The black sun hangs high

Chapter 308 Dress
Hugh examined the Hound's Fang in his hand, which had undergone tremendous changes. He was now eager to try it out and wanted to find a suitable target to pull the trigger.

Of course, Hugh can't do that now.

Even the Hound's Fang from before could easily cause massive damage in such a place, and Hugh didn't want his ship to run into trouble before it even left port.

Hugh carefully considered the message related to the court hounds. It seemed to be sending Hugh a signal that these hounds were not only patrollers and hunters of the Dark Abyss Court, but also special creatures that could grow by devouring others in endless hunts.

The current behavior of the hounds should be concrete proof of this tendency.

The Hound's Fang has now broken free from the limitations of a "revolver." The "wolf fangs" that were originally loaded inside as bullets have also completely disappeared. On it, Hughes senses several bonds that are closely connected to his own magic.

"It seems that I will no longer be limited by the number of bullets and the recovery rate when I use it in the future... It should be related to my mana reserves, which will make Hound's Fang more flexible."

A satisfied smile appeared on Hugh's face. He shook his palm, and the special gun spun lightly in his hand before disappearing into a dark purple tremor of magic.

Throughout the entire process, Hugh did not try to avoid Verine's gaze, while Verine observed Hugh's every movement and detail quietly and attentively, as if she were facing a precious sample of a magical experiment.

She placed the book she was holding on the table and then asked, "Is this your old gun? It looks a little different."

"Yes... but right now, I don't have anywhere to verify the specific changes it brings."

Hughes said with a smile, "But I'm sure it's become more powerful and easier to use than before."

"uh-huh."

Weilin responded softly, but did not offer any further comment.

She had long ago determined that a portion of the power possessed by Hugh completely transcended the understanding of power held by Vaan spellcasters, and also completely jumped out of the existing academic system. In other words, the portion of power he possessed originated from that ancient era and was related to those strange deities.

Regarding this, she believes that she only has the right to observe, record, and learn, and as for interference, she has no intention of doing so at all.

Perhaps not long after the Black Sun rises, more academic issues related to it will officially come to the forefront, and only after these emerging academic issues show progress will she be able to truly discuss these powers with Hugh.

"You seem to be alright?"

Seeing that Hugh's complexion and condition had gradually recovered, Vera packed her belongings and then stood up: "Well then, I'll go back to my cabin first, it's next door. In a little while, our ship will set sail, and then we'll need to go to the ship's restaurant... There should be quite a few people waiting to see you."

Upon hearing this, Hugh couldn't help but shake his head and complain, "What a troublesome thing."

Vera picked up the exquisite water jug ​​she had given to Hugh earlier, shook it gently, and found that Hugh had already drunk all the alchemical beverage inside. She then pouted and said, "Since we've come here representing the Dawn Society, this kind of interaction is unavoidable... You should know that better than I do."

"alright."

Hughes nodded, noticing Vera's subtle movements, and said, "I'll leave the kettle with you for now. I'll clean it and fill it with drinks for you later... They really do taste good."

"Ah."

So the female mage released the kettle as instructed, and then left the cabin with her luggage and books. Soon after, Hugh heard the sound of the door next door opening and closing.

The sky was dim. Hugh and Virin's cabins were located near the bow of the ship. Through the windows, they could see part of the deck and the dock outside. Hugh saw that all the vehicles and workers who had gathered on the dock and were responsible for unloading cargo had left. A group of soldiers, including mages from the Legal Committee, were boarding the ship.

Clearly, the Legislative Affairs Commission is taking the safety of the "Windless" ship very seriously.

Seeing this, Hugh reached out and picked up the Black Sun Scepter that was placed to the side. He gently squeezed the handle, and magic and perception instantly emanated from the scepter. Then he couldn't help but frown.

Using the power of the Black Sun Scepter, Hugh could confirm that members of the Black Sun Society already existed in the surrounding area. However, for some reason, the Black Sun Scepter failed to accurately locate them this time. He could only vaguely sense their presence, but he had no way to confirm their location or condition.

"It seems the Black Sun Society has also set its sights on this ship... They are trying to launch an operation."

Hughes stood by the window, leaning on his scepter, his gaze quickly sweeping over the soldiers boarding the ship.

Since he participated in the Black Sun Society's gathering and successfully seized the scepter in cooperation with Theseus, its power has remained undisturbed. However, it now appears that the Black Sun Society is aware of the threat posed by the lost scepter and is actively taking countermeasures.

That vague perception was a fairly obvious signal.

"Is it a special ritual? Or perhaps, some kind of magical artifact forged from ancient relics?"

Hughes frowned, then raised his palm and quickly mobilized his magic.

In the blink of an eye, a faint mist spread from beneath Hugh's feet, and then the mist quickly materialized into a swarm of quiet, blind magical rats.

These tiny magical creatures, manipulated by the will of the Ernst family and capable of moving freely and making detailed judgments about their surroundings, are absolutely the most suitable vigilant and scouts in the current environment.

Hugh didn't need to persuade these families with their own ideas; they were already eager to try, and they wouldn't miss any opportunity to move freely around the area.

Thus, the various family factions quickly divided the tasks internally. Countess Alexandra and several others naturally occupied the passengers' cabins, while the old men, who had served in the military and were extremely passionate about military affairs and equipment development, led by General Bernhardt, hurried towards the soldiers' rest areas and weapons storage points.

As for other places such as the kitchen and meeting room, they were taken care of by family members like Jacob who did not show any particular bias.

At Hugh's insistence, all Ernst family members who are out on free missions must restrain their magic as much as possible to avoid triggering potential warning rituals, and any suspicious situations must be reported immediately.

Hugh wasn't worried about the safety of these family wills. As his own magic and abilities continued to grow, these magical rats, which housed human wills, had become an integral part of his magic. Even if these rats suffered fatal blows from the outside, they could slowly recover with the support of Hugh's magic. As for those wills, they would only fall into a short period of dormancy due to the impact.

What he was truly worried about was the fundamental purpose of the Black Sun Society's operation.

Was he infiltrating the crowd to investigate Merlinler and the Dawn Society's movements?

Is it to track and monitor oneself?
Or do they actually harbor more extreme and dangerous intentions?

For example, attempting to directly harm these important figures from all walks of life who are preparing to travel to Merlinle, or even directly damaging the cruise ship itself during the voyage?
If it were only the former, Hugh would even be willing to have a formal meeting and conversation with these members of the Black Sun Society under appropriate circumstances. But if it were the latter, the situation would probably become very difficult to handle. It is easy to imagine that these guys who approached the ship with extreme goals would choose to hide themselves as much as possible in order to achieve their ultimate goal and take action at the critical moment.

With that thought in mind, Hugh left the cabin, went to the corridor, and knocked on the door of the cabin next door.

However, Veraine did not open the door for a long time.

The cabin was clearly equipped with a magical ritual to isolate sound and senses, so Hugh couldn't find out the exact situation inside. He could only wait patiently. After a while, the cabin door opened, and then Verine's face, full of doubt, appeared before Hugh.

Hughes couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

To his surprise, Verin, who always wore only the standard mage robes and scholar's coats on various occasions, had changed her attire this time for the first time ever.

She was now wearing a long robe decorated with some dark red patterns. Compared to the robes of ordinary scholars and mages, this robe was slightly cinched at the waist, which would accentuate her figure. Over it, she wore a small shawl that served both as warmth and decoration. The shawl had some dark gold threads on it, and the buttons on the shawl were carved into a miniature silver sculpture of the goddess Mel.

Overall, her clothing still didn't stray from the orthodox style of a mage's attire, but this outfit had a touch of formal wear, making it very versatile.

As for makeup...

As always, Vivian was not wearing makeup.

The concept of cosmetics seemed to be absent from her world. Even now, she simply tidied her hair, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze, and her complexion appeared slightly rosier and more vibrant.

Hugh averted his gaze, ceasing his observation of Vera, and entered her room after obtaining her permission.

In arranging and organizing the room, Verin continued her usual style. In just a short while, she had roughly transformed the place into a way that suited her habits. Now, Hugh could even see a mage's hand carefully adjusting a mystical ornament set on the table according to Verin's wishes.

After the door closed, Hugh quickly told Verine about his discovery and a series of arrangements. This news made Verine's expression serious again. She took out a few blank sheets of paper, quickly wrote down these important matters, and said that she would make the corresponding preparations and print a batch of magic book pages as soon as possible according to the situation on the cruise ship.

After exchanging this important information, Vera took a step back and glanced at Hugh.

"I just checked, and as is customary, there will be a welcome banquet on board after departure... Almost all the guests and important crew members, including the captain, will attend."

“That’s great, let’s go… that way we can find most of the people on this ship near the banquet hall.”

Hughes nodded: "Although we can't cover all the targets, we can at least conduct the first round of search and screening on this Windless Ship."

Vera's eyebrows twitched slightly: "No... okay, you're right, but Mr. Hugh, that's not what I really wanted to talk about."

"what is that?"

Faced with Hugh's question, Verine sighed helplessly. Then she manipulated her mage hand to take out a briefcase from the side and stuffed it directly into Hugh's arms: "Although it's not a very formal occasion, you should at least change into something a little more formal, right?"

As she spoke, Vera pointed to the edge of the trench coat on Hugh's body. Hugh looked down and noticed a faint tear on the side of his coat. He didn't know if it was left by the Black Sun Society mage or torn by the strange fish.

Then, Hughes noticed that his relatively clean coat actually had a lot of wear and tear. The collar, cuffs, and hem were discolored from friction, and there were even two inconspicuous spots on his trousers, which seemed to be bloodstains, probably from when he used his scepter to beat the Black Sun Society mage.

Veraine's voice continued: "Dear Mr. Hugh, you are about to face not your readers, so be careful not to leave a bad impression on those officials and scholars... Of course, I don't like formal occasions either, so I suggest we complete our task as quickly as possible and then we can leave."

As they were talking, a steady magical vibration came from beneath their feet, a sign that the magical circuits embedded inside the ship were starting to operate.

A deep, resonant flute sounded above the ship.

As large quantities of high-quality magical crystals were crushed and mixed by massive machines inscribed with complex ritual sites, and then burned, magical power was extracted and flowed through circuits to various parts of the ship, while the large amounts of steam generated from consuming the magical crystals were emitted through the chimneys...

The Windless set sail as planned.

Once the flute music stopped, Vera waved to Hugh: "Go on, see you in ten minutes... You don't expect me, your teacher, to teach you how to change, do you?"

(End of this chapter)