"We are the lucky ones, the despicable speculators and survivors, and the despicable beings who bear countless culpables and survive under the authority they have stolen."

Hug was not particularly surprised by Herbert Galton's remarks.

There is a big difference between the core members of the Black Sun Society and the peripheral ordinary members who only worship and believe in the traces of the Lost Gods, as mages and scholars who truly understand and study the ancient gods, they know more about Lost Magic and the true definition of Lost Gods than ordinary people or even ordinary mages.

Once this aspect is understood, it is inevitable that the concept of the existence of the human race will be questioned.

"In today's Vann, it seems that humans have taken an absolute advantage, but is that really the case?"

Herbert's speech was addressed not only to Hugh, but also to everyone in the ballroom: "What is the difference between human society, between human nations, and us as individuals? In my opinion, there is no difference."

"In that age dominated by countless true gods, everything revolved around the most basic and true rules, and civilizations, nations, tribes, everything we could think of and understand, had to adapt ourselves to the rules of the world itself, and constantly change!"

"Mister Shugg has seen the remnants of the Earth Society's beneath the Leyland District, but the power and influence of Mother Earth is only a microcosm of a bygone era."

Hug listened attentively to Herbert's words, and then he asked, "So, Mr. Herbert means that once any civilization or race stagnates, it will inevitably be rejected by the gods it believes in, and become food and sacrifice for the followers of other faiths?"

"Exactly."

To Hugh's answer, Herbert was full of approval: "The winners deserve to be close to the gods, while those who are inferior deserve to be eliminated by the rules and reduced to nourishment for the progress of other races, or to be sacrificed to win the favor of the gods."

He raised his hand: "It is a sorrow in itself to make a race that blindly believes in false gods and lacks the motivation to move forward become the masters of the world...... Development under false theories and structures is destined to be incomplete, and what we have to do is to bring the truth and the great beings who have really made the rules back to Brahman."

With Herbert's words, the huge magical sculpture erected at the back of the hall flickered, and the black sun suspended above the sculpture began to emit a cold, dark light, under its illumination, the gods of Van En who had been killed and punished looked even more miserable, and as the most important "criminal", the goddess Mel, who was pierced through her body and limbs by black chains, looked even more helpless and desolate.

So Hug raised his hand, and he pointed to the sculpture: "Ever since I came here, I've been thinking about the meaning of this sculpture...... Now it sounds like the association thinks that the gods of Van En today have "stolen" the power and authority of what you call the ancient gods, and have become "false" worshippers?"

Herbert nodded, "Although Mr. Schugg's conjecture is slightly biased, it is generally so."

"Deviation? What deviation?"

So Kzlov, who was the presiding officer of the "Society for the Digging of Truth," stood up, and as an expert on the subject, he took Herbert's words and replied to Shug: "For in our world there is no such thing as the gods of Van Grace, but only useless images invented by the lowly beings of the earth on the basis of their own ignorance, selfish desires, and various needs."

If Kzlov's words were said elsewhere, they would have immediately attracted a siege, you know, even the highland ogres have their own gods and beliefs, but now, in Kzlov's mouth, the basic existence of these beliefs has been denied and erased by him.

Immediately afterwards, Kzlov said: "I have seen with my own eyes the traces left by countless true gods, and I have seen the truth revealed by them in those traces, and the more I look, the more I feel that Vann is now galloping down a completely wrong path......

"Just like the war we are experiencing, the rulers have irrepressible desires, and the lies they weave have made ordinary people fanatical and blind, and they kill each other with impunity, but in fact, this has no way to bring about tangible change and development."

The gloomy color on Kzlov's face became even more intense, and he turned slightly, raising his hand to the top of the huge sculpture: "And it is the betrayer of the past that led to all this, and led Vann to the wrong path!"

Shugg followed his finger and saw that Kzlov was referring to Mel, the goddess of magic.

At this moment, the bold speculations he had made before seemed to be confirmed, and at the same time, the will of the Ernst family that existed in the spiritual world of Xiuge also fell silent for a long time because of anger and shock.

Any believer in the goddess of magic, Mel, would probably not be able to accept such words.

However, Shug is not like almost all the people in Brahman.

He doesn't have much affection or belief in these gods, even though he now has the status of a military mage in the Kingdom of Wattel and is a member of the Council, whether it's the Plateau Eagle or the Goddess Mel...... He didn't feel much, so no matter what Kzlov and Herbert said, his mood swings were very limited.

At most, it's just because the bold guess he made before has been confirmed, and his heart is beating a little faster.

"So, you mean, the goddess Mel, who is commonly believed in by the inhabitants of Van Grace, is actually one of the ancient times you are talking about? Only in the end, the goddess of magic betrayed the ancient gods?"

Herbert nodded, "To be precise, she stole some of the power and authority of the ancient gods, destroyed the rules made by the gods, and permanently isolated Van from the gods."

"So what the Society has to do now is to bring Vann back under the watchful eye of the true gods?"

"Yes, and the black sun we are looking for is the most important 'eye'."

After hearing Herbert and Kzlov's words, Schuegli pondered in silence for a moment, and then he asked, "Then what I want to ask next...... From the beginning of the city of Seren, I have noticed that the Society seems to be acting on a series of prophecies, and I wonder where these prophecies come from. And what does that prophecy say about me?"

Hearing this, the previous believer in the "Messenger of Ten Thousand Faces" with curly hair and a dark complexion stood up from his seat.

His name is "Murnaby", which seems to be the name of some eastern region, matching his physiognomy and features.

"The followers of the Messenger of Ten Thousand Faces are prophets of the Society, and we have received the favor of the Messenger, so that we can obtain the message of the Messenger through rituals...... Sometimes it's sounds, sometimes it's pictures, sometimes it's unpredictable verses."

Murnaby's lingua franca accent was a little odd, but Hug could still hear his words, and the prophet said, "Mr. Hug Ernst, your first appearance in the prophecy was twenty years ago, and everyone saw the verses delivered by the Messenger on the *** of the Society. z.br>

The Prophet Murnaby's face became solemn, and he put his hands in front of him, and at this moment, his face showed some magical light and shadow similar to that of the Mirror Emissary Mist.

Then he softly pronounced the prophecy.

"Born in the cold of winter, it is a humble outcast."

"The blood of rebellion was born."

"The black sun is agitated by this, and the music of the abyss is played by it."

"He will be the destroyer of the crown, and he will be the trampler of the nobility."

"He will also be the exorcist of the gods."

Mulnaby's voice seemed to have some kind of special magic, and when he read these words, even Kzlov, who had always had a gloomy face, showed a deep reverence and respect.

Shuge quietly loaded these prophecies into his own

While he was still pondering the specific meaning, Mulnaby suddenly said, "I hope that Mr. Schug Ernst will answer one of my questions head-on, you...... Do you believe in the gods of Van'n?"

Shug stared at Mulnaby and asked, "Does it matter?"

Murnaby replied, "For thousands of years, the Messenger of All Faces has been the only ancient being with whom the Society has truly connected, answering our prayers, accepting our sacrifices, and being able to help the Society deliver a message to the ancient gods in a limited way."

"Murnaby's teacher, the last prophet of the Society, offered his life as a sacrifice to the Messenger of Ten Thousand Faces."

Herbert added at this point: "He prayed to the Messenger that the ancient gods would bring to the Society an important messenger who was truly unaffected by the gods of Van'n, different from all those in the world, and that this messenger would be the key to Van's change."

As Herbert said this, Hug felt his metal disc begin to spin noticeably faster - danger seemed to be approaching.

Xiuge saw that the second person in charge of the Black Sun Association in front of him took a step towards him, and then a terrifying sense of oppression that was far beyond the ordinary lake-level and river-level mages transmitted from his body.

As if receiving an important signal, all the members of the Black Sun Society in the banquet hall stood up from their positions at the same time, and as the mage members in the hall raised their hands, all the seats placed in the hall were moved to the sides by the magic.

Immediately afterward, with the construction of intricate magic patterns, the blasphemous sculpture that had been erected at the back of the hall was forcibly moved to the center of the banquet hall, and at this moment, the statue of this hill became taller, more detailed and clearer.

Under some kind of magical ritual and a large amount of magic infusion, the remains of the gods of Van En piled up on this hill even had a vivid color, Xiuge could see the wrinkles on the face of the sea god who was pressed to the bottom, he could see the bruises of the god of money because of the pain of the severed limbs, and he could also see the blood of those other gods because of the different degrees of torture they had endured.

And at the top of these remains, the goddess Mel, who was impaled and bound in chains as a traitor to the ancient gods, also revealed her true face.

She was indeed a very beautiful goddess with compassion and love in her countenance, and she bowed her head, and tears of helplessness or pain dripped from her eyes, and the pale blue veil that had been draped over her body was now extremely heavy because it was stained with blood.

Herbert stood next to the huge sculpture, he opened his palm, and the magic immediately constructed an extremely complex model between his palms, and Hug judged from his own study that this model seemed to have extremely similar characteristics to the infamous "psychic interrogation".

"Mr. Schug Ernst, please come here."

Herbert stretched out his hand and pointed to the front of the sculpture, and under the gaze of the twenty or so important members of the Black Sun Society, Xiuge slowly came to the designated position.

At this moment, he was fully prepared for the attack.

If he was an ordinary stream-level mage, there would be absolutely no way to get out of the predicament surrounded by so many powerful enemies, but Shuge judged from the speed of the metal disc and the excited reactions of the disc occupants such as the Mirror Messenger and the Running Rat, that he was not without a chance in the face of the current predicament.

Seeing that Hug was in place, Herbert spoke, "Don't worry, Mr. Shug...... Although the principle of this ritual is similar to that of Merlin Lehe's spiritual interrogation, it does not offend your spirit or harm your body...... We just want to know what you really think and answer certain questions."

Xiuge nodded, "Then please ask questions."

As a result, the entire banquet hall fell silent in an instant, and everyone held their breath and began to wait quietly for Herbert's question and Schuge's answer.

"Mr. Shog Ernst, we want to know if you have faith in the present gods of Vann?"

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As Herbert asked, the black sun above the huge sculpture gradually brightened, and the icy light fell on Shug, completely enveloping his body and connecting with the magic model in Herbert's hand.

The rotational speed of the metal disc is further increased.

Shuge steadied his breathing, and then he replied in his usual steady tone, "I can be sure that I have not believed in any god, not now, not in the past...... I don't even believe in God."