The black sun hangs high

Chapter 419 Seasonal Changes
Spring arrived exceptionally late this Black Year.

The Isa River, which should have started to thaw and rise in water long ago, remains remarkably calm. In areas with thicker ice, soldiers can still cross the river directly and use it to quickly transport necessary supplies to the front lines.

Starting the morning after the conflict and incident in Watchtower, the force that had been expanded from the original Dawn Society's "St. Steel Miners' Legion" began a series of actions.

It is difficult to define these actions as a "full-scale offensive" if taken out of context.

Thanks to the covert work of those spies and agents, the leaders within the Dawn Society have a fairly detailed and clear understanding and judgment of the current situation and the possible movements of the enemy.

Therefore, they did not rush to advance the battle line or launch a large-scale offensive immediately. Instead, while continuing their previous cautious strategy, they began to probe in several different directions.

The companies, led by experienced military mages and veterans, swept westwards like sharp icy needles.

Small, portable crystal cannons that can be flexibly assembled and used at any time have become the favorite of these companies. These small weapons, modified and adjusted by dwarven master craftsmen, are very convenient and do not require the complicated calibration and adjustment that other heavy crystal cannons do.

With the aid of magic, even the most inexperienced recruits can quickly complete a series of tasks and launch continuous and precise artillery fire towards the designated location.

While these lightweight crystal shells could not cause significant damage to walls protected by mystical rituals or those with permanent incantations, they were quite effective against checkpoints of the Saint Steel Kingdom's army and Black Sun Society outposts located in the surrounding villages.

Just as Mayer and others had predicted, when a major upheaval occurred within Watchtower, the Black Sun Society and the Saint Steel Royal Family naturally began to strengthen their frontal defenses to prevent any potential attacks.

However, with the sudden increase in pressure on military supply transportation and the frequent mobilization of large numbers of personnel, the forward outposts and positions set up on the periphery for reconnaissance and buffering were put in an extremely vulnerable state.

These vulnerabilities are precisely the primary targets of the Dawn Society.

Based on the intelligence provided by Hugh and others, Mayer and the others already knew that what was most likely to affect the battlefield situation was not conventional troops and weapons, but magic, rituals, and summons that transcended Vaan's conventional magic system.

"The Black Sun Society's range and intensity of activity often depend heavily on the coverage of those special magic powers. In the areas controlled by the Black Sun Society, the magic concentration in Watchtower City is undoubtedly the thinnest, and its extended 'tentacles' are even more fragile."

"Therefore, before launching a formal attack, we must cut off and destroy all of their outstretched tentacles, leaving none behind... As for the soldiers still in the army of the Kingdom of Saint Steel, it has been proven that they are not our main enemy."

At the Dawn Order's command meeting, Mayer, pinching his hat, addressed the officers before him: "Comrades, I hope you all realize that this is not just my personal speculation or conjecture, but a reliable conclusion we have drawn based on a large amount of intelligence and contact—these soldiers, our poor compatriots, chose to stay in the army of that corrupt kingdom not because they really wanted to, but because of the influence of the Black Sun and the predicament they face."

"If their hometowns and families can break free from the control of the Black Sun Society, and if they can see a clear hope or way out, then even if their minds have been influenced by the Black Sun Society, they have every opportunity to break free from those ropes."

"Everyone should know what we are trying. Since we started heading towards our hometown and country, our team has grown bigger and bigger. It has been proven that as long as we can get out of the shadow of those madmen, everyone can become clear-headed and make the right choice."

"The same applies to those soldiers who were forced to stand against us."

Meyer picked up his water glass, moistened his throat, and then continued, "Therefore, my requirements for you all remain unchanged. When dealing with those prisoners, we must be as gentle as possible, treating them as we would our true compatriots. If there are any stubborn individuals among them, then hand them over to our 'Dawn Sword,' where experts will handle these troubles..."

About twenty minutes later, the meeting came to an end, and the attendees who had been crowding the room left one by one. Only Felix, the person in charge of "Dawn's Sword," remained, holding a document in his hand. It seemed that he had some things to report to Mayer in private.

The two had long since reached an understanding on these matters, so once the room was completely quiet, Felix closed the door, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of Meyer.

"We have completed the compilation of information regarding what happened that night... and we have reached a preliminary conclusion."

Felix pushed the stack of documents toward Mayer, then said gravely, “Everyone who successfully witnessed the Watchtower incident claims to have seen horrific scenes that are indescribable and illogical. Their descriptions are very disorganized and inconsistent. The only thing we can be certain of is that on that night, some kind of terrible magic or creation appeared inside Watchtower… The effects on the surrounding area also prove this point.”

Meyer listened quietly, his brow furrowed as he flipped through the compiled reports.

Felix continued, “Another thing that can be confirmed is that whatever the change was, it was ultimately smoothed over by another force… namely, the ‘sea-like blue light’ that we’ve mentioned repeatedly. These two forces collided and clashed more than once, and in the end, they both disappeared within Watchtower City… You can turn to the next two pages; there’s a new magical message there.”

Meyer raised an eyebrow and then pulled out the piece of paper that Felix had mentioned.

Just like the secret letters that came from the vicinity of Watchtower City before, this piece of paper was also filled with all sorts of jumbled characters and phrases.

Left with no other option, Mayer had to pass the paper to Felix.

"This was sent by Ms. Verin... She helped us confirm one thing: the strange phenomena in Watchtower are closely related to Mr. Hugh."

Felix's expression was grim. He said in a deep voice, "According to Ms. Verin, in order to ensure the complete thwarting of the Black Sun Society's plan, Mr. Hugh took some risky and extreme measures. The strange situation that appeared in the sky above Watchtower City is very likely the result of the Black Sun Society's passive decision... And according to the intelligence gathered by the other stronghold members, it can be basically confirmed that a large number of Black Sun Society members who were responsible for the main duties of Watchtower City in the past period have died, including 'Peter Kezlov' on the list of important members of the Black Sun Society."

Upon hearing the name, Mayer's eyebrows twitched slightly.

But Mayer quickly banished this slight emotional fluctuation.

Kzlov was no longer his teacher. Ever since he revealed his background as the Black Sun Society and tried to bring his students into the society, he was destined to become Mayer's enemy.

You could even say he was Vaan's enemy.

What Mayer never expected was that this cautious, experienced, and elusive opponent would meet such a bizarre and absurd end.

It's even possible that Kizlov's death was orchestrated by his "old friend."

Thinking of this, Meyer asked Felix, "What about Mr. Hugh? Is there any news about him?"

Felix sighed, shaking his head somberly. "So far, our people haven't been able to obtain any intelligence related to him. Instead, the Saint Steele side has contacted several newspapers and published several articles claiming that 'Shug Ernst' has been killed."

“However, Ms. Verin is very firm on this matter. She emphasized that, according to some special magical ritual, she can confirm that Mr. Hugh is still alive, but he probably won't be able to show himself in the short term.” Meyer paused for two seconds, then asked, “What about the others? I mean, what are our thoughts on this news, and what about other parts of Vaan?”

"Most people are still skeptical about this matter. After all, Saint Steel and the Black Sun Society haven't been able to release a single magical photograph so far, so they have no way to prove what they're saying... However, our other comrades are not so optimistic about this matter."

Felix looked up at Meyer: "Do we need to clarify something?"

"No...not for now."

Meyer shook his head, pondered for two seconds, and said, "Felix, I remember 'Dawnblade' has already partnered with several major newspapers and magazines?"

"Yes, they are all important newspapers in the plateau and plains regions, with considerable influence... but we are not using the identity of 'Dawn Sword'."

"Yes, that's good."

Meyer smiled and said, "I will write two articles the next day. I would appreciate it if you could help me find the editors of these newspapers and ask them to publish these articles, the wider the reach, the better."

A muffled rumbling sound could be faintly heard from the horizon; it was unclear whether it was thunder or cannon fire.

However, the air in this dry northern region, shrouded in shadow, did indeed have a slightly more humid feel.

Even on days when the black sun shines on Vaan, the seasons still move according to their usual patterns.

……

"Crack...knock..."

With each step Hugh took, a crisp cracking sound emanated from beneath his feet.

What he crushed were not fragile rocks or gravel, but the bones and remains piled up on this boundless wasteland.

In this chaotic and dark world, Hugh had no way of knowing how many days he had spent, nor could he use the surrounding landmarks to estimate the distance he had traveled.

After all, according to Theseus, there is no definite concept of time and space within the Abyss—they are chaotic and can change at any time due to interference and influence from external forces.

Hughes had personally experienced a similar situation.

Most of the time, the space here is relatively stable, and he is indeed able to move forward steadily. However, occasionally, a violent magical shock will suddenly come from somewhere in the distance, and when the shock travels along this wasteland, the concept of space becomes blurred and uncertain.

Sometimes, Hugh felt like he had only taken one step, but inexplicably traversed an extremely long distance.

Sometimes, even though he was trying his best to get there, he actually stopped moving.

In fact, Hugh has a way to deal with this strange situation, but it requires him to do his best to mobilize his magic and use it to stabilize the surrounding environment.

According to Theseus, this practice is inherently dangerous because all the creatures active within the Abyss are extremely sensitive to everything around them. Any disturbance of magic will spread throughout this gloomy "pool," and other creatures that sense the disturbance will inevitably react accordingly.

The options are either to evade, to track, or even more brutal and dangerous measures.

Beside a low hill, Hughes looked up at the shadow at the edge of his vision.

It was a mountain peak, or rather, some strange building with the outline and shape of a mountain peak. It was split in the middle, symmetrical on both sides, and a chaotic light flickered in the crack. It was the most important light source in this wasteland and also Hugh's primary destination.

Hugh twisted his neck, silently asking, "How much longer do I have to walk?"

"do not know."

Theseus's voice sounded very lazy: "I've said it so many times, there's no point in talking about time and distance here... But you can rest now. Look, there should be some abandoned pits by the spider clan at the bottom of this hill. Just find one and settle down for now."

"I'm not tired yet, I can walk a little longer."

"Okay... It's good to be motivated, but before that, you might want to take a good look behind our destination."

Hearing this, Hugh frowned. He carefully mobilized a small amount of magic and used his magical vision to look at the "sky" that Theseus had pointed to.

Hughes was then stunned.

He saw that behind that "mountain," a large, twisting shadow appeared, which did not look like a dark cloud at all, but rather like a mass of "mud" crawling along the sky.

"what is that?"

"What, don't you recognize them? Didn't you see their defective products in Seren City before?"

Theseus laughed and said, “This is the ‘real deal,’ and you’re lucky to have caught the storm they’ve created… If you don’t want to end up like these bones on the ground, you should just hide away and get some sleep. Maybe you’ll wake up to a sunny day.”

(End of this chapter)