SAINTESS [Chapter 41: Can you manage it? ]

“Virtue + 60.”

“Current Virtue: 2684.”

“Hey, no way?? This is way too ridiculous??” Winnie stared at his gradually fading body and complained. “Are they seriously going to send me in too??”

“And if it's about blood relations, then why are all Isatia's other relatives fine, while only I, the one completely unrelated, bound merely by a written promise as her fiancé, have to go??”

"Naturally, this only affects those involved under divine authority. Simply put, people inside the dungeon. Her other relatives never entered the dungeon," Aesphyra replied with a slight frown. “Try to interrupt the teleportation.”

“Interrupt teleportation?? How am I supposed to do that? There's no such option at all??” Winnie snapped irritably.

“Then quickly crush your token,” Aesphyra said. “Activate the token's forced teleportation mechanism. Anyway, once you enter the Deep-Buried dungeon, the token will definitely become invalid.”

“I'll try.” Winnie followed her instructions and crushed his token.

As the token shattered, a powerful force seized and protected his body.

However, before this strong anchoring power could fully activate, it was overwhelmed and shattered by an even greater resistance. As a result, Winnie, who should have been teleported back to the anchor point, remained in place, and his body's transparency wasn't lifted.

“Its a trouble.” Aesphyra's expression turned grave as she watched this unfold.

Her suspicion had been confirmed, divine authority stood above everything. Any magic, secret techniques, or Soul Armament affected by divine intervention were rendered meaningless, including the anchor teleportation.

Artificial constructs could never compare to those created by the divine.

Seeing Winnie about to be teleported away, Aesphyra braved the immense resistance and tossed several portable alchemical potions and magic scrolls towards him.

“Catch.”

Winnie caught the items thrown by Aesphyra, but the moment he did, his body turned completely transparent. This transparency seems to generate a kind of field, causing all items on his person to vanish as well. Then, in an instant, his form transformed into a beam of light, pulled into the Contract Gate through its crack.

After Winnie entered and the name on the stone bricks was fully inscribed, Aesphyra felt the immense resistance she had been enduring vanish instantly.

Her furrowed brows did not relax. Silently, she stared at the towering Contract Gate, took out her token, and crushed it without hesitation.

The Deep-Buried dungeon of Mars was constructed by divine authority, something even she hadn't anticipated.

Now, the situation has completely changed. The matter was out of control. She needed to return to the anchor point immediately, report this to her mentors, and seek their help to figure out how to rescue Isatia and Winnie.

……..

After unraveling the mystery behind the fall of the Mars civilization and stepping through the door of the Contract Book, Isatia found herself in a completely unfamiliar world.

The blinding sunlight forced her to raise a hand to shield her eyes. The surrounding clanging noises made her frown slightly.

Her time was running short, that's why she resorted to such desperate measures.

She had to act fast.

Yet, the moment she opened her eyes, sharp golden-embellished spears were pointed directly at her.

“Quick, a strange foreign woman has appeared here!” Before Isatia could recover from her surprise, shouts erupted from all around.

People??

Isatia was deeply shocked. In the shallow layer of the dungeon, they hadn't encountered a single living being, let alone actual humans.

Looking up, she saw a group of soldiers clad in golden armor, exposing their lower arms and legs, with dark skin. They were now staring at her with high alert, attempting to subdue her with their weapons.

Who were these people??

Immediately, Isatia recalled all the images of Mars soldiers depicted in the murals within the shallow dungeon, characterized by scale-like golden armor, golden triangular helmets, dark skin, and these gold-trimmed spears paired with snake-tail daggers.

Under the sunlight, they looked as if coated in gold.

“Foreign woman, what is your name??” A Mars soldier barked when Isatia didn't respond.

“Call the registrar! Let him check the slave registry and see if this woman is listed!”

“Strange... where did you come from? Which tribe? I've never seen someone with your features, such odd clothing, a foreigner?” Another soldier asked.

They were aggressive, partly due to their nature as professional soldiers, and partly due to the Mars people's attitude toward foreigners: they didn't treat them as human beings.

“Heh, who cares which tribe she's from? I think she's pretty. If she's not in the registry, I'll just take her back as my slave!” A Mars soldier said with a grin on his face. Greed and desire was written on his face.

In fact, many other soldiers, upon seeing Isatia's appearance, wore identical expressions.

In the Mars Kingdom, slaves had no rights, worth less than livestock. Any treatment they received was considered acceptable.

“Who do you think you are? Wanting to break the rules? Do you want to be whipped??” Another soldier immediately shouted.

Isatia remained silent in the center, her expression as cold and calm as ice.

Even in this situation, she stayed composed, pondering why she could understand the Mars soldiers' language.

Could this be the effect of divine authority??

As for the existence of Mars people in the Deep-Buried dungeon, it wasn't surprising. When fragments of the [Eternity] and [Continuance] divine authorities were torn away, all Mars people and slaves were drawn inside.

Isatia speculated they might have truly achieved 'Eternity' and 'Continuance', well, within a dungeon, within a false world.

And the timeline was clearly off.

Her hypothesis confirmed, the Mars Kingdom at this moment should be in the midst of civil war, the period when, to prevent slave uprisings, large numbers of slaves were granted formal status and conscripted.

Isatia looked toward the distance, at the temple and statue still under construction. Countless half-naked slaves, bare-chested and carrying heavy stone blocks, trudged forward with blank, numb eyes. Their backs were bent, nearly crushed under the weight.

This was the ancient era, Soul Armament and magic were poorly developed, making manual labor critically important.

“Tsk! Why hasn't the registrar arrived yet?? Whatever, I'll grab this woman first, bind her, and interrogate her.” With that, a Mars soldier stepped forward, attempting to capture Isatia.

Isatia's eyes narrowed slightly, she hated being touched by others.

Without failure, this Mars soldier will be impaled by a Judgment Spear the next second.

Yet, just as she raised her hand, sudden dizziness clouded her vision.

She realized what was happening and reached for her waist, only to find it empty.

Already used up??

Still, she had to persevere and fulfill her mission here.

She had endured for so many years, failing at the final step would mean everything was in vain.

However, for some reason, this backlash was far more severe than usual, as if something long suppressed had finally exploded. An overwhelming exhaustion, heavy as a chained mace, pressed down on her limbs and body, rendering her completely immobile. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground in a seated position.

Why?? This had never affected her mobility so severely before.

Struggling, Isatia pressed her forehead. The Mars soldiers before her eyes began to multiply into afterimages, and her vision began spinning.

Looks like she'd have to be ruthless with herself.

“Waahh!”

“Ahh!” Just as Isatia prepared to bite her tongue, using the pain to force herself up, and as the Mars soldier was about to seize the immobilized Isatia, a panicked cry came from the air, followed by a heavy thud.

Everyone fell silent, staring at the blue-haired foreigner who had landed flat on his back, also clad in strange attire.

“Ow, ow, ow.” Winnie stood up with a dizziness, rubbing his neck. “Where the heck did they throw this young master to? Is this even the Terraria continent??”

The Mars soldiers fell silent.

“Oh, Isatia, there you are. Good thing this dungeon isn't that messed up, random teleportation after entry would've made this trip pointless,” Winnie sobbed in relief upon seeing Isatia nearby.

“...” Isatia looked at Winnie, her weak gaze filled with confusion and bewilderment.

“Alright, alright, I know you're wondering how I followed you. I didn't want to either, okay?? Do you think I'd choose to come to this godforsaken place?? Tsk, such a dangerous place, probably crawling with undead. I wouldn't come even if you paid me!” Winnie grumbled, then noticed others around him. He frowned, sensing something off. As he looked up, he found himself surrounded by countless sharp spears.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's with this big show? Trying to scare someone??” Winnie jumped in surprise, then pointed at the Mars soldiers with an astonished expression.

“Hey, don't tell me, those murals actually look like real people?? Earlier I thought Mars art was abstract, but turns out it's realistic? Mars people really do look this abstract??”

“Dare you! Foreigner, what are you muttering about?!” A Mars soldier roared in anger.

“What 'foreigner' this and that, stop calling everyone foreigner. Wasn't your ancestor a foreigner too? I think you look a lot more foreign. Your whole family are foreigners!” Winnie scoffed, especially since he knew these Mars soldiers were essentially undead, already dead in essence, and he stood there hands in pockets, utterly unimpressed.

“Foreigner! Who gave you the audacity to speak so disrespectfully!” A Mars raised soldier his whip and struck Winnie.

Winnie, hands still in pockets, with a grin. [Armour Fortress] activated immediately, deflecting the whip, which snapped back and struck the soldier across the face.

“Aaahh!” The soldier screamed in pain.

“Guess it's really the ancient era, soldiers don't even have Soul Armament,” Winnie said, dismissing [Armour Fortress] and sticking his tongue out at the Mars soldiers. “Nyaa nyaa, come and get me if you can!”

“Foreigner, you're asking for death!”

At that moment, a token fell from Winnie's body, landing by his feet. He instinctively picked it up.

“Huh? What's this?” Winnie remembered where he'd picked up this token.

And as he looked up, he saw that the soldiers, who had just been glaring at him furiously, were now frozen in place, standing at attention.

Huh??

What's going on??

Winnie was confused.

“Ah, you're a Lord Emissary! No wonder you possess such abilities. Apologies, we failed to recognize you earlier and have offended you. Our deepest respects.” The Mars soldiers instantly turned respectful, bowing and apologizing to Winnie.

“Huh?” Winnie held the token, looked at it, then at the soldiers' reaction, instantly realizing it was because of this token.

What is an Emissary? Sounded like some official position in the Mars Kingdom??

Has the token he randomly picked up turned out to be an identity badge for an Emissary??

But why did these soldiers think he was an Emissary? He clearly didn't look like one of them. Just from his skin tone, even a blind man could tell he wasn't a Mars native.

Why would these Mars people recognize only the token, not the person??

Or could it be??

Winnie instantly realized something.

He recalls what Aesphyra had told him earlier.

Could it be that both the deceased Mars people and they were now under the influence of divine authority, bound by certain conceptualized notions??

Very likely.

“We deeply apologize, Lord Emissary. Please forgive our earlier disrespect. We shall take our leave now. We also advise you to depart quickly, as you can see, temple construction is underway here,” the squad leader said, pointing toward the distant half-built temple.

“As for that foreign woman, take her!” The squad leader turned back towards Isatia, hands behind his back, his expression instantly changing. “I suspect this foreign woman might be a spy!”

“Hold on!” Before the squad leader could leave, Winnie called out.

“Yes, Lord Emissary? Do you have further instructions?” Hearing Winnie stop him, the squad leader realized the matter wasn't over and turned around with a submissive smile.

Knowing he now had privileged status thanks to this token, Winnie decided to play the villain.

He stood with hands behind his back, exuding an air of superiority, and walked up to the squad leader, head raised, giving him a meaningful stare.

“Um, Lord Emissary?” The squad leader swallowed nervously, clearly tense.

“Spy? Hah! You spy my ass!” Winnie suddenly slapped the squad leader hard across the face.

“Ow! So, you know her??” The soldier, unable to fight back after being hit, could only speak meekly.

“Whether I know she is none of your damn business!” Winnie snorted. “Always calling people spies, accusing them, interrogating them, I think you're the biggest spy here!”

“I, I'm not! Sir, I'm utterly loyal to the gods and the royal family!”

“Then why are you meddling so much??”

“Y-you're right, but... we have regulations. Foreigners without proper identification must be—”

“Who said she doesn't have proper identification??” Winnie shot the squad leader a glare.

“Huh? So... she's your slave??” The squad leader asked, confused.

“She's my fiancée, doesn't that count as proper identification??” The moment the squad leader asked, it was as if a trigger had been pulled. The words burst out of Winnie's mouth uncontrollably.

The moment he said it, not only Isatia but even Winnie himself was stunned.

Wait, what the hell was he saying??

Why did these words just blurt out on their own??

As if some subconscious reflex had taken over, completely beyond his control.

Winnie was deeply shocked inside, sneakily glancing at Isatia, only to find her lifting her eyes and staring at him with a strangely thoughtful expression.

Oh no, oh no, could it be that he too was affected by the divine authority's field??

That must be it!

“A-ah? S-she's your fiancée??” The squad leader staggered in disbelief.

“Cough, yes, exactly. What's wrong? Got a problem? Mind your own business!” Winnie suppressed his inner shock, raised his head, and stood with hands behind his back, continuing.