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Chapter 129: Returning Tail Part 2
🕑 Added 2023-05-02 17:12:34 +0000 UTCChapter 129: Returning Tail Part 2
However, the hydra was nowhere to be seen on the platform. Instead, it had positioned itself at the exit we were aiming for and was gathering mana in its mouth to launch an attack. The mana it cast flew past our heads and hit the walls and ceiling aimlessly. We had to use the small moving platform that could barely fit five people to reach its position, but with the dragon shooting beams at us, it was a death wish.
"What do we do? Can you kill it from this distance, Lord Edelweiss?" Sig asked as another beam passed by his side.
"Hm… No. I might barely reach it, but by that time, the spell would lose a lot of its accuracy and power."
"What about luring it with another dragon like before?"
"I am out of mana," Lily replied.
"Are we going to wait here until that thing runs out?" Helmet asked.
"Nah, it won't run out of mana. I knew it," Alistar said. Sig and Alistar analyzed its movements and realized it wasn't in a rush and could keep shooting beams at us all day.
"What are we going to do then?"
"That small platform could hold about five people, but we could have more room to maneuver if it was only one or two. The hydra was on its last legs, it only has two heads which meant it could not cast as many spells, and I have seen that its spell power had dropped by quite a margin. I think we could do it," Alistar murmured as he looked at the hydra. We all wondered why the hydra was so insistent on preventing us from leaving this dungeon. It should have placed this monster on a deeper floor if it wanted to protect the dungeon core from adventurers.
"Shouldn't the dungeon be more lenient if its adventurers were leaving?" Lily asked.
"Nah, this dungeon is the reverse. If people could come and go as they liked, they could mine everything and leave. That's why it's trying so hard to prevent its inhabitants from leaving," Sig said matter-of-factly. "But this boss was the obstacle. It will get easier the higher up we go. Monsters will be unable to live on higher floors due to mana issues from the dungeon. If that boss monster goes up to another floor, it will get weaker and more sluggish."
"Then let us settle. Who will go as a strike team accompanying Edelweiss?" Alistar asked. Joseph and Sig raised their hands.
"Great. Your first priority is to buy time until the next group arrives. Lily, Rhegar, and Lhorne will be up next, then Rhander, Rick, and Mark. The rest need to guard Niece at the back in case the fishmen storm us," Alistar concluded the plan.
We moved as ordered. Edelweiss stepped onto the platform and parried the beam shot at her with ice spears. The dragon was weak enough now that her magic overpowered it. However, since the dragon had two heads, it could cast two beams simultaneously, but even those beams were blocked by Sig and Joseph's shields.
After they landed, they had to wait for the platform to return. Sig displayed his prowess by blocking another one of the beams while Edelweiss hit the beast's body with spells. Realizing its attack was futile, the creature charged with its body, but Edelweiss blocked it with earthen pillars. Stakes were then pushed out from the ground, forming a cage around them, and the beast had a hard time getting in.
"Lily! Hurry!" Alistar prompted them. They came in next, and just as the platform returned to where Edelweiss was heading, swarms of fishmen rose up from the boiling lake and surrounded them and the group behind. Lily unsheathed her saber and slashed at them while they kept their gaze on the hydra. One of its heads launched a beam attack at them, but they parried it with fireballs, which created an explosion in the air. Lhorne and Alistar then worked their way to clear the platform. Alistar had no problem in close-quarters combat, but Lhorne was struggling. Even though he had a sword, the fishmen still managed to get a glancing hit on his side.
The hydra managed to destroy the pillars Edelweiss raised. But she had already bided her time and retreated to its side, casting another set of earth pillars, trying to cage the beast inside. It roared, and with another one of its beam attacks, it destroyed the pillar. It tried to rush toward Edelweiss, only to be interrupted by a rain of fireballs on its back from them.
Not missing the chance, Edelweiss launched another stake toward it, hitting straight at its left neck. The pillar went straight through its neck, pinning the beast down. The creature roared, trying to flee, its body writhing in pain because of its pinned neck.
It then did the unthinkable, as the other head bit down on the other neck and ripped it off. Then it charged away from Edelweiss and toward the lake.
"Not on my watch. You will die now!" Edelweiss raised several more pillars, using almost all of her remaining feystones in its path. The beast stumbled as several pillars stuck on its body, with more pillars obstructing its way toward the boiling lake.
The beast panicked, rampaging around and slamming its body, uncaring of the injuries inflicted by the pillars. With beams and pure force of its mass, it destroyed many pillars and tumbled its way to the boiling lake. Lily and Edelweiss tried to snipe its last head but were unsuccessful. The creature moved its head erratically as it fled to the lake.
"That makes you wonder why it was so insistent on hunting us down. The way it fled was cowardly but efficient," Alistar commented.
"Never mind that, let's move up and get outta here," Sig said.
When the dragon fled, the fishmen that were surrounding them also fled with it. The stage was then left in eerie silence, and they left the floor more frustrated because of the beast's constant harassment.
