The black sun hangs high

Chapter 367 Taking Advantage
Hugh has always been extremely cautious about the ancient powers that the Black Sun Society has acquired through various means at the high school.

Although, fundamentally, the power he wielded could absolutely crush most of the Black Sun Society in terms of "purity," after several previous encounters, Hugh was basically able to confirm that the Black Sun Society had indeed acquired a large amount of strange power originating from ancient times and directly related to those ancient deities through various methods.

Since entering the territory of Saint Steel, Hugh had seen those dangerous signs more than once.

The 'Dark Dogs' are numerous, directly commanded by members of the Black Sun Society, and possess characteristics of various ancient creations.

Soaring through the sky, the bizarre giant bird "Asaru" is enormous and its body is clearly shrouded in the aura of the dark abyss.

In addition, there are the dark domes that still hang over the important towns of Saint Steel and these clearly altered Black Sun Ritual sculptures...

Such signs indicate that with the rise of the black sun, the followers of these ancient gods have also ushered in a new opportunity for development. The distance between them and the object of their faith has been significantly shortened, and these strange changes in Saint Steel are the most convincing proof of this!

Now, as Hugh actively touches the Black Sun Ritual before him, the magic power accumulated within his body is rapidly awakened. At the same time, a chilling feeling that Hugh is extremely familiar with yet utterly loathed gradually creeps into his mental world.

That is a wanton exploration of the mind and thoughts, a kind of interference with and infringement upon consciousness.

Compared to the mind-detecting methods used by powerful spellcasters like Edmund, the interference caused by the Black Sun Ritual in the mental realm is obviously more ruthless and domineering. The tentacles twisted from cold magic reminded Hugh of his painful experience of almost being possessed by the offspring of the Dark Abyss.

However, he is now completely different from he was then, and the power he faces now is much stronger and more dangerous.

The metal disc that served as a mental barrier for Shug began to rotate once again, but unlike before, its operation was now extremely secretive—under the shroud of Shug's mental ocean, the entire metal disc was hidden, its rotation was silent, and the gentle yet resilient barrier was perfectly integrated with the surging mental ocean.

Under Hugh's deliberate guidance, all of Baron Fiorland's memories were roughly piled up in the places that were easiest to search and touch, and these places naturally became the first targets of those cold tentacles.

As for the deeper, more important secrets belonging to Hugh himself, they were completely protected.

In this process, even though that force desperately wanted to conduct a more detailed examination of the "faithful believers" before it, whenever those tentacles with malicious intentions approached the surging spiritual ocean, they were immediately met with "gentle" and "moderate" interference.

The magic that was almost entirely of the same origin left them somewhat bewildered.

Hughes, of course, wouldn't give them the time or opportunity to figure out the situation.

Once he has completed the "necessary" disguise, he will, like all members of the Black Sun Society, proactively end his contact with the Black Sun Ritual according to the established procedure. Those remaining forces that attempt to linger in his mental world in search of secrets will be instantly overwhelmed by a sudden surge of mental energy, and what awaits them next is the merciless crushing of the metal disc.

Thanks to the Black Sun Society's special modifications to the ritual, the guests inside the disc have been "eating" very well lately.

Among them, predators with particularly large appetites, such as the Palace Hounds, have set their sights on the Dark Hounds and the Yasaru Giant Birds that seem to have some connection with them.

Hugh could even sense its hunger and its desire to pursue new prey.

Even the Black Sun Ritual sculpture in front of it seemed to want to open its mouth and take a bite.

Hugh quickly calmed the guests inside the disc, then casually tossed out the mystical power that had been crushed into a paste. He then removed his hands from the mystical sculpture and began a chant based on Baron Fiorlando's memories.

Unlike the miners who had just witnessed the “miracle” and were preparing to begin worshipping the ancient gods, Hugh’s chants were clearly mixed with real power.

The overseers and soldiers who had also joined the Black Sun Society saw that as the baron continued his prayers, the dark light surrounding his body became increasingly pure, eventually transforming into a long black cloak.

The black cloak stretched from the Baron's back all the way down to the ground, yet it remained unstained by the sand and grime of the ground and road. Amidst the Baron's incredibly devout chanting, the cloak seemed to become the purest and most transparent black gem in all of Vaan.

Those who did not possess magic watched all this in astonishment, including some of the workers responsible for transporting crystal ores out of the mine.

They didn't understand what Baron Feorlando was doing, but they knew it was yet another "amazing miracle" the society had described.

In just a few minutes, the black cloak had completely covered the entire open space behind him. At the same time, a faint, incense-like mist spread from the clear darkness, gradually filling the surrounding space and giving the originally dusty Rock Lake Mine a rare sense of holiness.

However, as the process progressed, the Baron himself seemed to become increasingly distressed.

His face turned pale, his facial muscles began to contort, his brows furrowed, and his body began to tremble violently. He looked as if he might faint from exhaustion at any moment.

Hughes's "performance" was incredibly realistic.

Because in fact, he is now personally experiencing the pain of a failed ritual—which is of course intentional. In order to make his performance as realistic as possible, Hugh deliberately chose a ritual from Baron Fiorento's memories that he himself could not possibly accomplish with his current abilities.

That was a special blessing bestowed by the god "The Mighty Hill," whom Baron Fiorlando followed and worshipped.

What surprised Hugh was that this so-called blessing ceremony had many similarities to the enormous occult ritual that had once been set up beneath the Ernst family manor. Or rather, it could be said that the power of this deity known as "Giant Hill" seemed to have intricate connections with the Earth Mother.

It was for this reason that Hugh boldly "modified" the content of the ritual. He used the basic procedures of the ritual, but altered its final outcome. Under this alteration, Hugh took the principle of "keeping the benefits within the family" to the extreme. All the magic flowing into the ritual would ultimately return to the true kin of the Earth Mother Goddess, namely the Running Rats.

As Hugh had previously demonstrated, although the Black Sun Ritual was far more complex than other magical rituals in Vaan, the dark abyssal magic flowing within it could not make a magical sculpture a truly living thing; it remained mechanical, only able to operate according to the pre-set procedures.

This process naturally includes "support" for those devout believers.

The so-called support refers to the fact that when members of the Black Sun Society communicate with the Ritualists and perform certain rituals within the range of their power, the Ritualists can promptly transfer magical energy to these members and help them achieve their goals.

This is the fundamental reason why Hugh deliberately put himself in a difficult situation.

It was only after entering the territory of Saint Steel that he realized that his courage was indeed growing. From using every means to avoid the Black Sun Society at the beginning, he now took the initiative to contact the Society's secret rituals and use the loopholes to seize power and achieve his true goals.

This behavior is, of course, very dangerous.

Hugh must ensure that he can perfectly evade the detection of the Black Sun Ritual and complete a full set of ritual procedures for believers of ancient deities under its surveillance in order to gain its power and support.

Once successful, the magic within the Black Sun Ritual will be immediately drawn to Hugh's "empty" body and begin supplying it with the ritual Hugh is performing, thus minimizing its ability to block and monitor the surrounding area.

This is the crucial window of opportunity for spies and secret agents to begin transmitting magical messages to the outside world.

Like dancing on a sharp tightrope, Hugh constantly manipulated the surrounding magic. At this moment, he had completely removed all conventional magical protection from his body and placed himself entirely within the power of the Black Sun Ritual.

To ensure his "performance" was at its best, Hugh not only achieved the most perfect simulation on a magical level, but also recited all the ancient incantations that Baron Fiorland had never completed before, elevating the sense of ritual to its extreme.

However, the strange tones emanating from his mouth now have no effect whatsoever. All the magic transmitted by the Black Sun Ritual, seemingly poured into this "ritual," actually flows into the mouth of the running rat.

Of course, Hugh wouldn't let the help provided by the Black Sun Rift go to waste. Under his meticulous manipulation, the black "cloak" that had almost collapsed was restored to its original state, and more magical mist spread out. In the jewel-like darkness, many tiny shadows emerged.

"squeak!"

The scurrying rat let out a joyful squeak; it was almost "full" and it was time to get to work.

As a creature that has received the blessings of the Earth Mother Goddess, it has no knowledge of the so-called "huge hill," but it can easily mobilize the flowing magic power.

The next instant, the ordinary people surrounding them all heard a soft buzzing sound. Then, the black "cloak" covering the ground began to tremble, and the black shadows that had been moving through it began to crawl around as if they had been given life.

As Baron Fiorlando chanted in front of them, they heard many fragmented words related to "huge hills," "messengers," and "boundless swarms of rats." In the increasingly solemn atmosphere, those who had only recently joined the Black Sun Society almost lost their self-control. They knelt down at the edge of the "black cloak" and quietly awaited the next development.

Under the spotlight, the miracle finally began to appear.

Inside a house in the distance, Violet, disguised as the head maid, silently observed the outside world through the gap in the curtains. At that moment, she saw that the huge "black cloak" behind Hugh had begun to split, and the shadows were becoming more concrete and gradually taking on the appearance of rodents.

This scene should have been extremely eerie, but those who were completely immersed in the ritual atmosphere had no idea what fear was. As they watched the black shadows, like rats, crawling around them, their expressions became increasingly serious and solemn.

Veraine wasn't particularly familiar with Hugh's plan, but as someone who knew about the Ernst family rats, she immediately recognized the true nature of this so-called ritual.

In her view, this was simply taking advantage of the Black Sun Society.

"Tsk...that's quite a commotion."

Violet chuckled softly, glancing towards the Black Sun Ritual sculpture. After confirming that the magical light and shadow on the sculpture's surface had completely disappeared, she immediately turned and gestured to the spies waiting behind her: "He succeeded! Quick, hurry up!"

As soon as the order was given, everyone in the room immediately began a new round of busy work. Several Stream-level mage spies disguised as servants quickly began to cooperate, and under the cover of Vilin's protective magic, they carried out a thorough renovation of several rooms in a grand manner.

The magic that was previously used specifically to build trenches and fortifications on the battlefield found its use at this time. As the fine threads of magic were continuously woven, solid earthen walls quickly rose and solidified inside the room.

At the same time, several mage hands floated up, wielding expensive alchemical carving knives, and quickly began to draw on the newly formed earthen walls. Within just a few minutes, extremely sturdy and permanent magic circuits were successfully imprinted into these walls.

With meticulous calculations, the basement, mezzanine, and special storage room were quickly created. Immediately afterwards, the communications team moved in with the assembled communication device. Soon after, the mages inside all sensed a very slight fluctuation, indicating that the magical message had been successfully sent.

Everyone stopped what they were doing at this moment. The spellcasters who were working together to build the stronghold just a second ago started doing simple cleaning work. As magic swept through the room, the dust and dirt caused by the building renovation were swept away, and the piles of soil that could not be moved for the time being were perfectly covered by magic in inconspicuous corners.

Next, this place will become their base camp.

(End of this chapter)