Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

Sibbern took a deep breath, stood up, took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off his hands. He carefully asked Charlie, "Knight Charlie, I want to know where you found these two thieves?"

Charlie stood as straight as a pine tree, his armor and sword making crisp clicking sounds.

"It's near the castle's weapons warehouse."

"Arsenal?" Sibborn looked puzzled. "Why are they going there?"

"I do not know either."

Sibben thought for a moment, looked at the two bodies on the ground, and sighed.

"Give them a proper burial and pay pensions to their families."

After all, it is not their own wish to become puppets, and they still have to receive the treatment they deserve.

"Also, take me to where they were found."

……

At the same time, in the dim and cold underground, the turbid air was filled with silence.

The silence was broken by a crisp metallic sound.

The man sat on the ground, frowning tightly, carefully observing the spear in front of him, but he looked at it again and again, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

He looked at the puppet beside him suspiciously.

"Are you sure this is the thing in the teleportation array?"

"Yes, this is the box that was placed with the spear. Inside is a letter to the sage."

The puppet brought a box and an envelope. The man took them, opened them, took a look and didn't read any more - there were only a few words of greeting on them, but it was certain that the spear was indeed the property of Elsa Faris.

"This is strange—this thing doesn't look special at all. It's just an ordinary weapon. Could it be... a sacred object with a special seal?"

The man was puzzled. At first, he tried it carefully, but there was no restriction on the spear. Later, he tried many methods repeatedly, but he couldn't find out what was special about the spear.

If I have to say something special about it, it's probably that it's extremely hard. Ordinary weapons can't even leave a scratch on it, let alone destroy it.

But...what's the use of just being tough?

The man couldn't figure out the secret of this thing.

……

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277. Go All In [Part 3]

The man was puzzled.

Normally, a weapon wielded by a hero who defeated a demon general would have to be incredibly powerful, right? However, Elsa's weapon was like a firewood stick—heavy and hard, with no other special features.

This is very troublesome for men.

"Tsk, damn it... I thought I could use this thing, but now it seems that its power must be imprisoned by a powerful seal, and I can't awaken it."

The man shook his head regretfully and lost interest in the spear in front of him. Although he was sure that it must be a very powerful weapon, if he couldn't use it for himself, what good would it be no matter how powerful the weapon was?

The puppet stood respectfully aside, seemingly recalling something. After a moment, he said, "Master, I remember that the nun used this weapon for throwing."

"Throw? Ha."

The man smiled indifferently.

"Don't be fooled by her. That's just an appearance. Do you know how powerful a person must be to give a spear such might? I don't blame you for your lack of knowledge, but if you used your brain and measured the weight of an ordinary spear, you wouldn't say such a thing."

The man's tone was firm and dismissive, his gaze lightly falling on the silver spear.

"The only possibility is that this spear contains such powerful force. Perhaps this is why the demon general was destroyed and the spear was damaged. Because this power is too strong, it is restricted from being used. No one except Elsa Faris can use it. Just like the hero's holy sword: the Throne of Light, Gramer, only those who are allowed can wield it and unleash its power."

The man's words suddenly dawned on the puppet, "As expected of you, Master! Your knowledge is as vast as the ocean—I see. I completely understand."

"Hmph, my knowledge is nothing to behold. If I were to compare myself to a sage, I'd only be able to match her... maybe half."

Although he spoke modestly, the man's expression was extremely arrogant and proud. However, he immediately changed the subject and shook his head with a slight regret.

"It's just a pity for Ted and Bross."

Ted and Bross took the risk to steal the spear - they were very capable assistants. In order to conceal their tracks, they did not come here to seek refuge, but stayed to divert attention. It is obvious that most of them are dead now, and the people in the lord's mansion will not let them go.

The puppet then said, "Ted and Bross' sacrifice wasn't in vain. Giving their lives for their master's cause is the highest honor for us. If it means Elsa Faris has one less trump card to play, they'll surely consider their sacrifice worthwhile."

"That's true," the man nodded, his frustration at not being able to use the spear slightly eased. "But this might also be an opportunity. Since this spear is a hero's weapon, I'm sure that mysterious guy will like it too. As a souvenir, he'd probably be happy to accept it, and it would also show my sincerity."

The man had already figured out how to maximize the value of the spear - the "guy" he was talking about was the mysterious man he had been dealing with a long time ago. This time, the entire plan to revive the demon general was the work of that mysterious man, and that strange black dead branch was also from the hand of that mysterious man.

There is no doubt that the mysterious man is a remnant of the Demon King's army.

But then the man showed a very disappointed expression.

"But it's strange. Ever since the Demon General's plan to revive failed, that guy hasn't contacted me in a long time. I don't know where to go to seek refuge with him. Sigh... Even if I leave the fortress, I'm afraid it's still not safe if I don't find a way to leave the empire. That mysterious man is the best place I can think of."

The man fell silent.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly broke the silent and turbid air. A puppet ran over with an anxious look on his face, shouting, "Master! For some reason, our hiding place has been exposed! Those people from the Lord's Mansion are attacking us!!"

The man wanted to scold the puppet for being out of line, but when he heard the news the puppet brought, his heart skipped a beat and he was immediately shocked.

"What did you say? How did the people from the Lord's Mansion find them?"

"I, I don't know either... Yesterday they were busy looking for Ake, but today they suddenly went straight to our hiding place!"

The puppet said in panic.

The man fell silent again and sighed deeply.

"This is only the second day since they started their operation... This speed is a bit too fast, beyond my expectations. This is troublesome... I haven't got the slaves I want yet, and the vitality I need is not enough... Tsk... What should I do..."

After saying that, he glanced at the magic circle behind him again, waved his hand, and his eyes became sinister.

"You, tell them to buy time! The longer the better. If they can't defeat us, just run, scatter, and find a way to die together with them! I need time to complete the final formation. Once I gain its full power, I'll be able to usurp the teleportation formation and send us out," the man gritted his teeth. "Stop at any cost. There's no need to keep those magic stones if necessary."

"Yes!"

Despite saying so, the man knew better than anyone that with Elsa Faris here, stalling for time wouldn't really work. His only hope was to find the teleportation coordinates and escape using the castle's teleportation array—and the time Elsa Faris was distracted was the perfect opportunity.

"Also," the man turned to the other puppet and said, "it's time to put those leyline tumors to use."

"But haven't those black branches been pulled out?"

"There are still some left. Use them all to destabilize the leylines—just enough to keep those people busy."

Anyway, any means that can delay time will be used.

After saying that, the man walked directly into the magic circle, spread out the book in his hand and continued to make a few revisions. Then his eyes became fierce and he took out a piece of black dead branch. He took a deep breath, put the black dead branch into the magic circle, and sat down cross-legged.

If we fail to buy enough slaves and green jades to provide him with vitality, we will have to resort to some radical methods.

The man hardened his heart and activated the magic circle.

……

On the other side, the Lord's Mansion received an urgent report from West Street at the same time.

"It looks like Vivian and Filia have made some progress. I'll go check it out."

Aisha said, and left the lord's mansion. Tricia thought about it and decided to follow, but at this time, she frowned slightly.

"Elsa, there's something wrong with the leyline—I have to go down and take a look."

"It's okay, leave Vivian and Filia to me."

Elsa didn't care.

……

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278. My Aims Have Been Bad Lately [Fourth Update]

Some time ago.

Hannah got more manpower from Shibern, so she went to West Street to meet Filia and others. From Filia, she also learned about the information dealer "Rat" on West Street, and immediately took Filia to the monastery to find the imprisoned Ash Witch Grace.

Strangely, Grace was in a coma when they saw her. Their arrival woke her up, but her mental state seemed unstable. She even cried in front of them. She also changed her original rebellious attitude and looked dazed.

Fortunately, Filia and Hannah successfully obtained information about the hunter named Anton through Grace.

Anton appears to be just an ordinary hunter, but in fact he seems to be doing some gray industry reselling business at the same time, so he is well-informed. Through Anton, Filia and Hannah found the intelligence dealer on West Street: "Rat".

The mouse lives in a rather remote little house. The house is clean and tidy. It is hard to imagine that the person living here is the intelligence dealer praised by many people on West Street.

His appearance didn't quite match his nickname. He was a skinny man, not even as tall as Hannah and Filia. He looked like a skinny monkey, but his eyes were clear. When he saw Hannah and Filia, he didn't show any surprise. Instead, he took the initiative and asked, "Welcome, guests from the Lord's Mansion. How can I help you?"

"you know me?"

Hannah looked at the mouse indifferently, while Filia stepped sideways and stood in a position that just blocked all the mouse's escape routes - Filia was an archer who ranked quite high in the Adventurer's Guild. With her there, the mouse had no way to escape.

Vivian stayed behind. Magicians need protection and magic requires time to prepare, but magic is also the most unexpected means. Magic is ever-changing, and a well-prepared magician can deal with many emergencies.

The mouse obviously understood the situation. He sighed and glanced at Hannah, Filia, and Vivian one by one.

"It's been a bit turbulent here lately. I've always suspected that one day, when the tide overflows the ravine, a rat like me will have no choice but to run to the surface. If I continue to hide, I'll just drown, right?"

After all, he is a person who specializes in intelligence. Although Lao Shu looks thin and weak, his judgment of the situation allows him to get along well with everyone in West Street. There is a reason for this.

"You're quite astute. I'll get straight to the point." Smart people are always easy to communicate with, as they can quickly understand each other's intentions or the situation and choose the most convenient and efficient way to communicate. Hannah produced a list and asked bluntly, "How much do you know about these people? I want you to lead us to them—of course, the Lord's Mansion will pay for it."

As she spoke, Hannah handed the list in her hand to Mouse. Mouse just glanced at it and had a rough idea in his mind.

"Some of them are not from West Street. This one, this one, and this one. They don't operate on West Street."

The mouse pointed out a few names, and Hannah just smiled - she had deliberately added these extra names just to test the waters. The result was obvious, the mouse had very wisely chosen to stand on the side of the Lord's Mansion.

The mouse probably understood Hannah's tactics and said respectfully:

"You're being superfluous, my dear guests. You are from the Lord's Mansion. I won't go against you just because of a few ungrateful employers. Moreover, you found me before them. This means you will protect my safety, right?"

The implication is that the mouse is seeking shelter to avoid being killed because of this incident.

"The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish. That's common sense," Hannah said, agreeing to the mouse's "additional request." "But I also hope you're worth the price."

"make a deal."

The mouse didn't say much, just pushed open the window and hung two pieces of dried fish cut into triangles on the windowsill - this seemed to be some kind of signal for the newcomers.

"Let's go. These people won't get the news much slower than me."

"The mouse said, taking the initiative to lead the way. Although he looked skinny and weak, he ran very fast and silently. Hannah and Filia could see that the mouse was only weak on the surface, but in fact he had mastered stealth skills.

"We have to be faster than a hawk if we want to catch them so the rats can't escape."

The mouse continued.

Hannah quipped, "Don't you call yourself a rat?"

"Yes, I am, and so are they. Because we are from the same path, I know exactly how they think and act."

Mouse took Filia, Vivian and Hannah straight to a black drugstore on West Street. The owner of the drugstore was leisurely leaning against the door counting the passers-by, but the next second he saw Hannah coming in aggressively.

He was stunned for a moment, and then Hannah kicked him into the store. Filia and Vivian followed him in and turned around to close the door.

He felt a pang of pain, and seeing Hannah's ill intentions, he also revealed a guilty look. However, he still wanted to scare Hannah and the others away, so he shouted, "Wait, who are you? What do you want to do?!"

Filia asked, "Are you 'McKinney'?"

The man called McKinney hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I am...wait! Stop messing around!"

When McKinney saw Filia draw the bow, he was frightened out of his wits. Filia drew the bow and put the arrow on with an expressionless face. At this distance, McKinney could almost feel the pain of the sharp arrowhead scratching his face.

McKinney was so scared that he quickly moved back until he was leaning against the wall.

"This is West Street," Filia said calmly, "If you're smart, just cooperate with us."

Vivian also stood behind with a serious expression, the magic in her hand ready to go - as long as McKinney made any dangerous moves, he would be greeted by Filia's sharp arrows and Vivian's cold magic.

"Hold this," Hannah took out the magic stone used to test soul magic and handed it to McKinney. McKinney hesitated and didn't dare to reach out. Hannah's eyes were slightly cold, "Quick!"

McKinney was so frightened that he quickly grasped the Philosopher's Stone, but there was no response.

"Not a puppet."