The black sun hangs high

Chapter 22 A deafening explosion
The man with curly hair approached the female mage with a somewhat unpleasant smile. He was also surprised by Vilin's appearance and age. However, his experience from his past roles as a guard captain, soldier captain, and garrison officer allowed him to maintain proper etiquette and caution at this moment.

The man glanced at the lake-level mage insignia on the spellbook, then became even more respectful. He stood to the side, leaning on his saber, and said, "Your Excellency, I am the garrison commander of the south gate of Seren City. You may address me by my name, Faruna Swift."

"Swift..."

Vera raised her right hand slightly, and the mage's hand, which was inspecting several anti-magic bricks, also stopped. She turned her head, looked at the middle-aged garrison officer, and asked softly, "It sounds like you're from Delan?"

"Mixed-blood, Your Excellency, Mage."

The garrison commander Faruna raised his head: "My father was an officer in Delan, and my mother was a seamstress in Walter."

Virin nodded, then with a rather elegant gesture, she dismissed the Mage's Hand she had summoned.

After that, she took out a document with a bright red seal from her spellbook and gently shook it twice in front of the Faruna garrison commander: "In accordance with the eighth maintenance order issued by the Law Committee, conduct routine spot checks on the south gate and its surrounding garrison."

With his extensive experience, Faruna glanced carefully and quickly at the paper document filled with dense writing, then immediately lowered his head: "I will fully cooperate with the execution of Order No. 8."

"very good."

A smile finally appeared on Verine's face. She tucked the document back into her spellbook and quickly glanced at the soldiers who were still secretly observing her: "Except for the Faruna garrison commander, everyone else, please return to your posts."

Her tone was soft, but no one present dared to disobey her.

Legend has it that those lake-level mages could easily use magic to blow up the heads of ordinary people, and no one wanted to accept such an end.

Soon, all the soldiers who had stayed there left, and the entire south gate and the surrounding camp entered an unprecedented state of solemnity. Even the soldiers standing on the outer outposts dared not talk casually. This state would continue until the female mage left.

"Bullshit Order No. 8 maintenance order!"

Faruna, who remained behind, cursed inwardly.

He knew very well that the so-called Legislative Affairs Commission's Order No. 8 was essentially a dispensable thing.

Compared to orders such as Arrest Warrant No. 2 and Search Warrant No. 6, which have clear usage rules and strict restrictions on both parties, this Preparation Order No. 8 is extremely versatile, and the handling methods and application environments of its various provisions are also very broad.

To put it bluntly, once the No. 8 preparation order is issued, the final right to interpret and implement it will belong entirely to the executors of the Legislative Affairs Commission.

Therefore, for caravan shops, camp outposts, and even some small kingdoms, the appearance of Order No. 8 often meant a sudden and open extortion and robbery.

However, just as Faruna thought he was about to be blackmailed for no reason, the mage's calm voice came: "The maintenance and upkeep of the magic protection is adequate, but some of the anti-magic bricks are not arranged properly... and some that are too old have not been replaced in time."

Amid Faruna's bewildered and surprised expression, Verin revealed her "inspection results": "While all the weapons used to counter magic are in place, the soldiers here clearly lack experience in using them. If I had wanted to, I could have easily wiped out all the soldiers we encountered along the way. Obviously, everything here does not meet the Legal Committee's requirements for the preparation of important city outposts."

“Mr. Swift, if an accident occurs, you, as the person in charge here, will bear a great responsibility.”

A barrage of words slammed into Faruna's face, shattering his thoughts in an instant.

This was a situation that even the most experienced garrison commander had never considered.

He hadn't expected that the other party was actually conducting a "spot check," and that the female mage's observation skills were extremely meticulous. Although her conclusions were simple, they were all old problems that actually existed in her territory.

Vera glanced at the city gate guard who was staring with his mouth agape, and then threw out more questions she had observed. Faruna's face flushed red. No one would look too good if their little thoughts were pointed out to their face.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Verine unfolded the spellbook in her hand. Her right hand swept across the book at an extremely fast speed, and a page was immediately torn off. The standard spell inscribed on the page took effect immediately, and an invisible magical barrier quickly unfolded, completely covering the area.

As the soundproofing magic took effect, the vanished blue mage's hand reappeared, its cold fingers stretching forward and precisely pressing against the forehead of the city gate guard, Faruna.

Verine's actions were incredibly fast; Faruna didn't even have time to react before his thoughts were already within Verine's perception range.

"Time is limited, Mr. Swift, so I will ask and you will answer."

Under the terrifying constraints imposed by the cold magic, Faruna trembled as he released the saber that had been his own, then nodded stiffly.

So she threw out the questions that Villeyn Ernst had prepared long ago.

"Who, to your knowledge, was the last person to enter or leave the city gates? When were the city gates last opened?"

“It was five days ago, late at night five days ago… a caravan of nobles from the Kingdom of Delan entered the city through the south gate. They carried magical passes issued by the Legal Committee and the Kingdom of Delan.”

"What is the size of the group? What are they transporting?"

"The scale is more exaggerated than that of an ordinary caravan, with about three guard teams. Some of them are even carrying crystal cannons made in Delan, and the style is very new... As for the goods they are transporting, the travel permits they presented came from the Delan royal family, and we have no right to inspect them."

Vera quickly memorized this crucial intelligence, then pressed on, "You said those guards were carrying crystal guns made in Delan? How did you determine that?"

“My father was an officer in Delan, and I once accompanied him to meet Delan’s master gunsmith… All the fine guns produced by Master Gastini bear his unique silver serpent emblem, making them easily identifiable.” “Where did this team ultimately go? Did you follow them?”

“Madam, all convoys using the Delan Royal Pass will be required to go directly to Iris Street, where the Kingdom of Delan is located, for registration. We have no right to inquire about their itinerary after registration.”

Looking at the sweating city gate guard and feeling the fluctuations and feedback from the mage's hand, Vilin nodded in satisfaction. She slightly relaxed her control over Faruna and then asked, "I previously made a request to your soldiers, telling them that I had urgent business to attend to outside Seren City... However, they told me that only those on the 'list' are allowed to enter and leave, which is inconsistent with the orders previously issued by the independent government of Seren City."

Vera slowed her speech to make sure every word was clearly heard: "Tell me, Mr. Swift, what's the deal with this suddenly appearing list?"

Upon hearing this question, the garrison commander Faruna's expression changed drastically. His mouth trembled uncontrollably, and his originally flushed face turned deathly pale at an alarming speed.

The mage's hand flickered, and the sorceress's eyes, hidden behind her glasses, narrowed slightly. The relaxed control tightened again in an instant, and the mage's hand, which had been pointing at Faruna's forehead, suddenly changed its posture. It stretched out and then pressed directly onto the top of Faruna's head.

A bone-chilling cold surged forth with an invisible magic, accompanied by a melodious yet uncompromising voice: "Answer my question, Mr. Swift, and don't make me do what you're afraid of."

The city gate guard began to tremble. However, as an ordinary person who had never touched magic before, he was unable to resist the magical power that pierced his mind like a sharp sword. So he shook his head with difficulty: "I...I can't."

Amid this reaction, Vera keenly sensed something amiss.

She realized that the man before her seemed to be caught in two contradictory fears. In addition to the threat she posed, he also seemed to be under another constraint, which prevented him from revealing what he knew even in this situation.

But now that things have come to this, and with the clues already in hand, there's no way that Vera could back down.

Verin's long-accumulated experience in the magical field gave her confidence. She tore another page from her spellbook, and with the surge of magic, another convenient spell recorded in the spellbook took effect. The mage's hand floating in mid-air was instantly enhanced. A massive amount of magic power poured onto Faruna as Verin's will, putting immense pressure on him while carefully protecting his body.

The poor city gate guard collapsed to the ground.

“Speak, everything you know about that ‘list’... I swear to the goddess Mel that I will not harm your mind or body, and will even do everything in my power to protect them.”

After hearing these words, Faruno glanced at Verin dejectedly. Overwhelmed with fear and helplessness, he finally spoke.

"Five nights ago, at the same time the noble caravan arrived, all the city gates received an order signed by General Butz of the General Defense Command."

Faruno swallowed hard, glanced at the magical light pressing down on his head, and stammered, "According to... according to that order, the magical pass system that was originally in place at the city gates has been temporarily abolished. We must use a specific magical list to determine who can enter and exit."

"Where's the list?"

"No...don't know."

Faruno's words became incoherent, and he frantically waved his hands: "Madam, I swear to... I swear to all the gods I know, I really don't know the contents of that list. Although we were ordered to do this, the list was never issued to us! Therefore, we don't know who is allowed to come and go!"

Vera's eyebrows gradually rose, and a strong sense of unease began to brew in her heart. She turned and walked to the city wall next to her, placing her palm on the wall. This time, she did not "pretend" as before, but concentrated all her energy on the wall in front of her.

When a mage of the Lake level mobilizes their magic, it's as if a real lake is being stirred up by a gale, with invisible tides surging in and continuously crashing against the thick, ancient wall in front of them.

A mark deeply hidden within the wall slowly emerged. Verine's body trembled slightly. With the burst of terrifying resistance from inside the city wall, Verine involuntarily retreated, her hand leaving the wall in front of her.

Under that impact, even the mage's hand that she had summoned, which had been amplified by magic, trembled continuously.

Verin immediately returned to Faruno's side, her usually calm face finally revealing a hint of ferocity: "Speak! Besides the person who relayed the orders to you that night, who else has been here?"

"No, no... uh, but the messenger who was responsible for delivering the orders stayed inside the city gates all night that night. It was part of the order, and we had no choice but to comply. Besides, I don't know what he actually did there..."

At that very moment, the city gate guard, who had revealed all the information he knew, suddenly let out a shrill scream. He struggled violently and managed to break free from the mage's control using only his physical strength.

At the same time, Faruno's eyeballs began to bulge out. He wailed and raised his hands, trying to press his eyes with his fingers, as if trying to prevent his eyeballs from "leaving".

A magical ritual, which had been placed on Faruno at some unknown time, began to take effect at this moment.

Verin discovered that the magical defenses she had set up were as thin and brittle as paper in the face of this terrifying ritual restriction. In just two breaths, these defenses were completely torn apart, and Faruno's head and his eyes became the scene of the ritual power's outburst!

Seeing that the situation was beyond saving, Vera immediately retreated quickly. With a simple gesture, the protective magic engraved in her mind appeared in front of her, and a huge magical shield formed out of thin air, firmly protecting her body.

Immediately afterwards, she heard a loud bang.

It was as if the wheels of a carriage had mercilessly run over a ball.

Amidst the agonizing screams of the city gate guard, his head exploded, splattering blood and debris everywhere.

Faruno's hands fell limply to his sides, and his two eyeballs finally rolled slowly out of their severely deformed sockets...

(End of this chapter)