The black sun hangs high

Chapter 301 "The Sword of Dawn"

He always held Theseus's warnings in high regard.

Therefore, after pouring out a small amount of "Color of Life", Hugh immediately stopped what he was doing. He resealed the bottle of "Color of Life" and then began to carefully observe "Justina" on the table.

Under the influence of this new force, the traits of Justina that originated from the offspring of the Dark Abyss seem to be rapidly disappearing.

Dense, dark mist; a translucent black body...

Such features have now been replaced by that unique light and color. At this moment, probably no one would associate the current "Justina" with the "Mud" in Seren City and the unpredictable magical creatures like the Shapeshifters.

Although its outline is still somewhat indistinct, its pure color makes it impossible to associate it with any evil concepts.

A multitude of complex emotional fluctuations also entered Hugh's mind at this moment.

Before this, the emotional fragments transmitted by "Justina" were only somewhat vague, and it was still easy to distinguish them. But now, these words, which were being poured into Hugh's mind at a high frequency, were like haphazardly piled-up threads that had completely become tangled together.

In this situation, Hughes was not only unable to respond effectively to Justine, but also unable to accurately judge the emotions she was expressing.

However, judging from the surrounding magical fluctuations, Justina seems to be experiencing both pain and pleasure right now.

Hugh was very pleased with his cautious habits. If he hadn't set up a protective ritual to isolate the magical fluctuations beforehand, the commotion here would probably have already triggered the warning shrine on the Dawn Goddess and attracted all the mages near the port.

And so, while maintaining the protective ritual inside the cabin, Hugh kept a close eye on Justine's changes, and time passed little by little.

This change lasted for two and a half hours. Finally, the flickering, strange light dimmed, and the constantly changing "Justine" gradually subsided.

At this moment, Hugh saw that the previously rampant colors had completely merged with Justine's body.

The deep black began to return, still the dominant color, but compared to the past, it appeared more transparent and clear. If it weren't for the fact that the outline of "Justina" was still trembling every moment, Hugh would almost think that what was placed in front of him was a huge, precious black gemstone.

A clear wave of energy emanated from him, and Hugh raised his eyebrows. Then, following the request of his "offspring," he gently extended his palm forward.

The soft, translucent black light trembled slightly, then bulged upwards, and a small tentacle slowly extended from within, gradually transforming into the shape of a child's hand.

And so, the two palms, one big and one small, touched together.

"..."

Like the first cry of a pure life at birth, a clear sound echoed in Hugh's mind the moment the two palms touched.

But the next moment, Hugh's expression froze.

This time, he finally understood what Justine wanted to tell him.

"Father, is there any food left?"

……

Around nine o'clock in the morning, Hugh finally left his cabin and came to the dock once again.

In the dim light of dawn, he couldn't help but yawn.

"Mr. Ernst, did you not sleep well last night?"

A familiar sailor greeted Hugh in a friendly manner, and Hugh naturally responded with a smile: "I'm just a little not used to living on a ship, but I think I'll get used to it after a few more days."

"Haha, is that so..."

The two exchanged a few words, and then the sailor went back to his duty, while Hugh headed toward the "temporary office" where Darth Vader and the others had been.

He certainly couldn't tell anyone that the reason he looked so tired was because he had been busy "taking care of the children" ever since he woke up in the middle of the night.

Yes, "taking care of children".

After completing the initial fusion with "The Color of Life", "Justina's" condition was significantly improved across the board.

Its thinking is rapidly improving, and its ability to express emotions and thoughts is recovering at an astonishing pace.

Now, Justine is no different from a normal child in terms of expression. Although her size and power are still very limited, she is able to convey clear messages to Hugh through magical connections and her own actions.

This is clearly a good thing.

But for Hugh, it was a troublesome matter, though not insignificant.

Because the current "Justine" is clearly no longer the reserved female scholar of the past. She seems to have completely embraced her new identity, not only calling Hughes "father" directly, but also becoming no different from a real child in terms of various needs and expressions.

This situation caused Hughes, who had a severe lack of experience in this field, a great headache.

Although Justine is far from becoming a "brat" yet, the intense attachment that toddlers have for their elders is already starting to show uncontrollably.

If we were to summarize it in Hugh's own words, then the current "Justine" could be considered...

Weak, clingy, and extremely gluttonous.

Yes, during this period of time, Justina had been relentlessly asking Hugh for all sorts of things to eat, from magic crystals to "colors of life," and all kinds of edible and inedible things... She even took a bite of the breakfast that the crew of the Dawn Goddess gave to Hugh.

Ultimately, Hugh confirmed that for Justina, the most important food right now was anything containing magic and life force. Magic crystals were naturally the primary component, and the power of "Life Colors" was too abundant, requiring him to feed it to her in different stages. As for other foods, they seemed only good for satisfying the child's appetite. Now, Hugh could only hope that the large pile of magic crystals he had poured for her would be enough for her to digest for a while.

Of course, he was also full of expectations for Justine's future. His intuition told him that this special being, who had integrated the power of many parties and had clearly transcended those incomplete offspring, was destined to have extremely considerable room for growth.

Hughes even believed that it was of great significance to Vaan, who was already being shrouded in the black sun.

"Mr. Ernst, it seems you didn't sleep very well last night?"

Darth Vader's voice came from ahead. Hugh looked up and found that he had unknowingly walked to the door of the Dawn Division's temporary office. Darth Vader and Felix were standing in the open space, each holding a cigarette and puffing away.

Hughes smiled and said, "It's really just so-so. I have a lot on my mind, so it's always hard for me to get a proper rest."

Darswell shrugged, glanced around, and seeing that the female scholar wasn't there, took out his cigarette case and handed her one.

Thus, there were three people puffing away at the clouds.

Hugh had come to a profound understanding of Darth Vader's character as the core leader of the Dawn Order. He was a completely different person from Frey Meyer—he was practically a ruthless work machine, with a wildly unpredictable mind that was always preoccupied with the troubles he was facing.

Even while taking a break to smoke, his casual conversations didn't stray from the situation in Vanne and the work of the Dawn Society itself.

"We are trying to establish a closer relationship with the Legislative Affairs Commission. Isn't that amazing?"

Darthwell exhaled a puff of smoke from his mouth and smiled at Hugh: "Of all the countries and organizations, Merlinler is actually the most proactive and eager. They are not far from Saint Steel, so they are more aware of the threat posed by the Black Sun Society's actions."

Hughes frowned: "So, the mages of Merlinler want to cooperate directly with us?"

Felix, standing to the side, rubbed his eyes a couple of times, yawned, and replied, "Yes, they're frantic... Because of the spread of the Black Sun Society's power, the foundation of the Goddess Mel's faith has begun to waver and even collapse. This influence has even begun to spread to Mellinler and within the organization."

"They are in a similar situation to us now, wanting to purge all Black Sun Society believers within their control area as soon as possible. Of course, the situation within their ranks is much more critical; they are probably already teeming with traitors."

Hughes exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at Felix with dark circles under his eyes, and asked, "I remember you've been doing something similar lately?"

"Yes, but it seems relatively easy so far. At least the Akatsuki is very stable internally, but the nearby towns are a different story."

Felix stubbed out his cigarette with a headache and said to Hugh and the other man, "I'm sure the Black Sun Society is trying to infiltrate this place, bribing fishermen or using magic to bewitch ordinary people... This kind of thing can only be handled by professional spies, not by relying on experienced veterans."

"Therefore, I plan to have Felix establish a new organization within the Dawn Order specifically to monitor our comrades and identify potential enemies."

As Darthwell added, he nodded slightly to Hugh: "Of course, they can also cooperate with people like Mr. Ernst to carry out special missions in special areas."

Hearing this, Hugh's expression became subtle. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, then clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, I feel like I shouldn't have come here this morning. I still haven't resolved one of my issues, and now there are new arrangements?"

"Haha, it's essentially the same thing, don't be nervous."

Darthwell laughed as he vigorously scratched his messy hair: "After all, to operate in the perilous North, elites like you alone are not enough. Just as they infiltrated us, we must also drive our forces deep into their territory like nails!"

"Ah, that's very well said!"

Meyer's voice suddenly came from behind. Hugh turned around and saw him carrying his coat and hat, walking over in a hurry: "I absolutely agree with this matter, and I think that not only for the new members who are about to join the Dawn Society, but also for ourselves, we need strict supervision and vetting... Think about it, the mages who can stay in Merlinle must have been staunch believers of the goddess Merlinle at first."

"However, even such a group of elites with firm beliefs were eventually corrupted by the Black Sun Society without realizing it. This even included a deep-sea level mage. Who would have believed such a thing before!"

Seeing that Meyer skillfully obtained a cigarette from his old friend, Hugh helplessly raised his hand and gently rubbed out a cluster of magical flames.

Now, the number of people smoking has increased to four.

Meyer pointed to the scepter that Hugh carried with him and said, “We’ve discussed this carefully. Given that some of the matters concerning our ‘Mr. Ghost’ are more important, it’s not suitable for you to oversee those matters. However, your experience is very important, so everyone hopes that you can have the time and opportunity to give a few lectures regularly to those comrades who have joined ‘Dawnblade’, or share some practical experience.”

"You guys have really got me all figured out... and it seems like I don't even have the right to refuse?"

Hugh shrugged and stared at the three people present.

Darthwell took out another cigarette: "So, will you refuse?"

"Of course not, I still really enjoy being a teacher."

"That's right."

Everyone chuckled in unison. After a couple of seconds, Felix stopped laughing and said seriously, "'Dawnblade' is our tentative name, and I'm in charge of it for now. The first batch of members have all passed the internal review. But right now... everyone really needs their first mission or first lesson to break the deadlock."

"The first class... um..."

Hearing this, Hugh couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

As if to cater to his thoughts, the next moment, a message from afar entered his mind, which was the warning delivered by General Bernhardt, who was lying in ambush at the old fisherman's house.

Just now, several strangers arrived near the old fisherman's dwelling. Through his own abilities, General Bernhardt confirmed that these visitors all had faint magical fluctuations, and they did not seem to be local residents.

Having received confirmation, Hugh immediately stubbed out his cigarette.

He raised an eyebrow at Felix: "Want to take a class? Now's your chance... Notify those who stayed in town to assemble immediately, stay hidden, and maintain secret communication!"

(End of this chapter)