The black sun hangs high

Chapter 174 Curse
Like a warrior risking his life for a greater cause, Hugh walked forward under the watchful eyes of countless soldiers behind him.

The soldiers didn't quite understand why these terrifying wild mages were attacking the mercenary group's base, nor did they understand why they specifically requested to "take away" Hugh, but they all knew that Hugh's choice at this moment, to some extent, protected himself and his comrades.

However, Hugh did not give the soldiers of the Hunter Corps time to say goodbye. He simply nodded to the middle-aged mage of the Black Sun Society and then walked with him toward Black Forest Fortress.

Behind Hugh, the soldiers of the Jaeger Corps silently saluted.

For them, as members of the elite forces of the Kingdom of Votel, what they saw and heard tonight was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation to their military status, yet they were powerless to do anything about it.

Even as new weaponry and technology began to emerge, spellcasters who wielded magical power could still demonstrate their extraordinary abilities to a certain extent. After the Black Sun Society successfully infiltrated the military in Walter, they seized this extremely important and delicate opportunity for the Fifth Jaeger Regiment.

As if guided by some unseen force, the Black Sun Society once again executed its plan "perfectly".

Vera rested her chin on her hand, her gaze lingering on the departing figure for a long time.

As Hugh Ernst's teacher, friend, and frequent collaborator in this world, Vera was confident that she had a certain understanding of Hugh. Just now, her intuition told her that this guy who was going into danger alone did not seem nervous. On the contrary, he seemed to be full of confidence about what was about to happen.

Although it is unknown where his confidence comes from, he does not seem to have made any mistakes in this regard.

Verine then lowered her gaze and pointed to the crystal cannons being dragged over by the molten earth dragons, saying to the officer beside her, "Receive them. Make sure to check the condition of the crystal cannons and shells, and don't miss anything... After the inventory is completed, we will return to the position immediately."

The night was still deep, but dark clouds were drifting in from afar with the cold wind, and under their cover, the originally bright starlight became dim.

……

The Black Sun Society mage who was leading the way for Hugh looked up at the sky, and then said as he led the way, "The weather is changing, and the Fifth Hunter Regiment's battle tomorrow will probably not be easy."

"The weather doesn't discriminate against anyone. The Jaeger Corps won't have an easy time, but the Delans, as the attackers, will also face difficulties."

Hugh replied casually, quickening his pace slightly to stand beside the middle-aged mage as if the man were a fellow traveler rather than an enemy leading the way. Hugh then said, "Don't you intend to introduce the society first? You can't just be talking to me about war, can you?"

"Ah... I'm sorry, it was my rudeness."

The middle-aged mage smiled and said, "In that case, please allow me to introduce myself first... I come from the Kingdom of Hein and am a member of the Hein Magic Academy. My nickname in the society is 'Lecturer'."

The middle-aged man, or rather the "lecturer," said: "The society assigns each formal member according to different fields and topics. Mr. Hugh can think of it as different departments under a huge organization."

"So, what field does Mr. 'Lecturer' belong to?"

"I have dedicated myself to 'Dark Abyss Historiography,' but unfortunately, our progress in this field has been very slow. However, if we could have someone like you join us, I believe that our society will take a crucial step forward in this field!"

Hearing the lecturer's words, Hugh's eyes narrowed involuntarily: "Interesting. I'd like to know, how do you divide the domains?"

"Through our faith."

The lecturer explained: “Every official member who can join the society is, without exception, someone who can personally experience real miracles and witness the power of the gods… And based on the different miracles we can witness, we can basically determine the domain to which each person belongs and the gods they should believe in.”

"I see."

Hughes nodded, then asked, "So, what is your belief, sir?"

Upon hearing this question, the lecturer shook his head: "It is disrespectful to talk about the names of gods indiscriminately. Only in solemn gatherings and sacrificial places can we call out their names to a limited extent... As for those who randomly choose gods and call out their names anytime and anywhere, they are nothing but a group of blind fools."

His words reminded Hughes of the artillery officer who had assisted the Black Sun Society in launching the Polden bombardment and was eventually captured and imprisoned in an underground cell. Judging from his behavior, that guy seemed to perfectly fit the characteristics of the "fool" the lecturer had described.

“I know that Mr. Hugh must be very curious about us right now, but it’s inevitable that I will omit anything based on what I say alone. It would be bad if you had any misunderstandings about the organization… But don’t worry, once the meeting starts, someone will naturally give you a detailed introduction to our organization and our cause.”

The lecturer was a very talkative person. Although he was reluctant to continue talking to Hugh about the Black Sun Society in the current situation, he skillfully steered the conversation toward war, the situation, and other related matters after a few words.

Hugh had to admit that, setting aside his identity as a member of the Black Sun Society, this lecturer was indeed an excellent conversationalist. He was knowledgeable and well-versed in the current situation in various countries, and even had considerable knowledge of the changes in the Eastern world across the ocean.

During the conversation, the lecturer was surprised by Hugh's calmness and composure. The qualities that Hugh displayed and his performance made him even more convinced of the Society's judgment.

The instructor, of course, had no idea that the main reason why Hugh was so calm was that there were no obvious warning signs in his mental world. Although the rotation speed of the disc had increased slightly, this was just a reaction caused by the surrounding magical stimulation and had nothing to do with a sense of crisis.

As they talked, the two stepped into the hill's area. Soon, Hugh sensed the magical power that had interfered with the magical summons and directly attacked all those who entered. It must have come from a large ritual site set up here.

Hugh could even feel the magic constantly probing and attacking him. However, after countless trials and tribulations, the resilience of Hugh's mental world was far beyond that of ordinary spellcasters. With the combined effect of the "Walking Forest," the dark green crystal, and the metal disc, a vast tide of magic began to reverberate within Hugh's body. Any external force that attempted to invade his body was immediately obliterated and expelled.

The instructor's gaze lingered on Hugh for a moment. After confirming that the ritual field couldn't exert any real influence on Hugh, he ceased his pointless probing and summoned his mounts from the sentry posts previously set up by the mercenary group—two peculiar warhorses with greyish-white manes, long, narrow heads, and mouths covered in hard, bony shells. Although Hugh didn't recognize them, he could tell they were descendants of some ancient magical creature, likely a very rare species in Vaan.

However, the Black Sun Society handled these magical creatures with remarkable ease. The instructor handed the reins of a warhorse directly to Hugh, who then mounted the horse and led Hugh toward Black Forest Fortress.

This special horse had a very steady gait and an astonishing speed. Soon, it brought Hugh to the gate of Black Forest Castle. The flags of the Fifth Guard Regiment and the Kingdom of Walter that were originally hanging here had been taken down and replaced by an unfamiliar flag that was magically fixed above the gate.

The banner was painted with a huge black sun, and below it, on either side of the gate, stood golems created by mages. The mages of the Black Sun Society even equipped these golems with greatswords forged from a mixture of sharded silver and sharded silver.

In the past, these ugly and extremely expensive guardians were often used in mage towers and other important magical locations, commanded and maintained by specialized spellcasters, but they are now very rare.

After all, as the power of weapons such as crystal guns continues to increase, the drawbacks of this guardian golem become more and more obvious. It is really not worthwhile to use a hundred times the cost of crystal guns and alchemical bombs to create a bulky target that is likely to collapse after a few rounds of shooting.

However, the Black Sun Society had clearly made considerable improvements to these guardian golems. Hugh discovered that their surfaces were covered with a layer of magical runes that provided good resistance to magical explosions and impacts, and that sturdy metal had been added to the golems' vulnerable joints as additional protection.

There are quite a few golems; there are about twenty just at the gate of Black Forest Castle and in the corridors leading inside.

Hughes murmured in amazement, "The Society's financial resources are astonishing."

"Mr. Hugh, you flatter me."

The lecturer smiled and replied, “As you should know, not all partners in the Society are wise enough to understand our cause… especially those large families. Although they are willing to provide some financial resources to the Society, it is just another instance of humanity’s self-serving opportunism.”

Hughes simply laughed off the lecturer's words, which were clearly laced with sarcasm directed at the Ernst family.

After entering Black Forest Fortress, the rotation speed of the metal disc began to increase gradually. It was clear that there were indeed some potential dangers lurking here, but the threat was still limited and had not risen to the point where one needed to be on guard in all aspects.

In contrast to Hugh's caution, the "residents" inside the metal disc were somewhat arrogant.

The hound from the Dark Abyss Palace lay on the floor of its room, seemingly yawning. It paid no attention to the believer beside Hugh who openly declared his faith in the Dark Abyss Palace and his "love" for everything about it. It didn't even believe that there were any important prey around Hugh that it could hunt.

The mirror elf is quietly reading a book. It even leisurely puts its feet on the table and holds a book made of shadows in its hands. It is unknown whether this behavior of "shadow" looking at "shadow" really has any meaning.

The Touch of Calron is unable to express its emotions concretely; it simply sways quietly in the groove, awaiting Hugh's summons.

The only one that could be considered somewhat excited was the running rat. This guy had slept for far too long, and after waking up, he couldn't stand the sight of potential enemies and prey. Whenever he had the chance, he would constantly convey his hunting impulse and desire to Hugh.

It has now reached the point where it wants to bite anything new it sees, and its erratic behavior is so frequent that even Hugh is a little scared.

"This way, Mr. Hugh."

The lecturer, of course, had no idea that he had been pre-ordered as a chew toy by a giant rat. He maintained the confidence and pride typical of a scholar as he guided Hugh through the spacious fortress grounds of the Black Forest Castle.

Here, Hugh saw a large number of people, who were clearly ordinary members of the Black Sun Society. To conceal their identities, they all wore black cloaks that were large enough to cover their figures, and the cloaks were all decorated with the Black Sun Society's insignia.

They observed Hugh in silence, their eyes revealing an inscrutable, fanatical emotion.

Hugh dismounted with the lecturer and handed the horse to two members of the society. They then walked together into the building located at the deepest part of the fortress. This place was originally the banquet hall set up by the owner of Black Forest Fortress, but now, the Black Sun Society had obviously transformed it into a meeting place.

"Welcome to the society's gathering, Mr. Hugh Ernst."

At this moment, the lecturer's calmness gradually faded, replaced by the excitement and eagerness of facing an important gathering. He led Hugh through the doorway to a private room in front of a banquet hall. In this private room, Hugh saw a scene that would anger most ordinary people in Vain.

In the very center of this room stands a colossal sculpture constructed from translucent magic.

It was a massive pile of remains made up of countless gods worshipped by people.

Hughes saw that the sea god, widely worshipped by the coastal residents, was pressed to the bottom of the sculpture, his arms outstretched, his face contorted as if yearning for outside help.

The God of Life, who was the spiritual totem of the Saint Steer people, was cut in half at the waist, a truly tragic end.

The god of money and commerce, worshipped by goblins and merchants, had his legs severed, and his prized golden boots were cast aside...

The sculpture itself is enough to be regarded as the most vicious curse on the faith of the Vain gods.

(End of this chapter)