The black sun hangs high

Chapter 175 Banquet Hall

Within this colossal, magical sculpture, Hughes could find almost all the gods of Vaan.

Human beliefs, the beliefs of dwarves and elves, and even the beliefs of highland ogres, sea mermaids, and islanders...

This sculpture seems to represent the Black Sun Society's attitude towards the current gods of Vaan—in the eyes of the Black Sun Society, they regard those gods recognized by the current Vaan as complete enemies, and believe that these gods under that black sun are nothing but a bunch of hypocritical illusions, incompetent clay sculptures and waste.

Hugh's gaze slowly moved toward the top of the sculpture.

Then he saw that at the very top of the sculpture was a figure that everyone was very familiar with.

That's the goddess of magic, Mel.

Her figure was very conspicuous, still draped in a light blue veil and long dress, but here, her image appeared exceptionally humble and sorrowful—although she did not suffer the cruel punishment of having her limbs severed like other gods, she was still enduring extremely painful torment.

Above the goddess Mel, a huge, dark shadow floated, looking like a dark void suspended in mid-air.

It was the sun, it was the shadow, and it was also a black eye devoid of emotion.

Its light was sculpted into the image of sharp iron chains, which pierced directly through the limbs and body of the goddess Mel, forcing her to kneel like a prisoner atop the hill composed of countless divine bodies and corpses, as if she were a sinner atoning for her sins to the black sun.

Even though Hugh didn't have any real faith in the goddess of magic, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised and puzzled when he saw this scene.

Although he had roughly guessed the Black Sun Society's attitude towards the Vaan Gods beforehand, he did not expect that these people who were still using magic would be able to directly shape the symbols of Vaan magic and magical scholarship into such a form.

As Hughes observed the blasphemous sculpture, the lecturer closely watched his expression.

When the lecturer noticed that Hugh's face did not show any anger, an uncontrollable look of ecstasy flashed in his eyes. He then composed himself, stood directly in front of the magical sculpture, and bowed slightly, paying homage to the black sun that floated above the goddess Mel.

"May the dark sun hang high, may false gods be wiped away, may truth endure forever."

He recited the phrase devoutly, repeating it three times. Then he straightened up, gestured "please" to Hugh, and led him toward the exit at the other end of the room.

Unbeknownst to the lecturer, at this very moment, the souls of the Ernst family "residing" in the spiritual world of Hugh had completely erupted in chaos. The goddess Mel was a common deity in the Kingdom of Walter. Although the conflict between the Kingdom of Walter and Merlinle was always difficult to resolve, the piety of its inhabitants towards the great goddess Mel had never diminished.

Countess Alexandra was a believer in the goddess, so when she saw the scene on the blasphemous sculpture, she was already furious.

"These damn guys..."

Alexandra ultimately retained some of the reserve befitting a countess. She gritted her teeth and cursed twice, but couldn't find words that were both elegant and expressive of her emotions.

Meanwhile, Bernhardt and Jacob, along with a group of other male souls, had already begun to unleash a torrent of angry curses. A string of vulgarities that Hugh had never heard of before poured out from the rat hole of the raging rat. The richness of their vocabulary and the abundance of their emotions left Sniggy speechless and Hugh ashamed.

Hughes found this somewhat amusing: "You all said such nasty things, but he couldn't hear them... He only heard them from me."

Hearing Hugh's words, the angry souls quieted down, but their anger had not subsided. Even now, Hugh could still hear curses occasionally escaping from the depths of the rat hole.

"You can learn other things, but not these."

Hughes pointed at the running rat and kindly reminded it, while the rat blinked blankly.

"Don't play dumb, you weren't under Goddess Mel's jurisdiction anyway... you know that?"

The running rat understood this, and it nodded hastily. As a member of the Earth Mother Goddess's kin, it didn't know who the goddess Mel was, but it knew very well where the power within it came from.

The rat's reaction was quite amusing, but Hugh couldn't relax after seeing it, because in fact, the raging rat was in a similar situation to himself. Although he had a mage's certificate from the council and had learned how to use magic, he fundamentally did not believe in the goddess of magic.

Even the fundamental power that allows him to stand in this world is quite different from the "magic" that the Venerables of Vannen understand.

"Even now, I can't be sure where my power comes from... that inexplicable magical inscription, this huge metal disc... what is their source? Is it Theseus? Or some other god?"

As Hugh pondered this, he continued forward with the lecturer.

In fact, this was one of the main reasons why he insisted on taking the risk of contacting the Black Sun Society. Although Hugh did not believe from the beginning that he would ally with the so-called Black Sun Society, Hugh had to admit that he now had to make up for his deficiencies and shortcomings in information and intelligence by contacting the Black Sun Society.

Furthermore, under the current circumstances, I must clarify the nature of this group and find out their specific plans through in-depth communication with the Black Sun Society.

“At present, the Black Sun Society clearly still misunderstands my ‘nature’… Under these circumstances, I have a better chance of gaining their trust and intelligence, and the risks I need to face directly are relatively weaker.”

Hugh's gaze fell on the lecturer's shawl, where the mysterious symbol of the Black Sun Society was also engraved. Under the lights of the corridor, the symbol was faintly visible, giving people an unfathomable sense of obscurity.

"Mr. Hugh, this way please!"

The lecturer stopped at the end of the corridor, pushed open the heavy door in front of him, and bright lights immediately flowed out of the room.

Hugh glanced at him, checked the metal disc's condition once more, then strode steadily to the door and entered the brightly lit banquet hall. In this spacious hall, twenty chairs were neatly arranged, each occupied. Directly opposite them was a massive, makeshift stage, and behind it, suspended in the air, was a colossal sculpture formed of magic, used to blaspheme the gods of Vain.

The scene was both solemn and eerie.

The moment Hugh stepped into the banquet hall, everyone in the hall looked up. Their identities were clearly different from those of the ordinary members of the Black Sun Society outside. These people did not wear black cloaks to conceal their faces and bodies. Most of them wore their original clothes, but they all had badges, sashes, or shawls with black sun symbols on them to prove their identities.

The look in these people's eyes was complex.

Some were incredibly enthusiastic, some were full of curiosity, and others were full of skepticism...

There is even desire and greed.

It was an undisguised, intense possessiveness directed at Hugh, and the people casting such glances were both men and women, making Hugh feel as if he had been brought to the forefront and was a special slave waiting to be sold.

The silence in the banquet hall lasted for nearly ten seconds, then the people started clapping as if they had received a unified command. The enthusiastic applause instantly turned into a tidal wave that echoed throughout the entire hall.

The applause lasted for about five seconds, but then it stopped abruptly.

This made the banquet hall seem even quieter than before.

"Welcome, Mr. Hugh Ernst!"

A voice came from the crowd. Hugh turned his head and saw a man dressed in a neat academic uniform. He had black hair, a short beard, wore a monocle, and had an exquisite pocket watch hanging on his chest.

He looked to be about fifty years old, but he was full of energy, and his eyes seemed to be brimming with boundless vitality.

He stepped onto the podium, spread his hands, and said to Hugh: "Your arrival is an honor for us and a major breakthrough for the Black Sun Society... It seems that we have finally ushered in this important moment for the Black Sun Society to turn a new page and embark on a new journey!"

After saying this, he bowed slightly and introduced himself: "I am Herbert Galton, and I greet you in my capacity as Honorary Lord of the Kingdom of Delan, Honorary Professor of the Delan Magic Academy, Head of the Earth Society, and Second Head of the Black Sun Society."

Upon hearing this long list of titles, and the name "Herbert Galton," Hugh couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

He knew the name.

As the former world-building planner and chief writer of "Black Sun Era", Hugh was responsible for not only the construction of the world-building and main storyline, but also for reviewing many scattered game texts, including the review of "equipment texts".

He remembered clearly that among the equipment released in the first major version of the game was a pocket watch-shaped accessory, and that accessory was called "Helbert's Contempt".

The accompanying description for this piece of equipment reads: "Helbert will always despise the existing rules."

Although at that time, Hugh had not seriously considered who the so-called "Helbert" was, nor did he intend to explain the specific meaning of the accompanying mysterious text, he was now certain that the "Helbert" he mentioned in the text was the second-in-command of the Black Sun Society right in front of him!

Because the pocket watch icon on that piece of equipment is so similar to the pocket watch on the chest of the man in front of them...

"Fate is truly wondrous."

Hughes sighed silently. After being away from Seren City for so long, he once again felt the traces of the "script," only this time, its approach was more cunning, more bizarre and dark, making it difficult to grasp its essence.

"Mr. Herbert, thank you for the introduction and invitation."

Hughes responded politely, then stepped forward and asked quite naturally, "On the way here, I heard the 'Lecturer' mention that the society is now divided internally by specific research areas. I am very interested in this. I wonder if Mr. Herbert could give me a more detailed explanation?"

"of course can."

Herbert nodded, and then he gently raised his finger. The magic in the banquet hall intertwined at an astonishing speed, and in the blink of an eye, a magical chair was constructed next to Hugh. Compared to the chair that Verin had constructed before, this chair was more exquisite and delicate. Hugh could even see the subtle decorations and textures on the chair.

Hugh accepted the other party's kindness and slowly sat down, after which Herbert began his introduction.

“Mr. Hugh, as you said, the Society has divided its work according to different deities and beliefs. However, although the members have different beliefs and follow different deities and powers, and even conflict with each other, our goal is the same!”

The moment Herbert uttered those words, all the important members of the Black Sun Society in the banquet hall immediately responded.

May the dark sun shine high, may false gods be wiped away, and may truth endure forever!

Just like the prayers the lecturers had performed in the cubicle, they repeated these words three times. As they spoke, the huge blasphemous sculpture standing in the banquet hall began to emit a faint light, as if the sculpture could sense and accept the "beliefs" of the Black Sun Society members present.

"Then, first of all, is the Earth Society, which I preside over."

Herbert raised his head slightly and gently shook his palm. The phantom of the Earth Mother that Hugh had once glimpsed in the dream of the rats faintly appeared behind him: "We believe in the Earth Mother who brings life, abundance and harvest. We firmly believe that all terrestrial creatures should submit to the embrace of the Earth Mother."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered slightly on Hugh's face: "And just as you think now, Mr. Hugh—the secret beneath the Ernst family was also led by our Society. Although it is regrettable that it has been damaged because of your interference, Mr. Hugh, it has not caused much harm to the Society and the Association. We are also very willing to discuss with Mr. Hugh the beliefs and origins of Mother Earth."

(End of this chapter)