MTLNOVEL Chapter 553: Preoccupied
Zach was far from sure about his current actions. Walking toward the Hydra was like walking into the jaws of death, after all. But what was he supposed to do, walk in the other direction?
The rest of the Hydra-killing party was taking their sweet time leaving the Labyrinth. There was an army and citizens praying for the Hydra not to kill them. There was an Empire ready for the Hydra to destroy.
Zach had seen the intelligence in the Hydra's eyes. There was a chance that it just wanted out and wasn't interested in destruction.
But that was before it was attacked, lost a head, and had its wings torn to shreds by Oria and Yan.
As much as he saw the intelligence in the Hydra's eyes, he also felt its need for destruction and the malice it held deep in its heart.
It might not have a grudge against the Empire that rose long after it was sealed. But if the stories held a grain of truth to them, the God of Nature was responsible for sealing the Hydra into the Labyrinth. The best way to get revenge on him would be to destroy nature.
Zach didn't think it was quite that simple, but it was an idea that would work for someone like the Hydra.
So, the Hydra wasn't going to destroy the Empire. The Empire would just end up a causality to the Hydra's revenge.
Zach started wondering to himself if the Hydra would invoke someone like the principal to move, but he shook away all unnecessary thoughts and focused on the Hydra's seven heads as the world essence energy surged through his body.
He spread his legs, took a stable stance, and pulled back his fist. When the head of Regeneration came for round two, Zach punched the tip of its lower jaw. It was hard to hit anything else when it was posing to eat him.
To everyone's surprise, the head of Regeneration was knocked back by Zach's fist. There was a clear indentation where he had struck.
The power of the world essence energy was no joke. But neither was the Hydra's powers.
The head of Regeneration quickly recovered, while the head of Immortality took a swing at Zach.
"Mandra, you can keep its wings tied down and prepare another round of lightning, right?"
"It won't be as precise as before, Master, but I can do it as long as this beast is preoccupied."
"You heard her, Yanael. Let's keep this beast preoccupied. You're better at dealing damage than me, so I'll let you handle the heads of Regeneration and Immortality. I'll go for the head of Fire, Poison, and the unknown one if possible." That left the head of Wind and the head of Usurpation.
Whoever handled them would depend on who they decided to attack.
"Yes, Master. I'll do my best."
Magic energy replaced Mandra's flesh and blood as she brought the properties of being an Archon to the surface. She became a being of pure magic. It placed a strain on Zach still, but with him using world essence energy like that, it was fine.
Magic energy poured out of her and transformed into glacial chains that wrapped around the Hydra wing with a boulder of ice on it. The chains seamlessly integrated with the ice block and melted it down, using its magic and weight to empower the chains as they dug into the ground. She infused the chains with enough magic energy to stay cold for a year. They also dragged down the temperature around them, weakening the Hydra's fire.
Oria was in awe as she saw that.
But Mandra wasn't done. That was just one of the Hydra's wings.
If she used the same method on the other one, the Hydra could fix them with the same method—heat. So, for the other wing, she used stone. Her magic energy flowed into the air and the ground. The magic energy that flowed into the air took control of the magic energy in the atmosphere and made it help out.
The magic energy in the ground did two things. It prepared the dirt for a transformation and moved it out of the way, opening up a wing-sized pocket in the ground.
Before the Hydra could react and raise its wing, a large block of solid air swept down and forced the Hydra's wing into the ground. One of the drawbacks of the wing healing from Yan's explosives was the fact that it caught all the air. It was too much for it to resist.
As soon as the wing was in the ground, Mandra closed the hole again and transformed the dirt into solid stone by condensing the minerals in the dirt. She drew it out from the stone on the surface as well to extend her petrification as far as possible.
The Hydra was chained down to the point it couldn't even take a step forward unless it wanted to leave its wings behind.
Naturally, after Mandra did that, she became a target of interest for the Hydra's heads. But the heads of Regeneration and Immortality were preoccupied with a certain four-winged fly that just wouldn't leave them alone. It was like it had a grudge against them or something. It was almost like they had repeatedly tried to attack and eat the fly's master.
The heads of Fire and Poison were also busy.
Zach had channeled his strength into his legs and leaped up onto the head of Fire shortly after Mandra got started, taking advantage of a moment of distraction. He held onto the top of the head with his barriers tied around it.
With his footing secured, Zach went to town on the head. He rocked out with punch after punch, each one sending cracks to ring across the battlefield. His punches were powerful enough to send shockwaves. They were more than enough to break the Hydra's scales and start drilling into its skull.
Naturally, the head of Fire didn't like that and tried to swing him off like a mad bull. It even managed to break his barriers with its frenzied movements. But Zach had already inserted his legs under the head's skin. He was not getting thrown off.