The black sun hangs high

Chapter 27 The Trackers
This was the first time Hugh had witnessed the true power of magic firsthand.

The scorching heat surged violently into the basement. The wooden door he had casually closed could not block the terrifying heat at all. His cramped world seemed to have been stuffed into a huge furnace in an instant, and even the soil and bricks piled up in the basement seemed to be breathing out heat.

"Ignite in an instant."

"Willing beside Hugh, Violet said lightly."

"Stream-level, a somewhat redundant spell."

Hugh felt a little suffocated: "You said it's superfluous?"

"Yes, it's unnecessary."

Verine raised her hand and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, two strands of her hair sticking to it: "Generally speaking, it can only be used to create fire and light, and to light a campfire in the wild... The current fire is caused by excessive magic power injection and repeated spellcasting, don't think too much about it."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the exit at the other end of the basement. As Hugh stepped out of the basement, he couldn't help but look back, only to see that the ancient mansion belonging to the Ernst family was completely engulfed in flames. In the firelight, Hugh saw that the female mage Weilyn's lips were somewhat pale. Perhaps, as she said, she had consumed too much magic power to create this terrifying fire in an instant.

Neither of them intended to linger there. After confirming the direction, Hugh led Vera towards the bushes. Once they passed through this abandoned grove, they could bypass the "Ladies' Street" in the north of Seren and reach the "Water Flower Street," a favorite haunt of men.

Although it's not appropriate to bring a woman of similar age into such a place, it's the most suitable escape route at the moment.

As soon as he stepped into the deserted forest, Hugh summoned the Runaway Rat. The completely tamed magical creature immediately jumped into the bushes. It would act as a living sentry, following Hugh closely to prevent anyone from tracking him down.

Only then did Hughes have a moment to spare. He reached out and helped Vera remove a thorny branch hanging from the hem of her robe, then asked, "Miss Vera, who exactly are these people chasing after us?"

"I don't know. I only know that there are quite a few mages among these people. They may be members of the Law Committee, but they are more likely to be members of the Delan royal family."

Because of the depletion of her magic power, Verine's breathing was noticeably rapid. She wrinkled her nose and then quickly recounted her previous experiences in concise language.

"The situation is worse than I imagined. Problems have arisen within the independent government of Seren City. The General Defense Department has most likely completely sided with the Kingdom of Delan. Moreover, at least three guards carrying crystal guns and mixed with spellcasters have entered the city through the southern gate alone. Furthermore, the magical sealing rituals for all the city walls and gates of Seren City have been tampered with."

"Tampering? What do you mean?"

"It means that the city has been completely sealed off. People outside may be able to get in, but people inside will definitely not be able to get out! If anyone tries to forcibly disrupt or go through the ritual, they will most likely be killed on the spot by the altered ritual site."

After saying that, both Hugh and the other fell silent.

Hugh was well aware that he and the female mage beside him, who also bore the Ernst family name, did not have any solid foundation of trust. Although they had hastily formed a relationship that resembled that of partners, all of this was due to the rapidly changing circumstances. Such a cooperative relationship was not reliable at all and was very likely to collapse at some critical moment.

Amidst his trepidation and unease, Hugh looked back at the path he had come from. Through the gaps between the sparse trees, he saw that the Ernst family's old mansion was completely engulfed in flames. At this time, the fire brigade in Seren had also arrived nearby. Even through the bushes, Hugh could see those huge modified vehicles towing heavy water tanks.

Under the operation of the firefighters, several metal water pipes inlaid with crystal minerals and engraved with various patterns were lifted from above the huge water tanks and then began to spray water jets onto the burning old house.

But for some reason, the flames showed no signs of abating. The spraying water could only barely suppress the spread of the fire. In that already crumbling mansion, there seemed to be another force constantly igniting new flames.

In this situation, even a novice spellcaster like Shug could see the abnormality.

"It seems someone's worried that the house wasn't burned clean enough..."

Hugh muttered to himself. He was about to ask Verine for confirmation when the scurrying rats that had been hiding in the distance made a strange sound—someone was walking quickly past them, and there were quite a few of them.

"Someone is chasing you."

Hugh immediately told Vera what he had discovered. Upon hearing this, the female mage stopped in her tracks. She took a breath, then took a delicate little pouch from her waist and poured the contents into her palm.

“Sharp claws, teeth, and bird skulls…it all looks like animal bones.”

Hughes recognized these things at a glance, and then he saw a pale blue magical light flowing and dancing among these bones. After about two breaths, the light finally landed on the bird's skull.

Verine picked up the skull from her palm and gently tossed it into the air. The next instant, accompanied by a flash of magical light, a giant raven, entirely black except for blue feathers at the tips of its wings, appeared in the air. It quickly circled above Verine's head once before disappearing into the canopy of a nearby tree.

"Aren't we going to keep going?"

Hugh lowered his voice. According to the message relayed by the running rat, the pursuers were approaching them. He was always a self-aware man, so he did not think it was a good choice to "fight" these people in the forest.

“Mr. Hugh, I respect your ideas, but you’d better not think of me as a fool who would rashly engage in a decisive battle with the enemy.”

Vera rolled her eyes. She glanced in the direction the raven had flown, a glint of magic flashing in her eyes behind her glasses. After a brief pause, Hugh heard her say, "Hmm... they weren't using tracking magic, but rather the short-nosed dogs from the Goddess Plains. That makes things much easier."

"So, we need to get rid of these hunting dogs?"

“Of course.” Vera chuckled. “Does Mr. Hugh intend to invite them to your next hiding place?”

……

In fact, when Hugh and Verine left Ernst's old mansion through the basement passage, these ill-intentioned pursuers had already arrived at the back of the mansion. If Verine hadn't been cautious and set up a simple illusion spell when entering Ernst's old mansion, the two of them would probably have encountered this team as soon as they came out of the basement.

The team consisted of two stalkers carrying longbows, fifteen dual-wielders, and five gunmen carrying crystal guns, in addition to a professional dog trainer.

This is a very standard tracking team in the Delan army.

Plains Short-nosed Dogs with excellent bloodlines have always been known as "fugitives." These magical hounds, which have a faint magical power flowing through their veins, can remember the scent of their targets for a long time. Moreover, they are naturally very intelligent and can even use their instincts to break some simple illusions and traps.

With three heads and a short nose, the dog could easily reveal all traces of the fleeing person.

The short-nosed dogs had caught the scent of their target. The fierce hounds let out a deep bark and then led their handlers and the rest of the trackers deep into the forest.

Hugh had now begun to share the running rat's vision. Through the magical creature's eyes, he discovered that each of the swordsmen wielding both long and short swords was silent and skilled. Their clothing looked no different from that of ordinary soldiers, but on the hilts of their swords, there was a rather bright iris pendant.

"Damn it, the Iris Guard?"

He nearly bit off his own tongue.

Hugh was very familiar with this group of silent veterans. According to the world view he created, these elite guards belonging to the Delan royal family still enjoyed a great reputation two hundred years later in the "Black Sun Era". Although they were not magicians, they had all undergone the most rigorous, even perverse, "anti-magic" training. With the help of weapons specially designed to fight magic, they were definitely good at hunting spellcasters.

Hugh recalled that among the several batches of peripheral souvenirs released before the game's launch, there were iris keychains symbolizing these royal guards of the Delan Kingdom.

"Their swords are the everlasting irises of the Kingdom of Delan."

Even this sentence was typed into the document by Hugh himself.

He now doubts whether he has perfectly inherited the tragic and unlucky character of "Baron Ernst," and whether today's experience is just the beginning of his bad luck.
The cawing of ravens in the forest interrupted Hugh's reverie; it was a signal from Verin. He immediately roused himself and gave the order to launch a sneak attack to the sprinting rats that had been waiting for a long time.

So the magical rat, shrouded in dark green light, immediately began to move. Its three long tails swept back and forth among the trees as it moved forward, resembling three treacherous snakes slithering among the grass and trees.

A giant raven with blue feathers swooped down from the treetops. Verine's goal was different from Hugh's; she needed to find a way to interfere with or even get rid of the dog trainer. As long as the trainer was gone, even if the short-nosed dog was still alive, the remaining trackers would not be able to perfectly understand the hounds' intentions.

Faced with this sudden attack, the tracking team that had entered the forest area remained unusually silent. No one shouted that the enemy was attacking, nor did anyone step forward to give orders. The double-swordsmen, whose weapons were decorated with irises, quickly gathered together, protecting the dog trainer and the five gunmen in the middle. The two stealth experts who were moving along the edge of the team took out their longbows, the bowstrings hummed, and two arrows flew out immediately.

The blue-winged raven summoned by Virin was extremely agile. It slightly turned its body to dodge the two arrows, and then let out a screech in the air.

The cry was incredibly piercing and unpleasant. The gunmen and dog trainers who were disturbed by the sound involuntarily raised their hands to cover their ears, while the Iris Guards on the periphery merely frowned and swayed slightly.

However, this momentary disruption also created a very precious opening. Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the Blue-winged Raven, the raging rat, controlled by Hugh, finally leaped out of the shadows, revealing its exceptionally sharp and terrifyingly venomous claws and fangs, and pounced on a short-nosed dog that was also terrified by the raven's shriek.

Although this strange rat was relatively large for a rodent, it was still much smaller than a hunting dog. However, at this moment, the power it unleashed was astonishing. The strong hunting dog was immediately knocked to the ground, and its sharp teeth and claws came down one after another. Combined with the strange corrosive magic, it tore a gash in the side of the hunting dog's neck in an instant.

The next instant, the mad rat, known as the "Earth Mother Goddess's Chariot," made a move that exceeded Hugh's expectations. It leaped off the hound, and its three tails suddenly curled up, stabbing forward like three rapiers, precisely piercing the poor hound's wounds and piercing its neck through.

"squeak!!!"

A sense of pleasure emanated from the running rat. It pulled its long tail back from the body of the short-nosed dog in front of it and then charged toward its next target.

Based on his intuitive understanding of his summoned creature, Hugh did not continue to forcibly control it, but instead relinquished control and allowed it to make its own judgment.

"Boom!"

With a series of loud bangs, the gunmen in the ranks raised their crystal guns. These exquisite magical firearms, about the length of an adult's forearm, with silver patterns on their surfaces and inlaid with bright crystals, roared as the engraved bullets driven by magic power blasted out, creating a series of craters in the woodland grass.

At this moment, the raging rat finally displayed the terrifying speed that matched its name. Even its summoner, Hugh, almost couldn't react in time. Amidst the flying soil and grass, it precisely dodged every fatal attack. The dark light on its sharp incisors became even more pronounced. In the midst of the chaos, it leaped directly onto the back of the second short-nosed dog, its three tails quickly piercing into its prey's body, its claws scratching wildly.

Amid the desperate howls of the hunting dogs, fur and flesh flew everywhere.

...

The new year is almost here!
I wish everyone and their families good health.

Above.

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(End of this chapter)