The black sun hangs high

Chapter 279 "Family"

If the sporadic gunfire from the survivors was the prelude to this "Battle of Winter's End," then the roar of the Hound's Fang in Hugh's hand truly ushered in the apocalypse.

A bizarre battle, unlike anything ever fought in Vaan's history, erupted around the headquarters of the Legal Committee and the temporary defensive line built by the survivors in the southern city.

The permanent defensive line, constructed under the supervision of mages such as Verin Ernst, resembled a winding, black coastline.

The standard war ceremonies made this dark arc incredibly stable, yet as the waves of Dark Abyss offspring rolled in, all the soldiers and mages on the front lines inevitably felt tense and fearful. When those indescribable, twisted shadows appeared at the edge of their vision, everyone felt as if the strange crimson extending from the horizon had already poured down on their heads.

This is probably what is meant by "catastrophic disaster".

The alchemical bombs and magical traps set up outside the defensive line were detonated one after another. The violent magical explosions triggered a chain reaction. Some of the high-explosive crystal shells buried inside the buildings caused the surrounding houses to collapse and disintegrate on the spot. The surging magical explosions and shockwaves tore through the rolling black torrent in an instant, creating large gaps.

Immediately afterwards, countless blazing flames rose from the ground. These magical flames were created by the pages of the Stream-level magic book and rituals. Their power was quite ordinary and could not effectively kill the swarms of Dark Abyss offspring. However, the high temperature and the violent magic power contained within them were enough to impact and divide the first batch of advancing black slime.

After that, the defenders on the defensive line, aided by magic, began firing at the dark shadows separated by the flames.

After the intense war, the revolver rifles of today have undergone a qualitative improvement compared to the originals. Although the weapons provided to the survivors of Seren City by the Kingdom of Votel are not the latest models, their rate of fire is already astonishing compared to those cumbersome old crystal guns.

The defenders were astonished to find that their defensive strategy was surprisingly effective, and that bullets and magic could indeed inflict substantial damage on these terrifying monsters. With continuous magical explosions and scorching flames, the first wave of "slime legions" that crossed the warning line was wiped out in a short time, which brought cheers from the people who were originally in fear.

If we consider the survivors' defenses as a dike being battered by waves, then the headquarters of the Legal Committee, which is quite a distance from the south gate, becomes a lonely rock in the tide.

The attacks that Hughes attracted were far more intense than those in other places.

The illusions created by the Roots of Fate relieved him of a great deal of pressure. Under the influence of the illusions, the Dark Abyss offspring that launched attacks on the base fell into serious chaos. They would either stop advancing, attack empty areas, or even turn their spears on their own kind.

In their perception and vision, the humans who held their ground on the city walls and used all sorts of strange weapons seemed endless. As soon as one fell, another would immediately take his place, and the continuous bombardment of magic and bullets caused heavy losses to the advancing brigades.

The knowledge and memories derived from the victims have greatly benefited them, but similarly, the many inertias and drawbacks hidden within them have also brought about extremely serious defects and chaos. Although the descendants today have amazing wisdom, they are unable to fully utilize the mountain of information they have accumulated.

This gave Hughes considerable room to maneuver.

The demise of the Dark Abyss Spawns continued unabated, and the "Tidal Walls" used to strengthen the defenses of the base were being constantly depleted by wave after wave of attacks. Their numbers were simply too vast. When all the individual Spawns had gathered together, Hugh felt as if his world had been reduced to nothing but dense darkness and a blood-red sky. Under these circumstances, even if he used large-scale destructive magic such as "Merlinler and Flame Wall," he would not be able to effectively clear any open space.

Time passed little by little.

The magic power within Shug's body was constantly being consumed and replenished rapidly. In this state, the Forest of Walking had completely become Shug's "second heart." In order to ensure his continued combat power, Shug no longer cared about picking and choosing the Dark Abyss Essence he had seized.

He had handed over the entire process to the Walking Forest. Almost all the "spoils of war" were now stuffed into the constantly rotating metal disc by Hugh. It was like a giant millstone, constantly grinding everything that was put in into powder and turning it into magic or supplies for the other disc residents.

"hiss……"

The raging rat returned to the protection of the magical veil, its mouth constantly emitting hissing sounds expressing pain and anger.

Its fur had become very mottled, and one of its three tails was now missing. Under the continuous nourishment of Hugh's magic, the broken tail and the damage on its body were slowly being repaired. These were injuries caused by its close combat with the offspring of the Dark Abyss. If it hadn't sacrificed a tail and caused an explosion just now, it would probably have been swallowed up by those menacing slimes.

As the intensity of the battle and the level of magical agitation in the air continued to rise, these "defective products" that were previously no threat to Hugh had begun to show a new tendency: they were no longer afraid of the amount of blessings bestowed by the gods or the "status" of their kin.

On the contrary, when faced with the raging rats that contained the blessings of Mother Earth, they showed a hunting desire no less than that of Hugh himself. Even the court hounds, which had already attacked three times in a row, were now included in their active hunting and attack range.

Looking at the endless stream of sticky black shadows ahead, Hugh breathed a sigh of relief. He waved the Black Sun Scepter once more, and a series of blazing fireballs of various sizes and several pages of destructive magic flew forward. As a result, a huge heat wave swept through the area, and a large number of the offspring crowded in front of the defensive line were immediately cleared out. Hugh finally saw the blackened and broken street again.

However, this is ultimately just a drop in the ocean.

Hughes could only protect the front of the defense line. Although the actual attacks were relatively limited, as the total amount accumulated, the massive magical veil was still gradually collapsing and disappearing.

Finally, an hour and a half after the main battle broke out, Hugh heard a crisp sound coming from mid-air.

That was a sign of the collapse of the "Tidal Wall," and also a sign that the offspring of the Dark Abyss had become too numerous.

"It's time to back down."

With a crisp snap of his fingers, Hugh recalled all the creatures active around the defensive line. He casually fired the last two high-powered rounds from his revolver at the newly gathered slime, then flipped over and leaped down from the watchtower, landing inside the empty encampment.

With this action, the azure magic barrier, whose color had become extremely dull, began to shatter rapidly, and a large number of magic fragments fell down, turning into clear water in the air.

With the return of the Roots of Destiny, the illusions that had been interfering with the thoughts and judgments of the Dark Abyss offspring disappeared one by one, and the protective ritual itself at the headquarters of the Legal Committee was completely exposed to them.

Heavy artillery fire followed, another "hill" launching a fierce attack. This was the closest they had ever come to their ultimate hunting target. Faced with such temptation, even the most cautious and intelligent will would not back down or give up. Amidst the tremors of the ground, Hugh, while recovering his magic, gripped his cane and walked towards the main hall of the encampment. It was sturdy enough for him to construct a second, temporary line of defense, further delaying the inevitable.

However, when Hugh stepped into the hall, he suddenly froze.

He saw a familiar figure sitting upright on a soft chair in the center of the hall.

Such a scene was too abrupt, and what surprised Hugh even more was that the figure in front of him had previously escaped his perception, or rather, the other party had not attracted his attention at all.

"Justina... a mage?"

Hugh's gaze fell on her "lost and found" arm, and for a moment he was unsure what to call her.

"Hello, Mr. Ernst, it's me."

Justina slowly rose from the soft chair. Her clothes were still damp, but her movements were incredibly natural and fluid. She gently moved her arms, which were made of dark abyss mist, and then bowed to the young man in front of her: "Or rather, hello... my 'father'."

These words caused Hugh's pupils to tremble violently twice.

Only after Justina said those words did he finally truly sense her presence.

To be precise, he finally realized the subtle connection between himself and Justine. There was indeed an invisible force between them, like a natural bond or rope that bound them together while erasing all sense of strangeness.

And this is the real reason why Justine "deceived" Hugh.

After all, under normal circumstances, no one would pay attention to "a portion" of their own power.

At this moment, all the ancient creations closely related to Hugh also showed great interest in Justina. After all, in a sense, Hugh is not only their master, but also their "father". However, their relationship with Hugh is more like that of a spellcaster and a summoned creature.

Hughes looked Justina over carefully, then asked, "When did you arrive here?"

"I never left."

The female scholar's eyes were filled with darkness as she stared intently at Hugh: "You just haven't noticed me yet, but I'm very curious about what you want to do and your thoughts, so I've chosen to observe and wait here."

"As you can see, I have completely merged with that special sample you created. It is me, and I am it... And I have achieved my goal. I have successfully found a way to dominate and manipulate those 'sludge', and that is myself."

Justina said softly, "The Black Sun Society's magic brought me crisis, but it also gave me this opportunity. It transformed my body, influenced my magic and will, and enabled me to truly accept their power and understand their instincts and thoughts."

"Before that, I never thought that I would be the most suitable candidate for the third plan, without having to sacrifice others or rely on more willpower and memories... I was able to achieve this goal on my own."

As he spoke, Hughes saw Justina's face begin to shift slightly. Her features and appearance even underwent visible changes and shifts, indicating that her physical essence was now identical to that of the Dark Abyss offspring outside.

She didn't make any further changes, but smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, that's not in line with my usual habits, after all, it's a bit too... ugly. I just want Mr. Ernst to know that I have truly achieved the goal we discussed earlier."

Hughes sensed something unusual in the female scholar's words.

Although she was calm, she was incredibly resolute, and her words reminded Hugh of the last letters left by soldiers about to go to the battlefield.

So he asked, "So, what are you going to do next? Do you want to go outside, truly become one with them, and interfere with their behavior?"

Hugh took a step forward. This time, he did not conceal the dark mist shimmering in his eyes. With his magical vision, he clearly captured Justina's almost perfectly stable magical circuits.

He added, "Don't be too confident. They have developed their own group will, and influenced by the magic in their environment, they have become smart and determined enough... no longer as ignorant as you initially thought."

However, Justine shook her head as if she didn't care at all. Looking at the strange mist constantly overflowing from Hugh's eyes, her smile became completely frank: "So what? Whether as the 'offspring' you created or as 'Justine,' that's my meaning, isn't it?"

"However, before that, I still hope to get your response."

As she spoke, the shadow of the abyss on her body gradually faded, and at this moment, apart from that arm, Justina became exactly the same as before.

"You can see destiny and make prophecies, right?"

"So, in your eyes, what will I be like in the future? Can you tell me?"

(End of this chapter)