The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Perhaps... you could help comfort her? After all, we're attacking the Eternal Tree tomorrow, and if our master doesn't calm down, none of us will feel good."

"I really want to, but unfortunately, I suddenly remembered that there's something the priest asked me to do that I haven't done yet."

Kronos stubbed out his hookah and stuffed it back into his coat. "So you're on your own here."

Hydra narrowed her eyes and flicked her tongue. "These are the people you brought. It's a bit much to just leave this mess behind and run away. Besides, you know that the master gets angry easily when he sees my face."

"What's the connection?"

Kronos waved his hand, and a magic circle appeared beneath his feet. "Anyway, you have nine heads, so it's no big deal if a few explode, but I only have one head."

"Although I am a snake, you are still more beastly than me."

"Oh dear, the priest is urging me to hurry up, bye-bye."

As a beam of light rose into the sky, Cronus's figure disappeared.

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Echoes of the Pre-Battle

Loren Lyre Peak, the upper level of the Holy Radiance Temple.

The portal opened, and Ella, covered in a lump of black mud, rolled out of it.

Su Xiyun, who was waiting in the room, was about to go up and help him when she suddenly saw the horrifying hole in the other person's abdomen and was immediately startled.

"Hey! Ella, what's wrong with you!? What happened!?"

"It's nothing, just a minor, fatal injury."

Ella climbed out of the mud as if nothing had happened, and the hole in her stomach was subsequently filled with clumps of tentacles that slowly wove together into snow-white skin.

"Hmm... why can't the tentacles be formed from only the chest area?"

Ella looked down and muttered to herself, holding the cup in both hands with a hint of regret.

Her tendrils can only restore her body, but cannot make any additional modifications.

Fortunately, Ella didn't care much about it and quickly put it out of her mind. She looked at Susie Yun and scratched her head awkwardly, "I'm sorry, the conversation with Miss Samael didn't go very well. Miss Su, I'm afraid you won't be able to get your clothes back."

"Um, it's alright, it's good that you're alright, Sister Ella."

Susie Yun was wearing a plush coat that she had taken from Skadi's wardrobe. The reason she didn't use Ella's coat was that Ella's clothes were too small and didn't fit her well.

"The company does possess some methods for recovering memories,"

Ella continued recounting the details of her conversation with Samael, "It also brought back some memories for me, but don't worry, I'm still me, nothing has changed."

Susie Yun nodded blankly, "But since the conversation broke down, how about I delete Miss Samael from the system?"

"Oh, no rush,"

Ella smiled and waved her hand, "Anyway, she hasn't deleted you. Maybe you'll need to contact her again in the future."

This time I learned quite a lot, but unfortunately my flaws were discovered.

Ella pondered that she would have to find a way to get some more "anti-entropy fragments" from the company if she had the chance. She felt that she might really have to find the secrets of herself from these lost memories.

But for now, she has to shift her focus back to the battlefield in western Xinjiang.

……

Loren, western frontier, Shazhoubao.

In the boundless desert, night is gradually falling.

Ye Xiao was on the top floor of the main castle, leaning against the battlements, chatting casually with Greta, who was sitting above him.

"Miss Su told me that Ella's conversation is over."

"Oh, how is it going?"

"Greedy asked."

"'Why didn't you tell her that the wrathful demon was so powerful? Greta, were you really the leader of the demons before?' That's what she said."

"Oh, looks like that wicked woman got what she deserved."

Greta covered her mouth and chuckled.

Ye Xiao couldn't help but pinch the little maid's chubby thigh. "You deliberately tricked me, didn't you?"

"No way!"

Greta grabbed Ye Xiao's hand and stuck out her tongue. "Being a leader isn't about who's the best fighter. What I'm good at is strategy, you know? Strategy!"

"...You think you can come up with any strategy in that little head of yours?"

Ye Xiao looked at Greta with great surprise.

"What do you mean!"

Greta squinted her two little fangs, "Go ask around in Hell, who doesn't know the cunning and shrewd reputation of the Great Demon God 'Greed' from the Old Gods era!..."

After speaking, Greta thought for a short while and then continued:

"Well, I do have to admit that the previous 'Wrath' was stronger than me in terms of fighting alone... I don't know what the situation is with this new 'Wrath', but if he has truly inherited the same authority, his combat power should not be inferior."

"Even you admit defeat, is that guy really that strong?"

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow. "I'm really curious about what kind of power that authority she wields."

"I don't know. Even back when I was at the height of my power, all I knew was that her ability seemed to be simply to enhance herself."

Greta shook her head, as if recalling past glories.

"However, there's a very noticeable characteristic when she uses her authority: she seems to become a bit mentally unstable... In your world's terms, well..."

"Blinded by anger?"

"Yes, that's it."

Greta nodded with a grin, then pinched her nose and began to imitate the gesture vividly.

“'Mammon!!! How dare you feed my pet rats to that three-headed stinking dog!!! I—will—kill—you!!!'”

"Yeah, that's exactly how it feels."

Ye Xiao suddenly realized, but quickly added, "Ella said the same thing."

"Yes, that's how 'anger' manifests when it uses its authority."

Greta didn't think too much about Ye Xiao's words. "I don't have any other information about her. After all, you should be able to tell from what I just imitated that my relationship with her isn't very good."

"It sounds like you brought this on yourself."

Ye Xiao couldn't help but complain, "By the way, you said before that 'anger' and 'sloth' are closely related, so maybe 'sloth' is also under the company's control... Do you know much about this demon god?"

"I don't know. When the old gods fought the war of order, she was the only one in the entire hell who was too lazy to participate. I've hardly ever even seen her."

"...That certainly lives up to his reputation."

As Ye Xiao spoke, he poked Grelia's lower abdomen with the hand that was resting on Grelia's thigh.

"what are you doing!"

Greta frowned and tried to grab Ye Xiao's restless big hand. Ye Xiao then started to fight with the little maid's two short arms like he was teasing a cat.

As the two were flirting, heavy footsteps echoed from the bottom of the corner tower steps.

Holman appeared in the doorway, his expression grave.

"Mr. Ye, an urgent report just translated by the secret service: the Duchy's army is fully mobilized and will launch its general offensive tonight ahead of schedule."

"So fast?"

Ye Xiao was taken aback, stopped playing around with Greta, and turned around to look down at the castle.

As evening approached and the sky grew darker, the swirling sand seemed to cast a yellowish veil over everyone's eyes.

Even with such low visibility, large swathes of flickering lights could still be seen, like dense fireflies, gradually emerging from the sandstorm.

Ye Xiao frowned, took out a monocular telescope from his pocket, rotated it to adjust the focus, and slowly saw that the dense "lights" were actually the headlights of a steam tank.

A large number of the principality's army is galloping across the desert, roaring in with billowing smoke.

Why launch the attack a day early?

Ye Xiao was puzzled. Although the timing of the siege was not a gentleman's agreement between Ted and Loren, sudden changes in the situation often had deeper meanings.

But time didn't allow Ye Xiao to think for too long. After observing the situation, he exchanged a glance with Holman and nodded emphatically.

"They're coming."

After he finished speaking, the amplification array immediately opened on the top floor.

Holman’s loud and clear voice echoed above Sandbar Fortress.

"All Imperial Armies, heed my command!!"

"Enemy attack! Prepare to engage!"

Chapter 54 Battle of Shazhou Fort

"hold head high--"

The majestic sound of bugles echoed across the desert.

Smoke billowed from above the three fortresses, with Shazhoubao as the fortress.

The Loren garrison was fully prepared, and under Holman's command, they pushed magic cannons onto the walls and gripped their muskets and crossbows.

Countless rows of densely packed cannon barrels were aimed at the distance, where more and more points of light swayed in the night.

The soldiers on the city wall gazed at the surging yellow sand that was rising up, their breathing became labored, their hands gripping their weapons trembled involuntarily, and beads of sweat dripped from their foreheads with tension.

The Duchy's iron cavalry effortlessly shattered the 100,000-strong army of the Kingdom of Doom and Governor Holman, advancing all the way to the borders of the Empire, and their advance remains unstoppable to this day.

Five cities in the western frontier have fallen in recent days, with Shazhou Fortress being the last line of defense in the western part of the empire.

In this battle, the Loren Empire will undoubtedly devote all its national strength to stopping the Duchy. This will likely be the most difficult and brutal battle in the empire's history in the last hundred years.

Therefore, even the most battle-hardened warrior would find it difficult to remain unfazed.

The lingering sound of the horn faded, and for a moment only the soft rustling of flying sand and stones remained in the air.

As the distant, twinkling lights filled the entire horizon and stretched down, a slight tremor slowly began to appear on the castle walls and the floor tiles.

"Om-"

The Lorens could already hear the muffled rumble of the earth, the resonance of the distant, overwhelming army stamping its feet.

The lights dyed half the night sky crimson, and rows of steam tanks lined up under the protection of cavalry, their raised cannons reflecting a gleaming steel shell.

Meanwhile, Holman's voice, broadcast through a magic array from Sandbar Fortress, was clearly audible and resounding.

"The Principality of Tedeh has torn up the peace treaty, killed our citizens, and invaded our borders. Their crimes are heinous and deserve the wrath of both gods and men!"

"Now, they arrogantly believe they can continue to plunder our land and trample our homes with their steel and gunpowder, forcing us to kneel in humiliation!"

"But they were wrong! Even when faced with dire straits, the people of the Loren Empire will not give up hope!!"

"Brothers and sisters, Valond is behind us! Grip your weapons tightly, for the Empire, for glory, for our homeland and our people!!"

"Drive out these beasts of the duchy, leave no one alive!!!"

As the impassioned mobilization order was given, Holman took a deep breath and slowly raised his right-hand saber.

"preparation--"

As the last note lingered, everyone instinctively held their breath.

The oppressive and suffocating atmosphere of war was vividly displayed only at this moment.

After a pause of about two seconds, Holman swung his saber down hard and roared deafeningly at the tens of thousands of soldiers surging across the fiery night sky and the vast land to the west.

"fire!!!"

"Boom—boom—boom—"

The simultaneous firing of thousands of magic cannons created a deafening roar, no less powerful than the clap of thunder at dawn.

The roar pierced the sky and shook the vast desert. Countless shells with blinding flames rained down like fire from the sky, whistling as if they were about to pierce the earth.

At the same time, the tank lines of the principality, arrayed across the vast land, also opened fire, the blazing flames meeting the towering fortress standing in the east.