The black sun hangs high

Chapter 294 May the flames burn fiercely...

After Hugh and his companion successfully returned to the Scions' headquarters, they immediately informed the important members of the Scions about the strange events that had occurred in the town and the unusual behavior of the fish in the near sea.

Almost everyone showed a high level of interest in this matter.

The ever-expanding black shadow in the sky suggests that the rise of the so-called "black sun" was not instantaneous, and its influence on Vaan was likely gradual and subtle.

Based on this understanding, the changes taking place in Vain have attracted more attention.

"Deformed fish... a destroyed crab trap..."

After hearing about these events, Mayer immediately contacted some fishermen with whom he had already established relationships. After a thorough inquiry, he realized the seriousness of the situation.

"We need to increase the protection of the entire port area. Apart from the crew of the Aurora and a few other warships, the maintenance and guard personnel on the other ships need to be strictly controlled. If possible, they should avoid staying on the ships for too long."

“We need to hire a few fishing boats, have our people protect them as they go out to sea, and conduct trial fishing at the locations where anomalies have occurred... to see if we can obtain live samples.”

"Organize some mages who can summon magical creatures that move in the ocean to scout the waters near the port and see if there is anything else besides those strange fish."

"Increase the frequency of maintenance and inspection of ships of all sizes, deploy more soldiers in shipyards and other locations, and set up additional magical rituals."

"Dawn Society has been trying to avoid local seafood in its recent food procurement. When using fish, it is trying to choose dried fish or processed fish meat that has been inspected and processed."

As for the events that occurred in the town and the task of tracking down the members of the Black Sun Society, the responsibility was entirely entrusted to Hugh, the "expert." Of course, Darth Vader also entrusted Hugh with the Scions and soldiers of the Dawn Society deployed in the port and town.

Now, whenever he needs to, he can contact these soldiers at any time through the cryptism erected on the Goddess of Dawn and issue direct orders to them.

However, it is clearly not the right time to invoke this power yet.

With General Bernhardt remaining at Old Glenn's house, Hugh is now fully capable of tracking and observing the old fisherman in the most detailed way. Even if he is asleep, General Bernhardt can quickly wake Hugh through the magical connection between them.

After arranging a series of matters, Hugh returned to his cabin on the Aurora.

In the half-day I was away, there were more things on the table again.

Perhaps because Darth Vader had accepted Hugh's decision to make him a core member of the Hourglass, a large number of documents related to the Hourglass were sent over, and these paper documents of all sizes were piled up into a small mountain on his desk.

Beside this small hill, there were other things piled up.

First, there were some magical experiment records that Verine had personally compiled, as well as the magical books that Lake-level and Valley-level mages needed to read and use—it seemed that even though Hugh now actually possessed strength far exceeding that of a Stream-level mage, Verine still regarded him as her student.

Of course, Hugh had no objection to this; in terms of orthodox magic, he was indeed just a growing apprentice.

Next to this pile of magical materials was a cloth bag.

Hugh opened the cloth bag, and then, somewhat surprised, pulled out a stack of letters.

The vast majority of them did not have envelopes; they were simply written on and folded on letter paper. This means that these letters were not delivered through magical rites or the post office, but were delivered here directly by the Dawn Society.

Filled with curiosity, Hugh sat down in the chair, picked up a letter at random, and slowly began to read it.

The first letter was written by an ordinary miner. It contained many typos and grammatical errors, but the content was very clear. The miner repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Hugh and prayed to the gods he believed in to protect Hugh and keep him healthy and strong forever.

The second letter came from an ordinary boy.

The letter was written by the boy's mother. In it, the boy expressed his boundless admiration and respect for the mysterious "Shug Ernst," thanking the powerful mage hero for saving him and his mother from the hellish city.

He longed to one day become like "Mr. Ernst." Moreover, the boy earnestly asked in his letter what he should do to achieve this goal and eagerly awaited a reply from Hughes.

Hughes read quietly, letter after letter.

During this time, Meyer and Sally came by once. After finding Hugh busy reading letters, the understanding professor quietly slipped out, while Sally quietly made Hugh a refreshing drink before leaving with her teacher.

These words, written by people from different backgrounds on various simple wrapping papers or newspapers, seemed to possess a special charm that made Hughes unable to resist becoming engrossed in them.

From a literary and artistic perspective, these writings can be described as extremely crude. They lack ornate language and outstanding rhetoric. What one can see in them are only the simple and repetitive expressions of gratitude from the letter writers, as well as their brief descriptions of their current lives.

From these letters, Hughes learned that many residents who had fled the city of Seren chose to resettle near the Duchy of Burt. Among them were many survivors who had lost loved ones and partners in the disaster and chose to form new families with those who had shared life and death with them.

Hughes also saw a letter that was somewhat different; it was written on clean stationery, with a little perfume sprayed on it, and the handwriting was very neat.

This letter came from the girls who had narrowly escaped death.

They earnestly told Hugh that with the help of the Dawn Society, they had opened a small shop in a town near the port, specializing in simple drinks and alcohol. In addition, they planned to help some orphans who had also escaped from Seren but were living in dire straits.

"Everything is getting better, isn't it?"

Hughes smiled happily as he folded the letters, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and joy.

Just as he was about to put these precious letters back into the cloth bag, he discovered that at the very bottom of the bag, there were two pieces of paper that he had accidentally overlooked. When he took them out, he was surprised to find that they were two Dragon Tooth Tokens.

Or, one could say, these are the initial drafts of two Dragon Tooth cards that will soon be officially released.

Above the two dragon tooth cards, there was a small note with a message: "Sorry we couldn't help you, brother, but we think you are definitely true heroes."

"We would like you to name these two cards, and if possible, you can also leave a message for them."

Below are two more signatures with similar handwriting: "Niels Ernst" and "Dietrich Ernst".

Hugh remembered the two guys. He never expected that these two brothers, whom he had only met once and who were obsessed with the Dragon Tooth brand, would express their feelings in this way.

Although it was only a first draft, the images on the two Dragon Tooth cards were created using the highest level of magical craftsmanship. The style was that of Saint Steele and Merlinle and the common Northern oil paints. This style of painting is known for its stunning visual tension, and with the magical craftsmanship that spared no expense, the images on the small playing cards became even more breathtaking.

In the video, Hughes saw two Dharma Committee monks.

They stood back to back, one holding a magic book aloft, blazing magical lines flowing from the pages and penetrating into the ground, while the other knelt on one knee, half of his body engulfed in flames, yet his posture remained unchanged.

Although their faces were blurred by the intense firelight in the magical painting, Hugh immediately recognized the dragon tooth tokens hanging from their waists and the black shadows that were constantly writhing in the background of the painting.

"It's you guys..."

He murmured a sigh.

In fact, he was not familiar with these two mages who liked to play cards in silence; he didn't even know their names...

Like the brave souls who faced death on the last night in Seren, they vanished completely into the raging inferno.

Hugh picked up his cup and slowly took a sip of the now-cold energizer. He examined the two cards in his palm for a moment, then pulled out a blank sheet of paper and picked up a pen.

"Dear Niels and Dietrich, I am delighted to receive these two Dragon Tooth cards and your message. Wishing you both all the best..."

"Unfortunately, although I had spoken with these two monks, I was not actually familiar with them. I didn't even know their names, nor did I know that they ultimately made this choice..."

"I'm sorry, but from my personal perspective, I don't think I'm qualified to name these two Dragon Tooth cards that are meant to commemorate them. Or perhaps, these two cards should have been named after them."

"If you insist on asking me what my opinion is on this matter, then I'm afraid I only have one sentence left."

May their hearts burn as hot as the raging fire.

……

When Hughes is in a state of deep concentration, he is almost unable to perceive the passage of time.

When he looked up from his desk, the sky had completely darkened, and the crystal lamps in the harbor were lit up one after another. Standing in the cabin, Hugh could see bright lights coming from several buildings in the distance. Clearly, the members of the Dawn Society were not resting; they were still dealing with something or holding some important meetings.

“Snap, snap!”

A slight sound came from under the bed, and Hugh's mage hand immediately appeared. After locking the hatch, Hugh bent down beside the bed, pulled out a small wooden box from underneath, removed the magic sealing it, and took out a well-worn kettle from inside the box.

The kettle was trembling slightly, and when Hugh opened it, a small, dark shadow crawled out from the open spout.

This soft, pitch-black tiny entity is completely different from the Dark Abyss offspring that perished within the city of Seren.

Its surface was shrouded in a faint, dark mist, while its body was crystal clear, like some kind of expensive black gemstone. Hugh could even see behind it through its body and was certain that there were no impurities or messy organs inside.

Hughes reached out, wanting the shadow to crawl onto his palm. However, like a young animal that had been abandoned and was finally back with its elders, the small black shadow trembled violently twice the moment Hughes made the move, and then let out a sharp, thin screech.

It sounds somewhat similar to the sobbing of a toddler.

When Hugh touched it, it twisted its body twice as if throwing a tantrum, choosing to avoid Hugh.

"Tsk..."

Hughes couldn't help but raise his eyebrows twice.

He really didn't know how to deal with this special case that he had brought out of the inferno.

All indications suggest that this individual, which combines the will of Justina, possesses a portion of artificial human consciousness, and has the immense power of the Dark Abyss offspring, is very likely to have become a unique existence within Vaan.

What's even more subtle is that Hughes discovers that it seems to have some special feelings for itself, and these feelings become extremely intense because of its own frail state.

It even felt a bit awkward.

"Alright, stop yelling... If we attract Miss Weilin here, she'll definitely take you to do experiments. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Hughes reached out and gently pinched the tiny offspring's body, lifting it onto his desk as if it were a small animal.

Faced with Hugh's "extremely disrespectful" treatment, a chaotic and complex emotion immediately poured into Hugh through the magical connection between them. However, after venting, it obediently leaned against Hugh's palm and even rubbed against his fingers a couple of times.

It had a slightly ingratiating tone.

Hugh smiled, then took out two magic crystals from his pocket and placed them directly in front of Justine.

Two black tentacles immediately emerged, gently gathering the two crystals and pulling them to its front. Then, it slowly climbed up and enveloped them completely.

Hugh could even see through its translucent body that the two crystals were being absorbed into its body and gradually "grinded" and "digested".

As the process progressed, the frail black shadow seemed to grow slightly larger.

It's unclear how long it will take for Justine to return to her former state...

(End of this chapter)