The black sun hangs high

Chapter 417 Choose one of the two
People's understanding of things and the environment is always very easy to be overturned and refreshed.

Before that "great war" broke out, most people's understanding of the word "war" was still in the past. Their understanding of the composition of the army and the weapons and magic that might be used mostly came from the many battlefield cases that had occurred in the past two hundred years.

It is no exaggeration to say that their understanding would be roughly the same even if we go back another three hundred years. The only differences might be some changes in battlefield tactics and a few variations of crystal guns and crystal cannons.

However, that sudden "battle" was like a terrible lever.

When it was pulled down by an invisible hand, everything in Vain began to feel strange.

Strange weapons beyond human imagination appeared like weeds after rain on the ever-changing battlefield. The magic and crystals that Vaan relied on so heavily in the past were no longer the only decisive forces. They began to combine with a large number of new concepts and knowledge, and evolved into more new things.

At the same time, a large number of phenomena that are beyond people's imagination, and even catastrophic, are constantly emerging.

The Black Sun Society and the ancient gods they worshipped were the primary source of these horrific disasters.

Those bizarre, living creations, strange and lost powers, blasphemous magical rituals... such "miracles" constantly torment people's nerves and wantonly destroy the gentle veil woven by the legal committee and other rulers and administrators over the past thousands of years.

Behind that torn veil lies a devastating truth.

On this point, the residents of Watchtower City have become the group with the most say, after the poor Seren refugees.

In some ways, what they witnessed was even more shocking and harder to understand and accept than the disasters that had struck Seren.

Ultimately, the Dark Abyss Spawns that once filled the entire city of Seren and constantly hunted its inhabitants were not invincible. They still had weaknesses and could be countered with weapons and magic.

However, this enormous thing that has now emerged from the massive dark rift is enough to destroy the thinking ability of any resolute person in an instant.

The series of events that had occurred in Watchtower City could still be explained or comforted by people to some extent by concepts such as "miracle" or "divine intervention".

But faced with the current situation, their knowledge and understanding have become completely useless.

Even the most learned scholars could not explain the terrifying beast claw that looked capable of crushing half a city.

Also witnessing this scene were the Dawn Society infiltrators who, under the cover of the Water's bombardment, successfully crossed the Saint Steel defense line and began advancing towards the rear of Watchtower City.

They were still quite a distance from Watchtower City, but the cracks and beast claws were so astonishing that the night could not conceal their existence. This abnormal and bizarre scene left these warriors with unwavering convictions speechless and their legs weak.

“Record it, write it down! Draw it!”

Almost every leader within an infiltration team issued this order to the dedicated clerk within their team.

However, faced with this situation, the battlefield scribes who originally possessed many skills and were adept at using magic to record events on the spot became like children. They held the magic ink pens, but could not write anything at all.

When they finally escaped the terrifying scene in the distance and decided to try to depict and record this bizarre scene, the patterns and magical lines left on the pages became incredibly distorted and chaotic, and the written words were inverted and illogical.

Beyond that terrifying shadow, clearly from another world, there was obviously some invisible force capable of directly interfering with the observer's thoughts.

Anyone who tries to observe it with the naked eye or perceive it with magic will suffer quite serious consequences.

Therefore, these brave and determined warriors quickly stopped this futile and dangerous attempt. In just a few dozen seconds, they felt that their cognitive abilities had been severely impaired, and some of them even vomited or fainted as a result.

"What will happen to the people in that city? What will happen to our comrades who are still in that city? What will we do if we are in that situation?"

Such questions filled everyone's minds, and they looked at each other, unable to come up with a clear answer.

At that moment, the enormous shadow emerging from the gloomy crack made a new move.

The strangely shaped crystalline claw, which shimmered with a dark purple light under the night sky, shook violently twice, stretching outwards as far as it could, forcefully opening the narrow "door".

Then more purple light and shadow squeezed out from the crack, producing a piercing sound that tormented everyone's eardrums, vibrated the hazy night, and sent an indescribable, strange shock into the distance.

……

The closer you get to Watchtower, the more intense the shock becomes.

At that moment, Hugh, who was in the central square of Watchtower City, undoubtedly suffered the most terrible impact.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, and even though there was an extremely strong and resilient protective force in his mental world, Hugh still felt a severe sense of dizziness.

When the limbs belonging to the true invisible wolf successfully passed through the rift and arrived at Vaan, Shug directly bore the immense pressure from the physical level to the level of his soul.

Whether through sight or perception, he can clearly perceive the truth before him.

What covered the surface of these twisted limbs was neither mineral nor magical crystal.

Those are the remnants of the souls, wills, and despair of countless victims. These remnants, spanning countless years, have completely settled and solidified together, becoming the hardest skin and scales of the invisible wolf, and also the eyes and ears used by the terrifying hunter to spy on this long-lost hunting ground.

As the invisible wolf's limbs tried to squeeze out, they inevitably rubbed violently against the fissure, causing a large number of crystalline fragments to fall off. These so-called "fragments" were actually extremely large, and when they hit the ground, they burst out with dense dark abyss mist. Moreover, they seemed to have a life of their own, trying to fix themselves in place and begin a new round of "growth".

"How about that, isn't it spectacular?" Faced with this extremely impactful scene, Theseus remained very calm. He even had the mood to joke in Hugh's head: "This is the power that the true 'Great Hunting Master' possesses... The previous projections were ultimately just a perfunctory act for so-called believers and seekers."

Theseus's voice inherently contained a certain power. Although his tone was as harsh as ever, hearing him say this actually alleviated Hugh's pain from facing the invisible wolf's attack to a considerable extent.

Hughes took a deep breath and forced a smile: "I'd like to know, how are you able to remain so calm..."

"What? You didn't think that mad dog I 'kicked' before was the projection you just dealt with, did you?"

Theseus laughed dismissively: "Is a projection of that level even worth me lifting my foot?"

Upon hearing this, Hughes raised his eyebrows. He looked at the night sky ahead and saw countless layers of patterns emerging from the dark purple crystals. These patterns combined and merged with each other, quickly forming eye patterns of varying sizes.

Countless eyes were focused on it; clearly, the invisible wolf was confirming the identity of its prey.

So Hugh asked, "Can I understand it this way: you actually still have the ability to handle the current troubles?"

Theseus chuckled dryly twice, then the faceless god with a wicked sense of humor replied, "You guessed wrong this time. Well... to be honest, I can't beat this guy, at least not on the battlefield. I'm no match for him."

"..."

Faced with Hugh's silence, Theseus appeared quite composed. He said without any shame, "However, the true power of the Dark Abyss is no longer what it used to be, otherwise it wouldn't have required such a long preparation to launch the formal 'Great Hunt'."

At this point, Theseus finally toned down his frivolous tone.

He looked through Hugh's gaze at the dark eyes that were focusing on him, and said in a deep voice, "Fundamentally, this mad dog and I have a highly similar origin... We were both born from the most chaotic and filthy shadows at the bottom of that abyss, so our sources of power are infinitely similar... It can use these powers to hunt me, and I can use them to escape. The chase that takes place in the endless dark abyss is destined to be fruitless."

"Shug, you now have two choices."

This was the first time Hugh had heard someone address him like that.

"The organizer of the Great Hunt has left his beacon on you. You can choose to continue fleeing in Vaan, but this will inevitably cause the Great Hunt to start ahead of schedule, and may even cause that 'mad dog' to set foot in Vaan again and again."

"Similarly, you can also choose to delve into the Abyss and engage in an endless race with it in that boundless world."

"Just like you before?"

“Not exactly the same, because I will never get lost in the Abyss and I will always be able to find a way to leave it, but you are different... As an individual with flesh and blood and a soul, it is very easy to get lost in that chaotic world.”

At this moment, the giant claw that emerged from the crack made a new move. As those eyes focused, the aura and traces of power on Hugh's body were finally captured by the invisible wolf. So the limbs were raised high, and the light and shadow symbolizing destruction began to brew inside those crystals.

As if to pronounce judgment on the entire city, the raised, twisted limbs fell heavily, the movement so swift that even Hugh couldn't catch it.

The moment the attack was launched, the metal disc that carried the power spun violently. With keen magical perception and decisive judgment, Hugh's figure quickly exploded into dark abyss mist and drifted away in a specific direction.

The next instant, the impact of the invisible wolf's actions erupted in the already completely destroyed central square. The dark purple, destructive shadows split apart, transforming into countless sharp, invisible blades that cut countless shadowy trenches into the cratered ground before shooting off in different directions of the city at astonishing speed.

Streets, buildings, vehicles, human bodies... everything that blocked the path of these invisible blades was ruthlessly cut apart the moment they touched it, and these were the traces left by the real wolf beast when it set foot in this world.

For it, this is not even enough to be called the footprints it left behind; at most, it is just a little dust it stirred up when it stepped on them.

The souls within the crystals howled, and the falling fragments emitted piercing screams. As souls completely possessed and conquered by the invisible wolf, they were destined to applaud all the wolf's actions.

The diffused shadows coalesced into a solid form. In the chaotic interplay of light and shadow woven from the dark crystals, Hugh's figure appeared somewhat ethereal, his eyes, still shrouded in a faint blue light, fixed intently on the giant claw that had risen once more.

The second strike came.

This time, however, Hugh did not choose to dodge. He raised his arm and swung his cane diagonally upwards. A surge of magic, like the tide, was drawn out from the cracks in the disc and transformed into a slender blue sword, drawing a bright line through the shadow of the wolf-beast's limbs.

The azure light that had collapsed due to the magic explosion reappeared. Compared to before, it appeared so fragile and dim, but it still burst forth with infinite vitality in the face of the astonishing pressure. The moment the thin line touched the giant claw, countless dark crystals turned into powder, and a shocking ravine appeared on the wolf beast's limbs!

"It's no use. This won't defeat it. It will only make it more determined to hunt you down."

Hughes did not respond to Theseus's advice; he simply took deep breaths and tried to steady his trembling hands and arms.

Under the pressure exerted by the invisible wolf, he could barely feel the existence of half of his body.

Theseus did not continue speaking. As always, he could clearly perceive Hugh's thoughts at this moment and naturally understand the choice Hugh truly wanted to make.

Then, a crisp snap of fingers echoed from the turbulent sea of ​​consciousness. Immediately afterward, the spellbook hanging at Hugh's waist opened silently, and all its pages fell off at that moment. They flew wildly around and were then captured by threads of mist.

Guided by the faceless deity, the pages, each engraved with different magical patterns, floated in mid-air, forming several concentric circles, and began to drift rapidly around Hugh.

This structure is exactly the same as that of the constantly rotating metal disc.

(End of this chapter)