The black sun hangs high

Chapter 432 Nightmare Bear and Blazing Flames

Generally, when people are full, they need to rest quietly. Vigorous movements can easily cause them to vomit everything in their stomach.

But the magical aspect of "overeating" is quite different.

In this situation, relying on one's own abilities to slowly dissipate the excess magic is inefficient and dangerous. Therefore, spellcasters often choose to consume excessive magic power through violent "venting".

That's exactly what Hugh is doing now.

Faced with the numerous Dark Abyss creatures charging at him in anger, Hugh did not retreat but instead launched an attack on them, tentacles formed from deep mist constantly appearing around him.

The magic that makes up these tentacles is very special.

They were actually "waste" and "residue" that Shug had removed from the cold magic he had just absorbed.

Compared to normal magic, this type of magic is more chaotic and violent. It is the residue left behind when the will of despair surges, and therefore it naturally becomes the carrier of those disordered and chaotic emotions.

In the current environment, spending time and energy to purify and modify this part of the magic is definitely not a wise choice.

So Hughes chose a more efficient method—he decided to consume these powers on the spot.

Supported by pure dark abyssal magic, the Touch of Calron, like the Running Rat, took on a completely different form than before.

These tentacles became thicker and stronger, and their destructive and lethal power was even more astonishing.

The special magic makes them extremely unstable. After each attack, a considerable number of the tentacles will quickly collapse or dissipate. However, under Hugh's control and manipulation, these incredibly destructive black shadows can always continuously appear from the "void" beside Hugh.

Soon, those Dark Abyss Predators who dared to attack Hugh paid a terrible price for their arrogance.

The battlefield, which had become empty due to Hugh's violent draining of resources, is now once again filled with drifting mist, the remnants left behind by Hugh after he killed the Dark Abyss creatures.

"call……"

Hugh waved his hand, and the restless shadow tentacles beside him quieted down. Now, there were no more "challengers" left in front of him. The remaining Dark Abyss creatures either began to flee or hid far away at the edge of the area, carefully "gnawing" on the scraps.

After venting his emotions, Hughes finally shook off the negative influences. But before he could make his next move, Theseus's voice rang out again.

"You should retreat too. The commotion just now was quite significant, and some large creatures are already approaching..."

Before Theseus could finish speaking, a huge shadow slowly emerged from behind a giant rock directly in front of Hugh.

This is a Nightmare Bear.

A very common and extremely terrifying danger in the Dark Abyss Wasteland.

If the giant "flounder" that Hugh encountered before was the overlord swimming in the wasteland sky, then the Nightmare Bear, a wasteland beast that can always blend into its environment and has extremely strong aggression, can be called the king of the ground.

Hugh had seen it several times during this journey.

From the initial wasteland storm to the numerous dangers encountered during their journey, the Nightmare Bears would appear from time to time.

Just as court hounds are not true dogs, so too are the so-called nightmare bears not bears in the true sense of the word.

It has a massive, hill-like body, and when it moves, it stands upright like a giant. On top of its body is an enormous head—this head has no physical form, and its outline is mostly blurred, looking like a huge sphere formed from mist.

At the very center of this misty sphere is an exaggeratedly large eye, which can freely float and rotate within the mist to observe different directions.

One similarity between the Nightmare Bears and the bears of Vaan lies in their hibernation habits.

According to Theseus, these clumsy and dangerous creatures would often hibernate immediately upon sensing the signs of a wasteland storm, and would quickly awaken once the storm had passed, beginning their most ferocious hunting cycle.

Unfortunately, the Nightmare Bear that Hugh is currently encountering is in this state.

The hill-like figure emerged from behind the giant rock, and then the eyeball at the very center of the misty head began to spin at an extremely fast speed. It swept over the creatures fleeing from this place, and also over the "scavengers" left on the edge of the area for a few scraps of food. But clearly, these guys could not satisfy its thirst for magic, and naturally did not meet its hunting requirements.

The rotating eyeball slowly came to a stop, and the chaotic pupil formed by the twisting shadows became more concrete.

Hugh stood still, silently staring into the enormous, strange eyeball. He could now fully feel the magical tremors happening around him—clearly, this behemoth was brewing something.

Hughes did not panic or feel afraid as the threat approached.

Based on his previous encounters along the way, Hugh had already confirmed that while the Nightmare Bear, a creature of the Dark Abyss, appeared extremely dangerous, it was still within his power's tolerance.

If he wanted, he could even defeat his opponent in a direct confrontation, but the problem is that any fight or battle that takes place in this Dark Abyss Wasteland could become excellent bait.

If Hugh doesn't want to escalate the trouble here, then his most important task right now is to inflict as much damage as possible on this big guy and leave as quickly as possible.

In this way, the severely injured Nightmare Bear will become the new target of the Wasteland Creatures, and Shug himself will be able to obtain a relatively safe and relaxed retreat environment.

The ferocious creature of the Dark Abyss was completely unaware of Hugh's thoughts. As a hungry and greedy predator, the Nightmare Bear now had only one goal: to capture its prey at all costs. This was crucial for maintaining its dominance in the wasteland!
Then, the enormous body trembled, and the strange, pitch-black figure stood upright. Countless strange limbs of varying sizes and indistinct outlines grew from its body, twisting and turning with the Nightmare Bear's forward steps.

Moreover, a slit rapidly opened in the monster's abdomen, revealing a body resembling some kind of giant insect.

It also has limbs growing on its body, which can reach directly to the ground. These limbs swing like normal legs and feet, helping the bloated body behind it to move forward. What is even more disgusting is the huge mouthparts growing on the head of this "insect".

This appears to be the Nightmare Bear's true form, the core it uses to feed.

With a series of roars, the enormous, twisted monster crushed towards Hugh. Two ordinary beasts, unable to dodge in time due to the shock, were doomed. The limbs did not let go of these snacks that were delivered to their mouths, but rolled them up and stuffed them into the huge, ferocious maw, crushing them into dust in a few moments.

Hughes witnessed this scene and, without a word, raised his hand. A large amount of Calron's Touch surged out, twisting and turning into a deadly giant spear once again, which viciously stabbed towards the target's abdomen.

At the same time, strange and complex magical patterns spread outwards from Shug in all directions. This was a special magic recorded by the mad poet Aziv in "The Poem of the Night".

The cold, disordered magic underwent a transformation through these patterns, temporarily acquiring stable properties and exhibiting an unusually bright brilliance in the dense darkness of the wasteland.

The mad poet called this magic "The Wanderer's Campfire," which he said was created by a tribe that once wandered the wastelands, specifically to deter and fight against the most ferocious predators.

The enormous spear formed from the Touch of Karron was shattered by the Nightmare Bear's powerful limbs with a deafening roar, but what appeared before it immediately afterward was a strange and bright light.

The strange, warm firelight seemed to be the only bright spot in this cold, oppressive world. It spread rapidly along the patterns that Hugh had created and eventually formed a huge circle.

The Nightmare Bear stopped in its tracks and tentatively stretched out a limb toward the ring of fire ahead. The moment it touched the fire, a pitiful howl echoed across the wasteland.

Hughes saw the bright flames spreading rapidly toward the Nightmare Bear's body, as if its body itself was perfect fuel for these warm flames.

For a creature like the Nightmare Bear, a pure creation of the Dark Abyss, the burning of its body and the depletion of its power would undoubtedly bring extremely intense pain.

Before the flames could spread along its limbs to its body, the Nightmare Bear brutally severed its burning limbs at the base. Then it took two steps back, its insect mouthparts on its abdomen opening wide, and thick, filthy-looking fog surged out from within, violently crashing into the bright ring of fire.

These dense fogs are actually made up of countless tiny flying insects. Their numbers are so exaggerated that they directly aggregate into the fog. When these swarms of insects come into contact with the firelight, they emit a series of mournful cries and roars.

"This is the key to the Nightmare Bears' ability to hibernate for extended periods... The souls and wills they have devoured in the past are mostly stored within their bodies. This serves as both their reserve food and their weapon."

Theseus explained, “If I’m not mistaken, the screams you’re hearing now are mostly from a long, long time ago. They’re probably victims of the previous great hunts.”

Looking at the bright flames he had created, Hugh's expression became somewhat complicated: "I never imagined that those races wandering in the Dark Abyss would also crave warmth and light..."

"What's so strange about this?"

Theseus laughed and said, “Those who are in the light are often unaware of it, but when they are truly facing the shadows of the abyss, they naturally begin to crave fire.”

"That sounds familiar."

"Hey, Dark Abyss is better at educating people, isn't he?"

Hugh smiled silently. He had a feeling that Theseus's words had a hidden meaning, but it was clearly not the right time to continue the conversation.

Hearing the mournful howls coming from the distant past, Hugh gently flicked his right hand and pulled the "Hound's Fang" out of the void.

With the infusion of a large amount of pure dark abyssal magic, the smooth surface of the weapon immediately showed patterns resembling claws and fangs, an anomaly never before seen.

Clearly, this pure abyssal magic also brought exaggerated benefits to "Hound's Fang".

"Wake up, it's time to get to work."

Hugh whispered an order into the disc, and after receiving a low growl in response from the court hound, he decisively pulled the trigger of "Hound's Fang" straight ahead.

The hound's ferocious howl was drowned out by the surging magical flames, but in the next instant, bullets carrying annihilation power tore a huge gap in the ring of fire, and then, invisible, ferocious bites struck the Nightmare Bear's body.

Three bullets were fired in quick succession. The first bullet successfully hit the insect's body that emerged from the Nightmare Bear's belly, and the mouthparts that were spraying thick mist shattered on the spot.

The second bullet should have pierced the Nightmare Bear's abdomen, but it was blocked by several of its limbs.

The third bullet immediately turned towards the Nightmare Bear's limbs that supported its massive body. The annihilation force caused the thick "thigh" to snap instantly, causing the enormous body to tilt forward and crash heavily onto the wasteland of bones.

The results were encouraging, but the rapidly repaired gaps and limbs also indicated that the Nightmare Bear was not as fragile as it seemed, and the "stored food" accumulated in its body was enough to allow it to quickly recover to its original state.

But Hughes's goal has already been achieved.

Now, this once silent wasteland is once again in turmoil. On the distant horizon, the flat shadow that had left a deep impression on Hugh reappears, and the "scavengers" who had been hiding before also show their faces and look at the giant bear that seems to have been seriously injured.

So Hugh ignored his opponent, snapped his fingers, and summoned the sprinting rat. It quickly bypassed the fallen giant body and scurried away into the distance.

Unbeknownst to Hugh, at the very same moment, as he summoned the bright flames of the campfire, countless astonished eyes were gazing toward the wasteland from the towering mountain he had chosen as his destination.

(End of this chapter)