The black sun hangs high

Chapter 454 Twilight Deepens
When the woman in front of him said she would report her son, Felix remained calm. However, when she uttered the name "Valerian" and the word "Seren", Felix couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

In the cold north, the name "Valery" symbolizes strong and vigorous vitality. For many parents in Saint Steer, it is the best blessing for their newborn. Therefore, this name is quite common in the Kingdom of Saint Steer, and even many girls have it.

However, when the name is combined with "Serenity", a face naturally appears before Felix's eyes.

Felix could never forget the mage Valery.

To some extent, without Valery, the refugees in Seren might still have been rescued, but the process would certainly not have been as smooth, and the final outcome might have been far more tragic.

It was Valery's presence that allowed Felix to lead the group of children through the most difficult period, and it was he who successfully enabled Hugh's plan to be implemented.

After the events in Seren City were completely over, Valery, along with many other mages, joined the Dawn Order with his mage status certified by Merlinler. These Dawn Order members with the status of "orthodox mages" played a very important role in the Dawn Order's negotiations with the Law Committee, and some of them have now joined the Vaan Magic Academy.

Valery himself was not a scholar inclined towards academic research, so he actively participated in the Dawn Society's series of works targeting the Kingdom of Saint Steel.

Before the start of this campaign, Felix even had a brief meeting with Valery. At that time, Valery had just joined a joint detachment organized by the Legal Committee. Their mission was to explore and advance along the border areas where the war pressure was relatively low, and to record some of the remaining magic and rituals of the Black Sun Society, so that the Vain Magic Society could dismantle and study the methods of these enemies.

Of course, Felix also knew that Valery had his own reasons for joining the mission. Since the Black Sun Society took control of the Kingdom of Saint Steel, his communication with his family had been completely cut off, so he hoped to take this opportunity to find out about his family.

These messages related to Valery flashed through Felix's mind, and then he quickly gathered his thoughts and looked intently at the anxious woman sitting opposite him.

When Valery first joined the Dawn Order, Felix heard him talk about his family. In Valery's description, his mother was actually quite young, a rather refined woman who knew how to take good care of herself. However, now, all Felix saw on that face was weariness and vicissitude.

"Have some water, then we'll continue... Don't be nervous."

Felix lowered his voice: "Valeri is our comrade and comrade-in-arms. The Akatsuki cannot turn a blind eye to this. Now, I need you to provide as many details as possible related to this matter."

With Felix's reassurance, the woman's agitated emotions calmed down somewhat. After taking a couple of sips of warm water, she began to recount the entire incident.

Thanks to Valery's advance notice via a magical letter, his family members left the large city where they had settled before the Black Sun Society launched its operation, and instead moved to remote towns in the southeast to stay with some relatives and friends with whom they had little contact.

Compared to densely populated cities, these towns and villages are less likely to attract the attention of the Black Sun Society and the Saint Steel royal family, and are more likely to escape chaos and conflict.

Initially, everything went smoothly. However, as they approached their destination town, a serious upheaval broke out across the Kingdom of Saint Steel. Deserters, bandits, and refugees who had lost their homes in the chaos mingled together, turning the once peaceful journey into a complete mess.

During this time, Valery's father was shot by two young bandits and seriously wounded. He could only recuperate in a small village far from Watchtower. Because he had lost the money he was carrying, Valery's sister and mother had to take care of the wounded man while doing odd jobs to earn some medicine.

“Just half a month ago, yes, a full half a month ago… That day, I was doing laundry for someone when Valery suddenly appeared. At first, I thought he was looking for us, but he grabbed me and told me that I must find a way to find ‘Felix’ in the Akatsuki and pass on the news of his ‘betrayal’ to you.”

Recalling the scene, tears began to stream down the mother's face, but she still tried her best to describe the details: "He had lost a lot of weight, seemed to have injuries, and looked a little flustered... well, his eyes were unfocused, he looked more like a refugee than us."

"While he was saying these words, he kept looking around, as if he was avoiding someone... I wanted to ask him what was going on, but he didn't give me a chance. After saying those words, he just left me and ran away into the distance."

Felix kept taking notes in his notebook. He asked, "Didn't you try to catch up?"

The woman shook her head: "He used some kind of magic; there's no way I could catch him."

Felix meticulously recorded these answers, and after carefully reviewing the text, he pressed further: "I need to confirm one thing: did he explicitly mention 'bombardment' and 'Watchtower' at the time?"

"Yes, he mentioned it. He told me that someone is planning some kind of 'fatal' operation against Watchtower and the Dawn, and that it's all because of him... his 'betrayal'!"

"Besides that, did he say anything else?"

"No, he didn't even ask me about his father and sister."

The woman shook her head sadly: "I think he must have encountered something terrible, otherwise, given his personality, he would never have done such a thing!"

"I see."

Felix slowly closed the notebook in his hand: "Since Mage Valery is willing to trust me, I will naturally find a way to handle this matter properly... Please don't worry, Dawn Society will take care of you. Madam, later, I will have my trusted subordinates come to you to learn more details about this matter. They may also use some magic to recreate the scene at that time. Just cooperate and there is no need to be afraid."

He slowly rose to his feet: “Please trust the Akatsuki Society, just as we would trust Valery… Also, please tell us the exact location of your family members, and the Akatsuki Society will send someone to pick them up.”

"Thank you, thank you so much, sir!"

The woman stood up excitedly. The middle-aged Mr. Felix in front of her was completely different from the government officials she had met in the past. Although both of them looked very stern, Felix had a special, convincing power in his demeanor and speech, which made her feel very at ease.

Felix nodded, accepted the woman's thanks, and gently pinched the cane twice with his fingers to make sure the woman was alright before turning and leaving the room.

The moment he stepped into the corridor, his expression quickly darkened.

Reason and logic told Felix that Valery's matter was far more serious and complex than the word "treason."

So, after leaving the meeting room, Felix didn't go back to find Meyer and the others immediately. Instead, he went to another room alone and asked Sally to call Meyer over.

Meyer was naturally alert as well. The moment he stepped into the room, he frowned and looked at Felix: "What's wrong? Something's not right?" "Professor, there seems to be some problem within our ranks."

"You mean, there's a traitor?"

"There might be more than one."

Felix handed the notebook to Mayer, and after Mayer finished reading it, he said, "The joint detachment where Mage Valery is located has applied to the Dawnblade for intelligence information about the territory of Saint Steel several times before. I personally handled the distribution of these information... so I am very clear about the composition of their team."

He stood by the wall, leaning on his cane: "In this squad, apart from Valery, there are no other core members of the Scions of the Dawn. This means that even if their squad is ambushed by the Black Sun Society and all members are captured alive, it is impossible to easily obtain the latest information about the Scions of the Dawn."

"Moreover, there is a significant time difference in between."

Mayer immediately understood Felix's meaning, and his expression turned serious: "The last time the mage Valery appeared was around the same time we entered Watchtower City. The Black Sun Society couldn't have used him to obtain intelligence about the city... Someone else is leaking the information!"

"Yes, and I don't believe that Master Valery would become a traitor. Judging from the information provided by his mother, he clearly encountered some extremely special circumstances, and therefore had to use this method to communicate with us."

Meyer nodded: "So, what do you think we should do now? Start an internal investigation?"

“This is unavoidable, Professor… but before that, we must prioritize informing all our comrades still operating within St. Steel, especially Miss Verine and her group. These outposts are located far too deep inland, and the consequences would be unimaginable if information about them were leaked.”

Upon hearing this, Mayer couldn't help but sigh. As one of the highest leaders of the Dawn Society, his perspective on the development of events was destined to differ from that of ordinary people. Looking at the development of the war over this period, the benefits and assistance that the teams organized by Hugh, Virin, and others had brought to the Dawn Society and even the entire Allied Forces were immeasurable. Those secret outposts set up within the territory of Saint Steel had become eyes monitoring the Black Sun Society.

Once they withdraw these "eyes," it will inevitably have a huge impact on all subsequent operations.

However, Meyer nodded: "I agree with your suggestion. We would never put our comrades in such a dangerous situation... Let them lie low or withdraw as much as possible. We should pay special attention to Miss Verine. They have been in contact with some nobles in St. Steel recently. If they break away, they are likely to attract attention."

Meyer raised his hand and touched his shiny bald head. He smiled with a troubled expression. "Anyway, I'll leave these things to you. I'll prepare for the internal investigation... Keep in touch."

After saying that, Mayer turned and left the room, his steps heavier than before.

Before the Akatsuki and the Allied Forces could launch the next phase of their operations, the Black Sun Society's counterattack and infiltration finally arrived. Even the Akatsuki, which had always maintained a considerable degree of "purity" in the past, seemed unable to escape the shadow cast by that black sun.

"Who is the one?"

Felix stood alone in the room, looking down at the slightly bent metal cane, muttering to himself, "Who could it be? Can you help me find the answer?"

As if hearing Felix's innermost thoughts, the cane trembled slightly twice the moment his voice fell.

It seemed to have a heartbeat too.

……

Hugh, who was moving large cargo boxes among the corpses, paused for a moment for no apparent reason.

Just now, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation.

It was very faint and very brief.

Like a stone falling into a wide expanse of water, the ripples spread outwards and eventually disappear without a trace.

"Is someone trying to contact me? Or is someone using magic to summon me?"

The fluctuation was far too fragile. Even with Hugh's mental strength, he was still unable to capture it. Relying on his magical knowledge, he could only make a rough characterization based on some of the fluctuation's characteristics.

"Has something happened in Vaan? Is it Verin? Or Mayer and the others?"

Hughes let out a heavy sigh of relief. Then he raised his hand and controlled the many Karron tentacles that extended from his side, moving the heavy crate bit by bit to the open space in front of the metal base, and forcibly opening the sealed crate lid.

An aura of decay washed over me.

Calron's Tentacle deftly probed into the cargo box, and soon, one of its tentacles, carrying a semi-transparent pass, appeared before Hugh.

Hopefully it will work.

Because of the sudden fluctuations earlier, Hugh felt a strange sense of anxiety, so he quickened his movements.

He gripped the pass tightly, infusing it with his magic, causing the long-silent, intricate circuitry to begin functioning again.

As the light gradually appeared, the pass, which had lost its energy supply, began to shine again.

On the document, Hugh saw Engineer Wang's photo, and at the very bottom of the pass, he saw the reassuring green text: "Pass permission activated."

(End of this chapter)