A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 31

"It is indeed the ideology of a cult."

Saint Karina nodded. Of course she understood the process, and besides, entering the kingdom of God meant losing one's own thoughts and consciousness, which was practically the same as being a puppet.

Immortality is just a facade; in reality, only the shell remains.

"Is there any valuable information, such as recent cult activities? It would be best if we could round up a large number of key members and fanatics."

"Actually... recently, there was a gathering that mobilized a large number of believers."

Renee hesitated for a moment, but continued speaking anyway.

"Tomorrow... the Church of Eris will have eight holy sons and daughters, all of whom will be sacrificed to God in an attempt to break through the seal and unlock it."

"Tomorrow? What time?"

“Tonight… I was originally an invited disciple, Lina, but I can’t bring you along.”

Her expression seemed guilty, as she knew she couldn't be of much help anymore.

"No, you know the location, so I'll just follow you and sneak in. I'll figure out how to get in myself."

Santa Karina showed no sign of blame; to her, hearing such good news was already wonderful.

She knew that Renee was only barely qualified, and leading people was indeed not something a newcomer to the church could do, even though her status was much more important than that of ordinary believers, and the restaurant was also a very important source of information.

"Um, if I'm going to work... do I still need to work today?"

Santa Karina seemed a little embarrassed; the two had been exercising for over four hours, and the day was almost over.

If Renee asks her to help out at the restaurant that evening, she will.

"Lina...you are the Holy Maiden, it's not appropriate for you to do the work of entertaining customers. Consider this meal on my behalf."

Renee refused Saint Karina's request.

Although she didn't encourage dining and dashing, the two had already had a deep and superficial conversation, and their relationship had progressed rapidly. The meal cost only three copper coins for the ingredients and the price didn't exceed ten copper coins, so she certainly didn't want Saint Karina to serve others in the shop.

After all, restaurants cater not only to female customers, but also to many rude men.

"That won't do. Cough cough, I'll pay."

Saint Karina was a little embarrassed.

She actually had money, but she was too embarrassed to admit that she had lied to him.

"Here you go, Renee. This magical item can be used to block attacks of level three or lower after activation. It can block attacks three times. I enchanted it myself, so it didn't cost much."

In fact, after returning, the nobles handed over Saint Karina's treasures to her, allowing Saint Karina to successfully return from the second tier to the third tier.

After the assassination attempt and the resolution of the Saint Martha Sea incident by Saint Karina, the noble faction was extremely wary of this resurrected saintess of the nation and dared not renege on their promises.

The treasure is a ring; crushing it will allow her to reclaim a portion of the power that once belonged to her.

Furthermore, upon reaching the third tier, Saint Karina could mobilize more of the Holy Sword's power, such as using a portion of the power of the Demon General Melissa, who had signed a slave contract with her. This included the Shadow Domain, which was Melissa's forte.

That's why she dared to bring Brenda, the emperor of the Lorian Empire, to the cult's lair alone. This was the confidence she had to regain her strength, and she was prepared to use the Unsealing Stone when necessary to briefly restore her tenth-tier strength.

"Thanks……"

Renee was overjoyed when Saint Karina personally helped her put on the crystal necklace.

A smile played on her lips, and a sweet feeling welled up inside her, just like a girl deeply in love.

"Well, I'm going to find my companions today, so I won't be staying here with you."

"Huh? Not staying tonight...?"

Seeing Renee's pitiful and regretful expression, Saint Karina naturally refused.

Although she was indeed a little soft-hearted, she could probably guess what would happen if she stayed. Nine times out of ten, she'd be ambushed by this crazy girl at night and spend the whole night doing "exercise."

"No, I'll come to see you before tomorrow night. Just act normally. Do what you usually do. I'll secretly follow you, but I won't have any special conversations with you."

"Lina...did that companion of yours also sleep with you?"

Seeing Saint Karina turn the doorknob and about to leave, Renee suddenly asked a question.

Saint Karina's body stiffened, but she still didn't lie.

"Hmm... yes. But she didn't like me, she even hated me."

That's the truth. If Brenda didn't need Saint Karina, she wouldn't hesitate to cut off Saint Karina's head with her sword.

This is the tradition of royalty, and of the Ernest family. Even someone as weak as Brenda, a puppet emperor, is like Ernest VII: he would abandon her for the throne, or win her over for the throne, just like now.

The relationship between Saint Karina and Brenda was not consensual; rather, Brenda needed something from her, and Saint Karina needed to vent her pent-up desires and thoughts of revenge on Brenda.

Saint Karina didn't know why she emphasized the last sentence; perhaps it was out of bitterness, or maybe she hoped this crazy girl would get jealous and stop causing her trouble. After all, her stamina was truly amazing…

63. The Way of Tea

"Your Majesty, we apologize for keeping you waiting."

It was Santa Karina who climbed in through the window.

She had placed magical marks on Brenda from the beginning, so it wasn't difficult for her to know her location.

"You... you've got everything sorted out?"

"of course."

Saint Karina's confident reply put Brenda's mind at ease.

Although this unreliable saintess liked to speak in a grandiloquent manner, she still had a certain level of eloquence in her words.

"I'd like to come along. Is there anything I can do?"

Brenda inquired after hearing Saint Karina recount her conversation with Renee's restaurant owner.

The process was not described in detail; the focus was on intelligence about cults.

"That depends on you, Your Majesty."

Perhaps misunderstanding Saint Karina's meaning, Brenda actually started groping her and began to undress her.

I could refuse to continue working hard in the evening after a tiring afternoon, but since the little emperor has taken the initiative, it's good to let this wonderful misunderstanding continue for a while.

An inner fire began to swell, like the claws of a pet scratching at its prey.

"Squeak."

That's the sound of the wooden planks of the bed rattling; a hotel room bed certainly can't compare to one in a palace.

It's normal for the bed frame to make such a loud noise.

"sit."

"But isn't this place a bit too small for brewing tea?"

At this moment, Brenda's face also flushed, and she was a little at a loss.

She is still very inexperienced in this regard.

When it comes to pouring tea, it's all about the flow of water and the quality of the tea. Brenda's tea skills aren't particularly refined, so it's difficult for her to achieve that level.

"I think it's quite big."

Upon hearing Saint Karina's words, Brenda suddenly had an idea: to move the bedside table over.

If you squat on your bedside table to brew tea, then you'll have the feeling of "high mountains and flowing water".

She clumsily climbed onto the bedside table, clearly a first for her as well. Her long legs were spread wide, her toes barely touching the tabletop, presenting her to Saint Karina at an obtuse angle.

Place your hand on the lid of the teapot and rub it; the raised top of the lid is the best place to rub. After the tea ceremony, the tea in the teapot will be brewed very quickly.

"Your Holiness, you may drink now."

Her face was flushed with shyness, and her body was trembling; she had clearly reached a certain point.

Saint Karina was not reserved either; she appreciated the entire process of the tea ceremony, from its inception to its creation, from its high peaks to its flowing flow. Brenda had taken a bath beforehand, so of course there was no unpleasant odor, only the sweet scent of a young girl.

She picked up the teapot from the counter, and without even intending to pour it into a cup, she gulped it down from the spout.

"Pfft."

The splashed tea formed a torrent, which was drunk up by Saint Karina as Brenda's body convulsed.

The tea ceremony, with its flowing water and towering mountains, truly lives up to its reputation.

Saint Karina knew how to appreciate tea. She waited until the last drop of tea was poured out of the teapot, then the little snake coiled up and swallowed the tea leaves that had been left on the rim of the pot.

This action successfully allowed Saint Karina to drink the remaining tea stored in the teapot's mechanism, savoring it carefully as Brenda's body convulsed a second time.

"Good tea."

Saint Karina sighed as she finally put down the teapot and removed it from the spout.

Her breath hit the spout, causing two drops of tea to leak out. This made the beautiful spout look glistening, like a mimosa plant, which was quite lovely.

And St. Karina's enjoyment of this seemed to greatly encourage Brenda, urging her to continue.

64. Holy Son and Holy Daughter

The next day, under the cover of night, the two had changed into new robes.

"Rene, just go your way, we'll follow you."

Saint Karina used telepathic magic to speak to Renee, who was walking somewhat uneasy ahead.

The road conditions were becoming increasingly desolate, and we had left the town of Zimmerman. The road looked like an abandoned church.

Abandoned for at least a century, the road is no longer paved with flagstones, but instead a forest path overgrown with weeds. The road is wet and slippery, and the surface is not easy to walk on.

Twenty minutes later, Santa Karina and Brenda finally saw the location of the building, which had changed from a small black dot in the distance.

Several carriages were parked in front of the church. The carriages themselves didn't look particularly luxurious; they were just ordinary carriages. However, there were more than thirty guards in front of the gate, none of whom looked like troublemakers.

Using her stealth skills, Saint Karina found a ventilation shaft, from which she could enter the building.

"Will this really... cause any problems?"

Brenda was still very worried and couldn't help but ask.

Saint Karina was also speechless. If she didn't have to take care of the young emperor, she wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble. She could have simply borrowed Melissa's Shadow Domain power. She could have easily infiltrated Renée's shadow without any worries.

Doing it now would be much riskier. Entering through the ventilation shaft is the first step. Next, we need to take out two cult members, change into their clothes, and make sure there are no visible flaws.

The church certainly has more than one door, but it was not only locked from the inside, but there were also quite a few capable people guarding the outside.

"No, don't worry."

But whatever she thought in her heart, she had to remain outwardly calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before her. Saint Karina held Brenda's shapely buttocks and pushed her in first.

The ventilation duct was only wide enough for one person to pass through, so Brenda went first and Saint Karina followed, the two of them crawling through the duct one after the other.

After walking through the pipes for a while, both of them came out covered in dust and dirt. There was no way around it; the building was at least a hundred years old, and the regular maintenance and cleaning were simply inadequate.

The cultists would simply maintain the area to the point of being usable, and would even deliberately keep it in a state of disrepair to avoid arousing suspicion.

The corridor extending from the ventilation ducts had cracked walls, but the floor was relatively clean, showing obvious signs of having been cleaned.

Saint Karina told Brenda not to come out yet. She used her senses to enter the middle room, knocked out the two cultists, took their robes, and then let Brenda put them on with her.

The robe was a long black robe with a hood at the back of the neck. The robe was made of ordinary cotton and linen, not a special magical material, and had no distinguishing features. The only difference was the emblem on the chest, which was the emblem of the Church of Eris.

The pattern is indescribable, ineffable, and so complex that it would drive an ordinary person crazy if they looked closely.

The design itself contained divinity, and Saint Karina did not want to look at it for long, while also instructing Brenda to try not to look at it.

The divinity of an evil god is no good thing...

It's not difficult to pinpoint where the worshippers are collectively active in the vast church; all you need to do is know the coordinates of where Renee last stopped and blend into the crowd.

Heading towards the ceremony location, Saint Karina and Brenda quickly rejoined the organization. The followers ranged in age from their fifties to their teens, but there were no toddlers.

Many of the believers were from the same town, so some knew each other and formed groups to discuss various religious topics.

Most people were filled with joy because today was a good day for offering sacrifices to their gods, and some lucky ones would be chosen by God to serve Him and receive eternal life.

"O Most High God, we are your servants, your brothers and sisters. Please favor us and let us enter your divine kingdom to serve you better."

As we approached the ceremony site, the ceremony had clearly already begun. Eight saints, four men and four women, were positioned on the highest platform, and the bishop was reciting prayers from the Bible.

Below the platform, however, was not a place of believers, but a pool of blood with a strong, pungent smell, where blood was churning. In the pool, one could see bones and clothing, which belonged to outsiders, probably those who had been tricked or sold.