The sun is high

"That's basically what I know about the situation right now."

In the Dark Abyss Wasteland, deep in the rat-man settlement, Xiuge finally came to the end of his statement about what he knew: "I collected a lot of information from the soul fragments scattered in the Dark Abyss Wasteland. Judging from fragmentary memories, it is clear that the wars and conflicts in Van En have now entered a new stage... The Kingdom of St. Steele under the control of the Black Sun Society has become aware of the threat posed to them by the coalition forces, so they are also looking for ways to We will launch a counterattack and try our best to mobilize and contact other groups in Van En that believe in the Black Sun."

"It doesn't sound promising."

Azifu pushed aside the slate full of characters in front of him. He pushed up his reading glasses, and then moved another new slate from the side. Then he picked up the carving knife again and asked: "What do you think? Regarding this war against the Black Sun Society, especially the part that you personally participated in before..."

"I have confidence in my comrades, very confident."

"Hmm... What is the source of this confidence? Is it because of your close comrade-in-arms relationship? Or something else?"

Shuge shook his head and replied: "It comes from my understanding of them, from the planning and work that I have personally participated in... Mr. Azifu, trust in individuals or groups should not be blind. In this regard, it is consistent with those judgments about future situations and trends, both originating from rigorous logic and detailed understanding."

"Yeah, I agree."

Azifu nodded. The carving knife in his hand kept moving, but he recorded what Xiuge had just said.

Xiuge was basically used to Azifu's behavior, so he continued: "I have great confidence in them, because I am a part of those plans and actions, and I know that everyone involved in them will A person, whether a leader, a planner, a soldier or a logistician, has a clear understanding of what they are doing and the goals at each stage."

"The memories provided by the souls of the dead have verified my judgment and point of view. Although sacrifices and casualties are inevitable in this process, in general, they always move in their intended direction and continue to do so. Make progress.”

Shuge breathed a sigh of relief: "I think they should have basically controlled Watch City now... Controlling Watch City is equivalent to controlling the most important hub in the northern edge area. If next, they can control the past as planned. Those railway lines jointly built by Votel and St. Steele should be able to make more obvious progress."

"Aren't you worried about the Black Sun Society's counterattack?"

While recording on the slate, Azifu asked: "Well... according to the situations you described and my past understanding of this group of guys, what they are good at has never been head-on confrontation. If they want me Said, they are simply like rats carrying a deadly plague. Although they can be easily driven away and burned by fire, if they are not careful, they will come out from the corner and bite people's heels, attack, create chaos, and lie dormant... This is what they do best, right?”

"Indeed."

Xiuge shook his head helplessly: "If possible, I really want to remind them that they must be as cautious as possible after taking control of Watch City. Important leaders and commanders should not even enter the city. After all, the black The action ideas shown by the Japanese Society in the past are different from those of any normal organization. No matter what, other enemies may be concerned about the ordinary residents in the city or the possible collateral effects, but..."

Azifu laughed: "The Black Sun Society, hey, they never care about this kind of thing. Although I don't know what changes have happened to them in the past period, but I But it is clear that the most common trait or idea of ​​any individual who firmly follows the black sun is to abandon everything in his past and regard himself as part of the dark abyss."

Azifu turned around slowly, his eyes behind his reading glasses flashing with wisdom: "And once they start to have this idea, the power of the dark abyss will begin to penetrate into their bodies through rituals one after another, and Then it affects everything about them, even completely distorting and tampering with their thoughts.”

"At this stage, it is too difficult to change or reverse anything. After all, some of the concepts and ideas they held in the past are destined to become the soil that breeds madness under the pull of the black sun."

Aziv's words were rhythmic, but his wording was extremely cold and cruel: "From now on, all they can do is to be attracted by the shadow of the dark abyss, as if they were being sunk piece by piece. Stones in the bottomless quagmire... If they use some rituals to further transform themselves during these processes, then they can completely become new creatures of the dark abyss. At this time, they will be no different from those vicious dogs. They are all beasts that can be demolished and deployed at will."

Xiuge nodded in agreement: "You really know them well."

"Of course. If it weren't for this reason, I wouldn't be living in this place with such a rotten body."

Having said this, Aqifu's old rat-man face showed a very strange look. At first glance, Aqifu seemed to be very lost and tired, but he was also satisfied and comfortable.

In this weird world with no time scale, Azifu can only live like this.

Living as a prophet of a race long extinct in Vann.

He couldn't connect with his hometown, couldn't see a way out, couldn't see the future, and couldn't even find someone to talk to.

Until Shuge came to him.

After that long period of torture and depression, a hearty conversation gave Aziv the greatest spiritual satisfaction, which was exactly what he needed most right now.

"Are you happy?"

"I've never been so happy."

Azifu responded and stood up from the chair. He turned his palms and used magic power to lift up the stone slabs one by one and float them orderly to a bed in the corner of the room, stacking them directly at the end of the bed. Obviously, he had planned to use these precious records as his bedtime reading.

"Is it because of the news about Fan En?"

"Of course it's more than..."

Azifu smiled and turned his head. He took a slightly deformed metal crutch from the side and came to Shuge with it: "Come, follow me. Let's go for a walk outside. Talk as we go. ."

So, one person and one mouse walked down the stairs. Xiuge paid special attention to Azifu's footsteps. After confirming that the old guy had no problem walking, he said: "I thought you heard what I said. After these things, I will be even more anxious... After all, Van En's current situation is not optimistic."

"Indeed, it's not optimistic, but I feel another precious thing from what you said."

Azifu raised his hand and pushed open the door: "That's the change, Van En's change."

The faint light emitted by the crystal lamps outside the house shone in. Xiuge saw that many rat people were gathering in the distance, carefully looking in this direction. They were discovering their rat prophet and the mysterious guest. After chatting happily, they all breathed a sigh of relief, then bowed their heads in the direction of Azifu and quickly retreated.

"They...love you very much?"

"Love?"

Aziv was stunned for a moment: "Ah, according to Van En's usual thinking, that is indeed the case, but these guys are rat people after all, and they will always give priority to obeying their own habits and instincts, even if they exceed For so long, when they looked at me, they looked at me more with fear and admiration, rather than the kind of respect you understand."

Then, the topic returned to its original point.

"I never thought that Van En would turn into what you said... When I first heard Merlin Lehe and the name of the Law Committee, I thought nothing there had changed, but when you When it came to those strange machines, vehicles, weapons, and wars, I began to feel confused and surprised... You know what? I thought you were lying to me at first."

Azifu said slowly: "But soon, I discovered that everything you said is consistent with each other. They have no loopholes and are very natural... Although I still can't understand the kind of thing that can be used by ordinary people." It is a weapon that can be operated and directly kill a group of mages, but I know that the emergence of this kind of thing will definitely bring new changes to Van En."

"And what surprises me even more is that these weapons are currently being used against the Black Sun Society and against those dangerous things."

When he said this, Azifu showed an extremely happy and satisfied smile: "This is a very, very good sign. Although it means that Van En is now in a critical moment again, think about it. , those ethnic groups that in the past humbled themselves under the black sun and countless gods, now have various powers and means that can directly fight against the enemy."

Azifu looked at Shuge: "Isn't this good news?"

“But even so, the struggle is still hard.”

Shuge whispered: "After all, the countries and organizations in Van En are not monolithic now. Everyone has their own ideas and thoughts, and the Black Sun Society may bring more unpredictable troubles and threats at any time... With those ancient They even have the ability to summon the shadows of the old gods through rituals and magic. Facing this kind of enemy, all they can rely on is the magic and weapons in their hands."

Xiuge did not tell the whole second half of his story.

Today's Van En is destined not to have a god who can control everything like Mel. To a certain extent, what Mel said before leaving is true. After her, the word god has It is true that it can no longer be born from the soil of Van En.

It's a pity that the enemies who were expelled in the past have once again set foot in the world that she cherishes and protects.

"You're right, but so what?"

Azifu smiled and said: "If you don't want to perish, then you can only fight. If you don't have enough strength to fight, then find ways to gain strength... What a simple and easy-to-understand rule, just like the rat people in the past. Before the catastrophe, they were even in the mood of separatism and internal fighting, but when the disaster really struck, they had to gather together to survive."

"Since these countries and races in Van En are still in the mood to fight among themselves, then this means that they have not been pushed to the limit, right?"

The old rat man paused the crutch in his hand vigorously, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Just let them hesitate and struggle for a while. Anyway, you can't do anything now, right? Compared to that distant place In the past, Van En is much better now."

"maybe……"

Shuge shook his head. He did not fully agree with Azifu's views, but as he said, it seemed that he could only be a spectator now, and even the information he obtained was not timely and accurate.

In this case, worry and anxiety are useless.

At an intersection, Azifu stopped. He turned to Xiuge and said, "Okay, we've almost talked about these things. Now it's time to solve some of your problems."

Xiuge frowned slightly: "My question?"

"Yes, you traveled a long way here to solve some problems, right?"

Azifu smiled and waved to several rat warriors in the distance. The latter immediately took action. Soon, a somewhat special vehicle arrived in front of Xiuge.

This is a car, but the thing pulling it is not any creature that Shuge is familiar with, but two huge rats that look a little ugly and ferocious.

Xiuge observed carefully, and then he discovered that the two giant cart-pulling rats actually had three tails growing on their tails. However, except for the long tail in the middle, the tails on the left and right sides had degenerated. It's gone, and now there's only a small piece left dragging beside it, which looks extremely funny.

On both sides of their heads, where the horns should have grown, there are now two rather redundant tumors. This is the result of the departure of the Earth Mother Goddess Grace.

Azifu's skills were quite strong. In the blink of an eye, he had climbed into the simple carriage at the back. He raised his hand and patted the seat next to him: "Come up quickly. That place is a bit far. We have to go." It’s quite a distance.”

"Where are we going?"

"Go see a place that will definitely interest you...a place that might bring you 'home'."