The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"I pay homage to His Excellency Holman's ideals and aspirations, but my loyalty is first and foremost to the supreme God of Light."

“Miss Ella’s piety is truly admirable.”

Holman exclaimed in admiration, but inwardly he wondered why, if the other party was truly so devout, he was involved with Prince Raymond, who was not enthusiastic about the God of Light.

Prince Raymond, in his mind, did not believe in the God of Light.

On what levels were the promises that failed to move her, or were there more complex causal entanglements hidden behind them, that made her still determined to walk side by side with Prince Raymond even in such circumstances?

Holman pondered, gazing into Ella's eyes, which shone like countless stars, marveling at the existence of such unparalleled beauty. His thoughts were once again captivated by her beauty, leaving him unable to contain himself.

My goodness! I'd heard rumors before, but I can't believe there really is such a beautiful girl in this world...

No, no, I can't concentrate again.

Holman was startled and quickly closed his eyes, pressing hard on the bridge of his nose, trying to bring his wandering thoughts back.

Throughout this conversation, every now and then, his attention would be drawn to the beauty of the silver-haired girl in front of him, to the point that strange thoughts would always arise and disturb his mind.

This was the first time in his more than forty years of life that he had felt such occasional wavering of his mind during a serious discussion.

Ella, however, maintained a faint smile and chose to respond in silence.

Although the room was cramped, Holman's only two guards were estimated to be at least expert level.

Therefore, she had already quietly sketched out a meticulous plan in her mind—how to disguise the scene after killing Holman as if it were the work of other forces.

Oh right, don't the Cult of Life have those Martyrs? If one of the Shieldbearers dies with characteristics similar to a Martyr, it might indeed confuse the situation...

Wait a minute, have I been feeling a bit too murderous lately?

Ella was slightly taken aback.

Although the other party was an accomplice of the Samuel Order, he still didn't understand their deep connection and true nature. In the past, he probably wouldn't have gone so far as to kill them.

The room fell silent for a moment as both were lost in their own thoughts.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Holman's calm and powerful voice rang out, and the door opened in response. A guard rushed in and whispered a report in Holman's ear.

"My lord, the brothers patrolling the city walls have discovered some unusual signs." The guard's voice was soft, but it could not escape Ella's cat-like keen hearing.

Upon hearing the news, Holman frowned, clearly realizing that the guard who came to report had not told him everything because of Ella's presence. However, the fact that he had come specifically to report the matter indicated that it was not to be underestimated.

He turned to Ella, a hint of apology flashing across his face: "Miss Ella, I'm so sorry, it seems I've encountered an unexpected situation and have to leave to deal with it. You are welcome to wait here, or wander around the palace area at your leisure, but please be sure to be careful, as we are still working hard to restore order to the surrounding area."

Upon hearing this, Ella smiled slightly and nodded in response: "Mr. Holman, you don't need to worry about this. I will wait here patiently."

Although she verbally agreed to Holman's request, Ella's thoughts had already partially shifted to the raven familiars monitoring the area outside the city. Through a mental link, she silently controlled them to conduct an investigation.

"Strange phenomena outside the city?"

She murmured to herself, while at the same time, a raven familiar soaring high in the sky looked down through the clouds at the vast green fields and lush forests surrounding the imperial city.

After a thorough search, the crow finally spotted several fast-moving, flickering figures in a dense forest area along the Lanlong River, about three or four miles south of the imperial city and a short distance from the city wall.

Despite having a large number of crows under her command, Ella's attention span is ultimately limited, making it impossible for her to simultaneously monitor the panoramic information provided by each crow.

Therefore, the strange movements that the rebel soldiers stationed on the city walls had noticed earlier were only now being transmitted to her senses through her raven familiar.

She silently directed the crow to fold its wings and slowly land among the dense foliage of a large tree at the edge of the forest, secretly observing everything.

Under the crow's sharp gaze, one could see that from the damp soil in the forest, one after another, withered and twisted hands, resembling dead trees, sprouted from the earth like bamboo shoots nourished by rain. Then, these hands struggled to pull out the broken shells hidden underground.

What came into view was a group of mummified corpses with horrifying faces and bodies covered with tiny, wriggling tentacles and fissures. Their stiff arms hung limply at their sides as they staggered through the forest, like the rising tide, slowly gathering and approaching the edge of the forest.

The zombies that were once in Grey Gold Town... have actually appeared here?

When Ella saw this astonishing scene, she was shocked and wondered if these corpses could move freely underground, thus avoiding the detection of the crow familiars who usually kept a close watch on them.

This incredible ability to move underground is probably the reason why the crow familiars failed to detect such a large and secretive group when monitoring Graygold Town and the area surrounding the Imperial City.

Ella immediately realized the gravity of the situation. The rebels had just launched a fierce attack on the city, leaving the walls and gates in ruins. In addition, the chaos within the defenses had resulted in heavy losses of troops, making the current defenses of the imperial city as fragile as paper.

Judging from the vision transmitted back by the crow familiar, the number of corpses hiding deep in this dense forest is extremely large and is still growing.

Chapter 178 Winter is Coming

If these undead creatures were to swarm out like a raging flood and launch an attack on the imperial city, the consequences would be unimaginable, and the safety of the imperial city would hang by a thread.

It has to be said that the insidious methods employed by the Church of Life are truly endless. Ye Xiao has not been idle during this time either, but has been searching for and collecting the Life Sprouts that the Church of Life had previously sent out. Although he does not know what those things are used for, since the other party is sending them out everywhere, it is certainly not a problem to find them and destroy them.

Unexpectedly, the other side had a vicious plan to launch a zombie siege.

Thinking of this, Ella stood up without hesitation, turned to face the guard in charge of looking after her, and asked anxiously, "Where is Mr. Holman now?"

The guard replied respectfully, "Your Grace, Governor Holman is currently dealing with urgent matters. If you require a meeting with him, please simply wait here..."

However, Ella ignored the guard's advice. She quickly turned around, rushed straight to the door, and used the door panel to block the guard's view for a moment to perform a teleportation technique, disappearing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Startled, the guards immediately chased after her outside, calling out, "Your Majesty!..."

However, only a few patrolling soldiers remained in the corridor; the silver-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

Five minutes later, Holman, who was talking with General Dawson, had just reached the palace gate under the protection of a group of soldiers when his gaze was suddenly drawn to a petite figure with silver hair falling to her shoulders standing at the entrance of the courtyard.

Ella Haviere?

Holman was momentarily stunned. He clearly remembered walking straight here from the conference hall, so how did the Holy Maiden of Light get to the door before him?

However, as a leader with high manners, Holman naturally stepped forward and greeted her politely, "Holy Maiden, I didn't expect we would have the opportunity to meet again so soon."

Holman still uses honorifics in public, showing he pays attention to these small details.

"Greetings, Lord Holman. I have carefully considered your words and feel that some things are worth further consideration." Ella responded with the same elegance, her posture dignified. "However... I also have something I need your help with."

Have a show?

Holman's eyes lit up when he heard this. He knew that if possible, he would do everything in his power to bring this beautiful and intelligent girl under his wing.

However, General Dawson, standing beside him, frowned slightly at this moment. His worry did not stem from his personal feelings towards Ella, after all, no one could resist the opportunity to spend time with such a pretty and charming young woman.

But their partners behind the scenes are the Samuel Order.

To the Holy Templars, the Samuel Order was an irreconcilable cult of darkness, and as the Holy Maiden of Light, Ella Heville was likely to face ruthless annihilation from the Holy Templars if they revealed any suspicious signs during their deeper cooperation.

Only Holman was truly audacious enough to take any risk and recruit anyone who might be useful to him in pursuit of greater profits.

"Your Holiness, please speak freely. If it is in our ability to help, we will do our best to meet your request."

“Thank you very much,” Ella said with a faint smile. “Actually, Lord Holman, just now, the great God of Light gave me a revelation, and I sensed an ominous aura approaching from the south…”

Ella's words were naturally vague and only touched on the surface, but they roughly made Holman understand that the so-called "divine revelation" had given her a sense of unease.

She couldn't go into too much detail about what was happening outside the city walls, otherwise the other party would inevitably suspect how she knew all that information.

Holman was taken aback. This Holy Maiden of Light was indeed a favorite of the gods. His soldiers had just told him about the strange occurrences outside the city walls, and Ella had already sensed it.

The group hurriedly boarded a magnificent carriage parked outside the courtyard and, escorted by a squad of armored soldiers, sped toward the towering city walls of the south city.

Climbing the towering watchtower, Holman leaned against the edge of the city wall, gazing into the depths of the distant forest. As time passed, large, moving figures suddenly appeared in that lush forest, like ghosts lurking in the dark night.

"what is that?"

"Your Excellency, we are not yet certain, but a light cavalry squad has been ordered to investigate. From a distance, the figures appear to be refugees, but their numbers are... too large. No territory has recently reported any disasters that could cause such a large-scale refugee influx."

Holman frowned, fully aware of the current conflict between the Samuel Order and the Church of Life, and had a bad feeling.

"Your Holiness, could these be the ominous signs you just mentioned?"

Ella interlaced her fingers, her eyelids slightly closed, as if listening to the whispers of a god. "Yes, I can feel... a thick aura of darkness permeates those distant outlines."

dark……

Holman felt a chill run down his spine. Ancestors above, could these all be demons?

With so many of them, is that damned Cult of Life planning to destroy the Imperial City?

Holman looked at the densely packed figures emerging in the distance, his hands pressed against the wall, his heart filled with conflict.

Although there aren't many people seen emerging from the forest yet, roughly estimated to be tens of thousands, it seems that all the forests along the entire horizon have become a breeding ground for monsters, and these things are still constantly emerging.

Given the nature of the Life Cult, since they've gone to such lengths, it's definitely not going to be a small-scale affair.

If the number of these monsters is truly enormous, then things are going to get complicated.

Theoretically speaking, the forces they had previously gathered were more than capable of breaking through the walls of this decaying imperial city from one direction and heading straight for the palace. However, if they were to disperse them to defend the entire imperial city, they would be stretched thin.

The city's security is still in the process of recovery from the turmoil. A large number of imperial guards have fled in all directions, and the city walls are in dire need of repair due to the siege in the morning.

Now, apart from their own troops, the only forces that can be considered as combat power are probably the Royal Knights and the court mages, plus at most two or three thousand palace guards.

The wisest option might be to gather all forces and retreat to the fortified inner walls of the western district, or even rely on the Valond Mountains where the palace is located for a final stand, while waiting for reinforcements from the provinces.

However, this also means that millions of civilians living in the south and east of the city will be exposed to danger.

Holman's gaze quietly fell on Ella, knowing that as the Holy Maiden of Light, she would likely end her cooperation with him once she learned that he had made the choice to abandon the people to save the city.

He couldn't help but wonder if Ella's visit this time was a premonition of this predicament.

Holman was filled with conflicting thoughts and could only hope that the frontline investigation team would bring back accurate information so that he could make his next decision.

Soon after, a troop of light cavalry returned swiftly, like shooting stars chasing the moon, passing through the collapsed city gate.

Soon, a pale-faced messenger, still panting, climbed up the tower.

"Your Excellency, the investigation team has conducted preliminary reconnaissance on the outskirts of the forest, but given the unclear enemy situation, we dare not venture deeper... Those humanoid creatures seem to be affected by evil magic, extremely ferocious and brutal, and any ordinary monsters or wanderers that pass by are brutally dismembered and devoured by them."

"Regarding the number... due to the inability to penetrate deep into the dense forest, the estimate is based solely on eyewitness accounts from the periphery..."

"There are at least 200,000 within the visible range, and the number is still increasing. Conservatively estimated, the total number may reach a staggering one million..."

Chapter 179 The Battle of Valond (3k)

It's estimated to be a staggering million...?

This devastating news not only shocked Holman, but also deeply moved Ella, the Holy Maiden of Light standing beside him.

It should be noted that the total population of Greygold Town is less than 50,000. How could the Church of Life summon such a massive army of corpses, which is like a bottomless abyss, from where and where?

Holman, who was usually calm and composed, was now sweating profusely. A hundred thousand or two hundred thousand monsters would be enough to turn any solid city wall into dust, and a million monsters would be enough to flatten the entire imperial city.

However, countless figures continued to emerge from the distant forest, leaving them with extremely limited time to make a decision.

Should we mobilize the remaining forces within the palace to defend the city walls and fight to protect all the city's inhabitants? Or should we choose a more pragmatic strategy, abandoning most of the ordinary citizens in the city and concentrating our forces on the inner walls of the western district to await reinforcements?

“Lord Holman, I will summon the Holy Arcane Mages to repair and reinforce the city walls and fortifications, and mobilize all the Templar Knights to rush to the city walls to fight the enemy.” Ella saw through Holman’s inner struggle and spoke decisively, “But the strength of myself and the Templars alone is far from enough.”

Her hasty visit to Holman stemmed from a profound understanding of the urgency of the current situation—having just successfully reclaimed the throne, they might not have the courage and determination to bear the enormous risks of a head-on confrontation with the city walls.

But this must be done, not only to save them, but also because if the millions of city dwellers are slaughtered, they may be transformed into new zombies.

Having experienced the Greygold Town incident, Ella knew that this was a calculated move by the Cult of Life. If Holman chose to back down for the sake of safety and abandoned the outer city, he might be falling right into the Cult of Life's trap.

On the other hand, the rebels were essentially the forces of the Samuel Order. If she could persuade them to confront the Church of Life head-on, it wouldn't be a bad thing for her to reap the benefits while both sides weakened each other.

Therefore, whether out of morality or reason, Ella's best option right now is to try her best to persuade Holman to mobilize his rebel army to fight the enemy head-on.

"Lord Saint..."

Holman looked into Ella's earnest and pleading eyes, the words of refusal stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.

However, as a commander, he knew that to save millions of people, his soldiers would have to make enormous sacrifices. He had a responsibility to protect these brave warriors who had followed him through thick and thin.

“Lord Holman, I am not asking you to hold the city walls until the very last moment, but at least… at least buy me some time so that I can relocate the people to the West District.”

“Your Grace, your compassion and mercy are admirable, but they are too idealistic.” General Dawson quickly reminded Holman when he saw that Holman was wavering. “With so many refugees, transferring such a large number of refugees will not only take time, but even if they all flood into the West City, we will not have enough space to accommodate them.”

“Our Loren Sanctuary has a large enough square and food… We will try to take in most of the citizens.” Ella clasped her hands tightly, her clear, peach-blossom eyes glistening with tears. “I know this request is extremely difficult, and I will not condemn you if you are ultimately unable to make such a decision.”

"But Lord Holman, now the fate of me and these millions of citizens rests solely on your shoulders."

Listening to Ella's desperate pleas, Holman frowned, then pinched the bridge of his nose hard and said helplessly, "Two hours, Your Majesty, this is the biggest concession I can offer right now."

"What does 'sir' mean..."

"I promise to hold the city walls for you for two hours. Regardless of whether you successfully evacuate the citizens during this time, I will order the entire army to retreat to the western district after two hours."

"Thank you, Lord Holman! May the great God of Light protect you!"

With gratitude and joy in her eyes, Ella accepted Holman's time-limited agreement without hesitation. Before he could back out, she quickly turned around, ran down the tower, and drove to the Loren Church.