The black sun hangs high

Chapter 364 Miners
The cold wave that had plagued Vaan for so long was finally coming to an end. Seven days after Vaan entered the new era, the cold air began its final struggle across the land of the Kingdom of Saint Steel. It unleashed all its power, creating the last chill before the temperature rose.

Faced with the Plains Alliance, which was gathering at an alarming speed, even the Black Sun Society, which possessed those strange powers and rituals and was constantly summoning ancient creations, had no choice but to temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.

Through the royal family of Saint-St., they issued orders for the Saint-St. army, which had been stationed east of the Isa River, to begin its retreat and establish a new defensive line with Watchtower as its core stronghold.

The Kingdom of Hein has been somewhat ambiguous in its confrontation with Saint Steel, but under pressure from the overall situation, its powerful navy has also begun to take action. Although the Kingdom of Hein only deployed a small number of ships under the pretext of "needing to guard against threats in the sea," the pressure exerted by these fully armed marine metal behemoths was already very evident when they stopped in those delicate positions.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Water was more conservative. This highland kingdom, known for its military prowess, was not as aggressive as it had been in the past. They continued their previous strategy, strengthening the blockade of the railway line, consolidating their border with the Kingdom of Saint Steel, and trying to accept the refugees who had fled.

At the same time, the council collaborated with the Vaan Magic Academy and conducted in-depth monitoring and research on the rugged hills.

Behind the scenes, the Kingdom of Walter, together with the Legal Committee, launched an important secret plan.

Under this plan, a vast intelligence network woven by different countries and organizations within Vaan began to merge. This process was slow and difficult, since these current collaborators were once rivals or even mortal enemies. Among the accumulated intelligence and strongholds, they had to make selections, releasing some to promote cooperation, while keeping the rest as their trump cards.

Fortunately, some fresh blood was added to this difficult project. They acted like essential lubricants in the machine, allowing the originally very difficult collaboration to continue.

It was a young organization called "Dawn's Sword," lacking background and backing.

Although it is fundamentally under the Akatsuki, it is willing to accept supervision from multiple parties and build itself into a relatively objective and neutral intelligence hub.

No one would question the composition of the "Dawnblade" members. All indications suggest that this new organization, affiliated with the Dawnblade, harbors the utmost hostility towards the Black Sun Society. Among them are not only survivors who escaped the massacre in Seren, but also "legendary experts" who have already engaged in fierce battles with the Black Sun Society.

To demonstrate their sincerity, as war was about to break out again, a group of members of the Dawn Society, with the assistance of the Sword-wielding Hermit of the Legal Committee and the spies of Walter, crossed Merlinle and the bay and headed toward the extremely dangerous heartland of Saint Steel.

After crossing the bay, this special team immediately disappeared, transforming into the wind blowing into the cold background, completely merging with that dangerous world.

……

Dim, cold, and cramped.

This is a typical characteristic of every crystal mine within the Kingdom of Saint Steel.

Now that the Black Sun Society has taken control of the entire Saint Steel territory, and with the black sun high overhead, some new situations have arisen inside these crystal mines.

A strange and subtle ailment is manifesting in the miners' bodies.

They suffer from either uncontrollable insomnia or inexplicable nightmares. The former makes miners very prone to making mistakes at work, while the latter makes it difficult for workers who finally get a chance to rest to stay awake.

In the mines, the dangers posed by these two distinct symptoms are both extremely alarming, and when they are combined, they further reduce the operational efficiency of these crystal mines.

“There’s something wrong with these crystals… I, I can hear them talking!”

"This place is haunted! The mine must be haunted! I saw the figures and faces of dead people inside those ore rocks!"

“Let me go!”

However, faced with these horrifying rumors and the miners' fierce reaction, the crystal mines that were directly ordered and commanded by the Black Sun Society could not possibly let the miners leave. The Black Sun Society seemed to have anticipated this situation, so they sent loyal overseers in advance and completely replaced the managers of these mines.

Even in Saint Steel, there has always been a "tradition" for miners to fight for their basic rights through strikes, resistance, and even riots. But this time, faced with fully armed overseers and Society mages accompanied by dark hounds, the miners were simply powerless to do anything about it.

Their every move, even every word they uttered, seemed to be under extremely close surveillance.

At the Rock Lake Mine, west of Watchtower, something has happened that has enraged and terrified the miners. In the past two days, a strong and capable miner who had previously organized several rebellions was silently strangled to death in his own bed at night.

A young worker who had once worked as a handyman in the magic alchemy workshop recognized that the deceased had died from some kind of vicious and simple magic—the spellcaster had created bubbles filled with poison at night and placed them directly over the deceased's head. He couldn't make any sound or struggle because the poison would quickly enter his body and take effect under the influence of the magic.

What was even more unbearable was that his family members, from his wife to his daughter to his elderly father, were also brutally murdered on the same night. The thugs of the Black Sun Society took his family members' bodies to the mine and hastily buried them together in front of everyone.

It was only then that people remembered that a day earlier, the deceased had spoken about the Black Sun Society inside the mine. He believed that the miners should find a way to get rid of these gloomy overseers and use their weapons to kill the mages of the society. Only in this way could they have a chance to escape the mine and reunite with their families.

During this process, he also clearly mentioned his family members who remained in Watchtower.

And this is probably why he and his family were brutally murdered. Unprecedented pressure has emerged. In the past, although the conflicts between mines and miners were always very intense, these conflicts were not insurmountable. Both sides always tried to achieve their goals through mutual probing and concessions.

But now it's different.

The violence employed by the Black Sun Society was difficult for the miners to resist. Their magical rituals had enveloped the entire mine and penetrated into the branches of the mine shafts. Under close surveillance, the workers had no way to discuss matters privately, nor could they hide weapons and tools, let alone take any concrete action.

Those dark hounds with rat tails and exuding an eerie and sinister aura patrolled the mine constantly. Some miners even saw them brazenly sneaking into the mine shafts, picking up crystalline ores and starting to gnaw and chew them. Under their sharp teeth, these hard ores would instantly turn into residue, and the magic within would be completely sucked out by them.

Under such all-encompassing pressure, the miners' own survival became difficult. When they emerged from the sunless mine, they faced a sky filled with dark clouds and the distant Watchtower City, which was always shrouded in gloom.

They were all residents of Watchtower City, and their families were mostly settled in the city as well.

However, according to the loyal members of the Black Sun Society, Watchtower has now become a city destined to be unfavored by the ancient gods.

The enormous dome that should have covered Watchtower City has been destroyed, which means that Watchtower City and the area it is in conflict with those ancient sacred rituals and beliefs. It is neither suitable for believers who "seek truth and reality" to settle down, nor suitable for functioning as a large city.

"It is only fit to be a fortress, a war fortress blocking the main road and giving those fools a good beating... This is the punishment it deserves as a place abandoned by the gods, and the only role it can play at this moment!"

In response to the miners' worried inquiries, the guards and overseers, who had fully embraced their ancient faith, replied: "Don't worry, you and your families haven't completely lost your chance. Perhaps the problem lies only with the city and the land beneath it. If you wish, you can be accepted by the true deity at any time, just like us, and witness 'miracles' happening, and even touch them!"

“I warn you, do not simply call them magic… Magic is merely a name given to those powers by that ‘false god’ in order to deceive us. Although it is still in use, it can never represent its true essence.”

"If you want to understand it, then let go of your wrong stubbornness and the foolish burden on your shoulders, open your heart, and truly accept and embrace those real scenes that you have lost!"

Normal miners would not believe what these cruel lunatics were saying, of course; however, accidents always happen.

A miner, deeply worried about his family and longing to leave the mine and return home, finally compromised under pressure from various quarters. He found the sorcerer stationed at the mine by the Black Sun Society and asked him to let him see those "miracles." In exchange, he hoped to be granted a leave to visit his family.

Faced with such a request, the harsh and ruthless members of the Black Sun Society readily and generously granted the request. The miner was then led into a closed room, and more than half an hour later, he slowly walked out of the room. His face no longer showed the tension, distress, and worry he had shown before; instead, it displayed an expression that the other workers could not understand.

He seemed to have entered a state of frenzy, his eyes shining, and his originally tired and smudged face radiated an unusual brilliance.

"So this is what a miracle is, so this is the 'reality' I didn't know."

In front of everyone, he knelt down beside the Black Sun Ritual at the mine gate and began to pray to the blasphemous sculpture that he had never dared to look at before. Some of the workers who knew him heard his prayer.

To people's surprise, the prayer recited by the miner did not seem to be in any language he was familiar with. It was definitely not the local language of St. Steel, nor was it any common language. It sounded more like a chant made of meaningless syllables.

In just half an hour, he seemed to have completely forgotten his past beliefs. He forgot the fire of life and the goddess Mel, and with utmost devotion, he embraced a name that no ordinary person had ever heard of.

"The one who accepts your friends is the King of Fire and Scales... He is the true master who once hid underground and controlled all mountains, hills and minerals."

The mage of the Black Sun Society smiled as he watched the miner leave the mine. As agreed, he would return to Watchtower to visit his family. He also offered to let his family come with him to see the real "miracle" and feel the genuine power from the gods.

Once the first one is established, the second and third will naturally follow quickly.

When these struggling miners realized that the members of the Black Sun Society actually offered many preferential treatments to ordinary people who joined the society, their psychological defenses began to collapse rapidly. Once this collapse occurred within the group, it became extremely difficult to rebuild.

“You should feel fortunate, other mines may not be as lucky as this one... at least you are not so stubborn and foolish, and the gates of the gods have not been closed to you.”

After a dozen or so compromised miners witnessed the so-called real miracle, the sorcerer in charge of the Rock Lake Mine approached the remaining miners and proclaimed, "Cheer for your good fortune! Although our gods have been forgotten in the past, they have not abandoned you..."

"Soon, an important figure from the society will arrive here in person. He is a senior scholar in the society and a true messenger favored by several deities! If you want to personally experience or even receive the blessings of the gods, then seize the opportunity!"

Amidst this fervent speech, the miners, whose resolve was already wavering, became even more uncertain, and even those who harbored deep resentment towards the Black Sun Society fell silent.

They're not stupid; they all know that going against the grain at a time like this would only lead to their own and their families' needless deaths.

Just like that miner before.

(End of this chapter)