The Evil God Summoned by the Saintess-Chapter 40 - 38: The High Priest Appears, A Battle of Wills
For Rose, the Sea Successor White Whale is as familiar as it gets—a staple mid-game resource farm. Not only can he eat it himself, but he can feed it to his cultivated NPCs to help them level up.
In-game, the effect is: after eating it, experience gain efficiency increases by 100%, with a chance to enter "Sea Successor" state, boosting affinity for Water Element Magic.
In reality, besides speeding up Meditation and increasing affinity, it adds another effect—directly increasing a huge amount of Magic Power, depending on how much you consume.
So farming Sea Successor White Whale is a rite of passage for every player, and Rose is a pro at it.
At the start of the White Whale event, you need to add backdoor runes to the corresponding Summoning Array, to influence the mental state of the Sea Successor White Whale and trigger some fascinating chain reactions.
That’s exactly what Rose is doing right now.
"Alright, this is pretty much sorted. Let’s head back."
"That’s it already?"
Hilia blinked.
She wracked her brain yesterday and had no idea how to solve it—not even finding the Magic Array. But today, with just a word from Rose, every spot with buried magic stones was found.
The massive gap made Hilia feel a little down, but the moment she recalled Rose’s identity, the feeling vanished.
Come on, he’s literally a god.
And you? What are you?
The girl hesitated, carefully said, "Um, Lord Rose, maybe... maybe we should just destroy the Magic Array directly? I don’t care about the fish fins anymore."
That thing is a terrifying demon that could destroy a whole town.
I’m just a Tier One Mage...
How am I supposed to subdue it?
What’s next, slide tackling?
"Don’t bother. Once a creature in the water turns into a white whale, the Summoning Array can’t stop. Destroying all the magic stones is useless—they’re only useful during the initial setup. Whether you dig them up or not makes no difference."
"Oh, so when the teachers come, they’ll probably dig them up, right? Wouldn’t that mess up your setup?"
"Once the backdoor is set, it’s permanently locked onto the Summoning Array. It directly alters the underlying code. Even the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association couldn’t break it."
Really?
Hilia wanted to doubt him, but she didn’t dare. She just nervously followed Rose’s arrangements.
"What about those mutated fish in here? Will more keep appearing?"
"Yeah, let your teachers deal with it."
Hilia felt a bit bad.
It seemed like she got all the benefits, while the teachers dealt with all the trouble...
But after comparing yesterday with today—especially after picking up Rose’s method for Purifying Pollution—
Way more efficient than Holy Word: Purification, and lower requirements for Purification Magic...
She didn’t dare speak up. Didn’t dare ask.
Lake Beia was handled so easily, it was like a breeze. Hilia still hadn’t recovered even after getting back to Beia Village.
Until she heard a voice that wasn’t supposed to be here.
"Well, well, just as I thought. By the guidance of the Gods, I have finally found the hidden heretics."
"Heh, what kind of ritual are you performing here?"
Hilia looked over and saw the High Priest of the Snow Fir Divine Hall, flanked by five Knights, hovering above Xue Shan Town—right over the spot where Hilia had piled up the polluted materials.
A crowd of curious villagers were gathered there.
But now the villagers were staring up at the High Priest and Knights, blank-faced, with no idea what was going on.
Marina was the first to react. She hurried in front of everyone and shouted, "We’re not heretics! These are the polluted materials we found, and we were just about to deal with them..."
"Oh? You’re planning to destroy the pollution and keep performing evil rituals in these mountains?"
The High Priest wore a look of pity. "Poor lost lambs, you’ve been tainted by the heretics and can’t turn back. Let the Knights of the Holy Court put an end to your miserable lives."
"Wait!"
Seeing the High Priest about to give the order, Hilia rushes in front of everyone.
"High Priest, these people aren’t heretics, and this isn’t a heretic base. All that pollution was collected by me," Hilia said quickly.
The High Priest saw Hilia and immediately smiled. "Ah, it’s you, child. The Holy Court is grateful for your contribution. You reported to us and gathered up the heretics—a great merit. Once we finish cleansing the heretics, you’ll be rewarded. For now, please stand aside and don’t interfere with the Holy Court’s purge."
Hilia grew anxious, "How can you say that? Are you deaf? I’m telling you they’re not heretics! How can you slander them?"
"Slander?" The High Priest’s face turned cold. "Are you questioning the Holy Court’s bishop, questioning the word of the Divine Hall’s High Priest?"
"You’re just a Tier One Mage—a hidden heretic—do you know better than me? I’ll allow you one offense, but if you insist on blocking, that means you’re a heretic too. Don’t blame the Holy Court’s Knights for trampling you."
"I trust my judgment. I guarantee it with my status." Hilia spoke firmly, and pulled out her Divine Magic Academy student card from her pack.
The High Priest glanced and sneered, "A student, huh? Makes sense. The purest kind—easy for heretics to trick. Step aside, future Knight. I forgive your offense."
"What about this?"
Hilia took out another item—a dove-shaped badge cradled in her hands. Others may not recognize it, but the High Priest certainly would.
It’s the Holy Daughter badge.
Even a candidate gets one.
Sure enough, the High Priest’s expression changed.
If Hilia was an Ordinary Mage, he’d bundle her up with the others as heretics, no hesitation.
If she was a Divine Magic Academy student, he’d treat her cautiously—forgive the offense, then bundle her off to the Academy for punishment.
But she’s the Holy Court’s Holy Daughter!
No, Candidate Holy Daughter.
But even as a candidate, her future is way above a mere town priest—not someone the High Priest can afford to offend.
How is she the Holy Daughter?
The High Priest began to panic, and his attitude softened instantly.
He quickly recalled Hilia’s name, then warmly said, "So you’re Miss Xilia. I am Dylan, High Priest of the Snow Fir Divine Hall. Sorry for the offense, but..."
He looked down at the gathered villagers. "Are you sure they’re just ordinary people, and no heretics are hiding among them?"
"I guarantee it with my status." Hilia scanned all the villagers’ faces below and confirmed, "None of them are."
Jack wasn’t among the crowd.
The real heretics wouldn’t be interested in ordinary polluted materials.
At this moment, the villagers finally understood what was happening and started murmuring, looking terrified at the negotiation above.
They didn’t dare leave, since the Knights had already quietly surrounded them.
Off to the side, Rose was controlling a Magic Puppet, arms crossed behind his head, leaning against a tree, legs crossed, watching Hilia negotiating.
All he needed was a stalk of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth.
Normally, once Hilia showed her credentials and backed up her guarantee, things would be settled. The High Priest would give her some face—unless...
Hilia compromised.
