The black sun hangs high

Chapter 445 Traces of Civilization

"So, did you find anything?"

Aziv's voice reached Hugh's ears, but Hugh had no time to respond.

Now, Hugh's eyes and brain can only take in the "spectacle" before him.

Yes, a "spectacle".

Hughes ultimately decided to use this word to describe what he was seeing.

The dark metal, the thick chassis, the structure with its heavy industrial aesthetics... combined with the completely destroyed heavy weapons, anyone could tell that this thing must have originally been a war machine exuding a terrifying and oppressive aura.

Aziv's judgment was actually very accurate.

Although he had been away from his hometown for a long time and could no longer learn about the changes and developments in Vaan, Aziv managed to connect the novel sights described by Hugh with the things he had seen with his own eyes, thanks to his wisdom and extraordinary imagination.

Of course, what Aziv didn't know was that even the most daring weapon craftsmen, scholars, and designers in Vaan could never compare to what was before them.

At this moment, Hugh had already placed his palm on the surface of the massive metal shell of the vehicle in front of him.

As the contact occurred, keen perception immediately emanated from Hugh's body. Surging magic transformed into countless invisible tentacles, weaving a huge net out of thin air, completely enveloping and wrapping the massive, already-ruined vehicle.

Aziv sat quietly in his seat, his face becoming solemn. As an outstanding spellcaster and scholar, Aziv could fully sense the magical fluctuations emanating from Shug at this moment.

He realized that the power possessed by this special young man far exceeded his expectations, and that was probably why he was able to move so "high-profile" through the Dark Abyss Wasteland, and even take the initiative to hunt down the henchmen of the Dark Abyss Court.

"Has Vaan changed so much? He's actually managed to cultivate the younger generation into this kind of person?"

Surprise and confusion swirled in Aziv's mind, but he clearly had no way of getting the answers right now. If he wanted to ask a question, he could only wait until Hugh finished what he was doing.

Not long after, Hugh made a new discovery.

With his extremely keen senses, he clearly detected traces of magic and ritual in the machine before him.

Inside those layers of thick metal plates and the complex mechanical structures that interlock and connect with each other, Hughes found many hidden, delicate patterns.

The intricate and hidden patterns have become completely integrated with these metals, and this integration provides those fragile patterns with an extraordinary level of stability, so that they remain remarkably intact even now.

This discovery is of great significance.

Although Hugh himself was not a particularly professional master craftsman, he had accumulated a comprehensive amount of knowledge in his spiritual world. Some of this knowledge told Hugh that if he wanted the intricate magic circuits to be completely and thoroughly integrated into these parts, then the inscriptions should not be done after the parts were formed, but rather the circuits should be inscribed during the part's manufacturing process.

What's even more astonishing is that these circuits, which seem to be divided into parts and modules, actually belong to the same whole, and they can be completely connected and related to each other.

This means that all the magic circuits in front of Hugh are perfectly matched with this huge machine. They have an extremely rigorous overall plan, and every detail in the plan has been perfectly realized during the manufacturing process!

This technique is also found in similar cases in Vanne, where it is widely used in permanent rituals within city fortifications and large buildings.

However, the difficulty of implementing the two is not even in the same league.

Although the construction of the permanent ritual also requires a considerable investment of manpower and resources, during the construction process, the spellcasters often face large blocks of bricks and stones, the entire foundation of the building, or even entire sections of walls.

The saying that the larger the stage, the lower the difficulty refers to the construction and engraving of such ritual patterns. Even now, the scholars and craftsmen of Vann still have no way to apply stable and reliable permanent rituals to ordinary vehicles on a large scale, let alone directly put them into the production process of parts.

To achieve this goal, Vaan needs to make breakthroughs not only in magical theory and industrial technology, but also Merlinle and the Law Council must send countless valley-level and lake-level mages to various parts of Vaan to serve as workshop artisans to support this craft.

That last point alone is already enough to make it seem like a fantasy.

After analyzing these subtle and meticulous magical patterns, Hugh's perception began to deepen and quickly reached the weapons. Hugh then discovered that these weapons, like the vehicles that carried them, were very special.

For a moment, Hugh even doubted his own perception, because he discovered that the weapons in front of him were highly similar to similar things in another world in his memory.

A heavy rotary machine gun, a firing chamber of unknown purpose, and long and short cannon barrels mounted on those robotic arms...

Such weapons greatly shocked Hugh.

Similar to the wrecked vehicle itself, these powerful heavy weapons were also engraved with corresponding patterns by their makers. These magic circuits, belonging to the same system, made all the weapon parts and the vehicle itself a single unit. Although their appearance was highly similar to those heavy weapons in Hugh's memory, they could be driven entirely by magic circuits.

"This is really..."

The series of discoveries left Hugh's expression extremely complex. He was now filled with intense curiosity about the past of this Dark Abyss world and the civilization that had created all of this. He quickly shifted his focus, concentrating his senses on the destroyed cockpit. However, to his dismay, the force that had pierced the vehicle was clearly too powerful. Everything inside the cockpit was completely destroyed; the entire compartment was like a molten metal, twisted and fused together. Hugh couldn't find any remains or any valuable objects. As for the magical circuits installed within, they were also completely destroyed.

Hugh was still not giving up. He summoned his Illumination Trick and circled the wreckage twice, trying to find more useful information on it. However, the result was truly disappointing. Perhaps for the sake of secrecy, or perhaps because of the corruption of the Dark Abyss itself, he was unable to find any patterns, text or numbers on the surface of the vehicle in front of him.

Seeing that Hugh had finished his research on the wreckage, Aziv said, "It was already like this when I first saw it... I've observed it countless times, but I still haven't been able to find any more useful clues. Come on, let's continue deeper in; perhaps the answer you're looking for is further inside."

Hughes sighed heavily. He finally heeded Aziv's advice, climbed off the wreckage, and returned to the makeshift "rat vehicle." Soon, the giant rats began to move again, but the vehicle's speed was noticeably slowed down due to the debris on the ground.

Amidst the bumpy ride, Hugh asked Aziv, "Your understanding of the Dark Abyss is certainly deeper than mine. I'd like to know, before this world became like this... what was its civilization like?"

"You've really stumped me."

Aziv shook his head helplessly: "I do know this place fairly well, but what I've encountered in the past is not fundamentally different from what you've seen since you came here. As for this 'mountain' and the secrets hidden within it, my knowledge is very limited."

Feeling a bit cold, Aziv covered himself with the blanket he had used to cushion his back, making him look like a poor old man hitchhiking in the dead of winter.

Aziv continued, “Since I arrived here, I have been trying to explore everything here, but the more I explore, the more confused and fearful I become… This mountain, or rather, this ‘miracle,’ feels to me like a… well, a refuge.”

"refuge?"

"Yes, a shelter."

Aziv repeated the word, then explained: “These high walls, these huge partitioned rooms, those enormous warehouses piled high with countless scraps, and the remains we just saw… all these signs indicate that the civilization that built all of this attempted to use this place to achieve some purpose, but judging from the results, they probably failed.”

At this point, Aziv raised his claws and pointed them upwards twice: "If they ultimately succeed, I think the Dark Abyss probably won't appear, right?"

"You mean, the creators of this place once tried to fight against some force that led to the birth of the Dark Abyss?"

"At present, this is the only explanation."

Aziv said, “This place is quite different from the wasteland outside. Although the concept of time is still very vague inside this ‘mountain,’ the boundaries of space are basically stable. It was through the study of this place that I deduced the ritual that allows hunting teams to find their way in the wasteland. Moreover, ordinary Dark Abyss creatures will not easily approach this place, and even the hunting dogs and the ‘gods’ who control them are the same.”

"It is no exaggeration to say that I believe the last trace of the normal world of the past has been preserved here."

Hugh looked at the horrific marks on the wall beside him and asked, "Have you seen any other places similar to this one inside the Dark Abyss?"

"Nothing."

Aziv shook his head firmly: "Before... well, before I became their prophet, I had already been wandering in the Abyss for a long time, as you should know. After the tribe chose to settle here, I also sent out many teams to try to find a second ruin similar to this place, but unfortunately, we did not find any more."

He spread his hands helplessly and said, "In fact, neither I nor our entire race are any different from ignorant newborns in the face of this terrible world. With our current abilities and the time we spend on this, we are simply not enough to further prove those conjectures."

"What about the other races? I mean the native races of the Dark Abyss."

Hugh recalled for a moment, then asked seriously, "In your records, you have mentioned more than once those tribes and merchants who wander in the wasteland."

"Yes, they must know much more than I do, but unfortunately, I never got to see them again. Even the merchant tribes that once lived at the foot of this 'mountain' have completely disappeared."

Aziv sighed, "Perhaps they were forced to migrate, or perhaps they have become completely extinct. After all, this is a wasteland, and anything can happen. If you are lucky enough to encounter these groups in the future, you might as well try to talk to them."

As the two sides continued their conversation, the vehicle ventured deeper into the area, passing through wide passages and intersections. The wreckage of vehicles similar to the one they had encountered earlier began to increase. Just as Aziv had said, the builders had fought a fierce battle with the enemy here, but they all met with extremely tragic ends.

"Alright, we're almost there... Our destination is just ahead, behind this 'battlefield'."

Aziv shook his claws, and the magic light orb that had been hovering beside the vehicle immediately became even brighter. It flew forward quickly and hovered in mid-air, transforming into a bright magical chandelier.

Then Hugh saw that right in front of him, behind several severely damaged "war machines," there was a huge door, a metal door as tall as the surrounding walls!
On the surface of this gate, there are many very obvious pits and dents. Next to these pits and dents, there are countless glaring claw marks. Under the illumination of magical light, these claw marks look extremely ferocious. With his magical vision, Hughes was able to detect some very familiar residual shadows within these marks.

"It looks familiar, doesn't it?"

Azifu raised his cane and pointed at the claw marks: "Those resisters were most likely wiped out by the current Dark Abyss Palace. They attacked this place and tried to open this gate, but ultimately failed... I have tried countless times myself, but I still haven't found the right method."

"You mean, behind this door, there might be a crucial secret, or a passage or method that can allow me to leave the Dark Abyss?"

"maybe."

Azifu smiled and said, "Want to go and give it a try?"

(End of this chapter)