Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

Ryan's mood at the moment is hard to describe.

If they encountered this kind of disaster, they could only run, and the difference was simply whether to run up to the sky or down below. However, he was much stronger than other magicians and could deploy his magic field to withstand this level of impact, but that was all.

In comparison, he felt that he was really a big drag - if Elsa had come here alone to carry out the mission as Elsa had requested at the beginning, maybe Elsa would have killed all those black monsters long ago. The more Ryan got along with Elsa, the more he believed that Elsa could do it.

But now, Elsa slowed down because of her consideration for them. The investigation has been going on for more than a day, but these draggers have not produced any results, or even any gains at all.

This made Ryan feel very embarrassed.

At this point, the idea of ​​retreating is completely out of the question. Next, they must go all out and make every effort to research these black monsters and pollutants and find out the results and give an explanation. Otherwise, if they still have no results to show by the time things are over, then the entire magician group will be laughed at.

This put Ryan under great psychological pressure.

"Come to think of it," Elsa suddenly asked Brahmot, "I remember there weren't any landslides in the forest, right?"

“It’s rare, especially on this scale.”

Brahmot shook his head.

"After all, this is a forest. The mountains here are solid, and it's close to the central lake. That area is made entirely of rock. Generally speaking, this wouldn't happen unless there was a problem with the ley lines."

"Earth veins?"

Elsa was a little confused, and seemed to suddenly think of something - what happened in Dammas Fortress was initially just an abnormality in the earth veins. It seemed to be just a coincidence and it was not easy to attract attention.

But how could there be so many coincidences in the world? Elsa would never believe in coincidences.

But on the other hand, it is not impossible for even a solid mountain to experience a landslide, especially in such severe weather. The local sewers are affected, and even a small change can easily accumulate and eventually cause a disaster.

So, we may need to investigate before we can draw a conclusion as to what the reason is.

"Ryan, can you feel anything?"

Ryan is the deputy leader and acting leader of the Magician Corps. Although his attainments in magic are not as good as Tricia's, they are not bad either.

But it was still a bit too difficult for him to explore the earth veins.

"I'm sorry... My magic can't sense the changes happening at such a deep level..."

Ryan was frustrated—he felt as if he had never been useful.

Marvin was comforting him.

At this time, Bramuth continued, "Of course, there's actually another possibility—we can't rule out the possibility that some pesky goblins or other rodent-like monsters that like to burrow everywhere will destroy the underground environment here. Coupled with this kind of rain, there's also the possibility of causing some trouble. However, adventurers usually don't go out in weather like this, and the town is rarely affected, so what I know may have some omissions."

"If that's the case, it would be easier to solve."

Aisha said.

"But you also know that there are no ordinary monsters left in the forest now. The cave spiders have also been assimilated. There's no way the remaining monsters could escape. They should have turned into black monsters long ago."

Would the black monsters still retain their original habits? Definitely not—if they did, then the black monsters in the spider caves should be able to escape easily.

"Anyway, thank you for telling me this."

Elsa looked back at the collapsed mountain and continued forward.

After that, they didn't encounter any other black monsters along the way and arrived outside the spider cave. Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Unlike other places in the forest, due to the heavy rain, the forest is full of more gloomy and dark scenery. The ears are filled with the ear-numbing sound of raindrops falling in the forest, which makes people feel depressed easily.

Up to here, since most of the trees here were destroyed by Elsa, without the obstruction of the trees, it looks exceptionally bright here, and the view is much wider. You can directly see the dark clouds in the distance and the mountains that were previously cut in half by Elsa, giving people a much more relaxed feeling.

At this time, Elsa stood in front of the huge spider cave and looked around.

Yesterday, this area was still a mess, with fallen trees and piles of monster corpses everywhere. The potholes left by the battle were still there, but the corpses of the black monsters had disappeared as if they had evaporated, leaving only some fragmented monster body parts or internal organs. Due to the heavy rain, the black bloodstains had been washed away, and the originally blackened forest had now returned to its original emerald green color.

This scene made everyone look solemn.

Ryan and others released their familiars to explore the surroundings, and the adventurers also used their experience to search the surroundings.

Elsa stared at the deep cave entrance.

"Master Faris, look at these—"

From the voice of Beremut, he seemed to have discovered something.

Elsa came to Bramuth and the adventurers, and from under the layer of leaves that were pushed aside, she could vaguely see some footprints that did not belong to spider monsters. There were puddles of water due to the rain, and they looked very "fresh". Although some traces were washed away by the heavy rain, one or two could still be seen - these footprints were not consistent. Some looked very huge and heavy, while others were much thinner, more like some kind of flying bird of prey than walking creatures. The deep claw marks were very clear, and some were left on fallen tree trunks. There were even traces of gnawing on the ground and tree trunks.

The further they went, the clearer the footprints became. Elsa realized that the monsters that left these footprints were not just a few, but seemed to be dozens or even larger in a regular pattern.

At this moment, Elsa's nose twitched slightly, and she slowly turned her head and looked into the depths of the dense forest.

"I always feel like...something is watching us."

Elsa said, standing up and taking a few steps towards the dense forest. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and the next moment, the ground cracked and sank deeply. Elsa's figure disappeared from everyone's sight. In the blink of an eye, Elsa had broken through a thousand meters, and dozens of giant trees collapsed. Elsa left deep pits along the way. She moved as fast as a phantom, and appeared in front of a strange-shaped monster in just a moment.

The monster was attached between several towering trees, with its web-like tendrils sticking to the trunks and branches. It had no limbs or head, and its body was covered with tumors and tendrils, dark red in color. It looked like a ball of chopped meat hanging there.

The only two visible organs on its body were its disgusting skin and densely packed eyes of varying sizes - the eyes were completely black and stared at the direction behind Elsa, until there was a loud bang and Elsa appeared below it and fell into a deep pit. Only then did an eye emerge from under its skin again and stare at Elsa. At the same time, there came a sharp sound of breaking through the air and a continuous and fierce hurricane.

"Such an aura... I never thought it would be from the Filthy One."

Elsa frowned and looked up at the horrific collection of countless eyeballs and flesh lumps, feeling nauseous - she was very familiar with the black aura floating in the air. It was the aura of the filthy ones when the black monsters were active.

How can we bring this meatball-like thing back to Ryan and the others for research?

Or should I just bring Ryan over and take a look?

Just as Elsa was hesitating, the densely packed eyeballs of the filthy one suddenly turned over, and all the black eyes stared at Elsa. Elsa suddenly frowned, feeling as if there was some kind of energy surrounding her that seemed to want to invade her mind, but the next moment - puff - all the eyes of the meat ball exploded, like crushing grapes, and for a moment black blood flew everywhere, and the entire huge meat ball turned into a firework composed of blood mist.

[-Eliminate the filth: level up! -]

[-Freedom Points Obtained: 1-]

Elsa was stunned - she hadn't done anything yet, and the meatball just exploded like that?

At the same time, an explosion was heard in the distance. Elsa turned around and saw a firework dissipating in the rain - that was the "help signal" that Elsa and the others had agreed upon.

They were attacked just as they left?

Aisha frowned slightly, and her figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, leaving only a deep pit.

……

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127. Mind Control Magic

Before leaving, Elsa, Ryan and others agreed on a way to communicate with each other: through a simple signal that is easy to distinguish and can be transmitted quickly over a long distance - it is a signal flare that can send out a predetermined magic using a magic stone. It belongs to the same category as the wide-area lighting magic stone that Elsa had seen Fred use. Both are alchemical products that combine magic and sorcery technology. For Elsa, it is one of the few magical props that can be used.

Of course, this kind of thing is basically reserved for Ryan and others, so that they can send a distress signal to Elsa when Elsa is not around, to ensure that Elsa can quickly receive the information - after all, there are only a dozen of them in total, and such a small number of people is really not enough to deal with the depths of the forest full of dangers. It is only ordinary monsters or elite upper-level monsters that are okay, and the strength of Ryan and others is enough to deal with them easily, but now it is different from the past. This is no longer a forest where ordinary monsters live, but the nest of the filth and black monsters.

If they were targeted by hundreds of black monsters, without Elsa's help, Ryan would probably be the only one who would survive.

It concerned their safety, so when Elsa saw the signal fireworks, she rushed back without saying a word.

But when Elsa arrived, she did not see any black monsters or other enemies. She only saw Ryan maintaining a huge arc-shaped magic barrier, which imprisoned everyone except Moira, Bramuth, Kus and other magicians and adventurers. Those people had dazed expressions, holding weapons in their hands, and there were traces of fighting on the ground.

Moira was slightly injured, but seemed to be fine.

Kus and Beremut are taking care of the others.

Ryan held the staff in one hand to maintain the barrier, and the other hand was still drawing a new magic circle. When he saw Elsa, he was surprised, and then turned into a wry smile - just a moment ago, he was actually worried about whether Elsa was also affected by the mental control, and was worried about it. This idea was really ridiculous.

"What's going on? Are you guys okay?"

Elsa didn't know what Ryan was doing, but she had a vague guess in her heart. She didn't approach the magic circle immediately, nor did she approach Ryan who was drawing the magic. Instead, she kept a distance from him.

"—Lady Faris, they are under mind control."

Ryan said.

……

In the field of magic, the most powerful magician in the entire Danmas Territory is naturally Tricia. Excluding her, the second should be Ryan.

Madeus Ryan, in terms of talent alone, he is even better than the previous leader of the Magician Corps. After all, it took him less than twenty years from the time he officially came into contact with and learned magic until he took the position of the second-in-command of the Magician Corps. This is already an exaggerated number. For many magicians, they will never reach this level in their lifetime. Besides, he is still young and there are many possibilities in the future.

If the old leader had not been still alive, Ryan might have taken the position of leader long ago.

As a gifted magician, Ryan's understanding and knowledge of magic far exceeds that of ordinary people.

"—You mean... that's a kind of 'mind control' magic?"

Aisha asked, looking at Ryan with a serious expression.

It was Ryan who just set off the signal fireworks.

"I'm sure of that, because generally speaking, very few people can master this kind of magic."

Ryan recounted in detail what happened after Elsa left - Elsa sensed an ominous aura, and as soon as she left, Ryan immediately felt the strong magical fluctuations that followed. It was a huge breath of soul magic coming from the direction Elsa left.

The magic was so powerful that it instantly controlled several magicians and adventurers, and then immediately attacked others around him.

Fortunately, as an excellent magician, Ryan made the fastest and most appropriate countermeasure and immediately controlled everyone present, thus avoiding the tragedy.

The so-called soul magic is a kind of vision magic that is independent of the existing elemental magic system. Like dragon language magic, it belongs to a special independent branch. Soul magic also involves many additional categories, one of which is specializing in "hypnosis" or "mind control" type of magic that directly interferes with the mental state of the affected object.

"Magic isn't something you can earn simply through hard work. Everyone has a unique aptitude for magic. I've done some basic research on spiritual magic, so I can tell the difference."

Ryan said.

As he said, spiritual magic is not his forte, but as an experienced magician, he naturally has his own unique understanding of how to identify and prevent this type of magic.

There are only one or two people who are suited to mental magic in every ten thousand people. It is very rare. Because of its rarity, it is difficult to guard against it.

"They just lost control. It seems the 'driver' behind them is dead. Is this what happened, Lady Faris?"

There was no need to ask. As soon as Elsa felt something, they were attacked. As soon as Elsa left, the person being "controlled" lost control - Ryan already had the answer in his heart. Elsa's nod was not unexpected, but the next sentence made his hair stand on end.

"If that's the case, then the 'driven one' you're talking about is just a filth being—it looks like a pile of rotten meat with a few eyeballs in it. It's disgusting."

Ryan was stunned by what Aisha said.

Could it be that among the Defiled, there are individuals who can use magic? That book doesn't mention such a thing.

Is the intelligence wrong, or is this just an exception?

Ryan is a powerful magician. He naturally understands how much harm a powerful user of mental magic can cause. Due to the characteristics of mental magic, this harm is often very covert and difficult to guard against.

The only thing that relieved Ryan was that Aisha had killed the other person.

But he still couldn't stop worrying - now there are Filthy People who can use mental magic, Filthy People with extremely strong vitality. Will there be more and more difficult Filthy People appearing in the future?

"You just killed another Filth One?"

"Well, I didn't do it, but it seemed...never mind, what are you doing?"

Elsa looked at the unfinished magic circle in Ryan's hand.

"I'm... currently drawing a spell to expel the spiritual mark. Unfortunately, I'm not a great magician like the Sage. I'm not good at this, so I have to give it a try..."

"Is that so? How about letting me come?"

After Elsa finished speaking, she walked directly towards the barrier magic circle set up by Ryan. With a puff, the barrier broke the moment she walked in.

And those who were imprisoned were also released. Their eyes were dull, some were in a daze, and some raised their staffs to Elsa, but Elsa tapped each person's shoulder lightly, and the next moment he suddenly regained consciousness.

Ryan was stunned by this scene.

……

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128. The tribe of the filthy

The moment Elsa walked into Ryan's magic circle, Ryan felt that the magic power he maintained was crushed in one breath, completely and thoroughly severed from the magic circle, and turned into magic elements and disappeared into the air.

It was a very strange feeling, something he had never experienced before. The remnants of magic rushed towards him, and no matter how Ryan called out, he could not re-establish the connection. The magic had completely evaporated.

Then Ryan watched as Elsa stretched out her hand and lightly tapped the shoulder of every person who was under mental control, and that person would wake up.

This made him amazed.

"As expected of Lady Faris, your technique is truly exceptional... How did you achieve this?"

Ryan exclaimed in admiration, then dispersed his half-finished magic. Compared to Elsa's, his magic was so poor that there was no need to use it. In front of Elsa, he, the leader of the magician group, was like a useless person, unable to help at all. This made him feel very frustrated, but at the same time, he was also fortunate. After all, the opportunity to carry out a mission with someone as powerful as Elsa was not something that everyone could get.

"It's just some little tricks. Tricia told me that I have some talent in certain areas. Don't just stand there, go see if they're okay."

Aisha said, vaguely.

She naturally couldn't explain to Ryan her ability to resist and dispel magic elements and spells. Even Elsa herself didn't understand the power of "magic dispelling".