverly inside the fish's belly.

As for that object... Ella speculated that it might just be the sachet in the box, because the corrosion marks on the silk sachet looked like traces left by the enzymes in the fish's belly.

However, this cannot be determined, and it could be something else. In any case, after discovering these things, the delegation hurriedly went along the Horn River to Horn Village and then rushed to the Misty Forest.

And then... they were probably wiped out in the Fog Forest, because at that time the Fog Forest was probably the nest where the fake saintess was creating the fish scale plague, and the delegation's entry was like lambs to the slaughter.

This is not hard to guess—because the source of this fish scale plague was a fishing village in the Kingdom of Valen, and the evil god was eventually "subdued" by the plague hunters of the Full Moon Order.

Why "subjugate" rather than "hunt"? Because the deity referred to as "Fish Mother" in the scriptures was first brought to the village of Horn, and only then did her divine authority shift.

One of the most important pieces of evidence is the "Fishman Bishop" who appeared in Horn Village.

Clearly, this "fishman bishop" was used as a vessel to bring the deity "fish mother" here, much like the horse in Liangqiu Village, whose swollen and distended belly is almost identical.

However, from this point of view, the vessel of a deity does not necessarily have to be "female." It is possible that birth must be "female," but the vessel may not be.

Then, the divine authority of the "Fish Mother" was taken away, the old "Fish Mother" fell, a new "Fish Mother" was born, the "Fishman Bishop" died, and the soul created a dream due to the residual magic of the god and the obsession with family. In the end, Ye Xiao took away the obsession entrusted to him and left completely.

Of course, many of these are just Ella's speculations. Although there is not enough evidence to prove that every detail in the speculations is true, Ella thinks it is probably pretty close to the truth.

After that, the new "Fish Mother" was taken to the underground of the Misty Forest, to a deep, interconnected cave system. It also contained a special spatial array that had been used to teleport the members of the Septian Society apart during the assassination of Ella, further proving that it was a cave used as a special location.

However, perhaps because they were discovered by the delegation, they moved to a different location to avoid being exposed. As a result, the Seven Stars Society members who were transported underground at the time did not find anything else besides the strange cave structure.

This also explains why Horn Village was wiped out. Because there was an envoy group in front and the Seven Stars Society behind, they discovered that they could contact the secret that should have been buried in the Misty Forest through Horn Village. To prevent this secret from being exposed, they directly slaughtered the entire village and also smeared the Seven Stars Society.

After making these deductions, who will be the one who inherits the old divine authority and becomes the new "Fish Mother"?

The answer was almost obvious, although Ella had no concrete evidence for this conjecture, she had an extremely strong intuition.

Because if she were wicked enough that her actions were blasphemous, then she would certainly choose this one as the "Fish Mother".

Beverly Shelley, the former bishop of the Oceanic Sanctuary who was "blessed by the goddess of the sea".

Chapter 72 Infiltrating Wind Chaser Fortress

Ella pondered quietly, and through reasoning, part of the mystery surrounding the ichthyosis had already been unveiled.

Vanessa looked at Ella's silence, and finally mustered her courage to ask the question that had been troubling her: "My... what happened to my sister...?"

Ella observed the crying little one again, and after weighing her options, told Vanessa about the origin of the sachet and her speculations about the delegation's situation.

Now that they've realized Vanessa isn't on the other side, they need to inform this clueless bishop about the existence of Fog Forest and the fake saintess. Otherwise, this guy might not even be aware of this enemy hiding in the shadows.

Furthermore, it would be much better for the Ocean Sanctuary to provide assistance than for the Seven Stars Society to fight alone. After all, the Fishermen's Guild is just a gang formed by lower-level fishermen, and it would be too harsh for them to fight against Wind Chaser Fortress.

However, Ella didn't tell Vanessa everything; she kept a secret—she told Vanessa the location of a fake Septimian hideout, and if that place was attacked, she would return to visit the archbishop on a dark and stormy night.

After hearing all this, Vanessa curled up on the sofa.

Her brows furrowed in worry, and she fidgeted nervously with her fingers. "I'm so sorry... because I caused all this trouble for you... if I hadn't sought help from the Loren Sanctuary..."

“This isn’t your fault.” Ella didn’t hold a grudge. This junior bishop was just a scapegoat pushed out by the Ocean Sanctuary because of the letter from the previous bishop. What she really needed to understand was why Beverly Shelley left and where she went. “You should be more careful lately. The Maltz family has tried to take control of the Ocean Sanctuary many times without success. It’s hard to guarantee that they won’t take forceful action against you.”

Ella was considering using the SMS crystal here to send a distress signal to the Loren Grand Cathedral in the Imperial City, but considering that the Imperial Palace in the Imperial City also posed a threat to the Cathedral, it would be pointless to send too few people, and it would be bad if too many people were sent and the Cathedral was taken advantage of. After thinking it over, she gave up.

Having obtained the necessary information, Ella reassured Vanessa before releasing the soundproofing barrier and the ropes binding Vanessa's feet, then gracefully leaped out of the window.

The archbishop behind him stared in disbelief, then quickly touched his chilly neck.

……

On the first floor of the Ocean Sanctuary, Ye Xiao met up with Ella in the lobby. They then got up and left through the main entrance, heading towards the entrance to the mountain.

He commissioned the fishermen's association to obtain a laborer's document to join the ranks of workers transporting goods to Windseeker and thus infiltrate Windseeker.

The moving work began after lunch, and it was about this time now. After taking some dry bread from his spatial ring and eating it casually, Ye Xiao took off his cloak and handed it to Ella.

The space rings currently circulating in Loren have mostly small, irregular, and scattered internal spaces rather than continuous ones. Therefore, they can hold many small items such as gold coins, potions, or rolled-up clothes, but they cannot fit longer items like staves inside.

This is why Ye Xiao has never used his spatial ring to store longswords or staffs.

Because he needed to be dressed as a porter, Ye Xiao couldn't wear the big cloak anymore, so he had to change into a regular linen shirt and hand the cat hidden in the cloak over to Ella.

"Hey! Why give me to her too!" The kitten Greta immediately protested, jumping out of Ella's arms and meowing at Ye Xiao, "I don't want to go with this woman!"

"Sweetie, it's not easy to take you in with me dressed like this." Ye Xiao pointed to his mover's shirt and explained that it was too obvious to stuff a cat in such a thin shirt. "You play with Ella for a while, and I'll pick you up after we're done sneaking around."

"Why do you make it sound like you're taking care of a child!" The kitten puffed out its cheeks and held its tail high. "I don't need you to guide me, I can go in by myself."

The cat maid was very stubborn, so Ye Xiao had no choice but to let the little guy keep up.

As the residence of a local noble lord, Windseeker's fortifications are naturally far stronger than those of the Holy Temple. Ella's striking beauty makes her unsuitable for a false identity, so she will take a different route to infiltrate separately.

The two parted ways in the nearby woods. Ye Xiao and the cat walked side by side along the mountain path through the woods to the entrance to the mountain.

There was only one man-made road leading to Zhufeng Fortress, and Ye Xiao quickly found the pack caravan waiting for him near a section of the road on the mountainside.

This was a convoy responsible for transporting supplies from the South City Port District at the foot of the mountain to Zhufeng Fort. Most of the people in the convoy were porters who looked strong and had dark skin, while Ye Xiao's physique seemed rather thin compared to them.

"Hey, young man, you're the new temporary worker, huh?" The foreman sitting on the train car teased Ye Xiao when he saw his appearance. "You look so frail. If you can't carry it up there later, just tell your boss. Don't try to push yourself."

"Don't worry." Ye Xiao climbed up the edge of the carriage, clinging to it. "I'm quite strong."

As they were talking, the kitten Greta quietly jumped onto the roof of the car, which was covered by a green tarpaulin, and yawned.

Ye Xiao exchanged pleasantries with the other workers in the carriage, and the carriage beneath him started moving, slowly driving up the mountain road leading to Zhufeng Fort.

Before long, Ye Xiao could see the castle standing atop the southern mountain from the unobstructed front of the carriage.

Although I had seen this magnificent castle from afar, looking up at it from below was far more awe-inspiring than the sight itself.

Several deep blue, pointed towers that pierce the clouds stand inside the trapezoidal, layered high walls, while the main hall in the center stands imposingly like a gray-white behemoth crouching on a mountaintop, carrying the sky.

This enormous castle has an entrance on one side and leans against a towering cliff on the other, from which one can have a bird's-eye view of the entire southern city area located at the foot of the mountain.

The carriage slowly approached the tall gate tower, where the guards stationed in front stopped the group with long halberds.

The guards stationed at the Earl's mansion were naturally the most elite personal guards of the Maltz family, and their breastplates, forged from fine steel, were engraved with the Maltz family's three water-patterned crest.

Several guards surrounded the caravan and began inspecting the goods on the wagons, while the captain of the personal guards walked to the lead wagon and asked, "Documents?"

The foreman hurriedly and respectfully handed over the freight certificate for Zhufengbao.

Several guards forced the porters sitting in the carriage off the train, and searched them one by one according to the list of names given by the foreman. This strict search was no less rigorous than the watchtowers of the Dead Sea prison.

A guard, noticing Ye Xiao's unfamiliar face with its thick beard, frowned and asked, "Where are you from? I've never seen you before?"

"Hey, sir, I just got here from out of town, looking for a meal."

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Earl's Illness

The guard frowned, unfolded a stack of wanted posters in his hand, and compared a few pages with Ye Xiao's appearance.

Most of the wanted members of the Seven Luminaries Society are otherworldly visitors with yellow skin and black hair. The guy in front of him looks somewhat like him, but his hair is brown. In addition, Ye Xiao's expression is natural and his facial disguise is skillful. The guard had a slight intuitive suspicion but couldn't see much of a clue.

He then went up and patted Ye Xiao's clothes and pockets, but they were empty.

At this moment, the captain of the personal guards finished checking the documents and finally let the group of porters in. "Go in."

A group of porters then sat back down in the carriage, one of them muttering under his breath, "So slow and sluggish."

"Shh, you'll get used to it," the foreman reassured her. "You get twice as much for a job here as you do in the city."

The carriage passed through the gate at the castle entrance, and following the lead of a guard, it meandered through a maze for a long time before finally arriving at the entrance to the warehouse on the inner side.

The warehouse was located in a corner of the castle. It was a huge, sloping-roofed building leaning against the main building. Several guards patrolled back and forth at the entrance and inside. Ye Xiao guessed that they were probably there to prevent them from secretly smuggling things into their clothes.

Although the Maltz family employs their own servants within the castle, they don't typically hire laborers specifically for moving things, since there aren't things to move all the time in the city.

As Ye Xiao had previously learned, the Earl's mansion was preparing for a banquet, and the demand for porters was greater than ever before. This meant that Ye Xiao and his fellow porters had more tasks to do, such as transporting banquet supplies, including warehouse materials and food, to the main hall.

This also gives Ye Xiao the possibility to explore deeper into the main hall, since just wandering around the warehouse wouldn't be very meaningful.

At the same time, Ye Xiao saw from the warehouse window that on the spire of a tower on the high wall in the distance, there was a small figure overlooking the entire castle.

This is Ella, who climbed up from the side of the cliff. With the help of her tentacles, climbing rocks and walls is much easier for her than for Ye Xiao.

Following the instructions of the steward who arrived at the warehouse entrance, Ye Xiao carried a bag of white sugar and, along with several coworkers, followed two servants to the kitchen of the main hall.

As he walked along the road, he overheard two servants chatting. It seemed that because the day after tomorrow was also Miss Eileen's sixteenth birthday and coming-of-age ceremony, the banquet would be held with extra pomp and circumstance.

At that time, prominent figures such as nobles and dignitaries from the coastal province, as well as wealthy businessmen from overseas, will participate.

“The noble lords are so impressive,” a porter with a gap in his front tooth said with a chuckle. “I was still pulling sails at sea when I was an adult.”

"You used to be a sailor, bro?" another slightly younger porter asked. "I've always wanted to go out to sea but I don't have the skills. How come you were a sailor and then came to do manual labor?"

"Don't do it. I was at sea for half a year, and my wife ran off with someone else without me even knowing." The old man's face wrinkled up from his grin. "The cargo was robbed by pirates again, and the boss couldn't pay the wages, so I had to run away."

"Sigh, hard work is still better. It doesn't pay much, but at least you can get paid steadily."

"Yeah, hahaha." Several porters laughed heartily, including the old man, as if what they had just told was a boring little story that could be heard anywhere.

Ye Xiao smiled and followed the group, but only echoed their words without saying anything.

The group's casual conversation didn't last long; they all fell silent as they reached the side gate of the main hall.

After all, if they made a ruckus after entering the main hall, they would be whipped if the noble lord heard them.

Ye Xiao carried the bag through the side door and went down to the cellar with the other porters to put down the bag of sugar. Suddenly, he clutched his stomach and said to one of the workers with a pale face, "Oh, you guys go ahead. My stomach is a little uncomfortable. I'm going to find a toilet."

"Okay, remember to keep up." The porter scratched his head, but didn't think much of it.

The foreman oversees the transport wagons, and he makes a note of each bag of supplies carried by the porters on the corresponding person's list. He calculates wages based on the amount carried, so there's no fear of anyone slacking off.

In fact, the movers would love for someone to carry less so that they could take on the extra load.

So the porter only kindly reminded Ye Xiao of the situation before leaving. When the servant heard Ye Xiao asking about the location of the outhouse, he frowned and pointed out the way.

There were patrolling guards everywhere in the city, so he wasn't afraid that this person would cause any trouble.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ye Xiao finally managed to escape. After finding a corner, he quietly climbed up the stone wall to the roof beam, where he bumped into the kitten lying on it.