Hopeless Resistance, Part One

It was pitch black.

When the girl opened her eyes, all she saw was darkness.

The icy chill seeped into her body, and the hard, damp ground instantly cleared the girl's somewhat dazed mind.

"Where am I? What happened?"

She frowned, carefully recalling everything that had happened. But she had no clue whatsoever; the only thing she remembered was the battle with the Shadow Dragon on the mountaintop, and then...

Suddenly, the girl stood up, clutching the pendant tightly to her hand, and looked around in panic. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could finally make out her surroundings with some difficulty. Although it was blurry, what she saw in front of her was clearly a rough, hard iron fence. Reaching out to touch it, she found only scattered marks on the rough, hard wall. The Temple's saintess wasn't stupid; she immediately understood where she was.

Prison.

"How is this possible? How could I be here?"

Clutching the pendant tightly, the girl immediately fell into thought. She felt a faint pain all over her body, and even her holy power seemed to be barely there. However, she still mustered all her strength and channeled the remaining holy power into the pendant. Soon, a faint white light appeared, but it was extremely weak. Looking at the pendant in her hand, the girl gasped.

The once beautiful pendant was now riddled with cracks. Having been completely defeated in the previous clash between divine and magical power, it had almost lost all its function. Even now, the girl's remaining divine power was causing considerable damage. Soon, under the girl's astonished gaze, the pendant began to tremble, and the already visible cracks widened further...

"Not good!"

Seeing the danger, the girl quickly withdrew her divine power, preventing the pendant from being completely destroyed. After gripping the pendant tightly in her hand, she finally let out a long sigh of relief. But just then, a voice suddenly appeared.

"You're awake, Your Highness."

The girl reflexively turned her head towards the source of the sound, only to see two faint red lights flash in the darkness. Then, the light appeared, and a woman holding a torch stood outside, watching her. To the girl's astonishment, the woman was dressed in priest's robes—could she be a priestess?!

"Who are you?"

The girl warily observed the female priest before her and asked a question, but the priest did not answer. Instead, the priest reached out, pushed open the cell door, and gestured for the girl to enter.

Are you going out by yourself?

The girl looked at the other person, but the other person's body was completely wrapped in a priest's robe, so she couldn't see her face clearly at all. However, judging from the voice, she should be about the same age as herself. Moreover... for some reason, she couldn't sense any life force from this priest, as if the person standing in front of her was not human.

"..."

However, the girl didn't hesitate for long. She was a saintess of the Temple, and no matter what happened... she wouldn't fret or run away like an ordinary little girl. She had her duties, responsibilities, and dignity. Thinking of this, the girl didn't say anything more, but instead put on an indifferent expression again, walked out of the prison, and then, led by the priest in front of her, walked into the depths of the dark corridor.

As this saintess, led by Fina, walks toward an unknown future, deep within the castle, Li Lin, Nia, and Angela cannot agree on how to deal with her.

While killing the saintess and then stripping her naked and hanging her corpse on the enemy's city walls would be a good idea, Li Lin and Nia both thought it wouldn't be very effective. Moreover, the reason they imprisoned her instead of killing her this time was partly to vent their anger. After all, this saintess was a descendant of the Five Heroes. Although the Five Heroes were now nothing but bones, perhaps even ashes, they would show absolutely no mercy to their descendants.

Of course, all three of them believed that this saintly lady should be made to experience pain she had never tasted before, and then turned into the lowest of slaves.

However, the three had significant differences in their methods.

In Li Lin and Nia's view, no special skills were needed. Although this saintess's divine power was also strong, her previous battle with Li Lin had proven that her power was insufficient to compete with Li Lin. Therefore, it would be enough to simply use a few spells to modify her body and brain, completely transforming her from the inside out to the desired result. This method was simple and convenient, and had no harm or side effects, so it was naturally the best approach.

However, on this point, Angela unusually showed strong opposition.

"Your method is not interesting at all, Master!"

The little guy even slammed his hand on the table, which was quite rare for him.

"Directly modifying her with magic? What fun is there in such a barbaric method? Please forgive my bluntness, but if you want to turn this saintess into a slave, you might as well just find a bitch in heat on the street and mold her into the saintess's likeness. After all, even if the inner qualities are different, the appearance will be the same. Such training is meaningless, and I don't think Master and Sister Nia would be satisfied with just that."

"I admit that Miss Angela has a point, but..."

Nia frowned, unsure how to answer. Having read countless books in the Eternal Library, Nia, possessing all the knowledge in the world, naturally understood these dark aspects. However, because this world differed from Earth, even if some evil-minded individuals wanted to cause trouble, they would immediately choose to resolve it with magic. In Li Lin's mind, using magic to completely destroy and break down the opponent's spirit, then replacing and controlling it, was a perfectly normal procedure. But for Angela, from another world, this was completely unacceptable.

"The joy of training lies in the process of change!"

Seeing that the two looked somewhat bewildered, the little guy had to raise his voice to express his opinion.

"Master, how long would it take you to subdue this saintess using magic?"

Even if she uses divine power to resist my control... it will probably only last a day.

"One day?"

Hearing this, Angela narrowed her eyes.

"So, today we see this saintly lady strutting arrogantly before us, but tomorrow she'll be a pathetic wretched woman kneeling on the ground, weeping and begging? And all we'll be able to witness is her nearly day-long struggle and suffering. Master, do you really think that will satisfy you? The human spirit is a very delicate thing; once it's broken, it can never be restored."

"Um..."

Hearing Angela's words, Li Lin hesitated. He understood what Angela meant: the human spirit is incredibly fragile. Once broken, it can never be restored. He also thought that completely controlling this saintess in just one day would be a very unfulfilling endeavor. However, for Li Lin, his method wasn't unreasonable; after all, in the Magic Empire, those wicked mages did the same thing.

But now, looking back, Angela's words did indeed offer him many reminders. Indeed, his idea was a very time-saving and efficient approach. However, this wouldn't achieve the results he desired. After all, from a mage's perspective, saving time is paramount. Most of them wouldn't waste their limited time on romance, and even someone like Li Lin, who eventually became Arcane Mage and possessed a remarkably long lifespan, couldn't shake his old habits and naturally wouldn't be thinking of using his unlimited time for romantic relationships.

However, this is clearly not a good thing for the current situation.

"So, Miss Angela, what are your thoughts?"

Like Li Lin, Nia pondered for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion, and finally had no choice but to raise the white flag and surrender.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

At this moment, Angela was radiant, a beautiful and excited smile on her face. She proudly puffed out her chest, looking at the two of them.

"I need a month... and I will, without using any spells that affect the mind, train that arrogant woman into a lustful, promiscuous woman."

"Without using any spells that affect the mind?"

Hearing this, Li Lin raised his eyebrows with interest, looking at the little guy in front of him.

"A month? Can you guarantee you can do that? From my observation, that saintess is no pushover. She has strong principles and is a very decisive person, even comparable to Catherine, one of the Five Heroes. She's not like those pampered young ladies who will obediently run home crying after being scared by you."

"Just as I wish."

After hearing Li Lin's reminder, Angela's smile held a hint of pride and challenge.

"This is exactly what I want, Master. Please entrust it to me with confidence. I guarantee I will give you a perfect result."

Just then, the doors to the hall slowly opened.

The young girl walked slowly into the abandoned hall, her heart filled with unease. The priest who had led the way hadn't uttered a single word, and although she had tried to glean some information from him, he remained completely unresponsive. Based on her observations along the way, this appeared to be a long-abandoned castle, and she wondered... what exactly this place was.

Finally, led by the priest, she arrived at the hall, and soon, bathed in magical light, she found the person she was looking for.

Two dark, magical lights burned on either side of the stone throne, clearly illuminating everything around them. On the throne in the center sat the "adventurer," no longer dressed in his adventurer's attire, but clad in a black robe. Combined with his jet-black eyes and long hair, he gave off a chilling aura.

Beside him, to his right, stood an exceptionally beautiful young woman. Even as the Holy Maiden of the Temple, she had never seen such a beautiful woman. Her face, seemingly the embodiment of perfection, and her calm, indifferent demeanor were enough to leave everyone in awe. Moreover, the young woman held an exceptionally luxurious staff, clearly indicating that she was also a mage. However... the Holy Maiden frowned, feeling as if she had seen her somewhere before.

Compared to the perfect girl on his right, the girl leaning against Li Lin's left side gave off an unusually dangerous feeling. Her long silver hair and bright red eyes, combined with her bewitching beauty, exuded an unusually dangerous attraction. Moreover, the saintess felt that those bright red eyes seemed to emit a greedy and excited light after looking at her.

"Welcome, Miss Saint."

Li Lin spread his hands, revealing the same smile he had shown at the camp. However, this time, the Holy Maiden was not fooled. She stared coldly at the man before her, without saying a word.

"I imagine you must be wondering why I did this, and... who exactly am I."

Li Lin looked at the saintess before him with amusement. Her behavior was almost identical to Catherine's, the only difference being that she was not Catherine herself.

"..."

However, the Holy Maiden remained silent in the face of Li Lin's words. She knew very well that if she spoke at this moment, she would be led by the nose by him.

Your companion is dead.

Li Lin didn't seem to mind her silence, and continued speaking to himself, which made the Holy Maiden's heart sink.

It's all my fault...

Although she could find a thousand excuses and reasons to convince herself, failing to see the true nature of the man before her led to a wrong choice and this outcome—it was all her own responsibility.

"However, your guardian knight commander is still alive."

Li Lin's next words immediately elicited a reaction from the Holy Maiden. She raised her head and stared at the man before her in disbelief.

"I didn't lock him up here, you don't need to go to all that trouble to find him."

As he spoke, Li Lin changed his posture. He still had that peaceful smile, but now it was mixed with a hint of smugness.

"I suspect he might be tracking us right now. Don't worry, I'll arrange for you to meet when the time is right."

"When the time is right?"

The saintess couldn't help but speak, repeating Li Lin's words. She couldn't understand what Li Lin meant by those words.

"That is when you completely kneel down at your master's feet and become his faithful slave."

At that moment, Angela, standing to the left, spoke with a cold laugh. Her icy, innocent yet lively voice echoed in the tomb-like hall, sending chills down everyone's spines.

"At that time, perhaps the master will be kind enough to bestow you upon that foolish knight, allowing him to enjoy pleasures he has never experienced before?"

"... That's so vulgar!!"

Hearing Angela's explicit words, the saint blushed, but she did not back down. Instead, she raised her head and stared unwaveringly into those bright red eyes.

"No matter what methods you demons use, you will never make me submit to evil and darkness! I would rather..."

"Go to hell, is that it?"

Li Lin interrupted the Holy Maiden's words. He snapped his fingers, and soon the priest who had led the Holy Maiden here stepped forward. Ignoring the gazes of the crowd, he casually removed his long robe. Although her face was still obscured by the cloak, the young girl's beautiful, voluptuous, and innocent body was laid bare before everyone, completely exposed. Even her most intimate parts were left untouched.

"As the saintess of the Temple, I think you should be very clear about this."

Li Lin lazily admired the beautiful body for a while before turning his gaze back to the pale-faced saintess.

"She's not a living person... In fact, if you died, I think having another Corpse Princess wouldn't be a bad thing, especially since she's a saintess of the Temple..."

"You...!!!"

The saint reflexively wanted to curse, but she held back. Right now, her power was almost nonexistent, making a direct confrontation with the opponent unwise. Besides, this terrifying mage really was as he claimed... Thinking this, she glanced uneasily at the priest, who remained standing there, motionless, seemingly unaware that she was exposing herself in front of everyone.

Will I become like that too?

Even the holy maiden of the Temple couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

"Therefore, I advise you not to speak lightly of death. Remember, life is very precious."

At this moment, Li Lin's words sounded more like a threat than advice.

"..."

"Then, Miss Saint, may I ask your name?"

"... Catherine..."

"Um?"

Upon hearing this answer, Li Lin couldn't help but let out a surprised hum.

"... My name is Catherine Dideyasi..."

"If I remember correctly, it was indeed..."

"... is the name of our proud ancestors."

At this point, Catherine seemed to draw courage from her name. She raised her head again, staring defiantly at the mage before her. Yes, the reason she received this name was because she resembled that ancestor so closely, and she had once resolved to be a great person like him! She would absolutely not fall in a place like this!!

"Evil mage, whatever you wish to do to me, you will not succeed! I swear in this sacred name, I will never yield to evil and darkness!"

"Then, Miss Catherine."

Li Lin seemed to ignore what Catherine had said and continued talking to himself.

"It's already very late, and I imagine you're quite tired... Please go and rest first. We can talk about it tomorrow... There's plenty of time."

The priestess beside her had already dressed again at some point. She walked back to the saintess's side and gestured to her. Catherine didn't say anything more. Right now, what she needed most was to regain her power. Once she regained her power, then... she could escape.

With that thought, Catherine turned around without looking back and left the hall.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Angela's soft laughter echoed through the cold hall.

"Indeed, she is a woman of very high quality. Master, you have excellent taste. I am getting more and more excited. Only by conquering such a human can one experience the ultimate pleasure."

"After today's threats, I think she won't want to commit suicide anymore."

Li Lin stared at the tightly closed door, a cold smile appearing on his face. Then he reached out and gently stroked Angela's hair.

"Well then, it's your turn now, little one."