The black sun hangs high

Chapter 409 The Invisible Wolf
As a magic created by Virin herself, "Frosty Pool" is significantly inferior to other destructive magic in terms of power, but it performs exceptionally well in other aspects.

The "Cold Pool" and its creator share many similarities.

Stable, meticulous, yet flexible.

It can exert its own effect within the original magic model and framework, and can also produce corresponding changes based on the magic injected into it.

The "Frosty Pool" magic book pages, personally engraved by Virin, floated in mid-air. Sharp ice spikes and a chilling aura extended outwards as the magic lines were woven together. Influenced by Hugh's Dark Abyss magic, the deep light and shadow began to dance among the ice spikes and the cold mist.

If we consider these magical ice cones radiating icy low temperatures as a canvas, then the deep colors dancing within them become the painter's mysterious and dangerous brushstrokes. Under the guidance of these "brushstrokes," the extremely cold region that erupted from the center of Shug finally collided with the dark green chains that stabbed down fiercely.

Dark green electricity surged through the ever-spreading cold mist, while ice cones of varying sizes, shimmering with an odd luster, continuously shattered into countless flying fragments.

At first glance, the dark green chains controlled by Kezlov seemed to have the upper hand, because the icy region that should have been expanding stopped its momentum the moment it encountered them.

The stable magic model began to fluctuate violently, and the orderly magic lines were constantly disturbed by mutual repulsion and conflict.

However, for Hugh, the performance of the "Cold Pool" had far exceeded his expectations.

Having successfully mitigated the deadly attack launched by Kzlov and effectively delayed his offensive, Hugh immediately began his next move, raising his hand sharply and pointing "Hound's Fang" forward.

As if sensing the approaching danger, the dark green chains that were maintaining the offensive suddenly began to retract and attempt to build a new defensive line in front of Kzlov the moment Hughes raised his hand.

It was clear that Hughes had already anticipated Kzlov's decision.

As the dark green chains began to retreat under the threat of the "Hound's Fangs," the previously passive mist and ice spikes immediately launched a counterattack. The shadows hidden within the solid ice became incredibly dense, and under the influence of this special magic, the ice spikes, originally as sharp as daggers, began to change shape, transforming into cold limbs and tentacles that silently and tightly coiled together with the chains attempting to retreat.

This slowed down the formation of the solid defensive line, which should have been completed in an instant.

In that brief moment, Hugh decisively pulled the trigger on "Hound's Fang".

A large amount of magic was forcibly extracted from Hugh's body by "Hound's Fang". This invisible power was directly condensed into a bullet symbolizing annihilation. The illusory path broke through the pale cold mist that had gathered in front of Hugh, shattered the clusters of solid ice, and finally tore apart the intertwined chains!

However, the powers granted to Kzlov by the Dark Abyss Palace were clearly not limited to this.

The current Kzlov can no longer be considered "human" in essence.

Although his appearance has not changed significantly, the shadow of the abyss residing within him and rooted in his spiritual world has made him a strange being that is infinitely close to a pure creation of the abyss.

Supported by that power that seemed like a "divine blessing," Krzlov displayed a reaction speed that was completely out of character for a human spellcaster.

Faced with the imminent threat, he made no attempt to dodge. As his dark green chains crumbled under the bombardment of "Hound's Fang," the chaotic magic that had been drifting and wandering around Kzlov seemed to be propelled or drawn by some will, forming distorted green clouds in front of him in a way that almost defied the laws of magic.

The ever-victorious "Hound's Fang" has finally met its match.

The magical bullets, which were supposed to turn everything in their path into dust or nothingness, lost their original power in this encounter.

The writhing green clouds were like a disgusting and extremely viscous swamp. Their presence made the deadly bullet, which was formed from a large amount of magic power, extremely slow down. This forced the bullet to expend its own power in this difficult advance.

It seems that Krzlov has replicated Hugh's use of the "Frosty Pool" to slow down the chains in a very short time, and he has done it even more thoroughly than Hugh!

Hugh's expression darkened slightly. He stepped forward, and the tentacles of Karron behind him rolled back, revealing thicker and more solid black keratin on their surface. Under Hugh's will, these tentacles surged forward and slammed into the boundary between the "Cold Pool" and the dark green chains, beginning to forcefully push the stalemate line backward.

He casually grabbed the magic book pages that were floating in the air and had become extremely fragile.

With a gentle flick of his finger, he completely destroyed the intricate magical patterns on the pages. This action triggered a small-scale magical collapse—the cold magic bound within the frame and model suddenly burst forth, rushing towards its original destination like a flood breaking through a dam.

The sudden "speed change" had an amazing effect. Combined with the counterattack of the Touch of Calron, the defensive line formed by the dark green chains that had originally had the upper hand began to crumble.

At the same time, the magic bullet trapped in the viscous swamp exploded on its own under Hugh's command. The impact of its remaining power successfully caused the magic floating around Krzlov to pause briefly. And at the moment this pause occurred, the palace hounds that had been forced back by the chains pounced out again.

The series of actions taken by Hughes produced remarkable results.

In the precious gap he created, the spider-like limbs on the back of the court hound moved rapidly, causing its body to constantly shift between solid and shadowy forms. When the court hound finally reached Kizlov's side despite the attacks of the two chains, it opened its huge mouth without hesitation and bit down hard on Kizlov's head!
Hugh could almost hear the terrifying sound of the hound's sharp teeth clashing together.

Kozlov's head and upper body simply vanished into thin air.

Just like the building walls destroyed by the hounds' power, Kzlov's flesh and blood were easily annihilated in the hounds' gaping maws. However, Hugh did not feel any excitement or satisfaction through his magical link with the hounds.

Although the hound successfully hit its target, it failed to extract any valuable strength from the flesh and blood!

In other words, all that Kezlov lost was a useless piece of flesh and blood from that body.

Sensing the anomaly, Hugh immediately took further action. He gripped two pages inscribed with Valley-level magic in his hands, and with the infusion of magic, the classic Merlinle and Wall of Flames materialized out of thin air. Within the surging magical flames, several figures with blurred boundaries, wielding flaming short swords or scythes, appeared. These "Flame Walkers," summoned using the magical pages, launched their attack under the cover of the Wall of Flames. From the depths of the raging fire came the low whimpers of palace hounds.

It was about to continue tearing and destroying Kzlov's body, but before it could take any further action, a large number of fleshy tentacles suddenly stretched out from the wounds on Kzlov's mutilated body. These disgusting fleshy tentacles twisted together, quite similar to the chains covered with dark green lightning, except that the magic they carried was obviously more amazing than those chains, and the impact they unleashed was also much greater.

The hound's body was instantly pierced by these fleshy whiskers. Fortunately, it was able to easily shift between phantom and solid form, and with this ability, it quickly broke free from Krzlov's grip and avoided further damage.

Then, some of these fleshy tendrils turned around and became entangled with the chains that were fighting against Hugh, which inexplicably added a nauseating blood-red hue to the inside of the dark green lightning.

"Ok?"

As the metal disc spun at high speed, it seemed to subtly carry a hint of Theseus's surprise and bewilderment.

As the direct adversary of this bizarre monster before him, Hugh felt the impact even more acutely.

The wall of flames that should have enveloped everything in front of it and burned it to ashes was now facing great resistance. The invisible structures and lines supporting the magical flames were being destroyed and collapsed at an alarming rate. The "Flame Walkers" summoned by Hughes and who were trying to surround Kzlov from different directions also stopped the moment they touched these fleshy tendrils.

It wasn't just magical interference that caused all of this.

To be precise, it was a direct loss of magic power.

The disgusting structures growing from Kzlov's mutilated body seemed to bear some resemblance to the fleshy whiskers inside the mouths of the Dark Abyss Hounds. They were like hollow straws, constantly sucking up everything they touched, which was the main reason why the magic began to go out of control!

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Hugh immediately stopped supplying magic to those spells. Just as he had deliberately detonated magic bullets before, he decisively destroyed the internal structure of these spells and allowed the remaining magic within them to erupt completely.

The violent eruption, dominated by blazing flames, almost completely submerged an entire area in front of Hugh, giving him the opportunity to temporarily withdraw the Touch of Calron and the Palace Hounds from the battlefield.

"Clear decision-making".

Theseus's voice came, and this time, his voice sounded distinctly different from before.

His words contained not a trace of jest, but only an extreme, chilling seriousness.

“It seems we’re not so lucky… This guy’s power is indeed incomparable to the so-called ‘chosen one,’ but he has truly become a flawed vessel for some ‘god.’”

Theseus's presence grew stronger with each word he spoke, and Hugh could even sense that Theseus was using his own eyes to observe the mangled human form engulfed in flames.

"Hmm, these are indeed very obvious traces... The source of this power is neither those trashy servants in the palace, nor those 'puppies' who like to lie in the courtyard with their tongues out and slack off."

"Hehe, this is really beyond my expectations. I never thought I would see an 'old friend' here again."

Theseus's words sent a chill down Hugh's spine. He swallowed hard and asked, "Old friend? What do you mean?"

"Look at your hound's behavior. It's still carrying out your commands, but it's probably starting to tremble, isn't it?"

The faceless deity sneered: "Remember that sentence you glimpsed when you 'adopted' it? That's the answer."

Hugh was slightly taken aback, but then, the eerie proverb that he had buried deep in his memory pierced through countless fragments of images and appeared clearly: "The court hounds roam the courtyards, their pursuit never ceases, their hunt never ends... This is your boundless hunting ground, praise the great, invisible wolf!"

"The Invisible Wolf is the supreme gardener in the palace courtyard, the true origin of the Dark Abyss Hounds, and you can even regard it as the true arbiter of the 'Great Hunt' cycle."

The raging flames were torn apart.

Kozlov stood steadily in the center of the bright firelight.

The cleavage and half of his body that had been lost due to the bite from the palace hounds had now been restored, and Kzlov's appearance was now beginning to transform into an extremely distorted form.

Hughes saw that a large number of fleshy whiskers were emerging from inside Kezlov's pupils and under his skin. They were like threads, constantly intertwining on Kezlov's face, and at an extremely fast speed, they outlined a terrifying face with obvious wolf-like features.

Within the realm of the mind, the mournful whimpers of palace hounds, symbolizing pleading and fear, echoed.

At this moment, it was clear that it had realized the seriousness of the problem. Even if it could maintain absolute loyalty to Hugh, it was unable to show enough fighting spirit at this moment.

After all, what appeared before it now was the cold glance that the "invisible wolf" cast at Vaan.

Hugh pursed his lips, feeling his palm sweating as he gripped the "Hound's Fang": "You mean, the 'Invisible Wolf' from the Dark Abyss Palace came here to find me in person?"

"Can you stop being so narcissistic?"

Theseus sighed: "This 'stinking dog'... is probably here to see me."

(End of this chapter)