The black sun hangs high

Chapter 331 The Black North
The attack, launched by an unfamiliar deep-sea community, finally subsided completely in the latter half of the night.

The "color of life" that had been constantly interfering with the communication devices as the fleet moved forward gradually dissipated as the creatures' attack failed. Once these strange colors disappeared completely into the night, all the magical rituals and other sophisticated equipment that had been disrupted returned to normal.

The sea was still quite rough, but overall it was much calmer than before.

The fleet suffered minimal losses, well within acceptable limits. Apart from the gunboat that was boarded directly by a group of sea monsters, the other ships suffered virtually no direct impact or damage, and the loss of personnel was also very minor.

On the ships that had activated the emergency protection ceremony in advance, apart from a few unlucky ones who were swept away by those deformed sea monsters during the battle, there were basically no more losses.

The commanders on the remaining warships were quickly mobilized, each sending a small number of their own crew to the heavily damaged gunboat to help it return to normal operation.

In the latter half of the night, the monks and apprentices on these ships were the busiest.

After personally experiencing the terrifying attacks of these aberrant beings, even those who were previously least concerned about such matters would involuntarily become tense and cautious. With Hugh's reminder, they gathered alchemical containers from several ships large enough to hold the fragments of flesh and mutated tissue. After using magic to pry out the gruesome pieces bit by bit, the mages took on the task of cleaning up.

There was no way to clean up the effects of these monsters; the shipwrights using only mops and other cleaning tools would not be enough. If they could, the crew would even like to wash the ship several times with alchemical solvents.

They worked on this until dawn, and the horrific scene on the ship was finally brought to a preliminary resolution. Even so, in the dim morning light, people could still smell the strange odor of flesh and blood on the ship.

The smell is somewhat pungent, but because of the "color of life," it also contains a faint sweetness.

"Damn it, I feel like I'm taking a bath in rotten wine!"

In the banquet hall of the Windless, a nobleman from the Duchy of Plains complained quietly to his companion, which drew a glare and a warning from the diplomatic official beside him.

"Sir, you'd better tone it down. Everyone saw what happened last night... We're under protection now, so don't bring up your past mistakes!"

As he spoke, the cautious official shifted his gaze to the other side of the banquet hall, where a young man who had just changed his clothes was sitting, and opposite him was the scholar Leger, who had a terrible reputation.

After exchanging a wink, the official whispered, "I saw it through the window last night. If anyone angers Mr. Hugh, he might actually throw someone overboard... I think he's capable of doing it, and the legal committee's monks probably won't say a word!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at this, this is what cowards on the plains are like."

The Ernst family, who had been monitoring the entire Windless for days, naturally wouldn't let this discussion pass. Jacob, who was in charge of monitoring the two officers, almost immediately relayed their words to Hugh: "In fact, if you show even the slightest military qualities, they will start to fear you and stubbornly try to label you as barbaric..."

"Yes, yes!"

Another family member agreed, adding, "If we really wanted to deal with these cowards, why throw them overboard? There are plenty of other ways!"

Hughes paid little attention to these discussions. He coughed twice loudly in his mental world to signal them to be quiet, and then focused his attention on the conversation in front of him.

The Legerian scholars seem to be in very poor condition right now.

His complexion was terrible, his eyes were bloodshot, yet he appeared extremely excited. His already comical, huge nose was even redder due to the emotional fluctuations. Coupled with the strange smell emanating from his lab coat, he looked exactly like one of those researchers who went out to drink strong liquor to celebrate the success of an experiment and then got into a fight.

"They are one, they are one!"

Leger clutched his empty glass, muttering to himself as if he were truly drunk: "That's not magic, absolutely not magic, but it's kind of like magic power... uh, like the description in the laws of magic, some kind of invisible thread connecting everything in the world, damn it, what am I even saying?"

He read aloud rapidly into the empty cup, then looked up at Hughes: "Mr. Ernst! You're the one who knows them best, aren't you? You must know something else, tell me!"

"..."

Hugh stared at the scholar in front of him for two seconds.

In fact, he had just finished dealing with some things when Leger pulled him here.

It seems that last night's attack and the newly collected samples must have brought this guy some new discoveries and revelations. However, these powers and creatures related to ancient deities and possessing extremely special forms are destined to bring profound confusion to today's scholars.

Just like when Verine was researching "The Poem of the Night," every time she seemed to make a breakthrough, she would immediately encounter even more bizarre and abnormal puzzles. If she tried to use the inherent habits and logic of Vaan scholars to analyze them, she would easily fall into this vicious cycle.

Upon closer reflection, it seems that the reason why so many scholars in Vain who studied evil magic and lost history were considered "madmen" was precisely because of these reasons.

“Leger scholar, you need to stay calm.”

Hugh picked up a clean spoon and gently tapped the rim of his cup. The crisp sound carried a calming magic that spread outwards, like a bucket of ice water poured over Leger's head.

After the scholar in front of him calmed down a bit, Hugh said, "Do you remember what I said before? As long as conditions permit, I am very willing to support some of your academic research and projects."

Upon hearing this, Leger cautiously raised his eyes: "Mr. Ernst means something like the Giant Ear Goblin Merchant Guild?"

"No, it's not."

Hugh shook his head: "I don't expect to gain any profit or fame from these studies, and of course, I don't want to become your employer."

Leger finally released his cup, involuntarily shrinking back slightly: "So... what do you mean?"

“If conditions permit, I would be even more eager to cooperate with you, or rather… the Dawn Society may need a true expert who specializes in these things and topics.” Hugh did not hide his true thoughts. After witnessing firsthand how those marine communities began to tentatively understand and observe the development of terrestrial life, he knew that terrestrial civilizations also needed to accelerate their understanding of their enemies.

Otherwise, given the terrifying power and potential displayed by these social life forms, it probably wouldn't be long before they devised an evolutionary method specifically to deal with the current situation.

They are already strange enough, and Hugh doesn't want to encounter even more troublesome opponents in the near future.

“Dawn Society… uh, Dawn Society, okay, I knew it.”

Leger's expression darkened, and he remained silent for a while before raising his eyes: "These conditions... I can accept them, I can accept them completely. Anyway, now that all this has happened, the Giant-Eared Goblin Merchant Guild of the Duchy of Bult is bound to be in trouble, right? In other words, I've already lost my patron, so I might as well find another one..."

"No, Legerian scholar, you've misunderstood."

Hugh shook his head: "If Dawn Society really starts cooperating with you, then we may not take the form of academic sponsorship. There will be someone to discuss the specifics with you."

"To express my personal and Dawn Society's sincerity, I will share some things I know with you, hoping they will be helpful to your research and projects."

……

A cold wind blew.

Residents ultimately need to make a living, and not everyone has the ability or courage to flee to a foreign country at any time.

Therefore, after such a period of silence, the capital city of Saint Steel, which had been completely controlled by the Black Sun Society, has regained some of its former appearance.

The difference is that people walking on the streets now unconsciously lower their heads, and the sculptures of the God of Life and the Flame of Life that used to be everywhere have completely disappeared. In their place are the Black Sun Ritual erected directly at intersections and above important buildings.

A somber and profound power emanated from the sculptures and patterns filled with an ominous aura. Coupled with the enormous black shadow hanging overhead, no one dared to look up casually, as if a huge iron lock was hanging around their neck.

Although the streets and buildings are generally the same as before, now, some scenes that are simply incomprehensible to ordinary people always appear on these roads.

The members of the Black Sun Society seem to possess some strange powers. Not only the mages, but even the soldiers who join the society and serve it are subject to some astonishing changes.

These new members who voluntarily joined the association called this change "favor" or "blessing".

They became more robust and stronger. Although some of them were still unable to use magic, under the influence of their beliefs, which they themselves could not understand, they began to sense the presence of magic and were thus able to mobilize magic through certain weapons.

This has shown many people an unprecedented possibility.

The miracles that had been monopolized by professional sorcerers for thousands of years now seemed to have finally broken free of their shackles and were truly appearing before their eyes.

Although it is full of unknowns, it is truly fascinating.

What surprised people even more were the monsters controlled by members of the Black Sun Society.

It was a magical creature that looked like a small wolfhound, but was clearly different. It had a slender body, was smaller than a regular wolfhound, and had an exceptionally long head with four huge, interlocking fangs.

They have thick, jet-black fur, and a long, segmented tail like that of a rat trails behind their bodies.

They call this creature "dark hound".

Now, the residents of St. Steel often see members of the Black Sun Society following the Dark Hounds on their searches—these strange monsters seem to have the ability to track spellcasters and traces of magic. In the past period, many hidden mages of the Law Committee and those who tried to rebel against the Black Sun Society have been tracked by them.

Once they are found, these people have very limited options.

You either choose to join the society, or you will disappear from this world without a trace.

Besides the Darkhounds, the Society also summoned some more bizarre and incomprehensible entities, such as floating black eyeballs—they often float near the Black Sun Ritual, with translucent lines connecting them to the ritual, and anyone passing by the ritual is forced to be observed by them.

At some key intersections, people can see a special creature that is used as a mount by the Black Sun Society.

They resemble giant draft horses, but have six long legs for running and supporting their bodies. They have long, narrow heads without eyes, and thin, membranous wings growing on their backs.

The members of the society called them "Yasalu," the specific meaning of which was naturally unknown to ordinary people.

That very morning, a mournful howl rang out from the city's sky. It was the noise that "Asaru" would make as it was about to land. Within seconds, the residents walking on the main street of the capital city of St. Steel saw a shadow appear in the air above their heads. Huge wings flapped continuously, carrying the messenger riding "Asaru" toward the direction of the former royal palace.

Minutes later, the enormous "Asharu" landed in the royal square where countless important people had been killed, and the messenger, dressed in a society robe, tumbled down.

Two haggard-looking "servants" with magical markings on their faces stepped forward and presented a huge wooden barrel filled with minced meat to "Yasal". They were both former members of the Law Committee, as were the people in the barrel.

And so, the messenger, carrying important intelligence and letters, stepped onto the stairs leading into the palace.

He had some exciting good news to share with the association's leader.

(End of this chapter)