The Villain Saint is my secondary account

“On its way,” the player said, stepping aside and giving Li Cheng a slight nod. “I’ve long admired your name.”

"Likewise," Li Cheng replied with a smile, returning the greeting.

Upon reaching the upper floor, a large round table surrounded by the fireplace came into view.

A round, double-layered candlestick hangs from the ceiling, its orange-yellow flames flickering and illuminating the reddish-brown brick wall. Another wall-to-wall cabinet is filled with wooden wine barrels.

The environment wasn't luxurious, but it was quaint and clean, resembling the kind of hotel one would expect from a fantasy world.

A man who had been chatting with a young female knight-errant in a green cloak immediately stopped talking and strode over when he saw Ye Xiao and the others come upstairs.

"You must be the representatives of the Seven Luminaries Society?"

The man appeared to be over thirty, with sharp, defined lines between his eyebrows and a short stubble around his chin that extended down to below his ears.

The Aslan rune half-body steel armor he was wearing was clearly from the system, but the fact that he was able to assemble a complete set of matching arm and leg armor showed that his financial resources were not to be underestimated—since he used precious universal points to exchange for equipment, his professional skill system must have been perfected.

"Hello, Li Cheng, the president of the Seven Stars Society." Li Cheng smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with the other person.

Ye Xiao was secretly relieved. If Li Cheng had changed the guild's name to something like "Saintess Supporters Club" before, the introduction at this moment would probably have made him want to dig his toes into the ground.

"I've heard so much about you, hahaha. I'm sorry, but for now we can only choose a modest hotel as the venue for the meeting. In the future, we'll all need at least a whole estate." The other person's voice was deep and cheerful. His words were humble, but he also subtly implied that he was the organizer of this meeting. "'Red Lion Comrades' Group, Dong Hu."

Thanks to his distant memories, Ye Xiao recognized the player with the distinctive features. This guy seemed to have good strength and a good reputation among players, but unfortunately he didn't live very long in his previous life.

After talking with Li Cheng, Chairman Dong then introduced the other players who had come to attend the meeting in the hall to everyone.

As time went by, about twenty guild representatives gradually gathered in the empty hall, scattered around a round table, creating a lively scene with a large number of people.

The only one who was mentioned by Lu Fan, "Brother Yun," was not yet present.

But four church bells rang outside the window. Dong Hu, the host of the meeting, looked at the table where most of the people were already seated and decided to stand up and announce the start of the meeting: "Since Brother Yun hasn't arrived yet, let's start now and not wait for that guy."

After hearing this person's name several times, Ye Xiao began to have some impression of the name "Brother Yun".

He seemed to have heard the name in his previous life, but he couldn't quite remember who it was. After all, with such a large number of players, it was normal not to remember someone who wasn't particularly famous or someone he had a deep impression of after so many years.

First came a brief exchange of pleasantries and a brief introduction of each guild.

There aren't many things to be aware of here, but the different guilds' flamboyant styles do a good job of showcasing the diversity of players, and there are quite a few familiar faces that Ye Xiao saw in his previous life.

Wearing a tricorn hat and a long, flowing trench coat, "Planet Witch Cui Wen," fiddling with cards and dice, represents the guild "Spade Guild"; "Hero Tu Chou," with a hookah in his mouth, a heavy coat draped over his shoulders, and a fierce-looking scarred face, represents the guild "Grizzly Bear Guild"; "Sword Witch Su Xi Yun," a girl with flowing black hair, a delicate face, a velvet scarf covering half her face, and a black leather jumpsuit, represents the guild "Sword and Rose"...

These are all figures who later became quite famous in Loren, showing that this meeting was significant, at least within the gaming community.

After half a circle, when Li Cheng introduced himself again, Ye Xiao, sitting next to him, couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Why did you introduce yourself as 'Li Cheng' now, instead of your ID?"

"Huh?" Li Cheng was taken aback. "Oh, I noticed they all listed their names but not their nicknames, so I listed mine too."

"Since you need to give me your ID, I'll give it to you again..."

"I was just kidding, bro, please don't." Ye Xiao quickly stopped Li Cheng, who was about to get up again. He had underestimated his buddy's thick skin.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you all know why I invited you here today." Chairman Dong didn't waste any more words and got straight to the point. "This five-son succession struggle is likely to affect the future of the entire empire. For us, it is both a risk and an important opportunity to seek huge benefits."

"Besides receiving the system's rewards, more importantly, we finally have the opportunity to participate in the already solidified power structure of this country. Most of you here are probably not nobles or kings, so acting only as an adventurer's guild will only keep you at the bottom of the country's operations. A broader perspective and higher-level power struggles are irrelevant to you and me."

"Therefore, I tend to think that whether the mission is completed or not, and which crown prince is elected, is not the key. The key is whether we players can take this opportunity to intervene in the power of the empire at a higher level."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Dong Hu's Purpose

Chairman Dong paused for a moment, and then a player at the round table raised his hand to object: "But we have only just transmigrated here. Compared to the local forces in this other world, although we have the World Tree system to support us, and our top combat strength is barely at the level of a regular skilled to proficient, we are considered quite strong among adventurers. But to participate in a game like the Royal Selection, isn't it a bit too much for us?"

“Hmm… I’ve also heard that behind several crown princes, besides the imperial warlords and noble forces, there are also many hidden gods and extraordinary powers,” Cui Wen said, his legs propped up on the round table. His seemingly casual words were actually quite thoughtful. “Let alone the proficient level, even experts and masters are ants in front of this level of power.”

“You two are quite right.” Dong Hu nodded. “That’s why I’ve called you all here for this meeting.”

"The current players' combat power, apart from the top player on the arena who no one can figure out, is at most at the proficiency level. If they fight individually and choose to support the Crown Prince's faction at will, they will be nothing more than a disorganized mess. Apart from becoming stepping stones for some basic tasks, they will have almost no impact on the overall situation."

"Because what we can actually show off these days isn't really our fighting strength."

"To be honest, our 'Red Lion Comrades' is already one of the strongest player guilds in this region. I think everyone agrees on that, right?"

"But when he encounters that extraordinary Royal Knight Commander, he can take down our entire guild by himself without even breaking a sweat."

"Therefore, if we use our combat strength as the main bargaining chip to participate in this game, it is no different from throwing an egg against a rock, which is meaningless."

"So, what does Chairman Dong mean...?" Taking advantage of Dong Hu's pause, Lu Fan asked at just the right moment.

"Our advantage, or rather the current advantage of the player group, lies in our diverse methods and abundant intelligence," Dong Hu said seriously. "Look at the communication methods in this world now. In the past, we still used slow and tedious letters, and the timely transmission of important intelligence relied on complex conditions, one-way transmission, and expensive SMS crystals. Compared to the community system's lag-free chat window, it was utterly useless."

"There are also various special professions and diverse skills, such as spying, tracking, and hunting specific people or targets. With sufficient preparation, a cooperative group of players can deal with opponents who are stronger on paper."

"Everyone here is an outstanding player in the Imperial City, but individually, you are just adventurers with diverse skills. However, if we can unite as one and combine the wisdom and skills from modern Earth, we will be fully capable of fighting even in this huge Imperial Selection crisis."

"Hmph... That's easy for you to say." This time, it was the scarred-faced Tu Chou, wearing a thick coat, who spoke up. "We're all from Blue Star, and our minds aren't like those honest, simple farmers in a feudal village. With cooperation comes the distribution of profits, and with profits come everyone's own little schemes."

“There’s no foundation of trust between us, so what’s the point of talking about cooperation? Do you really have the confidence to win over so many complicated people, Chairman Dong?” Tu Chou took the water pipe from his mouth with two fingers and exhaled a puff of white smoke from his nostrils. “Putting everything else aside, I don’t really want to bother with those sinister-looking sorcerers over there.”

The "gloomy sorcerers" that Tu Chou mentioned were two representatives of the "Black Mountain Hermitage" sitting in the corner of the round table, their figures hunched over and their bodies shrouded in wide black robes. Although only two people came, this was still one of the six major player guilds in the Imperial City.

"What do you mean?" The black-robed sorcerer's hoarse voice was as gloomy as his appearance, and the coldness contained within it was like a blade pointing straight at Tu Chou, whose face was half-closed.

"What I mean is, there are two shady characters here who don't even show their faces, hoping I can cooperate with them? Are you kidding me?" Tu Chou said calmly and unconcernedly.

Seeing this, Li Cheng couldn't help but smile and mutter, "Dude, this is what I want to see. Let's get this fight started."

Ye Xiao rubbed the cat's head, which was yawning and resting on his shoulder, and felt speechless at his brother who loved to watch the drama unfold. "It's not serious enough to start a fight. If he can't even control this situation, then Dong Hu doesn't deserve to talk to such a large group of proud and arrogant players about cooperation."

As expected, Dong Hu's face darkened, and he slammed his palm hard on the edge of the round table.

The entire hall trembled, and some dust fell from the ceiling as the candlesticks flickered. Looking down at the hardwood round table, a crack and dent were clearly visible.

"Wow, what kind of palm technique is this?" Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, picked up his hand and gestured at the table a couple of times. He couldn't even dent the table with one palm. "This guy's strength attribute points are pretty high."

"There might be skill amplification." Ye Xiao wouldn't have this much strength if he didn't transform into a beast, but with the Grandmaster-level energy manipulation technique, he could manage it even if it cost him some stamina.

But this also shows that the players' strength is improving at an extraordinary rate. At least Dong Hu's palm strike does say something.

"I hope everyone attends with sincerity. Suggestions are welcome, but there's no need to provoke other attendees," Dong Hu said in a deep voice, staring at Tu Chou.

"Heh." Scarface Tu Chou continued to smoke his hookah, offering no further comment.

Seeing that this guy had calmed down, Dong Hu continued, "I understand that it's unlikely that you can establish a high level of trust with each other right away, but that's okay. Trust can be built step by step through long-term cooperation. The most important thing is whether we have the same direction."

"This is the answer I hope to get at this meeting. It doesn't matter which crown prince we elect. What's important is that we work together to fully support this crown prince's ascension to the throne, instead of being a disorganized bunch, each supporting their own goals."

“Hmm… I understand what you mean, Brother Dong,” Lu Fan spoke up again this time, “but the problem is that we’ve already chosen a crown prince. What if we support someone who wasn’t chosen, and then face punishment if the mission fails?”

“I’ve learned about the penalty and reward for this mission from a friend who’s a mage from the Prophecy School. The penalty is that you get a debuff that’s halved when you acquire universal points within Loren, while the reward is that you get double the amount,” Dong Hu replied. “Balancing this is simple. We’ll register the support choices of all players in the guilds present. The penalized players will receive gold coins from the rewarded teams as a subsidy fund, based on the market price. Each time a penalized player receives a penalty, a corresponding portion will be drawn from the fund to compensate that player.”

Chapter Twenty-Four: Alliance Contract

Ye Xiao, sitting on the sidelines, nodded. The divination skills did indeed have this effect. Sometimes, there were "unknown" things in the mission rewards, which could be viewed through the divination skills—although sometimes all you could see were a few gold coins.

In other words, some things in the system can also interact with the player's skills. For example, the prices of items in the system shop can be discounted by the bard using the "eloquent tongue" skill.

Dong Hu's plan is essentially about reducing the overall profit fluctuation of the player group, and seeking the greatest overall profit with the most stable means possible.

In terms of selection ratio, the system penalty is definitely greater than the system reward, since all six factions that make the wrong choice out of seven will be punished.

However, by distributing penalties, the negative expected return for individual players is reduced, thereby achieving unity and cooperation. This allows players as a whole to pursue greater benefits beyond the mission itself—increasing their overall influence within the empire, enabling them to collect and collectively challenge more difficult missions that require the cooperation of a large number of players.

Ideally, this is indeed a good approach and opportunity.

But this is only the result; more complex planning is needed to realize this result.

For example, if some players contribute significantly to a mission while others contribute less, will both sides receive the same amount of rewards from the fund upon completion of the mission? Therefore, adapting this approach requires establishing a reasonable reward and punishment system.

Is it possible for a player guild to deliberately sabotage the entire team by providing false intelligence in order to ensure the victory of the crown prince they secretly support? To prevent this, a monitoring mechanism is needed…

There are far too many problems to solve in implementing this seemingly ideal plan, which brings Ye Xiao back to the most basic question.

Was Dong Hu's painstaking efforts in creating this player alliance truly driven by a desire for "unity"?

Although Dong Hu had a good reputation in his previous life, Ye Xiao didn't really believe that there were such good people who would take on heavy responsibilities and sacrifice themselves for a group of complete strangers.

Even for Ye Xiao, saving people is only something he can do in a critical moment. He simply cannot sacrifice his own interests to win over a group of complete strangers.

However, he cannot and should not dismiss someone's character based on this alone; he can only say that he should observe and wait.

Dong Hu was still passionately explaining the ideas and goals of the alliance. Despite the applause from the audience, some representatives from smaller guilds who were present also had excited glints in their eyes after being swayed by this guy.

It seems that the player community is about to emerge out of nowhere, riding the wave of this royal selection.

"Therefore, I suggest that all the player guild representatives present here, as the best players in Valond, unite to form a player alliance, work together to seize this rare opportunity, and allow the player community to truly step onto the upper stage of this country!"

As Dong Hu finished speaking, he was met with a sparse burst of applause.

"Next, representatives who are willing to join the alliance with their guilds, please stay here. Let's register for the alliance together."

"Of course, I'm not forcing anyone. As the saying goes, it's best to part amicably. It's fine if you don't join, and we won't deliberately make things difficult for guilds that choose not to participate in this wave," Dong Hu said in a deep voice. "But if we encounter each other as opposing sides during the missions that follow, or if we go through all the hardships to win a place for this big team in the upper echelons of the empire and then want to take a share of the pie, then don't blame us for bullying the weak."

"Now, everyone, as long as you sign your guild's name on this alliance contract, we will be one. Guild representatives who do not sign, please leave from the stairwell, because the next step is an internal alliance meeting."

Dong Hu beckoned, and his companion unfurled a scroll in front of the nearest guild.

"This contract is proof of our alliance, and it contains a spell that guarantees that allies will not harm each other. If anyone violates it, the name of the violator's guild will be seen by all players in the alliance, and the violator will be hunted down by all players in the alliance."

"What's the principle behind this? Can this scroll monitor people?" Li Cheng, who knew nothing about magic, secretly asked Ye Xiao.

"It should be a divination spell, possibly achieving this 'regular' effect through a specific divine contract spell," Ye Xiao explained softly. "However, there are ways to circumvent it, which can only fool small guilds without any tricks up their sleeves."

The first person to receive the contract scroll was Susie Yun, the representative of the guild Sword and Rose, dressed in black.

Without much hesitation, she signed her guild's name on the scroll.

Next up was Tu Chou from the Grizzly Guild. Surprisingly, he didn't object and promptly signed the guild's name with a quill pen.

Without Tu Chou's nitpicking, Dong Hu's suggestion went surprisingly smoothly, thanks to Lu Fan's support.

It seems that the major guilds have been communicating with each other, otherwise the process wouldn't have been so smooth. Ye Xiao thought to himself.

The real alliance agreement between the major guilds was probably already set out beforehand, and this meeting seemed more like a formality for small and medium-sized guilds like Ye Xiao's.

Although the Seven Stars Guild is famous, it doesn't have many members, only about twenty in total, so in terms of scale, it can only be considered a small guild.

Large guilds like the Red Lions Alliance, which have a base in the East City, are estimated to have around 300 members, with players probably making up half of that number, which is still quite a lot.

That provocation by Tu Chou was probably just a show put on for the various small and medium-sized guilds, to demonstrate Dong Hu's intimidation power.

However, Ye Xiao remained skeptical about whether these major guilds were truly united, believing they were most likely harboring their own ulterior motives.

As the contracts circulated, several large guilds took the lead, and none of the smaller guilds dared not sign them.

One of them said they wanted to go back and discuss it, but Tu Chou at the round table said directly, "If you three can't make a decision, then your lousy guild might as well go out of business."

“Oh, you can’t say that.” Dong Hu waved his hand. “But time is tight. If we don’t sign, we’ll have to ask you all to stay away from the next meeting. It’s not impossible for you to join later after we’ve worked together, but it won’t carry the same weight as those who chose to trust our alliance from the beginning.”

The representatives of this small guild hesitated for a moment before finally signing the papers.

When the scroll finally came into Li Cheng's hands, he held the quill pen and looked at Ye Xiao: "What do you say, Brother Ye?"

"And what's going on with your guild?" Tu Chou asked impatiently. "Why does the guild leader need to ask his underlings' opinions before making decisions?"

"Dude, are you on fire? You're snapping at everyone who comes near you?" Li Cheng looked at him in confusion.

"Wow?" This was the first time on the entire journey that someone had sat in a small guild seat and argued back at him, so Tu Chou couldn't help but laugh.

“Everyone in the Seven Stars Society is a highly skilled individual,” Dong Hu quickly smoothed things over. “Their relatively flat management structure is probably also a characteristic of theirs.”

"Experts?" Tu Chou twirled his pipe. "Ha, what kind of experts? I've never seen these names on the leaderboard before."

"It's normal that I didn't see any, because there's no fun in bullying noobs." Ye Xiao patted his good friend Li Cheng on the shoulder and chuckled. "A bunch of noobs, I don't even bother playing against them."

Chapter Twenty-Five: Each with Their Own Hidden Intentions

Most afraid of the air suddenly quiet.

All eyes were on the young man with disheveled hair, leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, stroking the cat on his lap.

Tu Chou stopped abruptly as he turned his pipe, his large, bell-like eyes staring at Ye Xiao, seemingly unable to believe what the guy had just said.

"Our president certainly doesn't mind cooperating with everyone openly and honestly," Ye Xiao said with a smile as he stroked Greta's fur, who was yawning. "But I hope that our sincerity will be reciprocated with your sincerity as well."

Ye Xiao wasn't deliberately saying something meaningless; he was just using his sharp attitude to show that they weren't easy targets.

If there are any hidden agendas within this alliance, it's best not to set your sights on them.

But challenging the order will naturally attract the attention of those who uphold it. Tu Chou's expression immediately darkened. "You've got quite the nerve, kid. I'll see how much you're worth..."

He needed a small guild that dared to stand up and make an example of them. Seven Stars Guild had some reputation on the forum, but he really wanted to see what kind of arrogant methods a small guild of only twenty-odd people could use.