The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"He must have been one of the two Templars who jumped out of the window to chase Effie,"

Duo Jian frowned, "Why is it this guy who came?"

The three of them each revealed the identity of the person who had spoken, but the other party only had a gloomy expression. After struggling for a few moments and discovering that the girl pressing down on his back was surprisingly fierce, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Great Holy Light, I offer my body to you, sacrificing my flesh and blood to call for the birth of light..."

A dazzling golden light suddenly shone from the Templar Knight's chest beneath the cloak, and a powerful magical pressure stirred up a gale in the room.

"Get out of the way! He's about to explode!!"

Ye Xiao, who was extremely familiar with the Templar's skills, immediately saw through the Templar Knight's intentions. He grabbed Xiao Wei, who was still clinging to the other's back, and threw her into the corner. Then, he pulled the Templar Knight up and rushed out the window.

Ye Xiao smashed the window that the tavern owner had just repaired, and he leaped out of the window with the Templar Knight, who was radiating golden light.

The next second, a loud "boom" resounded, as if a mini sun had risen above the street, turning night into day, and the powerful shockwave instantly shattered the glass windows of half the street.

Chapter Seventy-Four: Substituting One Thing for Another

The room closest to the explosion had a large hole blown through its entire wall.

"Cough...cough..."

Duo Jian lay prone in the billowing smoke and coughed, but quickly looked up in alarm and called out behind him, "Xiao Wei!? Xiao Wei, are you alright!?"

"I'm fine...brother...cough..."

Xiao Wei's weak voice came from behind, which finally eased the tension in everyone's hearts.

"Mr. Ye...and the maids and the others..."

"I'm fine, are you all alright?"

Ye Xiao's voice came from the thick smoke that had never dissipated. A moment later, he led Greta out of the smoke and dust.

His face was charred, his top hat was blown off, revealing messy black hair, and the hem of his trench coat was burned down to only half.

Just before the explosion, Ye Xiao threw a throwing knife back into the room, then used his teleportation ability to instantly move to the location of the throwing knife and create distance between himself and the Templar Knight. With the wall blocking his view, the explosion only made him look a little disheveled, but he was actually not seriously injured.

As for Greta, even though her clothes were torn, she was still clean and spotless when she walked out of the smoke.

"Let's get out of here first."

The Templar Knight was blown to bits; there was no way to save him. But Ye Xiao was surprised. The Templar Knights from the Inquisition that afternoon all seemed so timid; how could this one suddenly explode at the slightest provocation?

And why was it this Templar Knight who came to retrieve the gold coins?

This attempt to wait and see failed to solve the previous mystery; instead, it made the situation even more perplexing.

Ye Xiao went downstairs, stuffed a small bag of gold coins into the unlucky tavern owner who had been woken up, and then hurriedly led Xiao Wei and the others away.

“Mr. Ye, aren’t you a member of the Loren royal family? Even if this commotion attracts the guards, we don’t need to run away, do we?”

Xiao Wei was a little confused.

“The Templar Knight’s suicide was too distinctive; the Inquisition will definitely notice it. We’re at odds with the Inquisition, and they’ll surely pin the blame for the Templar Knight’s death on us.”

Ye Xiao said, "If we run into them when they arrive later, things might get more complicated."

"I see."

Xiao Wei understood somewhat, "They seem to have quite a lot of people. If they all come, Mr. Ye won't be able to handle them."

"No, I will win."

Ye Xiao blurted out a sentence.

"Um, okay. But Mr. Ye, you've also registered to stay at the tavern, so the court will still know that this matter is related to us, right?"

"really."

Ye Xiao nodded, "So I have to find you a place to hide."

"us……?"

Those standing nearby understood the implication in Ye Xiao's words, "Mr. Ye, aren't you going to hide it?"

"I'm not hiding anything. I need to investigate what these people from the Holy Temple are up to."

Ye Xiao replied.

The Holy Tribunal clearly knew something. Since Iphi hadn't gotten the result she wanted, she could only look for a breakthrough from the Holy Tribunal.

But the sanctuary is not yet Ella's sanctuary. She has not undergone trials and a formal coronation, just like a crown prince who is about to ascend the throne but is not yet the true emperor on the throne.

Even a real emperor might not be able to know exactly what his various departments were doing.

The Lord of the Sanctuary is chosen from the annual Sanctuary Trials. Each successor has a different background and may come from any corner of this continent, but the other positions are not like that.

The God of Light didn't have the time to personally arrange every position. Even with the God of Light's selection, only four positions have been created in history, including Ella.

Cardinals, cardinals, deacons, the Inquisition, the Knights... these intricate organizational structures are the very foundation that made the Church such a behemoth. The Church Lord has supreme power, but that doesn't mean his subordinates are truly united.

Ultimately, these positions are filled by individuals, and each position involves different interests.

Where there are interests, there will be conflicts; some people are devout while others are not; some people yearn for the light while others may harbor filth and evil.

One interesting thing is that in Ye Xiao's previous life, during the conflict between the resistance and the Holy Temple, the lower the level of the Holy Temple Knights, the more steadfast they were and the less likely they were to surrender. On the contrary, some high-ranking bishops were very easy to give up resistance, raising their hands and chanting "This is for the peace and light of the world."

However, in the later stages, the Holy Temple was corrupted by the world-destroying Ella, and the bishops' suicides were terrifying, making Ye Xiao miss the bishops who would surrender even more.

Therefore, if Ella were to openly and legitimately force the court to reveal their purpose, she would most likely only receive a hollow document full of official jargon. The true purpose hidden in the shadows would not be revealed. On the contrary, the court might become more vigilant because of the incident, and would more carefully conceal the truth.

This is why Ye Xiao never let Ella show herself, but instead sought the truth from the bottom up, because he knew all too well the nature of the Inquisition.

The four people quickly moved through the streets in the night, gradually moving away from the pub where the explosion had occurred.

Xiao Wei and Duo Jian followed Ye Xiao all the way, but unexpectedly, Ye Xiao took them to the town's municipal council building.

"Hey, are we going to hide here?"

Xiao Wei was puzzled.

"This is one of the few places in this town that can refuse a forced search by the Holy Tribunal,"

Ye Xiao explained, "Of course, if they submit a written application to the Duke's Mansion of the Coastal Province, they might be able to obtain a search permit, but that would take at least half a month."

The Mansa Islands fall under the sphere of influence of the Coastal Province, which is under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke Seychelles.

After greeting the town mayor's assistant who was to receive him at the municipal council, and entrusting Xiao Wei and Duo Jian to his care, Ye Xiao took Greta back to the tavern.

By this time, guards and Templar Knights had gathered at the scene, and some citizens who had been awakened by the noise were peeking out of their windows to see what was going on.

Orphodor, whom Ye Xiao knew, was also there, leading a group of Templar Knights who looked somewhat haggard as they blocked the town's guards.

The guards, who were kept outside the explosion site, dared not speak out. It was clearly an incident in their jurisdiction, yet these Templar Knights arrogantly told them to get lost as soon as they arrived.

Ye Xiao noticed that this time, there was an extra young man in the group of Templar Knights wearing a white trench coat and with his hair tied in a short ponytail. Even the arrogant Orfino seemed to have to report to that young man.

This was Decari, who had appeared in Agnes's study earlier. However, Agnes had already drawn the curtains when he appeared, so Ye Xiao did not recognize him.

But it doesn't matter, Ye Xiao is mainly here to find Orphnoch.

I've already met this guy a few times, so I'm considered one of the more familiar with him among the Templars.

Ye Xiao asked Greta to wait in the tavern next door while he hid in the crowd and waited silently for Orfindo to finish reporting to Decali. Then, when he saw Orfindo leading several knights into the alley, he quietly followed them.

In the alley, Orfino stood with his arms crossed, ordering two of his Templar Knights to search for clues.

He didn't notice the eaves above his head. Ye Xiao grinned and leaped down, his back to the moonlight like a giant bat trying to snatch a child.

Ye Xiao opened the spatial portal created by Ella beneath him, and like a sleeve, he instantly covered Orfino from head to toe. Then he himself entered the portal and disappeared without a trace.

The two Templar Knights heard the noise behind them and immediately turned around, only to be surprised to see an empty alley.

Their vice-captain had disappeared without a trace.

"Lord Orphando?"

Chapter Seventy-Five: Wavering

In the dungeon of the Church of Loren, Orphnoch, bound to a chair, looked completely bewildered.

He was clearly investigating the cause of the Holy Light's detonation just a second ago, so how did he end up in this pitch-black place the next second after opening his eyes?

He tried to move his limbs, but found that his hands and feet were bound and he could not move at all.

"Hey, are you awake?"

A familiar voice came from behind, and the light of an oil lamp lit up the darkness. Orfindo looked up and saw Ye Xiao staring at him with his arms crossed.

"You are... that royal secret agent?"

Orfindo's face darkened with anger. "Let me go right now! Even if you're from the Loren royal family, you have no right to imprison a member of the Holy Tribunal!"

“You’re absolutely right,”

Ye Xiao nodded, "But unfortunately, I was also working for the Holy Temple at the same time."

“My superiors suspect that your court is colluding with heretics and harming innocent civilians, so in accordance with the laws of the Holy See, you will be interrogated.”

"what???"

Orfino was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage, "Stop talking nonsense! Who do you think you are?! You're not even a believer, what right do you have to use the name of the Holy See?!"

"I am the Knight Commander of the Inquisition! You have no right to interrogate me!!"

"Don't worry."

Ye Xiao shrugged. "So I'm only responsible for arresting you. My employer is responsible for interrogating you."

"Your employer?"

Orfindo scoffed, "Even if you are the King of Loren, you have no right to interrogate my members of the Holy Church!"

"Once I get out, I'll report your illegal interrogation to the higher-ups at the Sanctuary. I'm telling you, I guarantee you and your employer will regret angering the Sanctuary!!!"

"Really."

Before Orphondo could finish speaking, a melodious whisper, as sweet as a silver bell, echoed in the darkness.

"You're going to denounce me to the church?"

The voice was alluring yet playful, as if taking Orfino's threat as a joke.

Orfino frowned, a little flustered, but unwilling to back down an inch. "Who are you?! Stop hiding, come out here if you dare!"

As Orphindo requested, Ye Xiao turned slightly to the side, and a petite girl stepped out of the shadows with elegant and light steps.

This was Ella. Her snow-white hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her fair and lovely face was framed by a pair of bright red eyes that looked down at Orfino, who was tied to the chair, with a playful expression.

Like a snow lotus blooming from the shadows, upon first seeing the girl's face, which was as pure as the moonlight, Orfindo's originally angry gaze paused.

His anger was stuck in his throat, but the sudden, stunning sight made him forget what he was going to say.

Ella thought that this guy was so shocked that he couldn't speak because he recognized her identity as a saintess. She proudly curled her pink nose and said, "Hmph, I advise you to honestly confess everything you need to confess."

Orfino stared blankly, and it took him a long time to come to his senses before he asked, "Confess...confess what?"

"Of course, it's the kind of thing your court is up to."

Ella raised her eyebrows slightly.

Orfino nodded blankly, “...Ah.”

Oh, God of Light, is this...is this beauty truly something a human being can possess?

Orphindo boasted that he had seen plenty of beautiful women, and the holy city of Morningstar Ridge was filled with countless pretty young women from all over the continent who came to worship there.

Putting everything else aside, his master Agnes, though terrible in character, was undeniably beautiful.

But compared to this girl who appears before us...

No, no, no, no, damn it, how could I have such disrespectful thoughts!

Lady Agnes is the most beautiful woman in the world, and I will always be loyal to her!

Orfino averted his gaze from Ella's face in alarm, only then realizing that his heart was pounding violently.

I almost wavered!? Those despicable heretics, resorting to such vile tactics!!

"...No, what are you doing? Say something."

Ella was also somewhat confused. She didn't know what kind of internal struggle Orfindo was going through. She was just wondering why the Templar Knight seemed to have gone mad as soon as she came out.