The black sun hangs high

Chapter 199 Valery

Clearly, the Dark Abyss Spawns did not completely recall all individuals in Seren City because of Hugh's appearance. After all, their numbers were too great and their spread too wide. For the massive entity lurking beneath Seren City, there was no need for it to shrink its hunting grounds because of the mere presence of Hugh, an unknown threat.

Hugh became more cautious during today's hunt—he no longer used the common magic to "test" the weaknesses of the Dark Abyss offspring as frequently as before, but instead chose to use the abilities granted to him by the Dream Sanctuary to "extinguish" them as quickly and directly as possible.

Given that he had other goals to achieve today, Hugh did not want to attract the attention of the Dark Abyss Offspring too early. Therefore, he intentionally controlled his killing speed and frequency, and also let go of a few targets that were hidden deeper and farther away from the street.

Even so, the morning hunt still brought him considerable benefits.

After Hugh poured all the "essence" of the Dark Abyss offspring he had seized into the room sealed by the Dark Abyss mist, the mask, which was originally somewhat blurry, became clearly visible. Although there were still many rope-like or thread-like mists on its surface, the mask's patterns and design could now be recognized.

The mask's design is actually very simple; it looks like a very ordinary ballroom mask, except that it doesn't have many decorative patterns. Instead, it's entirely a deep black, just like the misty face of the Mirror Messenger has been peeled off.

However, when Hughes focused his gaze on the mask, he could see that its "expression" was slowly changing; it would sometimes smile, sometimes look dejected, and sometimes become wooden and cold...

"Based on the number of Dark Abyss offspring I've hunted during this period, I should only need to hunt about ten more targets to completely dispel this fog."

Thinking of this, Hugh's spirits lifted slightly.

It was nearly 11 a.m. at this time. While Hugh was busy hunting the offspring of the Dark Abyss, Felix had been active in the stronghold at the south gate of the city. According to the feedback from the magical rats, Felix had even encountered a few other scattered survivors while searching for supplies. However, they did not belong to any faction and were just like Felix, looking for some usable odds and ends.

Just as he was about to complete his initial goal in one go, the magic rat delivered a message to Felix—the mage from the Legal Committee who had agreed to meet him at the south gate had arrived ahead of schedule. So Hugh had to temporarily stop his actions and head towards the stronghold on the city wall.

Before long, he arrived at the city gate again, where he saw Felix waiting there with half a bag of spoils.

"Valery has arrived, and he seems to have brought us quite a bit... right at the city gate."

It was clear that Felix had a very good impression of the kind Dharma Council monk he mentioned, and his face radiated a very positive and optimistic mood as he spoke.

For Felix, who had already learned from Hugh that Seren had been abandoned by the outside world, seeing people who were still trying to help the city's refugees with their own strength was a rare source of encouragement.

So Felix led Hugh towards the city gate, and soon Hugh saw the semi-transparent ritual site that blocked the city wall and the city gate.

This was a very typical legal committee sealing ceremony. After getting close, Hugh was able to communicate and hear the constant buzzing coming from the ceremony site.

As he had learned before, the magical ritual set up here was actually a semi-permanent one, which was obviously a temporary remedial measure taken by the Legal Committee after the great earthquake.

Opposite the semi-transparent ritual space stood a young monk who looked somewhat anxious. Beside him was a cart pulled by packhorses, filled with all sorts of objects.

The appearance of Felix and Hugh made the young mage happy. Instead of performing the formal etiquette of a typical mage of the Dharma Council, he simply raised his hand and waved to the two of them in a very simple manner.

Although the ritual space could blur vision, Hugh was still able to roughly make out the other person's appearance and expression.

This "Valerian" must be a rather special figure in the Legal Committee, because his demeanor is nothing like that of a traditional mage.

With his short, brown hair and eyes, a resolute and square face like a soldier, and a somewhat stocky build, for a moment, Hugh even thought that the person standing opposite him was a simple young farmer.

The ceremonial venue was extremely noisy, so Valery didn't greet them directly. Instead, he smiled and raised his hand, leaving a long string of text in the air: "Hey! Felix, are you alright? Is that your friend next to you?"

Felix instinctively took out a notebook from his personal tools, intending to respond in kind by writing, but he saw that Hugh had already raised his hand.

To Valery's astonishment, magic runes began to form above Hugh's fingers, and almost instantly, a long string of magical characters appeared clearly in the air.

“Hello, Mage Valery… I am Felix’s friend, and also a spellcaster trapped in the city of Seren. You can call me Alfred.”

Out of caution, Hugh chose to first reveal the false name he had "borrowed." Then, under his mental control, more words were written out: "I heard about you from Felix, so I decided to come with him to talk to you."

After a brief moment of surprise, Valery regained his composure and quickly raised his hand, using magical runes to give Hugh the appropriate response.

“Hello, Master Alfred! I never expected to see my colleagues from the Law Council here… Our secret communication with the branch has been cut off for several weeks, and we almost thought that our colleagues who remained in the city had perished.”

Valery naturally regarded the young mage opposite him on the ritual field as his colleague. After all, Hugh's spellcasting was very smooth, and the magic runes he used were the official standard style integrated by Merlinler. In his opinion, this was definitely an outstanding scholar who had studied under Merlinler and the lecturers.

Hugh didn't rush to reveal his identity to the other party. Instead, he used magical script to say, "After the great earthquake, many members of the branch tried to repair the defects in the city. This decision caused very serious damage... You should have seen the 'silver warning' issued in the city, right?"

Upon seeing these words, Valery fell silent.

He certainly knew about the Silver Alert, as did the Legal Committee, and even the spies from various countries who patrolled the area around Seren and constantly monitored the city had already brought the information back to their own countries. However, this was precisely what made him feel desperate.

Ultimately, everyone chose to ignore and forget the silver signal that was publicly warning the world.

This includes Mellinger, who once raised this signal and repeatedly emphasized the importance and particularity of the silver warning itself.

In fact, many spellcasters who have joined the Magic Council share a special belief: as the most devout believers of the goddess Mel, they genuinely believe that magic is a power that can make Vaan more prosperous, and that the Magic Council should provide a more stable environment for the intelligent beings of Vaan to develop.

And these simple-minded scholars did indeed do just that.

It even includes some sword-wielding hermits who are considered "distorted" and "abnormal" by outsiders.

However, in the eyes of these sword-wielders, the search and hunting of wild mages is itself a way to maintain the stability of the environment.

Valery was one of these people.

Faced with this terrible war that has drawn his homeland, his faith, and his organization into the conflict, Valery felt more lost than ever before. He had originally wanted to find a new purpose for himself by saving the city of Seren, but he felt like an outcast among everyone else, which caused him extreme pain.

Now, the question that the "Mage Alfred" inadvertently asked has deeply wounded the heart of this simple young man.

Valery's hand paused for a long time before magical characters reappeared: "I'm sorry... On the day we received the silver alert, we tried to report this information to Merlinle on the same day, but we only received orders to reinforce the ritual site. Apart from that, Merlinle did not give any new instructions."

"So what about us, the survivors in the city, and those monsters? What exactly is Merlinler's attitude?"

Just like those who were eager to know what was happening outside, Hugh deliberately added a little emotion to his words: "Everyone has had a hard time after the earthquake. Even though many people in the city have died, the current supplies are still sufficient, but those things will eventually be exhausted... and then everyone will die!"

Felix didn't dare to speak, but he secretly glanced at Hugh.

He then noticed that Hugh's expression was very calm, which was quite different from the words he had written that were full of intense emotions.

However, Valery, who was outside the ceremony venue, was unaware of this. All he could see were those sharp words. Faced with Hugh's question, he lowered his guilty gaze and silently prayed a few times to the goddess of magic he believed in before responding again.

“No stance… Mage Alfred, I’m sorry, Merlin has given no instructions or stance on this matter, and because of the war, we are unable to continue sending supplies into the city on a large scale.”

Looking at the words Valery had written, Felix still felt his hands and feet go cold, even though he had been mentally prepared.

He still couldn't believe that such a cruel tacit understanding had actually formed in the outside world regarding this matter.

Hughes read Valery's reply carefully, and then he wrote: "Merlinler wants to trap the people in the city and those monsters to death, doesn't he?"

"Alfred, please don't think like that!"

Valery quickly responded to the resentment and slight despair that Hughes conveyed between the lines: "We have already successfully captured the escaped 'samples' outside Seren, and the professors and scholars of Merlinle are currently studying them... Perhaps they will soon find a way to deal with them!"

"Valerian, do you know how large the monster horde in this city has become?"

After these preliminaries, Hughes steered the conversation directly to its main point: "They keep multiplying and growing. Every dead survivor, even an animal, becomes their nourishment. These monsters have even learned some human languages. Before long, they will completely control everything about us... They will know where we hide, where we go to find supplies, and when we will become weak..."

Under Valery's trembling gaze, Hugh wrote: "Time is running out... I'm not referring to time in Seren, but to all of Vaan... Merlinle is turning Seren into a giant breeding ground, and if this continues, everyone in the city will become food to nourish that monster."

Hughes's account clearly startled Valery, who quickly asked, "Is what you're saying true? They've grown to this extent?"

Seeing Valery press for an answer, Hughes pointed at Felix, indicating that he would begin relaying Felix's words.

Soon, a new text appeared in mid-air: "Valery, what Master Alfred said is true... They already know we hide in houses at night, so they have begun to gather regularly... like a flood flowing through the streets, those hiding in low-rise buildings are found directly from their hiding places and eaten, now everyone only dares to live in houses above the third floor..."

"But if their numbers continue to increase, we will have nowhere to hide."

Felix's words were more impactful than Hugh's. Even across the ritual space, Hugh could see the pain on Valery's face. The young mage turned his gaze to Hugh, like someone falling into an abyss trying to grab a rope. He asked, "Mage Alfred, you came to me not just to tell me these things, did you? Do you... know anything else?"

Hughes was very satisfied with Valery's reaction. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and then a brief reply appeared in mid-air.

"exactly."

(End of this chapter)