SAINTESS [Chapter 30: God of Mars Civilization]

"Your sins are unforgivable. However, confession may lighten your punishment. If you choose to reveal who exactly is behind you, we might consider reducing your charges. I personally admire loyalty, but I detest blind loyalty. Think carefully, consider your own future, and ask yourself whether it's worth sacrificing your entire life for the person behind the scenes. And remember, my patience has its limits." Truly worthy of being Isatia, her overwhelming aura of authority and imperial dominance was undoubtedly number one among all the fated heroines.

“I, I…” Wood stuttered for a long time without managing to utter a complete sentence. His face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling.

Winnie glanced at Wood from the side but remained silent.

“I... no one ordered me. All of this was entirely my own doing.” In the end, Wood seemed to have made up his mind, but his words were still the same as before.

“So, you made me wait all this time just to hear this full-of-holes lie?” Isatia's eyes turned completely cold. “You didn't listen to a single word I said earlier, did you, Wood?”

“It's all my own doing! I absolutely ignore this fraud! Such a heinous villain, why, why are you still protecting him?! Wouldn't it have been better to just let him die in the Mars dungeon?!” Wood screamed, trembling.

“Fine, fine, fine. I'm the bad guy, right? But what about you? Are you some kind of saint?!” Winnie snorted coldly. “Don't even think about standing on some moral high ground lecturing this young master. Who do you think you are, trying to morality blackmail me? Do you even have morals? Hmph. Beyond the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, under the endless sky, don't you know your own place?”

With that, Winnie pulled out the token from inside Wood's clothes and tossed back the fake one he had switched.

“Here, take back your counterfeit wooden tag and scram!” Winnie added, tossing his own token up and down casually in his hand.

At the same time, Isatia caught a glimpse of the number on Winnie's token.

“Mr. Wood, if you still refuse to speak the truth now, no one will be able to save you.” Isatia sat seated on the bench. “Carillian Academy has one excellent feature worth praising, the prison. It's a very quiet and suitable place for reflection. I think you should spend a few days there and thoroughly think through all the problems in your heart.”

“?!” Wood's eyes broadened in shock.

He had imagined what might happen if he failed, but humans always cling to a sliver of hope. What if? What if he had succeeded? What if even if discovered, given Winnie's reputation, people would still choose to help him? There were even quite a few people who secretly called him a hero and would do anything to rescue him?~

This was exactly what the person behind him told him, slowly guiding him to believe his actions were fully justified.

At the very least, the person backing him wouldn't let him be imprisoned and stripped of his student status. They will definitely rescue him.

“You seem to have misunderstood something.” Isatia's beautiful eyes were sharp and intimidating. The eyes are the window to the soul, and not a single flicker of hidden thought in Wood's gaze can escape her sight.

“People like you, I've seen more than roadside weeds. Right now, you're probably still clinging to the hope that the mastermind behind you will reach out and save you, aren't you?” Isatia's voice struck Wood's heart like a heavy muffled hammer.

Isatia leaned forward slightly, still looking down at Wood. As the eldest princess of the Tyrell Empire, she understood perfectly which subtle body movements and postures could exponentially increase psychological pressure.

“But you know what? In this situation, the one backing you doesn't have the capability to pull you out. Even if they did have the power, they wouldn't want to. Otherwise, why wouldn't they do it themselves and instead incite someone else? It's laughable, some people have already become disposable pawns yet still believe they're useful to their boss.”

“Growing up means gradually realizing just how foolish and self-important you once were, and realizing just how insignificant you truly are.” Isatia spoke in a chilling tone.

“Besides, even if you think they intend to save you, do you really believe they dare?” Isatia folded her arms, the meaning was clear.

With the eldest princess of the Tyrell Empire herself sitting right here, who would dare to pull him out? Who would have the audacity, no matter how powerful their background?

“...I'm not even a citizen of the Tyrell Empire!” Wood mustered his courage and retorted like a cowed quail.

“Oh? Then which country are you from?” Isatia wasn't asking Wood. She turned to her assistant beside her.

“Team leader, we've pulled up all the information on this student. His full name is Wood Sylis, third son of Baron Sylis of the Camella Kingdom.”

“Baron? Third son?” After hearing this, Isatia suddenly let out a cold chuckle. “A perfect candidate for a canon fodder.”

“Throughout history, canon fodders have always been linked to 'barons,' 'viscounts,' 'second sons,' 'third sons', regardless of era or nation. Mr. Wood, do you know why that is?” Isatia asked.

Wood pressed his lips together, remaining silent.

“People are all the same, always dreaming of gaining wealth through risky ventures without weighing their own capabilities or risk tolerance.”

“Think back carefully. Did the person behind you, comfortably sitting on high while using you as their canon fodder, ever promise to save you? Reflect, aside from empty promises and verbal assurances, did they offer you any concrete guarantees?”

Wood's eyes flickered slightly, though he still said nothing.

“How interesting. Not a single tangible guarantee, and yet you still came? Well, someone like you probably isn't unique to this era, every age has plenty of such fools.” Isatia saw straight through Wood's thoughts, even without him speaking.

For this deeply calculating future empress, reading the minds of students like these were far too simple.

“Handling you across national borders might be overstepping my authority, a bit excessive. Perhaps I can only deal with you within the academy. But there's someone else who's different, even if you're sent back to your home country, she can still handle you.”

“So, as you wish. I'll send Miss Mirexia a detailed report on your attempt to kill Mr. Winnie. I think she'll handle it even more 'appropriately' than I would.”

With that, the imposing beauty stood from her seat and handed the form to her assistant. “Take this evidence and the form to report to the higher-ups. Make a copy and send it to the Student Council President. I believe she'll make time to review it amid her busy schedule. Then take him and send him straight to the academy prison, don't delay.”

“Understood, Team Leader.”

One couldn't help but marvel at Isatia's efficiency. With just a few sentences and a brief sit-down, she had completely unraveled Wood's entire thought process, filled out the information-dense form, and had him sent straight to the academy prison. Confession, imprisonment, investigation, all procedures seamlessly executed.

No wonder she could rise to become leader of the Discipline Committee as a first-year student in just one semester.

The capabilities of these fated heroines were truly one more impressive than the next, leaving Winnie standing by, clicking his tongue in amazement.

“Thank you for your help today, Isatia.” After the Discipline Committee members took away the soulless, dazed Wood, Winnie thanked Isatia.

“It's merely my duty. You don't need to thank me, Winnie.” Isatia glanced at the token in Winnie's hand. “The rest is none of your concern. We'll investigate and handle it. Once we uncover who's behind this, we'll give you a satisfactory answer. Go home and rest early tonight.”

“Tomorrow, we need to be fully prepared to set out.”

“Huh? Yes?” Winnie, hearing her last words, sensed a deeper meaning and looked up at Isatia in slight surprise. “Isatia, you don't mean...?”

“Tomorrow, please treat me well, Winnie.” With that, Isatia pulled out her own token, holding it between two delicate, ivory-white fingers. Clearly inscribed on it was the same number as his: 'Fifteen.'

“Huh?!” Winnie was momentarily stunned, only slowly realizing that Isatia had been assigned to the same group as him.

“Isatia, you're in Group Fifteen too?!” Winnie checked the number on his own token. The two tokens were identical except for the names written on them, no color differences or distinguishing marks.

Well, Winnie knew Isatia was going to participate in the Mars dungeon exploration, he was aware of that. After all, she had previously shown a strong interest in Mars and even requested during class that the teacher gave first-year students a chance. At that time, Winnie already knew she would definitely join the dungeon exploration. What he didn't understand was why she was in such a hurry, what exactly did she want to verify within the ancient Mars civilization's dungeon?

“Don't let today's incident affect your performance tomorrow.” Isatia added.

“Yeah, understood.” Come on, Winnie wouldn't claim excellence in everything, but his strongest trait was undoubtedly his stress resistance. In both his past and current life, his reputation as Camella Kingdom's unrivaled troublemaker was built upon unmatched resilience.

Seeing that Isatia seemed to have other matters to attend to, Winnie hesitated for a moment before speaking. “By the way, are you still using those potions you bought from me?”

“Yes, they're very effective.” Isatia nodded.

“Good. Then you should rest early tonight as well, Isatia.” With that, Winnie turned and left.

After this little incident, Winnie pondered who exactly had ordered Wood, an unknown stranger, to frame him.

Given how insignificant the man was, the number of barons in the Camella Kingdom was thousands. A third son of a baron was barely considered nobility. In higher noble circles, he was practically indistinguishable from a commoner.

Still, since Wood was from the Camella Kingdom, the one who ordered him was most likely also from the Camella Kingdom.

As for who specifically?

Winnie could only say that while he had many minor enemies, those with serious grudges were relatively few. There were a few possible candidates, but as for whether it had anything to do with the Church, Winnie thought it unlikely. The Church wouldn't do such childish, low-level schemes.

But right now, without any evidence, all he could do was wait for the Discipline Committee's further investigation and interrogation. After all, harming fellow students was an absolute red line at Carillian Academy, such matters will definitely be investigated to the very end.

Winnie returned home, slept, and the next morning, after eating breakfast prepared by Shikondell, dressed properly and prepared to head to the southeast island of Carillian Academy for reporting.

“By the way, Winnie, won't the dungeon left behind by the Mars civilization be extremely dangerous?” Shikondell asked, worried.

“Theoretically, yes. Who knows what-old malicious schemes those lost century ancient civilizations might have left behind?” Winnie replied casually.

“I've heard of this civilization, but it's quite distant from the Moon Elf Kingdom, so our records of them are rather scarce,” Shikondell said.

“Oh, right, I remember now.” Winnie recalls that given the elves' long history and longevity, the Mars civilization likely existed in the same era as the elven civilization, or perhaps the elves were even earlier. Therefore, it was natural for the elves to have historical records of the Mars civilization.

“I once saw records about this civilization in our family's grand library. They were very mysterious. The Gods they worshiped were completely different from the ones we believed in, or the ones humans worshiped today,” Shikondell recalled.

“Oh? You've read related texts? What did they say?” Winnie found Shikondell's words highly credible. After all, she was the princess of the Moon Elf race and had spent much of her childhood wandering the royal library. Given elves' revival for history and their immense historical depth, everyone knew their encyclopedias and history books were the most comprehensive on the entire continent.

“I don't remember the details clearly, but I do recall that the Gods worshiped by the Mars civilization had authority over [Continuance] and [Eternity].” Shikondell said. “Just like how the authority of the Goddess of Radiance is [Healing], [Revival], and so on.”

“I see.” Winnie nodded, indicating he understood.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, could Isatia's intense interest in the Mars civilization be related to the gods they worshiped and their divine authority?

But why would she be so interested in a civilization and god governing [Continuance] and [Eternity]?

“If that's the case, it would truly be ironic, a civilization that worshiped a god of [Continuance] and [Eternity] ultimately couldn't continue and went extinct.” Winnie said with a wry smile.

Just like the Carillian Imperial Family, descended from the ancestral god of [Time], Carillian, ultimately couldn't withstand the erosion of time and perished.

And likewise, the descendants of Goddess Varelis, who held authority over [Revival] and [Healing], had an alarmingly high rate of dying in battle before they could heal themselves.

It was almost a kind of hellish joke.

Viewed this way, perhaps it wasn't so unreasonable that the Mars civilization, which held [Continuance] and [Eternity], ultimately couldn't continue and perished?

“Don't worry. With the token, nothing unexpected will happen.” Winnie waved his hand, telling Shikondell not to worry about him.

“Still, Winnie, you should be careful. What if I participate too?” Shikondell suggested.

“Participate in what? If you really want to go, fine, but there's no need. You won't be in the same group as me anyway, and group assignments are already finalized. Saying this now is too late!” Winnie rolled her eyes.

Besides, to put it bluntly, even if Shikondell were assigned to his group, what good would it do? Wouldn't she just become another liability to look after? Unless, of course, Shikondell could transform into Dark Shikondell.

After finishing breakfast, Winnie equipped [Frostfang], put on his coat, and walked out of his dormitory door with a confident stride.