The black sun hangs high

Chapter 212 A Simple Frontal Breakthrough

The continuously falling dark green flames became a unique sight in the city of Seren.

Unfortunately, not many people were able to witness this scene. Even if a few survivors were "fortunate" enough to see it from afar, they would decisively choose to flee after seeing this terrifying and strange sight. After all, any living being could feel a strong threat to life itself from this dark green "lake" suspended in mid-air.

And these flames are indeed fulfilling their duty.

As they drifted down rapidly and came into contact with the Dark Abyss offspring that were beginning to spread and proliferate among the streets and ruins, the mutated magic unique to Hugh began to unleash its distinctive malevolent power.

Although the "Walking Forest" from ancient times could neutralize the corrosive properties of Hugh's magic to some extent, when Hugh completely stripped away the inhibitory effect of the "Walking Forest," it instead became the source of magic that nurtured the dark green crystal.

Or perhaps, this highly aggressive and destructive magic is itself a special manifestation of the vigorous vitality of the "Walking Forest"?
These dark green lights and shadows falling into the crawling silt were like clumps of hot oil poured on chunks of cream. They easily penetrated the bodies of these children of the Dark Abyss and began to burn and corrode them from the inside out. This process obviously brought profound suffering and torment to these strange and flawed creations.

Back when he fled Seren, Hugh had already noticed that his corrosive magic seemed to have an excellent restraining effect on the Dark Abyss offspring. However, at that time, the means of killing he could use were too limited. With just the Touch of Karron, he was unable to fully unleash the characteristics of his magic.

Now, as Hugh's understanding of magic and magical power deepens, he gradually realizes that what can combine with his magical properties is not only the ancient power obtained from the Dream Sanctuary, but also all magic and rituals that produce effects based on magical power. However, to completely combine the properties of magical power with magic itself, Hugh needs to have a sufficient understanding of the operating rules of a specific spell.

Especially for spells of the Stream level and above, how to completely integrate one's special magic with the ritualistic rules written for regular magic is a very big challenge. After all, not all magic is as simple as a mage's trick.

Upon closer examination, this was actually the first time Hugh had used his magic in a large-scale spell in real combat.

Hugh saw that a Dark Abyss offspring, tainted by the corrosive flames he had created, was growing countless eyes and mouths under the torment of the flames. At the same time, those mouths emitted shrill screams, and their bodily fluids churned continuously, trying to use their bodily fluids to forcibly extinguish the flames as they would with ordinary magical flames. However, the magical flames generated by Hugh's magic were completely different from ordinary magical flames.

Their bodily fluids, or rather the fragmented power from the Dark Abyss Court that accumulated within them, seemed to be the perfect fuel for this flame. This seemed to be revealing a special fact to Hugh: the dark green crystal that had been embedded in the center of the metal disc from the very beginning and whose exact origin had been difficult to ascertain was very likely also closely related to the Dark Abyss Court.

In an instant, the surrounding ruins were ignited by this strange dark green flame, and the Dark Abyss offspring who were originally preparing to attack Hugh from different directions began to retreat in the extreme pain of burning and corrosion. In order to ensure that their main body was not affected, they had to completely discard the parts that had been attached to the flame, letting them turn into ashes in the dark green light and shadow.

However, the tension in Hugh's heart did not disappear, so he maintained the mutated "Lake of Fireworks" magic while cautiously looking around.

The sprinting rat carried Hugh away from the ruins without stopping. Just as it leaped over a pile of rubble, Hugh suddenly saw a large shadow appear in the distance ahead—a massive wall made up of countless Dark Abyss offspring. In just two seconds, they completely blocked the path ahead. Then, Hugh saw countless limbs, eyes, and organs sprout from this dark wall.

The dark shadows throbbed incessantly in the slime, and the unsettling sounds pressed down on Hughes like a tsunami. The essence of the Dark Abyss power that Hughes had previously absorbed using the Messenger in the Mirror seemed to be summoned at this moment. It stirred and resonated in Hughes's mental world, even causing Hughes's magic to fluctuate briefly.

Immediately afterwards, the massive, pitch-black wall began to shake. Under the control of the Dark Abyss Offspring's main will, it crashed down toward Hugh, looking like a colossal wave rising on an endless ocean.

However, Hugh did not order the running rat to turn around.

His command was transmitted firmly to Sniggy through the magical connection, and the three-tailed giant rat, which was moving at full speed, immediately unleashed all its power. Its eyes were completely filled with blood, and the horns on its head began to shimmer. The blessing from the Earth Mother Goddess appeared on its body and enveloped Hugh, who was riding on its back.

After that, Hugh ended the maintenance of the "Lake of Flames" magic and instead injected an excessive amount of magic power directly into the ritual. This highly destructive act caused a severe overload of magic power within the ritual in an instant. As a result, the dark green lake of flames that was originally spinning collapsed and exploded at this moment, and the flames that were originally slowly falling turned into a strange magical torrent that directly intercepted Hugh diagonally above him.

The waves from the Dark Abyss collided with the exploding magical flames, and a piercing scream, powerful enough to shake half of the city of Seren, erupted from within the death tide formed by the offspring of the Dark Abyss—their cries of agony as they suffered the torment of heat and corrosion.

At the same time, all the magical power within Hugh was mobilized. Even the Mirror Messenger, who always seemed indifferent, was now forced to "surrender" all his power to Hugh. Large wisps of mist spread out from within Hugh's body, these seemingly ethereal black clouds completely enveloping Hugh and the Running Rat. Meanwhile, the resilient Karron's Touch, guided by Hugh's will, intertwined around him to form a solid barrier without any gaps.

Under this series of measures, the three-tailed giant rat that was running through the ruins of Seren City had become a magical fortress moving at full speed. Under Hugh's deliberate manipulation, several pages of magic books inscribed with conventional protective rituals fell down and simultaneously created several layers of magical protection inside and outside the Touch of Karron.

This was the "solution" that Hugh ultimately used to deal with the interception by the main body of the Dark Abyss offspring.

It looks quite direct and simple.

If Veraine were to see this, she would surely "praise" her student for having grasped the essence of "simple magic theory".

The so-called "naive magic theory" is a primitive theory proposed by Merlinle and some mages when the principles of magic were still in the development stage and had not yet been deeply integrated with the social sphere of the Vaan world.

The solution to all magical problems will be reduced to the most fundamental principle of "magical strength".

According to Hughes, this theory essentially reduces all troubles to the most basic and superficial relationship of "spear and shield"—that is, the relationship between "breaking through" and "defending."

Although this theory may seem ridiculous or even crude at first glance, it can actually work in many situations. The same principle applies to the saying "add more flour if there is too much water" and "add more water if there is too much flour".

Hugh was confident in his magical reserves and properties, and he firmly believed that all the magical creations he possessed had a "status" and "favor" far exceeding those of the Dark Abyss offspring. Based on this, breaking through the surface with a single point was the best choice!

Thus, after being enveloped and protected by countless forces, the Rampage Rat completely transformed into an ironclad warship rampaging through the waves. Any attempt to approach Hugh and its Dark Abyss offspring would be utterly worn down and annihilated by the layers of protective forces.

The Fire Lake magic, overloaded by excessive magical energy, "exploded" and exhausted all its power within a few seconds. The corrosive flames it unleashed completely flooded into the bodies of these Dark Abyss offspring. Because the coverage was so extensive, these offspring were unable to immediately separate or remove the parts tainted by the flames.

As the raging rat advanced, the black gelatinous substance it trampled and collided with was rapidly cut and absorbed by the constantly drifting and rotating mirror messenger mist. Some offspring that managed to break through the protection of Karron's Touch crashed hard into the magical protective layer set up by Hugh, and were instantly smashed into scattered fragments by Sniggy's astonishing speed.

"Om..."

It was as if he had plunged into a viscous black ocean. All the sounds of the outside world were blocked out at this moment. All that Shug could hear was the strange sound of the Dark Abyss offspring writhing around him, as well as their howls and groans as they were being torn apart by various forces.

As if knowing that it would ultimately be unable to stop Hugh, a few seconds after the two made direct contact, words composed of strange voices suddenly rang out from within the thick shadow.

That was the voice of the Dark Abyss's offspring, a threat they posed to Hugh through their learning of human language.

“You…kill our kind…we will kill your kind in return.”

"...We are already enemies..."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Hugh chuckled and casually waved his hand. Immediately, several of the Karron's Tentacles, carrying a dense mist of the Mirror Messenger, lashed out towards the direction from which the sound came. Countless Dark Abyss offspring were instantly shredded, and a significant portion of the organs within their bodies used to produce the sound were completely destroyed.

The muffled thud lasted only a few seconds before the gloomy sky returned to above Hugh's head—under the protection of multiple layers of defense, the raging rat finally tore through the thick, high wall made of silt from the front. Sniggy's long, swirling tail even precisely "pierced" two offspring that had transformed into insects from that dark entity and quickly put them into its mouth.

Seeing that the messenger in the mirror had been eating for quite some time, it became somewhat envious.

The number of Dark Abyss offspring remains enormous. The ruins left behind by Hugh are now completely shrouded in black shadows. However, within this black "ocean," a very clear path is clearly visible, evidence of the path taken by the running rats. And within those ever-flowing shadows, there are many corrosive flames created by Hugh—they have not yet been completely extinguished and are still harming the magical beasts that feed on humans.

However, Hugh, who had won the direct confrontation, did not feel much joy at this moment. On the contrary, his fair face was now slightly red, and two veins were even bulging on his temples. In his eyes, the dark mist of the Mirror Messenger was flickering uncontrollably.

He ate too much.

And it wasn't just a little bit too full.

Just like overeating, after absorbing too much Dark Abyss power essence in one go, Hugh was in a state of dizziness, nausea and vomiting. He even felt that his head was now filled with crawling sludge. With every breath, it was as if strange smells were dancing in his nostrils. In this state, he even felt that his taste buds were bitter, as if a hundred soldiers who had been in the trenches for months without washing their feet were dancing on his tongue.

"vomit."

He gagged violently, then barely managed to give Sniggy the order to "go to a safe place," before quickly closing his eyes and beginning to process the chaotic images in his mind.

At this very moment, all the residents inside the metal discs were enjoying a grand feast and revelry.

Faced with the essence of Dark Abyss power plundered in the recent battle, even the court hound, which was usually not very interested in such inferior power and prey, stood up. It left its room and came to the study where the Mirror Messenger was, excitedly circling around the Dark Abyss court's "servant," its dense red pupils on both sides of its head flashing continuously.

It seems that it is also very much looking forward to Hugh's next distribution of these spoils.

(End of this chapter)