Chapter 305: Hydra - 2
"So big!" Lily exclaimed as she watched the figure materialising before them, her voice edged with awe.
Leo summoned Niri and instructed her to move a little away and begin charging her [Solar Beam].
30 seconds had already passed, yet the spirit-beast had only just begun to manifest.
All three of them watched as the hydra slowly took shape. Leonâs lionâSinghamâlet out a low growl, its eyes locked onto the point where the phenomenon was unfolding.
At last, it began forming properly. Four thick, reptilian legs emerged from below, followed by the rest of its massive body. Dark grey scales coated its form, shimmering faintly with a spectral sheen as its spirit body solidified.
Moments later, its long, slender tail appeared, stretching its total length to nearly 30 meters. And finally, the head formed.
But to Leoâs surprise, there was only a single headâa draconic one, with a wide, gaping maw lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth.
From the topâhead, neck, spine and tailâall were lined with sharp spike-like projections tipped with extra dark colour, making it look dangerous
What stood out the most, however, was two thin, diamond-shaped crystals embedded in the centre of its forehead, split into distinct coloursâblue and purple. Its eyes remained closed for a brief second before snapping open, revealing large slit pupils that contracted the moment they locked onto Leoâs group.
It opened its mouth andâ
"Raaarrrrhhhhhhhhh!" it roared, the sound reverberating through the air.
2-headed Hydra (Mid 4-Star) - Super Bloodline
[Elements: Water and Poison]
"Lily, tame it!" Leo shouted. He didnât know why the head count had changed, but one thing was certainâthis thing needed to be subdued.
"Ah!" Lily suddenly clutched her head, her expression twisting in pain, as if acid were burning through her mind.
"I-it refused!" she stated, and both Leoâs and Leonâs faces hardened.
Mana: 32,800 -> 15,300 -> 32,800
Minutes passed as Lilyâs mana was once again drained to sustain the spirit beastâs form. Leo still held her hand, steadily refilling her mana pool.
Leoâs Mana: 163,980 / 178,200 -> 146,480 / 178,200
{The previous 160,700 had regenerated by more than 3000 units within a minute, thanks to Leoâs multiple boosts.
-> High-speed mana regeneration trait.
-> +1 added effect of the same trait due to Niri possessing it (it even increases alliesâ mana recovery rate).
-> Increased natural absorption due to a tamed half-spirit beast [1:1 ratio, mana absorption = intelligence stat].}
{Normally, a personâs mana regeneration is half of their intelligence stat per minute. A person with a half-spirit tamed beast has mana regeneration equal to their intelligence stat, while someone with a spirit has double that amount per minute.
Another way to increase mana regeneration is by being in a mana-dense region, but they were currently outside the range of Fluxsoil Heart.}
Even before Leo could give any further instructions, Niri released her twin charged solar beams straight at the hydraâs head.
Hummmmâthummmâttmmm!
The hydraâs head jerked to the side as it took the full brunt of the attack, but there was barely any visible damage.
"RROOOOOAAAARRRRR!" Leon had already fused with Singham, unleashing [Lionâs Roar] to bolster everyone with the holographic Lionâs projection behind Leon
"I donât know what happened, but I think youâll need my help to subdue it, right? So Lily can tame it?" he said.
Leo nodded, summoning Shyra. But as if they didnât exist, the hydra shifted its gaze toward the territory and opened its maw wide.
Water energy began to swirl within, condensing into a glowing orb of pure blue.
Swirllâbhoooossss!
A beam of water shot forward, cutting across the kilometre-wide distance with ease above the trees. Yet before it could touch the vegetation, countless earthen walls rose up to intercept it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Howl had blocked the attack. As if anticipating more, he immediately formed earthen spears and launched them in an arc toward the hydra. The aim was slightly off, with most of them landing around it, but Leo was still surprised that Howl could attack from such a distance.
The hydra had sensed Howlâs presence and immediately marked him as a far greater threat than Leo and the others.
"Donât ignore us!" Leon roared, lunging forward and delivering a crushing punch infused with [Critical Strike]. It worked. The hydra, seemingly not expecting to be damage, failed to defend itselfâand paid the price.
DHOOM!
The massive creature staggered back a few steps, the grey scales just below its neck visibly dented. But as a spirit, physical damage meant littleâit functioned on mana.
The hydra opened its maw again, but this time, purple energy churned within.
"Everyone dodge! Itâs poison!" Leo shouted as he and Lily leapt back, putting distance between them and the beast. Leon and Shyra retreated as well, while Niri was already far enough away.
HOOOOO!
A wave of poisonous breath burst forth, sweeping across the area with its twisting head. By the time the attack ended, the ground around the hydra was drenched in corrosive toxin. Leo could tell that anything below 3-star would dieâor rather, meltâinstantly upon entering that zone.
"Lily! Why canât you contract it? Shouldnât it know that if it doesnât get contracted, it will perish?" Leo asked, beginning to charge his own [Solar Beam] alongside Niri. Meanwhile, Shyra searched for an opening to close the distance.
"Itâs the hydraâs pride! Even if it means perishing, it wonât allow itself to be subdued without a fight!" Lily replied after sensing the creatureâs emotions.
"Damn!"
Leo was still a low 4-star being, his stats ranging between 1000 to 2000. The hydra, on the other hand, was a Mid 4-star, with stats between 2000 to 3000. Defeating it would be extremely difficult. Not to mention, he suspected the beast had a second phaseâit was clearly labeled as a two-headed hydra, yet only one head was present.
What were the chances that once this head was severed, two more would grow in its place?
But Lilyâs next words felt like cool water over burning skin.
"Leo! We just need to force it to use its full powerânot defeat it!"
Leo grinned. That was far easier.
His twin solar beams, along with Niriâs, were already fully charged.
H-H-H-Hummmmmmmm!
A two-pronged attack crashed onto the hydra. Niriâs beam struck directly on its forehead, once again doing little. But Leoâs, hitting from the side, managed to sear through the scales and damage its spirit body.
Even if Leo was able to use the Peak 3-star power output from Solar beam--since Niri was still in the 3-star realm, unlike Niriâs Mid-3-star power, a peak 3-star is always stronger.
Lily also revealed that the beast still perceived itself as a low 5-star entity, which explained why it hadnât bothered to defend against Leonâs earlier strike.
Another barrage of earthen spikes rained downâHowlâs attack. This time, one struck squarely into the hydraâs side, denting its scales but still failing to deal significant damage.
The hydra once again turned toward Howlâs location. But realizing he wouldnât move, it shifted its focus back to Leon, who was already charging in as the poisonous mist thinned.
Lilyâs Mana: 32,800 -> 15,300
but soon,
Mana: 15,300 -> 32,800
Leoâs Mana: 149,550 / 178,200 -> 132,050 / 178,200
Back in the territory, chaos ensued as the 3 girls, Veronica and Virat panicked after the water beam crashed down just beside them.
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A/N: I am really sorry, I havenât published yesterdayâs scheduled Chapter yet. Please give me more time. 3 more bonus Chapters are left.