The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Black crows spread their wings and scattered across the sky above the town.

Even under the bright sunlight, this lifeless little town looked unusually desolate.

Through the crow's black eyes, Ella's vision encompassed the street, and she discovered that apart from the few pedestrians on the road they had just walked, there wasn't a single person in the other blocks.

He casually manipulated a crow to land on a windowsill and looked into the slightly dusty glass.

Inside was a small living room, where the family appeared to be sitting around a round table having a meal.

Am I overthinking it?

Seeing this heartwarming family gathering, Ella couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

It's possible that the residents simply went home.

As Ella was thinking this, she noticed from the crow's eyes that the family's movements seemed subtly unnatural.

The window was shrouded in a layer of gray haze, making it difficult to see clearly. The crow gently tapped a small crack in the windowsill with its beak before squeezing its body inside.

At first glance, the scene before us seems to be fine: a family of three sitting at the table, all with bright smiles on their faces.

But in the center of the table, the food they were using to poke at with knives and wooden forks was a large plate of raw, bloody meat.

The eerie, pale bones were interspersed among the glaringly red flesh, and every now and then, green-headed flies would hover and land on the gruesome gaps in the meat.

Faced with a large plate of strange food, the young parents and the girl with short braids at the table seemed oblivious, mechanically cutting it with a knife, picking it up with a wooden fork, and putting it into their mouths to chew.

Seeing this, Ella frowned slightly.

She then manipulated several crows to randomly observe from other windows. Although not every window offered the crows the opportunity to knock on the windowsill and crawl inside, the people in the few houses she could see seemed to be numbly gathered together, sharing fresh flesh and blood of unknown origin.

Judging from its fleshy, muscular physique, it was not human, but Ella couldn't say for sure what kind of animal it was.

What kind of bizarre sacrificial ritual is this?

When did Greygold Town still have this tradition?

Although it was a chilling sight, the residents of these towns seemed to be used to it. Before understanding the reason for the situation, Ella, who was almost at the entrance of the town, did not want to alert the enemy.

She left a flock of crows in Greygold Town for observation. Unfortunately, if the rats hadn't been too slow to keep up with the carriage, she could have brought another squad of rats from Stormport, which she had corrupted with her tentacles.

Here, she couldn't go out and catch rats to infect others in front of so many people, so she had to wait until she returned to the capital to throw a batch of rats over.

That's not difficult. Anyway, the crows also have the spatial imprint left by her arrogant divine authority. She can just let a crow find a secluded corner to hide in, and she can use the spatial gate to send a whole bunch of rats over continuously.

In any case, her investigative and monitoring methods are now far more advanced than before, and these strange and troublesome mysteries can now be investigated in depth with simple and efficient methods.

After leaving Greygold Town, they followed the main road through Liangqiu Village. Before long, they could see the Valond Mountains towering over a green plain, as well as the magnificent Loren Imperial City.

The Seven Stars Society escorted the luxurious carriage of the Temple of Light through the city gate, and then parted ways at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild Hall.

Ella returned to the Loren Sanctuary with her entourage of squires and Templar Knights to report for duty, while Li Cheng, Ye Xiao, and the others booked accommodations at the Adventurers' Guild Hall for their upcoming schedule.

Pushing open the door to the guild hall, Li Cheng saw the soft-spoken elf lady at the front desk again, and suddenly felt a sense of relief.

"Sigh, I haven't been here for very long, but I don't know why leaving and coming back gives me a sense of peace and homecoming." Li Cheng stretched and handed his guild badge to the receptionist.

"It's just that you prefer the elf girls here, isn't it?" Ye Xiao said with a smile.

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Cheng curled his lip. "I am devoted to the Holy Maiden."

"No, you're saying this to me too?" A question mark appeared on Ye Xiao's forehead.

"That's exactly what I have to say to you," Li Cheng shrugged.

Ye Xiao's lips twitched, unsure how to reply. However, the aroma of mead wafting through the air in the Adventurer's Hall in the Imperial City was indeed much better than the fishy smell in the Adventurer's Guild Hall in Storm Harbor.

Just as the two were exchanging banter, a furious curse suddenly rang out: "Li Cheng, you beast!"

Although adventurers don't usually communicate with each other in a very polite manner, such close physical contact must indicate a deep-seated hatred.

The members of the Seven Stars Society all turned their heads and saw a young man with dark yellow hair and a small braid tied at the back of his head leading a group of burly men with unfriendly expressions walk in through the door. "Damn it, Li Cheng, you actually dare to come back to the capital!"

"Why wouldn't I dare to come back?" Li Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly, but he recognized the person in front of him. "Hey, isn't this Luo Heng? You didn't beat him up properly last time, do you want to take a few more punches?"

Luo Heng's face was contorted with rage. One of his legs was wrapped in white bandages, indicating a serious injury. "You used those despicable and insidious methods to scam me and then ran away! I'll fucking kill you today!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of tall and burly warriors behind Luo Heng walked straight toward the Seven Luminaries Society.

"If you want to hit me, I'm happy to oblige, but don't slander me. I haven't used any tricks on you."

"F*** you! You kicked the Marquis's wife and her dog into the water, and you even called out my name! How can you be such a disgusting person?!" Luo Heng's face was almost a purplish-red. "The Marquis came to settle accounts with me, but you bunch of bastards ran off to who-knows-where and couldn't be found at all! Do you know how badly I got beaten up?!"

"Huh? Don't talk nonsense, I didn't..." Li Cheng was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to look at Ye Xiao beside him.

Ye Xiao touched his nose somewhat guiltily and gave Li Cheng a sheepish smile.

Two days before he left the capital, he apparently kicked a dog and a fat woman into the river to help the little girl, Sia.

Then, thinking that since he was going to leave the capital anyway, he casually mentioned Luo Heng's name to shift the blame.

I never expected that woman to be so vengeful.

"Ahem, so what?" After realizing it was his buddy who was behind it, Li Cheng immediately changed his tone and looked at Luo Heng with disdain, "I'll carve 'Luo Heng was here' on the palace wall again next time, what can you do about it?"

"Damn it, kill him!" Luo Heng roared in fury, and with a wave of his hand, a group of burly men rushed forward.

The entire guild hall was thrown into chaos once again.

Chapter Seventeen: Player Alliance

This chaotic scene felt somewhat familiar to Ye Xiao.

It always feels like they have to fight every time they go to the Adventurer's Guild Hall.

However, unlike the previous times when they were all bloodied and bruised, this time it was the Seven Stars Society that completely overwhelmed them.

After following the Holy Maiden through so many adventures and fierce battles, even without using the weapons and equipment obtained from the Tide Merchant Guild, the attributes they gained simply through universal points already put them above ordinary players.

The World Tree system's attribute-increasing mechanism differs from ordinary online games. First, you need to learn a skill of a certain class, such as Ye Xiao's swordsman "Draw Sword Slash".

Then, for each level increase in proficiency of this skill, you can pay a universal point to improve the attributes required to use this skill.

例如学徒熟练度的“拔刀斩”消耗2000通用点能提升1点力量和1点敏捷，升级为普通熟练度的“拔刀斩”后消耗4000通用点可以提升1点力量2点敏捷。

As proficiency increases, the amount of general points required and the attributes gained will also increase.

Since skill proficiency mostly depends on players' own understanding and practice, and there are only a few opportunities to improve it by paying universal points, it is common for players to have high skill proficiency, but their attributes do not improve due to a lack of universal points.

The attributes granted by the World Tree system are sufficient to ensure that players can use skills of the corresponding proficiency level "perfectly". Therefore, most of the time, the overlapping attributes granted by multiple skills have already caused the attributes of using the skill at that proficiency level to overflow.

This led to the situation where, when the leader threw a punch at Li Cheng, he found that his enormous fist was actually stopped by the other man's palm.

Li Cheng was stunned. He had only intended to deflect the other party's fist, but he hadn't expected to grab it so tightly, as if he had caught a chicken.

Currently, the Seven Stars Society only has three mages and one part-time ranger, with the rest being warriors, so their attributes are naturally concentrated on their physique.

The consequences of such a disparity are self-evident. Before Ye Xiao even made a move, Luo Heng and his gang had already been beaten to the ground by the crowd.

The guards who tried to break up the fight always arrived late. When the captain of the Imperial City's guards, Ralf, arrived and saw Ye Xiao, Li Cheng, and Luo Heng, who was rolling on the ground clutching his other leg, he immediately felt a huge headache coming on.

On one side is the guild protected by the Holy Maiden of Light and the eldest daughter of a duke, and on the other side is a trusted subordinate of a marquis.

What can he do with his meager salary? If we're talking about power, the Seven Stars Society is definitely bigger than Luo Heng, but the problem is that both of them are bigger than him, a mere guard captain.

Ralph was the one who would suffer if he offended either side, and there was nothing else he could do but bite the bullet and try to mediate.

However, even if it's a fight, and someone breaks a leg, the price is just for a doctor or a priest at a church to treat them. As long as no one dies, the situation won't be too serious.

Therefore, Ralf was somewhat relieved that he had arrived at the right time. The winning side had vented their anger and beaten up everyone they needed to, and the losing side hadn't suffered any major damage, so he didn't have to intervene.

Judging from the fact that Luo Heng's other leg was still wrapped in bandages, it was likely that he couldn't find a high-ranking priest, and that he could only endure the bone injury by drinking some blood-nourishing medicine and bandaging it up.

"You...you just wait..."

Even so, Luo Heng, still stubborn on the ground, was carried away by a group of staggering accomplices.

Ralph then offered a few perfunctory words of advice to Ye Xiao and Li Cheng, shook hands, and then led his men out the door as if fleeing.

He skillfully struck a balance between maintaining order and avoiding provoking the two men.

After seeing off his old rival, Li Cheng invited everyone to have a big meal, which they hadn't had in a long time. However, he noticed that a male player wearing a dark blue mage's cloak, who had been sitting in the corner, was smiling and leading several companions forward.

Li Cheng immediately raised an eyebrow. "What, this brother also wants to have a go?"

"That's not quite right, hahaha. You gentlemen must be the members of the Seven Luminaries Society?"

"Uh? You are...?" Li Cheng was taken aback.

"My name is Lu Fan." The mage who called himself Lu Fan bowed slightly to Li Cheng. "I am the guild master of the Mist White Society of Adventurers. Like you all, I am a player."

"Li Cheng, President of the Seven Stars Society," Li Cheng returned the greeting.

"I've long admired your name, hehe. You may not have followed us, but your guild is already quite famous on the community forum. Now that I've seen it for myself, you are indeed exceptionally skilled."

"...Is that so?" Li Cheng turned to look at his follower, Xiao Deng, beside him.

Xiao Deng scratched his head. "Recently, within the Loren region, we are indeed quite famous... After all, we've massacred villages and assassinated counts; we're probably the only player guild to have done that..."

"So it's notorious?" Li Cheng couldn't hold back any longer.

“Hahaha, that’s a slanderous thing from the past,” Lu Fan waved his hand. “Now everyone knows that you are the great heroes who participated in saving the empire’s largest port city. The Ocean Sanctuary’s statement and the Earl of Malz’s announcement have long been spread throughout the streets and alleys in the tabloids.”

"You probably didn't notice, but the 'hidden' quest you completed was broadcast throughout the entire community a few days ago."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao belatedly opened the system notification bar and, after scrolling through countless friend requests, actually found such a message.

Congratulations to the guild "Seven Stars Guild" for completing the unique hidden quest "Storm City," and gaining +10000 Stormport reputation!

Ye Xiao curled his lips; no wonder he hadn't noticed the announcement.

Such an important announcement only adds a reputation bonus; this thing is simply used to indicate the friendliness of the corresponding region.

However, Eileen, the owner of the Ocean Sanctuary and the Earl's Mansion, already had a very high level of friendliness towards them, so they didn't care about the discounts in Stormport's shops, since Ella was there and there were discounts everywhere.

High reputation can also get assistance from the city lord's mansion and the local sanctuary, but this function is not very useful, because even if they send a message for help now, let alone in Stormport, even in the capital, Eileen and Augustus will bring their army and the Fourth Knights from Stormport to provide support.

The only possible benefit is that the reward multiplier for local missions will be increased, and local specialty items in Stormport can be exchanged for universal points in the system shop.

Hmm... it seems like the holy water from the Ocean Sanctuary can be bought from the system shop?

Ye Xiao suddenly felt a little confused. Even the gods were unwilling to bestow things, yet players could exchange them from the system shop... In some ways, wasn't this system a bit too awesome?

That said, he vaguely recognized the name Lu Fan, but his face was somewhat unfamiliar to him.

After thinking for a long time, Ye Xiao finally found the guy's title from the depths of his memory—the Dharma Emperor, Lu Fan.

This is the guy whose Miracle Sorcerer's legacy he stole. However, in his previous life, this guy was cursed by time and looked like an old man even though he was only in his twenties.

In addition, most people only remember the titles of unfamiliar players, and rarely remember their names or frequently changing nicknames, which is why Ye Xiao did not recognize him when they first met.

"Thanks for the compliment, hahaha. Since we're not here to cause trouble, we're good brothers." At this moment, Li Cheng took the initiative to extend his hand. "I apologize for the slight offense earlier. May I ask what important matter you have for us, brother?"

"Hahaha, no need to be so polite. We came here to see you all, hoping to curry favor with you all," Lu Fan said, shaking hands with Li Cheng. "You haven't been in the capital these past few days, so you may not have heard, but because of that special nationwide mission that happened before, several major player guilds in the city have formed a temporary alliance. Tomorrow, they'll be holding their first meeting between guild representatives in the West City. Would you all be interested in coming to take a look?"

Is there a limit to the number of people allowed?

“Normally, a guild can have a maximum of three representatives, but that’s mainly because we’re worried about not having enough space,” Lu Fan said with a smile. “If any of you brothers want to come, we welcome you all.”

"Hahaha, three is enough," Li Cheng gave a thumbs up. "Time and place?"

"Xicheng Heyan Hotel, just arrive before the four bells of the church tomorrow night. I will be waiting for you there in advance."

"no problem."

"readily."

The two looked at each other and burst into hearty laughter at the same time.

Chapter 18 Preparation for School Enrollment

Having reached an agreement with Lu Fan, the Seven Stars Society group, as usual, found a private room and started a party.

Lu Fan and his companions also left the guild hall.

As they were leaving, a girl with half her face covered by a hood next to Lu Fan asked him with some confusion, "Isn't there a rumor that the number one player in the arena is in this guild? None of them seem like it."

"No rush, it might be someone else's trump card." Lu Fan lowered the brim of his hat. "It's always good to be on good terms with a guild that can get in touch with the Holy Maiden."

……

Meanwhile, Ella had already arrived at the Loren Sanctuary to report for duty.

There wasn't much for her to do; her main task was to inform the current Archbishop Holmes about what had happened in Stormport.