The black sun hangs high

Chapter 244 Choice
Receiving the wrong message in a bad location is an incredibly devastating blow to anyone on a dangerous mission.

What made the team within the crack even more uneasy and panicked was the content of these messages themselves.

The leader of the Legal Committee stared at the ritual implement before him. As a professional elite spellcaster and a competent member of the Legal Committee, he was certain that there was nothing wrong with the ritual implement. All the parts and the magical rituals inside were operating in the most normal and regular way. He could even feel every detail of the flow of magic and the operating principle within it.

However, he now desperately hoped that the problem lay with the ritual itself.

Of course, such thinking is ultimately just self-deception.

A huge problem that was difficult to verify and resolve in a short time was now directly in front of the team. With no abnormalities found in the magical artifacts and problems with the information reported from the camp above, they had to make a decision.

Should we abandon the exploration depth we've already reached and return the way we came, or should we follow that obviously off-tracking order and continue deeper while reporting the detected situation?
The leader of the council walked over, exchanged a glance with the leader of the law committee, and then said, "Since last night, after we crossed the fourth rest stop, this is the state of the camp."

Upon hearing this, the Dharma Committee monk immediately sighed, then stared at the other man and said, “I know what you’re thinking, but our mission is indeed very important. If we choose to give up now, it is very likely that our people will miss an important opportunity.”

"No, I don't want to leave."

To the surprise of the members of the Legislative Affairs Commission, the leader of the council decisively shook his head.

He came from the Kingdom of Walter, with a lean, angular face and eyes that gleamed with cold rationality. He explained to the people around him, "I don't think anything will happen at the camp. The Ymir Legion is stationed there, and Mr. Finn will definitely not leave easily... There is no place in the world safer than the camp."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the face of the Legal Committee leader: "In other words, if there really is a force that can destroy the defenses there before the camp even warns us, then there is no point in us choosing to withdraw."

The Northern Mage's eyebrows twitched slightly in surprise: "So your idea is to continue downwards?"

The council leader was silent for two seconds before speaking: "Some of you will evacuate and bring back all the discoveries we have made so far to the camp. The rest of you will continue downwards."

He didn't lower his voice, so everyone nearby heard what he said.

The subtext is very clear—some members of this team will have the opportunity to leave this dangerous abyss, while others will continue downwards as a suicide squad. The latter will shoulder more responsibility and will inevitably face more severe challenges. Without the support of the camp above, their chances of survival will be further reduced, even approaching zero.

So, should we choose the unfathomable underground fissure?
Or perhaps choose a safe camp protected by elite legions and powerful spellcasters?

The answer is obvious.

Those who come here as volunteers naturally possess a firm mind and a determination to die. However, when the unknown threats and panic are amplified and the chance of survival returns, a spark of hope inevitably ignites in their hearts.

The council leader looked around and then said, “We don’t need so many people to do our current work. I suggest that ten mages stay behind, twenty-five soldiers stay behind, and the rest leave some supplies behind and return immediately… As the leader, I will stay behind.”

The legal committee monk standing opposite him remained silent for two seconds before nodding in agreement with the proposal.

Soon, the volunteers in the abyss got busy. Under the strict allocation by the leaders, the younger members were separated from the group. They left most of their supplies at the rest station. The soldiers of the Ymir Legion also completed the handover. In the darkness, they hugged their comrades who stayed behind and accepted the legion insignia that the comrades had taken off their uniforms—proof of their contributions to Votel and the Ymir Legion.

Meanwhile, the mage Wotel, who was in charge of operating the communication cipher, did something quite characteristic of the Wotel's dry humor at the behest of the team leaders—he used the cipher to probe the camp above once again.

This time, however, he didn't send any meaningful text messages. Instead, he greeted the camp leader warmly in Waterl's slang.

After discovering that the returned messages were still the same old "received" and "continue down," everyone sighed helplessly.

They saw off their companions, watching their personal cleansing lamps disappear into the abyss. Then, these warriors who had volunteered to remain in the dangerous place ended their rest. They quickly packed their equipment, distributed any surplus supplies, and with immense trepidation, embarked on their dark journey of exploration, the end of which was unknown.

……

Before the outbreak of war, the number of people who had ridden the magic train was relatively limited.

However, with the continuous changes in the form of warfare and the accelerated laying of a large number of railway tracks during the war, this new mode of transportation, which was incredibly fast and had extremely superior transport capacity, finally burst into the view of ordinary people.

Although a significant portion of the steam trains currently serve only the military system, after the Highland Alliance successfully advanced its battle lines toward the Goddess Plains, some of the railways originally laid around Brown Hill Town were finally opened to the general public. With the help of this powerful magical steam transportation, people were able to travel quickly between some remote towns.

"It brought us closer together!"

This is the sentiment expressed by many ordinary people after using this mode of transportation.

Sunlight streamed down, attempting to penetrate the train windows and enter the warm carriage, but was fragmented into tiny spots by the speeding vehicle.

The warm winter sun always brings a touch of laziness. On this train bound for "Cuiqing Port" south of the rugged hills, a man wearing a hat is sitting face to face with a young girl. The man is holding a recent newspaper and constantly making notes on it with his pen, while the girl is holding a rather heavy book and reading it slowly.

The book's content is somewhat difficult to understand; at least for Sally, she hasn't been able to easily grasp many of the terms and concepts.

Fortunately, she can now consult her teacher at any time, and Mayer is happy to answer those questions for this well-behaved and intelligent student. This young and innocent girl is a typical microcosm of ordinary people in the plateau and plains regions, and some of her views and opinions can also inspire Mayer.

Meyer slightly raised his eyes and saw that Sally was frowning and her expression was slightly fluctuating, so he raised his hand and gently pressed down on the book in her hand.

"If you can't calm down, why don't you take a break, or we can chat for a while..."

“Yes, Professor.” Sally sighed, then she placed the bookmark in the book and put it down. She then stood up and poured her teacher a cup of hot tea.

After sitting down again, she pressed the book, her face full of worry, and asked, "Professor, is there still hope for Seren City?"

Upon hearing the question, Mayer smiled gently, put down his pen, and said, "Oh, is that the question... But are you asking about Seren, or Mr. Hugh Ernst, who is trapped in Seren?"

"Uh……"

Sally paused for a moment, her body shrinking slightly, but then she answered honestly, "Perhaps both. I grew up in Seren, and I know many people there... and Mr. Hugh is a very, very important friend of mine, and I don't want anything to happen to him."

Meyer couldn't help but chuckle: "Just friends?"

Sally's expression turned awkward: "Professor..."

Seeing this, Mayer stopped joking with Sally. He shook his head, pushed the newspaper in his hand over, and then pointed heavily at the content on the page with his finger. "Okay, enough joking. Take a look at this first."

Sally took the newspaper, and then she saw a huge magical photograph.

In the photo, people dressed in various outfits are sitting around a large round table, clearly holding an important meeting.

The center of the round table featured the Eye of Mel, and the people sitting around it were dressed in either the robes of the Legal Committee or the uniforms of the Council. On either side of the table, Sally also saw several high-ranking officers from Walter and Delan.

"Following agreements from multiple parties, the Seren City Emergency Committee has been formally established."

"The Seren City Emergency Committee?"

Sally's eyes lit up slightly as she quickly read the contents below. To her delight, she discovered that the Legal Committee, the Council, and the warring parties, Walter and Delan, had actually reached a compromise on the issue of Seren City. The so-called "Seren City Emergency Committee" was established to deal with the large number of survivors in Seren City and the growing threats.

The article was very brief, but its content was quite "bombshell," and given that the news had made it to the front page of the Borden newspaper, its authenticity was beyond question.

Just as Sally was feeling excited about the news, Mayer's voice drifted over: "Looks like good news, doesn't it?"

"Like?"

Upon hearing this, Sally paused for a moment, then immediately realized what she meant and asked, "Professor, do you have any other thoughts on this news?"

Meyer dipped his palm into the flickering light on the table, his body swaying gently with the train carriage, but his voice remained steady: “Sally, I told you before that when we think about something, we must start from the ‘cause’ and ultimately come to the ‘purpose’... In other words, we not only need to focus on the specific progress of an event, but also to see why the event happened, and what the positions and thoughts of the people dealing with these events are.”

Seeing that Sally was listening attentively, Mayer continued, "The emergence of the Torch Report has indeed driven a lot of things, but what we did before was nothing more than reopening a wound that no one wanted to talk about. Fundamentally, the people who participated in this meeting and formed the so-called emergency committee did not really want to completely solve the problems of Seren City. They were forced by the situation to take action."

As he spoke, Mayer turned to look at the other passengers in the carriage. Some of them were merchants, some were workers and farmers, and of course some were well-dressed minor nobles. Some of them looked worried, while others seemed calm and relaxed. Clearly, the ongoing war had affected them in different ways.

"Sally, can you see the people in the carriage?"

"Yes, got it."

"So how many people here do you think are aware of the Black Sun Society and the threats within Seren City?"

Sally glanced around cautiously, then blinked and lowered her voice, saying, "Very few people would realize that, right? Unless they have relatives or friends in Seren or Saint Steel..."

"Yes, that's right."

Meyer nodded in reply: "Even now, the political leaders of various countries who make decisions on many important matters still cannot clearly perceive the influence of the Black Sun Society. They still ignore or deliberately disregard the imminent signs of danger... Therefore, they are very likely to make some incorrect decisions based on their own perspectives."

He pointed again to the photo in the newspaper: "Now, although they want to solve the problems in Seren, there are many ways to do so. Seren and its surrounding areas are too important. This is destined to be no pure rescue operation, but another round of complex interests. I am worried that the people in charge of these matters will bring some unexpected 'surprises' to us and Seren."

“I fear they will choose the most brutal and thorough method to eliminate the threat within Seren… Even if they don’t, the survivors in Seren will face extremely unfair and terrible treatment after successfully leaving that hell… This is not what we want to see.”

Sally pursed her lips: "So we..."

"Therefore, we must also take some additional actions."

"Oh, it's just the two of us?"

Meyer couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Of course not, silly girl, when we get to Green Harbor, I'll introduce you to lots of friends..."

...

My sleep is finally back to normal, and it feels so good to have a regular sleep schedule...

Double updates will resume tomorrow.



(End of this chapter)