The black sun hangs high

Chapter 366 Big Plan

In the eyes of the Black Sun Society members and the soldiers, this young baron, who still carried some of the aura of the Saint Steel royal family, perfectly did a series of things befitting his status.

This includes, but is not limited to, showing contempt for the lowly miners, speaking ill of everyone around him, and trying to use one of his followers as a target. Of course, it also includes showing off his amazing "miracles" in public.

After perfectly demonstrating all the Black Sun Society members' stereotypes about Baron Fiorento through his words and actions, the slight doubts that had arisen because he hadn't accompanied the troops were completely erased.

Throughout this process, the Black Sun Ritual within the Rock Lake Mine maintained normal operation. When Baron Fiorlando displayed his power near the ritual, a faint black glow would even appear on the ritual sculpture, signifying that the Black Sun Ritual was completely accepting of the Baron.

There's even less to say about that.

Since the person in charge of the mine was indeed without any problems, everything here should proceed as planned. In the afternoon, the Black Sun Society mage who had brought great pressure to the workers of the Rock Lake Mine left with his subordinates.

The miners in the mine were quite uneasy about this change.

As people of St. Steel, they could certainly recognize royal features in Baron Fiorlando, but nowadays, the St. Steel royal family had lost its unique sacredness among the people of the North, especially for those who remained loyal to the Fire of Life and the Goddess of Magic in their hearts. For them, the so-called royal bloodline was nothing more than a symbol of traitorous identity.

Moreover, the baron's behavior after arriving at the mine was simply unbelievable. His tyrannical and capricious nature made the miners extremely uneasy. They saw that the poor head maid had done nothing but pass by and was berated by the baron, and almost whipped...

If he is so harsh on his servants, how will he treat these miners who have no connection to him?

Perhaps he would also choose to secretly kill a few people in the middle of the night to establish his authority?
The miners dared not think too much. Soon, the menacing overseers reappeared before them. Faced with the sticks in the overseers' hands and the crystal guns tucked into their waistbands, the workers ultimately chose to silently return to their work tunnels.

Several quick-thinking workers deliberately lagged behind, and when no one was looking, they cautiously glanced in the direction of the newly arrived baron. They then discovered that Baron Fiorlando was gazing towards Watchtower City, seemingly staring at the dark clouds that loomed over the city.

This situation made the workers even more anxious.

According to their understanding, members of the Black Sun Society and followers of those ancient beliefs seemed to regard the dark cloud above Watchtower as a sign of shame, and the baron's attention to this phenomenon probably indicated his loyalty to the Black Sun Society.

Baron Fiorentino appeared so gloomy at this moment that, apart from the foreman who mustered up the courage to bring him the mine's management records and list, no one else dared to approach and disturb him.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the baron walked heavily into the house that had been assigned to him, which made everyone present, whether workers, soldiers or overseers, breathe a sigh of relief.

The Yanhu Mine has returned to its former state. The heavy machinery has started operating, and small mine carts are driving into the mine along the tracks. They then slowly drive out from the other end of the mine carrying ore. The crystalline ore, which shimmers with a strange light, is screened and sorted and sent to different warehouses, where it is packaged by specialists.

After the black sun rose, these crystal ores became increasingly unstable. It is no exaggeration to say that the warehouses used to store ores, especially large quantities of high-quality crystal ores, were no different from dangerous alchemical bomb warehouses. Even with the protection of multiple magical rituals, accidents still occurred from time to time.

This situation is not unique to the Kingdom of Saint Steel; it is quite common throughout Vaan. However, under the cruel oppression imposed by the Black Sun Society, the miners in the North appear to suffer even more and feel even more humiliated.

Hugh had seen similar scenes many times along the way.

The situation in Saint Steel was not optimistic, a fact that Hugh had known for some time.

Severe wars, regime changes, the collapse of faith... Faced with the Black Sun Society's persistent methods of rule and the long-term effects of the rising black sun, even the most solidly built nation cannot escape its doom.

During Hugh's attempt to enter the Kingdom of Saint Steel, he had seen countless Northern residents trying to escape. However, they had now missed the best time to flee. As the Black Sun Society continued to strengthen its control over the border, the vast majority of these refugees would be captured and controlled when trying to cross the dangerous area. Some would even be shot dead on the spot by the Society's guards patrolling the border, or suffer the merciless slaughter by those strange monsters.

The Black Sun Society was well aware of the methods they were using; in Hugh's view, their thinking was actually very clear.

Since normal methods of governance and management are difficult to implement under the current circumstances, the most extreme and thorough method will be used: magical rituals will be used to forcibly change the thinking of ordinary people and directly implant those ancient beliefs that are difficult to understand into their spiritual world.

Eliminate as many opponents as possible, either assimilating them or eliminating them completely.

Their idea was to use the most direct means to transform the entire Saint Steel into territory that could support the activities of the Black Sun Society in the shortest possible time, which is why they held such a special ceremony.

As one of the first people to infiltrate Saint-St., he changed his identity several times along the way, sometimes as an ordinary member of the Black Sun Society, and sometimes as a local hunter or farmer.

In Vaan, Shug is one of the very few who does not serve the Black Sun Society, yet can mobilize the Dark Abyss magic to the greatest extent. Therefore, he has to take on the important responsibility of leading the team.

While making decisions based on the current situation, he used his abilities to lead this team, composed of multiple forces, around the Black Sun Rift's detection and those troublesome strongholds and outposts.

Their task is very important.

Before the war breaks out again, they need to find a way to rebuild a complete intelligence network in Saint Steel and search for as many spies and agents as possible who were previously scattered in the North.

People still know far too little about the Black Sun Society and the strange magic they use. They are eager to find out everything that happened in Saint Steel, including the dark dome that covered many important towns, and of course, the black arc of light that appeared for no apparent reason and directly destroyed the dome of Watchtower City.

Before setting off, Hugh had been repeatedly tested by those deep-sea level mages. They always felt that since Hugh could control these ancient lost magics to a certain extent, he should naturally know more secrets about them. However, there was no way Hugh could reveal the existence of Theseus to the outside world. Moreover, he had not been able to see this guy again until now. Since that black arc of light destroyed the dome of Watchtower City, Theseus had disappeared. Hugh could not find any messages or information of any kind in the Dream Sanctuary, let alone ask this guy about anything.

Upon setting foot on Saint Steel's soil, Hugh even had a terrible premonition.

He felt that something had happened to Theseus, or that he had encountered some kind of trouble. Otherwise, given the clear attitude he had shown before, he would never have disappeared in the current situation.

"Could it be that this guy is being hunted down by the entire Dark Abyss Palace?"

Hugh looked at the face that belonged to Baron Fiorento in the mirror and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

After a moment, he looked away and coughed lightly twice.

Everyone in the room, from maids and servants to armed guards, immediately looked in Hugh's direction. The head maid, who had been mercilessly "scolded" by Hugh earlier, quickly raised her hand, and in the next instant, intricate magical lines sealed off the entire room, preventing any conversation from leaking out.

After confirming that nothing had been missed, the "unattractive" and taciturn head maid turned around and nodded to Hugh.

Hugh nodded and said to everyone present, "Thank you for your hard work. We still need to proceed according to the plan... We cannot dismantle the Black Sun Society's secret ritual for the time being, and I must ensure its continued proper functioning. Therefore, please be careful when moving around the area."

"Sir, of course I understand everything you're saying."

A spy from the Kingdom of Delan, dressed as a servant, said with a smile, "I just want to ask, now that the people from the Black Sun Society have left, and the remaining soldiers and overseers don't recognize us, can we consider removing these disguises?"

He touched his face somewhat awkwardly and added, "It feels absolutely awful. I feel like my face is covered in a lump of sticky mud, and I can barely breathe!"

"Bear with it for two days, then bear with it for two more days."

Hughes said with a smile, "I certainly won't let you all sleep with the disguise magic on. I can guarantee that you will be able to return to your original appearance before that battalion of soldiers arrives here."

"Are you sure?"

The head maid spoke, and it was Virin's voice that came from her mouth: "I remember we confirmed once before that the so-called 'Sharp-beaked Owl' archer battalion is actually a private army recruited by Fiorlando himself. These people are very familiar with Fiorlando's followers. Once we make contact with them, even with disguise magic as cover, it will be very easy to be exposed."

"Yes, so I suggest you just drop the disguise and contact them with a new identity. As for the specific words and strategies, I will help you prepare them."

At this point, Hugh clapped his hands lightly: "As for the next two days, I'll need you all to continue to serve as my 'villain's' followers. How things are today is how things will be from now on."

"Including the 'head maid' who whips you?"

A spies disguised as an armed guard, Walter, joked, "I'm really worried that the whip will suddenly burst into flames... It would be easy to do that, Miss Veraine, wouldn't it?"

"Ah."

Wearing the appearance of a head maid, Violet gave a cold laugh and did not continue the conversation.

Everything was back on track. The people present, regardless of gender or nationality, were all elites from different fields. They all understood the importance of the current operation—once the plan was successfully implemented, they would not only be able to establish a new intelligence outpost near Watchtower, but also have the opportunity to infiltrate the Black Sun Society, understand their behavior and habits, and even uncover their important secrets.

The simple joke was just a way to lighten the mood and create a pleasant atmosphere. After the joke, everyone went back to their roles. No one wanted to make a mistake at such a crucial moment, since they were currently within the Black Sun Society's sphere of influence, and any oversight could lead to endless pursuit.

"The temporary communication device is ready and can be used at any time."

"The isolation ritual site is ready... but the operation time must not exceed half an hour at a time, otherwise there will be a risk of exposure."

Upon hearing the report, Hugh nodded. He turned around and instructed, "The scheduled communication time is approaching. Prepare to send the coded message... We need to at least let the rear know that everything is going smoothly. I will handle the Black Sun Ritual, but only for half an hour."

So, Hugh adjusted his demeanor, put on that cold expression that suggested the entire Vanne family owed him money, and pushed open the door to leave.

The overseers in the mine looked curiously in the direction of the baron, and then they saw Baron Fiorlando, who had only recently arrived at the mine, walk step by step toward the Black Sun Ritual. During this process, his expression gradually changed from cold and mean to calm and devout. When he arrived in front of the huge and strange ritual sculpture, he disregarded the dust and dirt on the ground and knelt down directly.

He put down his black wooden cane and pressed his hands firmly against the bottom of the Black Sun Ritual. At the same time, a gloomy black light flickered around his body.

Baron Fiorlando now appears to have become a messenger or saint listening to the voice of his own god.

(End of this chapter)