[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 120
Thud!
Following Zeke's words, Big Foot summoned not only the Rock tribe warriors but also warriors from neighboring tribes.
Dozens of Barbarian warriors, each a weapon in themselves, gathered in the village.
Seeing the assembled Barbarian warriors, Zeke said to King Fist,
"King Fist, I need stone spears."
"Why do you need stone spears? We can just crush them with our bare hands."
"That's a good way to get yourselves killed."
Even Big Foot, the chieftain, had to step in to persuade the stubborn and disobedient Barbarian warriors.
Zeke had them prepare five stone spears per person.
After they brought the stone spears, sharpened and harder and sharper than iron, Zeke coated each of them with horsetail flower oil.
"Why are you applying this?"
"It's fatal to snakes."
He wasn't sure if it would work on the Hydra, but Zeke intended to try every means available.
Judging from what he saw in Kaisir's resting place, he felt he could handle it with the Elemental Sword, but it was foolish to be careless in this situation where strange signs were appearing.
Zeke led the Barbarian warriors out of the fortress.
Then, he linked Dragon Eye with the map to find the place where the monsters and the Hydra were likely to be.
Unexpectedly, Richmond proved helpful.
"M-Master. I sense a strange energy over there."
"What exactly do you mean by strange energy?"
"Uh, well... it's like a tingling sensation? It gives me the chills."
Zeke realized that what Richmond was talking about was malice.
He felt proud, realizing that Richmond was a walking malice detector.
'Finding the monsters will be much easier.'
He led the Barbarian troops towards the place Richmond indicated.
Zeke found a huge cave beneath a cliff where rocks were piled up in the direction Richmond pointed.
Examining it, he noticed something strange.
'What's that?'
The appearance of the monsters standing in front of the cave was strange.
They looked more like monsters than monsters.
Zeke asked Richmond inwardly,
'Richmond, have you ever seen monsters like those?'
'N-no. This is my first time seeing them. It seems they've become mutated like chimeras.'
If even Richmond, the monster expert, was seeing them for the first time, they were likely monsters corrupted by malice.
Zeke said to King Fist behind him,
"Please take care of the monsters over there. I'm going inside."
"No. I want to hunt the Nine-Headed Dragon too."
"I'll tell your dad."
At those words, King Fist nodded dejectedly.
Zeke took out a dagger from his pocket and imbued it with the will of explosion.
Then, he threw it at the monster like monsters.
Thud!
The dagger lodged itself in the back of a monster.
"Krr?"
Boom!
A moment later, a loud explosion erupted, and the monsters reacted to the sudden blast.
"Kyaaaaa!"
King Fist, following Zeke's instructions, lured the monsters away.
"Richmond, watch the situation from outside and report anything unusual."
"Y-yes, sir."
Zeke drew Bahamut and entered the cave where the Hydra was.
'What's that smell?'
The cave was filled with a foul odor.
It was similar to the smell he encountered in the cave where he found the dark mages.
The stench worsened as he went deeper inside.
Just then,
Krrrrrr!
A giant roar that shook the entire cave echoed.
Zeke proceeded cautiously.
Soon, a large open space appeared, and he saw the Hydra curled up inside.
'There it is.'
The head that Zeke had cut off seemed to have already regenerated, as it still had nine heads.
Concealing himself with stealth, Zeke contemplated how to capture it in one go before the Hydra noticed him.
'I need to stab its vital point in one strike.'
Even when he caught the Lord of the Swamp, he was only able to finish it off after piercing its heart.
Zeke used Dragon Eye to examine the Hydra's weaknesses.
Then, a message popped up.
[Detected a corrupted dragon-type completely consumed by malice.]
'Completely consumed?'
Zeke recalled the Lord of the Swamp he had faced before.
The Lord of the Swamp had also been completely consumed by malice, turning from a dragon into a monster.
Unlike when he saw it before, the Hydra also seemed to be completely consumed by malice, just like the Lord of the Swamp.
'Those Empire bastards must have done something in the meantime.'
Zeke first equipped his Hersion.
Then, he drew Bahamut and aimed it at the Hydra's heart.
Woooong!
Energy gathered in Zeke's sword.
He launched a surprise attack towards the Hydra's heart using the Dragon Slaying Technique.
Dragon Slaying Technique, True Dragon Swordsmanship Style
Chapter 6 Verse 2
Pierce the Dragon's Heart
A giant aura surged from Zeke's sword and flew straight towards the Hydra's heart.
Krrrrrr!
The Hydra, sensing the ominous energy, moved its nine heads.
Kyaaaaa!
The aura blade Zeke unleashed struck the Hydra's body head-on.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
A whirlwind of aura tore the Hydra's body to shreds.
'It worked.'
His surprise attack had landed.
The Hydra, with a hole in its body, staggered backward.
It was then that,
Crackle!
Black energy surged from the hole in the Hydra's body, quickly closing the wound and healing it.
Zeke had a bewildered expression as he saw this.
'That attack shouldn't have healed so quickly.'
Kyaaaaa!
The Hydra roared towards Zeke, who had launched the surprise attack.
Its nine giant heads lunged at Zeke, spewing poisonous smoke.
The poisonous smoke seeped through the gaps in the Hersion.
[Hydra's poison detected.]
[Failed to neutralize the poison with the constitution All Poisons Immunity.]
[Poisoned by Hydra's poison.]
Zeke, poisoned by the Hydra, felt his limbs gradually becoming heavy.
He didn't know how much he could withstand with his Healing Factor, so Zeke judged that it was dangerous to stay here.
"Damn it!"
Zeke hurriedly escaped the cave using Gale Wind.
Drrrrrr!
The cave shook violently as if it would collapse from the Hydra's massive body.
Crash!
As Zeke exited the cave, he swung his sword to collapse the entrance and buy some time.
But it was no use.
The Hydra's heads pushed through the collapsed rocks and emerged outside.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Its nine heads continued to spew black poisonous smoke.
Although the Hersion Zeke was wearing blocked the poison to some extent, he didn't know how long it could hold out.
The Hydra had completely emerged from the cave.
Its size was much larger than when he saw it in the Hero King's ruins.
'Damn it, what the hell happened in the meantime?'
Zeke hurriedly summoned Bucephalus.
Hieeeing!
Zeke mounted Bucephalus and soared into the sky.
"Bucephalus! Lightning Strike!"
At Zeke's command, dozens of lightning bolts erupted from Bucephalus' horn and attacked the Hydra.
Crackle!
The lightning bolts struck the Hydra's body, but the wounds healed quickly as expected.
A black organism flowing through the Hydra's body seemed to be closing the wounds and healing them.
'It seems different from malice, what the hell is that?'
Zeke used the Mace of Light skill he had newly acquired against the Hydra.
Crash!
The giant Mace of Light struck the Hydra's body.
Kyaaaaa!
Surprisingly, unlike other attacks, the spot hit by the Mace of Light didn't regenerate properly.
"Whatever it is, it seems its regeneration is related to malice."
Having grasped the situation, Zeke pulled out chains from his wrist and used the Soul Sealing Technique.
Whirl!
The chains extended infinitely according to Zeke's will, coiling around all of the Hydra's heads.
"Kyaaaaa!"
The Hydra, unable to break free from the chains constricting its necks, thrashed its nine heads.
Rumble!
The ground shook as if the mountain would collapse with the movement of its massive body.
"Ugh!"
Zeke infused the chains with aura, charged towards the Hydra, and struck its body with the Mace of Light.
Crash!
Keeek!
While the Hydra writhed in pain, Zeke, driving Bucephalus, charged again and unleashed an aura blade, severing one of the Hydra's heads.
Sizzle!
Black smoke rose from the wound cut by the aura blade.
The Hydra, in agony, tried to retreat.
Zeke circled in the air and charged at the Hydra again.
"Trying to escape?!"
The Mace of Light struck the Hydra once more.
Crash!
The Hydra, hit by the Mace of Light, trembled and suddenly started bubbling.
Zeke backed away at the Hydra's sudden reaction.
'What's that?'
Suddenly, small monsters started popping out of the Hydra's body.
Kieeek!
Hundreds of giant bat-like monsters with wings charged towards Zeke.
"Oh no!"
Zeke steered Bucephalus and circled in the air.
Then, he unleashed a barrage of lightning strikes towards the monsters.
Crackle!
The monsters dodged all the lightning strikes Bucephalus unleashed and charged at Zeke in the air.
Slash!
A monster spewed poisonous liquid from its mouth.
Sizzle!
The Hercyon was unaffected, but Bucephalus, hit by the poisonous liquid, suffered damage to its spiritual form.
Hieeeing!
Zeke retreated and glared at the monsters.
While he was dealing with the monsters, the Hydra was regenerating its wounded body.
'Damn it.'
Just then, the new skill he had acquired came to mind.
"Shield of Light!"
As he activated the skill, a giant aura of light appeared in front of him.
Then, it formed into a giant shield.
The monsters, unaware that Zeke had created a shield, charged at him, spewing poisonous liquid.
Crackle!
The monsters that collided with the shield were engulfed in light, turning into black ash and disappearing.
Half of the monsters vanished in an instant.
Zeke extended his hand and launched the Shield of Light towards the remaining monsters.
Whirl!
The giant shield flew towards the monsters.
Crackle!
The shield transformed into light, and the surrounding monsters turned to ash and vanished.
"Wow, that crown was an amazing artifact!"
Having dealt with the monsters, Zeke turned back towards the Hydra.
Just then, a strange reaction appeared in the Hydra's body.
Crackle!
Giant horns started to sprout all over the Hydra's body, including its heads.
Kaaaaaaaa!
The head that Zeke had cut off had already regenerated.
The Hydra raised its nine heads, bared its densely packed sharp teeth, and roared towards Zeke.
It looked less like a dragon-type and more like a large monster he had seen in Terakan Draker's records from the past.
'The bats that came out of its body earlier, and this abnormal regeneration... Even if it's completely consumed by malice... What the hell did those Empire bastards do?'
Zeke gritted his teeth and circled in the air to find the weakness of the Hydra that was showing these strange signs.
It was then.
Krrrrrr!
Energy began to concentrate in the Hydra's nine mouths.
Zeke sensed the ominous sign and backed away.
At the same time, nine breaths poured out from the Hydra's mouths.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
In an instant, the forest disappeared, the cliff crumbled, and rocks shattered.
Kyaaaaa!
The nine heads shot breaths in all directions.
Zeke, seeing the landscape being devastated in an instant, broke out in a cold sweat.
'Crazy...'
It was then.
Wings sprouted from the Hydra's body.
Whoosh!
The Hydra flapped its wings and tried to take flight.
Zeke's heart pounded.
If that monster moved down the mountain instead of staying here, the city would surely be reduced to ruins in an instant, and tens of thousands of lives would be lost.
'I have to stop it somehow.'
He could somewhat understand how Terakan Draker must have felt when facing dragons and monsters during the Liberation War.
Zeke once again drew chains from his arm.
Then, he concentrated aura on his sword.
'There's only one way to kill a monster showing these strange signs in one go.'
When he went on monster hunts with his master, the Hermit of the Forest, in his previous life, Zeke had seen how his master dealt with monsters exhibiting abnormal signs.
'Monsters showing strange signs are completely outside the laws of the world. To destroy them, you have to break the vessel itself with the power of the soul.'
A single spell strengthened the power of the physical world by imbuing it with will through word soul.
But double spells were different.
It was the realm of directly handling the power of the soul.
Even beings outside the laws of the world couldn't maintain their form if their very souls were attacked.
"Huu..."
Zeke took a deep breath.
'I'll cut the Hydra's soul in one go with a double spell.'
Kyaaaaa!
Zeke aimed his sword at the Hydra floating in the air.
Bahamut's Heart pounded violently, filling his Ether hall with mana.
Woooong!
Zeke infused the vibrating with word soul.
His mouth slowly opened.
"Double Spell, Sever."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]