Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

He couldn't help feeling bitter in his heart.

Then he saw Aisha knocking all the "Shadow Guards" to the ground with one punch after another, leaving them unconscious.

……

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328. Salisbury Leonard

The Earldom of Seyavis is far smaller than the Earldom of Danmas. To its east is a quiet forest and a barren desert. It is only a day's journey from the main city, Seya City. If you let the horse run, you can get there in half a day.

Leaving the desert, Elsa saw a fertile green plain and the gray shadow of a city standing in the distance.

Soke hugged his arm in pain, pointed at the gray shadow and said, "We'll be there soon..."

As he spoke, he also glanced at the bruised mercenary leader, or rather, the captain of the "Shadow Guard". Soke did not know his name. For the "Shadow Guard" group, the name itself was not important. The "Shadow Guard" often used various identities to carry out activities, and they would change their names every time.

In short, based on Soke's understanding of the "Shadow Guard", the "Shadow Guard" is already the most elite team secretly trained by the Earl. Although there are few people, each of them is a strong man who can fight against the silver medal adventurers head-on. Their captain's personal strength is slightly better than that of the guard knights like Soke.

but now……

Sok couldn't help but worry. If they returned to the city of Seya like this, would the earl punish them? Their mission was not completed, and they also brought back a "trouble".

Sok wasn't sure if this woman named "Fasha" was a problem. Generally speaking, no one would be so arrogant as to openly challenge a lord on his own land, right? Furthermore, Earl Leonard wasn't just any noble.

However, this woman seemed too calm. There must be some kind of ceremony and her strength was unfathomable. Such a strange person made it hard not to wonder whether her appearance in this caravan was just a coincidence. How would the Earl respond?

There was no time to think about it now, and Soke could only lead the way.

"Is Earl Leonard a 'new noble'?"

At this time, Tricia, who had been silent all the time, asked. Soke looked at Tricia and then at Aisha.

"Yes...but the Count has not violated any of the laws of the Empire..."

The so-called new nobility refers specifically to the group of nobles who advocate monarchy in the empire. Most of them are emerging nobles who have gradually gained power in the past forty years. Although they have their own territories, their political rights are subject to many restrictions compared to the nobles of forty years ago. Starting from the previous empress, the nobility were no longer given enough power when they were enthroned.

Therefore, they often huddled together for warmth and always hoped to gain more say, so they had expectations for the royalists' ideas of changing the empire - only when changes occurred would they have the opportunity to gain power to reshuffle the cards.

As for whether or not it violated Imperial law… did Soke need to emphasize this? The coup d'état that occurred over two years ago alone had completely pushed the Royalists into opposition to the Empress. However, only a few high-ranking officials participated in and knew about that incident, so on the surface, the Empire remained calm.

Tricia didn't say much.

The next morning, the caravan arrived at the city of Seya. With Sok there, they entered the city smoothly. Seya was a prosperous city. Although it did not have the thick and high walls and the distinction between inside and outside like Dammas, it had the noise and bustle of a city. The plains near the castle were not deserted, but were dotted with villages of all sizes. They all developed because of the prosperity of Seya.

"I'll take you to the Count's palace..."

Sok led the way.

"The Earl occasionally goes to the City Hall, the theater, or the manor, but he probably spends most of his time in the mansion..."

Sok explained.

Elsa asked with some confusion: "City Hall? Doesn't the Earl have the final say here?"

"Yes, but also no," Tricia shook her head, her eyes indifferent. "These so-called new nobles adopt the monarchist model of territorial management. The jurisdiction of the city does not directly belong to the lord, but a city hall is established to manage it. The administrator of the city hall is called the 'governor' and is appointed by the lord himself. Of course, this is only on the surface. In reality, most of the new nobles are unwilling to truly give up their power, but they imitate the monarchist ideals just to superficially cater to the monarchist ideals. It's a bit ridiculous."

In order to gain power, they had to pretend to give up power - in other words, the city hall here was established independently just to weaken the influence of the imperial royal family and the church. It was a loophole and seemed different from what Elsa imagined.

Elsa made no comment.

Putting aside the Earl's own bad behavior, Elsa felt that the empire might one day undergo change, of course, not necessarily in the form of a monarchy.

At least that's what the knowledge Elsa gained from her previous life told her. As for when that day will come, it's hard to say. Some people say that the course of history is linked to productivity. There is magic in this world, so strictly speaking, productivity is not too low. At least there has been no famine in the town of Weilin where Elsa lived and other places she has visited. However, the impact of disease, monsters, and war cannot be ignored. Combined with various factors, everything seems to have become different again.

"I hope the Count will be pleased to see us."

They arrived at the Earl's mansion. Aisha asked the rest of the caravan to wait outside and only took Tricia and Charlie in.

The Earl's Mansion is located in the quietest area of ​​the city, not far from the City Hall and the Church Monastery. The architectural style is extremely exaggerated and luxurious. It looks like a large private manor and is out of tune with the surroundings.

Soke went straight to the butler to ask, and when he learned that the earl was in the mansion, he immediately explained his purpose.

Tricia observed the mansion and said to Aisha, "There's a demonic aura here. This earl seems to be quite extraordinary."

"It seems we are in the right place."

At the same time, Earl Leonard - Salisbury Leonard, who looked like a middle-aged man, was actually in his sixties. When the request for an audience from Sauk was conveyed, he was enjoying a delicious breakfast with his two sons at a long dining table.

"Soke? He's quite quick. I haven't received any news yet, but he's back first."

Salisbury Leonard glanced at his two sons, then continued to slowly cut the meat on the plate with his knife and fork, putting it into his mouth bit by bit.

He said to the butler, "Let them wait in the front hall first."

The butler looked a little hesitant, "But... he said he was in a hurry... it seemed like a guest wanted to see you..."

Leonard stopped using his knife and fork, which made a crisp sound as it hit the plate. Although his face showed no expression, the butler couldn't help but shudder and said quickly, "I'll have him wait outside..."

With that, the butler left quickly.

"Dad, since Soke is here to see you now, maybe there's something important."

Leonard's eldest son, Trollope Leonard, said, and the second son nodded.

Salisbury just waved his hand casually.

"Oh, what important things could he have?" Salisbury said with a haughty expression, glancing at his red wine glass with his knife and fork. "Even if the Queen herself came, she would have to wait outside for me. We are always called the new nobility, so we have to act in a new way. Equality, equality, understand?"

"My father is wise."

Both sons smiled knowingly.

……

The butler returned to the hall. He was still thinking about how to convey the earl's words in a more tactful way when he saw Elsa ignoring the guards' obstruction and walking straight towards him. After the butler went in, she had already captured the earl's location through hearing and heard their conversation. She didn't intend to wait here foolishly.

The spears crossed, blocking Aisha.

"Stop right there! You can't go in!"

The guards shouted at them, but Elsa remained unmoved. She simply grabbed the two crossed spears with one hand and twisted them gently. Then the two guards watched in astonishment as their spears became hooks and locked together.

"what?"

Aisha walked over in front of them.

Soke looked at Aisha with sweat on his forehead, and the leader of the "Shadow Guard" also had a bitter look on his face. They were now hesitant about whether they should follow.

"You can't do this... You're breaking into the lord's mansion! Do you know what you're doing?!"

The butler had no force and could only make verbal threats, but Elsa seemed not to hear him. More and more guards rushed over and were knocked to the ground by her.

……

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329. Come with me (3k)

"Dad, why is it so noisy outside?"

In the restaurant, Salisbury Leonard was tasting red wine. His two sons were looking at him strangely. Salisbury shook his wine glass and called out softly.

"Someone is coming."

As soon as the words fell, the butler did not arrive as expected, but there was a loud bang - when Elsa kicked open the door of the restaurant, the loud noise of the door being kicked down startled Salisbury so much that the red wine in his glass spilled all over him.

“What the hell is going on!?”

Leonard turned his head in rage, only to see the defeated Sok and the bruised leader of the Shadow Guard. His heart skipped a beat. Then he noticed Aisha and the others, as well as the heavy door panel that had collapsed to the ground. That was a door made of precious white quebrachoa, almost as hard as pig iron, and it was difficult to split it even an inch with an axe. Yet, a piece of it had actually shattered into pieces.

"you……"

Salisbury raised his eyebrows slightly, swallowed unconsciously, and stared at Aisha with wide eyes.

"You are Earl Leonard, right?"

Elsa looked at Leonard scrutinizingly, then glanced at the two young men beside him—one looked to be in his twenties, the other only in his teens, both of whom were stunned.

Charlie looked at the furnishings here with a little curiosity, feeling a little emotional. The life of the rich was indeed extremely luxurious. As the mayor's daughter, she had some experience, but she still felt that her vision was narrow here.

Tricia came in last, and as soon as she came in, she looked at Salisbury with a scrutinizing look.

"Yes, I am..." Salisbury was still a little confused and didn't understand the situation.

"Very good," Aisha hooked her finger and pushed Sok and the Shadow Guard directly towards Salisbury. "I'll return these two guys to you, but you have to come with me."

Salisbury looked at Soke and the "Shadow Guard" strangely. He was not a fool. He recalled what tasks he had assigned to these two people and had a vague guess about what had happened.

It seems that the mission failed and the other party came to find me.

But the question is, when did the Morton family produce a strong person who could compete with Soke and the "Shadow Guard"? The only possibility is that this woman is a strong person hired by the Morton Fornia Chamber of Commerce at a high price.

"Where?"

"Imperial Inquisition."

"..."

Salisbury frowned.

The Imperial Inquisition is the highest-level legal and judicial institution in the empire. Most nobles who commit crimes will be sent there. However, this woman is not from the Inquisition, so where does she get the confidence to speak in such an arrogant tone?

But... it sounds like this woman isn't here to seek revenge or kill - if that's the case, then everything would be easy to explain.

Salisbury has always believed that interests are omnipotent in this world, and money is one of the most intuitive manifestations of interests. For a strong person like this, the Morton family must have paid a considerable price to invite her, but perhaps it was not enough to satisfy her, so she came to him.

Otherwise, would someone who gets paid to do something take the initiative to cause more trouble for themselves? It's impossible to think about it.

After realizing this, Salisbury calmly put down his wine glass, wiped his hands, and slowly stood up.

He walked towards Elsa with a smile, his expression becoming proud again, and he said:

"Haha, since you've come from afar, I think there might be some misunderstandings between us. Since you came here directly, I'll be frank. There have been some unpleasant things between me and the Morton-Furnia Chamber of Commerce. I didn't mean to offend you. Since you can work for them, I can pay double the price to hire you. No, triple it, I can pay triple, so..."

However, before he could finish his words, Elsa drew the sword from her waist and stabbed it out suddenly. Clang—the brooch on Salisbury's shoulder broke into two, and the brooch fell to the ground with a click, and the shawl also slipped off his shoulders.

The sharp edge of the steel sword was pressed against Salisbury's throat at an angle. The cold touch made Salisbury stand there in a daze. Cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead. He stared at Aisha's golden eyes with wide eyes, not daring to move at all.

"dad!"

"Someone, someone, come! Guards! Guards!! - Soke, go help my dad!"

Salisbury's two sons were horrified by this scene, while Sok and the "Shadow Guard" could only stare blankly at the scene - they had followed them all the way here, and now where were the guards in the entire mansion? They had all been killed.

Want them to go? They have already experienced Aisha's methods. Just like the ones adopted by Salisbury, they are only doing things for money. For a few bucks, they are not so desperate as to risk their lives.

"I picked up this knife from the 'bandits' you sent. I'm returning it to you now. You can take it with you—but you can only choose between holding it in your hand or stabbing it in your stomach."

Aisha spoke softly.

Salisbury forced a grim smile, his heart pounding. Did he just say something wrong? No... Could this guy really be from the Inquisition? Or has the Morton family found a new backer? Is this a special case for settling accounts?

Many ideas came to his mind, but Salisbury was not sure yet.

"Speak well if you have something to say..."

"Well, then, let's go. Don't make me treat you," Elsa threw her sword to the ground. "By the way, you have to pay some compensation. Those bandits, this knight, and the so-called 'Shadow Guard' were all sent by you, right? Your people damaged our carriage and delayed our journey. Also, I have something else I want to ask you. Do you know a succubus named Naya?"

Salisbury's smile remained unchanged when he heard Naya's name.

"Succubus? Demon? How could I possibly know..."

"Really?" Tricia suddenly smiled. "Let me guess. How do you, an ordinary person, manage to look so young at the age of over sixty? You don't look like you've been blessed by elves, nor do you seem to have learned any life magic. Oh, and you don't look much like your sons either."

Tricia glanced meaningfully at the two young men beside her, and the smile on Salisbury's face had frozen.

"Oh, right, I've heard that the demons have a 'soul-stealing technique' that allows one to transfer one's soul into another's body, thus achieving immortality in disguise... and even reverting to youth, though the changes in the body will also alter one's appearance..."

A muscle in Salisbury's face twitched.

Tricia shifted her gaze from the two young men to the mural on the wall beside her, a thoughtful expression on her face. "But I remember that 'Soul Stealing' seems to be a soul magic that can only be used by the upper-level demons of the same clan as the 'Silver Demon General'. Oh, and speaking of which, those succubi seem to be the demons attached to them..."

Salisbury's face turned extremely ugly.

Who is this guy?

Why does she understand it so clearly?

Were these people really from the Morton family? Impossible, absolutely impossible... How could the Morton family know all his secrets?

So, it was someone sent by the Queen?

Yes, the former backers of the Morton family were the Queen’s faction. Because they were overthrown two years ago, the Morton family declined later. In other words, the Morton family joined the Queen’s faction again after that?