The black sun hangs high

Chapter 161 Bait
When the march resumed, the order from Mage Klaus was conveyed to all the accompanying mages in the mercenary regiments: in the event of special circumstances during the march, the current magical silence could be broken and the use of Stream-level and lower spells would be permitted to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The meaning of this order is quite clear.

Magus Klaus clearly believed that ordinary "walking spiders" were not enough to threaten the marching army, but in the current situation, he had to consider the worst-case scenario.

The rustling sound of snow being trampled in the forest rang out once more.

Hugh was responsible for the safety of the logistics and medical staff, so he and Verin stayed near the alchemists' group, including Mayer. This also brought Ernst family spies, who had been ordered by the Ernst family to join the Fifth Regiment as soldiers, to the vicinity.

These guys were all elite soldiers of the Waters. With the financial and resource support of the Ernst family, most of them had also taken some expensive magic potions, so they were more outstanding in combat and reaction than ordinary soldiers.

The officers hadn't paid much attention to the "monsters" the hunters were talking about, but Hugh was different; he could now sense the subtle changes happening inside his metal disc.

In the minds of the Vain, the walking spider is a notorious magical creature.

They resemble giant tarantulas and are extremely ferocious forest predators. What truly makes them so are their bizarre magical abilities. They can use magic to conceal their form and presence to a certain extent and move around when they are difficult to detect with the naked eye and magical perception. Therefore, their whereabouts are simply unpredictable to ordinary people. In many early cases of spider attacks on human villages, the victims were completely unable to understand the behavior patterns of these monsters.

They mistakenly believed that these giant spiders could use magic to pass through walls, doors, windows, and other obstacles, and attack people inside the house; this is the origin of the word "pass through".

If such a magical creature truly mutated due to the offspring of the Dark Abyss or some other reason, it would undoubtedly become even more bizarre and deadly.

Therefore, he immediately pulled Verain to Mayer's side and asked him to help him continue translating.

"What exactly was that spider that was moving around? How many of you did it kill?"

“We originally had nineteen people, plus two tamed short-tailed wolves, but now we only have six left!”

With Mayer's translation, the hunters described their specific experiences in fits and starts.

"The nests of traversing spiders are easy to find. They don't weave webs, but they dig burrows, and these burrows aren't very deep... Plus, trained wolves are very familiar with their scent and can find their tracks very quickly."

The leader of the hunters from Black Forest Town said, "At first, we thought we had found a particularly large spider because we first found an abandoned burrow that was twice the size of an ordinary spider's burrow... So everyone was very excited and tracked it deeper into the Black Forest."

"But gradually, we realized something was wrong, because its tracks became very obvious and continuous... In winter, even if the burrowing spider is awakened, it will immediately try to dig a hole, because it simply cannot withstand the cold for long!"

At this point, the hunters' faces showed fear: "But by then, it was too late. Our tamed short-tailed wolves started trying to escape, and in doing so, they even bit two of us. Then, we saw the trees in the distance start to sway, and something was approaching us, but we couldn't see its footprints at all."

As they spoke, the hunters looked up at the tops of the nearby trees: "But we can hear it jumping between the trees!"

"You mean, that spider was jumping around in the tree? Did you see it?"

"I can't see it!"

The hunter shook his head frantically: "Even when that monster was hunting our companions, it didn't reveal itself through magic. It was an invisible demon! We fired into the air, but we couldn't hit it at all... We could even see people being pierced by something and lifted into the air..."

After hearing what Mayer translated, everyone became alert.

Hugh couldn't help but look up at the nearby trees. This kind of place was indeed very easy to become a blind spot, especially now that it was snowing. The ground conditions in the woodland were very complicated. In order not to fall or twist your ankle, you had to be careful of your footing at all times.

Just as Hugh had predicted, the army had only been marching for a short while when it suddenly came to a halt.

As the order was given, all members of the Hunter Corps went on alert. They all became vigilant, raising their revolvers and aiming them in the direction where enemies might appear. Hugh, meanwhile, hid behind two fallen trees, also drawing his revolver and releasing his magical perception to a limited extent. Virin leaned against him, a magic pendulum hanging from her hand, gently swaying at a specific frequency.

This is clearly not a normal alert order.

Because when the order was given, it did not mention the direction of the enemy, nor the identity or number of the enemy. The officers only told the soldiers to be on alert, but no one knew exactly what they were on alert for.

Before long, Hughes saw people carrying a stretcher coming from a distance.

When they got closer, Hugh saw several soldiers lying on the stretchers. Without exception, they were all members of the volunteer assault teams.

Now, these people, whether they are ordinary soldiers, military mages, or mountain elves skilled in moving in the dense forest, have all suffered extremely terrible injuries. The soldiers' bodies have been pierced, some in the abdomen, and others in the shoulders and thighs.

Meyer rushed to the side of the wounded. Hugh immediately heard Meyer let out a long sigh. A young soldier on the stretcher had been dead for some time. He had suffered a fatal wound to his chest. Although a mage had used emergency healing magic on him immediately, the magic could not save his pierced chest.

A captured Delan hunter cried out in fear. Because of the previous conversation, Hugh had been able to distinguish the word "spider" in Delan. The man seemed to be repeating phrases like "It's a spider!" or "There's a spider!"

The alchemists immediately sprang into action. Having been trained in the field hospital, the once naive female trainees were now able to calmly face such injuries. Soon, the treatment of the injuries was basically completed. The mountain elf soldier with the minor injuries recounted their experience to everyone—they were attacked suddenly and horribly to the northeast of the main force, several people died on the spot, and they couldn't even catch a glimpse of the attackers!

"To remain quiet and concealed, we did not fire..."

The wounded mage, enduring the pain, explained as he spoke. He was wearing sturdy Demon-Slaying Silver Armor, which now had a very noticeable dent, as if it had been hit by a vehicle.

"When I was attacked, I used a lethal spell in the general direction, which seems to have hit something, but I didn't have time to check."

Hugh approached him and placed his hand on the Demon-Slaying Silver Armor that the doctors had removed. The shadow of the Messenger in the Mirror flashed across his palm, and with his incredibly keen senses, Hugh successfully detected an aura similar to that of the ancient creations within the dent.

So he turned and asked, "Before the attack, could you sense any unusual movement of magic?"

"no!"

The mage shook his head: "The anomaly in the magic didn't appear until the moment the attack was launched; it's too strange." Vilin keenly noticed the serious look that flashed across Hugh's face, so she asked, "Any suggestions?"

"The suggestion is... we should further shrink our formation and bring all the assault teams outside back into the ranks."

Hugh gently pressed the armor that should have been incredibly sturdy: "It's a rather bad situation. Let's not allow any more unnecessary casualties among our soldiers."

……

Every qualified officer should understand who to consult when facing magical problems.

Alfred was one of the best officers, and he always did a very good job in this regard.

For any questions about military magic, ask Klaus.

For more academic questions about the ceremony, you can ask Violet.

As for those questions that are beyond common knowledge and are very likely related to the Black Sun Society, who should be asked?
The Mookie family is now very close to the Walter royal family, so before the Fifth Juggernaut left Borden, Alfred had already received the relevant answers from the royal family and the Ernst family—when encountering such questions, just ask Hugh Ernst directly.

Of course, it's necessary to involve other mages in this process.

After all, given Hugh's qualifications, status, and rank, he is not qualified to directly influence the decisions of a large-scale team. Even with the endorsement of Princess Sophia and Marshal Zeke, such a thing should never happen.

Hugh himself was well aware of this, so he frankly told Klaus and Alfred about the information he had obtained and the judgment he had reached.

"The thing that attacked the assault team left its power marks on the Demon Silver Armor... I'm sure its power is similar to that of the monsters in Seren."

Klaus immediately seized on the key point: "You said they're similar?"

"Yes, it has changed to some extent... Its power has become more stable, perhaps due to some special change that occurred after it combined with the spider itself."

Alfred frowned and asked, "You mean, some monsters escaped from Seren and ended up in this forest, where they mated with the spiders that roam here?"

"That's most likely the case."

Hughes nodded: "And it seems that its fundamental needs and desires have not changed. It is still craving to hunt more prey to 'fill' itself."

Is it possible to circumvent it?

"I personally think it's impossible."

Hugh shook his head: "These monsters are too greedy. Their thirst for growth is limitless. And if it really did escape from Seren, then it probably already has a lot of human knowledge. The concept of an army is probably not unfamiliar to it."

Alfred couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, why don't they go eat the Delans?"

Vera shook her head: "It's probably because there's a Law Committee headquarters nearby. These monsters know the power of magic very well, so they probably wouldn't dare to attack the mages' gathering place easily."

Upon hearing this, the mage Klaus quickly concluded: "If we cannot avoid it, we can only try to drive it away or destroy it... No matter how dangerous a magical creature may be, it should not become an obstacle to the army's advance."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Hugh.

"Of course there are solutions."

Hugh didn't mind the other party's hints. He said bluntly, "Judging from the encounters of those Delan hunters and our soldiers, this 'walking spider' is obviously actively hunting. To attract it, throwing out the right 'bait' will be enough."

"Barecloth? You mean we need to send out several squads to be hunted?"

"Instead of letting it hunt, you lure it in and then hunt it."

Hugh said calmly, "While this spider is unlikely to attack our main force, it poses a great threat to soldiers in the outlying areas, as well as our logistics and medical personnel... And most importantly, we cannot treat it simply like a wild animal. If it continues to absorb knowledge about the military, it may bring even more unpredictable changes."

"So, your advice is to hunt it down as soon as possible?"

"To be precise, it means eliminating it before it actually interferes with our marching objectives."

Hugh gave his answer with utmost composure and calmness. Then, under everyone's gaze, he raised his finger and pointed to himself: "I've encountered these monsters in Seren City. They should still retain some memories of me. Besides, I'm a Stream-level mage, so I seem to be easier to deal with. So, what do you think? How about I act as bait?"

"hiss……"

Alfred grinned.

He admitted that Hugh's proposal was very tempting and quite feasible...

But the problem is, if something happens to this guy because of such a suggestion, will I be in trouble?

...

I need to take a short leave... I don't know why my body keeps exploding, it's made me numb.
I'm planning to go straight to sleep after dinner. ORZ
Sorry, sorry, there will probably only be one update today.
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(End of this chapter)