The black sun hangs high

Chapter 318 The person is quite nice.

Looking at the "skin" thrashing about on the ground and the strange blood splattered on the deck, Hughes naturally thought of the "color of life" from a distant era.

Then a Karron's Tentacle quickly extended, its tip gently tracing across the blood, bringing some of it to Hugh's face.

Amidst the ever-shifting colors, a familiar feeling wafted through him. Hugh was certain that this parasite, which had mutated from a patch of skin on Badosa's back, was indeed closely related to the "Colors of Life."

Although the life force contained in these bloods was quite thin, Hugh was still able to clearly capture the special traces from ancient times. When he used his magical perception to capture the signs, he even felt a slight impulse in his heart, a kind of instinctive pursuit of life force by living beings.

Poor dwarf Bardoza finally managed to climb off the deck.

The healing magic pages that Hugh had thrown out earlier had fully taken effect under the influence of magic. The emerald green healing light that emanated from them tightly enveloped Badosa's body, and the extremely hideous wound on his back was also rapidly healing under the effect of magic. Apart from a little residual pain, Badosa had now returned to normal.

He cautiously hid behind the tables and chairs, watching in horror the strange creature thrashing and leaping across the deck, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What...what is that thing?"

“As you can see, Master Badosa, it is a piece of skin on your back… at least it used to be.”

Upon hearing Hugh's calm reply, the dwarf instinctively wanted to touch his back, but the constant stinging sensation made him abandon the idea. He stared in horror at the "skin" that was beyond description, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Hugh glanced at Badosa, and seeing that he seemed to have lost his hostility towards him, he began to deal with the special parasite and the bloodstains in front of him. The power of the "Color of Life" was very special. It might not be as dangerous as the Dark Abyss offspring, which were created from ancient times, but if it was not handled properly, it might trigger some chain reactions.

Therefore, while completely sealing off the parasite, Hugh also used his magic to collect or erase all the abnormal blood scattered on the ground. Under the influence of the Dark Abyss magic, the abundant vitality and residual marks brought by the "Color of Life" were completely eliminated.

As for that parasite with extremely vigorous vitality, it is now completely locked in a cage made of magic. No one can see what is inside through the surging magical light. Only Hugh knows that the parasite still maintains its vigorous energy, but compared to Hugh, its power is too weak to break through the blockade.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Hugh withdrew his rather terrifying magic, turned around and went to Badosa's side. He quickly checked Badosa's condition and, after confirming that there were no more abnormal marks on Badosa's body, he helped him sit down in a chair.

Under Badosa's uneasy gaze, Hugh snapped his fingers lightly, and a basic Stream-level healing spell was cast on Badosa's damaged clothing.

Badosa's clothes were just a few very ordinary dwarven garments, without any magical protective rituals attached to them. Therefore, simple repair magic was enough to close the tear. However, like all repair magic, this level of restoration could only be maintained for a period of time. After the magic disappeared, the clothes would return to their damaged state.

The dwarf raised his head, licked his dry lips, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. After glancing fearfully at the magical cage floating beside Hugh, he said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you... thank you. Is that thing completely dead?"

Hugh shook his head: "No, it's still alive and kicking, but I can assure you it won't climb on you again... This kind of magical creation is very strange. With the existing magic system, I'm afraid there's no way to create something like this."

Bardoza was still fairly clear-headed. Upon hearing Hugh's words and recalling Hugh's past experiences fighting against the Black Sun Society, he immediately realized: "You mean, this thing is the Black Sun Society..."

"I can't guarantee it, I can only say it's very likely."

Hugh turned his head to look at the magical barrier surrounding them and sighed, "It's probably in complete chaos outside. Fortunately, everything is going relatively smoothly. At least Master Badosa, you haven't fainted yet, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to explain it."

"Hmph... Mr. Hugh, for us, repaying the help of others is as natural as drinking alcohol. I will help you clear things up."

Seeing that Badosa was very cooperative, Hugh decided to strike while the iron was hot. He nodded and said, "It is probably not safe on this Windless. If you are willing to trust me and the Dawn Society, please come to our cabin as soon as possible... I am worried that you are not the only one who has been parasitized by these things. To find out the reason behind it, we need to sit down and talk in detail."

Upon hearing this, Badosa immediately recalled the tingling and stinging sensation on his back. His face twitched, and he nodded hastily.

……

The disturbance that occurred on the deck of the Windless was quelled with astonishing efficiency.

When the magical barrier that had blocked their view was removed, everyone found that Hugh and the dwarf Badosa, who had clashed earlier, seemed to be in no condition. There was no bloodstains or signs of fighting around the tables and chairs. Badosa was sitting in his chair perfectly fine, and his clothes seemed to be intact, but his face was pale and his lips were white.

Virin and the other spellcasters noticed the magical glow floating beside Hugh, and their expressions changed slightly. Mages of the Stream level and above knew that this was a very standard "magical cage," specifically used to control and imprison smaller magical creatures or to temporarily isolate dangerous alchemical items.

This is enough to show that some unknown, secret events have indeed just occurred.

However, at this moment, Badosa took the initiative to speak. He told everyone that he had been attacked by a wild mage a few days ago. A fine needle, which had been specially processed, had pierced into the muscle of his back. Fortunately, Hugh Ernst of the Dawn Society successfully removed it for him, and he was now fine.

Anyone with a normal mind could see that Badosa was hiding something, but since the person involved had already spoken, they naturally couldn't pursue the matter any further. However, this riot added a touch of mystery to Hugh himself and the Dawn Society, and also gave the passengers on the ship some fresh topics of conversation.

Although the dwarves are known for their rude and petty ways of doing things, they also show enough respect and caution when faced with trouble and danger. Bardoza, who had just suffered a trauma, did not even go back to his cabin to change his clothes, but directly led the members of the dwarven delegation to the cabin of the Dawn Society with Hugh and others.

Not only dwarves came here, but also a Valley-level mage from the Legal Committee, one of the Legal Committee leaders on the Windless cruise ship.

After a brief discussion, Hugh and Vera agreed that the Legal Committee needed to witness and participate in this matter.

The parasites that suddenly appeared on the dwarf Badosa indicated that their wary enemy had not been inactive during this time; they had been secretly advancing their plans using some method that could evade the magical rat swarm and the ship's magical artifacts. It was safe to assume that today's events would most likely be discovered by them, which would probably lead them to adopt new strategies or accelerate their original plans. Accordingly, Hugh and the others would need to react accordingly.

The safest approach would be to disclose the findings to the Legal Committee and have the entire Windless fleet on high alert.

After all, relying on the current capabilities and influence of Hugh and others, it is probably not enough to conduct sufficient infiltration and inspection of other ships, especially warships, besides the Windless. If they want to conduct a thorough investigation, they must cooperate with the Legal Committee on this matter.

When the cabin, which originally could only accommodate ten people, was suddenly crammed with nearly twenty, the space became crowded. In front of the head of the Legal Committee, Hugh and Vilin checked the remaining members of the dwarf delegation, and the result was astonishing.

Besides Badosa, four other dwarves showed similar symptoms.

Identical parasites appeared on parts of their bodies, and after several mages worked together to remove these monsters, everyone's faces turned pale.

People have seen dangerous magical creatures before, but they have never heard of a living person's skin coming to life and becoming a bizarre creation that parasitizes the human body.

Five "skin worms" were placed into empty water tanks that had been reinforced with magic. Looking at their strange tentacles and the long, sharp fangs used to hold them in place and paralyze their victims, everyone felt itchy all over and wished they could take off their clothes right now and examine them again.

“By Mel, I swear, I could never have imagined such a monster.”

The River Valley-level mage of the Legal Committee watched as a strange insect kept crashing against the wall of the water tank. His facial muscles contorted, clearly indicating that he was not very accepting of this life form on a physiological level.

"It really shouldn't exist, at least not in present-day Vain... If I'm not mistaken, this is probably a deformed embryo created by the Black Sun Society using some kind of special power or drug."

In matters like this, Hugh had the authority to speak that overwhelmed everyone present, so when he opened his mouth, everyone in the cabin consciously shut up.

“I can tell you all definitively that on the day I boarded the Windless, I had already detected traces of the Black Sun Society’s activities near Blue Algae Harbor… Therefore, after boarding the ship, the Dawn Society has been trying every means to find their traces.”

Hugh said slowly, “However, we only made some new breakthroughs this morning. It is clear that the Black Sun Society is extremely well-prepared in this regard. I strongly suspect that they took advantage of some loopholes on the Windless or deceived some passengers and crew members to move some hidden dangers onto the ship.”

This time, Hughes doesn't need to ask any more questions.

As the primary victim, Badosa immediately stepped forward. He took out paper and pen and quickly had the members of the dwarf delegation list the places they had visited and the people they had contacted over the past ten days.

Looking at the densely packed names, Hugh felt a headache coming on. He asked, "Master Badosa, why are so many people... coming to find you? Is this your foreign policy strategy?"

"What foreign policy!"

Upon hearing Hugh's question, Badosa bared his teeth and cursed, "Dwarves have never been so 'popular' in the past few centuries. Every single one of them who can speak comes up to us, asking if we can rent craftsmen, weapon technicians, or if we can mass-produce new weapons... What a bunch of 'giant-eared' bastards! They all talk a good game, but their voices go quiet when it comes to money. We've wasted so much time on this!"

When Badosa uttered those words, Hughes noticed a visibly change in expression on the face of the head of the legal committee standing to the side.

Clearly, the representatives of Merlinler and others also fall under the category of the insult "giant-eared bastards".

Hugh picked up the list and quickly scanned through the jumbled place names and personal names. His gaze then settled on a rather strange name.

He turned to the group of dwarves and asked, "Which of you has this Legel scholar met?"

A pale-faced female dwarf stepped forward, one of the "skin worms" having been plucked from her body. In an effort to ensure the dwarf's safety, Virin was nearly bitten by the strange worm.

So, Hugh asked with some doubt, "Is this Leger scholar also here to buy weapons from you?"

"Weapons? Weapons my ass."

Badosa shook his head: "That guy initially approached me, saying he wanted to have one of our craftsmen custom-make a ship... that could sail underwater, so he could more easily conduct his research and capture more magical marine creatures. I thought he was an idiot, so I had Yena receive him."

The dwarf woman named Yena nodded hurriedly: "That's right. Scholar Leger said he's willing to pay enough money for this, and hopes we can set up a workshop in the Duchy of Bult to develop this kind of... diving ship specifically for him."

Hugh's expression became subtle: "You agreed?"

"of course not!"

Yena shook her head: "This kind of thing doesn't make sense at all. If you want to go diving, why don't the mages cast a few magical rituals, tie a rope to it, and throw it into the water? Why go through all that trouble?"

“I refused the offer right away. The scholar Leger was clearly scolded by us, but he wasn’t angry at all. He even sent us two bottles of the newest spirits from the Duchy of Bult… I think he’s a really nice guy!”

(End of this chapter)