The black sun hangs high

Chapter 25 "Cooperative Relationships"

An eerie and brief silence descended upon the kitchen of Ernst's old house.

Roy, his face covered in blood, lay groaning in the corner. The three-tailed rat stood arrogantly on his chest, its three whip-like tails lashing at his mangled face intermittently.

Bart, his arm severely twisted but his face filled with hope, struggled to support himself, breathing heavily as he suppressed the intense pain and waited quietly for the next development.

The young "wild mage" standing opposite stopped what he was doing. He turned slightly and looked at the female mage from the Legal Committee who was now very close to him.

The latter held a spellbook in her hands, exuding a cold and powerful aura. Just her presence alone was enough to make people shrink back, not to mention the bloodstains on her mage robes...

"Perhaps she just dealt with someone?"

Bart's hope grew brighter. Since birth, he had never had any affection for these mages of the Law Committee. But now, he wished that the most ruthless and law-abiding enforcers of the Law Committee would appear before him. If he could, Bart would even like to see the female mage use her magic to roast the wild mage into charcoal or melt him into a pool of acid...

Bart waited quietly.

However, his heart, which had been pounding with excitement, gradually sank to the bottom with each labored breath.

Nothing he expected happened. The pale, thin bastard son, the owner of Ernst's old house, took two deep breaths. He looked somewhat nervous and troubled, but this was definitely not the reaction he would have when facing an enemy or threat!
The next second, a sentence that came out of the female mage's mouth shattered all of Bart's illusions.

"What's going on with these two people?"

Even Hughes hadn't expected that this would be the first thing Vera said.

Hugh didn't want to answer the female mage's question immediately. He cautiously looked at the bloodstains on her robe. The bloodstains were fresh and looked like they had been there not long ago. This sudden "visit" was very different from Hugh's first impression of Verin.

So he asked, "Miss Vera, what's wrong...?"

Seeing Hugh's reaction, the female mage sighed, opened her spellbook, tore off another page with intricate patterns, and tossed it away.

Thus, with the flow of magic, the soundproofing magic most commonly used by the Legal Committee immediately spread throughout Ernst's old house, locking all sounds inside.

After doing this, Vera replied, "Your previous guesses and worries were probably correct, and I have confirmed some of them... However, the bad news is that I have also gotten myself into some trouble because of it."

As she spoke, Vera tugged at her mage robe with some disgust; the bloodstains on it annoyed her.

Hugh observed Vera's expression for a moment, then tentatively asked, "So, you're on the run right now?"

"Escape?"

The moment she looked up, Veraine's expression returned to normal. She shook her head indifferently: "It's not exactly an escape, but the city of Seren is no longer safe for us. I can't even trust the lieutenants who followed me here."

This sounds a bit strange.

Hugh instinctively worked backward from that statement, then frowned: "So you mean, I can trust you?"

Vera narrowed her eyes.

A sudden sense of crisis made Hughes shut his mouth.

"Alright, now it's your turn to answer my question."

Vera turned her head and looked at the mess in the kitchen: "What happened to these two people?"

Bart, who had been forcibly holding on, finally could not bear the reality before him. He didn't even have time to think about the specific relationship between the two people in front of him, and he collapsed to the ground with a "thud".

Hugh shrugged and said with a smile, "They haven't had a chance to answer me yet, but I guess they must be members of the Tricolor Brotherhood."

“I remember, your friend was also a member of the Brotherhood.”

"Putrin? Hmm, he is indeed a member of the Brotherhood, but... I don't think the Brotherhood can represent him, and of course, he can't represent the others in the Brotherhood either."

The thief Roy was still groaning incoherently. At Hugh's signal, the three-tailed rat that had been standing on Roy's chest silently darted into the shadows of a nearby cabinet and then disappeared without a trace.

Such a small action could not possibly escape the notice of a Lake-level mage. The moment the three-tailed rat jumped away, Vilin's gaze had already turned to the side.

"Okay, give me some time, I'll try to get some information out of you."

"Thank you, Miss Vera."

"Don't rush to thank me."

The female mage had already taken a step towards the two thieves, and her voice came over: "After this, you also need to give me some explanation... about the magic you used."

After she finished speaking, she pointed to the kitchen door.

……

Hugh was thus ruthlessly kicked out of his own kitchen.

He could guess with his toes that Verine would probably use some special magic from the Legal Committee on those two Brotherhood of Tricolor thieves. Whether he could get anything useful out of them was still uncertain, but he was certain that those two guys probably wouldn't survive.

"It's a pity that there doesn't seem to be anything in the dream world that can be exchanged for thief body parts."

The thought flashed through Hugh's mind, causing him to pause in surprise.

He realized that he seemed to be adapting to this kind of thing a little too quickly.

I don't know if this counts as a good thing.

Hugh quickly dismissed this pointless thought. He went up to the second floor, looked out the window, and found that there seemed to be no obvious unrest in Seren. He then tidied up the place at a very fast pace.

"I'm afraid I'll have to give up this old house soon." Hugh looked around, a little sentimental, but deep down he didn't have much affection for the house he lived in, and in fact, there was very little he needed to take with him from the old house.

Some drafts, on which he had compiled clues and conjectures, needed to be destroyed immediately.

Then there was the magic pass he got from Philip's office. Hugh felt it was necessary to give it to Verine for a second check, since he was, after all, a beginner in magic who lacked systematic learning and was not professional in judging magical items.

Then there is some money, in limited quantities, which you can carry with you.

Finally, there were the two alchemical bombs he had exchanged from the dream world. Hugh carefully wrapped them up and put them in the inner pocket of his trench coat; this was one of his trump cards.

Soon, the manuscripts filled with all sorts of conjectures and clues were burned to ashes by Hughes. Just as he was busy scattering the ashes, Verine finished her interrogation. She walked out of the kitchen with a solemn expression, the magic book in her hand still shimmering with a pale blue light.

Hugh wanted to check on the two thieves, but before he could even enter the kitchen, Vera stopped him.

"There's nothing to see... While using magical acid to treat corpses is convenient, the process is not elegant."

The female mage adjusted her glasses and then said in a slightly tired tone, "However, I think Mr. Hugh will have a chance to see him someday."

Upon hearing what Verine said, Hugh immediately suppressed his urge to go into the kitchen and asked instead, "Miss Verine, what did you find out?"

"It's very limited, but your guess is accurate. They are indeed members of the Tricolor Brotherhood, but their purpose in coming here is unclear."

Vera pulled out a chair and sat down, holding the spellbook as she said, "In fact, these two thieves didn't know why the Brotherhood sent them here. So, according to their own plan, they probably wanted to control you and then torture you to get everything they could out of you."

“Mr. Hugh, your approach is actually quite correct. A spellcaster should resolve all potential problems at the very beginning.”

Vera gave a very natural compliment, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the cover of the spellbook: "I examined the injuries on those two thieves, and I must admit that my previous judgment of you was still greatly flawed, which is my dereliction of duty as a mage of the Law Committee."

"Uh……"

Hugh felt his eyebrows twitch; he was familiar with this kind of rhetoric.

Generally speaking, the other person's next sentence is very likely to begin with "but".

Sure enough, Verin continued, "However, no matter what talent a spellcaster possesses, they should not abuse magic without guidance and learning. Magic and magical power are like flowing water; when controlled properly, they are as gentle as a stream. However, once you go astray, you will know how truly terrifying they are."

"Miss Weilin, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Before we talk more, let me see the magic you possess; it will be relevant to our specific partnership."

When she said the last word, "cooperative relationship," Weilin emphasized it.

"Looks like I have no choice but to agree, right?"

Vera sneered, "I can also turn you into an obedient human puppet in a short time, and then smuggle you out of Seren City like a smuggler, and then I will try to restore your sanity... Mr. Hugh, what do you think of this?"

"Let's talk about magic instead."

"Wise choice."

The female mage smiled, looked around, and then pointed to a decorative cabinet in the corner: "Let's use this as our target. Use all the spells you've inscribed. I'll judge. We have limited time, so let's begin now."

Hearing her say that, Hugh had no choice but to raise his hand. He deliberately controlled the rotation speed of the magic disc in his mental world. After slightly mobilizing a small amount of magic power, accompanied by that strange syllable that Hugh himself could not understand, two black tentacles with a dark green luster immediately swept out from his right palm and then fiercely slammed into the display cabinet.

The wooden door of the display cabinet shattered instantly. This was the impact inherent in magic itself. Even though Hugh's magical power was limited, the destructive force it displayed was still considerable.

"Well……"

Vera looked at the display cabinet pierced by the black tentacles, then at Hugh's unharmed right hand. The young lake-level mage then commented, "Not bad. It looks like a summoning spell, or perhaps a variant of some basic magic. It seems to be coated with some kind of poison... Is it the tentacle of some magical creature? Interesting."

She propped her chin up and raised an eyebrow, gesturing, "I know you know more than just this one spell. What was that strange rat all about? Summon it and let me see."

Helpless, Xiuge had no choice but to do as he was told.

Then, accompanied by the chanting of an obscure and dark incantation, the figure of the three-tailed rat slowly emerged from the dim light and shadow. Before Hugh could give any command, Virin's mage hand suddenly appeared beside the three-tailed rat. Under Virin's mental control, the mage hand lightly and accurately grabbed the three-tailed rat by the back of its neck and lifted it up.

Under the suppression of Virin's magic, Hugh found that the magical creature he had summoned was completely unable to move. The poor three-tailed rat was just like those live magical creatures sold in a store, being held in front of the female mage and constantly observed. Its three tails, which were like long whips, swished in dissatisfaction, occasionally making a sound as they lashed against the edge of the table.

A moment later, Verin finished her observation. She waved her hand, and the Mage's Hand immediately tossed the three-tailed rat aside. The agile magical creature took off running the moment it landed, and in the blink of an eye, it darted to the top of another cabinet, crouching in the shadows and furtively observing everything below.

Seeing that Verine was looking at him again, Hugh had no choice but to spread his hands: "That's all. These are the only two spells I have completed inscribing."

"For a beginner in magic, that's already quite impressive."

Villin nodded and said, "Mr. Hugh, you must have heard that most spellcasters who perform magic inscription for the first time can only inscribe some very basic tricks. Even those who can barely inscribe destructive magic are given special training as 'top students'."

"Although I don't know why, both of the spells you have mastered have a hint of evil magic, but... that doesn't matter, since evil magic has long been categorized into other schools of thought."

Vera tilted her head and then asked, "What are the names of the two spells you possess?"

"..."

This question left Hugh stunned. He hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, "Miss Verine, I don't know the names of these spells; I only know how to use them."

Hughes saw that the moment he gave his answer, Virin's beautiful eyes widened noticeably. This usually calm and composed female mage finally revealed her surprise for the first time without any attempt to hide it, and she even lost control of her voice.

"What did you say??"

(End of this chapter)