733 Chapter 733 Intense Battle
With the lake sealed off, the hydra's rage was palpable. It shifted its focus, charging towards Francus with a newfound frenzy. Francus, realizing the creature had identified him as the orchestrator of its torment, braced himself for the onslaught.
"Fuck! He's coming after me!" Francus shouted before running to a different spot.
"I will distract it!"
Grigor, quick to act, leaped onto the hydra's back, his energy blade blazing.
He carved a deep wound along its spine, causing the beast to roar in agony.
Moving with a blend of agility and precision, he then sprinted along the creature's undulating body, ascending one of the towering necks. With a powerful swing, he severed one of the hydra's thirty heads, sending it tumbling to the cavern floor in a gush of dark blood.
The hydra, now fixated on Grigor, reeled in pain and fury.
Its remaining heads let out an ear-splitting screech, and it whipped around, trying to shake Grigor off. The chamber echoed with the beast's rage, the air thick with the smell of blood and gunfire.
Grigor clung on, dodging snapping jaws and flailing tails. Below him, Francus maneuvered swiftly, continuing to fire upon the hydra, aiming for its vulnerable spots exposed by Grigor's attack. The battle was intense, each warrior pushing their limits against this monstrous adversary.
As the hydra focused its wrath on Grigor, Francus found an opening. He unleashed a concentrated barrage of gunfire at the base of several necks, weakening them. Grigor, sensing the opportunity, leaped from neck to neck, severing them one after the other in a deadly dance.
The hydra, now severely wounded and disoriented, thrashed wildly, causing the cavern to shake violently. Boulders dislodged from the ceiling, crashing down around them, adding to the chaos.
Francus dodged falling rocks, firing continuously. Grigor leaped from the hydra, landing with a roll. The creature's remaining heads lashed out, but Grigor and Francus moved with practiced coordination, evading and striking.
"Grigor, now!" Francus yelled, signaling the final phase of their plan.
Grigor, understanding the cue, sprinted towards the hydra. He targeted its main body, slashing furiously. Francus provided cover, his shots distracting the hydra, allowing Grigor to deliver the critical blows.
Injured and overwhelmed, the hydra faltered, its movements slowing.
As the hydra's movements became sluggish, Francus and Grigor exchanged triumphant glances. They believed their victory was near. The cavern, steeped in the stench of battle, seemed to resonate with their impending success.
But then, the unexpected happened. The hydra, in a last-ditch effort, let out a deafening cry that echoed off the walls, reverberating through their very bones. Its body shuddered violently, and a blinding light enveloped it. Francus and Grigor shielded their eyes, stepping back in disbelief.
When the light faded, the hydra had transformed. Its skin was now a shimmering, impenetrable armor, glistening with an eerie glow. Each of its remaining heads had grown larger, with eyes that burned like molten lava. The air crackled with its newfound power, a terrifying force that seemed to warp the very space around it.
"Impossible..." Francus muttered, his voice barely a whisper over the creature's rumbling growls.
Grigor, eyes narrowed, assessed their new adversary. "We need a new strategy," he said, his gaze flickering to Francus.
The hydra, now more beast than before, moved with a speed and grace that belied its massive form. It lunged at them, each head snapping with deadly precision. Francus and Grigor, caught off guard, barely dodged the first strike.
They regrouped quickly, their minds racing. The situation had escalated beyond their worst fears. This was no longer just a battle of strength; it was a test of their wit and resilience.
Francus fired a volley of shots, but they ricocheted off the hydra's armored skin, leaving not even a scratch. Grigor, sword in hand, tried to find a weak spot, but the creature's movements were too fast, too unpredictable.
The cavern, once a battleground of their confidence, now felt like a trap closing in on them. Rocks continued to tumble from above, adding to the peril. The hydra's roars were now a symphony of terror, driving them to the edge of despair.
In this dire moment, Francus caught Grigor's eye. A silent agreement passed between them – they would not go down without a fight,
no matter the odds. Their resolve hardened, transforming fear into determination.
Grigor yelled, "Aim for the eyes! It's the only way!"
Francus nodded, adjusting his aim. Together, they launched into a frenetic assault. Francus, with his unerring marksmanship, targeted the glowing eyes of the hydra, while Grigor, swift and agile, aimed for quick, decisive strikes whenever an opening presented itself.
The hydra, sensing the danger to its most vulnerable spots, became more aggressive. It thrashed wildly, its many heads working in unison to fend off the attacks.
The cavern seemed to pulse with the intensity of the battle, the air thick with tension and the acrid smell of scorched earth.
Amidst this chaos, Francus found an opening. He fired a series of precise shots, one of them finally finding its mark. The bullet pierced the eye of the nearest head, causing the creature to reel back in agony. Capitalizing on this moment, Grigor leaped high, his energy blade slicing through the air with a lethal grace.
But the hydra was not to be underestimated. With a sudden, swift motion, it retaliated, knocking Grigor off balance. He tumbled to the ground, narrowly avoiding a deadly bite from one of the other heads.
As Grigor narrowly avoided the hydra's lethal bite, he rolled to his feet, shaken but determined. The creature's eye, which had been damaged by Francus's shot, now oozed a strange, iridescent liquid that sizzled as it hit the cavern floor.
But the hydra's evolution was far from complete. As if in response to its pain, the creature's body began to shift and warp again. This time, it grew larger, towering above them, with heads that seemed to multiply exponentially. The cavern itself seemed to bend to accommodate the beast's newfound size.
Francus and Grigor exchanged frantic glances, realizing that their earlier belief of imminent victory had been a cruel deception. The hydra's adaptation and transformation were beyond anything they had anticipated.
With each head now equipped with a set of piercing eyes and a maw full of razor-sharp teeth, the hydra became a nightmarish entity that defied reason. It moved with terrifying speed and coordination, its heads striking from all directions, forcing the two warriors into a desperate dance of survival.
Their bullets and energy blade strikes continued to glance harmlessly off the hydra's ever-changing form. The creature's armor-like scales seemed to regenerate even as they attacked, leaving them with no means of inflicting lasting damage.
"We can't keep this up!" Francus shouted over the cacophony of battle.
Grigor nodded grimly. "We need to find a way to disrupt its transformation, to stop it from adapting further."
But as they attempted to regroup and devise a new strategy, the hydra unleashed a devastating breath attack, spewing forth a corrosive, green substance that dissolved the cavern's walls upon contact. The structure began to crumble, sending massive boulders tumbling in their direction.
With quick reflexes, they dodged the falling debris, narrowly escaping the deadly barrage. But the hydra was relentless, using the chaos to its advantage, its heads striking with renewed ferocity.
"We need to find its source of power," Grigor yelled, his voice barely audible above the turmoil.
Francus scanned the cavern, his mind racing for any clue that might lead to the hydra's weakness. Amidst the chaos, he spotted a faint, pulsating light emanating from the creature's chest.
"There!" he shouted, pointing at the source of the eerie glow. "It must be the source of its power!"
Grigor nodded, determination in his eyes. "We'll have to get close. But how do we reach it without getting torn apart?"
The hydra, sensing their intent, let out a deafening roar, and its many heads closed in, creating a barrier of snapping jaws and venomous breath. It seemed to anticipate their every move.
"That thing is smarter than we thought!"
In a desperate bid for a distraction, Francus unleashed a barrage of gunfire in one direction, drawing some of the heads away momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, Grigor dashed forward, using his energy blade to parry the attacks of the remaining heads.
With all his strength and agility, Grigor leaped towards the hydra's massive form, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws. His blade sliced through the armored scales, revealing the pulsating core of power within the beast.
But as Grigor attempted to strike at the core, the hydra's remaining heads converged upon him with blinding speed, a coordinated assault that left him defenseless.
Francus, seeing Grigor in peril, knew he had to act swiftly. He fired with precision, aiming for the eyes of the heads attacking his friend. But the hydra, in its evolved state, had become an even more formidable opponent.
The battle had reached a frenzied pitch, with Grigor fighting to fend off the relentless attacks of the hydra's heads, each one striking with a ferocity that threatened to overwhelm him. Francus, while desperately trying to provide cover fire, couldn't find a clear shot amidst the chaos.
With Grigor pinned down, the hydra's pulsating core remained protected. Its eyes burned with an intensity that defied natural order, and its armored skin seemed impervious to their every assault.
Grigor gritted his teeth. "No matter what I do, I will have you dead in this cave!"
