The black sun hangs high

Chapter 298 Despicable Tricks

Although the giant fish was firmly bound within the tank by multiple layers of protective rituals throughout the process, it seemed to possess some special power, constantly causing severe mental damage to the ordinary people around it.

When the medical apprentices and armed soldiers, who thought they were mentally prepared, saw the slowly writhing flesh with their own eyes, their past knowledge and common sense immediately began to be challenged.

The creature before me was truly hideous.

Even the most terrifying legends and tales circulating among the people of Vann seem utterly ordinary in the face of this fish. Those images based on people's imagination and fear are ultimately traceable, but now they are facing a deformed monster whose entire body is filled with irrationality.

The wildly growing whiskers, the fleshy fins that constantly slap against the tank walls and try to support their bodies, the cracked wounds, and the bizarre structures exposed from within the wounds...

While the ordinary people in the laboratory were nauseated by the sight before them, the strange fish took another step forward.

It was as if it had successfully captured the psychology of these onlookers. The flesh deep within the wounds on the sides of the body began to writhe rapidly. In just over ten seconds, people were horrified to discover that the tissue within these wounds had transformed into bright yellow eyes. They turned listlessly, constantly observing everything around them, and casting dark glances at the terrified people.

A strange mental disturbance swept through the entire laboratory at that moment.

Standing by the water tank, Hugh and Virin undoubtedly became the primary targets of the attack. However, Hugh was already numb to this level of interference. Compared to these seemingly terrifying sights, Hugh was more concerned about the power shrouding the strange fish that could resist the mist of the dark abyss.

Veraine was equally resilient. Faced with the twisted flesh, she merely frowned slightly before moving to the other side of the sink to make a more thorough observation.

Apart from the two, everyone else in the laboratory was showing different symptoms. Driven by fear, some apprentices turned and fled the laboratory, while the soldiers with weapons in their hands became extremely tense, their fingers on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment. As for Gerard and the others who had personally experienced the tragedy in Seren and witnessed the terrifying appearance of the Dark Abyss Spawns, they seemed more composed.

Hughes noticed the tense state of the Dawn Soldiers, but just as he raised his hand to cast a spell to calm them down, Mayer, who was standing to the side, suddenly coughed twice.

Although Meyer did not possess any magic, strangely, his voice at this moment seemed to serve as a warning bell in everyone's hearts. Hugh turned to look and saw that although Meyer's face was pale, his expression remained calm and resolute.

He looked around and his gaze finally settled on the water tank: "Ah... everyone relax a bit. Look, no matter how ugly and scary this monster is, it can only be locked in this small cage now. We can turn it into mincemeat whenever we want."

As he spoke, Mayer took a step toward the two soldiers in charge of the heavy machine gun, patting the barrel of the machine gun with a smile: "Which do you think is more difficult to deal with, this guy or those steel tanks that rampage across the battlefield?"

The young machine gunner snapped out of his daze and felt ashamed of his momentary lapse in concentration and fear.

Facing the smiling Mayer, he licked his lips, glanced cautiously at the strange fish, and then gritted his teeth, saying, "That must be a tank! I've heard from others that ordinary bullets can't penetrate it; only cannonballs can!"

Seeing the encouragement written all over Mayer's face, the soldier added, "This monster probably won't last even a few seconds before it's been torn in two!"

At this, Mayer's smile widened, and he laughed heartily, patting another soldier lightly on the shoulder twice.

Seeing that the expressions of the people around him had relaxed a little, he continued, "That's right. It may scare others, but it should never scare you... Look, the weapons in your hands may not be able to penetrate the thick iron plate, but they can definitely shatter the rotten flesh on its body. Have confidence and courage, young men!"

The words were simple and unpretentious, but for the soldiers who had just been affected and impacted, such encouragement was very effective.

Even the medical apprentices and alchemists who were driven by inexplicable fear and wanted to escape the laboratory forcibly stopped in their tracks. Although they still dared not look directly at the twisted flesh on the strange fish, they forcibly stopped and steadied themselves with the help of their companions.

Hugh looked at everything in front of him with some surprise. Seeing that the situation seemed to be under control, he nodded to Mayer and then took two steps forward to help Verine with the subsequent experiments and dissections.

As if sensing the two's purpose, the strange fish's body trembled once more, and the eyeballs that had grown from the wounds returned to their original fleshy state.

The next second, some hard, tooth-like substance emerged from the edges of these wounds, and as the parrotfish's body trembled, these "teeth" began to collide violently, producing a strange and rhythmic sound.

Hugh and his companion, who were originally planning to completely restrain the monster fish and begin collecting its slime, skin, and bits of flesh, stopped at the same time.

Because after this strange sound entered their ears, it spontaneously transformed into concrete sentences that could be barely understood.

“…ignorance, stupidity…insects…never changed…arrogance.”

Upon hearing these scattered and disordered words, Hugh immediately turned his gaze to Meyer behind him, only to see that the other man had also furrowed his brows again. Clearly, the “words” that the other man was conveying were not only understandable to the spellcaster.

The faint tapping sound continued.

And all sorts of bizarre words are constantly being sent into people's minds.

This seemed to be another ability that Hugh couldn't yet understand the specific principles behind. Through these fragmented words, Hugh realized that the parrotfish in front of him, or rather the strange will that existed within it, could clearly understand the conversation that Meyer and the others had just had.

Through the fragmented words projected into his mind, Hughes was surprised to find that this dialogue between the "humble tribes" actually made the will residing in the parrotfish feel extremely angry, dissatisfied and confused.

It was angry at the “traitor” before it and the behavior of the race that followed the “traitor”, dissatisfied with the treatment it was currently receiving, and also confused by the words and attitudes of Mayer and others.

It couldn't comprehend the weapons these soldiers carried, much less the heavy machine guns that seemed to be on the edge of the laboratory. In its mind, these things were merely "sticks" pieced together from metal and wood.

Realizing the unusual nature of the "sample" before him, Hugh immediately waved his hand, signaling everyone except Vera to step back slightly. Vera was puzzled by Hugh's action but had no objection, because she keenly noticed the extremely strange and sinister smile that suddenly appeared on his face—an expression clearly associated with conspiracy and "bad ideas."

Then, without warning, the massive disc within Shug's spiritual world began to operate at full speed. Accompanied by the orderly and intricate turning of gears, endless mist surged out from several grooves that housed the power of the Dark Abyss Palace, instantly covering the entire disc.

At the same time, this deep magical mist also emerged from Hugh's body.

In front of everyone, the magical mist completely sealed off the entire tank and its surrounding area. With Hugh's meticulous manipulation, the mist even managed to seep into the protective ritual that was in operation, and through the magical ritual, it slowly seeped into the tank.

The soft tapping stopped immediately.

Faced with Hugh's undisguised and intense malice, the will within the deformed giant fish instinctively shrank back.

It can regard Hugh as a "traitor," but it cannot regard him as a lowly ant. This is a result determined by the level of consciousness and the true power they possess.

Just then, Hugh spoke up in the mist-sealed space, laughing, "How interesting... What? Now you're afraid to speak?"

As he spoke, he walked to the water tank, his face almost pressed against the glass wall, his gaze meeting directly with that of the giant fish bound and shrouded in layers of dark abyss mist: "Keep talking, don't stop, aren't you quite talkative? I know you're still here... After all, you can't leave now, can you?"

The giant fish merely opened its mouth slightly without making a sound, and now it seemed to have reverted to the chaotic sea monster it once was.

Seeing this, Hugh didn't bother to say anything more. He gestured to Verine, and then the mist binding the giant fish began to tighten rapidly, eventually fixing it completely inside the tank.

At the same time, Virin placed her palm above the water tank. As she channeled her magic, several "Rain and Snow Needles" meant for combat slowly appeared. Under the influence of the magic, they were quickly merged and eventually transformed into a highly sharp ice blade.

Based on Hugh's behavior, Vera had roughly guessed what he was thinking. She didn't ask any more questions, but instead began to explain while starting to cut the material.

"Let's start with the mucus."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sharp ice blade began to slash. A large piece of twisted flesh, covered with broken fish scales and a lot of dark yellow mucus, was cut off directly from the giant fish's body. Before it could grow or change, Hugh immediately manipulated the Dark Abyss Mist to wrap around it and carry it to the reserved opening set in the corner of the tank.

The ice blade, made of lake-level magic, far surpassed ordinary blades in sharpness, and the pain it caused was extremely intense. Based on its fish instincts, the parrotfish began to try a new round of struggle, but under the all-round suppression from Hugh, it was completely unable to move. Even if it successfully destroyed a part of the Dark Abyss Mist, those gaps would be immediately filled.

This change perfectly validates Hughes's conjecture and the hints Theseus had given in the past.

"Indeed, powers belonging to different systems and deities are often unable to be mutually inclusive... Although both sides have similar levels of 'status,' under normal circumstances, powers from different systems tend to be more mutually exclusive and antagonistic."

Hugh stared helplessly at the giant fish that was being cut apart piece by piece by Verin. He knew that his actions just now had most likely "locked" the will that occupied the giant fish's body here.

Now, whatever the source of that angry will, it has only two choices.

They either choose to confront Hugh, a "traitor" of similar status, directly.

Alternatively, they could obediently become experimental subjects along with this giant fish and be completely cut up.

Time passed slowly, and more than a dozen alchemical containers had been sent out of the misty area and entrusted to Gerald and others for safekeeping. The parrotfish, which was originally extremely ferocious, had now been cut into pieces by Virin.

Under the restraining effect of the Dark Abyss Mist, the secretion of the mucus gradually stopped, and the repair and growth of the monster fish's body also came to a standstill. Its struggling strength was rapidly waning, and Hugh had a premonition that it would soon be completely exhausted.

Just then, a slight buzzing sound entered Hugh's mind.

Perhaps because it only wanted to communicate with Hugh this time, the will chose the same form of communication as before, and thus the strange syllables and complex patterns appeared in Hugh's consciousness once again.

"Traitor...traitor...the dark sun has returned...yet you still choose to associate with insects and ants..."

Unlike the previous resentful tone, the voice now sounded incredibly weak, as if it would dissipate completely at any moment.

Hugh stopped Vera from continuing to stab him. He stared at the sink and asked silently, "I need to know who is talking to me now... or, for whom are you acting as a messenger?"

The massive chunk of rotting flesh covering the giant fish's eyes slowly moved aside, revealing its lifeless eyes: "When I vanish, the community will sense it... Awaiting the Lord of the boundless ocean... The land... will cease to exist, and the traitors will be annihilated..."

The giant fish slowly writhed, and a series of strange, incoherent characters appeared in Hugh's mind.

At that moment, Hugh finally understood who he was talking to.

He truly hadn't expected that, so soon after the black sun rose, he would already have the opportunity to have a direct dialogue with the kin of the sea god Calron.

(End of this chapter)