The black sun hangs high

Chapter 192 Message
The sun always seems warmer on a cold winter day. When it appears in the sky and shines its light on the earth, everyone bathed in its rays will unconsciously stretch their bodies to better receive this gentle and precious gift.

Only at this time could the survivors inside the city of Seren enjoy almost equal treatment with those outside the city.

Walking on seemingly peaceful, dilapidated streets, or hiding in trenches covered by artillery fire, it's hard to say which is more dangerous.

After returning to Seren and setting up a protective ritual for Felix and the children's residence, Hugh, leaning on his metal cane, left the apartment alone and began his "hunting" journey through Seren.

Just then, the distant sounds of artillery fire became increasingly intense and loud.

This was a large-scale offensive led by the Kingdom of Walter, in conjunction with the Hein army and several highland mercenary groups. Standing on the streets of Seren, with his magical vision, Hugh could clearly see the black dots that were constantly carving deadly arcs in the distant sky.

The magical lines created by the massive artillery bombardment have left scars in the sky of this area that are difficult to heal in a short time. There are no clouds in these scars at all—when clouds approach these areas, they will naturally be torn apart and annihilated by the magical fluctuations remaining in them.

This can be considered a special kind of "man-made wonder".

Given the nature of the Water people, perhaps some passionate poets who joined the army have already left related poems in their notebooks.

At the same time that the "Southern Offensive" was launched, the position of the Fifth Jaeger Regiment, where Hugh had previously served, was finally subjected to the baptism of artillery fire.

Those familiar faces of Hugh were hiding in the trenches that had been reinforced many times. The loud noise and tremors caused by the magic explosion made everyone seem small. In the underground shelter where Hugh had stayed, Verine was looking intently at a magic book in her hand. She was holding a magic ink pen and temporarily adding some functional spells that might be needed in the future.

Across from her, Frey Meyer was writing something in his notebook as always, his brow furrowed—he had been like this ever since the soldiers who had searched for Hugh Ernst brought back those important messages.

In his previous conversation with Hugh, Mayer did indeed conceal something.

What he was concealing was his past experience studying at St. Steel Medical School and the matter concerning Kezlov.

As Kizlov told Hugh at the Black Sun Society meeting, he was indeed Mayer's teacher and professor during his student days. For a long time, Mayer was very close to Kizlov and, under his guidance, participated in some research on the literature related to the "Lost Age".

But it was during this process that Mayer keenly noticed his teacher’s strange enthusiasm for that distant era and those gods who might have existed. And when he used his own logic and common sense to deduce from these signs, the conclusion he reached was even more astonishing.

The power and will represented by those ancient deities are in fundamental conflict with the morality, ethics, social rules and structures, and even the very basis of survival that humanity possesses today. In other words, the more one leans towards those deities in one's faith, the further away the believer becomes from the concept of humanity as a whole.

This is precisely the real reason why Mayer ultimately chose to distance himself from Kzlov and even tried to stand on the opposite side of the Black Sun Society.

His life, his experiences, and all the knowledge he possessed did not support him dedicating himself to such a cause filled with destruction and madness.

When Meyer received the news from Hugh, he first felt a sense of shame, but this was quickly followed by much reflection on the Black Sun Society's actions.

As a scholar who had spoken with Hughes on numerous occasions about this mysterious mage society and was familiar with their goals, Mayer quickly discerned and deduced some very important and extremely frightening trends from the signs of the Black Sun Society's activities.

His initial conclusions were similar to what Hugh had said to Herbert and other members of the society. Mayer believed that the potential unleashed by human nations under the influence of war and new technologies was likely to bring a great sense of crisis to the Black Sun Society. Technological development had forced the magical academic field, which had been stagnant for many years, to open up new research directions, and even made the power of magic begin to be more deeply integrated with social development.

This is clearly not the outcome the Black Sun Society wanted to see.

Their swift action, even at the risk of attracting hostility and attention from various parties, demonstrates an unusual excitement and eagerness.

"Clearly, for these members of the Black Sun Society, a very important time or event is approaching... and they obviously do not want war, or for humanity itself to do something beyond their expectations before this important time."

Meyer wrote this sentence in his notebook. At the same time, amidst the roar of artillery fire, he recalled the prophecy and legend about the "Black Sun" that Hugh had mentioned to him, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"The eternal black sun will become the messenger of war, believers who have lost miracles and divine grace will kill each other, and nobles who have lost their offspring and crowns will bleed into rivers."

Meyer silently recited this ancient prophecy.

As a scholar with a rich imagination and strong mental fortitude, he sensed a hint of truth in this vague prophecy.

If that day ever comes...

What if one day, when I wake up, there's a black sun hanging in the sky...

What will people be like then?
What will this war look like?
What about this world?
Mayer can't quite picture the scene yet, but he feels that some of his previous ideas and general plans probably need to be put on the agenda.

As he pondered this, the roar and tremors finally ceased, signifying that the artillery bombardment by the Kingdom of Delan's army had stopped. Consequently, all the soldiers of the Fifth Jaeger Regiment, who had been hiding deep in the trenches, removed their earplugs and emerged from their hiding places amidst the sharp whistles, heading to their designated locations with their weapons.

Meyer closed his notebook and put it in his inner pocket. As he prepared to walk along the trench to the field hospital located in the third trench, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Professor, please wait a moment!"

Meyer stopped and turned to look at Vera standing behind him.

Then the female mage, nominally a member of the Ernst family, stepped forward, took out a brand-new booklet, and handed it to Meyer: "This is the result of my research over this period of time on the Black Sun Society and those lost ages and magic." Meyer was somewhat surprised, but he still reached out and took it. Then, Verin said, "This is the result of my discussion with my student... He believes that in this world, you are one of the few people worthy of being entrusted with these facts and truths."

Looking at the scholar before her, Veraine wasn't particularly close to Mayer, but she had to admit that this somewhat mature-looking scholar exuded an aura that made people want to trust him—his face was covered in dust, but his eyes were still bright, and in the dim light, his sculpted face revealed an extraordinary firmness and wisdom.

Meyer gripped the booklet in his hand and asked, "Mr. Hugh, where exactly did he go?"

“I don’t know… If the magic didn’t go wrong, he could be anywhere he’s ever been in the past. In short, his safety is an unknown.”

Vera replied softly, "In the latter half of this booklet are some words left to you by Hugh, which he wrote when he was still in Brownhill Town... Some rituals were performed on it, and only you can read it."

Hearing this, Mayer finally showed some surprise: "Just me?"

"Yes, only you."

Weilin nodded and said, "Even my teacher can't find out what secret he wants to reveal to you. No matter how I ask, it's no use... So I think it must be something that he considers very important, right?"

At this moment, the second round of whistles sounded in the trenches, so Verine ended her conversation with Mayer, left a smile, and walked out first. Mayer followed closely behind, but Verine's pace was as fast as the other soldiers'. Before Mayer could catch up and ask questions, she had already headed towards the first trench. As the overall coordinator of the entire Jaeger Regiment's positional magic ritual, she had to get into work mode as soon as possible.

So, Mayer shook his head helplessly and, taking advantage of the warm sunlight streaming down from the sky, quickly flipped through the booklet to the second half.

As Veraine said, the second half of the book was sealed by a miniature magical ritual, and on the first sealed page was a message from Hugh.

“Dear Professor Frey Meyer, if you received this booklet from my teacher, it must be because of some unexpected event that we could not have foreseen.”

"While in Brownhill, I took the time to read many of your past articles published in St. Steel, and we also had several in-depth conversations... After that, I finally realized that you are indeed a very special and visionary scholar, rather than a member of the Black Sun Society deliberately planted within the Jaeger Corps."

"Based on this, I am willing to share some secrets and my personal thoughts with you."

"But here, I hope that you will read these contents only after you have confirmed my death, or before you need to make an extremely important decision... because they may impact some of your thoughts, and some of the views I have held may not be applicable... In short, I trust your judgment."

The text ends abruptly here.

The signature below is "Shug Ernst," and what intrigued Mayer was that there was originally a prefix to this signature, but Hug hesitated after writing it down and eventually crossed it out.

"Hmm... well, so that means it's not time for me to look at it yet? Mr. Ernst, you really trust me!"

Mayer smiled and shook his head. Of course he knew that Hugh Ernst was a very, very special young man.

But now, Mayer felt that her previous judgment of Hughes might have been somewhat flawed.

Amidst the urgent whistle, Mayer carefully put away the booklet and then strode towards the field hospital, where he would likely have to endure an extremely difficult period.

Behind the trenches, the crystal cannon positions, hastily erected overnight, were now carrying out their mission. With the commander's order, these somewhat old heavy magical weapons roared fiercely, launching shells capable of causing astonishing magical explosions toward their designated locations.

……

"boom!"

As the metal cane swung, a massive, blazing fireball struck the wall in front of it with pinpoint accuracy. The moment of impact, the terrifying fireball instantly destroyed the wall, the impact carrying a blinding burst of light that triggered a series of panicked screams.

Ever since he learned magic, Hugh had always wanted to imitate the spellcasters he remembered, who calmly used magic to break through the opponent's defenses. He never expected that his wish would be fulfilled after he returned to Seren City.

The Black Sun Scepter, recast from an ancient sacrificial artifact, has now become Shug's cane and staff. After casting the spell, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Black Sun Scepter seemed to allow magic to pass directly through its interior. In other words, he could treat the staff as an extension of his own limbs and construct magical runes at its ends or tips.

Although such behavior does not help the power of magic or the speed of casting, it greatly satisfies Hugh's "desire to cast spells".

Now, the Tricolor Brotherhood members who were hiding in the shop and trying to ambush Hugh have become the "audience" of his first "official magic show".

“A mage should have a staff, or a cane if necessary. When casting spells, fire should be the priority... that will create enough pressure. If one fireball isn’t enough, then cast another, until the enemy is burned to ashes.”

Hugh silently chanted strange words that only he could understand, and took a step toward the shop with a huge gap torn in it. The flames spreading on the ground seemed to have a life of their own, and they avoided Hugh's step in time.

He stood there in front of the breach in the wall, leaning on his cane, and shouted to the Brotherhood members who were waiting in the shop, "Put down your weapons and come out to talk... or my next fireball will be thrown at you, and you'd better watch out!"

...

Kavenka is so frustrated he wants to die. Only the first chapter is out; the second chapter seems like a real challenge.

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(End of this chapter)