The black sun hangs high

Chapter 130 Shaking
Hugh sat down, panting.

His current condition can be described as extremely bad.

He was certain that he had suffered some internal injuries in the previous collision, and he didn't know if he had any broken bones... He only knew one thing: his magic power was completely depleted. With the activation of the third valley-level spell, the magic power on the metal disc had become as thin as a light mist.

Hugh began to feel sleepy, a typical symptom of excessive magic consumption.

Just like when he first used the Touch of Calron, this state of depleted magic is very likely to lead to a long period of unconsciousness, and one that cannot be easily awakened.

"Even if it's just a page from a magic book, the amount of magic power consumed is outrageous."

Hugh gripped a magic crystal tightly, magic power continuously flowing into his body, while his gaze remained fixed on the struggling giant rat.

Stripped of the magical influence, the battle between these three distinctly different magical creatures reverted to their most primal, bestial state: biting, pouncing, tearing...

Do everything to extremes.

The main forces in the struggle were clearly the hounds from the Dark Abyss Palace and the crippled giant rat born from the Earth Mother Goddess's ritual. The former was enjoying the intense hunt, while the latter was putting up the most violent resistance and struggle out of its will to survive.

In contrast, the smaller, running rat, which can only restrain itself by using its tail, is somewhat inconspicuous.

But as its summoner, Hugh knew that this guy was the real beneficiary of this battle!
He was initially worried that the running rat might be forced to dissipate due to the depletion of his magic, but it turned out that it could live very comfortably even without his magic supply—because the creature was busy using the giant rat as its granary!

It was constantly gnawing and devouring the other's flesh and blood, and this action caused its magic power to continuously increase. It even had the leisure to feed back some of it through the magic connection between itself and Hugh, which greatly relieved Hugh's condition.

It gives off a "This stuff is pretty good, why don't you try some?" vibe.

"I can actually benefit from my own magical summons... This is quite rare in the entire Vaan, isn't it?"

Hugh shook his head helplessly. He had no intention of withholding the spoils of his summoned creatures, so apart from the portion that the Running Rat had voluntarily "handed over," he didn't touch anything else and quietly waited for the "beast fight" to end.

At first glance, the battle between the maimed giant rat and the palace hounds seemed to be in a state of equilibrium, but in fact, the giant rat was never able to inflict any effective damage on the hounds.

It seemed to know that the other rat clinging to it was the one that could truly cause it fatal harm. However, no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't shake Sniggy off its back. After discovering Sniggy's intentions, Sniggy, in a very unsportsmanlike manner, summoned the "tenants" living in its burrow. Except for the extremely depressed Jacob, almost all the Ernst family members responded to its call. Thus, a large swarm of blind rats reappeared under its command and rushed directly towards this defective product that had taken the blessing of Mother Earth.

The wall of flames was still burning fiercely not far away, and the entire pit was now filled with suffocating thick smoke. Hugh cast a simple spell on himself to isolate and filter toxic gases, but the spell did not block the terrible smell of "roasted meat". Instead, it made it even clearer.

The struggles and resistance of the maimed giant rat gradually weakened.

The blessing of the Earth Mother within it was still in effect, allowing its wounds, large and small, as well as its hind leg that had been destroyed in the attack of the hound's teeth, to continue to heal. However, the gnawing of the rat swarm and the interference from the running rats were slowing down the healing process.

After a while, the palace hound's strength was exhausted, so the excellent predator let out a low growl and rammed into the giant rat's body as before. Its ethereal form exploded, knocking the giant rat to the ground and inflicting fatal damage on it.

Sniggy couldn't let such a good opportunity slip by, so the rats immediately sped up their movements, and in the blink of an eye, they completely swallowed it up in a sea of ​​black.

"ended."

Hugh stood up with satisfaction. He turned to look at the enchanted chains hanging from the edge of the altar, and then at the massive remains that had once held the souls of countless victims…

"With the power I have, it's not enough to completely destroy this underground altar and the palace outside... But fortunately, it's unlikely that anyone will be able to repair it in the short term. Without the important magic core, this altar can only become an ancient site with archaeological and academic value."

With the help of the Touch of Calron, Hugh slowly walked toward the exit of the altar pit.

His thoughts were known to Jacob, who remained in the spiritual world. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Child, do not let your guard down..."

"You mean there might be other dangers?"

"No, I mean, everything here... might be used by someone with ulterior motives."

Jacob explained, “Back in my time, in order to strengthen the kingdom’s intelligence system, the royal family had a large-scale training program for spies and secret agents, and I was one of the main participants.”

"After that system was established, outstanding spies successfully infiltrated various countries... There were allies, potential enemies, and of course, so-called brother countries on the surface... The Legal Committee was no exception."

"Sitting in that position for a long time, I came into contact with more secrets, and then I realized a truth—the instability of the human race is even greater than the most volatile and changeable alchemical potion in the world."

The aged soul slowly said, "If the evidence weren't right in front of you, you might not believe that people could make such bizarre decisions. They could make decisions that defy common sense at any time due to momentary impulses, pursuits, changes in ideas or beliefs... People are too easily influenced, and temptation and interference are precisely what the Black Sun Society excels at."

Hughes nodded slightly.

He has always been a rather pessimistic person, which is related to the world he lived in and some of the things he experienced. Therefore, he agrees with Jacob's statement.

Now, the world of Vaan is at an extremely critical juncture. Under these circumstances, a group of people with ulterior motives, extremely unclear intentions and purposes, and who also possess profound backgrounds and extraordinary powers can easily "do something big".

The threat he faces now stems from a meager portion of the power of one of the lost gods. If the Black Sun Society also possesses more secrets about the ancient gods, they are highly likely to make similar preparations in other countries and locations. No one knows when the next Seren will appear.

A slight fluctuation of magical energy emanated from the rat swarm and the runaway rat, a sign that they had returned to the spiritual world. Hugh turned around and saw that the figure of the crippled giant rat had completely disappeared, clearly its power had been completely plundered by his summoned creature.

Inside the groove of the metal disc, the overfed, running rat didn't even go into its burrow. Just like when it was first summoned by Hugh, it lay directly in the metal groove, looking as if it was about to fall asleep on its back.

Hugh observed carefully, and then he was surprised to find that the curved horns that originally existed as magical phantoms on the head of the running rat had now completely become solid. They grew directly from the sides of Sniggy's head, round and smooth, seemingly evil, yet strangely carrying a sense of "beauty".

"Don't go to sleep yet, let me take a look!"

Curious, Hugh summoned the rat, which had grown even larger. He reached out and gently stroked the horns on its head, then asked the same question he had asked the first time they met: "So? What new tricks have you mastered this time?"

Before he could finish speaking, Hugh felt a slight tremor.

Some loose rocks broke off and rolled down the collapsed slope.

The ground seems to be shaking?
Hughes lowered his head in alarm and asked the bewildered and innocent-looking rat, "This... you didn't do this, did you?"

Sniggy understood Hugh's question, and promptly shook its head.

However, the next moment, an even more violent tremor came, and even in this underground space reinforced by layers of magical rituals, Hugh was still shaken and staggered.

He was now certain that this had nothing to do with his summoned creatures, because he had heard an extremely terrifying sound.

That was a buzzing sound coming from a much more distant place.

……

A special team appeared on a cliff at the southernmost part of the rugged hills.

This place is called "Distant View Cliff" because the magic here is extremely abundant and active, and magical rituals set up here and certain magical artifacts can be performed at their best.

According to the peace agreement signed two hundred years ago, the Farview Cliff should have been an absolutely neutral zone, with monks from the Legal Committee stationed there to ensure that no one with ulterior motives would take advantage of the geographical features of the Farview Cliff to spy on or monitor the western part of the Goddess Plain.

But now, this regulation has naturally been overturned.

The Legal Committee camp set up here had long been "politely" cleared out by the Kingdom of Walter's army. A large secret instrument specifically for obtaining information from afar had been set up. Today, a small observation and learning team composed of young noble soldiers belonging to the Fourth Artillery Regiment had arrived.

Such activities are not uncommon in the army of the Kingdom of Wotel. These selected noble soldiers, who possess excellent qualities and potential, are often important trainees for the future army.

A young nobleman took the monocular telescope, which was already connected to the cryptex, from the army mage. After adjusting it, he could clearly see a city.

"That's the city of Seren?"

The young man observed the details of the city with astonishment—it looked lifeless, with faint figures moving about on the city walls, and black smoke constantly billowing from within, seemingly on fire… A flock of scavenging crows hovered in the sky, but strangely, these clever and cunning birds were unwilling to approach the city, as if the danger lurking within outweighed their desire for “food.”

He discovered that the city was actually quite young.

Compared to the old cities on the plateau and plains that have a history of five or six hundred years and have undergone countless renovations, Seren is just a "young man" who is less than two hundred years old. Based on their own experience, the young nobles believe that there are still many areas in the city that can be improved and progressed.

Its city walls are not strong enough, and many of its outer facilities still need to be optimized and built... The city structure is too old, and perhaps a complete renovation is the most suitable solution.

However, thinking about these things now is meaningless; the flocks of birds hovering in the sky prove that this city has been delivered to the face of death.

The mage leading the group took a monocular telescope from the young nobleman, handed it to the next person, and then exclaimed, "Look, what a wonderful land... what a wonderful geographical location."

The mage pointed into the distance: "Can you see it, lads... the land east of Seren is all dark black. It is very fertile and hides many unexplored crystal mines. This land is not only suitable for growing ordinary food crops, but also for cultivating certain special magical plants."

"But they leave all the land empty, what a waste."

Another nobleman gazed greedily at the distant land: "Those plainsmen are so extravagant. In the past, we would fight to the death with the highland ogres for a piece of land that was far inferior to this!"

The telescope continued to be passed down, and the accompanying mage addressed the future officers: "I didn't bring you here just for sightseeing! See that black line? That's the magical boundary set up by the Delans. Beyond that boundary are their camps and soldiers… and that line will be our first target. We will…"

The accompanying monk was not able to finish his sentence.

Just now, he had keenly sensed a sudden and unusual phenomenon.

It was as if the cliff beneath my feet had suddenly swayed slightly.
(End of this chapter)