The black sun hangs high

Chapter 124 Breakthrough
The appearance of the Touch of Calron brought a brief silence to the entire underground garden.

Even the rat swarm that had been tearing at and colliding with each other paused for a moment.

The aura emanating from these swaying black tentacles seemed to drag all the rodents here back to a distant moment, lost in their thin bloodlines. Even the plants that had mutated due to the power of the Earth Mother Goddess began to tremble slightly at this moment...

Vera pursed her lips and looked in Hugh's direction. Now, apart from learning basic magic, she no longer dared to regard this young man, whom she had led to escape from Seren City, as an ordinary Stream-level mage.

Judging solely from his direct combat abilities, he could even easily kill a legitimate Lake-level scholar using his versatile, rapid, and unpredictable methods. Perhaps only those military mages with ample practical experience could quickly deal with the abnormal magic and power unleashed by Hughes.

In the brief moment of her thought and hesitation, Hughes had already revealed a side of himself that was very unlike that of a spellcaster—he charged forward.

And so, without using any potions, without applying any protective rituals or enhancement magic, and without equipping himself with any melee gear, he charged into the surging horde of rats and the waiting enemies.

"???"

Wei Lin's eyebrows shot up.

Although she was a scholar of the Lake-level, she had participated in all the training and courses that the Legal Committee should have. Therefore, she was well aware that every action that Hugh was taking now was a complete violation of the most basic principles of spellcasting.

It should be noted that even sword-wielding hermits, who are trained specifically for close combat and are capable of breaking through enemy lines or even defensive strongholds head-on, would not be able to launch a direct charge like he did!
Reason led Vera to make the right judgment at this moment. She suppressed the urge to curse and quickly cast several enhancement spells that she had already mastered in the regular training of the Law Committee. A series of complex magic runes were instantly constructed and formed an accurate magic model. Then, these stable models transformed into bright beams of enhancement magic and protective rituals, chasing straight towards Hugh's figure.

Of course, Hugh wouldn't just charge straight into the enemy's dense swarm of rats. Protected by the sharp-limbed tentacles of the Karron's Touch, he forcefully opened the spellbook in his hand. The last dozen or so pages of "Instant Fire" left over from when Verin set up the magic array were all torn off by Hugh without hesitation.

A large amount of magic was poured into it without reservation, and then the mage's hand appeared, carrying the dozen or so "dangerous items" that had begun to tremble violently forward at high speed.

Thanks to the enhancement magic given to him by Verin, Hugh's control over his magic and magic tricks has been significantly improved.

Soon, with Hugh's precise control over the mage's hand, these pages began to fall continuously into the swarm of rats serving the Earth Mother's mystical ritual.

Under Hugh's firm command, the raging rat finally returned to Hugh's side. It was still in a state of extreme excitement and frenzy. With its sharp screech, a group of blind rats, larger in size and with more magic power in their bodies, appeared and gathered around Hugh.

This is the special rat swarm composed of Ernst family members that has just "moved into" Hugh's spiritual world. After receiving support from Hugh's magic and the support from the Runaway Rats who have similar primal powers, their originally very weak bodies were immediately greatly repaired and benefited.

Now is the time for them to demonstrate their abilities and reward Hugh.

"Gather the rats, prepare to break through... send me to their side."

At this moment, General Bernhardt, who possessed an outstanding military mind and could clearly understand human intentions, became the acting commander of the rat swarm. With the support of the power of the running rats, this general, who had left his mark on the history of the Kingdom of Walter, began to rapidly release his magic. As a result, the rat swarm that had come here with Shug immediately ended their chaotic battle and began to become as orderly as a real army.

At this moment, the previously loose group of rats was forcibly molded into a single entity.

As the first page of the spellbook fell into the swarm of rats, a fierce and bright flame burst forth in the garden of Mother Earth. Hugh's magic infusion was ultimately not quite up to par, so "Instant Fire" did not produce the orderly and astonishing explosion he had envisioned. Fortunately, however, this level of magic was enough to disrupt and disperse the rat horde that had been gathered together, and the two largest gaps were successfully filled by two bursting magic arrows that flew in from behind the battle lines.

The charge began.

Under General Bernhardt’s forceful command, all the blind rats that could be controlled formed a sharp triangle, with the runaway rats, who had already seized a large number of blessings from Mother Earth, becoming the apex of this triangle.

Although it is still much larger than its three-tailed giant rat ancestors who once charged down the mountains and fought directly with the sea monsters, at this moment, its role in this special charge is no different.

Before the intense heat generated by "Instantaneous Fire" had dissipated, it had already led the charge towards the loosely organized swarm of rats. Although it was in a state of extreme frenzy, it did not use its size and strength advantage to launch a full-scale massacre as it had done before. Instead, it continuously used the blessings of the Earth Mother Goddess within it to forcibly interfere with and control the rat swarm that had lost its unified command and belonging. Only those rats that were still resolutely fighting back were precisely killed by it with its tail.

Such a large-scale advance naturally attracted the attention of the priests and guards. Various spells began to pour towards Hugh, and the Touch of Karron immediately began its "work," extending outwards and using its sharp, hard limbs to intercept spells capable of causing fatal damage in mid-air. Hugh handed over any spells that slipped through the net to Virin to cast a protective ritual on him. Several burly guards, like supervisors, marched forward with the swarm of rats. Without exception, they were surrounded by the light of the Earth Mother's mystical ritual. Under their influence, the previously chaotic rat tide became "determined" once more. The "triangle," which had begun to accelerate, slowed down again and was attacked from multiple directions, compressing the space for maneuvering and evasion.

But the next instant, the howl of the hound's teeth rang out again.

The bullets, imbued with the power of the Dark Abyss Court, instantly destroyed the Demon-Slaying Silver Shield in the hands of a ratman guard, as well as half of his body. The terrifying hound, wielding strange killing techniques, reappeared from the thick fog. With horrifying skill, it swiftly pounced on the second target and then forcibly forced back the third guard.

This time, however, there were few corners of buildings around that allowed it to move freely. As a result, a large number of rats immediately crawled onto its misty body. Driven by the Mother Mystic Art, these rats forgot their fear and recklessly gnawed at the hound's body, successfully breaking through the amorphous fog that protected the hound's body and forcing it to reveal its true form.

At this moment, the Mirror Messenger, also a member of the Dark Abyss Court, took over command of the hounds. This shadow, which was highly similar to Hugh in figure and appearance, stood up in the groove of the metal disc, its mouth wide open, issuing a silent and ruthless command. The court hounds then twisted their bodies, shaking off some of the rats clinging to them, and then, with their slender limbs, charged towards the direction where the rat-man priests were most concentrated, defying the magical light that kept flying towards them.

Several guards stepped forward to block its path, some even carrying crystal guns—equipment left behind by the Black Sun Society in the past. The changes in their physique and appearance did not affect their ability to use and understand the weapons. Crystal bullets immediately exploded on and around the hound, the astonishing magical shock tearing away most of its dark body. However, the hound was not a true physical magical creature, so this could not truly stop its advance.

With a ferocious roar as it hunted, the terrifying monster lunged at one of the guards, transforming back into the bullet that Hugh had fired from his gun. It unleashed its astonishing destructive power among the guards, spreading its unique annihilation force and instantly devouring the bodies of those who stood in its way, turning them into dust of flesh and blood.

"Pretty!"

The moment the defense was successfully breached, Hugh unleashed all of his magical abilities without reservation. The mist of the Mirror Messenger began to ripple around him, hard, sharp, black claws covered his palms, and several Kallon tentacles forcefully supported the ground, propelling him forward.

The lake-level magic "Needle of Rain and Snow" reappeared. The icy blue light, which could be as gentle as a ribbon or as sharp as a blade, had somehow arrived beside Hugh. Under Virin's precise magical control, it nimbly bypassed the swaying Touch of Karron and spread the low temperature directly to the swarm of rats blocking its way. After blocking and weakening several spells in conjunction with the protective ritual, the beautiful blue magical ribbon quickly deformed under the effect of a new round of magic runes and forcefully stabbed into the densest part of the enemy.

The bone-chilling cold spread rapidly with the explosion of magic, and the frost that made people's hands and feet stiffened covered the hands, feet and bodies of the priests and guards. Under this highly effective cover, Hugh successfully broke through the defense line. Like those sword-wielding hermits who faced the enemy head-on, he swept towards the vulnerable priests with countless sharp black tentacles.

This was a massacre that showed absolutely no reason or mercy.

As if venting all his dissatisfaction and resentment since arriving in Vaan, Hugh pushed the power of the Touch of Karron to its limit. The ferocious blades and limbs relentlessly assaulted and destroyed the protective forces on the priests' bodies. In the extremely violent cutting, these protective barriers, which were strong enough to withstand a large amount of Stream-level magic, were directly broken through in the most savage way. As a result, the priests hiding behind them were instantly dismembered, and some of their body parts were even impaled on the tentacles and swung back and forth...

Faced with this level of attack, the Earth Mother's mystical instrument, which had been set up there, finally began to change.

It was as if it had gained consciousness and could sense the approaching crisis. After Hugh successfully broke through the guards' defenses with the agility of the Touch of Karron and the Mirror Messenger's ability to avoid physical damage, all the plants and animals in the entire giant garden began to put up the fiercest resistance. Virin, who was building a magical model in the distance and ready to support Hugh at any time, found that the mutated plants around her had started to attack her!
Although the speed was slow, the sharp, claw-like branches and leaves that twisted like lizard tongues were all curling towards her, forcing her to find a way to deal with them.

However, this resistance was ultimately futile.

When the rampaging rat Sniggy once again began to steal the divine blessings that originally belonged to the rat-men guards and priests, the scales of the battle had completely tipped in favor of the attackers. More and more rats were under command and control, while fewer and fewer were able to put up an effective resistance. When the dense swarm of rats successfully reached the guards who were constantly waving their weapons or firing shots, no matter how strong or tough they were, they could not resist the bites of the countless rat teeth.

A ratman guard seized the opportunity, firing the last bullet from its crystal gun at Hugh's back. After a violent explosion of magic, it drew the heavy greatsword it carried on its back, and with agile steps, the blade, mixed with demon silver, was already above Hugh's head in the blink of an eye.

However, he missed.

The Demon Silver could still cause some damage to the mist created by the Messenger in the Mirror, but this damage was directly applied to Hugh's magic, and his body did not suffer any harm.

Using the swarming rats as a distraction, Hugh passed by the burly figure like a ghost. His illusory misty form instantly returned to its original state, and the sharp, blade-like Kalron's Touch immediately lashed out, working in conjunction with the terrifying claws in his hand to pierce and tear the strong ratman's body apart on the spot.

On the other side, Sniggy the Runaway Rat once again fell into a bloodthirsty state after absorbing a large amount of "fresh" Earth Mother Goddess power. While nimbly dodging the incoming magic, it attacked and killed the remaining rat priests in the most vicious and effective way under the cover of the rat horde.

Its body seemed to have swelled even more, and in the chaotic light, Hugh could vaguely see that something seemed to have appeared on the head of his summoned creature...

(End of this chapter)