The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Realizing this, Ye Xiao immediately commanded the surrounding crow familiars to search deep into the forest. Almost simultaneously, Greta patted Ye Xiao's arm, "Someone's coming."

The words had barely left his lips when a series of explosions, like firecrackers, erupted from the forest, and several white streaks of light, like shooting stars, hurtled towards them. Those were bullets fired from muskets, raining down like a storm.

Ye Xiao was already prepared. He quickly completed the last incantation and plunged his staff into the ground, summoning a barrier made of rock that rose from the ground.

The bullet struck the rock wall, sending mud and sand flying. Then, Ye Xiao's staff extended from behind the barrier, releasing a huge fireball without hesitation to retaliate against the enemy.

Flames raged, followed by screams, and the scorching air spread through the forest.

"Setting fire to the mountain will land you in jail for life, meow."

Xiao Zao called out.

"Stop talking nonsense! Can't you see there's an enemy attack?"

Chloe patted Xiaozao's head again.

Chesia and the other two strong villagers immediately went on alert and drew their weapons; the black dog lying by the stone block tried to slip away in the chaos, but Greta grabbed it from the ground, grabbed it by the neck, and said in a childish voice, "If you run away again, I'll crush your balls!"

Ye Xiao was still throwing fireballs when he heard this and suddenly felt a chill down his groin. He turned around in surprise, "Holy crap, who did you learn that from?!"

As they were speaking, another burst of gunfire erupted, and a volley of missiles rained down.

This time, Chloe immediately summoned a Holy Light Barrier to defend herself, while Little Algae drew her bow and began a decisive counterattack.

Chesia also located the enemy's position and rushed out of the group, but unexpectedly, Fisher, who always looked sickly, was a step faster and suddenly turned into a ghostly afterimage and appeared in front of Chesia.

"Huh!?"

Chesia stared in surprise at Fisher's retreating figure. Then, a series of wails and screams came from the opposite woods, like the croaking of frogs on a summer night, continuous and endless.

In just a few seconds, a bloody silence fell over the surroundings as enemies dressed in pirate attire fell one after another, exposed behind the trees.

The silence was shattered by a scream, and the maid's slender figure emerged from the thin mist among the trees, carrying a girl wrapped in a cloak who was screaming in surprise.

And that was Yifei, whom Ye Xiao had gone through so much trouble to find.

However, Ye Xiao did not feel fortunate. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Others may not have seen it, but he did. The maid's figure when she walked through the forest seemed somewhat strange.

Since it was only a fleeting glimpse, he found it difficult to describe what it was; its slender silhouette was somewhat like a wolf, but it was definitely not such a common creature.

Previously, the maid had been very low-key, and since she never talked about herself, Ye Xiao hadn't paid much attention to her.

But the strange ability this guy suddenly displayed at this moment made him have to be more careful.

Fortunately, it seemed that Iphie was not the maid's target. After bringing Iphie back to the group, the maid earnestly told her, "Everyone else has been dealt with; we only found this."

"What do you mean by 'thing'? I'm not a thing!"

Iphi protested.

Just as they were talking, a sudden burst of hoofbeats echoed from the surrounding woods.

Undoubtedly, the commotion from the battle had attracted the attention of the Holy Temple army stationed on the other side of the forest, and they were rushing over.

"Damn it, everyone get out of here!"

Before Yifei could express her confusion, Ye Xiao quickly called on everyone to take action.

Without saying a word, he grabbed the girl and threw her into a spatial portal that Ella had opened from a distance. Then, he hoisted Agnes onto his shoulder and ran into the forest.

Effie must not fall into the hands of the Holy Temple. Ye Xiao followed the Dark Shepherds without taking action because he wanted to find out their intentions towards Effie, but he failed.

Agnes had already revealed the Church's objective: to eliminate Iphie as a heretic. Therefore, to be on the safe side, Ye Xiao decisively sent her away.

The sudden disappearance of Effie caught the Sanctuary off guard. Theresa's perception of the Holy Box weakened instantly, and her location changed drastically, leaving her momentarily at a loss.

Taking advantage of the brief chaos, Ye Xiao and his group quickly disappeared into the depths of the forest. By the time the Templar Knights arrived, only the corpses of pirates remained.

They ran wildly through the forest until Chloe, the weakest member of the group, was panting heavily and hurriedly shouted for everyone to stop. Only then did Ye Xiao turn around, confirming that the Templars were not pursuing them, and slowed down.

Greta cast a gravity spell, gracefully levitating above the ground, but when she saw Agnes on Ye Xiao's shoulder, her small hand immediately grabbed the hem of Ye Xiao's clothes, and a resentful expression appeared on her face.

"I want one too."

"Sweetie, when we get back to the city, I'll carry you around all day."

Ye Xiao comforted her.

"Can I do it too?"

Chesia, who was standing next to him, had a bright look in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you? Of course you can't do it."

"There's a cat that can turn people into humans! Quickly, turn into another cat!"

Xiao Zao also grabbed Ye Xiao and started making a fuss.

"Chloe, you need to discipline your silly child."

Ye Xiao's lips twitched, and he put Agnes back on the ground. "Everyone, take a rest. The Holy Temple shouldn't be chasing us anymore now that we're here."

At this moment, Fisher, who had been silent all along, gently tugged at Ye Xiao's sleeve.

"What, Miss Maid, do you want me to carry you too?"

Fisher shook his head. "I have something to ask the girl you just sent away, because I smelled the scent of the target I've been searching for on her."

Ye Xiao's heart tightened, then relaxed slightly. As long as it wasn't Yi Fei they were looking for, that was fine.

"Of course, that's no problem. What are you looking for?"

Fisher opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Ye Xiao was already used to it, and waited for the other person to pause for a moment as usual before taking out his small notebook and opening it.

"Mission objective one: Locate the prince of the Aslan royal family and escort him back to his country."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Iphie's Experiences

"Prince Aslan...? I don't think you look like an Aslan."

Ye Xiao asked in surprise.

The Aslans have fairly distinctive physical features, especially their pointed ears, which are a trait inherited from the elves.

Fisher clearly didn't have that characteristic, otherwise Ye Xiao wouldn't have missed it.

"Yes, but this is my task."

Fisher closed his notebook without offering much explanation.

“Okay, do you have a portrait or any other relevant information? I can show it to Iphie.”

Ye Xiao nodded, glanced at Agnes, and lowered his voice, "But I can't bring her out here, because those Templars will track her down."

If it were anyone else, even if Ye Xiao's words were true, they would definitely question Ye Xiao's statement. After all, it concerns such an important matter as their own mission, and they would at least request to communicate with Yi Fei in person.

But Fisher, whether out of sheer naiveté or something else, simply nodded, took out another scroll from her clothes, and handed it to Ye Xiao.

"Fischer, do you really not doubt this guy's words at all?"

Chloe, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch any longer.

"Ah, but isn't Mr. Ye a partner?"

Fisher answered expressionlessly, then opened the small notebook in his hand, "Rule number five: Maintain full trust in your partners."

"...Okay, I don't know how to say it."

Chloe covered her forehead.

As they spoke, Ye Xiao had already opened the scroll. As he expected, the scroll depicted a portrait of a man, none other than Prince Aslan, whom Ella had met at the auction earlier, the unfortunate fellow whom Edward had announced he would execute this week.

Is it true? This maid really came to rescue that guy? Ye Xiao found it hard to believe.

You know, I heard Chesia say earlier that if they hadn't happened to run into her, the maid would have starved to death on the street.

Sending a guy who can't even eat properly to rescue the prince is a bit too unreliable, isn't it?

Despite his thoughts, Ye Xiao briefly explained the situation to his teammates, put the portrait away, and used the spatial portal to meet with Yi Fei.

At this moment, Iphie was in the dungeon of the Royal City of Loren, looking around at the darkness with a fearful expression.

Invisible ripples appeared in the air, and Ye Xiao suddenly appeared out of thin air, startling her.

"Eek!!! A ghost!?"

"Don't be surprised."

Ye Xiao casually turned on the gas lamp on the wall, and the dark room was finally lit.

However, this halo of light only illuminated the small area where Ye Xiao and Yi Fei were standing; if one looked outwards, nothing could be seen.

Iphie didn't dare to run around. If she had explored the surroundings, she would have found that the room was surrounded by cold mud.

This was a simple renovation that Ella did for the dungeon of the Loren Sanctuary using her abilities. She used the soil of life to create small cubicles, saving the trouble of adding more Templar Knights to guard them.

Have you contacted your companion?

Ye Xiao asked again.

"connect?"

Iphie scratched her cheek, then seemed to realize something, belatedly opening the system panel, "Uh..."

Ye Xiao noticed that Yi Fei's finger was hovering in mid-air, moving hesitantly, and a sense of surprise arose in his heart—this girl seemed a bit rusty when using the system.

That doesn't make sense. Half a year has passed since the players transmigrated here, and there are still people who don't know how to use the system?

You should know that Ye Xiao's greatest pleasure during those days adrift at sea was riding on Ella's "hot topics" and using the system to read all sorts of random things on the forum.

Iphie was held captive by the Dark Shepherds for a longer time than Ye Xiao. Even if she couldn't connect to the forum, the system was probably the only thing that could relieve her boredom. Surely she wouldn't forget how to operate it after a week or two.

"Oh, right, Brother Duojian, and Sister Xiaowei..."

Iphie frowned, as if she was trying hard to recall the contact she was looking for.

Ye Xiao's doubts deepened, but he still didn't quite understand how to get information from Yifei's strange state.

If Agnes's perception of the Holy Casket was mistaken and pointed to Effie, it's impossible that Theresa, leading such a large fleet across the ocean from the Holy City, would also have a mistaken perception.

But if the Holy Box is on this little guy... Ye Xiao looked him over from all sides but couldn't find anything out.

He had already asked everything he needed to know at the Dark Shepherd stronghold in the Mansa Islands, and the other party's confused appearance didn't seem fake.

We may need to find out how to open the Holy Grail from the Boromeo family later.

"Never mind... After you've let your partner know you're safe, do you recognize the person in this portrait?"

Ye Xiao took out the scroll that Fisher had given him and unfolded it in front of Iphie.

Ifi gently bit her index finger, her gaze lingering on the portrait Ye Xiao had shown her. After hesitating for a long time, she said uncertainly, "...Hmm, I feel like I've seen it before?"

"Your words are too ambiguous."

Ye Xiao looked down at the painting. "I think Prince Aslan's appearance is quite distinctive, isn't it?"

"There's nothing I can do. I've been locked up the whole time. I think I only saw a profile that looked somewhat like his during the ceremony."

Iphie shrugged.

"ceremony?"

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow, "After you fell into the water three days ago, where exactly did the Dark Shepherd take you?"

Iphie then briefly recounted what had happened.

According to her, after the Dark Shepherds' ships were destroyed, the giant sea monster carried them away from the Holy Fleet's cannon fire, and she happened to be one of those carried along.

As Ye Xiao had initially predicted, since most of their survival supplies had fallen into the water, they came to the nearby Free Port to replenish their supplies and set up a camp in a cave in the complex western part of the island.

As the only prisoner, Iphie was naturally detained there as well.

After entering the cave, she was kept in a narrow grotto inside. During this time, Ifi could only stare at the dim entrance and could not see anything. In addition, she felt drowsy all the time. If someone hadn't brought her food and water regularly, she probably wouldn't have noticed the passage of time.

About two days later, a group of Dark Shepherd followers came in again, unlocked her chains, stuffed her into a group of prisoners who seemed to be like her, and escorted her with weapons along a long, unusually winding path in the cave.

"Are there other prisoners besides you?"

Hearing this, Ye Xiao asked in confusion.

"Yeah, some guys who look like pirates based on their attire."

Iphie nodded.