On the Ark.

Faust released his grip, and Goldman took two steps back, pointing at Faust's nose, inwardly regretting not bringing a few more men with him. Now that he had witnessed Faust's strength, he dared not be as arrogant as before, but his tone remained firm: "I invited you to Kjerag, not for a vacation!"

Faust said, "We are not on vacation."

"Still denying it?!" Goldman seemed to have found an excuse to attack Faust, and shouted, "How long have you been in Shelag? All you've done every day is sleep in my villa."

“You’ve probably forgotten that we took action three days ago,” Faust said calmly, “and suffered considerable losses.”

Gorvin was almost laughing in anger: "A considerable loss? How would I know how much you lost? All I know is that you accomplished nothing and angered the gods of Kalan!"

"We already explained this to you that night."

“What good is that explanation!” Goldman roared. “What have you said besides reminding me that I’m at my wit’s end? You failed to capture the Shiva’s sisters then, but now they’ve returned, returned from God. How do you know God won’t help them again!”

"Then what do you want?"

“What do I want? You actually ask me what I want? Did I pay a high price to bring you all to Kjerag just so you could ask me such stupid questions?!” Gorvin said. “Now that the Holy Maiden has returned to Kjerag, it’s impossible for me to lay a hand on her, and Ensiodis has finished his visit to the border guards, and you could even say he’s close to gaining control of the entire border guards! And all you can do is ask me what I want!”

Goldman's saliva was almost spraying onto Faust's face. Faust's brows furrowed tightly; he hated being spoken to in that tone. Just as he was about to teach Goldman a lesson, the door to the inner room opened, and Mephistopheles, pale-faced with dark circles under his eyes, came out leaning on his cane.

"The Council of the Three Races hasn't even started yet," Mephisto said in a hoarse voice. "That means everything is still unsettled, so why the rush?"

Both Goldman and Faust looked at Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles stepped out of the inner room and stood in the sunlight, which made his skin appear even paler, like that of someone who had been ill for a long time.

“The Shivaish family is down to just those three siblings,” Mephisto said calmly. “So no matter how many cards they have up their sleeve, as long as we take care of those three siblings, there won’t be any problems. Don’t you think so, Mr. Goldman?”

Hearing Mephisto's words, Gorvin's expression softened somewhat, for he knew Mephisto was right. No matter how much power Ensiodis currently possessed, it couldn't change the fact that the Shivaish family consisted of only the three siblings. Once the three siblings were dealt with, the remaining forces wouldn't be able to affect Kjerag's overall situation.

“You still control the Council of the Three Races, right?” Mephisto continued. “In that case, it’s simple. That day, you just need to hold off Ensiodes while I deal with his sisters. We’re not Sherag people, so we can attack your saintess without any scruples, and it won’t affect you, at least not openly. Once we’ve settled things here, you can negotiate with Ensiodes.”

Will Ensiodis give in?

“We’ve reviewed Ensiodes’s file. He’s been fighting desperately all this time not just for revenge, but also for his sister. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen to send his sister out of Kjerag before making his move,” Mephisto said calmly. “From this perspective, it was indeed a smart move for you to lure his two sisters back to Kjerag, creating a weakness for Ensiodes. So, we can handle the Three Races Council meeting the day after tomorrow. All you need to do is stall Ensiodes, prepare your reward for us, and then you can take over Kjerag again.”

Mephistopheles had clearly persuaded Goldin again, or rather, Goldin had come to Mephistopheles hoping to get this same explanation from him. After Goldin left, Faust looked at Mephistopheles.

"I really don't know how a family leader of this caliber managed to defeat the Shiva's family back then?"

Mephisto said calmly, "It only shows that the Shiva Ash family is worse. The current SilverAsh family cannot represent the Shiva Ash family of the past. Kjerag has been closed off for many years. It is called a country, but it is really just a slightly larger village. The weak fight with the weak and will only become weaker. This is why Ensiodis only studied abroad for a few years and was able to manipulate the two major families when he returned to Kjerag. Because they are all idiots... cough cough."

Faust looked at Mephistopheles with some concern: "Are you still having nightmares? Are you alright?"

"You know I'm still having nightmares?"

“You talked in your sleep last night, shouting ‘Don’t come any closer!’” Faust said. “What did you dream about?”

“There’s nothing there.” Mephistopheles seemed unwilling to discuss the topic further and turned to leave.

"You're in very poor condition. Won't this affect your command later?"

“Of course,” Mephisto said. “Would I be defeated by nightmares?”

Chapter 266 The Saintess and the Virgin Mary?

"This woman cannot stay in the Shivaesh family."

This was the first thing SilverAsh said after entering the house, and it was also the first time Lin Ye had seen SilverAsh and Frostleaf together since arriving in Kjerag. Lin Ye noticed that Frostleaf's expression stiffened slightly when SilverAsh entered, but she quickly recovered, though her beautiful eyes now held a coldness.

"Enshi... Mr. SilverAsh?" Lin Ye couldn't remember SilverAsh's full name at all. He was clearly the older brother of Snowfall and Cliffheart, but his name was longer than his two sisters' combined names. "Do you know this woman?"

Silver Gray stood in front of the door. Whether intentionally or not, his gaze avoided Chu Xue and landed directly on Lin Ye. Then he said indifferently, "She might be from the Aiben family."

"Eben?"

The butler, Green, standing next to Lin Ye, coughed twice and explained to Lin Ye, "The Eben family, like the Shiva Ash family, is one of the three great families of Sherag. The current head of the family is Gorvin Eben."

"Another powerful family... that means a hostile force?" Lin Ye looked at the unconscious girl with some surprise. "You said she was sent by your enemy? But she's already like this."

SilverAsh, leaning on his cane, slowly walked into the house: "The self-inflicted injury ploy isn't a new tactic, but it's effective most of the time. After all, emotions are one of humanity's greatest weaknesses." As he spoke, he looked at the butler, Green, "Throw this woman out."

Butler Green bowed and was about to take action when he was stopped by First Snow.

"Wait." Chu Xue's tone was cold but firm. "Let her stay here."

The butler, Green, froze.

Silver-gray frowned, and after entering the room, he finally turned his gaze to his younger sister: "What do you mean?"

"Is this something you should be asking me?" Chuxue said coldly. "Enciodes, you seem to have no right to question me."

Silver Gray's eyelids twitched, but he remained calm: "Your Excellency, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Chu Xue said, "This girl is seriously injured. If we let her out, she will die."

"But she was sent by the Aiben family."

"so what?"

SilverAsh patiently explained, "The Eben family is the enemy of the Shivaesh family."

“In Kjerag, no one, no family, is my enemy,” Chuxue said coldly. “In Kjerag, I represent God, and no one in Kjerag can stand against God.”

SilverAsh frowned, looking at Frostleaf without speaking. Or rather, he didn't know how to say it. After all, Frostleaf was nominally the highest-ranking person in Kjerag, even surpassing SilverAsh, the patriarch of the Shivaesh family. And once Frostleaf brought up God, it would be even harder to refute her. Just as Frostleaf said, in Kjerag, no one could stand against God.

The sudden confrontation between the siblings left everyone bewildered. The usually lively Cliffheart was now trembling like a quail, Horn Peak and the butler Green dared not speak, and Lin Ye and Susuluo, being outsiders, were even more hesitant to speak.

Lin Ye was somewhat confused by Chu Xue's actions. While he did feel sorry for the cat-eared girl who had suffered such torment, he could also understand SilverAsh's behavior. If this was a ruse orchestrated by the enemy, then it was indeed unwise to be merciful. Keeping a potential enemy pawn at home at this critical juncture was hardly a wise move.

So, why did First Snow confront SilverAsh on this matter? Was it out of rebellion, or because she was a saint? Wait, thinking about it carefully, "saint" and "saint" seem to mean the same thing literally.

Lin Ye was speechless at his own strange thoughts.

SilverAsh stared at First Snow, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly: "Do you have to go against me in everything?"

“I have never opposed you,” Chuxue said. “I am the saintess of Kalan. After all, I uphold the will of God. This is a place protected by God, and God would not want to see such a miserable girl die.”

Chu Xue's words reminded Lin Ye of the Messiah. Would the Messiah really care about this girl's life or death? Lin Ye thought it was unlikely, even though the Messiah was indeed a benevolent deity in Lin Ye's mind.

After a brief exchange, SilverAsh failed to gain the upper hand over Frostleaf and could only shake his head, saying "Whatever," before leaving the living room.

Cliffheart immediately followed SilverAsh, while the butler, Grimm, wisely went to the kitchen. Thus, only a few "own people" from Rhodes Island remained in the hall.

Lin Ye looked at Chu Xue with a wry smile: "Did you really have to say that to your brother?"

"I think I've already told you, I stopped considering him my brother a long time ago," Chu Xue said calmly. "Besides, weren't you a veterinarian before? How can you be so heartless?"

"Does this mean you have no compassion?"

"Otherwise what? I didn't seem to object to his decision just now."

Lin Ye said somewhat helplessly, "I didn't say I agreed, and we've already been attacked once on the Holy Road. Going to the Holy Road was my decision. If it weren't for Messiah... your god intervening, something bad would have happened by now. So how could I dare to say anything on this kind of issue at a time like this?"

“You didn’t have so many concerns when you were treating Nightingale,” Chu Xue said calmly. “After all, Miss Nightingale is more important than anyone else.”

Lin Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Isn't what you're saying obvious?

"Just kidding." Seeing Lin Ye's slight embarrassment, Chu Xue smiled faintly. "Besides, I saved her not just out of pity. I've seen at least several hundred corpses lying on the Holy Road. I'm not that weak-willed. And a weak-willed person can't become a saintess."

Lin Ye was somewhat puzzled: "So what do you mean?"

Chu Xue looked at the girl lying on the sofa and said, "You've slept for so long, you've heard everything you needed to hear, there's no need to keep pretending."

Chu Xue's words surprised Lin Ye. He looked at the girl and found that she had opened her eyes. Then, under everyone's gaze, she got up, and Chu Xue handed her paper and pen.

"Who are you, and where do you come from?" Chu Xue said in a rather cold voice, "It's all written here. It will determine your fate."

At this moment, Lin Ye finally sensed the aura of a saintess emanating from Chu Xue. After a moment of silence, the girl took the paper and pen from Chu Xue and slowly wrote down a few words.

“Eileen is from the Eben family.”

Chapter 267 Because I'm a veterinarian!

Lin Ye never expected that this girl named Eileen would so readily admit that she was sent by a rival family of Shivaesh. This was completely different from what Lin Ye had imagined. He originally thought that to deal with such a suspected spy, he would have to use both coercion and bribery.

Lin Ye couldn't bring himself to use coercion, since the other party was a cat-eared girl who was injured so badly, not a vicious enemy. He simply couldn't bring himself to do it. But bribing her was no problem. He had originally planned to take out the remaining catnip when Eileen denied it and force her to comply.

Sigh, it feels a bit of a pity.

Chuxue wasn't surprised at all by Eileen's "answer," or rather, it would have been surprising if SilverAsh had already recognized her identity and then denied it.

So Chu Xue continued, "Then how did you become like this?"

Eileen lowered her head again, but instead of refusing to answer, she continued to write on the paper. Because of her many injuries, she wrote very slowly. Fortunately, the people around her were patient and did not urge her.

“This is the master’s punishment for me.” This was Eileen’s second sentence on the paper. “The master has kicked me out of the Eben family.”

Chu Xue raised an eyebrow: "Why did I kick you out?"

Eileen bit her lower lip, then shook her head and didn't pick up her pen.

Sussuruo joined the conversation: "Does this mean it can't be said?"

Eileen nodded.

Cliffheart couldn't help but say, "Why can't we say it? Your master... is it Goldman Eben? He beat you up like this and kicked you out. What's there to hide?"

Eileen lowered her head again and quickly wrote down the last five simple words: "Be loyal to the master."

Chu Xue asked, "Even though he hurt you like this and kicked you out, are you still loyal to him?"

Eileen nodded.

"Then do you know who I am?" Chu Xue asked again.

Eileen nodded.

“Then you should also know that in Sherag, no one can lie to me.” Snowfall once again displayed the aura of a saint, looking down at Eileen. “I command you to tell me everything.”

As soon as Chuxue finished speaking, Eileen lowered her head again and began scribbling on the paper. Everyone thought that Chuxue had successfully used her status to exert pressure, but before they could even rejoice, they saw Eileen raise her sign.

“I am not from Kalan, and I do not believe in God.”

First Snow: "..."

Seeing Chu Xue's changing expression, Lin Ye almost burst out laughing, but Chu Xue noticed and glared at him fiercely.

“Not a Kallan person, not a believer in God, that’s fine.” Chuxue tried her best to maintain the demeanor of a saint, and quickly thought of another way, “Then you know that person from earlier, right? The chieftain of Shivaesh.”

Eileen nodded.

“I know you woke up quite early and must have overheard my conversation with him.” Chuxue looked into Eileen’s eyes. “Then you should know that he doesn’t welcome you staying here for treatment. If it weren’t for me, you would have been kicked out. So, if you don’t tell me what Goldman Eben’s purpose is, I won’t let you stay here. You need to think carefully about how long you can survive in Sherag in your current condition if you leave this mansion.”