The black sun hangs high

Chapter 373 Substituting the Beams for the Pillars (1)

Among the fleeing miners, many are still worried about the situation inside the mine. Among those who were not notified or who voluntarily stayed for various reasons, many are their former friends or distant relatives.

The terrifying sounds they had heard earlier instilled a deep sense of panic in them, but their will to survive and their rationality prevented them from turning back. They could only continue walking forward along the narrow passage.

The young man who had shared a room with the veterans earlier was in charge of clearing the way. He carried a crystallizing mine lamp, a common item in the cave, and walked quickly, following the tracks he had left during his last exploration.

A gentle breeze was blowing from ahead.

This suggests that they could find an exit not far ahead, or perhaps a crevice in the rock that they could widen with their tools!

"Uncle Hadera, can you feel it? There's a breeze! We're almost there!"

He turned around and gave a few words of encouragement to Hadra, the mine manager who was following behind him.

Unlike the others, the old supervisor Hadera was indeed the young man's elder. The young man's father was very afraid that his son would be conscripted into the army and sent to the front line, so when the last round of conscription began, he sent him to Hadera, hoping that his brother could take care of him.

Hadera was getting on in years, and he couldn't keep up with the young man in front of him. So he reached out and tugged at the young man's clothes, panting as he said, "Slow down, we can slow down... there are still many people behind us."

"Okay, Uncle."

Hearing this, the young man slowed down. He turned around and saw his uncle nervously clutching a small mining pickaxe. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Uncle, what are you doing holding that? It's quite heavy..."

"What do you know? I need something to protect myself, don't I?"

Seeing his nephew reach out to take the "weapon" from his hand, Hadra pulled his hand away in dissatisfaction. He glared at the other man and said, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be crawling through a mine at a time like this... It's been more than twenty years since I last walked in a place like this. If I had known that this would happen, I should have stayed home and rested!"

"..."

The young miner glanced at his uncle, his lips trembled slightly, but he said nothing.

He knew, of course, that his Uncle Hadra was far from staying at home. His children's extravagance was well-known in Watchtower City, and once Hadra's income stopped, his house would probably be emptied out very quickly.

With no pursuers catching up, the miners gradually slowed their pace and began chatting quietly. Although it seemed they had a chance to escape, they would still face a cruel problem once they returned to the surface.

Where should I go next?

No one knows the answer to this question.

Because the Kingdom of Saint Steel is now completely controlled by the Black Sun Society, their spies are everywhere, and their terrible and vicious Black Sun rituals are everywhere. As ordinary people, the only places left to accommodate them are probably remote villages far from towns and cold, uninhabited forests.

For the local residents who have always valued family and kinship, thinking about such questions is too cruel, because they know very well that with the Black Sun Society's capabilities, it would be too easy for them to track down their families, and now they have absolutely no chance of returning to Watchtower City—it has almost been transformed into a fortress by the Saint Steel royal family's army!

In this oppressive and desperate moment, it was the young miner who led the way at the front who brought a little vitality to the people.

"Cheer up, I see the exit!"

His voice carried back through the tunnel, reviving the spirits of the somewhat dejected miners. Regardless of what happened next, they had to leave now; they didn't want to die of thirst or starvation in this underground world.

The young miner who was leading the way resumed his previous pace, and the old supervisor Hadra, who was following behind, also cheered and quickened his pace. Soon, they saw the faint starlight shining down from above.

The young man looked around and confirmed that what appeared in front of him was a gentle slope made up of countless jagged rocks. So he hung his headlamp on his waist and took the lead in climbing up the rocks.

The slope wasn't very long, so he quickly reached the exit. But just as he was about to push himself up to the ground, an extremely strong hand reached out and grabbed the young miner's wrist tightly.

Things happened so fast that the people in the tunnel didn't even have time to react. They only heard a scream, and then the young miner's figure disappeared into the starlight—someone had dragged him out!

The poor young man had no idea that this would happen. He was completely terrified and struggled violently as soon as he was dragged out of the mine. However, before he could move much, several invisible magical forces as cold as ice and snow pressed down on him, fixing him in place like shackles, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

The crowd in the mine immediately erupted in chaos.

The situation is quite clear: this abandoned mine has already been discovered, and these people have been waiting outside the mine's exit for some time!

Their entire plan, their escape scheme, had long been seen through!

The veteran, who was originally in the middle of the group, finally arrived at the exit. He looked up at the starry sky outside and couldn't help but squeeze the crystal gun in his hand.

Reason and experience told him that all resistance was now pointless. With their limited abilities and the small amount of force they possessed, launching an attack on the people on the ground would be suicidal. If one or two mages were among these defenders, they could even have killed all the miners in the narrow passage.

In this moment of despair, the old manager actually smiled.

"I'll go up and take a look."

He grinned at the other man, then put down his object and began to climb shakily up the loose stones. As if knowing Hadra's climb was difficult, an icy blue mage's hand suddenly appeared in the darkness, gently supporting the old foreman and helping him continue upwards. Just as they were about to reach the exit, two tall figures emerged, shining their lamps into the mine before working together to pull Hadra out.

Hadra, who had returned to the ground, first saw his nephew, who seemed to be terrified and was slumped on the ground. Beside him stood a dozen or so people.

Although Hadera was old, his memory was still quite good. By the light of the lamp beside him, he immediately recognized that the people standing there were the servants who followed Baron Fiorlando, and the one who was manipulating the mage's hand was the plain-looking head maid.

"How is this going?"

For a moment, all sorts of chaotic thoughts mingled in Hadra's shrewd mind. Recalling the strange occurrences in the Rock Lake Mine and the pursuers who inexplicably disappeared into the darkness, Hadra had some vague guesses. However, these guesses were so outlandish and strange that he dared not draw any conclusions.

Under the stunned gazes of Hadra and the young miner, the head maid raised her hand, dispelling the disguise magic on her face and revealing her exquisite face with a strong scholarly air.

Then, she reached into her pocket and took out a pair of glasses, which she slowly put on. She then smiled and said, "Sir, please let everyone in the tunnel out. Do not shoot from inside, and do not use alchemical bombs. This tunnel is not sturdy and could collapse at any time."

"This...you...madam...you?"

Hadra's heart was pounding wildly. He opened his mouth and stammered, changing the way he addressed people several times. It took him several seconds to calm down a little. At the same time, the figures around him, who were also dressed as attendants, removed their disguises, and unfamiliar faces appeared before Hadra.

Hadra, who had spent a long time in the Chamber of Commerce, did not recognize the faces in front of him, but he could recognize the insignia they wore.

He saw the badges symbolizing Stream, Lake, and Valley level mages, the Eye of Mel representing the members of the Magic Council, the exceptionally dazzling special emblem of the Highland Council, and even the Iris pendant representing the Iris Guard of the Kingdom of Delan!
Almost instantly, tears welled up in the old manager's eyes.

Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of excitement, he stood up abruptly, hastily wiped his face with his dirty and dusty sleeve, and walked towards the tunnel entrance without needing any further prompting from Wei Lin.

Looking at the slightly hunched figure, Vera breathed a soft sigh of relief. She turned to a mage beside her and said, "I hope everything goes well at the mine. I don't want to have to fight again when I get back with the miners..."

"I think it's unnecessary, after all, Mr. Ernst himself is in the mine."

The mage shrugged: "To be able to formulate such a plan and fully implement it in half a day... Ha, perhaps my vision is too narrow, but I have never seen such a person before. Perhaps this is why Mr. Ernst has become a 'living legend of Seren'?"

"A living legend of Serenity?"

This somewhat exaggerated title made Weilin frown: "You should just praise him to his face with this strange title. It sounds really... odd to me."

The mage shrugged: "Really? I thought you'd be happy to hear that, Miss Vera."

Hearing this, Weilin couldn't help but glare at him: "Why would I be happy?"

"Uh……"

The monk chuckled awkwardly, then explained, "That's what everyone says, isn't it? The best way to praise a teacher is to praise his students, right?"

……

Late at night.

Three enormous Azhar birds flew across the night sky, each carrying a Black Sun Society spellcaster on its back. Unlike the Society mage who had previously been in charge of the Rock Lake Mine, these three were core members of the Black Sun Society. They all came from the Dark Abyss Historians Society and were mainly responsible for inspecting outposts in the area surrounding Watchtower City.

Half an hour ago, an alarm was triggered by the branch crypt that coordinates the rituals around Watchtower. The alarm indicated that a crypt located inside a large mine near Watchtower had malfunctioned and had completely lost contact. This meant that it had either been isolated by another powerful magical ritual or had been destroyed by brute force.

Regardless of the truth, the Black Sun Society cannot tolerate such a thing happening.

After the grand ceremony witnessed by the black sun ended, the original rituals were given new meaning. They were no longer the symbols used to connect and gather members of the society, but were true "gifts" from the lost era and the real gods.

Any malicious act against this sacred thing is a desecration of the "legitimacy" of the Black Sun.

The members of the Dark Abyss History Society, who hold the strongest feelings for the Black Sun, find this situation even more intolerable.

Therefore, within minutes of receiving the warning, the three fully armed members of the society immediately set off. At the same time, they also issued a notice to all the strongholds, large and small, around the Rock Lake Mine—to immediately gather in the direction of the mine and form an encirclement, obey the command of the society members, and prepare to ruthlessly annihilate any potential enemies.

A female member of the society, riding a giant bird named Yasaru, said loudly to her companions, "I checked before we set off. The one who took over the Rock Lake Mine is Fiorlando of the Saint Steel Royal Family. I know this guy. He has some minor flaws, but he is absolutely loyal to us and his abilities are not a big problem... The archer battalion that followed him is currently resting and resupplying in Watchtower City. They have been brought under control."

"So you believe that this Fiorlando did not betray us?"

"I'm more inclined to believe that something went wrong at the mine. In any case, let me go and check the situation first. If anything changes or there's no signal, then you can launch an attack on the mine!"

The other two agreed with this suggestion: "Okay, if you don't send a signal within half an hour, then we will attack directly."

After the three exchanged their opinions, the giant birds of Yasha immediately dispersed. Two swooped down toward the designated assembly point for the army, while the other headed alone toward the Rock Lake Mine. This member of the society was ready to see what kind of commotion such an ordinary mine could cause.

(End of this chapter)