Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

196. Malton County Chamber of Commerce (3K1)

Sibbern sat at his desk, his face showing worry and distress. He felt really tired, his eyelids were shaky, but there was still a pile of official documents and books in front of his desk. He had never felt so tired as a lord.

At this moment, he felt something flash outside the window, and the next moment, the surging spirit immediately woke him up from his fatigue.

“Wow, I feel so refreshed!”

Hibbern was immediately filled with energy and continued to work.

Meanwhile, as the midday sun's scorching heat slowly wore off, the vampires in the open-air prison finally got a break. Every day, they were dragged out to the sun at its peak, tortured, and released only when their skin was torn and their flesh was exposed—otherwise, they would be beaten to death. The torturers only intended to torture them, not kill them, so they had to take necessary breaks. Besides, the knights in charge of the torture would also get tired and need rest.

However, at this moment, as the azure sky was stained with a layer of golden light, the vampires suddenly found that the wounds all over their bodies had healed instantly, and their consciousness, which had been cloudy due to the severe pain, became clear again. At the same time, the knights in charge of the torture also felt that their bodies were filled with endless power.

"What's going on?" The interrogator looked up at the sky in surprise. "Never mind. Now that everyone's strength has been restored and these vampires seem quite comfortable, let's continue with today's work!"

For a while, there were ghosts howling in the prison.

In the narrow alleys and dirty streets, whether it was the homeless vagrants or the sweaty porters, they also felt the warm energy pouring into their bodies from all the pores. The hunger disappeared, the dry skin became moisturized, the abrasions or falls disappeared in an instant, and the limbs that were sore from fatigue seemed to be full of strength.

An elderly man lying in bed found he could sit up again, his pain gone, and he felt as if he had regained several years of youth. A child who had fallen while running looked at his hand with wide eyes, and the wound healed in the blink of an eye, without a trace of pain.

The defenders on the city walls and the pedestrians on the streets were all looking at the strange scene that suddenly appeared in the sky. The holy light shone on the city like a second sun.

……

Mary stared blankly at Elsa in front of her. When she heard Elsa's explanation, Mary's expression changed again.

Although she had vaguely guessed that the holy light shield was most likely related to Elsa, the actual feeling was completely different.

"That's a forbidden spell!"

Mary was dazed, but when she thought about it being Elsa, she seemed to understand.

Elsa smiled.

Otherwise, the magic power of 12,000 can only perform a "healing spell" on 400 people in turn, which is far from the scope of a city - but forbidden spells are different. Once a forbidden spell is successfully activated, its upper limit is not determined by the magic itself.

The theoretical upper limit of forbidden magic has not been figured out until now, but exceeding it by hundreds or thousands of times has been achieved. This means that the efficiency of forbidden magic in utilizing magic power is at least hundreds or thousands of times higher than that of ordinary magic. This is also the most powerful aspect of extraordinary wizards.

The so-called extraordinary wizard, the word "extraordinary" is not just a word.

"Since it's a forbidden spell, that makes sense. Thank Bishop Pittman for me. This crozier is very useful."

Aisha said.

"Is it not causing any trouble to you?"

"Not really," Mary sighed, glancing at the monks in the courtyard who were gazing at the sky like pilgrims. "Rather, many people will thank you, Elsa. Even the Church cannot bring Holy Light to every corner of this fortress. A forbidden spell of this scale..."

Mary held the cross and smiled helplessly - even Bishop Pittman himself could not perform a forbidden spell of this scale. If she wanted to achieve a similar effect, she didn't know how many expensive magic props she would need.

Is the Philosopher's Stone embedded in the staff really that powerful? - Mary was very skeptical.

At the same time, in a dim corner, a pair of eyes looked at the sky in shock, yet at the same time, they were ecstatic in their hearts.

"What a surge of holy light power and vitality! Even I can feel the scorching heat. My strength has returned. I thought it would take some time for me to recover after Luther's death. Now it seems like this is a godsend, isn't it?"

But he still suppressed his excitement.

"No, wait a little longer... I can't deal with someone who can cast this kind of magic. If I go out now and get discovered, I'll be dead... Wait a little longer, just wait a little longer... Be patient, the opportunity will come."

……

The magical shield of holy light lingered for a few minutes before gradually disappearing, transforming into countless stardust-like dust. During those brief moments, the entire city seemed to be seething, the gloom of the previous day completely swept away.

Elsa did not stay in the monastery for long, but came to the guild after putting on a simple disguise.

The guild was bustling at this moment, completely different from the deserted scene seen in the past few days. Aisha was not wearing a nun's uniform, but an ordinary priest uniform with a hood, so she was not recognized. She heard the adventurers were either discussing the Holy Light Curtain or the commission situation.

Many of them are people who accepted Aisha's commission.

Elsa went straight to another counter. When the receptionist verified Elsa's badge, he immediately opened his eyes wide and showed a surprised expression.

"you are……"

Elsa put one finger to her lips, raised her eyebrows and smiled, which made the receptionist feel flustered.

"Don't make it public."

She just came to buy some things and didn't want to be stared at.

The receptionist nodded hurriedly without saying anything, but still called the guild leader over. The guild leader was named Mustafa Horner, a fat, middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes. Although he was also the president of the Adventurer's Guild, he and Bramuth had completely different temperaments. Compared to an adventurer, he was more like a nobleman or a businessman.

He respectfully invited Aisha to the second floor of the guild, which was the room for receiving VIPs.

"It's easy to talk here, respected Lady Elsa Faris. Given your status, you don't have to wait in the hall. Just come here directly. Our people will always welcome you."

Horner acted welcoming and Elsa sighed slightly.

"I don't have anything worth bothering you with. I just want to buy a few magic stones or wands."

Elsa didn't want to make things too complicated.

"Please don't say that, Lady Faris. Your coming is an honor to us. How could I let you condescend to wait in the hall?"

Horner smiled with ease, yet remained respectful, and his attitude gave people the impression that he was easy to get along with.

"As for the staff, I'm afraid our guild doesn't have anything you'd like, so there's no point in buying it. If you find one you like, feel free to take it."

“I’m used to buying things with money.”

Aisha said that she didn't want to take advantage of this.

"Come to think of it, the holy light magic that just rose from the central city was your masterpiece, right?"

Horner didn't insist and naturally changed the subject.

"That's it."

“It’s a truly breathtaking and sacred sight.”

As he spoke, Horner had already asked the receptionist to bring over several weapon display cases and stacked wooden boxes, all of which were filled with wands that looked to be of very fine workmanship.

"These are the guild's finest staffs, each one a masterpiece. Please allow me to introduce them..."

Horner always spoke with a smile, giving people a very confident feeling. It has to be said that he looked like a battle-hardened sales ace.

During the conversation, Elsa learned a little more about the Philosopher's Stone and the staff. For example, the more advanced the inherent magic, the harder it is to store the magic power through the Philosopher's Stone itself, and the harder it is to carve complex magic arrays into the Philosopher's Stone, so most staff bodies cannot be easily separated.

For example, ordinary magic stones only contain simple lighting magic and elemental magic, but there has never been a magic stone that contains the higher-level magic of "teleportation". This technology has not yet been mastered.

Therefore, high-level magic stones are embedded in wands for use.

Elsa took a quick look and found that among the staffs Horner took out, there was only one staff engraved with forbidden-level magic. It was also the most expensive one among them. But unfortunately, the inherent magic engraved on it was offensive magic, which was the only thing Elsa had.

There were some other sealing magics that interested Elsa, for example, one of them was an ice sealing magic of elemental magic. It was said that it could freeze the sealed object forever, but it would not kill the other party directly. Instead, it would just keep the other party's life at a very low limit, thereby bringing deep despair and pain - it sounded very interesting. Maybe it could be used specifically to preserve food, which was much better than freezing it directly and would not lose the taste.

There is also teleportation magic, but unfortunately the teleportation distance is only about a hundred meters. Elsa thought about it and decided not to use it.

In the end, Elsa only got two, one was the Frozen Scepter, and the other was a silver staff engraved with superior mental magic. It was said that it could hypnotize people with weak mental power for a period of time, forcing them to answer their questions without any concealment. Elsa thought that this kind of thing might be useful when facing some stubborn enemies, so she bought it.

"I'm truly sorry, respected Lady Faris, but it seems these items aren't to your taste." Horner seemed to have anticipated this and, while Elsa was still lingering on, conveniently extended another invitation. "However, our guild has collaborated with the Morton Fornia Chamber of Commerce in this area. Their collection is far richer than ours. Please allow me to introduce them to you."

Aisha glanced at Horner and felt that... this Chamber of Commerce seemed to be Horner's real purpose.

But it doesn't matter. Elsa doesn't have anything to do now, and shopping is a good pastime.

"Then I'll trouble you to lead the way."

After arriving at the so-called Morton Fornia Chamber of Commerce, Elsa discovered that the manager of the Chamber of Commerce was a girl of the same age as herself. In fact, Elsa had seen her before - when the zombies attacked.

……

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197. Targeting Lovers? (4k6)

The manager of the Morton-Funnia Chamber of Commerce is named Sylvia Morton, a real young lady.

Only then did Elsa realize that the girl she had rescued from the pursuit of the zombies was actually the daughter of the Morton family and the daughter of the Earl, and the old man who was rescued by Elsa together with Sylphrea was the butler, and Sylphrea called him "Reed".

"I've always wanted to thank you in person, and today I finally have the chance. Welcome to the Morton-Fenia Chamber of Commerce's Dammas branch. My name is Sifreya Morton, and I'm the temporary head of this branch."

Sifreya said with a smile.

She saluted Elsa with perfect aristocratic etiquette. Her elegant light golden hair complemented her sapphire-blue, deep and bright eyes. Her every move revealed the elegance and composure of a noble.

As for Horner, he had already resigned on his own initiative, which made Elsa feel like he had completed his mission.

But Elsa didn't care. She was also somewhat interested in the Chamber of Commerce - the trade industry in this world was too backward, and there were many rare and interesting things that only large chambers of commerce could obtain.

"Just call me Elsa."

Elsa naturally didn't understand the etiquette of the nobility, but the church staff also taught their own etiquette.

During the greetings, Aisha got to know more about the Morton Fornia Chamber of Commerce.

Shibern was also an earl, but he came from a military family. The Shibern family rose to prominence during the Demon King War and was considered a rising aristocracy. Earl Morton, on the other hand, had been a hereditary aristocrat even before the Demon King War. His territory was centered in the city of Morton Fornia, and the Chamber of Commerce was a family-owned enterprise, a well-known organization in the Western Province of the Empire.

Although it can't be compared with the big chambers of commerce in Southern Province.

The Southern Province also boasts a large Chamber of Commerce organization, surpassing Mortonfornia in both size and scale. Compared to the barren Western Province, with its complex terrain, mountainous terrain, and limited water resources, the Southern Province, with its numerous seaports and tributaries, enjoys a unique advantage, allowing its commercial economy to develop much earlier. Furthermore, the Empire faced direct threats from the Demon King's army from the west, north, and east, necessitating the intentional relocation of its economic and industrial centers to the Southern Province, ultimately creating the current imbalance in development.

But in terms of the Western Province alone, the Morton-Furnia Chamber of Commerce can be regarded as the richest merchant organization, and the leader of the Chamber of Commerce, the Morton family, is self-evident.

"Because my father intends to expand his business northward, Dammas is an indispensable hub. Therefore, I came to Dammas to oversee the initial operations of the Chamber of Commerce and foreign affairs. As such, this branch has only recently been established, so it is unavoidably deserted and shabby. I hope Lady Aisha will forgive me for the poor hospitality."

As she spoke, Sifreya invited Aisha to come to the Chamber of Commerce.

The interior of the Chamber of Commerce is not as luxurious as it looks on the surface, and there are not many people. It is different from the Chamber of Commerce that Elsa imagined. The Morton-Furnia Chamber of Commerce seems to be a chamber of commerce organization specifically responsible for management and negotiation. The industries it actually controls are not directly concentrated in the Chamber of Commerce, so although it is a chamber of commerce, it is unexpectedly quiet.

"Miss Sifreya—can I call you that?"

"Of course," Xifuleya smiled, covering her mouth. "Rather, it's an honor."

Perhaps Sifreya had received Horner's news a long time ago, and the Chamber of Commerce had already arranged everything. A wide variety of wands and magic stones were placed in the most conspicuous position in the Chamber of Commerce hall. It seemed that people were constantly carrying boxes and putting more goods on the display shelves.

"I hope you like it. To repay you for saving my life, please feel free to choose from any of the items here, Lady Aisha. All of the items here are free for you."

As expected of the eldest daughter of a business family, she speaks in a generous manner.

Elsa did not rush to reject Sylphreya's kindness, but looked around slowly. Sylphreya arranged a young and beautiful "shopping guide" to explain the goods to Elsa - the goods here were indeed richer than those in the guild. Elsa also saw another Frozen Scepter.

In the end, Elsa bought three staffs inlaid with superior magic. One of them was more special and more expensive than the other two combined because it was inlaid with two magic stones, one of which was a magic storage stone and the other was engraved with ice-based superior defensive magic. The special thing about this staff was that it could store the magic power of a defensive magic before a battle.

Most magic storage stones cannot store so much magic power, so this kind of staff is very rare - of course, it is of no use to Elsa. Elsa bought it entirely for Vivian as a gift, although it cannot be used in the Holy Sister Selection Competition, because only standard weapons provided by the monastery can be used during the selection.

These three staffs were already a considerable expense. Elsa also bought some other strange gadgets and books, many of which were produced in the Southern Province, and there were even specialties from the Western Continent. Under Elsa's insistence, Sifreya had to compromise and charged half of the fee.

Sifreya also wanted to invite Elsa to dinner, but Elsa thought about it and declined.

It was not until Aisha left that Sifraya slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss, are you okay?"

Butler Reed came forward, and Sifreya just sighed.

"I feel like I didn't perform well. Phew, I was so prepared... I'm happy, but I ended up being a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. Did I look completely out of control?"

"Of course not," Reed smiled. "Besides the head of the family, the only one who could make you feel nervous is Lady Faris."

"I wonder if we'll have a chance to meet again," Xifuleya retracted her gaze. "By the way, did father reply to the letter?"

Reed was silent for a moment, then slowly took out a letter and handed it to Xifula.

Xifuleya opened the envelope, took a look, and frowned deeply.

"Tsk, that damn Leonard is here again... My good mood is completely ruined, ugh."

She tore up the letter, feeling very angry and even more helpless.

Seeing this, Li De just lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"Father chased him away..." Sifreya shook her head, "But this isn't a solution. I have a feeling they'll come back again. Reed, I don't want to embarrass Father, but I don't want to marry a bully like that... He only wants to marry me for the family fortune!"

"Don't worry, Miss. Leonard is ambitious, and the head of the family will not do as he wishes."

"I hope so... But I can sense that our family can't hold out for much longer. Reed, do you really think I can do this well?"

"Of course, young lady, you are very talented, and we have no way out, right? The head of the family trusts you, so you should also show your confidence."

"That's right."

Xifuleya pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.

"Earl Hibern has agreed to our cooperation. What we need to do next is to quickly expand our influence in Dammas, expand our caravan, and open a passage to the North. If all goes well, we still have a chance... But, unfortunately, the main road to the North has been cut off, along with the Rhedes Mountains. Now we can only find other ways."