The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Zhu Jun's head spun out, his face not even having time to show surprise.

Falling light.

The second skill of Longsword Chasing Shadows leaves a mark on the location hit by Ye Xiao's Marking, which detonates when the sword is sheathed, dealing damage from the sword technique used when the mark was left.

Chapter 184 Stopping at the Point

When Ye Xiao and Zhu Jun passed each other, Ye Xiao did not actually slash once, but also summoned a sword energy clone to attack together.

The blade light formed by the mark overlapped with Ye Xiao's slash, so Zhu Jun had actually dodged Ye Xiao's solid slash, but he hadn't dodged the other sword energy hidden within the slash.

The mark left after being grazed by this sword energy was detonated by the skill "Falling Light," which is equivalent to being hit by another sword at the same location.

However, Ye Xiao did not relax when looking at Zhu Jun's headless body on the roof, because the other party was still standing there steadily, showing no signs of falling.

Sure enough, the next moment, tiny tentacles wriggled out from the flesh and blood at the cut on Zhu Jun's neck. These tentacles intertwined and slowly condensed into a new head, like knitting a sweater.

"Ah... I was careless." Zhu Jun's voice came from that brand new head, "You actually managed to kill him."

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly. The way the other person's head had regenerated gave him a strange sense of déjà vu. "You, are you no longer human?"

"I've changed my mind, Ye Xiao," Zhu Jun said, his face darkening slightly after his full recovery. "I'll let you die once first."

"You can't kill me with just words, my dear old classmate," Ye Xiao shrugged. "But I'm quite curious to know, how many heads can grow out of that scar of yours?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhu Jun's eyes. He raised one hand high, and a complex magic circle suddenly appeared in the magic book floating in front of him.

Twelve dark flames lit up at the edge of the magic circle, arranged like the twelve o'clock positions on a clock.

At the same time, the shadow beneath Zhu Jun's feet surged and expanded wildly along the ground, like a black ocean that threatened to engulf everything, covering the entire roof and flowing down the walls.

Ye Xiao bent his knees slightly and placed his hands on the hilt of the knife. From the overwhelming magical pressure, he could tell that the other party was indeed in a hurry.

Without Ella's divine magic to enhance him, Ye Xiao probably wouldn't be able to withstand this attack on his own. So, he quietly slipped his left hand into his pocket and grasped a gold coin engraved with the image of a double-headed eagle.

Just as the second round of the confrontation was about to begin, a faint voice suddenly rang out.

"Zhu Jun, that's enough."

Zhu Jun and Ye Xiao were both taken aback, and then looked in the direction of the sound.

But then a girl in a black dress appeared at one end of the street, her waist-length black hair dancing lightly in the snow.

"Dong... Muge? Why are you back?" Zhu Jun was clearly taken aback, but he still lowered his hand slightly and stopped casting the spell. "Weren't you in the imperial city? Did you complete your mission there?"

"My affairs are none of your business, are they?" Dong Muge said coldly, taking a slow step towards Ye Xiao. "Besides, if I didn't come back, what kind of trouble were you planning to cause?"

"I said we're practically on the same level, why are you so arrogant?" Zhu Jun seemed a little dissatisfied, but he still obediently put away the magic book, and the shadow on the ground receded like the tide. "But I did lose my temper a bit."

Ye Xiao noticed that Zhu Jun was starting to withdraw his attacks. Although he was a little confused, he still slightly reduced his killing intent.

Although there's another formidable enemy, it seems like a fight won't break out.

Ye Xiao remained vigilant, but he wondered if it was just his imagination, but he noticed that Dong Muge seemed to be shivering as he walked in the cold wind.

If you feel cold, don't wear such thin clothes... wait, these two guys are probably not ordinary players, right? It's hard to say if they're even human. How can they be afraid of the cold?

Ye Xiao was a little surprised, but didn't think much of it, since it wasn't anything worth noting.

"Alright, Ye Xiao, in terms of strength, you've passed." Zhu Jun jumped down from the roof, walked past Ye Xiao without any hesitation, gave Dong Muge a deep look, and then walked towards the ruins of the tavern next to him. "Come with me."

"Hey, stop talking to yourself. I haven't said I want to join you guys yet." Ye Xiao curled his lips. He wasn't being emotional, but the other party's behavior was indeed a bit suspicious.

It's one thing to voluntarily become an undercover agent, but to be passively forced into an undercover position by the other party without a word—does that mean the other side is so sure they can take him down?

"Do as you please." Zhu Jun glanced back at Ye Xiao, then turned away, leaving only his back view. "As long as you can bear the consequences of your choices."

"Hey, I really want to see..." Ye Xiao was only halfway through her sentence when her elbow was suddenly slapped.

He turned his head in surprise and saw Dong Muge wink at him, giving him a meaningful look.

ha……?

No, lady, why are you flirting with me like this? We're not even acquainted.

And is this how this guy's character is supposed to be?

Wait a minute.

Seeing the other person's somewhat nervous expression, Ye Xiao seemed to suddenly realize something.

Holy crap, this Dong Muge isn't that Dong Muge!

This wasn't Dong Muge from the Church of Life who had fought with him, but rather the messenger Dong Muge who had delivered the letter to him in Storm Harbor!

Dong Muge, who was standing in front of Ye Xiao, was still stunned, and blinked anxiously several times.

There was no other way; Zhu Jun was only a few steps away from them, and even if they spoke in hushed tones, he would be overheard. This was the only way they could convey their message. They could only hope that this guy hadn't already forgotten about her.

However, Ye Xiao had already remembered by now.

Despite having a lot of questions in his mind, it wasn't the right time to ask. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to follow in Zhu Jun's footsteps.

This messenger, Dong Muge, helped him revive Ella, who had been killed by the Moon Goddess. His appearance now shouldn't be to harm him... probably.

"Tsk, this place is really hard to find after being turned upside down like this..." Ahead, Zhu Jun looked around in the ruins for a while before he seemed to finally pinpoint the location he was looking for. He then turned to Ye Xiao and asked, "Have you decided yet?"

"Since you're all so enthusiastic, I'll reluctantly take a look." Although Ye Xiao had made her decision, she still wouldn't easily back down with her words.

"Heh." Zhu Jun snorted coldly, and after watching Ye Xiao and Dong Muge walk into the ruins, he raised his hand and tapped lightly in mid-air.

Suddenly, a thin wisp of mist appeared at his fingertips, slowly expanding until it enveloped all three of them.

"Oh my God, how did it suddenly collapse?" "Is anyone hurt?" "What happened here?"

A sudden burst of noise reached Ye Xiao's ears. As the fog dissipated, Ye Xiao was surprised to see that the streets outside the ruins were filled with onlookers.

The linen shirts these people are wearing are typical Loren citizen style... Are they residents of Greygold Town?

Ye Xiao frowned slightly and looked around. The Grey Gold Town in front of him was no longer in its dilapidated state. On the contrary, the houses were brand new and people were coming and going. It was just like the bustling town he had seen before he went to Storm Harbor.

Chapter 185 The Tree of Life

"Where is this place? An illusion?"

Ye Xiao followed Zhu Jun out of the ruined tavern, looked at the people coming and going on the street, and asked in a low voice.

“This is a real space,” Zhu Jun said as he walked along the road, “except that it is inhabited by their souls rather than by physical entities existing in the real world.”

"It sounds somewhat familiar."

"Hope Town." Zhu Jun glanced back slightly. "Is this the place you're thinking of?"

"Actually, what I was thinking of was the Mangekyou Sharingan..." Ye Xiao scratched his head, "Okay, Hope Town is a bit like that too."

"So it was you guys who were behind that. I always said that mechanical ascension as a concept forging faith is a bit too advanced."

Zhu Jun continued walking, "You don't seem surprised?"

"A little bit, but I've always been pretty good at managing my emotions." Ye Xiao looked around the town like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden. "So you guys want to create a god too?"

"Gods are merely powerful individual beings with subjective consciousness. In a normally functioning world, such things shouldn't exist." Zhu Jun's tone seemed somewhat disdainful.

"What kind of extreme materialism is this? Denying the existence of idealism to establish materialism?"

"A better way to put it is that I am simply standing on the side of an ordinary civilization."

“I can’t tell anything ordinary from your tone.”

"This word is just a way of describing things, not my attitude."

As they talked, they arrived at the entrance to the Howling Mountains.

You should be familiar with this mountain road, right?

"It is indeed familiar, but don't tell me I have to climb Tianqin Peak again. That large tomb is quite interesting, but I don't have the leisure to climb mountains at a leisurely pace."

"Why, just because of the imperial city?"

"if not."

"Ye Xiao, don't forget, we're not from this world." Zhu Jun stopped and turned to look at Ye Xiao. "Even if this vast country of Loren is destroyed, what real impact will it have on a mere Earthling like you?"

“I certainly don’t feel any sense of belonging to such a feudal country, but that’s different from ignoring its destruction.” Ye Xiao frowned slightly. “Are we waiting for someone here? I’ve told you I don’t have much time.”

"Heh, then I hope you can maintain your original intentions after seeing the truth."

Zhu Jun raised his hand slightly, and suddenly several withered branches sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Ye Xiao's legs and climbing upwards as if they were alive. "Don't be nervous. Didn't you just say you didn't have time? I'm just helping you save some time."

Despite her instinctive urge to resist, Ye Xiao pondered for a moment before deciding to wait and see what the other party was really up to.

The withered branches gradually grew, wrapping around his entire body like a cocoon, until his vision was also blocked, and all he could see was pitch black.

Then, Ye Xiao felt the withered branches wrap around his body and tremble slightly, as if he were being tossed around in a not-so-comfortable space capsule and sent into space.

Then came a dizzying sensation that lasted for about a minute or two before a glimmer of light emerged from the darkness.

This is... a tree?

As the scene gradually became clearer in the light, a wide road suddenly appeared beneath Ye Xiao's feet, leading straight to the towering, majestic trunk of a giant tree at the far end, like a ladder to heaven in mythology.

The trunk of this giant tree is astonishingly thick, with countless lush and intricate branches growing on it. Various wooden houses and buildings are built on the branches, but there is no trace of human intervention; they seem to have grown directly from the branches. At a glance, it looks like a magnificent tapestry woven by the hand of nature.

At this moment, Ye Xiao was standing on a branch that extended from this giant tree.

These branches are covered with cocoons made of tangled twigs, which rise and fall like elevators pulled by cables from time to time. You can also see people in white coats walking hurriedly out of the cocoons on the branches and walking towards the tree trunk in the distance.

This magnificent scene was located right in the center of the Tianqin Basin. The huge tree canopy almost covered the entire basin, towering and majestic, so much so that when Ye Xiao looked down from the edge of the branches, he could only see a few scattered figures the size of soybeans.

"The architectural style here is inspired by the aesthetics of the Elven clans. Doesn't it fit the name 'Tree of Life' perfectly?" Just then, Zhu Jun's voice rang out beside Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao glanced to the side and saw Zhu Jun and Dong Muge emerge from two other tree cocoons.

"Welcome to Kaiser Permanente, Life Sciences Division."

……

On the other side, the imperial city was shrouded in the smoke of battle.

The continuous flames flickered on the city walls. Holman's rebel army had held out for nearly an hour and a half against the almost endless onslaught of corpses.

Countless spider-like undead frantically clung to the towering stone walls, piling up into a mountain of death constructed from severed limbs and remains. At its summit, horrifying corpses surged upwards like a torrent, crashing down on the city walls.

Beneath the vast sky, countless magic arrays unfolded in succession, unleashing icy spikes and raging flames that poured down from the heavens, sweeping across the desolate wilderness. Dozens of heavy iron-cast cannons continued to roar, yet some defensive nodes were gradually being overtaken by the relentless tide of living corpses and were slowly falling.

After dying in the bloody battle, tiny tentacles burrowed into the bodies of the soldiers who had fought so hard, and then they staggered to their feet, raised their blades, and swung them at their former comrades.

Holman, atop the tower, gazed at the chaos on the wall below, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

These undead are endless, and tiny tentacles that emerge from their bodies scurry around like insects. Once they get onto the city walls, this undead infection spreads like wildfire.

Currently, they have no effective means to stop the spread of infection.

Only a few special soldiers who had undergone Samuel's Secret Order surgery and had been implanted with holy relics could resist the contamination after the tentacles entered their bodies. However, holy relics were not common, and these soldiers who were qualified to receive Samuel's Secret Order baptism were extremely rare in the entire army.

“Governor, our losses are mounting.” General Dawson, noticing Holman’s worry, reminded him, “Their methods are more treacherous than we imagined. We have already held off the Holy Maiden of Light for an hour, which is more than enough.”

"If we don't withdraw our troops now, it may be too late. We've come this far with great difficulty; we can't let momentary pity ruin our future!"

Holman did not respond to General Dawson's advice, but instead turned his gaze to the heart of the bustling city.

From the tower at the highest point of the city wall, his view could penetrate through layers of buildings and reach the edge of the western district.

There, citizens lined up in long queues, stretching far into the distance along the central avenue. Even though the three suspension bridges spanning the Lanlong River tributary outside the outer wall of the West District had all been lowered to accommodate the fleeing crowds, the surging crowds were still vast and boundless.

Holman swallowed hard, clenching his fist slightly, as if he had made up his mind.

"Keep defending."

Chapter 186 Mother of Life

"Your Excellency? If this continues, we will..."

“It’s too late to retreat now. Even if we force the army through the crowd of civilians who have blocked the bridge, it will take a lot of time to organize and suppress the crowd,” Holman said. “If the undead get into the crowd in the chaos, the resulting disaster could be unimaginable.”

"In the most conservative scenario, we should wait until at least a quarter of the population has left before we can prepare to withdraw. The fortifications on the city walls can still hold us off for a while. Once we begin to withdraw, it will mean that we will have to abandon the terrain and engage in hand-to-hand combat with this endless horde of zombies in the city. Time will be of the essence."

"The Holy Maiden of Light's compassion was indeed the impetus for us to defend the city walls... but the truth is that if we don't come out to defend and allow the residents of the South and East districts to be infected, resulting in an army of corpses that multiplies several times over, we will have even less chance of stopping them with the limited fortifications on the inner walls of the West district."

General Dawson sighed deeply, somewhat helpless.

Holman's analysis was indeed correct. He was not a commander who liked to keep things mysterious or act unilaterally; he would clearly convey his thoughts and plans to his subordinates.