The black sun hangs high

Chapter 140 Mobilization
For the residents of Seren, the boundaries of the concept of life have become completely blurred.

Endure, persevere, and live a difficult life amidst fear and trepidation.

That's their goal now.

In the past, they would take to the streets every morning, rushing to their work locations to the sound of newsboys' clear voices, and begin a new round of work. But now, they often only dare to leave their hiding places and go out after the sun has risen.

To avoid attacks from those eerie, muddy monsters through the sewer pipes, many people have gone to great lengths to clog the pipes in their homes. They would rather dump their waste out like city dwellers did long ago than touch places like bathrooms.

No one wants to die in the most desperate and humiliating way while taking care of their physical needs.

After all, this kind of thing has happened many, many times before.

Witnessing their friends, relatives, or neighbors being enveloped, melted, and devoured by that terrifying monster, completely merging with the black pus and gelatinous substance, and then, within two days, these people who had been devoured would actually "return to the same place."

People will see these inhuman, pitch-black shadows following the habits of the dead, taking to the streets and even entering buildings. They are like balls rolling down a slope, following the irresistible inertia, constantly rolling downwards.

This scene continued to shock and terrify all the survivors in the city of Seren.

While people can overcome the scarcity of resources through risk-taking, such a tragic outcome severely damages ordinary people's understanding of the world and their simple faith in the divine.

No force came to their aid.

The Legal Committee was no good, neither were Walter and Delan, and the gods they worshipped remained silent.

In an old apartment building, a young man with brown curly hair sat by the window, quietly peering at the street outside and the sky that was already showing signs of light.

His face bore the marks of a conflict with the Tricolor Brotherhood before the upheaval in Seren.

As the former leader of the Seren Aid Group, he is now extremely confused—there is no longer any Aid Group or Tricolor Brotherhood. In the escalating atmosphere of war, this once peaceful city has been completely reduced to an insignificant background. Sometimes, he even hopes that someone will fire a few more crystal cannonballs at this city.

In his view, even an explosion imbued with malice was better than the deathly silence that filled the city.

Even if those artillery shots were intended to destroy, it at least shows that someone still remembers this place.

"Newspaper! Newspaper!"

The shadows of those children still linger on the streets.

They had all received aid from the mutual aid group in the past, but when disaster struck, these children, who had no ability to protect themselves, naturally became the first victims. The muffled voices coming from those black figures were heartbreaking, yet there was nothing that could be done.

As the light gradually brightened, the dark figures walking on the street began to change as usual. They gathered at the cracks in the ground that connected to the underground waterways, and their original humanoid bodies began to rapidly "melt" and merge with their kind. Moments later, these puddles of black "sludge" flowed underground through the cracks. During this process, the ear-piercing buzzing that terrified the entire city of Seren once again rang out.

This is the monster's current behavior.

Upon hearing this sound, everyone in the city would breathe a sigh of relief, meaning they had successfully survived another day. For the next day, the monster would most likely remain silent underground, giving everyone an opportunity to obtain supplies and find new ways to survive for themselves and their families.

The young man also clenched his fist; he could feel the coldness of his palms.

Every trip they take involves enormous risks, yet he has no room to back down.

He stood up, put on his old, heavy overcoat, picked up his empty bag and the short sword and crystal gun he had found in an alchemy shop, counted the remaining ammunition, and then walked towards the door.

Inside the room, several children who had lost their parents were huddled together, fast asleep. One of the older girls sat there blankly, not saying a word, just quietly watching the young man push open the door and eventually disappear from her sight.

On this quiet winter morning, all the survivors still clinging to life in the city of Seren instinctively began to look up at the sky.

Perhaps due to the season and weather, the sun has been rising later and later lately.

However, with the faint light of dawn, the people in Seren could already see the artillery observation balloons that had taken to the skies again after the great earthquake in the distance.

These balloons, each with a different design, floated high in the sky on the east and west sides, each adorned with images of a highland eagle and a Delan iris.

Where does our hope lie?

They silently questioned the cold air.

However, no one could answer them; those observation balloons floating in the air were merely silent eyes.

……

As the new day began in Borden, people talked about the new round of shelling that had taken place in the early morning.

This time, however, the shelling was no longer one-sided, but rather carried out simultaneously by both sides.

The target of the shelling was not the poor city of Seren, because it was completely meaningless now. Through the forced mediation of Merlinle, the Legal Committee, and several neutral deep-sea mage towers, the Kingdom of Wotel and the Kingdom of Delan tacitly put the city and the assassination that took place there out of their minds.

Now, apart from the Borden newspaper and some of Prince Havid's supporters who still occasionally mention the assassination, people have gradually stopped paying attention to it.

As Hugh flipped through the latest newspaper, he stuffed the last half of a slice of bread into his mouth.

He pointed to the explosions on the plains east of the rugged hills in the front-page magic photo and asked Duden, a guard standing beside him, "What's this? A courtesy shelling?"

"Yes, although things have become like this now, people still follow some traditions."

Duden nodded in response, but a hint of pride lingered on his face: "Ha, those plainsmen are probably still using the old-fashioned crystal cannons, their range is nowhere near ours... I bet those artillerymen really want to fire the shells directly into their positions, rather than playing along with this kind of charade." Hugh nodded in agreement.

The so-called ceremonial artillery shelling was a customary "war etiquette" that the two countries developed after the appearance of the crystal cannon. The crystal cannon was fired and the shells were shot at a designated location. This served three purposes: first, to inform the other side that they had the determination to fight; second, to give the other side a threat and warning; and third, based on aristocratic etiquette, to show their fair and square attitude on the battlefield. They did not launch a sneak attack or carry out a large-scale artillery bombardment against the enemy's camp.

Hugh had a premonition that this would probably be the last time "courtesy shelling" appeared on the main battlefield.

While he was still at the Ernst Manor Hotel, he overheard some young noble officers discussing related matters in the hotel restaurant. They had great confidence in the new weapons that were already in mass production. The incident where the Waterl artillery bombarded Seren from the front lines of the rugged hills also showed that these new weapons might not be as powerful as pure magic crystal cannons, but their range and accuracy were extremely impressive. In addition, their relatively low cost allowed for the direct mass production of new ammunition...

"If the mage council on the plateau can provide some supporting battlefield magic or arcane rituals in time, then this advantage will be further expanded. At that time, I'm afraid no one will cooperate with the enemy to play such tricks."

Hughes silently made a decision in his heart.

Just as he was about to ask Duden about the Fifth Juggernaut Regiment and Major Alfred's recent situation, a figure appeared in the dining room, led by a servant.

This was none other than Vera, who was pale and haggard.

Her typical appearance of working overtime late into the night reminded Hughes of his own past, so he quickly invited Weilin to sit down. He picked up the teapot but found it contained a strong stimulant drink, so he quickly asked the maid to bring up a cup of calming herbal tea.

"Miss Weilin, what's wrong with you? Didn't the manor's butler arrange accommodations for you?"

Out of concern for his friend, Hugh asked, "And I remember your meeting ended around midnight last night, didn't it?"

"The conference is over."

Violet's gaze was somewhat unfocused, and her voice was a little hoarse. She took the herbal tea from the maid, took a slow sip, and then said, "But after the big meeting, there are often many smaller meetings... The council's higher-ups are completely unable to reach a consensus on the association. Both sides are too aggressive, so the debate has continued until just now... It's just that they chose to hold the meeting at my residence."

"Oh."

Hughes glanced at the other person with sympathy.

Even though he had long been numb to working overtime, he had never experienced a situation where all his "colleagues" were having a meeting at his place, let alone some of the senior "leaders" among them. This must have been a double torment, both physically and mentally.

The herbal tea at Ernst Manor was of excellent quality. Perhaps to maximize its effectiveness, a small amount of magic potion was added to it. As a result, after only a couple of sips, Vera's expression and condition had already improved somewhat.

"So, Miss Vera gave them her place?"

What are you thinking?

Vera raised an eyebrow, a strange glint flashing in her eyes behind her glasses: "I came to see you for two things... I heard from the manor butler that you, Mr. Hugh, have already obtained 'The Poem of the Night'?"

"Yes, I looked through it a little after I received it last night."

"how do you feel?"

The mere mention of "The Poem of the Night" seemed to conjure up a burst of energy within Vilin. Though her face remained somewhat pale, the moment she asked her question, her entire demeanor shifted, causing Duden, the guard standing quietly beside Hugh, to shiver involuntarily.

He had heard before that the female monks in the Legal Affairs Committee were not normal people, and no matter what they looked like, he should not provoke them.

He now firmly believes this and feels sympathy for Hughes in his heart.

"I read it, but it would have been better not to read it."

Hugh was already used to Villin's excited state when facing academic issues. He calmly shrugged: "I really have no way of judging whether it really hides any magical secrets, but I can be sure that the mad poet Aziv's literary achievements must be very mediocre."

A hint of disdain flashed across Vera's face: "Mr. Hugh, you wouldn't compare this to the things you've written, would you?"

Hughes shrugged. After all, his loyal readers were standing right beside him, and their very presence proved the special nature of his writings, requiring no further debate.

“Miss Vera, please have some breakfast here. I’ll give you the manuscript of ‘The Poem of the Night’ in a little while… Also, what’s the second thing you mentioned?”

"With the expansion of conscription, a nationwide mobilization is very likely to follow."

Vilin nodded slightly to the servant who brought her the meal, then summoned her mage's hand, spreading jam on her bread as she said, "However, this round of mobilization is mainly aimed at two groups... one is eligible adult noble members."

"Noble members? Is this a preparation to recruit junior officers?"

"Probably so... The promotion of new weaponry and equipment has created many vacant positions that didn't exist before, and these positions cannot be filled by ordinary soldiers. Young nobles who have received elite family education are the best candidates at present."

Vilin took the bread from the mage and continued, "Secondly, it mainly targets spellcasters, healers, and alchemists."

"Haven't we already been doing that before?"

"That only means that the previous efforts were not enough."

Vera slowly swallowed a bite of bread, staring at Hugh and said, "Judging from the reaction of the council mages, this order probably came rather suddenly. Perhaps the kingdom has some other plans and arrangements for the enlisted spellcasters... Mr. Hugh, the reason I'm telling you this is because our identities meet both of these requirements."

She picked up her teacup: "The time for peace and stability is probably not going to last much longer. Be prepared to be transferred to the front lines at any time."

...

Bonus chapter
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(End of this chapter)