The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"In a way, this is also a kind of racial integration."

Stonehutter laughed.

Reinaldo was not interested in the boisterous dwarf's jokes and therefore did not reply.

As a true lord of the Holy City, this guy actually had a bit of racial fastidiousness. If Theresa hadn't made him act with Stonehutter, he wouldn't have wanted to stand next to this smelly dwarf at all.

But as he observed the corpses of the orc villagers on the ground, Reinaldo's mind drifted to something else—the "Holy Silence."

The effect of that sacred artifact that could unite different believers to achieve "unity of mind" is remarkably similar to the current situation.

But this speculation was dangerous and rebellious, and Reinaldo didn't know whether he should tell Theresa.

As is widely known, the reason why the Boromeo family was able to stand firm in the Holy City was because they were the only ones who could use the Holy Casket, a privilege they received as the favored children who directly served the God of Light.

But if even a bunch of cultists who appeared out of nowhere can use the Holy Casket, then the foundation of the Boromeo family will undoubtedly be severely shaken.

This is something Teresa absolutely cannot accept.

Therefore, Reinaldo frowned, and after much hesitation, finally suppressed his speculation that "the Dark Cult might have used the Holy Grail."

……

Time comes the next day.

Early in the morning, just as the sun was rising and the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, the Holy Temple's army began its grand advance into the Shattered Stone Mountains.

The night before, the Temple and the Dwarves were ambushed by the Dark Shepherds, and their anger simmered all night.

If they weren't worried about the risks of marching through such treacherous terrain as the Shattered Rock Mountains at night, they probably would have charged in last night.

Ye Xiao, holding Greta's hand and leading the black dog, followed closely behind the menacing army.

Compared to the strictly lined-up military formation over there, his two maids on either side of him were walking dogs, making him look like a tourist to anyone who didn't know better.

Only the villagers of Shuizhong Village, who were leading the way, did not integrate into Ye Xiao's family-friendly team and seemed slightly more normal.

The terrain within the Shattered Stone Mountains is intricate and complex, with towering, steep peaks resembling the fangs of a hunting dog, winding and intersecting to form a labyrinthine valley.

The coastal waterways and dense forests create a perpetual mist that lingers over this area.

According to villagers living in the mountain valley, even the most skilled seagulls would lose their way once they flew into these mountains.

This is no exaggeration. When Ye Xiao walked into the dense forest in the valley, he saw a kind of monster that the villagers called "Migu Yan". He said that this was the offspring of a lost sea swallow that mated with a monster in the valley and was born.

Ye Xiao's crow familiar did indeed have a much harder time flying in the valley than outside. The area was shrouded in mist, and if it flew too high, it would be difficult to see the movements of the Holy Temple army. If it flew too low, it would often bump into itself due to poor visibility.

With such absurd terrain, how are they going to find the Dark Shepherd? Theresa is already having a headache.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Bloodthirsty Maze

"At this point, those stinking rats shrank back and became turtles again."

Stonehutter looked at the dense forest shrouded in a thick white fog and curled his lip in dissatisfaction.

In last night's battle, the pirates and villagers, brainwashed by the Dark Shepherd, fought like madmen, relentlessly battling to the death.

Because the attack happened suddenly and he was unsure of the enemy's strength, he did not dare to rashly order his soldiers to forcibly capture prisoners. This resulted in all the attackers being killed, leaving not a single prisoner.

If we had known those guys were so weak, we should have forcibly captured a few to lead the way.

But it was too late to say all that now. Theresa and Stonehurst discussed it for a while and finally decided to stick to the old plan: the army would advance slowly, and several scout teams would be sent out to explore in different directions.

As a result of this trial and error, it was already noon.

The scouts came and went, but they never brought back any news of the Dark Shepherd that Theresa longed for.

Theresa counted on her fingers and estimated that the scout teams she had sent out numbered over three hundred. If each team consisted of ten people, there would be nearly thirty teams exploring the surrounding area.

Even so, we still can't find any trace of the Dark Shepherds. Where on earth are these guys hiding?

Just as Theresa was puzzled, a scout from a small team suddenly reported: "A hidden complex of buildings has been discovered in the northwest."

Upon receiving this news, Theresa dispatched a squad of knights to follow the direction reported by the scouts, only to discover that it was an abandoned pirate hideout.

The hideout was built in a cave halfway up the mountain, and when the Templars arrived, there was no one there.

The empty, dimly lit cave was silent. The metallic clanging of the armor worn by the Templar Knights as they entered echoed through the damp cave.

Its doors were wide open, and an unsettling, chilly atmosphere filled the air.

Bloodstains were scattered on the ground, dark and dull, as if they had been there for a long time.

The bloodstains were scattered throughout the cave, extending from the entrance into its labyrinthine interior. As a hideout for pirates, the caves were always complex inside.

"There was a battle here, and it was very fierce."

The squad leader of the knights, looking at the bloodstains on the ground, made a low judgment, then raised his torch and illuminated the locked treasure vault in front of him.

The vault door was intact, indicating that regardless of which side won the battle, they ultimately failed to take away the original treasures.

That fact is quite tempting.

Several dwarves stepped forward and used heavy axes to break the lock and open the door to the treasure vault.

Inside, several heavy boxes of gold and silver coins gleamed brightly.

Sure enough, all of these things are still here.

The Templars weren't saints who would never pick up lost items, especially since this belonged to pirates.

After checking that there were no traps in the surrounding area, the squad leader ordered everyone to move the gold coin boxes out without hesitation.

Moving gold is hard labor, but most people find it enjoyable.

Several dwarves rushed in and began carrying boxes out the door.

"Hey guys, we've made a small fortune, haven't we?"

"A dwarf chuckled."

"Dream on, this definitely has to be handed over."

Another dwarf didn't hesitate to pour cold water on the idea.

The treasures looted by the army would certainly be distributed to the general; for these common soldiers to secretly hoard them was a serious crime.

"Of course I know. I mean, we should at least get some reward, right?"

The dwarf carrying the boxes snorted.

Whether by accident or intentional, his thick arm suddenly trembled, and several gold coins rolled out of the box.

"Hey! A few have fallen. Guys, I'll put the box down and go pick them up."

As the dwarf spoke, he put down the box he was holding and bent down to pick up the gold coins on the ground.

While doing this, he secretly stuffed two items into his pockets; clearly, this was his real purpose.

The Templar squad leader saw this but kept quiet, waving his hand and urging everyone to hurry up.

It's common knowledge that people love money. The Holy Temple army is strictly disciplined and wouldn't touch such small sums of money, but it's understandable that the dwarves of Freeport aren't so honest.

But after he urged him on, he saw that the dwarf who was picking up gold coins not only did not continue to move the box, but instead stuffed a few gold coins into his pocket and then grabbed the gold coins in the box, stuffing them into his pocket in front of a group of people.

This was clearly going too far. The squad leader turning a blind eye didn't mean he was blind, and he immediately roared, "Hey!? What are you doing!?"

However, the dwarf ignored him and, like a hungry beast tearing out the entrails of its prey, stuffed the glittering gold coins into his pockets. His clothes were so full of gold coins that he looked comically like a frog with a drooping stomach.

The order was ignored, and the squad leader immediately drew his sword and pointed it at the dwarf. "Stop! Did you hear me? This is the last warning. If you don't stop, I will deal with you according to military regulations!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several Templar Knights around him drew their swords, while the remaining dwarves looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

They weren't ignorant of military regulations; their comrade had clearly gone too far.

One of the dwarves, who knew him well, rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Buddy, are you crazy? This is for the authorities, not yours!"

"It needs to be handed in?"

The dwarf who was picking up the gold coins paused, looking over hesitantly.

"Nonsense! You..."

The dwarf who was trying to dissuade him grabbed the other's hand, but before he could finish speaking, a powerful axe cleaved down on his head.

The sturdy head was instantly sliced ​​in half, fresh blood mixed with brain matter, splattering onto the dark bloodstains on the ground.

No one noticed that the old and new bloodstains overlapped perfectly.

"Hand it over my ass! I found it!!! It's all mine!!!"

The one who made the move was none other than the dwarf who had been picking up the gold coins. He roared, and the hesitation in his eyes turned into an undisguised madness. Holding a short axe, he stood guard in front of the box, swinging wildly like a mad dog guarding its food.

Even though his brother, whose head had been chopped off, was already dead, his body was still shattered into pieces by him.

Even the slow-witted knight captain noticed something amiss and immediately roared, "Put down all the boxes!! There's something wrong with those gold coins!!!"

The dwarf hurriedly threw the box he was holding to the ground. The box hit the ground with a dull thud, and gold coins tumbled out from it.

But in this eerie atmosphere, those glittering coins now seemed like eyes from the abyss, staring straight at one who felt a chill run down their spine.

Several Templar Knights stepped forward and executed the mad dwarf, then ordered the crowd to clear a path away from the strange gold coins.

"Retreat! Everyone get out of the cave! Something's not right here!"

The group quickly retraced their steps. Although the cave was dark, they had left a mark when they entered, so they didn't get lost.

However, as the group traversed the winding, narrow path back to the first mark they had made at the entrance, they were not greeted by a clear sky, but rather returned to the depths of the blood-stained cave.

The gold coins scattered on the ground gleamed coldly. The body of the executed dwarf lay in a pool of blood, his lifeless eyes staring at the crowd. The mad, ferocious smile he had worn before his death was frozen on his face, as if silently mocking them.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Using Oneself as Bait

"disappeared?"

Theresa listened to the report from her subordinates with a surprised expression.

None of the teams that went to explore in the northwest returned, and this strange situation immediately aroused Theresa's vigilance.

Two more teams were sent out to explore in the same direction, but this time they did not find the "hidden complex of buildings" that the scout team had mentioned.

The missing team vanished as if they had evaporated into thin air, disappearing abruptly into the vast mountains.

"It's a little weird."

Theresa frowned. After all, he was an elite knight from their Boromeo family, and yet he had disappeared without a trace.

“Young Miss, I have heard that the Dark Shepherd has made a pact with an unspeakable evil god and has mastered some evil magic related to time and space.”

Beside Theresa, Elder Cassius, who was accompanying her from the family, immediately spoke up, "The troops that went to explore in the northwest may have encountered a similar trap, which is why they left no clues at all."

"Ha, those cowardly heretics can actually master advanced abilities like spacetime magic?"

Stonehett was slightly surprised.

"It wasn't something they invented; it was just that the gods they worshipped bestowed upon them that forbidden power."

Reinaldo expressed his dissatisfaction.

Regardless, before figuring out the enemy's methods, the scout team needs to cautiously narrow its reconnaissance range to avoid inexplicable losses as before.

This would naturally slow down the army's search for the Dark Shepherd. Theresa found a high point to observe the area and speculated that the area they had explored so far was probably less than one-twentieth of the vast western part of the island.

This is clearly not going to work. Let alone two days, it might take two weeks to find where the Dark Shepherd is hiding.

Reinaldo noticed Theresa's worry and, after a moment's thought, volunteered, "Miss, why don't I lead a light cavalry squad deep into the valley? I am now a member of the family, and I can contact you through the Holy Box, so there won't be any situation where I suddenly disappear without a trace."

"The detachment I lead will inevitably attract the attention of the Dark Shepherds. Judging from their behavior these past two days, they are keen on ambushing individual units."

Simply put, Reinaldo wanted to use himself as bait to lure out the Dark Seekers' forces.

The Dark Shepherds have been ambushing small scout groups that have strayed far from the main army for the past two days. Reinaldo is using himself as bait; there's a chance he might lure them out.

"Hmm... but Reinaldo, your strength was already evident last night,"

Theresa pondered for a moment, "If the enemy finds out that it is you leading the troops, they will probably take that into consideration and may not fall for the trap."

"I can do some simple disguise,"

Reinaldo added, "The cost of extending the battle line is too high. Time is of the essence. Even if the Dark Shepherd doesn't fall for the trap, I can at least scout out the terrain over this distance to prepare for the army's advance."

"After the main army advances, the space where those heretics can hide will naturally be compressed."

After listening, Theresa glanced once more at the countless scattered mountain peaks in the distance, and finally nodded.