26: Chapter 26 The Devout Saint

In ancient times, at the entrance of a Goblin cave, the Shu People's high priestess, Spirit Abyss, was killed by Chu Xingyang. However, Chu Xingyang still allowed a few Shu People to escape.

Among those who fled back, You and Wei successively became leaders of the Shu People and established a nation composed of several city-states. To commemorate the mercy of the Sun God, Chu Xingyang, who spared their lives that year, the Shu People named their nation the Rising Sun Alliance.

For a considerable period afterward, the Rising Sun Alliance, located in the center of the continent, through conquest and persuasion, incorporated most of the territory of the Central Continent into the alliance.

However, two races persistently engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Rising Sun Alliance. One of them was the Goblin, whose appearance closely resembled goblins.

Cursed by the ancestors of the Shu People, the Goblin, who had no females and were short in stature, could only sustain their race by plundering women from the alliance.

They typically attacked small city-states or towns in remote areas of the alliance, killing all the men, then dragging the women into their caves. They would tightly chain the women's wrists, not only to prevent them from committing suicide out of humiliation but also to make it easier for their own clansmen to assault them.

Even if the elite combat forces of the alliance rescued those women at great cost, the women, devastated both physically and mentally, would become dull-eyed and listless, finding it difficult to reintegrate into normal life.

Therefore, the entire Rising Sun Alliance harbored deep hatred for the Goblin and organized numerous expeditionary armies, vowing to exterminate them completely.

However, the Goblin had the werewolf race as steadfast allies, and they relied on familiar terrains such as mountains, forests, rivers, and marshes. Thus, they managed to repel the expeditionary forces every time.

In a prison within a Goblin cave, a beautiful woman from a small city-state, who had just been captured, was scanning the dimly lit surroundings of the cell.

Inside were over a dozen disheveled women, most of whom were noticeably pregnant.

One young woman seemed to be in labor, her face contorted in pain as she wailed.

Soon, three ugly and grotesque Goblin infants emerged from beneath her. These devilish-looking babies, with their eyes still closed, could already find food on their own.

They climbed over their mother, quickly found the right spot, and immediately began pushing and shoving to compete. One was knocked to the ground and could only frantically tug at its mother's hair.

Having just given birth to three offspring and with her arms chained, the young woman was completely exhausted, forced to let them suckle. The pain in her eyes turned to despair, as if she had already become a corpse.

A middle-aged woman nearby comforted her in an extremely weak voice: "Sister, this is your first birth. I know it's hard. Endure it. I've already had six, and now I hardly feel anything."

The newly arrived girl was terrified by this hellish scene, stunned for a long while. Only when the foul stench in the cell snapped her back to reality, confirming this was not a nightmare, did she begin struggling desperately, trying to break free from the chains.

Several women nearby looked at her with pity: "Don't struggle. Even if the chains loosen, there's still this prison and the guards outside. The first night will be unbearable, agonizing. You must grit your teeth and endure it."

As they spoke, the cell door opened. Goblin filed in, all staring wide-eyed at the newly captured prey.

"No!" the young woman glared at the malicious-looking Goblin before her, screaming hysterically: "I am the Saintess of the Naya City-state. We Saintesses must remain chaste in the temple, serving the Xingyang God until the age of twenty-five before we can retire, marry, and bear children. You cannot touch me. I serve the Xingyang God now; I am a handmaiden of the god!"

"A Saintess?" The leading Ge Person scratched his head, looking indifferent: "Two or three hundred years ago, capturing a Saintess would have meant sending her back. After all, no matter what, we and you worship the same god. But that tradition is gone now. Besides, have you ever truly seen the Xingyang God?"

The young and beautiful Saintess was momentarily speechless, but after a brief silence, the fire in her eyes burned even brighter: "The blessings of the Xingyang God spread across the land. We are all devout servants of the Xingyang God. If you continue your evil deeds, you will surely face divine punishment."

But the Goblin clearly paid no heed to her words.

Afterward, the leading Ge Person was quite satisfied. Still panting heavily, he specifically had someone bring a bottle of milk and handed it to her: "You must be tired. This was just milked. Drink it, so you can bear healthy children for our race."

"Spit!"

The Saintess clenched her teeth, spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the Ge Person's face, cursing incessantly.

The Ge Person was not angered. He simply ordered someone to pry open the Saintess's mouth and force the milk down her throat. Then, everyone left the cell.

The pain throughout her body kept the young woman awake all night. The next day, the dim cell grew slightly brighter; she knew morning had arrived.

So she immediately closed her eyes to pray, performing the morning rituals expected of a Saintess.

The woman beside her was puzzled: "After all this, you still serve the Xingyang God? Do you still have such unwavering faith in the Xingyang God?"

The Saintess nodded vigorously: "The Xingyang God has not abandoned me, has not abandoned us. As long as we are devout enough, we will surely receive the god's redemption."

The young woman who had given birth the previous day was utterly hopeless: "Forget it. We've already become breeding machines. I don't believe any god will come."

The middle-aged woman also shook her head in agony: "Yes, I've been captured for seven years. I've seen women who have been here for over a decade, unable to bear children anymore, thrown out. I've also seen young girls suddenly die and be discarded like rotten meat... If there really is a god, it must be the god of the Goblin!"

"Blasphemy!" Despite the torment of the previous night, the Saintess's words remained stern: "Your faith is not strong enough. From now on, please join me in prayer every morning!"

And so, this cell began to feature a new scene. Regardless of how many women were subjected to successive torments the night before, or how many gave birth.

They would, at dawn the next day, close their eyes slightly and murmur prayers. This seemed to have become their sole source of strength to keep living.

The Goblin didn't bother to interfere, after all, the god they prayed to was also the god the Goblin themselves worshipped—the Xingyang God!