The black sun hangs high

Chapter 151 A Belated Gift

In Hugh's past world, it was taboo to say these things before participating in certain important and dangerous operations.

Even if nothing would have happened originally, saying such things can give people a very bad feeling.

However, Vera spoke these words with remarkable calmness, her tone barely fluctuating. Clearly, for her, this was merely stating a potential possibility.

"We should be setting off in two days. Right now, we're mainly waiting for a new batch of equipment to arrive... but none of this new equipment is for mages."

"It sounds like the supply of alchemical materials is extremely tight?"

"As expected."

As Vera arranged the books on the bookshelf, she replied, "Right now, we're just strictly following the plan. From now on, we need to be as economical as possible when using magic crystals and other items. Otherwise, if the magic supply runs out, we'll have no choice but to shoot like the other soldiers."

She turned to look at Hugh: "But you shouldn't be inferior to ordinary soldiers in this aspect, right? The young ladies in the noble circles are all talking about your 'archery skills'."

"Hopefully they were really discussing 'archery'."

"Ok?"

Veraine didn't understand the implication of Hugh's words, and a look of doubt flashed in her eyes, but then she said, "Because of the Ernst family, the council probably won't assign you any overly dangerous or troublesome tasks for the time being. I suggest you take advantage of this time to speed up your learning of battlefield magic, as you'll need it later."

Hughes noticed that Vera seemed to emphasize the word "temporary".

"You're not optimistic about the outcome of the battle?"

However, Vera shook her head: "I don't know much about war, nor am I interested in it... But we are very likely to be heading to the rugged hills next, which is close to the city of Seren and also close to the source of the previous 'great earthquake'."

"So there might be other missions?"

"I'm not sure, but I suggest being well-prepared."

Verin placed the last book on the bookshelf, then sighed: "According to the intelligence gathered by the council, yesterday alone, the Saint Steel people fired more than 10,000 crystal cannonballs in the Isa River basin. The magical clouds from the explosions even interfered with the magic operation in an entire area. Subsequently, the Saint Steel army launched a surprise attack, but was repelled by the Imep Duchy army, which was holed up in its positions."

Ten thousand shells.

Numerically speaking, it's not actually that many.

However, they are not the same as the cannonballs that Hugh knows—the production and power of magic crystal cannonballs are directly related to the magic crystal ore used to make them, as well as the magic runes and rituals engraved on the cannonballs, which is the biggest reason why the production of crystal cannonballs is difficult to increase.

In this situation, the bombardment caused by 10,000 shells is already quite astonishing.

Not to mention that some of these attacks were most likely launched by the snowfield cannons of the Saint Steele. Hugh couldn't even imagine what the positions and soldiers of the Principality of Imep would look like after such a bombardment. The fact that they were still able to effectively counterattack and repel the enemy's attack in such a predicament was truly remarkable.

Of course, this may also be related to Merlin's participation in the war.

While the impact of individual mages on the battlefield is certainly limited, when the number of active mages exceeds a certain threshold, the power they can unleash will exceed ordinary people's imagination.

At least in the current situation, Merlinle and his spellcasters remain a terrifying force capable of shaking the entire world.

In the evening, Hugh successfully met the alchemists who had arrived at the Fifth Jaeger Regiment's base by vehicle.

Professor Frey Meyer and Sally were also among them.

Because the Kingdom of Walter has entered a state of mobilization, many young faces have appeared in this alchemy physician team, with women making up the vast majority. This is related to the occupational preferences and specialties of women in the Highland Kingdom.

The young female doctors looked around curiously. In the cultural environment of Walter, the young men in the Hunter Corps, dressed in their smart military uniforms, were very attractive to them. When Hugh, a young Stream-level mage who was clearly of noble birth, came to the side of the group, there was a few seconds of silence.

Among this group of doctors, some were clearly at the scene of the shelling that day, so someone quickly recognized Hugh and took the initiative to greet him.

Hughes could only nod in response.

"It looks like your next task is going to be very difficult."

After greeting Mayer, Hugh said somewhat helplessly, "I think you may need to spend some time getting everyone in good condition, otherwise, arriving on the battlefield in this state... I'm afraid the commanders will reprimand and punish us before we even make contact with the enemy."

"I see."

Mayer was clearly also a bit troubled: "The war is indeed a bit too early for them, but there's nothing we can do about it... Their elders, fathers and brothers have all been sent to the battlefield, and I, as their professor and mentor, have to take them there as well."

Hugh and Meyer walked forward side by side. Meyer was considerably shorter than Hugh, but her pace was by no means slow: "Upon arrival at our destination, we will immediately set up a field hospital on the spot. That period will also be their most important training opportunity—I will do my best to ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities and is familiar with their work..."

At this moment, Hugh said, "It is not hard to see from the battle in the Isa River Basin that the intensity of this war will far exceed that of the past. Under such circumstances, the bottom line and principles of war that we have adhered to in the past may no longer exist. Professor, you need to be mentally prepared. I have a feeling that field hospitals will no longer be absolutely safe places in the future."

"I see."

Meyer patted Hugh's shoulder gently: "I'm grateful that you told me this in advance. So, the safety of these young people will all depend on you... Oh right, I forgot, you're young too! It's strange, why do I always feel like I see the shadow of veterans in you?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with my grandfather?"

"Marshal Zek Ernst was indeed a genius in the field of military affairs."

Meyer nodded: "But we are facing more than just changes on the battlefield and in the political situation... Mr. Hugh, what do you think the Society might have in mind under the current circumstances?"

"I am not clear about their movements, but I am certain that they will do everything they can to push the war forward, and I guess they would not want to see the war end prematurely."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Hugh stopped and gestured with his chin toward a large steam wagon used for transporting the wounded parked not far away: "As you wrote in your article, the combination of new technology and magic is leading us, and even all of humanity, into new territories we have never set foot in before. In these new territories, we will surely begin a new round of development at an astonishing speed. And once this trend emerges, no one will be able to easily suppress it."

“I think I understand what you mean… You believe that the fundamental principle of the Black Sun Society’s actions is to be at odds with the very development of humanity?”

Hughes nodded and said, “From a human perspective, that’s one way to understand it. So they would never want to see a period of peaceful development. In other words, they want to drag everyone into the quagmire of this war… It is indeed a very vicious and effective approach. This is perhaps the goal they have been trying to achieve by influencing the Saint Steel royal family for so long.”

At this point, the wise scholar suddenly asked, "However, what you are saying is only their method, not their goal or starting point. I do not believe that there is any unfounded hatred or hostility among the intelligent beings of Vaan."

This time, Hugh didn't say anything.

Because he was also trying his best to imagine what the rise of the so-called "black sun" would look like.

……

Over the next few days, all members of the Fifth Guard Regiment began extremely rigorous training. As a military mage, Hugh received different training than the soldiers, or rather, his tasks were even more demanding.

The council's requirements for mages were so strict as to be harsh, even more so than those of Merlinle and others.

According to Klaus, he wanted all the mages in the army to be able to cast spells accurately when they had magic power, and to raise their guns and fire when they didn't.

The two sentences he said were naturally the most basic content. In fact, the council even hoped that all the accompanying mages would be proficient in several different healing spells and be able to provide the artillerymen with auxiliary work such as calibrating magical rituals at any time.

These are, of course, impossible to achieve.

Hugh was an unexpected stroke of luck. The experience he had accumulated from the veterans of Seren City was now fully utilized. With the continuous physical strength and magic power provided by the "Walking Forest," he was able to complete all the training programs at the fastest speed. He was even able to pass the military combat training using daggers.

This performance left even the notoriously strict Klaus speechless.

In fact, this was still the result of Hugh's deliberate restraint. At least he filtered out some of the special habits that the soldiers of the plains had developed. He didn't want to be inexplicably labeled as a "Delan spy" or something similar, something he couldn't handle.

During training, Hugh received an unexpected surprise.

He received a belated gift.

Those were two potions: one was the "Cat's Eye Potion," which granted people amazing observational skills in a short time, and the other was the "Inspiration Potion," which soothed the mind and stimulated imagination.

Their creators were Sally and Veraine.

Sally was responsible for preparing the medicinal herbs and configuring the potion base, while Verine was responsible for activating the magical medicinal ingredients in these potions using magical rituals so that they could truly exert their effects.

This is a belated birthday gift.

It was given as a gift to Hugh Ernst, who was born during the winter solstice, in the name of a friend.

And so, at the end of the winter festival, Hugh received his first real gift since arriving in this world.

That same afternoon, at the very moment the Winter Festival officially ended, the Fifth Jaeger Regiment received orders for all soldiers to finish their training and depart immediately by steam train to the rugged hills.

……

The moving train, the snow scenery outside the window constantly being flung backward... all of this seems to be sending Hugh to a moment in the past.

However, when he turned his gaze to the interior of the carriage, he was brought back to reality by the figures dressed in black military uniforms.

This round of transport will last for a whole week.

The shipment included not only the Fifth Jaeger Regiment, but also a large amount of follow-up weapons and supplies. The vast majority of these supplies were intended to support other troops on the front lines. While the efficiency of this shipment was still somewhat different from the railway transport that Hugh had come to know, it was already enough to create a significant gap between the current speed of mobilization and logistical support of the Plains Kingdoms.

After personally calculating the amount of medical supplies that a train car could carry and the time required for transportation, Professor Meyer exclaimed that this new form of transportation was epoch-making.

"Even without this war, it would certainly have changed the course of our history."

Perhaps influenced by the environment, or perhaps because the faces of those crowding around the station to say goodbye to their relatives, friends and lovers as the train departed were so memorable, Hugh couldn’t help but want to write something. However, when he picked up his pen, he couldn’t write the words he used to.

It's not that they lack ability, but rather that they lack the right mindset.

Professor Meyer was sitting opposite Hugh, engrossed in studying old Zeke's book, and thus he noticed the pen in Hugh's hand that remained motionless.

Do you want to write something?

"I have the urge, but..."

Hughes smiled and said, "Everything around me is different now than before, so it won't be easy to write about the past."

"We could try making a change."

"Change is fine, but... there has to be a beginning, right?"

"Perhaps we should start with pen names?"

Mayer suggested, “That’s what I used to do. Whenever I wanted to write something new, I would change my pen name. It felt like I had a new identity and a new face, and my thinking naturally changed as well.”

"Oh? What other pen names has the professor used?"

"Haha, there are too many to list. When I was writing novels, I used the pen names 'Isa' and 'Snowfield Man'. Later, when I submitted articles to newspapers, I changed my name to 'The Nameless'... 'Meyer' is also a pen name. My friends and I started using it after we founded the newspaper. We used it for so long that the people around us got used to it, so it became my real name."

Frey Meyer laughed: "So, Mr. Hugh, what new pen name will you use?"

...

I'm not so dizzy anymore, I'll update one chapter first.

Continue coding

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(End of this chapter)