The heavy footsteps ceased. The giant bear seemed to have exhausted its last ounce of strength; its massive body swayed, its front paws buckled, and it crashed to the ground with a thud, shaking the earth uncontrollably.
Thick, dark liquid continuously seeped from multiple torn wounds on its body, slowly soaking into the cold earth.
The Pioneer Territory fell into a dead silence, with only the beast's painful, heavy breathing echoing in the night sky.
Nefarian lowered the claw he used to push aside the vines, spread his Dragon Wings, and examined the wounds and abnormalities on the uninvited guest.
Trouble, it seemed, always came unbidden.
His body soared into the air, rapidly approaching the fallen giant bear.
As Nefarian drew closer, the strong smell of blood and beastly musk permeated the air, overpowering the scent of smoke from the Pioneer Territory.
He landed less than twenty meters from the beast, which was lying on its side.
With his innate night vision, Nefarian could now observe more details.
Its thick white fur was now soaked with large patches of blood, and multiple torn wounds were deep enough to expose bone, with flesh peeled back, even revealing fragmented organs.
Most horrifying was a massive claw mark on its back, which had almost diagonally split its body.
For ordinary creatures, such injuries would undoubtedly be fatal.
Yet, by virtue of the bear's tenacity and the characteristics of a Loa spirit, it had barely survived.
"It's amazing it's not dead yet," Nefarian commented. "However, the physical injuries don't seem to be the most severe." He keenly sensed a deeper abnormality beneath the superficial wounds.
The primordial wilderness power within this giant bear—its Loa essence—which should have been as vast as an ice storm, was now incredibly faint, like a candle flickering in the wind!
It wasn't a simple weakness caused by exhaustion or injury, but more like a large portion had been forcibly gouged out, leaving a massive void.
Its life and existence were irreversibly withering and collapsing.
"He should be Rhunok, the Loa of ZulDrak?" Nefarian recalled the intelligence his Black Claw Camp had gathered. "Father of Bears."
He recognized the identity of this giant bear: Rhunok, the White Bear Loa who controlled ice and resilience.
The massive White Bear laboriously lifted its heavy head.
Its bear eyes, which should have been full of wild majesty, now held only pain, weakness, and a deep-seated fear.
It looked at Nefarian, emitting incomprehensible gurgling sounds from its throat, the voice made indistinct by a mixture of blood and foam.
Its body trembled violently from the intense pain caused by the depletion of its essence, even lying on its side made it extremely uncomfortable.
"What are you doing here?" Nefarian's voice was cold, cutting straight to the core of the issue. "This is not your sanctuary."
His vertical pupils locked onto Rhunok's eyes, attempting to extract key information from the dying Loa's confused expression.
Rhunok's fear instantly intensified, its massive bear eyes suddenly Staring at the dark dense forest from which it came, and it squeezed out a more urgent, warning growl from its throat.
Just at that instant!
Boom!
At the edge of the dense forest, a giant tree, requiring several people to embrace, was snapped in half by an unreasonable, brute force!
Wood splinters and accumulated snow shot out together!
A distorted figure, treading on the roar of the falling giant tree, charged into the edge of the area covered by Dracofyrrassil's domain like an out-of-control chariot!
Nefarian's crimson vertical pupils instantly locked onto the target. The thing barely retained the general outline of an Ice Troll, but its size had swelled to nearly five meters tall!
Its skin displayed a sickly grayish-white color, covered in cracked patterns.
Its left shoulder and left arm were abnormally enlarged, covered with a thick, gray keratinous layer, ending in a short, stubby giant claw resembling a rhinoceros hoof; its right arm was twisted and elongated, covered with dark green scales, and its hand had transformed into sharp claws glowing with a faint green, poisonous light!
Its back was highly arched, like carrying a huge backpack, or as if the spine of some large beast had been forcibly stuffed inside.
Its head was even more deformed: the Ice Troll's facial features were stretched and distorted, a short, stubby rhinoceros horn with spiral patterns grew on its nose, its lower jaw was torn open, and a forked, venomous snake-like tongue, still dripping with viscous fluid, hissed and flickered.
A violent, chaotic, and brutal aura, mixed with the characteristics of different beasts, emanated from it!
The monster's crimson, cloudy eyes were fixed on the White Bear Rhunok, emitting a strange roar, full of greed and destructive desire.
It had clearly lost all reason, retaining only the most primitive predatory instinct—to devour the last remnants of this 'prey's' essence!
Chilling killing intent and research interest simultaneously arose in Nefarian's heart.
Years of research experience immediately led to a preliminary judgment: a failed product of forcibly devouring and fusing Loa essence.
A half-successful God-Stealer!
"Roar—!"
The mutated monster completely ignored Nefarian. Its deformed rhinoceros-like giant hoof violently stomped the ground, charging directly at the dying Rhunok with an aura of crushing everything!
Its footsteps made the earth groan again.
Nefarian moved.
His Dragon Wings suddenly flapped, not retreating, but sweeping diagonally upwards, meeting the charging trajectory!
His speed was extremely fast, leaving a blurred afterimage.
Just as he brushed past the monster, Nefarian's Dragon Claw shot out like lightning, accurately grabbing the monster's right arm, which was covered in green scales!
Rip!
A harsh scraping sound rang out!
Nefarian's Dragon Claw left several bone-deep bloody marks on the monster's snake-scaled arm.
Corrosive shadow energy penetrated deep into its bones and blood through the wounds!
But the monster's scales were unusually tough, and combined with its speed during the charge, this claw did not tear its right arm as expected. It only successfully hindered its momentum, causing its pounce trajectory to deviate.
"Hiss—!" The monster let out a mixed hiss of pain and rage, wildly flailing its corroded right arm; the intense pain made it even more frenzied.
It suddenly turned, its deformed rhinoceros-like left arm, carrying terrifying power capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones, swept horizontally towards Nefarian, who had just brushed past him. The air was compressed by speed and power, emitting a sonic boom!
Nefarian's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and his body deftly and suddenly rose higher in mid-air, narrowly avoiding an attack that could have severely wounded a Dragon.
At the same time, he opened his Dragon Maw, and a red glow rapidly condensed deep within his throat—
Whoosh!
A high-temperature flame breath, emitting a pungent sulfuric stench, accurately struck the monster's left shoulder and chest-abdomen junction, which was exposed by its attack!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!
Accompanied by a corrosive sound, the stench of burnt flesh instantly permeated the air!
The monster's keratinous layer rapidly blackened, carbonized, and cracked under the Dragon Breath!
It let out a shrill, distorted scream, its massive body knocked backward by the impact of the breath, the struck area charred black and emitting thick smoke.
However, this breath, which could severely wound or even kill an ordinary Proto-Dragon, did not seem to inflict a fatal blow on this monster.
The fierce light in its eyes intensified, and its snake-like right claw suddenly lifted, sending several faint green venomous liquids, accompanied by a fishy wind, shooting towards Nefarian!
At the same time, its deformed rhinoceros leg stomped heavily on the ground, transforming into a shockwave that attacked Rhunok, who was still lying on the ground, gasping for breath!
The venom blocked his dodging space, and the stomp attacked what he was bound to protect. Although this judgment might not be entirely accurate, the monster, driven by its insane combat instincts, still executed a certain tactic!
Nefarian's crimson vertical pupils suddenly contracted!
His Dragon Wings vibrated violently, and his body forcibly shifted sideways in mid-air, his Shadow Shield rapidly circulating around his body, narrowly avoiding most of the venom.
But a few drops of venom still landed on his magical shield, making a "sizzling" burning sound.
However, the deadly shockwave below was already dangerously close to Rhunok!
Just at this critical moment!
"Root! Grow!" A clear shout came from the side!
The ground and sparse grass beneath Rhunok's body instantly burst forth with astonishing vitality!
Countless vines burst from the earth, intertwining, wrapping, and layering in front of Rhunok's body!
These vines possessed both a certain degree of flexibility and the hard texture of wood.
Bang!
The shockwave slammed heavily against the barrier formed by the vines!
A muffled impact sound ensued, and the outermost layer of vines was instantly shattered into dust, but the inner layers of vines stubbornly withstood the impact.
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