The black sun hangs high

Chapter 377 Of course
Hughes quickly washed up and then, as a baron, threw himself back into his work at the Rock Lake Mine. He acted extremely naturally, seemingly not at all nervous about the "confrontation" that could come at any moment.

Of course, he couldn't possibly feel nervous.

In fact, when Tatiana landed in the mine, the Black Sun Society mage who had been in charge of the Rock Lake Mine was already dead.

Not only him, but also his deputy and all the guards and soldiers who accompanied him have been completely wiped out. The person in charge of this matter is none other than Hugh's "number one henchman," the palace hound.

Ever since it was severely reprimanded and warned by Theseus, its enthusiasm has been increasing at a visible rate. Now, it is not only willing to deal with dangerous creations that share a common origin with Hugh, but it is also very happy to include some tedious and weak targets in its hunting range.

Unfortunately, the court hound had already added the arrogant Black Sun Society mage to its kill list upon seeing him. Therefore, when Hugh gave the order to hunt him down, the hound did not hesitate at all and immediately began its operation.

The hunt was brief and successful.

In just five minutes, the team that was stationed at a stronghold outside Watch City was completely slaughtered. Along with them, the Black Sun Society members who were also at the stronghold were also wiped out. As for the Black Sun Secret Instrument erected in the center of the stronghold to monitor the surrounding area, it was also mercilessly devoured by the court hounds.

The hound's own strength was not enough to completely destroy the cryptic ritual, but through its unusual method of attack, it successfully caused great damage to the cryptic sculpture, which stopped it from operating and attracted the attention of the nearby Black Sun Society members.

More than an hour after leaving the Rock Lake Mine, Tatiana and two other high-ranking members of the Society, who were responsible for monitoring the surrounding area, rushed to the scene of the killing. The sight before them fell into silence.

As members of the society, they had long been accustomed to all sorts of strange and bizarre ways of dying, but this time, their eyes were opened wide.

None of the bodies were intact—the dead had been ruthlessly dismembered, most of them missing parts of their bodies. Some had lost their left or right sides, some had lost their heads, and others had been split in two at the waist or chest.

At first glance, the dead seemed to have been attacked by some wild beasts, because only wild beasts would take a part of the dead's body. However, when Tatiana and the others examined them carefully, they found that the broken ends of these mutilated corpses were extremely flat and smooth. They could not even find any claw marks or tooth marks left by animals on them, let alone any other bite marks.

At the scene, they didn't even find any extra footprints. Apart from a few traces of magic in some rooms, they couldn't find any signs of battle. Everything in the stronghold seemed to be in good order. Two officers who had joined the society were even busy playing Dragon Tooth cards before they died. Even as death came, they maintained the posture of playing cards.

After counting all the bodies, Tatiana and the others discovered that the only missing members of the dead were the previous manager of the Rock Lake Mine and his two deputies. All their luggage and personal belongings had also disappeared.

At the Black Sun Ritual in the center of the stronghold, they discovered several extremely fatal gaps. These strange and smooth wounds damaged the magical circuits within the ritual sculpture, rendering it completely unable to function.

Tatiana, who had inspected the Rock Lake Mine, confirmed that the method of damaging the cryptic sculptures was highly similar to the destruction that had occurred within the Rock Lake Mine. Numerous discoveries indicated that Baron Fiorlando, who was in the mine, not only did not betray the Society, but also successfully dealt with the conspiracy designed by the traitors through his own abilities—he should not only not be blamed, but should also be commended.

Now, the only stain on Fiorentino's name is that he failed to get his archer battalion to the mine on time.

However, such things are not uncommon in the Kingdom of Saint Steel now. The previous war and the coup launched by the Black Sun Society have plunged Saint Steel's military system into a state of chaos, especially in terms of military supplies. The desertion of personnel and the absence of some officials have left supply depots in various places unattended for a period of time.

This gave impoverished residents and refugees a valuable opportunity. Through the manipulation of a few "malicious individuals" and the division among the people, a considerable amount of important military supplies flowed into civilian hands and became difficult to recover.

In this situation, even if the royal guards of Saint Steel arrived, they might not be able to receive the necessary supplies immediately. As for the private soldiers and mercenaries, it would be even more difficult. To alleviate this pressure, the Saint Steel royal family has even ordered that these troops stationed in the border areas be allowed to obtain their due supplies through "other means".

In this light, it seems that Fiorentina's last shortcoming in this incident has completely disappeared.

For the magical spies and agents outside of Hugh, the more significant meaning of this incident lies in the fact that they can use it to obtain a perfectly legitimate new identity.

"In the previous terrible riot launched by traitors and miners, the brave Baron Fiorlando fought a heroic battle for his beliefs and his loyalty to the Black Sun Society."

"In the battle, almost all of Baron Fiorlando's guards and attendants were killed, and his servants were also affected. Except for the head maid, who survived, the rest were killed by the bloodthirsty miners. The poor head maid was almost driven mad by fear. She could barely speak and was unwilling to communicate with anyone except the Baron... The Baron took pity on this head maid who followed him and kept her by his side to serve him."

In the afternoon, when the "Sharp-Beaked Owl" sniper battalion hurriedly arrived at the Rock Lake Mine, the officers received this news from the surviving soldiers.

They saw the Baron with a wound on his face, and the head maid who followed him timidly, her face grim and not daring to utter a word. She was probably really scared out of her mind. People who knew her tried to go up and greet her, but they didn't get any response at all. She just stared blankly at the ground and ignored the words of anyone except the Baron.

As evening fell, an officer who had originally worked at the mines but now served the baron returned with a new group of guards and servants.

Most of these people did not have a Northern appearance. After an explanation, everyone learned that they were originally immigrants from other kingdoms such as Water and Deland. After the Black Sun Society coup, they were arrested as potential spies. After being tortured and interrogated multiple times, and after it was confirmed that there were no problems, they were sold or exiled as prisoners or slaves.

An officer from the archer battalion offered his opinion: "In my opinion, these men are fine as servants, but they are a bit too much as personal guards... Your Excellency, I am very worried about their loyalty."

Baron Feorlando agreed, replying, "Rest assured, the only ones who can truly protect me are the power I wield, the gods I worship, and you all... As for them, they are nothing more than ordinary 'consumables'."

The private soldiers, now approved by the Baron, happily moved into their new barracks, while the guards and servants who had been bought were sent to the Baron's residence. Thus, "Sharp-beaked Owl" became the new owner of the mine.

Aside from the Baron, they disliked everyone here, including the soldiers who seemed to have little fighting ability—these guys basically lacked the bearing of soldiers. Although they were all wearing uniforms and carrying weapons, they looked like they had been temporarily recruited to fill positions. In their eyes, these people could only serve as cannon fodder when the battle broke out.

……

"It feels so good. I don't have to cover my face with that sticky magic anymore... and that damned ritual is gone too. I don't have to suppress my magic anymore."

"Those private soldiers disgust me. Tsk, I really want to find a chance to get rid of them."

Under the cover of the ceremony, the "servants" who entered Hugh's residence returned to their original state. Among them, several spies with backgrounds as Iris Guards and Sword-wielding Hermits couldn't help but rub their hands together in anticipation. After entering the mine with their new identities, they were inevitably subjected to beatings and ridicule from the "Sharp-beaked Owls," which fueled their anger.

"Don't rush, just be patient for a few more days... We've only taken one step, and there's still a lot to do."

Hugh reassured everyone for a few moments, then asked, "The Black Sun Society will not allow the Rock Lake Mine to stop operating. The output quota for the magic crystal mine is still valid. At most, they will only give the Rock Lake Mine a few days' grace... Perfect, we can use the excuse of a severe shortage of miners to recruit them."

As he spoke, he looked at the "head maid" beside him: "What about the miners? What's their situation now?"

While still in her magical disguise, Virin spoke up: "The Black Sun Society is searching and patrolling the vicinity of Watchtower. They have nowhere to go but to hide in that abandoned tunnel... We have reinforced the tunnel, and the ritual site is enough to protect them. Their food and water supply can last for a few days, but there is a great deal of disagreement among them about whether to return to the mine."

Vera paused slightly before explaining slowly, “Some of them didn’t want to take any more risks. They felt that their purpose in leaving the mine was to reunite with their families and bring them to safety, not to take greater risks for other goals… However, there were still many who were willing to believe in us and agree to return to the mine. The leaders of this operation, including that Director Hadra, all agreed to the plan.”

"What did they say?"

“They believe that Watchtower is more dangerous than anywhere else right now, and they would rather trust us than face deadly pursuit and capture by the Black Sun Society.”

Hearing this, Hugh nodded. He went to the window and glanced at the direction of the open space in the mine.

Only he himself knew that within this rocky lake mine, many roots of destiny were still active.

Under his instructions, these roots of fate are constantly monitoring the soldiers who were "selected" the night before. At the same time, the roots are also constantly giving these soldiers hints and influences to ensure that they do not escape the Rock Lake Mine or inform on others. In this way, even if someone wants to inform, Hugh will be able to know the situation immediately and take action.

Hughes was actually very reluctant to do this kind of thing.

But he had no choice.

The plan they are implementing now is bold and fragile; no part of it can go wrong. If the participants are only the people in the room, Hugh is confident, because everyone here has enough strength and a very strong will. But if the group of participants in the plan continues to expand, the uncontrollable factors will increase significantly.

Therefore, he must prepare adequate insurance measures before achieving the next goal.

He sighed and said, “Those miners need to be monitored. Whether they agree to help us or not, we need to do some preparatory work… a ritual site or a magical summoning device will do. I will also provide some support for you. In short, we cannot let them leave at will right now. If they are determined, let me know and I will have a good talk with them.”

"I see."

Vera nodded calmly.

In fact, she didn't need Hugh's instructions at all; she had already prepared the necessary mental preparations and coping strategies. Even if Hugh hadn't said it, she would have definitely arranged for someone to do it.

"Alright, let's talk about something lighter... Gentlemen, in a few days at most, the Black Sun Society will re-erect their secret ritual here. This time, we won't be able to destroy it directly. Therefore, before it is successfully erected, we must complete the transformation of this mine and make it a true stronghold of our own."

A scholar with extensive experience in this area stepped forward and said, "Setting up magic circuits requires a lot of high-quality crystal ore, which is simple enough; we have a mine here. But besides that, we also need a lot of manpower..."

"That's simpler."

Hughes clapped his hands with a laugh: "See those 'sharp-beaked owls'? These are our free laborers, so make good use of them!"

(End of this chapter)