Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

Aisha said.

……

Elsa came to the underground alone, or rather, in the eyes of others, there was only Elsa.

Actually, there is also Tricia.

The stairs leading to the underground were narrow and dark. From time to time, the sound of stones and gravel being ground could be heard underfoot. The magic patterns on the wall were dim. The further down they went, the more turbid the air became and the temperature gradually dropped. Elsa cast an illumination spell - although it was unnecessary, because Elsa could see clearly in the dark, and so could Tricia.

"The source of the explosion was right down there. When Hannah and the others went down to investigate, the magic circle had already failed, and there were even signs of tampering with some of the Abyssal Runes."

Aisha said, her voice echoing in the narrow tunnel.

Tricia was also observing her surroundings.

"Elsa." Tricia's voice.

"Ok?"

"Do you know the lady with blue hair?"

"You mean Frau Sophia Trauwens?"

"Trowns..." Tricia repeated silently, "She is Vivian's mother?"

"Well, she's a very good mother."

Tricia nodded.

She could see the similarities between Vivian and Sophia in appearance, as well as their similar magic and the aura of witch blood, so it was not difficult for her to judge their relationship.

"Elsa."

"Ok?"

Tricia looked at Aisha, her emerald eyes were unfocused, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

She pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "Do you know Vivian's other identity?"

"You mean... a witch?"

"So you knew..." Tricia seemed a little surprised. "Vivian herself didn't seem to want others to know her identity, so I didn't tell you about this. It seems there's no need for me to bring it up... Did Vivian tell you?"

It's hard to imagine that a girl with Vivian's personality would take the initiative to tell Aisha about these things.

But thinking of the ambiguous atmosphere between Elsa and Vivian just now, Tricia felt as if she knew something - she was not a child. Although Tricia herself had never experienced love, she had lived for so long and had seen a lot of emotions. She was not so stupid as to not be able to see the glittering light in Vivian's eyes.

"How did Tricia know that?"

"I can see that. In my eyes, the magical aura of someone with witch blood is different from that of others."

As expected of a sage, Aisha thought.

Tricia looked at Elsa again and suddenly asked, "Elsa, how much do you know about witches?"

"what happened?"

"Do you know the Witch's Mark of the Abyss?"

Elsa recalled what Sofia had said to her, frowned slightly, and nodded.

"You mean the aura of the abyss? Witches are naturally attracted to the aura of the abyss, mainly because of the 'Mark of the Abyss' on their bodies - is that right?"

"Well, many people believe that witch blood is the blood of the Abyss. But in fact, the most essential characteristic of witch blood is its affinity for magic. It's just that because this affinity includes Abyssal magic, it has led to misunderstandings. The Abyssal Mark is not so much about attracting the aura of the Abyss as it is about attracting any magical aura, including the abyss. That's why it's said that witches are born great magicians, and every witch has the talent to peek into the mysteries of magic."

Aisha was a little surprised by what Tricia said, because what Tricia said was somewhat different from what Vivian said.

Tricia continued, "There are some things I don't know whether I should tell you, but considering that you will be with Vivian in the future, I think it's better to tell you."

Elsa noticed something and stopped, and Tricia also stopped.

Aisha looked at Tricia and asked, "Is it bad news?"

Normally when someone said this, it wasn't good news, but Tricia just shook her head, which made Aisha feel relieved.

“It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad.”

"what happened?"

Tricia didn't answer Elsa's question directly, but said slowly, "Elsa, do you know why no witch has become a powerful magician so far? Some people think that they have been eroded by the abyss and lost the opportunity to reach the transcendent level. But in fact, every witch can at least become a great magician and become a transcendent. For them, reaching the transcendent level is probably just a matter of time... They are just that talented.

But they didn't.

Because their talents were sealed.

Or perhaps it was because of people's fear of them—overly powerful witches would cause even greater destruction when they went berserk, so the church intentionally limited their power through seals... But, Vivian's restrictions were broken."

Having said that, Aisha guessed what Tricia was going to say.

Tricia's voice was very soft. "Actually, I paid attention to Vivian's situation after you left. I noticed that your ability had dispelled her seal, so to ensure nothing unexpected would happen, I re-sealed her after you left for Weilin Town. Of course, she didn't know about it."

Tricia had never told anyone else about Elsa's "magic dispelling" power, including Vivian. For a magician, the power and magical methods they possess should be kept secret, especially for the enemy. One more secret means one more trump card, otherwise it would be easy for the enemy to target them.

Besides, this is also a respect for friends.

Tricia continued, "At that time, I would check on her every day. I found that your power suppressed her Abyssal Mark, and her witch bloodline was very stable. But when I saw her again just now, I found that her witch bloodline seemed to be a little...wrong."

Since the matter concerned Vivian, Aisha couldn't help but become serious.

"Will Vivian be okay?"

Tricia shook her head. "No. But her witch blood is unusually active, so I'm a little worried. I won't cause her any trouble in the short term."

Elsa asked, "Is it because I broke the seal again that her witch bloodline became active?"

Tricia shook her head again. "You did break her seal, but that's probably not the reason for the change in the witch's bloodline. I didn't see any aura of the abyss from Vivian, and her mark is also very quiet. But her body is full of power, and this power constantly stimulates her bloodline, like lighting a fire on kerosene. The huge magic power becomes her inexhaustible fuel. This situation is very strange, I have never seen it before."

Tricia also showed a puzzled expression, as if she was thinking seriously.

"But precisely because we've never seen it before, we need to be cautious. Aisha, I suggest you take Vivian to the church later today and have Pittman examine her Abyssal Mark. I'm worried I might be wrong. The church has more experience dealing with Abyssal magic than I do."

Although the magic to deal with the abyss was invented by Tricia, she was a person who had been sleeping for decades after all. During this period, the fight against the abyss was almost entirely handled by the church. In this regard, the church does have more say.

"Thanks for the reminder, Tricia."

"It should."

Tricia dropped her eyes and turned away.

"Vivian is your...friend, and also my friend—her affairs are my affairs, and I cannot bear to see her in danger."

……

Elsa takes Tricia to the dark room where the white sapling was found.

This place still maintains the same appearance as when Elsa left. The floor tiles have been lifted up, revealing more bricks and a small amount of soil underneath. There is no longer the smell of miasma in the air, but there is still a slight smell of decay - because the magic circles here have stopped, the purification and ventilation magic has also become ineffective.

"This is where the sapling was found. Behind it is a wall, which was sealed off at the time."

Elsa described the situation, and Tricia followed Elsa to check from outside to inside. Finally, Tricia squatted in front of the crack in the ground where the sapling was growing.

Aisha squatted down with her.

Tricia was silent. She stretched out her hand and pressed it on the ground. A slow glimmer of light spread from her palm and then dissipated in the air. She took out the white sapling again and observed it for a moment.

Tricia frowned.

"Something's wrong... There's a ley line of earth underneath."

"Earth veins?"

Aisha thought to herself that it was no wonder.

She had always smelled that scent in the air, faint but there.

Tricia stood up and knocked on the surrounding walls, then pressed on them again. The white light spread, and after a while, she returned to the crack in the ground.

"There is indeed a leyline underneath—but why does it appear here? With the leyline sealing formation in place, the leyline should be restricted..."

"The earth vein sealing array has failed?"

"If that's the case, we'll be in big trouble. The earth vein sealing array is the foundation of the fortress and must not be destroyed."

Tricia raised her head and looked at Aisha.

"Elsa, can you stay with me for a moment? We have to go and see what's underneath this city."

"Down here?"

"Yes, the deepest part of the city's underground is where I set up the three great formations. It's right below here—and it's also where the earth veins are."

……

------------

240. Buried Plan

After briefly explaining things to Hannah and Vivian, Elsa left the station.

Dammas Fortress was built on a mountainside, with three core magic circles forming its foundation. One of these three core magic circles, the Earth Leyline Sealing Array, was used to transform and reinforce the earth leylines, preventing them from collapsing and congestion and potentially impacting the fortress. It also drew some of the earth leyline magic energy for the other three arrays. It was the most fundamental and core of the three arrays—and, of course, the Earth Leyline Sealing Array was also the location of the earth leyline.

While explaining to Aisha, Tricia quickly flew towards the lord's mansion from the air.

"I just discovered the presence of earth veins beneath our base, especially in that dark room. Logically, given the restrictions of the earth vein sealing formation, earth vein aura shouldn't be there. Thinking about the 'sapling' you found, Aisha, I'm worried there's something wrong with the earth veins, or with the earth vein sealing formation. According to Alman, the appearance of the tomb crypt in the Rydes Mountains is closely related to the black dead branch, and that 'sapling' definitely didn't appear underground in our basement for no reason."

The lord's mansion was full of busy figures, with fully armed guards and knights standing on both sides. No one could escape from the strict surveillance. A group of church priests were using magic devices to check everyone.

"The hidden puppet will be discovered sooner or later, but... the biggest problem in this matter is not the puppet."

Tricia just took a glance and didn't look at it again. The self-examination would soon produce results. Tricia didn't think the enemy would be so stupid as to let those puppets continue to stay in such a place and wait to die.

Elsa took a quick glance and memorized the appearance of everyone present.

"Do you need my help?"

"There's no need to bother you with this kind of thing, Elsa. Our target is the person behind the scenes."

"Necromancer?"

"Well, it's not just him. There must be others cooperating with his actions. Otherwise, even Shibern wouldn't be able to place puppets in so many places at the same time. And now, these traitors must have left with the puppets."

"Or rather, dead."

Aisha added and Tricia glanced at Aisha.

Elsa had seen Tricia's hypnosis with her own eyes. Perhaps only a few people with good strength could resist Tricia's hypnosis - a great magician naturally couldn't do it, and at least they had to be extraordinary magicians. If other people fell into Tricia's hands, they would become a human intelligence provider. If they were smart, they would never meet Tricia, otherwise they would surely die.

"Well, that's indeed possible. If the other party knows that I have hypnosis skills, then they wouldn't be so foolish as to expose such an obvious flaw. There's nothing tighter than a dead body."

I have to say that when Tricia gets serious, she acts very decisively. She did not inform Sibern and directly brought Elsa to the depths of the underground magic circle in the lord's mansion.

"To prevent anyone from coveting it, I set up restrictions after completing the earth vein sealing array. Magic cannot penetrate it, and it can only be entered through the established passage. Unlocking it would be time-consuming, and I can't teleport Aisha there, so we can only go through the passage under the lord's mansion."

There were soldiers guarding the entrance and a forbidden magic circle, but no one seemed to see Elsa and Tricia, and the magic circle had no effect. Elsa herself used invisibility, and to be safe, Tricia cast an illusion on each of them.

"Let's go."

Tricia said.

Aisha glanced at the soldiers.

"These people seem to be temporarily stationed by Shibern. Is it really okay for us to go in like this?"

"Special cases should be handled specially. Let's go in and take a look first. We'll talk about Hibern later."

Tricia said, the magic light in her hand looked dazzling in the dim underground. She looked around and walked quickly in front.

She is very familiar with this place.

"I hope it's my fault... If there's a problem with the leyline, it won't be a small matter."

Elsa and Tricia were not afraid of the darkness. They walked quickly through a dim tunnel. The turbid air became increasingly cold. After a while, their eyes suddenly opened up - it was a huge underground space that looked like the underground parking lot of a large shopping mall. There were load-bearing columns and walls in the middle that blocked the view, making it impossible to see how big it was.

Leaving the passage, there are several lifelike stone sculptures standing on both sides. A large number of complicated magic circles are engraved on the bottom of the stone sculptures. At this moment, a faint light suddenly appeared, but Tricia just waved her hand to wipe it away, and the magic circles became quiet.

"This is a safety measure. These sculptures are magical devices I set up. Don't underestimate them. With the ley lines providing ample magical power, each one is equivalent to a forbidden spell. Even the brave warriors of the past wouldn't be able to break through here in such a short time."

No wonder Elsa felt that the defense here seemed rather lax. With these sculptures guarding here, even if the demon came here, he would probably have to fight hard for a while.

Elsa counted and found that there were ten such sculptures in total.

“Why not make more?”

"The earth veins won't be able to bear it. If the earth veins are destroyed, it would be putting the cart before the horse."

This is true.