The black sun hangs high

Chapter 138 The Raven

Hughes emerges from the dream sanctuary and awakens.

It was still dark outside, but the magic clock on the wall told him it was two in the morning, and he had only "slept" for a little over four hours.

Logically speaking, after such a long and arduous journey, and the torment he endured in the dream sanctuary, he should have chosen to continue sleeping. However, the surging vitality and life force within his body made him extremely excited—a physiological state that he could not subjectively suppress, unrelated to emotions or thoughts, simply a feeling of being full of energy.

The pain he endured in the dream sanctuary soaked his clothes once again.

So Hugh had no choice but to go back into the bathroom and take a thorough shower.

After that, he sat down at his desk, turned on the crystallizing desk lamp, and slightly opened the curtains.

The calming incense was relit, and then Hugh poured himself a cup of hot tea, sipping it slowly as he carefully reviewed his experiences in the dream sanctuary.

Before leaving the Dream Sanctuary, he specifically grabbed Theseus and asked him many questions about the era of the lost gods.

However, Theseus was not very enthusiastic about this topic, and his answers were mostly perfunctory or vague.

When Hugh mentioned the human female figure he saw at the end of the rats' dream, Theseus jokingly and subtly indicated that although he knew about that era, it didn't mean he knew all the "small fry," and told Hugh not to make a fuss.

This is truly intriguing.

Whether or not it was an overreaction, Hugh himself knew very well.

But Theseus's expression on this matter is puzzling. Given the guy's long-standing penchant for riddles, Hughes couldn't even tell whether his attitude was genuinely "indifferent" or a deliberate hint at something.

In short, it's really a headache.

"Ugh……"

After finishing a cup of tea, Hughes was still not very sleepy.

But in the middle of the night, he didn't want to continue studying that "Poem of the Night," so he simply picked up the stack of newspapers.

The Ernst family has always been extremely thorough in its intelligence work.

Therefore, Hugh quickly discovered that what was placed here was not only the "Bolton Daily" of the day, but also a detailed list of important news compiled by a specialist. By reading the two together, he could obtain truly useful information more clearly and quickly.

Late-night reading in a peaceful environment is always easy to get absorbed in, so soon, Hugh was completely immersed in this complex world woven from the important news of most of the Vain world.

It started snowing again, the cold snowflakes swirling and falling in the light of the streetlights.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the fluttering white sprites drifted further and further away with the cold wind.

They swept past the garden in front of the villa, past the vehicles bearing the Walter royal insignia, past the still brightly lit conference hall where heated conversations and discussions occasionally rang out, and finally landed in some unknown dark corner.

The cold air once again launched its offensive and began to advance towards the Goddess Plain at an astonishing speed.

After several heavy snowfalls, white has become the dominant color on the Lovi Plateau and a large part of the Goddess Plain.

At this rate, it's likely that heavy snow will cover most of the towns and main roads on the Goddess Plain after the winter solstice.

Everyone now knows what will happen at that time.

However, openly, the countries are still frequently engaging in negotiations.

Reporters are everywhere. Newspapers and publishing houses are like sharks that have smelled blood. As soon as there is any friction or conflict, or if a politician makes a shocking statement, they will swarm in and, in just half a day or a day, produce a series of news stories that make people nervous.

Compared to the blatant and unsettling public opinion that emerged in Seren, the current messages are relatively restrained, but the resulting wave is overwhelming and pervasive, creating a sense of oppression and suffocation.

For Hugh, Vaan was certainly a world full of unfamiliar elements.

But now, the world is converging towards a spacetime he perceives.

As the Legal Council's control over the Love Plateau rapidly waned, a new wave of hybrid technologies combining steam, magic, and crystallization emerged. Realizing that this trend was difficult to contain, the human elites standing in opposition to the Love Plateau also made a decisive decision.

For humans, the instincts to seek advantage and avoid harm, to imitate, and to learn are the purest instincts.

Throughout Vain’s history, the spellcasters within the Legal Council have always been among the most intelligent and resource-rich groups in the world. When such a group receives instructions from the higher-ups of the Legal Council and begins to channel their resources and knowledge in this new direction, the creativity and influence they unleash will surely shake the entire world.

This is an extremely important window of opportunity for the Plateau Alliance.

The mass production and promotion of new military equipment takes time. This is a valuable advantage that the countries of Votel have gained. From having ideas to obtaining research results and verifying them, to reforming factories and workshops and training relevant workers, and then to building and establishing the entire production chain, all of this requires a lot of resources and effort.

While magic can simplify many processes, human behavior and decision-making can, to some extent, slow down or even curb such explosive change.

Hughes could already smell the strong stench of blood in the newspaper.

In the past few days, news of the deaths of famous gunsmiths, alchemists, and mage scholars has been frequent in the plains, including some highly influential members of the Law Committee. Although these incidents are described as "accidental deaths" in the Borden Daily, with the help of the documents provided by the Ernst family, Hugh easily came to the conclusion that the spies and agents of the Wartel Kingdoms are on the move.

In comparison, the Legal Commission and the plains states have a much weaker ability to penetrate the Lovi Plateau.

This is related to the swift and decisive measures taken when the council and the legal committee openly broke ties. With a large number of people being dismissed, expelled, detained, or even assassinated, the security of the intelligence network and important figures within the plateau was largely guaranteed.

The border blockade and the Kingdom of Saint Steel's strict defense against the Legal Committee further amplified this advantageous situation.

Weapon innovation.

Official appointment.

Military reorganization.

Such messages kept bombarding Hugh's mind. And through the conversations he had overheard, Hugh also knew that the noble circles of the entire Kingdom of Walter would be completely stabilized before the Winter Festival.

At that time, several important families will completely withdraw from the historical stage of the Kingdom of Walter. Among these nobles, some are suspected of treason, while others are suspected of colluding with the Black Sun Society in private. In fact, a ritual site related to the Black Sun Society was even discovered in a certain manor.

But Hugh knew that Princess Sophia, or rather, Princess Sophia, was not doing these things to suppress the Black Sun Society's activities as much as possible. Her real goal was to ensure the stability of the rear, to cleanse and consolidate the power of the nobility, and to steadily advance the war.

Hugh leaned back in his chair and summoned the Mage's Hand to slowly refill his cup of tea.

This is one of the great benefits of the plant heart of the "Walking Forest"—now, its magic has basically returned to normal, although it still has a faint dark green hue, its corrosiveness is more controllable.

The most direct effect was that he could finally use his magic tricks, such as the Wizard's Hand and water-making spells, openly and legitimately.

A huge magical photograph caught Hugh's attention.

In that photograph, he could see many workers and soldiers carrying military supplies into the carriages of a steam train. Even though the magical photograph could only display the dynamic content for a few seconds in a loop, Hugh could still feel a special magical industrial beauty from the glittering crystals and magical runes on the side of the carriages.

"It seems that the railway tracks laid by the Kingdom of Walter have now begun to be fully converted for military use."

He was well aware of the role this type of railway could play during wartime. At the current stage of Vaan, the transport capacity it provided was something that no magic could achieve. Unless a brilliant spellcaster could develop the "mass teleportation" magic he had read in the novels he had read, railway transportation would be the most important pillar of Vaan for a long time to come.

Not to mention, this steam train, which incorporates magic, must have other functions as well.

Transfer, defense, offense, serving as a mobile weapon platform or espionage carrier...

It can do so many things.

As the snow begins to slowly cover the Goddess Plain, although the railway coverage on the plateau is still limited, it can still provide a significant supply advantage to the armies of the plateau nations. Once the battle situation becomes favorable and the front line begins to advance towards the Goddess Plain, it can also extend the supply line.

He was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of having too much on his mind.

So he temporarily shut down the magical conduit that provided warmth, drew back the curtains, and then forcefully pushed open the window.

A cold wind immediately rushed in, carrying fresh air with it, which gave Hugh a slight boost of energy.

He looked into the distance and saw the lights in the council hall where the mages were gathered gradually going out—meaning that the mages' long meeting was finally over, and poor Virin probably finally had a chance to rest.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Working overtime is really miserable."

Hugh shook his head and sighed as he held his teacup.

The air in the room was quickly replaced, but just as Hugh was about to reach out to close the window, something flapped its wings and flew over from the darkness. Before Hugh could react, the shadow stopped on the windowsill outside.

This is a raven.

A giant raven.

Its species should be the "Blue-winged Raven" from the Black Nest Mountains. It is numerous and very distinctive. This one is particularly large, and its feathers are very glossy. Although it got quite wet from flying in the snowy night, it is still very beautiful overall.

Whether on the Lovi Plateau or the Goddess Plain, few people would harm this creature. Firstly, the raven is intelligent enough to be regarded as a messenger of the goddess of magic in many stories. Secondly, there is a folk belief that harming the raven will bring bad luck.

Over time, these birds have become notorious bullies among birds. Knowing that humans will not harm them, they often stroll openly on city streets. When the mood strikes, they may even play pranks on pedestrians or try to snatch snacks from children's hands.

A man and a raven stared at each other in the cold wind, creating a rather strange and interesting scene.

Hugh's mind raced. After about two seconds of surprise and hesitation, he reached out his hand like an ordinary person who had been suddenly startled, making a simple gesture to drive the animal away.

However, the raven was exceptionally bold. Despite Hugh's attempts to shoo it away, it didn't move an inch. Instead, it hopped twice and landed directly on Hugh's desk.

It was as if it had come to its own home, jumping around happily twice before choosing the stack of newspapers that Hugh had just been reading.

It stood directly on it, turned its body a couple of times, seemingly trying to warm itself with the light from the lamp.

"..."

Hughes didn't believe there could be so many coincidences in the world.

The raven before them was very similar to Princess Sophia, who had previously visited Zeke Ernst using shapeshifting magic; they were identical in both species and size.

Although this raven doesn't currently possess any obvious magical aura, that doesn't prove it's an ordinary raven.

If Princess Walter were standing in front of you, caught up in her mischievous mood and deliberately concealing her presence, things would be much more difficult to handle.

If I were to do something inappropriate, the trouble would be even greater.

Hugh carefully examined the uninvited guest in front of him. Seeing that it was looking around curiously, he reached out and pulled the newspaper from under the raven's feet.

The raven was clearly not satisfied with this behavior. It pecked at Hugh's palm and then cawed loudly, perfectly embodying the image of a fearless "rogue animal".

The cold wind continued to pour into the room, so Hugh immediately manipulated his Mage Hand to fly over and close the open window. The sound of the window closing startled Raven.

"You're not leaving, are you?"

Hugh sat back down in his chair, glanced at the raven on the table, filled his teacup, and pushed it over: "Help yourself. There's no bread, just tea. And don't mess around on the table... Do you understand?"

The raven glanced at the steaming tea with a puzzled look, then raised its head and glared at Hugh.

...

Additional update today~
I'm asking for recommendations, monthly votes, promotions, and everything else!

I'll post one chapter first, and continue after I wake up ORZ
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(End of this chapter)