The scene was a gruesome sight, the metallic smell of blood and the reek of fear lingering in the air. The bodies of the cultivators scattered around, their twisted limbs and frozen expressions a testament to the horror they had experienced. The Nargacougars moved with deadly grace, leaving deep gouges in the stone floor with their sharp claws. The survivors, their eyes darting nervously, cowered together, hoping to avoid the attention of the predators.
As I navigated through the chaos, every sense on high alert, I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. I whirled around, ready for anything. I was sure it was not a Nargacougar, since those creatures move with such fearsome and terrifying stealthy grace, they would be undetectable until they strike.
There was someone behind me, hidden by a mask and the shadows cast by the hovering platforms littering the space inside this giant cube we're in. I braced myself for whatever was to come.
"What do you want?" I snarled, my voice low and menacing.
The figure stepped closer, their movements measured and deliberate. "Let's pair up," they said, their voice muffled by the mask.
I studied them with narrowed eyes. They were looking for safety in numbers, hoping that we could protect each other from the Nargacougars. But I knew better than to fall for such a desperate ploy. Pairing up would only make us easier targets.
"No need," I said coldly, my voice final. "I prefer to operate alone."
I turned on my heel and strode away, alert for any sign of danger. Survival was all about calculated risks and strategic moves. With luck and a well-executed plan, I would make it out of this alive.
I assessed the situation with a cold and calculating gaze, taking in every detail of my surroundings. The room was vast, with towering walls that seemed to stretch up to the sky. I knew that I couldn't waste any time if I wanted to survive. With Nargacougars and other cultivators lurking around, I had to be quick and efficient.
I jumped from one hovering platform to another, my movements fluid and precise. I scanned the area for any signs of danger. I already pulled my hand gun, ready for anything, and it was there when I sensed it. A Nargacougar was nearby. No it was actually on this very platform I'm on, I didn't hesitate to take action.
I fired my gun, the sound echoing through the room with a deafening roar. The Nargacougar recoiled in pain, its invisibility stripped away for a moment. I took advantage of the opportunity and threw a specially designed pill that contained a potent nerve poison. The creature howled in agony, its nerves on fire from the poison.
It stumbled back and fell to the far away ground, wounded and vulnerable. But I wasn't the only one who had noticed. The Steel Fanged Wolves, fierce predators in their own right, howled in response and rushed towards their fallen prey. I watched the scene with detached interest, studying the wolves as they tore into the wounded Nargacougar with savage efficiency.
They tore its flesh as it screamed in agonized pain, bit by bit, starting from the Nargacougar's thin leathery wings, to its ears, and once it made the mistake of falling on its back, the Nargacougar's belly was up for grabs for the first wolf to sink their fangs in. A single jerk was all it took to spill the insides of the creature, steaming intestines littered the ground.
It was a brutal display, but it was also a reminder of the harsh reality of this world. In a place like this, it was kill or be killed. And I was determined to be the one left standing at the end.
The Nargacougar's screeches filled the air as it was torn apart by the savage teeth and claws of the creatures attacking it. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, creating a gruesome scene that would haunt anyone who witnessed it.
But amidst the chaos, I remained focused on my goal. With a quick motion, I summoned four robotic arms that I had created for Shen Bao's main body. These arms were specially designed to help me navigate difficult terrain and assist me in combat, and I knew they would come in handy now.
Using these arms, I leaped up to the ceiling and clung to it with two of the arms while the other two held two powerful miniguns. I was determined to be ready for anything, especially since I couldn't figure out where the Nargacougars might be hiding. But with my weapons at the ready, I knew I could defend myself if they came at me.
To ensure that I had a clear line of sight, I scattered pills around the ceiling wall, painting it with a viscous, poisonous liquid. I was confident that this would deter any Nargacougars from trying to claw their way towards me from above. However, I knew that some of the creatures might try to attack me from the air, which is why I pulled out another pill. This time, I opted for a smoke screen rather than a poison pill. I didn't want to risk harming other cultivators with my powers, so I had to be careful.
I thought about the rules and restrictions of this trial. It was clear that the Poison God valued control and discipline over blind power, and that was a valuable lesson for any cultivator. It was also a testament to the fairness of the trial, as it ensured that every participant had an equal chance to succeed without resorting to underhanded tactics.
Otherwise, I could have easily eliminated all my competition with my poisonous abilities, I respected the rules and didn't resort to such extreme measures otherwise I'd have too many Skull Marks on my chest if some unlucky cultivator was to inhale any Poison I randomly threw.
The pill in my hand served the same purpose as a screen, but this one had no poison. It was a smoke screen that would do nothing but cause intense itchiness to whoever came in contact with it, enough to drive them to madness. This is far from harming or killing anyone, but the effect it would have on the Nargacougars was exactly what I needed.
Though I couldn't count on it to make the creatures feel itchiness in mid-air, the fact that this pill, when it detonates, creates a half-visible cloud of white smoke was good for my purpose. Once the pill blew up, a massive cloud appeared around me, thick and potent enough to make my eyes water. It didn't take long before one of the Nargacougars came rushing at me, its movements erratic as it tried to shake off the effects of the smoke.
You couldn't see the creature itself, but you could easily see the displacement of the cloud it went through, a disturbance in the smoke that signaled its presence. The two-armed arms locked onto the Nargacougar and began shooting, the deafening sound of the minigun echoing through the air. The bullets themselves weren't enough to break through the tough skin of the Nargacougar, but the impact of each shot was enough to cause the creature to wince, its sensitive hearing picking up every single shot. And that's all I needed before I used my own handgun, a weapon far more powerful than the minigun.
The handgun was using penetrative shells with poison pills inside them, a lethal combination that could take down even the toughest of beasts. The idea wasn't to put a hole into the creature, but to allow the poison to seep into the creature's body once the bullet goes in, slowly but surely taking down the beast from the inside. A single shot to the area under the Nargacougar's wing, where the skin was thin and the muscles and bones were scarce, was enough to have the bullet bite deep into the beast, causing it to roar in pain.
The moment the creature felt the searing heat of the bullet, it changed trajectory and slammed into a nearby wall, its claws ripping at the wall as it tried to stabilize itself, its eyes glowing with fury and hatred as they gazed at me.
That only lasted for a few seconds before the poison from the bullet inside its body began acting, the lethal toxins spreading through its bloodstream like wildfire. The creature began spasming on the wall, its body wracked with pain, shuddering and shaking, screeching as if it was being torn apart from the inside. Then it began slamming its forehead into the wall, once, twice, and thrice, before blood began painting the wall, a final testament to the creature's last moments of agony.
The scene was one of utter chaos and confusion, as the once fearsome Nargacougar lay convulsing on the ground, its body writhing with pain. The sight of the giant fungi emerging from its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears was both grotesque and mesmerizing, and the cultivators watched in awe as the creature suffered its final, horrifying moments.
But their fascination was short-lived, as a pack of hungry wolves descended upon the fallen beast, eager to take advantage of the opportunity for an easy meal. The wolves charged forward, their teeth bared and their eyes fixed on their prey, but as they drew closer, they seemed to sense that something was amiss.
With cautious curiosity, the first wolf approached the Nargacougar, sniffing tentatively at its strange, fungal-covered body. And then, without warning, the wolf sneezed violently, shaking its head and revealing bloodshot eyes and foaming jaws. It was clear that something was very wrong with the creature, and the other wolves hesitated, unsure of what to do.
But as the first wolf turned on its own packmate, biting and snarling in a frenzy of madness, the other wolves quickly followed suit. In an instant, the once-proud pack had turned on itself, each animal consumed by the same uncontrollable rage and bloodlust that had infected their fallen prey.
It was a harrowing sight to behold, as the wolves tore into each other with abandon, their once-proud pack reduced to a writhing mass of snarling, biting bodies. And as the chaos and violence escalated, it became clear that there would be no survivors in this brutal, unforgiving battle for dominance over nothing…
The Nargacougars saw what happened to their companions and wisely decided not to attack me again. They didn't want to suffer the same fate as their fellow beast who went mad and hurt itself against the wall. They knew it wasn't worth the risk to go after someone who was already difficult to reach, and they opted for easier prey instead. They also avoided the rabid wolves, as they weren't appetizing and not worth the trouble to hunt.
The once-calm screams of the cultivators were now drowned out by the sounds of more pain and distress in the room.
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