Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

Standing on the circular mountain range and looking towards the mountains to the west, the shore of the originally empty central lake was now covered with dense black dots, like patches of ugly black mold on a beautiful painting. Even the central lake was not spared, and a large number of black monsters were floating on the lake, and even in the sky above the central lake - they were a kind of black monster shaped like a bat, and seemed to be a species that was alienated from some kind of winged monster.

Ryan took a rough look and found that there were probably thousands of black monsters appearing this time, far more than any previous time.

He hurried over to Aisha and Tricia to report.

The magicians and paladins also gathered together. The magicians were fine, but the paladins all looked solemn. Even they were frightened by the dense black monsters, but what also made them feel at ease was that there were many traces of battles near the central lake and on the mountains. Everyone could see them clearly. There was no doubt that they were left by Elsa when she came here before.

"When we arrived here two days ago, there were no living black monsters at all. It seems these have gathered in the past two days. What's worrying is... the bodies left behind by Lady Faris have all disappeared. We observed black monsters devouring their companions' limbs. We suspect they may have eaten those bodies - this may explain why we didn't find any monster corpses outside the forest before."

Tricia stared at the cluster of black monsters. A black crow landed on her shoulder and used magic to expand her vision.

"Such a large number... Are these the same species as those so-called 'Filthy Ones'?"

It was the first time that Tricia saw a living black monster. It was indeed weird. Before, she had only seen tissue samples and well-preserved body parts under Ryan's introduction, but those samples no longer had the breath of the black monster. It looked like just a piece of corroded tissue.

And now, Tricia could clearly see that the black monsters were surrounded by fog-like aura of the abyss. Apart from that, the characteristics of the black monsters were exactly the same as described by Ryan and Aisha, and were full of ominous aura.

"These black monsters exude the aura of the Abyss, albeit faintly. It seems the Filth Ones are indeed products of the Abyss. But whether they are truly creatures of the Abyss or simply transformed into Filth Ones under the influence of Abyssal magic remains to be determined," Tricia said as she observed the direction of the central lake. "These black monsters may still retain their former instincts, but there's also the possibility that devouring corpses strengthens their strength, which is why these black monsters are so enormous. If that's the case, it makes sense why there are no small black monsters in the forest."

"abyss……"

Tricia's judgment made Ryan and the paladins look solemn - abyss is not a good word on this continent. It itself is a synonym for unknown, dangerous and strange.

"But don't worry. The abyssal aura of these things isn't strong. As long as you don't get hurt by them, you don't have to worry about being affected by their abyssal aura. But if you encounter such a situation, please be sure to ask for help from me, Aisha, and Inksha. Otherwise, once your soul is twisted, there's no hope."

Everyone nodded solemnly, while Aisha was thinking in her heart.

It seems that the zombies that humans turn into after being killed or injured are the result of being eroded by the abyss. As for the soul... perhaps as Tricia said before, if the form of the soul is changed or corroded, then humans themselves have the possibility of turning into monsters. For example, after a person dies, the soul will become incomplete. Even if he is resurrected through soul magic at this time, what is obtained will not be the original him, but a dead monster.

But in other words, if the integrity of the soul can be guaranteed, is it possible to develop true magic that can bring people back to life?

Of course, this thought only flashed through her mind. Elsa knew that even if this kind of magic really existed, it would not only face problems related to the soul.

At this time, Ryan continued, "...If we continue at this rate, these black monsters may form an army of over ten thousand in less than a week. Should we continue to observe for a while, or should we just..."

Ryan hesitated and didn't say anything else. He came to ask Elsa and the sage for advice.

"Elsa, what do you think?"

Tricia looked at Elsa and asked. Elsa pondered for a moment before raising her eyes and looking towards the central lake.

"They're flying monsters I've never seen before... But these black monsters don't pose a threat yet. There are far more monsters in the forest. The only thing that makes me curious is why the Filth Ones behind them would gather these black monsters here. I remember there were reports of unusual black monster movements a few days ago. Perhaps that was the Filth Ones summoning the black monsters. As for whether this is their destination, I don't know."

After a pause, Aisha continued, "Although I'm not sure how intelligent these filthy beings are, there's no doubt they have a purpose for gathering the black monsters here. Let's wait and see what they plan to do."

Tricia also agreed with this.

"There are always opportunities to attack, but ultimately we must understand where those foul beings come from and what their purpose is. So, let's wait and see what they do next. Everyone can take this opportunity to rest. I'll set up a concealed barrier nearby."

……

The so-called rest was, of course, just sitting down to adjust their state, and it was more for the convenience of Ryan and the magicians, who did not have enough physical strength. As for the Paladins, they did not need to rest at all. They were all powerful elites and would not feel tired even if they traveled all day.

During this time, Elsa had been observing the movements of the black monsters. She had seen the figures of several Filthy Ones. These Filthy Ones were different from the ones she had encountered before. Each of them had a strange shape, and their deformed bodies also made them different from each other.

However, those black monsters did not notice Elsa's existence, because Tricia used magic to set up a huge barrier to wrap everyone inside. From the outside, it looked like there was nothing here, and as long as Elsa did not touch the barrier, it would not be broken.

Tricia was also beside Elsa, observing the black monsters with Elsa, but unlike Elsa, Tricia's focus was on the energy fluctuations emanating from the black monsters' bodies.

Until night, when the crescent moon was high in the sky, the camp was flickering with the faint light of illumination.

While chewing on dry food, Inksa practiced using chopsticks tirelessly. She made rapid progress and was already able to pick up things, but her movements still looked awkward.

"They moved."

When Elsa's voice came, everyone immediately put down the dry food and water in their hands and took out their weapons. The lighting magic was also turned off. With the help of the moonlight, they quickly gathered together in an orderly manner without making much noise.

Elsa and Tricia were looking towards the central lake.

There were almost more black monsters gathered in the central lake area than during the day. Under the dim moonlight, the area around the central lake had turned pitch black. At this time, they were slowly walking towards the depths of the central lake. Groups of black monsters disappeared on the lake surface and sank into the depths of the lake.

This made both Elsa and Tricia frown slightly.

"There seems to be something in that central lake. That must be why they're gathered here... Unfortunately, I can't see anything clearly at this distance."

The lake water contains magical energy. The deeper the lake water is, the more serious the obstruction to Tricia's magical vision. At such a long distance, even she cannot see what is happening under the central lake.

"Then I'll go take a look first."

"and many more."

Elsa stopped and Tricia pointed in the direction of the central lake.

"Look, Elsa, there's movement."

Sure enough, as more and more black monsters sneaked into the central lake, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the center of the huge lake. The whirlpool grew bigger and bigger, and the lake level also dropped. The black mud at the bottom of the lake was revealed, and at the same time, a large number of aquatic creatures and black monsters appeared.

"Is there a cave under the central lake?"

Ryan asked curiously.

If this is true, how big is the underground space?

Aisha and Tricia remained silent and just watched.

The lake surface became lower and lower, and finally, a spike-like object slowly emerged from the center of the lake. The spike was just the top of an object, but it emitted a silver glow like the moon.

Tricia's eyes moved slightly.

"That's something forged from moon-patterned steel," she said. She could now clearly discern the magical fluctuations coming from below. "Moon-patterned steel is a common metal in ruins from the Age of Gods. Just like here—I can sense the strong fluctuations of magic from the Age of Gods."

As he spoke, the lake level had dropped to only knee height, and in the depression in the center of the lake, a spire-like building appeared in everyone's eyes. The building was ancient and desolate, standing slightly tilted in the mud puddle, looking like a knight's sword as huge as a bell tower inserted straight into the ground - to wield such a huge sword, it would probably take a giant of thirty or forty meters in height.

From Elsa's perspective, it seemed that the majestic circular mountains around her were smashed out by the huge sword, and the tilted hilt pointed directly at the crescent moon in the sky.

Most of the sword had sunk into the ground.

The connection between the hilt and the blade is a strange silver mirror that gleams with white light.

Under Elsa's astonished gaze, the black monsters rushed towards the mirror, but suddenly crashed into it and disappeared.

"That's a teleportation array. I never thought... there's actually an entrance to the Age of Gods ruins hidden beneath this lake."

Tricia said, shaking her head again.

"Before this, this entrance should have been closed, but now it has been opened by the Defiler. Elsa, this is where you discovered the existence of the mechanical dragon, right?"

Elsa nodded.

"It seems... the appearance of the giant dragon is related to the ruins here. These ruins may still be functioning, a 'living' ruin. The dragon's appearance here is probably to prevent other creatures from approaching the ruins deep in the central lake."

Tricia said.

Aisha pondered for a moment. If that were the case, it would indeed connect everything together.

This is probably not the first time that the Filth One has tried to open the entrance to the ruins of the Age of Gods, but he was stopped by the mechanical dragon last time. The corpses and traces of battle that Elsa found when she first came here should be left behind by the battle between the mechanical dragon and the black monster.

After Elsa defeated the mechanical dragon and left, the Filth One took advantage of the opportunity and returned here.

The more Elsa thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

So, were the words that the dragon kept muttering actually directed at her?

"I just don't know why these weird and dirty people would target this place."

Even Tricia has no idea what to do now. Those filthy people are unfamiliar to her.

"Elsa, it's time for us to take action."

she said.

……

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

164. Are black monsters considered living things? (3K)

"Just wait here peacefully. Don't step out of the range of the magic circle so that the black monsters won't notice you."

After saying that, Tricia carved another magic circle on the back of Inksas hand.

"If you need anything, just call me. Aisha and I will be back soon."

Faced with thousands of black monsters and the filthy ones mixed in among them, a head-on battle of this scale is far beyond what Ryan and others can handle. Only the paladins have the strength to fight - but it is useless. The numbers of both sides are not on the same level. When the number gap reaches this level, only absolute personal strength can make up for it.

It is possible for these paladins to protect Inksa from the surging monsters, but it is naturally impossible for them to eliminate these black monsters.

So Tricia simply asked them all to stay.

Elsa took out the War Demon General's black heavy sword. Facing such a large number of enemies, the black magic sword was quite effective - of course, Elsa had no other weapons to choose from now, unless she pulled the huge sword-like building out of the ground.

"Finally, I'm able to fight alongside Elsa again. It's so exciting—but can you let me take care of that middle teleportation gate?"

Tricia smiled, and Aisha understood that Tricia was probably worried that she would accidentally extinguish the portal.

"Well, then please be safe."

"Don't worry, a guy with this level of power can't threaten me."

After Tricia finished speaking, she clasped her hands together and then opened them. A magic circle composed of several concentric circles and complex lines quickly appeared and expanded between her palms. As the runes lit up one by one, the magic circle also rotated at high speed. Circles of azure magic light arcs rose up, wrapping Tricia inside. The next moment, a dazzling halo appeared directly above the central lake, and Tricia's figure was already visible in it.

Elsa watched Tricia vanish from sight, then suddenly reappear in the distance. It was clear this was a high-level spell, mastered only by great mages: Teleport. Teleport wasn't part of the elemental magic system, but a distinct discipline of its own. Its range varied depending on the caster's magical power and control. Some could teleport over ten kilometers in a single breath, while others could only reach a few dozen meters. Regardless, as a high-level spell, Teleport was currently unattainable for Elsa.

She doesn't have that much mana.

However, for now, Elsa doesn't really need teleportation, because she can get serious much faster than she can create a magic circle.

She took a step forward, and the rocky ground gave way. In the blink of an eye, she appeared at the foot of the mountain. She swung her sword, and a flash of black sword light immediately cut a smooth and sharp corner in the tide of black monsters. The number of black monsters dropped sharply by 20%. Elsa punched again, and the mountain collapsed and the rock layers shattered. A large number of monsters disappeared in an instant with the raised dust hurricane.

Then came the roaring sound.

At this time, the Knights and Inksa were stunned.

Although it was not the first time that he had witnessed Elsa's power, Elsa had never really used her strength before, and the power of Elsa's sword was completely incomparable to what he saw with his own eyes now.

At this time, the group of monsters was already boiling.

The black monster flying in the sky immediately noticed Tricia's appearance. Tricia's appearance was like a second bright moon in the night sky. The shining light almost illuminated the entire central lake area into daytime - the source of this dazzling white light was not because of Tricia's teleportation magic, but a huge white magic circle composed of countless thick white arcs of electricity. If you look up at this time, you will find that the originally clear night sky has been obscured by the rolling dark clouds at some point, and the moonlight is hidden behind the dark clouds.

Tricia slowly raised her palm, and a huge torrent of magic power was about to burst out.

The monsters in the sky screamed and pounced towards Tricia, but were blocked by an invisible barrier, and the monsters below also roared louder and louder.

And it all ended when Tricia pressed her palm down.

"——Authority·Holy Punishment Thunder!"

In an instant, the black clouds surged like boiling water, and the vast area centered on Tricia, including the entire central lake and the lakeside, was all shrouded in countless dazzling pale lightning. From a distance, it seemed as if a huge pillar of light that swallowed up the sky and the earth had descended from the sky above the central lake.

Elsa looked up at Tricia, who was floating in the air and standing in the center of countless lightning bolts, and couldn't help but marvel at the huge and brilliant lightning bolts.

In this situation, magic still had a significant advantage. Although Elsa could easily destroy so many monsters with one strike, there was no doubt that the huge portal in the middle would also be blown to pieces. However, Tricia was able to control the impact of the lightning, perfectly avoiding the building in the middle.

Each bolt of lightning was as thick as an ancient tree. When it landed, it shattered countless rocks and soil, leaving a large charred pit on the ground. The closer to Tricia, the denser the lightning. The black monsters flying towards Tricia were all struck by several bolts of lightning at the same time. Their bodies were charred, ignited, and exploded. The blood mist and pieces of flesh turned into balls of flames that exploded in the sky.

At the same time, Elsa had almost cleared out the monsters around her, leaving only a few scattered black monsters. Elsa raised her hand, and an ice spike flew out suddenly. As soon as the ice spike left her hand, the next ice spike followed closely, and then another ice spike condensed into shape. Suddenly, as Elsa's magic value quickly jumped from 28→3→28→3→28, due to the limit of Elsa's magic recovery speed, Elsa could only fire thirty or forty shots every second.

One ice spike could only make a bloody hole in its body, but ten or a hundred of them would be a different story. Elsa aimed at a monster, and the ice spikes formed a line of ice crystals between Elsa and the monster. Blood holes appeared on the monster's body, followed by flying flesh and blood mist. More than a hundred ice spikes directly turned it into a sieve.

Elsa shifted her target again, leaving a series of "bullet holes" on the ground as she quickly moved towards the next monster. The monster fearlessly pounced on Elsa, roaring, but the intensive collision sounds between the ice spikes and its shell drowned out its roar, leaving dense fine lines on its shell. Soon, it could not withstand the fierce bombardment of the ice spikes, and its shell shattered, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

Aisha changed her approach, allowing a black monster to rush in front of her, then lightly raised her hand.

"Concussion."

Elsa could release more than forty vibration magics per second at the fastest speed. In just a moment, the monsters close to Elsa were shaken to death - a simple magic like vibration was not enough to kill the black monster, but Elsa had no intention of killing the black monster with the aftermath of the vibration. Elsa clamped the black monster's huge claws with one hand to prevent it from leaving, and with the other hand, she continued to release vibrations on the black monster's hard shell, but Elsa began to try to adjust the frequency of releasing vibrations per second, and the black monster had already lost its life halfway through.

Is this an infrasonic attack?

As Elsa thought this, Tricia's lightning strike had ended. The vast area centered on her was now a shattered mess, littered with charred, crystallized areas. Only the area surrounding the portal had been spared, where dozens of monsters had survived. A crow, slightly larger than an adult, swooped down from the sky and easily strangled the black monster near the portal. A cloud of ice crystals covered the lake's mud, while Tricia landed, untouched.

"Tricia's magic is truly eye-opening. What kind of magic was that just now?"

Aisha came up to Tricia and asked.

Fred had once used a magic called "Holy Punishment Thunder", but in Elsa's opinion, that thing and Tricia's "Authority·Holy Punishment Thunder" were completely incompatible.

"This is a forbidden spell I created. It was inspired by the mid-level magic 'Holy Punishment Thunder'. However, I modified its activation mechanism to make it more controllable and powerful."

Tricia said.

Elsa could see Tricia's love and pride in magic.

"Next is this big guy. This teleportation array should be a 'two-way passage' type - there is water under our feet, and the water on the other side of the teleportation array should be about this deep. The water flows back and forth."

Tricia looked up at the huge sword-shaped building in front of her, which was as big as a tower, and raised her hand to summon the crow familiar.