The black sun hangs high

Chapter 316 Parasite (Part 1)

"If the dwarf's mouth is like a tightly closed iron door, then strong liquor is the only key to open that iron door."

This is a proverb widely circulated in plains areas.

Although this proverb seems exaggerated, it actually points out two undeniable facts.

First, dwarves are generally stubborn and extreme in character, making communication with them extremely difficult, and getting the information you want from them is even more challenging.

Secondly, the dwarves always had a very high pursuit of strong liquor.

For many dwarves, alcohol was second only to their faith in the sun and their pursuit of forging and smelting.

In reality, however, the dwarves' alcohol tolerance is not as astonishing as legend suggests. They often swing from one extreme to another after drinking, becoming passionate and unrestrained afterward, no matter how gloomy they are before drinking.

The goblins on the plains even made up a few jokes about it.

The saying, "One bottle makes you brothers, two bottles reveal secrets, three bottles betray your country and surrender to the enemy," is a satire of the dwarves. Because of this widely circulated joke, the giant-eared goblins have been thoroughly blacklisted by the dwarves.

Hugh was very familiar with the dwarves' special circumstances, so when he presented the gift, he specifically mentioned that a potion that could relieve seasickness had been added to the wine. This gave the dwarves a signal that he was not simply using fine wine to bribe them, but rather that he had carefully considered the situation and was presenting them with a thoughtfully prepared gift.

The dwarf Bardoza silently raised his head, his gaze lingering on Hugh's face for two seconds.

Finally, he slowly nodded, took the exquisite metal flask from Hugh's hand, and after unscrewing the lid and sniffing it, the dwarf's stern face finally softened. He touched his huge nose and casually clipped the flask to his waist.

Then, Badosa raised his hand and shook hands briefly with Hugh.

Although such etiquette may seem somewhat hasty, it was a huge breakthrough for the rigid dwarves.

After the two finished shaking hands, the stocky-looking Badossa asked in his deep voice, "Um... Mr. Ernst, is that right?"

"You can just call me 'Shug'."

Hugh smiled and said, "I am not an envoy of the Kingdom of Walter, nor can I represent the Ernst family... As you can see, I am just an ordinary member of the Dawn Society."

“Alright, Mr. Hugh.”

Badossa crossed his arms, his beard swaying slightly in the sea breeze: "So, what brings you here? Do you want to buy weapons? Or hire craftsmen?"

At this point, Badosa glared at him sharply: "Let me make this clear beforehand, Mr. Hugh... The situation is special right now, we will not allow large-scale loan of craftsmen, and the hiring of soldiers and instructors is also off the table, you understand what I mean?"

This is the dwarfs' style of communication. They regard all negotiations and mediations that take place in public as a waste of time and hypocrisy. Therefore, whenever such situations arise, they try to turn those troublesome social interactions into the simplest and most brutal bargaining.

No joke, even at meetings of Merlinler and the organization, the dwarves' speeches were always filled with a simple and unpretentious "beauty".

Moreover, dwarves particularly like to end a sentence with a strong question.

This situation is similar to the online flame war participants that Hughes saw in another time and space.

He recalled that at a certain point in the past, people loved to add a word filled with strong contempt and skepticism to the end of their sentences while hurling insults and questioning. Every time someone saw that, their blood pressure would rise.

Just one word: "Understand?"

The way dwarves speak today is very similar to this situation.

For a fleeting moment, Hugh really wanted to raise the Black Sun Scepter and smash it down on the other person's head, but his strong reason kept him from that impulse.

He maintained his smile: "Of course I am aware of what Master Badosa said. Please rest assured, the Dawn Society does not intend to discuss these matters with you at the moment. Even if the Dawn Society had a need, it would not be me who would be discussing them with you."

Badosa was somewhat surprised. He stroked his beard and asked, "What? Don't you have any standing in the Dawn Society?"

"status?"

Hearing this, Hugh shook his head: "The Dawn Society doesn't usually talk about this word. The reason I won't discuss this with you is simply because this kind of matter needs to be left to more specialized craftsmen and soldiers."

He looked intently at Badosa: "You probably wouldn't want to discuss mineral smelting and mechanical design with a mage, would you?"

At this, a smile finally appeared on Badosa's bearded face. He gestured to the other dwarves behind him and walked forward, saying, "Let's talk over here. I'd like to find a place to sit!"

Soon, Hugh and Bardoza arrived at the middle area of ​​the deck, where the ship's waiters had brought wooden tables and chairs and secured them to the ground.

Hugh and his companion randomly chose a table and sat down.

Bardoza took out the flask Hugh had given him, took a careful sip, and then squinted his eyes in satisfaction: "Oh, Borden craft beer as the base, mixed with a small amount of Hein's 'seaweed wine'... What's with this sweetness? Oh, it's probably the taste of that potion, isn't it? Did you add sugar to it?"

Hugh shrugged. "I don't know about that. After all, I didn't make this wine myself... and my friend loves desserts. Even her potions have a sweet flavor."

"Hmm, that makes sense!"

Badosa laughed loudly, slapping his large hand on the table: "Where we come from, women also prefer sweet wine, and I'm telling you, this type is the most suitable..." As the leader of this group of dwarves, Badosa's every move perfectly matched the stereotypes about dwarves in Hugh's mind.

After just a couple of sips of wine, he completely transformed into a different person. Not only did his voice become louder, but his topics of conversation also became extremely unrestrained.

Fortunately, Badosa did not forget what he was doing because of that little bit of alcohol. After rambling on for a while, the topic of conversation finally returned to its original point.

Bardoza reluctantly hung the flask back on his waist, then said earnestly to Hugh, "Mr. Hugh, let me be frank... I don't like humans, nor do I like those 'pointed ears' and 'big ears,' but you are an exception."

Badosa took a clean napkin from a waiter, and after carefully wiping away two drops of wine from his beard, he said, “I’ve heard about you before, hmm… a nobleman from the highlands, abandoning his comfortable life to risk his life for the refugees in a city—only a hero could do that.”

He stared at Hugh: "I didn't believe any of this at first, until I met those refugees in Bulte. They all knew you and remembered your name. Wow, that's amazing."

Even Hugh couldn't help but blush when he suddenly received a string of praises and affirmations from a dwarf with an eccentric temper.

However, before Hugh could speak, Badosa continued, "Ah... I know what you nobles like to say. Every time this happens, you start making excuses, saying you haven't done anything particularly noble, that you haven't done enough, and so on. Heh, am I right?"

"It's fairly accurate."

"Still? Did I say something wrong?"

In response to Badosa's questioning, Hughes held up two fingers: "Firstly, the fact that so many people were able to survive in Seren was not solely due to me. The nameless victims and the survivors themselves paid a heavy price in the process."

Hugh and Badosa stared at each other, a deep shadow seeming to surge in their eyes: "I will not deny my efforts, but it was by no means something I accomplished alone. To accept it entirely would be to deny their sacrifices."

The dwarf across the table felt a distinct sense of oppression. He couldn't help but swallow hard and instinctively wanted to back away, but the back of the chair prevented Badosa from moving.

Then, Hughes raised his second finger: "Secondly, I really didn't do a good enough job. This is not an excuse, but a fact... I had a premonition of the tragedy that might befall the city of Seren, but my role in the process of the disaster was extremely limited. I am well aware that for some time now, I, like most people, have just been a cold spectator."

The sea breeze kept blowing, but with Hugh's words, it was as if an invisible wall rose up nearby, isolating all the surrounding forces.

Overwhelmed by this terrifying sense of oppression, Badosa took a deep breath, forcibly breaking free and nodding quickly twice at Hugh: "Alright, alright, I understand, Mr. Hugh, I understand!"

Hugh lowered his hand, his gentle smile returning. He pressed his Black Sun Scepter and said to Badosa, "Let's leave it at that for now... If you're really interested, we can talk over drinks one evening, my treat."

Hearing these words, Badossa felt no joy whatsoever.

He felt as if he were trapped in a terrifying, transparent cage. Despite the constant flow of people passing by, he couldn't get any help from them—the smiling waiters, the familiar passengers, and the sailors patrolling the deck with weapons…

Although asking for help is a matter of a moment, Badosa cannot feel safe at all.

But the shadow that had been flickering in Hugh's eyes returned to calm the next second, and the terrifying sense of oppression receded quickly like a tide. Badosa breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then he immediately adjusted his posture to make himself look more upright.

Although the dwarves have terrible personalities, that doesn't mean they are stupid.

The terrifying feeling that had swept over him in that instant made Badosa realize that this "young nobleman" was not the same kind of "good-for-nothings" he had encountered in the past. His survival instinct told Badosa that he had better treat this envoy of the Dawn Society with enough respect, otherwise that silver cane that was gleaming might really fall on his neck or forehead.

At the same time, a few waves of emotion stirred within Hugh.

He originally only intended to use his Dark Abyss magic to exert some pressure and influence on the dwarf in front of him, but the moment he mobilized this Dark Abyss power, he actually detected some residual traces of similar power on the dwarf's body.

However, Badosa himself seemed to be perfectly normal. His behavior was completely normal, there was not even a trace of magic left in his body, and his every move was perfectly reasonable...

Hugh's fingers slowly rubbed against his cane as he pondered: "Judging from the current situation, it's unlikely that the Black Sun Society can directly win over and corrupt these dwarves. These guys have too strange tempers and their faith is too firm. As believers in the 'Sun,' their resistance to the so-called Black Sun is bound to be extremely strong..."

"However, the perception just now should not be wrong, which means that these dwarves have recently, or even in the past two days, come into contact with some 'strange' people or things?"

Having reached this conclusion, Hughes lowered his voice and said, "Master Bardoza, it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but I would like to know if you had any meetings with certain people before or after boarding the ship?"

"Hey, Mr. Hugh... what do you mean by this?"

Although Badossa is now quite afraid of Hugh, he still showed the proper attitude when faced with this issue: "This involves both sides, both sides! This is a matter of principle!"

Hughes did not back down. He leaned forward slightly and posed a question that sent shivers down Badossa's spine: "I know this is a matter of principle, but what if this matter concerns your own safety?"

"What...what safety?"

Badosa froze for a second, but before he could react, the oppressive feeling that had subsided returned. Before Badosa could even shout, his gaze met the darkness surging in Hugh's eyes. The powerful force that could interfere with his thoughts turned into an invisible vortex, as if to drag his will into an endless abyss.

At that very moment, Badosa suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his back.

It was as if a piece of his skin had come to life under the influence of Hugh's strange magic; he felt as if that piece of skin had detached from his body and was slowly wriggling on his back.

However, the young man in front of him smiled and said, "So this is where you are. You hid it well."

(End of this chapter)