Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint

Why did Ross help her purify herself from the pollution instead of waiting for her to become corrupted and turn into his follower?

Ross was too lazy to make up a reason, so he simply didn't respond and let Phil figure it out himself.

This time, when Ross directly said that if she continued to allow the pollution to erode her lungs, she would become Ross's servant, the girl's eyes became panicked.

This met Ross's expectations.

But the panic didn't last long; Phil suddenly felt relieved.

"Lord Ross is so gentle, it doesn't seem so bad to become His servant... No, I'm a saintess, how could I have such thoughts? Have I already become His servant?"

As he talked to himself, Phil realized with a start that his mindset shouldn't be like this.

“In the Holy Scriptures, the evil god Ross possesses the power to bewitch people. The gods warn everyone not to blindly believe His words, or they will fall into His clutches and become His followers… I did not believe His words, but He appeared alone to purify me from the corruption… How could I possibly escape?”

Rose's mood followed her thoughts as she did sit-ups.

He was genuinely afraid that Phil would suddenly "come to her senses," choose to embrace pollution, and truly become the Princess of the Abyss.

Fortunately, she didn't have that idea; after thinking about it for a long time, she chose to let things take their course.

She even had a daring and reckless idea—

“If I become His servant, I will definitely persuade Him and urge Him to do good.”

Ross couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This girl is even more naive than Celia.

Is this the Holy Maiden of the Holy Court?

So interesting.

Speaking of which...

Ross thought of another problem.

Besides Celia, the other two saintesses of the Holy Court are also preparing to establish a mental connection as a backup.

or……

Why not just transform all the saintesses into "saintesses of evil gods"?

It is not impossible.

Ross thought for a moment, realizing that he wasn't entirely sure what Doris and Anko's weaknesses were.

"There's no rush for this. Let's stabilize Benovia and Phil first."

Ross manipulates the puppet back to the school camp and arrives at Celia's sickroom.

There was only Celia meditating in the ward; no one else was there.

Sensing the puppet's return, Celia opened her eyes and exclaimed happily, "Mr. Ross, you're back!"

Ross stepped forward, patted Celia's head, stepped off the puppet, and told her to put the puppet back.

Afterwards, Ross asked, "What are your plans after the trial ends?"

“Me?” Celia pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, “I plan to go back and visit Mother Vanessa.”

Ross was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that when you go back, you'll find evidence of that high priest's crimes and send her back to court?"

“How could that be! Vanessa’s mother was very kind. If she had done what those high priests did, how could Star Ash Temple have been so dilapidated?”

Ross asked, "Where is Star Ash Town?"

"In the southern part of the Ishtar Empire."

Celia got out of bed and went outside the ward. Looking southwest, she pointed to the faintly visible Star Spirit Tree and said, "Right under the Star Spirit Tree, Star Ash Town is very close to it. The town got its name because after Lord Ross burned down the Star Spirit Tree, the ashes covered the entire town."

"Oh? So your hometown is next to the Star Spirit Tree?"

Celia nodded: "It's very close. The area around the Protoss Tree is a restricted zone, so we can't get in. Star Ash Town happens to be outside the restricted zone, at the northern end of the Protoss Tree."

Ross said thoughtfully, "When the Star Spirit Tree was burned down, the ash that fell should have been excellent fertilizer. Why do you say that Star Ash Town is poor and backward?"

Celia said naturally, "Because the dust of the Celestial Tree is cursed. I've heard that plants that grow from the dust are heavily polluted. Although they are magical materials, they cannot be collected or used."

"Before the end of the Age of Calamity, the people of Star Ash Town were all afflicted with the Astral Curse and lived a very difficult life. It was only after the end of the Age of Calamity that things slowly improved. There was nothing there except for being close to the Astral Tree. In fact, the Astral Tree easily blocked out the sunlight, so most people probably wouldn't go to such a place to develop."

Ross nodded. "I see. Since we're going to the vicinity of the Star Spirit Tree, once you get there, try to get close to it. I have some questions that need answering."

"You're not going to burn the Celestial Tree again, are you?" Celia asked warily.

Ross was both amused and exasperated: "You think just anyone can burn down the Protoss Tree? With your current strength, you couldn't burn it down even if you had a thousand years."

"That's good." Celia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Moreover, the reason I burned the Star Spirit Tree was because it was being exploited so severely at the time, which led to increased pollution and the spread of the Abyss, so I had no choice but to burn it."

Ross did not mention the other reason.

In the game, burning down the Star Spirit Tree is one of the many prerequisites for the War of the Gods, but only by burning down the Star Spirit Tree can the "Heaven" difficulty be unlocked, which refers to ganging up on the twelve main gods.

As to why the Star Spirit Tree had to be burned to start the God War, Ross hasn't looked into the specific background story, so he can only conclude that the Star Spirit Tree was too important to the gods, so burning it angered them and led to the God War.

The current Celestial Tree is not the same as the one before, so Ross doesn't need to burn it again.

Just as Celia was talking to Ross, the ward door opened and Benovia came in from outside.

She saw Celia outside the window and said, "Celia, since the ruins have been conquered, the school has stopped the trials and is preparing to hold the closing ceremony the day after tomorrow. Abros asked me to come and ask if you want to go on stage and give a speech."

Celia shook her head repeatedly: "Forget it, let Doris handle this. She might really like it. I'll pass."

Benovia said, "But you are the key player in conquering the ruins. Doris said she doesn't want the credit; it belongs to you. If you don't go, she won't go either."

"Does Doris have a screw loose?" Celia frowned. "Whatever, I'm not going."

Benovia smiled and said, "That won't do. We are an adventurer team exploring the ruins, and we need to go on stage no matter what. If you don't go, we won't go either. The principal's expression will definitely be interesting then."

Celia rolled her eyes: "Although I'd like to see the principal's expression too, I'll just go. It's just a formality, no big deal."

“Okay, then I’ll go back and tell Professor Abros.”

"Well, please."

Thank you Yuyi for the 1500 points!

Chapter 174 Ending

Celia did not stay in the ward for two days as instructed by the holy priest. That evening, after Phil came to give her a treatment, she returned to her dormitory.

In the dormitory, she talked with the other girls to learn about the changes in her situation after she fell into a coma.

In particular, did the two pollution outbreaks cause serious consequences?

Benovia explained to Celia: "The pollution storm caused by the destruction of the ghost ship did cause some trouble. Although most of the mercenaries left after the ghost ship came out, as did the students who participated in the trial, a small number of mercenaries and students did not leave."

"They were hit by the pollution immediately. Although the monsters around the Gold Coast managed to withstand the impact for a while, it still caused quite serious effects."

"After we finished our exploration, the school instructors and many mercenary groups spontaneously entered the ruins and found many mercenaries and students who had been knocked unconscious by the contamination."

"Fortunately, since the monsters were all killed in the flood, they didn't die and survived. Many of them have recovered after Phil's treatment, but some are too badly contaminated and will probably have to say goodbye to adventure for the rest of their lives."

Celia breathed a sigh of relief: "It's best if there's no death."

Benovia smiled slightly, "Who knows? Ruins exploration is inherently dangerous. We don't know if anyone happens to die inside. Our mentor said that everyone we found is alive, so we don't need to worry about it."

Celia nodded. "What about the pollution storm that killed the Blue Winged Seahorse?"

"The outbreak occurred at a very high altitude, but the camp was prepared and no accidents occurred."

Phil said softly, "After the ruins were cleared, a lot of things changed in the camp. Many merchants who had been selling things here for a long time, and mercenaries who had settled here, all showed signs of being unaccustomed to it. All the mercenaries were asking who had cleared the ruins."

This site is said to have been explored for over a century.

Over such a long period of time, many people have probably gotten used to life here, and life here has become a part of each other's lives.

Now that the ruins are cleared, most of the mercenaries are preparing to leave. This sudden change has made those mercenaries who consider this place their home extremely uncomfortable.

This is normal.

However, even after the ruins have been conquered, the subsequent processing and maintenance still require manpower. This camp will not be abandoned just because most of the mercenaries have left.

Even the Holy Magic Academy's camp will later be used as a base for the Holy Court, serving as a base for developing the ruins.

“Do they know it’s us?” Celia asked.

Benovia said, "Some students who can't keep their mouths shut have revealed that they know it's a 'mysterious squad' in the school. As for whether anyone knows it's the Saintess Squad, I don't know."

"Besides stopping the trials, has the school taken any other actions?" Celia asked again.

Benovia took out a bag from which gold coins jingled: "The school reviewed our strategy and believes we used too many scrolls. Since you, the provider of the scrolls, are not wealthy, they are prepared to provide you with additional reimbursement."

Celia immediately beamed and took the bag: "Hmph, it wasn't a waste of time."

Beside her, Doris couldn't help but say, "Isn't this your money? The school will reimburse you, but it won't arrive until the start of the semester."

"What?" Celia was stunned, looking at Benovia with a face full of doubt.

Benovia said, "Yes, this isn't the school's purse; it's mine. My family... well, they found out about the strategy and think that using your scrolls is disrespectful to our family, so they asked me to give you money to reimburse part of your scroll expenses."

"There are... more than 100 gold coins in here, right?"

"You have 200 gold coins."

"No, I can't accept this. This is your own money. Since we've teamed up, we should share resources. How can I charge you extra?" Celia said, handing the money bag back.

However, Benovia simply jumped away.

“It’s no use talking to me. Go talk to my family. My family said that if you don’t accept it, they will cut off my living expenses and make me give up the saintess election until you accept it.”

“Your house is just too…” Celia was both amused and exasperated.

But when I think of Benovia's family, who can use the Heart of Gold as ink for their scrolls, and it's pure Heart of Gold, without any other materials.

Those despicable nobles.

Celia accepted it without a second thought.

After chatting with a few more people and learning about various news from the past two days, as evening approached, Doris, as the team leader, suggested going out for a "farewell dinner." So they left the school camp and went out for a meal.

The next day, they cooperated with the school in preparing for the "trial closing ceremony".

Since Celia said she wouldn't speak and would only be a prop on stage, and considering that having Doris write the speech would definitely be too flamboyant, the school ended up having someone else write the speech for her.

Aside from cooperating with the school, Celia just lay around in her dorm room like a corpse.

"Without realizing it, we've become wealthy again."

Celia looked at the gold coins in her hand.

A total of 252 gold coins, 200 of which came from Benovia, and 52 of which were leftovers from the sale of the upgraded link device and scroll a month ago.

Thinking about the school's rewards and the Empire's rewards that would follow, and how many gold coins that would amount to, Celia couldn't stop smiling.

She even forgot about the destruction of the high-level magic crystal.

Seeing her like this, Ross couldn't help but shake his head: "Is that all the ambition you have?"

"Hehehe, I've never seen so many gold coins in my life!"

“You’ll have plenty of gold coins to earn in the future,” Ross said. “The Blue Winged Seahorse was deeply corrupted by demonic energy, which caused a demonic storm after its death. Its body was destroyed in the storm and could not be recycled. Fortunately, it still left behind something useful, which strengthened your soul.”

“Soul enhancement?” Celia was taken aback.

"Yes, haven't you felt that you're more adept at controlling the Mage's Hand?"

Celia shook her head: "I haven't used Mage's Hand yet."

"Besides having stronger mental control, the increased strength of your soul also indirectly increases your resistance to mental attacks. You won't faint so easily like you are now in the future."

Celia retorted, "I only fainted this once. When else have I ever fainted?"

"I was referring to being stunned by the enemy's mental attack during the battle. Even though it only lasted a few seconds, it still made me dizzy."

“Oh…” Celia lowered her head.

"There's one more thing." Ross looked around Celia's body, "Your physical condition is too poor. You rely entirely on the attribute bonuses from your rank. If you encounter a slightly stronger monster, you won't dare to let it touch you at all."

Celia felt a sense of unease. "Lord Ross, what are you trying to say?"

"I'll add some physical exercise classes for you."

"Don't do that kind of thing!"