The black sun hangs high

Chapter 219 "Do you know how he died?"

Just as Hughes privately commented on the Legal Affairs Commission.

This incredibly vast organization, which has governed all of Vaan’s magical affairs, power, and resources for over a thousand years, has an extremely complex membership structure.

A scholar who pursues magical knowledge and is willing to dedicate his life to it.

An ambitious person who disregards the principle of neutrality and secretly gets involved in political disputes.

The committee members and monk supremacists regard Merlinle as their second homeland and are willing to work hard for the benefit of the monk community.

Of course, there are also ordinary members who work simply to support themselves or their families, as well as a considerable number of idealists who strive to integrate magic with social production and development.

It is extremely difficult to define individual members of such a colossal entity that exists and has a pervasive influence throughout the world using a single label or concept.

From his own experience alone, Hughes could find many representative examples.

One type is his "teacher," Verine Ernst, while another is Bourwa, who had already joined the Black Sun Society.

The sword-wielding hermit who had previously pursued Hugh in the city of Seren was also a representative of a certain faction.

And Valery, the mage who was willing to take risks and use his own strength to help the survivors in Seren, is equally not to be underestimated...

Before the peace celebration, due to the continuous relocation of the Law Committee, a total of 225 mages entered Seren City and came under the jurisdiction of the Seren City Law Committee branch. These 225 mages were mainly composed of mages of the Raindrop level or above, as well as special personnel such as sword-wielding hermits.

If we include the ordinary apprentices and clerks who can only do odd jobs, as well as the professional soldiers who are authorized to use the secret instruments and weapons specially supplied by the Legal Committee, the total number is close to nine hundred.

Even by today's standards, a team of this size is not to be underestimated.

With over two hundred mages trained by Merlin and others, plus those powerful sword-wielding hermits, and with ample supplies, this force was enough to stir up bloodshed and even overthrow the regime within a small duchy.

However, the situation in Seren City was rather unusual and extreme. The long-term scarcity of resources, the chaotic situation, and the long-standing confrontation and struggle with the offspring of the Dark Abyss had consumed far too much of the energy and manpower of these members of the Legal Committee.

Through the heavily biased and sarcastic narrative of Bervana, Hughes finally gained a general understanding of the efforts made by the members of the Seren City Legal Committee branch during this period.

For Hughes, this was a somewhat sad process.

“Those fools who worship false gods think they can stand up to the gods’ kin… Ha, they’ve done just as many attempts.”

When Borgia spoke of the Seren City Legal Committee branch, a sinister smile spread across his ugly face: "They initially gathered quite a few people, including soldiers from the city and some ordinary people. They wanted to organize a force to deal with the Children of the Abyss using numbers and magic."

He shrugged: "There's not much to say about the result. They failed and a lot of people died... So they changed their strategy and tried to block the entrances that the Abyss Children were using to prey on. That's a good idea, but of course we can't let them have their way."

Hughes looked up and asked, "So they did block a lot of passages in the first place?"

"Yes, they spent a lot of time on this... especially the former clock tower square, where they even lost two Stream-level mages and a swordsman in order to seal it off with a magical ritual."

Bourwa chuckled: "That effort did have some effect, but later, more cracks appeared, and the blockade was just a waste of effort."

"What else did they do?"

"Ah... I remember there was a mage inside who successfully captured some of the Abyss Children and did research on them. Then she suggested that the people in the city should be concentrated as much as possible to prevent them from being hunted and devoured."

Bourwa sneered: "From their perspective, this is certainly a good way to buy time, but the Legal Committee simply cannot support so many people. So as soon as this proposal was put forward, they started arguing among themselves. So we simply worked around and found an opportunity to seriously injure that mage with magic, which made the internal divisions among these people even more serious."

Hugh sighed inwardly, then asked, "I heard from others that a mage issued a silver warning signal in the city not long ago?"

"Oh yeah, just a bunch of idiots."

Bourwa shook his head: "Even at this point, they were still thinking about patching the rift and hunting down the Children of the Abyss, so I had the Brotherhood set a trap for them... In short, those guys basically died at the city gate. They sent out silver warning signals, probably trying to make one last cry for help, but it was no use."

"So, can you roughly estimate how many of them are left?"

After a moment of careful recollection, Bourwa said, “When I left, there were very few people left in the Legal Committee branch. Many had died, some wanted to escape and decided to act alone, and others went to Iris Street... Now, there are probably less than forty left.”

After answering the question, Borgia became visibly excited: "Leader, there are fewer than forty mages, many of whom are only at the Raindrop level. The Sword-wielding Hermits should only have one or two left. The Stream might be a bit troublesome, but their magic and resources have long been exhausted. If you have any ideas..."

"Calm down, Berva."

Hugh shook his head, then raised a finger, and the Mage Hand immediately took a transparent glass jar from the side for him. Hugh then stuffed the Dark Abyss Embryo, which he didn't know how to deal with at the moment, into the jar and sealed it with a magical ritual.

After finishing this task, he said to the somewhat puzzled Borgia, "If the number of people in the Legal Committee branch is only forty or less, then there is no need to use those useless people outside to deal with them... Are you planning to break through the Legal Committee's protective ritual with those inferior alchemical bombs and crystal guns?"

"...So what do you mean?"

"I can handle myself; they can't manage me."

Hugh glanced at him sideways: "Of course, if you'd be willing to be my guide and lend a hand, that would be great."

Upon hearing this, Bourwa's eyes reddened once more, and he became as excited as a vulture smelling a corpse: "Of course I'm willing... I've long wanted to deal with these scum who believe in false gods! Thank you for giving me such an important opportunity!"

"Then let's get ready and set off now."

“But Leader, it’s almost dark.” Hearing this, Hughes sneered: “What, do you think the darkness will hinder me?”

"Then I'll leave everything to you."

Having received "respect" and "recognition" from his "leader," Börva had no doubt about the confidence that Hughes showed. He nodded heavily, filled with anticipation for the upcoming hunt against the members of the Legal Committee that night.

……

Bourwa's reaction and actions were largely within Hugh's expectations.

Having established a sufficiently solid foundation of trust, Hugh no longer needed to be as cautious as he had been initially. Now, he only needed to maintain the image and identity he had cultivated to completely control the entire Brotherhood of Three Colors and those fanatical members of the Black Sun Society.

All the resources that the Tricolor Brotherhood collected after the upheaval in Seren can now be freely disposed of by Hugh.

As a spellcaster and the de facto ruler of the Brotherhood, Hugh easily and naturally entered the Brotherhood's large warehouse where alchemical and magical resources were stored.

The moment he stepped inside, Hugh knew that he probably wouldn't need to get any more magical alchemy materials from Iris Street, because there was already enough here—clearly, after joining the Brotherhood, Burva had used his prestige and abilities to gather a lot of things that might be needed.

Here, Hugh even saw a very familiar steam incense burner—the very same one that had been displayed in Boss Gerald's alchemy shop.

After browsing around twice, Hugh successfully picked out two documents based on the list he remembered.

These two materials were none other than the "good stuff" that Hugh had been unable to obtain using his own authority in Borden: the "body fluid of the Corrupted Wyvern" and the "eyeball of the Traveling Spider."

In Borden, the buying and selling of these two items has been completely banned. It was only after Hugh began to systematically learn Stream-level magic that he learned that these two materials could not only be used to make alchemical bombs, but also to some special crystal shells. The former, in particular, is a deadly poison to any creature, as the foul-smelling bodily fluid collected from the rotten dragons of the distant islands overseas.

Before entering the military camp, Hugh had heard from Virin that the Highland Mage Council had begun cooperating with various alchemy and weapons workshops. They believed that in future wars, it might be necessary to use large shells with properties and destructive effects similar to those high-explosive alchemical bombs.

As for the spider's eyeball, Hugh had long coveted it, especially after personally hunting down a Dark Abyss offspring that had devoured such a spider. Hugh was even more eager for the help it might provide him.

The two items that Hugh took away did not arouse any suspicion from anyone. If he had only taken some ordinary magic crystals, then Bourwa would probably have been suspicious.

Right now, only materials that sound extremely dangerous just from their names are more in line with Hugh's identity.

Night falls again.

Within the Brotherhood, the Black Sun Society members, having heard from Bourwa and Hughes about their upcoming plans, became extremely excited. They were even eager to try it out themselves, hoping that their leaders would take them along when carrying out this important mission.

Hughes naturally ignored such a request. After a brief preparation, he and Borg left the safe indoors and went out onto the dangerous streets.

Bourwa remained cautious after all.

Although he trusted Hugh and believed in his abilities, he was still extremely wary of the Dark Abyss offspring who roamed Seren City at night. Although he psychologically believed that being devoured by these Dark Abyss offspring was a sacred ritual of offering one's soul and power to the Dark Abyss and the ancient gods, since the Society still needed its own power, death should not occur!
Hugh walked down the street with an extremely calm demeanor.

He did not summon the running rats, but walked along the street like an ordinary traveler, protected by the magical mist of the Dark Abyss.

After walking for quite some time, Borgia finally couldn't help but speak up: "Leader, should we use magic to get around or summon some rideable creatures? Although our base isn't far from our destination, walking there like this will still be exhausting."

Borg was telling the truth; the concentration of Dark Abyss magic within him wasn't as exaggerated as Hugh's. Naturally, this attracted the attention of some Dark Abyss offspring. Along the way, Borg had been ambushed several times, but fortunately, his control over magic was extremely good, allowing him to escape danger each time.

Throughout this entire process, Hugh did not help him at all.

Faced with Bourva's suggestion, Hugh seemed deaf. He walked slowly and asked, "By the way, Bourva, how long have you been a member of the Society and the Dark Abyss History Society?"

"I've been a member of the society for twelve years!"

Although he didn't quite understand why Hugh was asking these questions at this time, Bohrwa still respectfully gave his answer: "I joined the Dark Abyss History Society six years ago."

"Oh……"

Hughes nodded in satisfaction, then smiled and said, "Then you should know the 'lecturer,' right?"

“Lecturer? Ah…yes, I know him. He’s a learned scholar. He was the one who greeted me when I first joined the Historical Society.”

As he answered, Borgia glanced at a shadowy spot beside the street, where a large swarm of Dark Abyss Spawns was emerging from the cracks in the building.

Logically, the two should have quickened their pace and left as soon as possible, but Hugh continued walking forward at a leisurely pace, even continuing the topic they had been discussing.

"Yes, the 'lecturer' was indeed a very talkative person. Unfortunately, he had an accident not long ago, and I will never have the chance to talk to him again."

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Bourwa's face, and he quickly asked, "What happened?"

"'The lecturer' is dead. He came into close contact with the power from the Abyss and was completely destroyed."

As Hughes spoke with a sigh, he slowly recounted the "Lecturer's" fate. At that moment, the dim moonlight shone on Hughes's face, and Bourwa, who was walking beside him preparing to set up the protective ceremony, noticed that his leader showed no sadness whatsoever for the "Lecturer's" death.

He was laughing very, very happily.

(End of this chapter)