The black sun hangs high

Chapter 254 Fraudster

With Hugh's command, the Roots of Fate, which had been deeply hated by the creatures of the Vain world since ancient times, finally had another excellent opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

The enclosed theater lobby was shrouded in a pure and uniform darkness, like a high-class curtain. The restless "audience" was scattered around, while the silent "director" and "actor" stood quietly in the center of the space.

The "scene setup" has begun.

Following Hugh's instructions and thoughts, the translucent, bizarre bodies of the Roots of Fate began to writhe rapidly, their power capable of creating massive illusions tearing through the silent darkness.

The illusions created by the roots of fate are never limited to the visual realm.

In order to deceive all living beings and turn them into prey falling into a trap, the illusions created by the Roots of Fate are always built directly in the spiritual realm, that is, by directly confusing the mental world of the target to create the most realistic illusions.

As the illusion began to form, commotion arose. The Dark Abyss offspring, who had been resting and sleeping, awoke one after another. They then keenly sensed the astonishing changes taking place in their lair—a considerable number of "prey" had somehow entered the hall. They appeared fully armed and menacing.

Before some of the Dark Abyss offspring could react, these fully armed "prey" began to spray scorching flames into every corner of the nest using cold magical instruments. In an instant, many of their kind were burned into useless ashes in the flames.

Under Hugh's "direction," a retaliatory sneak attack launched by the survivors of Seren City against the Dark Abyss Spawn unfolded.

For the Roots of Fate, creating an illusion of this scale is not difficult. Supported by the magic of Shug, these intelligent and strange Root races have constructed this special illusion flawlessly. Every detail is handled by a corresponding Root branch, and every surviving phantom in action has a dedicated manipulator.

The false chaos erupted at that moment.

Although in reality, not a single Dark Abyss Spawn died from the flames of the survivors, as incomplete creations possessing some human memories and knowledge but unable to use them effectively, the Spawn lost their most basic judgment the moment they were pulled into this vast illusion. They didn't even realize that they had no spiritual connection or resonance with their kind who had been burned to death.

Faced with the provocation of their "prey," the Dark Abyss offspring gathered inside the theater hall became enraged. They quickly assembled, and sharp fangs and arthropods grew from their viscous, amorphous bodies as they crushed the intruders.

The survivors who invaded the nest immediately suffered heavy casualties.

Following Hugh's instructions, the Fate Roots meticulously constructed a tragic scene depicting the survivors' defenses being torn apart by their offspring. These figures, existing only in illusions, were either devoured or burned to death by flames sprayed by their companions due to improper handling.

After the Dark Abyss offspring's counterattack successfully tore open a breach, they made a new discovery.

They noticed that among these audacious prey stood a tall, upright figure holding a cane, and at that moment, all the Dark Abyss offspring were in an uproar.

Because of the previous series of direct conflicts, Hugh's image and aura were already etched into the memories of all the Dark Abyss offspring within Seren City. This was the absolute command and will conveyed by their massive entity. Within their limited but shared spirit and consciousness, Hugh Ernst was undoubtedly the ultimate and most important target for the entire race in this closed hunting ground.

Of course, it is also the most dangerous.

The illusion, blurring the lines between reality and illusion, had completely captivated these seemingly foolish yet remarkably intelligent creations. Following the commands given by their master in the past, they rapidly split into several individuals. These individuals quickly burrowed into the corners and crevices of the theater hall, flowing like water through the massive cracks in the ground into the crisscrossing sewers of Seren, successfully transmitting the message of "discovering an important target."

At this moment, Hughes had accomplished most of his basic goals.

However, he did not choose to leave immediately. After all, given the intelligence possessed by the Dark Abyss offspring, it was highly likely that it would question Hugh's actions. He had to make everything appear more real and more impeccable.

Therefore, Hugh stepped forward and launched an attack on the offspring who remained inside the theater hall. In an instant, the Touch of Calron swept out from the darkness beside Hugh and began to ruthlessly harvest the targets around him.

Meanwhile, the illusion created by the Roots of Fate continues.

Therefore, the Dark Abyss offspring inside the theater witnessed an extremely realistic scene—they saw that the prey who dared to raid the clan's nest began to retreat after killing a large number of their own kind, while Hugh, as the leader of this group of "prey," chose to cover the rear. Just like the memories conveyed and shared by the main body, he summoned countless ferocious tentacles to tear apart his own kind and used the dense black mist to devour his own power.

Everything felt incredibly real.

Everything is just right.

Once these incredibly realistic and detailed messages were successfully transmitted to the massive entity hidden underground, all the Dark Abyss offspring within Seren City were summoned by the same will. At that moment, all the offspring within Seren City ceased their ongoing actions. They abandoned hunting and resting, left their hiding places, and returned to the interconnected underground pipes, where they began to gather with their kind. In just a few minutes, the black tide of death was formed once again.

The mages of the Law Committee at the Iris Street outpost successfully detected the unusual magical fluctuations. To their horror, they discovered that the chaotic magical energy hidden underground, like a mudslide, had completely converged and begun to move in an orderly fashion towards the north of Seren City.

At that moment, the monks finally understood the true meaning of "walking on thin ice".

They even felt the road beneath their feet wriggling.

Despite their immense fear, they faithfully fulfilled their duty. Once the chilling magical fluctuations subsided, they immediately sent magical signals towards Iris Street and the Legal Committee's headquarters. Shortly after receiving the signals, the first group of survivors, already prepared to evacuate to the southern city gate, set off with a large amount of supplies. ...

Hughes still did not choose to evacuate.

The illusions constructed by the roots of fate continue.

By this time, a large number of Dark Abyss offspring had arrived at the abandoned theater. Hugh was actually surrounded, but he had no intention of leaving.

Since he was putting on an act, he had to go all the way. Even though he wasn't facing humans, Hugh didn't want his deviation to cause unnecessary consequences. He had to make sure all the monsters in the city gathered in his direction.

As planned, while Hughes distracted the Dark Abyss Offspring and the survivors south of Seren began to evacuate, the mages at the Law Council's headquarters also needed to accelerate the progress of their experiments. In the next six days, they had to complete all the scheduled verifications and transmit the final results through public magical signals.

In the ensuing evacuation operation, Hugh had made ample contingency plans. Regardless of the success or failure of the experiment, and regardless of whether the mages of the Law Committee could exert sufficient influence on the consciousness of the Dark Abyss Offspring, Hugh had corresponding methods to achieve the predetermined goals.

The Ernst family members, who have always served as his advisors, were more united than ever in their opinions regarding the contingency plans Hughes had devised.

As the "elders" in Hugh's theory, both General Bernhardt and Countess Alexandra strongly disagreed with the tendencies Hugh displayed in these plans. They believed that Hugh should not take such a great risk for others, as it could very well cost him his own life.

But on this point, Hughes did not leave any room for his advisors to offer advice.

The surging magic within him, along with the illusory visions of destiny that Hugh had glimpsed during this time, made him unwavering in his resolve regarding what he would do next and the choices he might make.

In the illusion he wove, the survivors who dared to attack the Dark Abyss Spawn's lair had all perished, and Hugh was now the only remaining survivor among these invaders. This false "progress" drove the Dark Abyss Spawn even more mad. Although their main race had not yet arrived and had been given the order to "surround" them, their strong predatory instincts had been amplified infinitely in the illusion Hugh had deliberately created. As a result, they continued to surge toward Hugh, showing no fear whatsoever at his counterattack.

And that's exactly what Hugh wanted to see.

The fabricated illusions began to slowly shrink. As Hugh continued to make subtle manipulations and adjustments, the roots of fate responsible for creating the illusions and confusing the offspring of the Dark Abyss gradually dissipated, and more of the Touch of Karron appeared. Supported by Hugh's vast magical reserves, they began to sweep continuously within this dark and oppressive space. A large number of offspring were instantly shattered, but these fragments immediately merged with their own kind and became new individuals.

Soon, the last cluster of Fate Roots was recalled by Hugh, and the illusion it created was completely terminated. But at this moment, the Dark Abyss offspring were completely engrossed in their fervent pursuit of their important hunting targets. They were completely unaware of the unusual flow of magic around them, nor did they realize that the survivors they had "hunted" were nothing more than useless scraps.

"Come on, come on... come to me."

Hugh completely removed the concealment of his aura by the Dark Abyss magic. At the same time, a large amount of Mirror Messenger mist climbed onto the segments and blades at the ends of Karron's Tentacle. Just like before, he began to devour and absorb the power of the surrounding offspring. Such actions and changes immediately attracted the attention of the main body of the Dark Abyss offspring.

The ground began to tremble, the magic in the air became extremely volatile, and once again, a clear warning signal came from within Hugh's mental world.

"This warning sign is even stronger than before... It seems that as my own magic power increases, the evolution of these flawed creations is also ongoing, and their progress seems to be even faster than mine?"

Hugh sensed the rotation of the massive disc and quickly made a judgment. A few seconds later, he keenly sensed an abnormal fluctuation approaching. Immediately, a large number of Calron's Touches stopped attacking the surrounding offspring. They quickly retracted and rolled towards the top of the theater at an astonishing speed, accurately and powerfully hooking the relatively sturdy sculptures and protrusions, and forcibly lifting Hugh's body off the ground.

At the same time, in the dark theater lobby, the floor, which was originally covered with bones, remains, building fragments and various kinds of garbage, suddenly "bulged up".

It looks like a giant bubble suddenly emerging from a swamp, expanding upwards.

With his magical vision, Hugh clearly saw what was happening below: a large amount of black slime was being squeezed out from various cracks and rapidly gathered on the ground. The moment this enormous thing appeared, all of Hugh's offspring who had previously fought against it spontaneously gathered into it, making it even larger, almost filling the entire theater in an instant.

This was a terrifying scene that would drive any survivor in the city of Seren to the brink of madness.

However, Hughes remained remarkably calm in the face of this rapidly approaching threat. With the help of the Touch of Calron, he quickly moved toward a gap in the roof of the theater and successfully passed through it. Once back in the outside world, Hughes, in the bright light, saw the true appearance of the area.

He saw countless black shadows converging from all directions, seemingly intent on turning the entire area into a sea of ​​slime, while the abandoned theater beneath Hugh's feet became a pitiful, isolated island in this deadly water.

A strange and distorted roar came from beneath Hugh's feet. Then, the slime, supported and piled up by countless others of its kind, forced its way to the gap through which Hugh had escaped. It slowly crawled out and, under the sunlight, formed a humanoid shape with a clear outline.

"We... meet again."

A strange voice, composed of countless intertwined vocal timbres, fluently spoke Vaan's universal language.

Hugh glanced at the strange humanoid figure but did not answer it. His gaze drifted inadvertently to the sky, where a faint trace of a magical signal could be seen.

(End of this chapter)