The black sun hangs high

Chapter 324 "An Ordinary Day"

The precise calculations and divisions of a clock's scale cannot affect the passage of time in the slightest.

Just like the currents in the vast ocean, it rolls forward, regardless of anyone's will.

The Windless One and its escort ships are currently sailing at a steady speed toward a busy port on the east side of the Goddess Plains. The original plan was not for the Windless One to dock at this port, but to proceed toward the coastal waters of the Principality of Black River.

After all, there was still a group of passengers who needed to board at the largest port in the Principality of the Black River and head to Merlinle.

But now, after this series of strange events on the Windless, everyone believes that returning to land is the best option.

Compared to the panicked crew of the Windless, the armored ship and sailors guarding it appeared much calmer.

As professional soldiers, they always have full confidence in their ships and the various weapons they can operate, and in this respect, they share a common language with army soldiers.

"The weather should be nice for the next few days, right? Why the sudden change of course?"

"Who knows? Maybe there are important people on the Windless who can't get used to being on a ship and want to go back to land and walk."

On the armored ship "Silver Shield", several sailors who had just been rotated out were enjoying the breeze and chatting on the ship's side. They were all naval soldiers of the Duchy of Bult, except that now their uniforms had the additional insignia of the Legal Committee of Merlinle, which meant that they were now also considered as members of the Legal Committee's external force.

The soldiers of the Duchy of Vaan, who came from humble backgrounds, had little affection for the various "elites" who sailed on the Windless. Most of them came from ordinary families, with their parents being tailors, miners, farmers, or fishermen.

It's not easy to win these people's favor towards nobles and officials.

A sailor looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, pulled out half a pack of cigarettes from a hidden pocket in his uniform, which made their conversation more relaxed and lively.

An older sailor tugged at his collar, exhaled two puffs of smoke from his nose, and then sighed, "Judging from our course, we might dock around noon the day after tomorrow. I wonder how long we'll stay. I'd like to go ashore and explore."

"Don't even think about it. Military regulations won't give you a chance to leave the port. Those mages are keeping a close eye on you. They only do things one way."

His companion chuckled, then raised his chin and asked mockingly, "What? Can't hold back anymore? Want to go find a woman?"

Why do you speak so rudely?

The old sailor wrinkled his nose, but his serious expression lasted for less than two seconds before he laughed. "Well, I was on vacation anyway. If it weren't for that damn black sun and the demands of Merlinle and the other men, I would be enjoying myself in Blue Algae Harbor instead of sitting at sea with you guys!"

"If you really have such thoughts, you might as well hope everything is normal and we can hurry to the Principality of Black River, or even go directly to Merlinle and... I've heard that the scenery there is a hundred times better than Blue Algae Harbor!"

As soon as this topic came up, the sailors who had been idly leaning against the side suddenly swarmed over. The one who had been distributing cigarettes earlier even took out an extra one and handed it to this "well-informed" guy, hoping he would elaborate on matters related to "romance".

"Come here, everyone, I'll speak in a low voice."

The well-informed sailor waved, and after everyone gathered around, he said in a mysterious tone, "These past few days, many refugees have been migrating from towns and principalities closer to the North... It's not easy to survive in a foreign land, so..."

He held a cigarette in his mouth, made a weird "you know what I mean" look at the crowd, and then added, "These refugees are mostly from the North, and the young girls among them are very...tsk, famous."

"You mean, a lot of Saint Steeles escaped?"

"It's not just 'a lot,' it's 'a great many'!"

The sailor corrected, "Think about it, even places like Merlinle can't completely stop those Northern women from 'doing business' anymore. You know, those mages used to be most disgusted by this kind of thing, but now they can only turn a blind eye!"

"Hey, is that so?"

One young man didn't believe this claim, questioning, "I know those monks in my hometown; they have no taboos or rules about this kind of thing. They frequent taverns and keep mistresses all the time!"

"That's why I'm talking about Mellinger and!"

The experienced old sailor raised an eyebrow dismissively: "Do you know what they call Merlinle? It's a holy land of magic and scholarship, the center of worship for the goddess Merlinle! In the past, who would dare to talk about those things in a place like this?"

Everyone present couldn't help but nod in agreement; what he said made perfect sense.

The fact that a group of conservative, old-fashioned mages and scholars could back down was indeed proof that Merlinle had accepted a considerable number of refugees in a very short period of time. And when these young and restless soldiers thought of the Northern women who braved the cold and low temperatures to try to show their charm to others, they couldn't help but feel their cheeks burning and their hearts racing.

However, at times like these, there will always be those who spoil the fun.

The young man who had raised the question earlier shook his head with a sneer. He was a typical Burt, from a fishing family by the sea, and had his own set of views on love and fidelity. Therefore, he retorted, "Those women have it tough and are pitiful. They might already have their own families or lovers, but now they are forced to do these things..."

The soldiers fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter. One of them put his arm around the young man's shoulder and asked, "Alright, alright, you need to understand, not everyone on this ship has a fiancée!"

The young man remained steadfast in his opinion: "This isn't about a fiancée..."

"Listen to this, you've spent too little time on the ship, you have no idea what it feels like to be at sea for half a year or a year straight."

The older soldier shook his head and explained, "You feel comfortable right now, but that's just your illusion. In a while, you'll probably start to think of the fish you catch as your 'fiancées'!"

The moment those strange words were uttered, the veterans who had spent considerable time on the ship and heard countless bizarre tales burst into laughter, and the conversation immediately veered away from topics like St. Steel, the North, and the Black Sun Society. It was an unspoken understanding among them.

Instead of discussing these heavy topics that might bring a sense of crisis and unease, let's talk about something else.

Soon, the bored sailors began to talk about the interesting things they had heard and seen during their shifts.

"Around noon today, I heard that Lieutenant Barry and Lieutenant Sluk had a fight and almost came to blows."

"Two lieutenants arguing? What could they possibly be arguing about?"

"I wasn't there either, I heard it from others... Apparently, Lieutenant Barry routinely used binoculars to observe the distant sea, and then he suddenly said that he had spotted a huge reef on the course ahead and believed that our ships should immediately turn to avoid it!"

"A reef? Here it is?"

Immediately, someone in the audience shook their head: "Are you kidding me? In our waters, I might believe him if he said he saw an island, but how could a single reef possibly appear out of nowhere?"

"Lieutenant Sluk thought so too, that he must have seen wrong or misjudged, but Lieutenant Bale quickly confirmed it again, saying that there was indeed a large, greenish reef on the route..."

"Bullshit."

The audience member shook their head: "So what happened next?"

"Lieutenant Sluk snatched his binoculars to examine the sea, but of course there was nothing there... He questioned Lieutenant Barry's eyesight and common sense, and the two started arguing, almost coming to blows."

"If it were me, I would also question it. The reef is even green... Maybe it's just that its eyes have turned green from holding it in for too long!"

The simple young sailor listened to the discussion with a bit of boredom. He turned around, looked at the sea at dusk, and yawned. Because of his exhaustion, some tears seeped from the corners of his eyes as he moved, so he raised his hand and gently wiped them away.

But at that very moment, a strange shadow appeared at the edge of his field of vision.

He instinctively looked in the direction of the shadow.

Then he saw a strangely shaped shadow looming in the waves, far, far away from the Silver Shield armored ship, diagonally in front of him. Because of the dim light and the distance, the young man could not see the details of the shadow accurately, but he felt that its surface was green, as if covered with a lot of algae.

This discovery left him somewhat stunned, so he instinctively rubbed the corner of his eye, then squinted again and looked in the direction of the shadow.

In that instant, he saw the strange shadow sink directly into the deep sea, and within seconds, there was no trace left on the surface of the sea.

"What is that? A whale? Or am I seeing things?"

He was somewhat confused.

However, not wanting to invite ridicule or displeasure from his companions who were still chatting, the young man kept the fleeting peculiar sight to himself.

"Another peaceful and boring day..."

The inexperienced sailor sighed silently in his heart.

……

"Let's call these monsters 'skin worms' for now... Perhaps at first, we might have some preconceived notions based on their appearance, but now I can confirm that they are definitely not what you call 'worms'!"

After studying for most of the day, the scholar Leger, who had a considerable understanding of marine magical creatures, came to some preliminary conclusions. Facing Hugh, Vilin, and other mages, he appeared very confident, a stark contrast to his tearful and snotty demeanor in the confinement room earlier.

"This is incredible. Although they were found on the backs of dwarves, their limbs and body structure do not resemble those of pure 'parasites' at all."

With the help of Verin's mage hand, a "skin bug" used as a research sample was slowly turned over, exposing its abdomen directly to everyone.

Legel pointed to the swaying, thin limbs and said, "Look, the way their limbs are arranged is completely different from that of ordinary insects."

As Leger explained, another mage's hand floated over and gently touched the tentacles on the abdomen of the "skin bug." In the next instant, everyone saw these "limbs," which looked extremely similar to ordinary insects, quickly loosen. Many people, including Hugh, then realized that these so-called "limbs" were actually made up of a large number of hair-like tentacles twisted together!
Once these black tentacles fully loosen and droop down, the appearance of the "skin worm" completely changes—it looks like a piece of human skin with countless hairs extending out!

“It’s amazing, isn’t it… but this is just the beginning.”

As he spoke, the scholar Leger picked up a glass of water and slowly poured it onto the "skin worm." Immediately, the "tentacles" hanging down from the skin worm's abdomen began to sway in a peculiar manner. Although they were extremely light, under the drive of some strange force, they were able to move as neatly as black waves.

That wasn't all. Following Leger's instructions, the "skin worm" was thrown directly into a large water tank. People then saw the strange worm swimming around in the tank. It moved very nimbly, and its long, dense tentacles seemed to form several flexible "fins." Each rhythmic sway allowed it to move at will.

Immediately afterwards, Leger took some fresh blood from the side and put it into the tank. The swimming "skin worm" became even more active. Everyone saw that its flexible black tentacles stretched out completely. It continuously absorbed the blood-colored seawater into its body and quickly expelled it from between its tentacles. As this process continued, the blood in the tank quickly faded, leaving no trace.

"I would like to remind everyone that I used seawater throughout the entire process."

The scholar, Leger, gently tapped the trough: "These things... they are naturally aquatic creatures. Perhaps their previous parasitism was just a means of hiding and survival that they were forced to adopt."

(End of this chapter)