The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Amidst the chaos and mist, the towering figure collapsed like an ancient oak tree, and the surging onslaught of low-level monsters was repelled by an irresistible force. After a brief period of disarray, the Templar Knights' ranks, as if guided by a divine will, regained their steadfastness and order.

However, just as the knights were trying to catch their breath, the unsettling sound of rubbing limbs echoed through the mist once more, and one after another, huge black shadows staggered out from the depths of the fog, like uninvited guests from the underworld.

One, two, three... new arthropod apostles appeared one after another, while the seemingly dying beings on the ground slowly recovered amidst the eerie fluctuations of the mist, their physical recovery speed astonishing.

The tension in everyone's hearts grew ever tighter. Faced with these endless streams of extraordinary monsters, which were not only incredibly resilient but also far more numerous than imagined, they seemed like an insurmountable mountain blocking their path.

If this situation continues, the vision of reaching that tower may become a pipe dream.

Thinking of this, Ella unconsciously gripped her staff tighter.

She had thought it would be safer to conserve her divine power to deal with the potentially powerful enemies in the tower, but it was clear that her opponents had laid a trap to hinder their every move.

Recalling the scattered information about the arthropods that the Seven Luminaries had gathered while clearing out the strongholds, it seemed that those monsters that had not been found were preparing to strike at this moment.

Now, the situation of marching through the fog seems even worse than Ella had anticipated, and perhaps it's time for her to take action.

Although suppressing these apostles would deplete her divine power, it was still within a manageable range. However, the unknown behind the fog still hung over her like the Sword of Damocles, and the unknown threat might further weaken their power.

This thought drifted through my mind like a dark cloud. Given Caesar Corporation's meticulous preparations, they would undoubtedly have taken her existence into consideration. Using these methods to prematurely deplete her divine power was very likely part of their plan.

Even knowing this might be a trap, Ella has no choice but to go through with it, since being in bad shape is better than not being able to make it at all.

As for whether the Life Divine Art will be regarded as evil magic by the clergy of the Fog City Sanctuary, we can only deal with that problem later.

Just as Ella was about to make up her mind to activate the Life Divine Magic, a series of musket explosions suddenly resounded through the night sky.

The silver bullets, trailing trails of fire, struck the bodies of these arthropod apostles, burning them and producing wisps of blue smoke, causing the monsters to let out piercing screechs.

In the thick fog, a group of about twenty people emerged from the shadows of the building.

Where are these reinforcements from? The Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

Ella was surprised, but then she noticed that the other party's equipment was all different and immediately recognized that they were a team of players.

"These must be the friends that one of my young part-time pastors referred to,"

Elder Antar said, "I find it hard to believe that they actually came."

Friends?

Ella quickly realized that the part-time priest the elder mentioned was probably a player himself who had contacted some guild teammates who came to help.

This mere twenty reinforcements were a drop in the ocean in the face of the dire situation, but it was better than fighting alone, and at least it could distract some of the apostles.

The player squad, battling monstrous creatures, burst in from the side of the street and fought alongside the Templar Knights. Before Ella could even express her gratitude, the young leader shouted excitedly, "The Holy Maiden! We really saw the Holy Maiden, brothers!"

Ella coughed twice helplessly, "Thank you all for your help, but the situation is urgent now, we need to hurry on our way."

As they were speaking, another massive earthquake shook the area not far away, and the player squad and the Templar Knights who had joined the attack were once again thrown into disarray by the Arthropod Apostles.

"Yes, yes, the Holy Maiden is right. These monsters are really ferocious. We need to hurry and rejoin the next team."

The impetuous young man nodded quickly, turned around, and prepared to return to the front lines to fight the monsters with his teammates.

"Wait, the next team?"

Ella was astonished.

“It’s less than a hundred steps ahead, Your Majesty.”

The player pointed into the distance, "Look at that rising yellow smoke signal; that's the other team's signal."

Even with the thick fog, the yellow smoke rising in the distant sky was still clearly visible, piercing through the night and entering Ella's field of vision.

There's still one left... No, more than one...

Ella's beautiful, ruby-like eyes widened slightly, for they faintly reflected a thin plume of smoke rising majestically in the distance beside the smoke.

Only then did she seem to realize something, and she summoned her crow familiar, which spread its wings and flew into the sky.

But in the crow's field of vision, in the pitch-black city, plumes of smoke of various colors gradually rose, like a silent call, or like sparks, spreading little by little from beneath her, forming a path leading to the tower.

Chapter 165 Trickle

If the arrival of the first wave of players only surprised Ella, what shocked her the next moment was when she saw the system pop-up in Ye Xiao's view as he walked through the mist outside the palace on the other side.

[Unique quest triggered: Light of the Fallen Moon]

[Mission Briefing: The blood moon, which disappeared for nearly a century, has returned, potentially reigniting humanity's fear of that dark era; the blood sacrifice shrine pierces the clouds, and the ancient legend of the queen's resurrection will bring nightmares into reality; the red tide of the undead spreads, and the city is on the verge of destruction.]

Even shrouded in darkness, a torch will still burn brightly through the mist—the saintess's party is embarking on a perilous journey to the tower. It may be but a glimmer of light, but travelers from another world, what choice will you make?

[Task Difficulty: Unknown]

[Quest Rewards: 500 Universal Points, 250 Gold, 200 Valen Kingdom Reputation, 500 Mist City Reputation, 100 Sanctuary Reputation, 200 Order (?) Reputation]

The rewards for this mission aren't particularly generous compared to Ella's previous hellish missions, but that's understandable given the large number of players involved.

But to her shock, her actions actually constituted the mission itself, and there were even universal points as a reward.

It's important to know that she didn't do anything like issuing tasks to the Seven Stars Society before, and more importantly, she couldn't issue universal point rewards.

Is this considered a mission approved by the system?

Ella didn't quite understand, but as she looked up at the smoke rising from all directions, like sharp swords piercing the dark night sky, she suddenly felt a slight tremor in her heart.

Even if the Empress were to descend, even if she, as the embodiment of the Empress, were to perish here, what could anyone do to Lydia, who was now detached from the mortal realm?

Ten years later, a hundred years later, when that giant creature's tentacles break through the barriers of the mortal realm once again, perhaps the next Ella will return.

In a way, she is indeed invincible. Even if she has weaknesses in the real world, and her opponents can plot and scheme against her, if she returns to the void, to the original form of the black sun, at least, there is nothing known that can fight her.

So Ella also wondered why she didn't simply follow the path of the world-destroying witch from her previous life, killing anything that didn't suit her, slaughtering all the followers of the Holy Temple who disagreed with her, and killing all the players who disagreed with her, and going all out to destroy everything that dared to stand in her way... Wouldn't that be much easier?

But she couldn't do it. Perhaps because deep down she was still Ye Xiao, not that unscrupulous witch.

She always longed to protect those precious things, just as having witnessed so many tragedies, she always wanted to write a beautiful ending for stories that had nothing to do with her.

She didn't consider herself a hero, but she felt that since she could do it, she should do it anyway.

This will be more tiring, more troublesome, and even involve more pain and suffering, because those beautiful things are as fragile as the glass beads she saw in the void, and how can you protect them without paying a price?

But none of that matters, anyway... she (he) is invincible, isn't she?

But now, looking at the billowing smoke, even Ella never imagined that the things she had tried so hard to protect would one day respond to her in this way—

The journey to the tower is long and arduous, with more and more monsters emerging under the Blood Moon Tide, growing stronger and stronger.

But as more and more players joined, and as more and more smoke signals rose, it was like a trickle of water gradually converging into a mighty river. The original Holy Temple squad of less than a hundred people miraculously grew into a massive force of nearly three thousand.

Arcanists and priests were scattered throughout the group, setting up barriers to defend against the mist and protect the diverse reinforcements. In their battles with the monsters, they used the light from their torches to create twinkling stars, which together formed a galaxy that tore through the darkness and carried the saintess to the tower.

These players weren't actually that strong, but after six months of leveling up by fighting monsters, they were generally at the level of skilled to proficient, which is already the average level of the native regular army.

With the help of a makeshift formation and command, it was more than enough to hold off those mindless monsters.

Thus, Ella passed through the tide of undead monsters without losing a single ounce of her divine power.

At the heart of that vortex of insane magic, guarded by countless monsters, Ella, with the help of the players and the Templar Knights, finally held her torch and pierced through the mist, touching the gate to the black tower that pierced the clouds.

At this moment, they probably never imagined that more than half a year after the Great Time Travel, this would become the first historical event in which players truly participated and changed the course of history.

There were large-scale missions before, such as the "Five Princes' Succession Struggle" in Loren, but the players' impact on them was actually minimal.

Meanwhile, Alex, who had reached the top of the tower, saw the scene below and his expression turned somewhat gloomy.

The company does recruit elite players, but such a large number of ordinary players, even those from small and medium-sized guilds with little cohesion, and who don't require assistance like in the Loren mission, are not worth the effort to win over in their eyes.

But it was precisely these ordinary players who, by coming together, managed to deliver themselves to the Holy Maiden of Light.

Originally, those numerous undead monsters could have worn down the Saintess's condition considerably. Once Ella crossed that long road, he, as the Thunder Saint, could have set up an ambush. Even if he couldn't defeat her, he could have at least delayed her until the Vampire Queen's resurrection ceremony was completed.

But now things are complicated. The Holy Maiden of Light is at full strength, and Alex isn't an arrogant fool. Going down to fight her head-on is definitely not an option.

Light footsteps sounded beside him. Alex turned his head and saw a girl wearing the robes of the Full Moon Order. He frowned and asked, "Did you get the Fountain of Youth back?"

"Ah."

The girl remained calm and handed a bottle to Alex.

Her once fair wrists now bore some scars, but Alex paid no attention to them, instead focusing on the bottle. "How come so many are missing?"

"That guy probably drank it... She's like a madwoman, it's not surprising she does anything. We found this thing during our pursuit."

"What about your sister?"

"She's still chasing that guy; she's furious."

"Can you please send her back quickly? The Holy Maiden of Light is already at the foot of the tower."

Alex was speechless. Why chase after that guy when they'd already gotten the Fountain of Youth back?

“You know she won’t listen to me.”

The girl replied indifferently, "Besides... according to the agreement on the cooperation, our mission ends here. The materials are ready, and the moonrise is approaching. We need to leave."

"There's still almost an hour left. The Holy Maiden arrived too early. The monster horde you set up couldn't hold her back at all. If this continues, you'll also be responsible for the project's failure."

Alex was somewhat dissatisfied.

"That's because you misjudged the situation, which led to the release of a fully-powered Holy Maiden of Light."

After saying this, the girl turned and left without looking back, saying, "You'll have to bear the consequences yourself."

Alex watched the other person's departing figure without saying a word, but his eyes behind his glasses grew increasingly gloomy.

Chapter 166 Blood Sacrifice Shrine

Beneath the tower, Ella stood before the door, behind her a scene of thousands of players and saints battling monsters amidst the crimson tide.

Before her, crimson runes seemed to come alive, moving across the surface of the ancient gate and forming a solid barrier.

These are roughly the spells used to affect the approach of crows above the tower. Ella only needs to touch them with her fingertips, and a fleeting red light will scorch her fingers.

The red light transformed into threads that burrowed into the wound. For an ordinary person, the strange magic that surged into their body might instantly destroy their mind.

Ella, however, didn't feel anything, just a slight stinging pain, and the magic disappeared instantly after entering her body, like a stone sinking into the sea.

“Your Grace, the bishop’s scepter in your hand is a ritual implement that was baptized by the priest Lazirus at the White Tower in the Holy City, and was endowed with the power of the Holy Lance, one of the three sacred relics.”

Elder Antal pointed out, "Blessed by the power of the Holy Lance, it possesses the ability to break through the restrictions of chaos and subdue demons."

The thing in the bishop's hand has this kind of effect? ​​Ella raised an eyebrow slightly. No wonder the Bishop of Grantham was a member of the Lazirus family; he had indeed inherited something good.

Because it was something Ella stole rather than a gift from the other party, all the descriptions Ella saw at the system level, except for "the Bishop's Scepter of the Fog City Sanctuary," were question marks.

She then gently tapped the barrier on the door with the tip of her scepter. A pure white light suddenly shone at the spot where she was struck, and then the blood-red barrier shattered like glass.

That's strong? It shattered with just a touch?

Ella weighed the scepter in her hand and asked, "Can this also be used against the vampire queen?"

"Unfortunately... this is just a magical artifact that borrows a small amount of the Holy Lance's power. As the last true ancestor of the vampire clan, the Queen possesses power comparable to that of a god. Perhaps only the true Holy Lance could defeat her."

Elder Antar explained, "However, it can still deal with enemies who have only been granted a small amount of the Queen's power. It's just that the power of the Holy Lance attached to it is not unlimited, so it needs to be used cautiously at crucial moments."

In other words, it should be used to fight bosses, not to clear mobs.

Ella nodded, still wondering why the top of this scepter, instead of being set with a gem like other sanctuary scepters, had an exceptionally sharp cone in the center surrounded by the usual sun-shaped decoration. It turned out that it was also a gun.

After the barrier was broken, two Templar Knights stepped forward and opened the door for Ella.

With a rumbling sound, the heavy doors opened, revealing an extremely spacious stone hall. Surrounding the hall were strangely shaped stone sculptures, their faces grotesque, like goblins with bat wings. In the very center stood an even larger stone sculpture, its entire body covered by thin, tough fleshy wings, resembling a flower bud about to bloom.

They then split into two groups. One group, led by several other elders of the Holy Temple, remained outside the tower to defend against the continuous stream of monsters and prevent these chaotic creatures from entering the tower and fighting them. The other group, led by Elder Antar, selected players and elites from the Holy Temple team to follow Leader Aila and venture deep into the tower to stop the Blood Moon Ritual.

Once the gate was fully open, Ella raised her torch and led the way, guiding everyone into the dark, mysterious tower.

This step seemed to cross two completely different eras, from the clamor of the battlefield into a hall interwoven with deathly silence and mystery.

The echoes of everyone's footsteps on the stone brick floor were clearly audible, while the clamor of the battle outside the door became distant and hazy.

“Holy Maiden, this place is probably the sacred ground of the vampires… the Blood Sacrifice Shrine.”

Elder Antar's deep voice echoed in the hall, steady and solemn, like the sound of wind reverberating among ancient trees, "Since the Queen's fall, we have searched for this place throughout Valen for more than a decade but have found nothing. I never expected that it would be buried deep underground in this steam factory in the Fog City."

Ella understood and nodded slightly.

A chilling atmosphere permeated the hall, with thin mist floating around, carrying an unsettling magical power.

In the distance, the statues carved from dark stone revealed their terrifying yet vivid faces in the flickering firelight, like guardians from an ancient nightmare, ready to break free of their restraints and become a terrifying reality at any moment.

"Perhaps the key to unlocking the secrets of this great hall lies on that square stele,"