The black sun hangs high

Chapter 40 "The Cafeteria"

After showing Hugh and the other person the way, the old goblin turned around again and continued his unfinished work.

The ravaged bushes made Hugh feel very awkward and uncomfortable. He wanted to tell the old goblin Sergei that with his gardening skills, he might as well do nothing. He felt that with the old goblin's "water more, flour more, flour more water" pruning method, this once pretty bush would soon be razed to the ground.

However, before Hugh could speak, his attention was drawn to the other person's extremely uncoordinated movements.

He swore he had never seen such awkward, bizarre movements in his two lifetimes combined. The old goblin's limbs seemed completely out of his control, twitching from time to time or swinging in obviously wrong directions. The strangeness was even more intense than someone walking with the same hand and foot moving in unison.

Vera also frowned and glanced at the old goblin Sergei a few times, but in the end she didn't say anything. She gave Hugh a subtle wink and then walked back the way she came.

The most urgent task right now is to find someone in the caravan who knows the inside story and understand the situation. There's no need to waste too much time on an old goblin who can't even do menial tasks properly.

Hugh glanced at Sergei one last time, then turned and left with Verin.

When the two reached the statue of the giant-eared goblin, Hugh stopped. He was about to speak his thoughts and judgment when he saw Vilin raise her hand to him. After she gently shook her finger, a simplified stream-level spell, "Sound Blocking," was cast around them.

The two spoke at the same time the magic took effect.

"He's lying..."

"There's something wrong with him!"

Both of them were taken aback when they spoke at the same time, but then they realized that the other had also noticed the strangeness on the goblin. So Hugh smiled and said modestly, "Why don't you speak first, Miss Vera?"

“The goblin named Sergei’s two statements don’t match up… He first said that there was no one else here except himself, then he said that everyone else was inside, but judging from the state of the courtyard, it’s definitely not a place where anyone lives permanently.”

After saying that, the female mage raised the corner of her mouth slightly, a rare occurrence for her: "Your turn, Mr. Hugh."

"Something's off with this guy."

As soon as Hugh finished speaking, he realized he had said something pointless, so he quickly added, "I initially thought this Sergei was a gardener hired by the giant-eared goblins to take care of this garden and do other chores, but that is clearly not the case."

“I just took a close look. His clothes don’t fit him well, but they’re clearly the kind of clothes that goblin merchants would choose. They’re too decorated and cluttered. Not only that, he’s even wearing a ring on his hand.”

Hughes gestured to his fingers a couple of times: "And he's wearing two on one finger. Although they're silver rings, this kind of style is obviously not suitable for a gardener. Of course, there's an even stranger phenomenon."

He pointed to the belt around his waist, a classic and durable Walter buckle style: "Any merchant who wears that kind of clothing should have a very well-fitting belt, but that guy's trousers are just tied to his body with a rope, which means that his clothes don't fit at all."

"Walk."

Upon hearing Hugh's assessment, a resolute glint flashed in Vera's eyes. She immediately picked up her spellbook, turned around, and headed towards the direction where she had seen the old goblin earlier.

Hugh followed closely behind, his crystal gun already cocked. At this moment, he felt a faint sense of anticipation—he really wanted to point this magical gun at someone's head and fire a shot. He didn't know where this inexplicable impulse came from; perhaps it was because he had an innate fascination with this kind of firearm.

However, when the two arrived at the sparse bushes, they found that the old goblin Sergei was nowhere to be found, with only his gardening shears abandoned on the scattered branches and leaves.

An unusual and oppressive atmosphere gradually spread around the quiet mansion. Hugh and Virin silently returned to the courtyard. The two-story mansion, which belonged to the Golden Boot Caravan and which old Sergei had said was "still inhabited," now resembled a giant coffin of death. Hugh could not see any sign of life in the tightly closed doors and windows.

For the two of them, the options available right now are very limited.

They either had to abandon the crucial clue that was now within reach, or step into the mansion, which clearly had serious problems.

Vera looked at him questioningly, and Hughes nodded silently in response.

Rather than living in fear and anxiety amidst uncertainty and the future, it's better to take the initiative when you have concrete clues.

Then Verine took out her summoning medium, and under the magical light, a white hound with long, slender legs and a delicate body quickly took shape from the fragments of canine bones. Hugh also summoned his running rat. As soon as the large rat appeared, it circled around Hugh's feet affectionately, as if the incident of it breaking free from Hugh's control had never happened.

Just like the gate to the outer courtyard, the protective magic on the mansion's doors had long since failed, so Verin easily opened the carved wooden door in front of her with a simple lock-picking trick.

The two summoned magical creatures, under their master's command, darted into the silent mansion one after the other, with Hugh and his companion following closely behind.

The scene inside the mansion was completely different from what the two had imagined.

The place was very clean, even spotless. Almost all the magic lamps were working properly. These wealthy giant-eared goblins never skimped on these things; they chose only high-quality lamps. As a result, the interior of the mansion was very bright, with almost no particularly dark corners.

"If word gets out about what's happening here, new ghost stories might emerge."

As Hugh gently rubbed the crystal gun with his fingers, he constantly observed his surroundings. The sheer amount of silverware here was outrageous; the silver ornaments inlaid in picture frames and lamps alone were enough to demonstrate the goblins' insane wealth and aesthetic tastes. The warning signs in his mental world remained constant, one that Hugh couldn't ignore. Yet, these signs remained remarkably stable; the metal disc showed no further change.

"It's definitely this caravan... The goblin leaders have been bragging about it to me several times along the way."

Verine pointed to an envelope and certificate framed in glass on the wall. It was a "Permit for the Transportation and Sale of Magical Goods" and a "Merlinler and Annual Outstanding Caravan Award" issued by the Legal Committee to specific caravans and merchant groups. In the eyes of the merchants, this was indeed a kind of capital worth showing off.

Hugh nodded. He couldn't say much at the moment because a lot of detailed information was coming back from the running rat. Its senses were much more sensitive than humans', so it could capture a much richer variety of subtle traces.

The slender white hound that Verine summoned seemed to have caught a scent, so it went upstairs to explore on its own, while Hugh, holding the crystal gun, went to the adjacent hall.

Following the "hint" given by the running rat, Hugh reached out and lifted a corner of the hall carpet, revealing a tiny, extremely discordant hole.

"Miss Weilin, these must be marks left by a crystal gun, right?"

Vera leaned over to take a look, then commented, "Hmm... but its power is limited. It must be an old model from over ten years ago, otherwise the nearby floor should have been blasted through by magic and debris."

Hughes reached out and touched the edge of the hole: "The mark is very fresh, there isn't even any dust inside, it must have been left recently."

He gripped the crystal gun, gestured slightly, then frowned: "Giant-eared goblins have limited height, what kind of situation would make them fire at the ground? The enemy is crawling on the ground?"

The thought flashed through Hugh's mind like lightning: the old goblin Sergei's staggering and uncoordinated movements, his unusual attire, his incoherent speech, and the silent yet still well-maintained mansion and courtyard...

All of this seems to point to one possibility.

Before he could speak, Vilin, who was also searching for traces in the hall, let out a muffled groan. Shug turned his head and saw that the female mage's face had suddenly turned pale. At the same time, Shug also heard faint sounds of impact and barking coming from the second floor of the mansion, but in just two seconds, the barking of the white hound turned into a weak whimper...

Verine decisively severed the magical connection between herself and the summoned creature, and Hugh immediately gave an order to the running rat to stop it from approaching the second floor of the mansion.

A scent that left a deep impression on Hugh gradually wafted over.

It had a pungent, sour smell, like the stench of rotting meat.

However, the smell now was much stronger than what Hugh had smelled in Ernst’s old house; it was as if the sewers of Seren had been blown up.

"Changebug..."

Hughes whispered his conjecture: "It takes at least three days for a shapeshifter to completely digest an adult it has swallowed. The giant-eared goblin is much smaller than a human, so that should be enough time for it."

Such a strong smell means that there are probably quite a few shapeshifters in this mansion. Old Sergei was likely the first individual to finish "digesting" them. However, he is still in the process of understanding and learning those memories. Only in this way can we explain why he made such an incongruous move!
Now that they had a general idea of ​​the situation, Hugh and his companion had even less reason to leave. After all, the greatest threat to the shapeshifters came from their ability to imitate and learn from other creatures. As long as they remained in this stage, they were still vulnerable.

Moreover, this batch of shapeshifters is closely related to the plans secretly being carried out by the Kingdom of Walter and the Ernst family. To further clarify what to do next, it is necessary to go to the second floor of this mansion.

Veraine moved swiftly; her experiences over the past few days had made her more capable than before. She took the mage badges that could amplify magic power from the spellbook and quickly wrapped them around her palms. Then she took out the magic pendulum she carried with her and made it swing gently.

The fresh magical traces scattered in the air became clearly visible under the effect of the Magic Path Pendulum. Following the faint magical imprint, the two quickly and silently stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor of the mansion.

The second floor was equally bright and quiet, and apart from the pungent smell in the air, everything seemed normal.

These rooms were used as bedrooms for caravan members and warehouses for important goods and collectibles. Now, the trail tracked by the Magic Pendulum is leading to the warehouse room at the end of the corridor.

"Well, hiding it in the collection warehouse? That's very much in the style of the giant-eared goblins, they'd rather die surrounded by money."

Vera told a not-so-funny joke, then put away the Magic Path Pendulum. She raised her palm, and pale blue magical light danced between her fingers.

Hugh controlled the running rat to jump onto his shoulder and walked forward with it. On his free left hand, dark green light flickered slightly, and the Touch of Calron was ready to be unleashed.

A few steps from the door of the collection warehouse, Verine stopped. She raised her palm, and the Legal Committee's special violent door-breaking magic, "Cracking Portal," was instantly applied to the heavy iron gate. Under the influence of the magic, the heavy gate twisted and collapsed on the spot, tilting towards the inside of the warehouse.

Then Hugh and his companion witnessed a scene they would never forget.

In the warehouse filled with all sorts of exquisite collectibles, a massive, intertwined, and fused mass of viscous liquid was slowly writhing. It was so enormous that it almost reached the ceiling. Within these clumps, countless gruesome remains of the entire goblin caravan were being slowly "digested." These were the remains of all the members of the caravan. Now, these twisted shapeshifters were clearly in the final stages of digestion; most of the victims' bodies had their outer skin eroded away, with only their heads remaining intact…

Among the bodies of these giant-eared goblins, many of their former silver ornaments and clothing floated in the air. In addition, Hugh also saw the magical skeleton that Verine had used to summon the white hound.

This place has become the dining hall where the shapeshifters digest knowledge and memories.

(End of this chapter)