Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

The girl untied the package in her hand and handed it to Elsa. Elsa saw a pile of scattered copper coins and an old silver coin that was no longer shiny.

In fact, if it is an escort commission, this amount of money is not enough.

Elsa could see some panic and vigilance in the girl's eyes - there was some vigilance, but not much. This small village didn't even have an Adventurer's Guild, and it was indeed a bit careless to show off her wealth like this.

Aisha could also see that the girl was actually reluctant to interact with them, but perhaps she had no other choice.

"Don't take out the money directly before the commission is finalized. Keep it for now."

Elsa pointed to the side.

"Let's go talk over there."

……

Elsa and Grace listened to the girl's request - the girl wanted to leave here and go to Kroros, which was the caravan's first destination and one of the few large cities in the North.

"My sister...she should be there...I have to go find her...You all look so powerful, so...I want to ask you to help me..."

The girl said, lowering her head.

She seemed reluctant to say more - which was not surprising, after all, Elsa and Grace were both humans, and it was difficult for demihumans to trust humans, but the girl had no better choice.

This made Aisha feel a little strange, but she didn't ask any further questions.

She was going to take the girl with her.

Although the reasons given by the girl were a bit unclear, Elsa personally didn't care - if the girl actually had other intentions, then she would deal with it when the time came, and if the girl really just wanted to find her sister, then Elsa would be happy to help.

After all, it is really difficult to find adventurers to escort you in such a place, not to mention that the girl’s money is not enough, and the girl’s leg is injured. Even if she musters up the courage to leave alone, she will definitely not be able to go far.

Winter in the North is no joke.

"I understand, but I don't have the final say in the caravan. I will help you talk to my employer about the situation, and the final decision lies with him."

The girl bit her lip, hesitated to speak, and nodded.

"Come with me."

Elsa and Grace brought the girl to Ebusen and explained the situation. Ebusen agreed without hesitation - Ebusen could see that Elsa wanted to take the girl away, so he was willing to provide some convenience.

"Of course, you can sit in our carriage. Don't worry, our carriage is very stable."

Ebusen said with a smile.

"Thanks……"

The girl's expression finally relaxed a little from worry, but she was still very nervous - she seemed not used to being in a place with so many people.

"Go pack up, the caravan will be leaving soon," Aisha said to the girl. "Also, you can call me Fasha, and she is Grace."

"My name is Lacey... I don't have anything to pack, so I'll just wait here..."

Lacey stammered, pinching her fingers nervously and looking at the caravan from time to time, as if she was afraid that Aisha would change her mind halfway.

Aisha didn't say much. She went to find Old Qiaoya and asked about Lacey.

"It seems the child has found you... She was left behind by some people who left a while ago. She's a poor child, nearly dead when she was brought here. The hunters in the village said there was no hope of saving her, but she recovered on her own within a few days. I know she always wanted to find her sister. When her sister left, she asked me to look after her, saying she would come back. But the child has been waiting for days, and no one from the north has come."

Having said that, Old Qiao Ya paused.

"But please allow me to say something, that child looks like... a demihuman..."

Old Joeya said, cautiously observing Aisha's reaction.

"Girl, do you already know?"

Elsa nodded, and seeing this, Old Qiaoya suddenly laughed.

"That's good. I was worried... The child was always afraid of people when she was with us. It was quite pitiful. We couldn't do anything to help her..."

As he said this, Old Qiao Ya sighed.

Aisha asked, "Was she left behind by someone else?"

Old Qiao Ya thought about it, as if trying to recall something.

"Well, those people also seem to have come from the Grand Canyon. They weren't riding horses, and some of them were injured. They must have been attacked by monsters. If I'm not dazzled, they should all be demihumans. They said they were going to Kroros."

……

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

346. Arrival at Kroros

Aisha briefly explained Lacey's situation to Tricia and Charlie.

As a witch doctor, old Zhanji briefly checked Lacey's calf injury. The injury was more serious than expected and had begun to fester, so it could not be simply healed with potions. So old Zhanji boiled some medicine for her - it worked quickly, but it would probably take a few days to get better.

"Don't worry, we won't charge you any money. We'll be in trouble if you can't act, so this will be considered as a bonus item for the commission."

Aisha said to Lacey.

The caravan didn't stay long in N'go Village. After a short rest, everyone said goodbye to Old Qiaoya and the children and left. It's worth mentioning that the children even gave Grace a ride—Grace seemed surprisingly popular with the children.

Silbaz placed the still-injured Lacey on the carriage. Lacey was curled up in the middle of the boxes filled with goods like a little kitten, and she looked a little nervous. Since leaving the village, Lacey had remained silent almost all the time, and even when Aisha took the initiative to talk to her, she could not say a few words.

Aisha followed the caravan on horseback and couldn't keep an eye on Lacey, so she just let her be - it was normal for a girl of her age to want some quiet time alone in an unfamiliar environment.

"Lacey, this is yours."

At night, the caravan set up camp in the wilderness where snowflakes were gradually piling up. Aisha brought hot food to Lacey.

Lacey was still a little nervous and looked at Elsa with a hint of vigilance, but after all, she hadn't eaten anything on the whole journey and she was hungry. Unable to resist the tempting aroma, she took the bowl from Elsa.

"Thanks……"

Lacey whispered.

"Eat slowly. If it's not enough, there's more here."

Elsa smiled and left without saying anything. Lacey wanted to thank her but couldn't say it. She looked at Elsa, then at the bowl of soup in her hand, tasted it carefully, and then lowered her head to eat it bit by bit - she had never eaten such delicious food.

"She doesn't appear to have had much contact with humans. She and her sister must have lived in a demihuman village. However, for a fox, she seems to have received some etiquette training. The bandage on her leg, while a bit clumsy, shows she's learned some basic knowledge. This is incredibly rare for a demihuman living within human influence, especially one of her own."

Tricia observed Lacey, the fox girl, and said.

Elsa brought a bowl of soup to Charlie and looked at her strangely. Charlie had been looking at Elsa and Tricia silently since just now, looking as if she was thinking about something.

"A subhuman village? Have they built such a place outside of Helansis Butana?"

Aisha asked.

"Well, not only are there some, but quite a few. Imperial decree abolished the old system of enslaving demihumans, freeing many from slavery. Not all of them chose to go to Hellensis Butana. Most of those who stayed chose to stay together, often settling in the forest. For demihumans, the forest is a more reassuring place than human towns. These demihumans began to multiply in the forest, or took in new companions, and the community gradually evolved into a demihuman village—a very common occurrence."

Tricia briefly told Aisha and Shirley some common sense about demihumans, but there wasn't much to say.

Because subhumans are a very culturally diverse race, even among their own races there is often little sense of identity. In a broad sense, subhumans even include races with human characteristics such as half-elves and centaurs, but they themselves never consider themselves subhumans.

In addition, different subhuman races, such as werewolves and foxes, have completely different lifestyles. The difference in individual strength between different populations has evolved into a weapon of struggle among most savage subhumans. Furthermore, as a race that was once enslaved by humans, the subhumans' lifestyles will also differ due to the different lifestyles of the humans in their former residence. Most of them do not have their own culture and beliefs, and many habits are inherited from humans, so there will be huge differences between subhumans of the same race living in different regions.

Therefore, it is difficult to simply summarize everything about sub-humans in a few words.

Aisha pondered for a moment—that is, although the demihumans had been liberated from slavery, they were still not completely free from human rule.

Tricia continued.

"Even the demihuman nation of Helensis Butana faced difficulties in its early days. Their queen, Helanie Islina, expended considerable effort to unite the various tribes. Even so, it's no surprise that relations between the various factions within Helensis Butana were strained. Ultimately, the land was too small, barren, and cold, making it difficult to cultivate. It lacked the rich mineral deposits of Belmont Freia, nor did it benefit from the bounty of the North Coast. Furthermore, the demihuman population was too large, and allocating limited resources was a major challenge."

Some demi-humans, such as werewolves, are naturally very powerful, while foxes like Lacey are relatively weaker. Naturally, werewolves have an absolute advantage in obtaining resources. In this case, fairness itself naturally does not exist.

Elsa glanced at Lacey who was sitting alone in the carriage. Lacey was licking the rim of the bowl with her tiny tongue like a kitten. Because she lowered her head, Elsa could see two furry pointed fox ears from under her hood.

This was the first time Elsa saw a real beast girl.

……

Six days later.

As they headed west from Ngo Village, the terrain became increasingly higher, and the occasional monsters they encountered were easily dealt with by Silbaz and his men.

The caravan went all the way to the bridge connecting the two mountains, where soldiers were stationed. To pass through, they had to pay a certain "toll" and then go straight north along the road. The ruts on the road became more and more dense and clearer, and the snow in the wilderness became thicker and thicker. The snow was very deep, and if there was no magic to clear it away, the caravan would be unable to move forward on the snow.

The temperature was getting lower and lower, and the hot air condensed into white mist with every breath. The adventurers also put on thick clothes to keep warm.

Elsa also saw other travelers and merchants on the road. Compared with those coming from the western province, the merchants and travelers in the north did prefer to use deer instead of horses. Most of them left the north carrying goods - winter was coming, and the roads in the north would probably be blocked by heavy snow soon, and the northern ports would also be frozen. If they didn't leave now, they would have to stay in the north for the entire winter, which would undoubtedly be a huge loss for the merchants. Their departure would just hand over the vacant market to others, and at this time, a well-funded and powerful chamber of commerce would enter the market, and that's how Ebusen was sent.

"'Kroros' is just ahead."

Silbaz pointed to the city in front of him, which was immersed in the misty snow. Lacey also lay on the carriage and looked at the gray shadow, with a gleam in his eyes.

……

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

347. The Blood Clan’s Sphere of Influence

It was dusk.

Kloros is not a large city. It is a new city that developed after the end of the Demon War with the construction of the highway connecting the North and the West Province. Because it is located on the only way from the West Province and the Imperial Capital to the Northern Provincial Capital, countless travelers and merchants would stop here. Therefore, in just a few decades, Kloros has developed from a militarized town into a prosperous multi-functional trading city.

According to Alman and Becky, this place wasn't far from the vampire territory—traveling west from here through a coniferous forest would lead to the vampires' territory. Elsa's purpose for this trip was to investigate Alman's vampire organization and the mysterious figure suspected to be a remnant of the Demon King's army, starting from Kroros.

However, the territories of those vampires are relatively scattered, and the vampire organization that Alman belongs to does not always operate in a fixed place. Therefore, the investigation still needs to be carried out step by step. At least the relevant people have to be found. This is the task of Alman and Becky.

At this time, the caravan had arrived outside the city of Kroros. There was an endless stream of people crowding at the city gate. The tall and thick city walls were daunting. There was no trace of the town it once was. The city walls here were obviously built later, and they still vaguely retained the heavy and ancient style of twenty or thirty years ago.

Ebusen took out the taxes and documents that he had prepared long ago and handed them to the guard who was checking. The guard checked the goods on the carriage and wrote something down with a pen, carefully and in detail. These goods had to pay a certain amount of taxes to be transported here.

While waiting to enter the city, Alman marked the vampire forces in detail on the map for Elsa.

Elsa looked at the map carefully and put it away.

She asked Alman, "Are you familiar with this place?"

"Fortunately... Kroros is not within our sphere of influence, as the lord here is unwilling to cede the land to us."

Alman quickly lowered his head and said.

"But just in case, I left my men in Kroros City. I can go find them to learn about the situation, but the biggest problem is that the 'copy of me' might have already ordered him to withdraw... Our leader is a shrewd man. He must have sensed danger from our defeat in Dammas, so he might have already moved. I'm not sure if I can get accurate intelligence..."

Alman's tone was sincere. He didn't hide anything this time. He didn't forget the mission of coming here, or rather, he had almost no other choice now. He didn't find a suitable opportunity to escape along the way. Even if he did, it was ruined by Becky.

Although Alman thought that his strength was not inferior to Becky, he did not dare to completely break off relations and attack her directly.

So now Alman can only choose to stabilize Elsa temporarily and make other plans. Since he wants to stabilize her, he naturally has to sacrifice something.

Elsa thought for a moment and asked, "Since you left someone here, don't the other vampires have any arrangements here?"

Alman looked embarrassed.

"If you want to find other vampires to gain intelligence, you can only go to their territories. I believe that with your help, they will tell you everything they know."

We are all from the same family, please don’t blame me - Alman prayed in his heart.

"On the map you gave me, how many vampires are there in those territories?"

"Some have dozens of them. Most of them live together because they are of the same clan and bloodline. Some have only one. However, apart from those of us who follow the leader, most of the other vampires choose to stay in their territory and rarely go out. As long as they devote a little strength to protecting their people, they can get a constant supply of fresh blood from those humans. For them, there seems to be no better life than this."

"Did vampires like you ever have territories?"

Aisha asked.

Even Becky has her own territory, although it was inherited, but as the right-hand man of the vampire organization, Alman can't be so shabby, right?

Alman looked embarrassed.

"I'm ashamed to say that I'm only a newcomer within the vampire clan. I've only been following the leader for over a decade, so Krenlas has always had a prejudice against me... He's considered a high-ranking vampire within the clan, and I can't compare to him in terms of bloodline alone. If it weren't for his reckless behavior, I don't think the leader would have chosen him instead of me as the operational commander."

Speaking of Krenlas, Alman felt a pang of fear, and his voice became weak.

"Oh, right, Clarence's territory is just north of here, but he abandoned it a long time ago, so I'm not sure what it looks like now..."

Yarman added.

"I see."

Elsa didn't ask any more questions. She looked at Alman scrutinizingly and said, "Then let Becky work with you to find clues without revealing your identities. Regardless of whether the people you mentioned are still here or not, don't alert them if you find anything. Report to me immediately. Of course, if you find him, don't let him get away. As his master, I believe he will definitely not slip away under your nose, right?"

"Of course!"

There was a hint of oppression in Elsa's tone. Alman forced a smile on his face, but he was already complaining in his heart - with Becky following him, it would be difficult for him to do anything even if he wanted to.

"Grace, take Lacey to the guild to post a commission and see if you can find any clues about her sister. Also, get some information about the vampires."