The black sun hangs high

Chapter 282 Bombing, Bombing

The slimy substance, brimming with the power of the Dark Abyss, was sweeping in relentlessly.

The protective ritual at the Legal Committee branch's headquarters had been completely breached, but the pre-set magical ritual had not taken effect. After accepting Justina's suggestion, Hugh proactively severed the connection between the protective ritual field and the pre-set magic, and with his own abilities, rebuilt a temporary new defensive line inside the Legal Committee branch's main hall.

Although the protective ritual set up by Hughes could not compare with large-scale protective or permanent rituals in terms of strength, Hughes was still confident that he could hold out through this line of defense for a considerable period of time, thanks to the architectural structure of the Legal Committee's headquarters and the relatively small area exposed to the enemy.

His judgment was correct. With the illusion of destiny created indoors, and the numerous Dark Abyss Mist and the Touch of Calron deployed along the edge of the defensive line, the Dark Abyss Spawns, who rushed forward, not only failed to break through the barrier in a very short time, but were also disturbed by the distorted illusions applied to their senses, causing them to run around aimlessly near the building.

This created the terrifying scene that the crew of the magic airship saw from the air—countless viscous black shadows were attracted by the aura released by Hugh and Justine. Under the command of the main body's will, they gathered together, moved around the already breached headquarters of the Law Committee, and wrapped the main building where Hugh and Justine were hiding in layers.

Meanwhile, Justina, who was in the center of this hellish scene, had entered a different state.

She calmly approached the edge of the protective ritual site and extended her limb, made of dark abyss mist, outwards, formally beginning contact with her "kind."

As a "father" closely related to Justina, Hughes immediately felt a violent mental shock the moment Justina made this move. The metal disc that served as the vessel for his power began to spin at high speed, and the sound of the intricate metal gears echoed continuously in his mental world.

On this metal disc, the "grooves" most closely associated with the Dark Abyss Palace are now beginning to tremble violently.

The Mirror Messenger and the Palace Hounds have now been forced to leave their dwellings. They could no longer stay in their own territory and were forced to come to the burrow of the Running Rats. Although Sniggy and the Rats did not get along well, now was clearly not the time for conflict, so it generously allowed them to stay there for the time being.

As Justina's own power and will began to come into contact with and merge with the Dark Abyss offspring race outside, Hugh saw that the Dark Abyss mist inside those metal grooves began to surge and tremble continuously. Then, it began to overflow from the groove space and flow freely on the surface of the metal disc.

A cold and complex message gradually emerged during the process, a feeling that Hugh was very familiar with.

He remembered having a similar feeling when he last fled Seren and was attacked by the Dark Abyss Spawn—it was a manifestation of the Dark Abyss Spawn's attempt to strip him of his will.

He is now completely different from the past, and this level of influence can only accelerate his metal disc further, but it cannot cause any interference or damage to his thoughts and actions.

However, Hugh also knew that this shock was only part of the impact Justine was currently experiencing. Her contact with the Dark Abyss offspring was tantamount to opening up a completely new battlefield.

This will be an invisible war waged on the basis of spirit and will.

Justina proved her words with her actions. Hugh noticed that immediately after she made contact with the Dark Abyss Spawns, "traitors" had already emerged among the individual Spawns surrounding her.

They immediately ceased their original attack and instead pounced on their own kind. After tearing their targets to shreds, they immediately began to absorb the power of their opponents and use it as nourishment for their own "new entities".

During this process, Justina's face and body began to change continuously. As her mind and consciousness collided and impacted each other, she could no longer maintain her human form as before.

Hughes saw her body begin to rapidly transform into a black, gelatinous substance, while the eerie green light and shadow characteristic of the Dark Abyss offspring began to emerge. The clothes that had been covering her body fell off through her fluid form.

Soon, after the initial chaos, the main consciousness of the Dark Abyss Offspring finally realized the problem, so it quickly stabilized its "front" and began a brutal war against Justina.

As the intensity of the struggle increased, Justina even began to lose her human form, but it was at this moment that Hugh began to act.

He naturally couldn't let Justina be devoured by her offspring, so a large number of black tentacles that had mutated into arthropods and blades began to stir along the defensive line, annihilating all the Dark Abyss offspring individuals who tried to expand their gains or exert pressure. The Dark Abyss essence that he extracted was then unhesitatingly "fed" by Hugh to Justina, who had already turned into a blurry shadow.

Thus began a long and brutal tug-of-war.

Hughes discovered that his decisions based on the illusion of fate seemed to be working, and Justina had now dragged those dangerous Dark Abyss offspring into a new and enormous quagmire.

As she said, these magical creations are extremely powerful and dangerous because of the peculiarity of their mental structure. But it is precisely for this reason that once their consciousness is threatened, they must use all available power to eliminate the threat. Otherwise, without waiting for the rise of any black sun, these consciousnesses that are completely contrary to the instincts and goals of the species would be enough to completely annihilate them.

With Justina's power unleashed and the influence of those special consciousnesses, the Dark Abyss's offspring had nowhere left to retreat, because if they hesitated, those forces that they perceived as having been assimilated by human will would immediately surge forward and expand their gains.

Faced with the numerous difficulties their people were in within the city of Seren, their will, nurtured by countless knowledge and wisdom, also made its own decision. They began to consolidate their power and prepared to exert maximum pressure on two "key targets" within the Legal Committee's headquarters. They knew very well that once they seized the opportunity to eliminate these two important and dangerous prey, they would naturally be able to cope with future challenges.

In the midst of the fierce conflict, Justina had completely transformed into a formless black mist, looking no different from the offspring outside, while Hugh's own magic power was being consumed at an increasingly rapid rate.

The "Walking Forest," the heart of his magic, was already operating at its limit. On the huge metal disc, in addition to the overflowing dark abyss mist, dark green magical light and shadow were constantly flowing. The green crystal heart embedded in the center of the disc was flashing at an astonishing frequency, and each flash would complete a cycle of magic for Hugh.

It seems that the struggle between Justina and the Dark Abyss Offspring has entered the "stalemate" phase she has been anticipating. During this process, Justina's influence on that vast race will continue to intensify, while the Dark Abyss Offspring's power will be rapidly depleted. Under these circumstances, their defeat seems to be only a matter of time.

However, Hughes was far from optimistic.

Because he could always hear a dull rumbling sound, which was clearly not the sound that the survivors' crystal cannons and alchemical bombs could produce, he judged that it was most likely a "horrifying bombing" launched using magic airships, which meant that the Emergency Committee was implementing the "Scorched City Strategy".

Moreover, Hugh could also sense the increasingly volatile and unstable magical energy in the environment. A terrifying boundary was steadily approaching Vaan, and judging from its speed, it would likely arrive by dawn.

"Justina, can the speed be increased further?"

Feeling immense pressure, Hugh immediately pressed Justina, who had turned into a cloud of mist, for answers. However, Justina was unable to respond. Hugh could only barely sense Justina's negative response through the magical connection between them.

The struggle between the intangible continues.

The evacuation of survivors continues.

Meanwhile, the bombing by the airships did not stop.

Everyone hopes to complete their tasks before that time arrives.

Each airship executing the "Scorched City Strategy" was equipped with three specially made high-explosive bombs, which, from the perspective of magical alchemy, could be called a "masterpiece" of this era.

According to prior testing, these special bombs, named "Mel's Fire," will be able to create flames powerful enough to overwhelm ordinary lake-level or valley-level magic while triggering an amazing magical explosion.

They are the key components used to manufacture "Jiaocheng".

Now, the three airships have arrived above the headquarters of the Legal Affairs Commission. Through the bright giant crystal lights, the crew can see the strange scene below more clearly—the dark shadows that should have been clustered together are now divided into two very distinct parts.

Using the central area of ​​the Legislative Affairs Commission's headquarters as a dividing line, one part is constantly trying to push inward, while the other part is trying to push outward from the inside.

In addition, the crew members on the airship could see other magical lights and shadows, which seemed to be working together with the "monsters" in the central area to carry out a highly efficient massacre of their own kind.

This discovery shocked the soldiers on the airship, and they immediately reported it to their superiors.

Upon hearing that people were still fiercely fighting against monsters in the very place he considered the Legal Committee's headquarters, which he had already regarded as a "dead zone," the commander of the Second Airship Regiment of the Kingdom of Delan almost thought he had misheard.

He repeatedly checked the responses from the three airships, his expression shifting constantly.

At this time, the third round of bombing by the airship regiment in Seren has officially begun. In order to ensure that the "scorched city strategy" goes smoothly, all airships need to drop bombs over specific locations at specific time periods.

Only when the areas of magical explosion and burning flames merge into one can the monsters in the city be effectively killed; this is the result calculated by mages and scholars.

After a moment, the officer finally made a decision.

"The original central bombing point is hereby cancelled. Each submarine will use the edge of the Legal Affairs Committee's base as a reference point for bombing, and must ensure that the flames after the explosions cover the base..."

This was the maximum concession he could make as a soldier.

He knew nothing about the identity and status of the mysterious rebel inside the Legal Committee's headquarters. Under these circumstances, he was unwilling to directly throw a powerful bomb at the opponent. Rather than let the "brave and powerful mage" die directly in the magical explosion, he would rather give the opponent a one percent chance of survival.

"May the goddess Mel protect you, may the goddess Mel protect you..."

The officer stood by the observation post, silently praying as he looked toward the headquarters of the Legal Committee, where the offspring of the Dark Abyss lived.

About five minutes later, the three magical airships that had reached the bombing point completed their position adjustment. As the soldiers turned the metal handwheels, the dark bomb bays opened one after another. After the crystals were filled in and the preset ritual on the "Mel's Fire" was triggered, these heavy and deadly expensive alchemical bombs left the airships and plummeted straight down.

The moment the bomb was dropped, Hugh, who was in the very center of the Legal Committee’s headquarters, was busy manipulating two magical rituals to help Justina gain a foothold in the encirclement of the Dark Abyss’ offspring. However, before he could finish the ritual, a terrifying shiver ran up from the ground beneath his feet.

The metal disc suddenly accelerated, and the Destiny Roots, active nearby, began to send warnings to Hugh. Faced with this situation, Hugh dared not delay. He immediately stopped his work and withdrew the outward-expanding Kalron's Touch.

He strode to Justina's side, and then, just as he had done in the past when facing explosions and impacts head-on, Hugh began to try his best to contract all his magic power. The Touch of Karron appeared without limit around him, intertwining and overlapping, and under the nourishment of the Dark Abyss magic, it generated layer after layer of hard keratin.

"?"

Justine was rather slow to react. She was puzzled by Hugh's actions and blankly conveyed a signal of confusion to him.

However, Hugh didn't have time to respond to her, because in the next instant, as the terrifying howl subsided, a violent tremor and a wave of scorching magical flames erupted at the edge of the Law Committee's headquarters, with three incredibly vibrant arcs of flame spreading out from the center of the explosion.

Even the blood-red sky paled in comparison to the raging flames.

(End of this chapter)