The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Okay, remember to be careful on the road."

……

While a solemn military mobilization was taking place in the sanctuary, Ye Xiao was grilling two fish skewered on sharpened wooden sticks over a burning campfire by a river two miles away.

The area is mountainous and foggy, so the smoke from these small campfires doesn't rise very high. Moreover, since they're located in the rear, they won't be noticed by the Holy Temple army in the distance, allowing Ye Xiao to act much more recklessly.

Greta sat beside them, gazing longingly at the fish skin that had been roasted to a golden brown. Her pink little nose twitched as she inhaled the aroma that filled the air, and she seemed rather impatient.

The black dog crouched under a tree stump, trying her best not to look at the grilled fish, but the drool overflowing from the corner of her mouth betrayed her inner desire.

"Okay, okay."

Ye Xiao brushed honey onto the grilled fish with thatch and then handed it to Greta, who had eagerly snuggled into his arms.

It's unclear how the little maid's cherry-like mouth opened into a gaping maw. Ye Xiao had just handed the grilled fish to Greta when all that remained was a wooden stick.

"How dare you laugh at Lucyville for being a foodie?"

Ye Xiao smiled, watched Greta let out a burp, and then divided the remaining grilled fish among Fisher and Tolin, the villager who was leading the way for them.

"Hey? Where's mine, human!?"

The black dog standing nearby, watching this scene, finally couldn't help but bark wildly, "Didn't anyone teach you to worship the gods?!"

"Since you didn't contribute, of course you won't get anything."

Ye Xiao shrugged. "You should be very familiar with this island. If you tell me where those cultists are hiding, I might consider giving you some."

"How would I know where they're hiding!"

The black dog jumped around, its front paws flailing wildly on the ground. "And those two maids didn't do anything! This isn't fair!!"

"You're just afraid of running into that god who injured you, aren't you?"

Ye Xiao mercilessly exposed the black dog's lie, "After being beaten up, you didn't even have the slightest thought of revenge?"

"What do you know, human!"

The black dog snorted coldly, "That guy's strength is beyond your imagination."

"It's not even okay with her here?"

Ye Xiao poked Greta's cheeks, which were bulging from the second grilled fish, with his finger.

"Well!"

Greta slapped Ye Xiao's hand in displeasure.

The black dog squinted at Greta for a moment, then shook his head. "She was alright before, but now she's too restricted by the laws of the new age of gods."

"Gu..."

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Greta said in a childish voice, "There's nothing I can do. I was too arrogant before, and He punished me too severely."

"You might not believe it, but if we only consider the power we can draw upon, Lucyville is actually the strongest among us."

"...Really??"

Ye Xiao looked bewildered.

"She wasn't restricted too much, so her strength is relatively close to that of the original body from the Old Gods."

Greta waved her hand, "But that's just in theory. She's too stupid. In a real fight, she couldn't beat me even with one hand."

"Tsk tsk, this is a disgrace to the demon god."

"That's what the black dog commented from the side."

"Hey, what are you then? You were beaten to a pulp by an evil god and turned into a dog. A disgrace to the righteous gods?"

Greta may humiliate her own sisters, but she cannot tolerate other gods humiliating her as well.

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the black dog and Greta started arguing like kindergarten children again.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Hidden Location of the Secret Cult

Ye Xiao spent some time mediating the battle between the two little creatures, but unfortunately, no matter how much he pleaded, the black dog still refused to lead the way for him.

However, the crow he sent out to observe the movements of the Holy Army did see a small force of about fifty men emerge from the main army and head straight for the depths of the overlapping mountains to the west.

What is this unit going to do?

Ye Xiao was initially surprised, but then immediately realized that this was probably a bait to lure the Dark Shepherds into attacking.

Although it's rather cold-blooded, considering the Dark Shepherds' tendency to harass others whenever they get the chance these past few days, Theresa's tactic is probably quite effective.

After a moment's thought, Ye Xiao told everyone to get up, and he mounted his horse and followed the direction of the decoy force.

They originally came to find the lair of the Dark Shepherds, and there was a good chance that this small group would encounter the Dark Shepherds.

As for whether he might be accidentally spotted, with the crow familiar responsible for keeping watch, Ye Xiao could perfectly bypass the scouts of the Holy Temple army.

……

It was soon evening.

After nearly an afternoon of trekking, Reinaldo's small force had already crossed several dense forests and was more than ten miles away from the main army.

The route was crisscrossed by rivers and rugged, steep hills. Reinaldo noted several places that were particularly vulnerable to ambush and transmitted them to Theresa via the Holy Casket.

However, the Dark Seeker he most wanted to meet has yet to appear.

As the sun set and night fell, Reinaldo felt increasingly anxious.

Horses slowly moved along the shallow riverbank, the last rays of the setting sun casting their last rays on the water, reflecting the figures of the group.

Reinaldo's gaze swept across the dense forest, and in the rising mist, he suddenly noticed a clump of bushes trembling unnaturally.

The paladin's keen senses prompted him to react immediately. He summoned a dazzling holy light from his left palm and threw it into the grass.

The holy light bullet, trailing a golden flame, flew in an arc, startling the figure hiding in the grass, causing him to stumble out.

Reinaldo stared intently and was astonished to see that it was actually a thin, bony human girl.

His left hand, with its outstretched five fingers, immediately clenched back, and the holy light orb he had thrown out did not explode, but instead went out abruptly like a candle flickering in the wind.

The girl's eyes were filled with terror. When she saw the pair of fully armed knights, she turned and tried to run away.

But naturally, he couldn't outrun Reinaldo. He leaped off his horse, flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he crossed several meters and blocked the girl's path.

The frail girl's steps were too slow to stop due to inertia, and she was about to crash into Reinaldo's sturdy armor when the latter's large hand reached out in time and gently pressed on the girl's shoulder.

The girl immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

"Don't be afraid, we are knights of the Holy Temple."

Reinaldo asked softly, "Are you a villager who lives around here?"

The girl looked hesitantly at Reinaldo's handsome face, her chest heaving with fear before gradually calming down, and she nodded.

Have you seen any suspicious people recently?

The girl paused for a moment, then raised her hand and pointed at Reynaldo.

"..."

Reinaldo sighed softly. "Is your village nearby? Could you take us there?"

If the Dark Shepherds had a long-standing stronghold here, these villagers living deep in the mountains would very likely have witnessed those guys.

But when the girl heard Reinaldo's words, she just stood there, not daring to move.

Reinaldo looked at the girl and understood what was going on. He reached into his inner pocket, took out a silver coin, and handed it to the girl.

The girl took the gleaming silver coin and held it in her palm. The heavy feeling made her feel much more at ease.

"This is the payment for asking for directions. If you can lead us to your village, I can pay you another one."

Reinaldo continued.

The girl nodded and then walked down the mountain path to the side.

The Knights squad immediately followed.

After traversing a dense, overgrown forest along a rugged mountain road, a rather quaint village came into view beside a small river nestled at the foot of the mountain.

When the villagers saw this large group of Templar Knights from afar, they all panicked and hid in their homes.

Meanwhile, some burly villagers, standing guard by the fence, gripped their swords warily and stared intently at the Templars with hostile eyes.

Reinaldo then stopped the knights behind him, and went forward himself with two lieutenants, attempting to talk to the villagers.

"Fellow countrymen residing here, I have no intention of disturbing you. I am a knight who has come from the Holy City in the name of the Holy Light to seek out heretics."

He gave a brief self-introduction.

"heresy?"

The villagers near the wall cautiously replied, "There are no heretics here."

“I know, so I just wanted to ask if anyone has seen any suspicious people in the area.”

Reinaldo took out a bag of coins from his armor. "Of course, I'm not just asking for nothing. If anyone can provide any useful clues, there's a generous reward here."

The villagers looked at each other, and perhaps the magic of the money was working, for one of the bolder ones raised his hand and said, “There are actually quite a few suspicious people around here, Sir Knight.”

“You often encounter pirates and fugitives in this area, but we can’t be sure if they are the people you’re looking for.”

"Hmm... what I'm mainly looking for is a group of clandestine cultists who are hiding in black cloaks."

Reinaldo rubbed his chin, but he felt that describing it like that was a bit abstract. The Dark Cultists weren't fools, and they wouldn't wander around in cloaks to tell others that they weren't good people.

It's more likely that those cult members disguise themselves as ordinary villagers, making them difficult to identify in general.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone like this before."

"Most of them were pirates and the like, wearing leather armor."

As expected, the villagers gave a negative answer.

Have any of you seen this logo before?

Reinaldo dismounted, picked up a stick, and drew a simple pattern on the ground.

It was a simple sketch of a shepherd, holding a strangely shaped cane.

Some villagers came closer to look, and their expressions suddenly changed drastically.

Reinaldo noticed this, but after the villagers retreated, they still shook their heads eagerly, saying, "Never...never seen it before."

These guys are up to something.

Reinaldo calmly tossed aside the wooden stick, pondering what excuse to use to enter the village for questioning, when a childish voice suddenly rang out.

"I've seen it before! Isn't this... sob..."

Reinaldo looked up sharply, following the sound, and saw a little boy in the crowd having his mouth covered by his sweating father.

But it was too late; the villagers' faces visibly turned grim.

"Go in and search."

Reinaldo's face darkened, and with a wave of his hand, the swarm of Templar Knights behind him spurred their reins and marched out of the forest, approaching the village entrance.

Chapter Thirty-Nine Hostility

The Templars filed in, breaking the tranquility of this village, which was rarely visited by outsiders.

Several bold villagers tried to stop him, but Reinaldo drew his sword and chased them aside.

The villagers' faces showed fear, and they dared not utter a sound.

Despite being well concealed, a somewhat distorted hostility emanated from the eyes of these local villagers, like sharp shards of glass hidden under a gray cloth, subtly pricking and causing pain.

As evening fell, the afterglow of the sunset lingered on the horizon, casting a crimson glow on everyone's faces. The ever-present white mist and the dampness of the mountains made the air stifling and irritating.

Reinaldo ignored the hostile stares and beckoned for the Templars to begin the search.

They kicked down doors from house to house, checking every suspicious item, but they still couldn't find the mark of the Dark Shepherd.

Although somewhat peculiar, most villagers' homes have a dusty or half-crushed goddess statue in a corner, resembling the water goddess Undine worshipped in the Ocean Sanctuary, but not exactly the same.

But this has nothing to do with the Dark Shepherds, and Reinaldo would not attack the villagers for this reason.