The black sun hangs high

Chapter 362 The Night is Vast
"Your wish will probably come true soon."

Upon hearing Hugh's words, Vera looked over in confusion, and then she saw Hugh take out a folded piece of paper and lay it flat on the table.

On the paper, the dark dome with its countless intricate patterns that once appeared in the magical images is imprinted.

Vera stared at the astonishing images on the magic paper for a moment, then looked at Hugh, quietly waiting for his explanation.

Seeing her like this, Hugh had no choice but to quickly explain to Violet in the simplest language possible.

With her confusion resolved, Vera's attention returned to the images. As before, she quickly used magic threads to circle several patterns she could recognize on the paper. Then, she used delicate lines to connect these patterns in a certain order.

"Although there are a great many of these patterns, they share a relatively consistent core, or rather... theme."

As Vera drew dots on the paper with her fingers, she explained, "This is a pattern summarized in the first volume of 'The Poem of the Night.' I can't confirm its accuracy, but based on the previous situation, it does have some reference value."

"Based on my analysis of the magical traces in 'The Poems of the Night,' it seems that the 'mad poet' who wrote this 'collection of poems' wanted to use another method to solve the problems of magic structure and magic formulas."

"In 'The Poem of the Night,' the mad poet Aziv describes magic itself as an untouchable, infinitely charming, and ever-changing woman. He also believes that if one wants to have a close and deep...communication with this woman, one needs to make full use of one's own sensibility and intuition."

Having experienced those bizarre and complex events, Verin was able to remain quite calm when faced with this depiction of the goddess Mel, which was clearly somewhat "blasphemous." Pointing to the patterns on the paper, she said, "In Aziv's classification, these patterns that I marked should all belong to the same category. They all point to the realm of spirit and thought... To be more specific, their meaning should be 'control'."

"control?"

"Or perhaps, guidance, suppression, and influence?"

With a hint of uncertainty in her voice, Vilin explained, “While I am certain that Aziv’s ‘Poem of the Night’ is a magical tome disguised as a collection of disordered poems, my understanding of it is still insufficient. I can only confirm that, in Aziv’s own classification, these patterns are very likely to be used in magic and rituals such as ‘spiritual interrogation’.”

At this point, Vera breathed a sigh of relief: "Anyway, according to what you said, we should be heading to the vicinity of Watchtower City soon, right? Once I see the remnants of these rituals with my own eyes, I will be able to make a more accurate judgment."

"You seem calmer than I am."

Hugh gave a wry smile: "This trip isn't to participate in any academic seminars, nor is it to follow the army's steady advance... Watchtower City is probably far from safe and stable right now. The Black Sun Society might have already set a trap there, just waiting for us to walk right into it."

"Ok, I know."

Vera picked up her cup, took a sip of her sweetened energy drink, and then squinted her eyes contentedly: "However, we probably don't have many options right now, do we? Even just for the sake of cooperation between the Dawn Society and the Legal Committee, we have to accept this somewhat risky plan. Besides, I don't see that you're actually that resistant to it?"

"Ha, maybe."

Hughes didn't deny Vera's guess. He also picked up his glass, took a small sip, and then frowned, complaining, "There's still a bit too much sugar..."

"You don't have to drink it."

Vera rolled her eyes, then casually gathered up the important documents on the table: "I'll leave them here for now. I don't think I'll need to read a speech anymore, right? If we really are going to St. Steel, then I'll have to make some preparations."

"Well, leave the rest to me. Also, turn down some of the matters with the Legal Committee. If possible, you might want to keep a closer eye on the situation in Leger... Right now, most people's attention is drawn to the 'hounds' attacks, but the hidden dangers in the ocean have not disappeared. On the contrary, they may cause more trouble while our attention is diverted."

"I see."

Vera nodded, then looked at Hugh seriously: "However, your attitudes toward the two seem slightly different?"

"Huh? What do you say?"

“I sense that you are significantly more hostile towards those hounds. Although you have also killed those sea monsters and strange fish that emerged from the deep sea before, you are clearly… reserved when you talk about them.”

When faced with Vera's question, Hughes paused for a few seconds before nodding and replying, "That's true."

"why?"

"Because of attitudes and the positions of both parties."

Hugh replied slowly, “Before that black sun and these hounds, all I could feel was an overwhelming hostility and the contempt of a superior hunter looking down on his prey. I saw no room for retreat or negotiation. In the face of these ruthless hunters and killers, turning around and running away or kneeling down and begging for mercy would only expose my vitals to them.”

"However, the beings in the ocean are completely different. Although they also stand against us and regard us as enemies, there is clearly still some room for maneuver, especially in their relationship with the black sun."

Hughes held up a finger and pointed to his pupil, and immediately Violet saw black light swirling in his eyes.

Hugh continued, “You should know quite a bit about these secrets of mine… I can tell you definitively now that some of them, perhaps even a large part of them, are related to that black sun, and when I tried to use it to observe the creatures in the ocean, I discovered that the strange power they possessed seemed to conflict with the one I was using.”

Vera raised an eyebrow: "Does this mean that the two are not on the same side? Or even very likely that they are enemies?"

"It's just a bold guess."

Hugh concealed the dark light in his eyes: "In any case, someone who is willing to talk is always friendlier than someone who only knows how to bite. Let's wait and see."

……

"Hang up all these new magical notices and secure them with the workshop's glue so that no one can tear them down."

"Don't worry, sir, we specially got some trinkets from the workshop... Mr. Gerald said that if anyone tries to tear down these notices in the middle of the night, they'll be glued to the wall!" "That's good. Please keep an eye out. Someone should bring you hot soup later."

After seeing the Dawn Soldiers begin to finalize the new magical announcements, Darth Vader left with a cigarette in his mouth, as there were still several places to inspect.

Darthwell's arm is currently bandaged and splinted, a result of the attack by the hounds. Although Darthwell wasn't the hounds' primary target, the scene was so chaotic that a soldier accidentally fired a shot that nearly severed Darthwell's entire left arm. Fortunately, a professional healing mage was nearby, who managed to stabilize his injury.

However, Darth Vader was completely oblivious to his injury. He continued to follow his usual routine, patrolling the Dawn Division's headquarters. If it weren't for the others' efforts to stop him, he would have even wanted to go to the nearby towns to check on the situation.

On the distant dock, huge crystal spotlights continued to sweep across the calm sea. Whenever the night wind blew, a slightly pungent smell would appear in the air, the lingering odor of the alchemical bomb explosion.

A vehicle responsible for short-distance transport of supplies within the base stopped nearby, and then a figure emerged from the vehicle. Even in the dim night, the golden hair was still very conspicuous.

"Ah, Miss Sally? Your presence here, does it mean that Merlinler and the other side have some new information?"

"Yes, sir."

Sally quickly approached Darswell, while the "hitchhiker" she had been in droves away. Sally opened the leather document bag she was carrying, took out a document that still smelled strongly of ink, and handed it to Darswell.

Compared to the past, Sally has clearly changed a bit. She has finally started carrying a weapon with her. A revolver slung across her shoulder adds a touch of sharpness and maturity to her.

"If possible, the teacher would like you to wait here a little longer. He is on his way and has some important matters to discuss with you in person."

Darthwell tossed aside his cigarette, took the documents with his free hand, and complained, "Ah... but my inspection isn't finished yet."

“If it’s just a routine inspection, I can do it.”

Sally said very directly, "I am already very familiar with the work here, and I have carefully reviewed the site modification plan. There should be no problem in carrying it out."

"Alright, then I'll take a rare break and let you young people work a little harder."

Darth Vader chuckled. Although he was usually very serious, he couldn't help but become gentle when facing his friend's female student. There was nothing he could do about it; within the Dawn Society, almost no one could keep a straight face in front of such a studious, serious, and responsible young girl.

Sally gave a bright smile, took the password slip from Darth Vader, glanced at it, and then walked over to Darth Vader and deftly pulled the brand-new pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket.

"Ok?"

"Before I left, your healing master specifically reminded me to take your cigarettes away. He said that I could continue smoking once my arm was able to move freely."

After saying that, Sally nodded very politely to Darthville, and then led the other soldiers, who were trying not to laugh, along the patrol path.

Just a few minutes later, another car pulled up beside him, and then Meyer's figure appeared in the dim light of the streetlamp. He saw Darthwell reading documents by the light of the streetlamp, and walked over with a smile.

Hearing footsteps, Darthwell looked up, grinned, and tucked the folder under his elbow: "Got a cigarette?"

"Don't worry, of course there is."

Soon, as a wisp of smoke began to drift in, the two immediately got down to business.

"Today's meeting went very smoothly, especially the two proposals we put forward, which are now in the process of being passed... Merlinler and the Votel military agreed to share intelligence resources to a certain extent, which gives us the opportunity to build a more robust and broader intelligence network."

Meyer leaned against the lamppost, his gaze fixed on the distant sea: "The other bill encountered a slight hiccup during its passage, but overall it went smoothly."

"You mean the proposal to abandon some dangerous areas and gather the residents of those areas together?"

"Yes, that's it."

Mayer nodded and said, “The threat from the sea has made the Kingdom of Hein very sensitive to this matter. They are very insistent on their ‘outpost’ theory, believing that rather than concentrating their strength to consolidate the land defenses, they should take the initiative to explore and develop outwards… The experience of the Windless Fleet has given them a lot of confidence.”

"They believed that since a fleet could break through the encirclement of those sea monsters with limited firepower, a more powerful and professional navy could naturally handle any trouble that might arise. They even suggested that the sea creatures' fjords could be transformed into forward naval fortresses."

"Tsk, a bunch of idiots."

Darswell criticized without reservation: "Even now, are they still worried about their naval standing?"

"At least on the surface, that's how it seems."

Meyer flicked away some cigarette ash: "The Heiners' attitude toward this meeting is far too ambiguous. They even took the initiative to question our proposals, believing that we were hoping to expand our influence through this meeting, and questioning our attitude toward Saint-St.

"Hmm...on closer thought, their suspicions aren't entirely unfounded. Saint Steel was part of our objective."

"Yes, and now, the opportunity to achieve this goal has arisen."

Mayer took out a new document and handed it to his friend: "There are new changes in the North, which could very well reignite the war that was put on hold... but this time, the composition of the alliance will change, and we will have the opportunity to participate. It's time to march and relocate our bases."

(End of this chapter)