Chapter 150: Level 72 Mutated Hydra

Evren stepped through the swirling crimson tear, leaving the smoke of the surface behind.

The air inside the Zone Two rift was hot, smelling of sulfur and ozone. High above, jagged red crystals hung from the ceiling of a cavern tunnel that sloped deep into the earth.

Evren set off at a rapid pace, covering ground quickly.

The entrance was quiet and empty. Knowing Solar Crown had been inside for over an hour, Evren moved deeper into the cavern.

Two miles in, the signs of intense combat finally appeared.

Deep gouges from giant claws scarred the crystalline walls, alongside shattered shields, empty potion vials, and cracked supply crates. The air grew hotter, thick with the sharp tang of acidic venom.

Ahead, the winding tunnel opened up into a wide subterranean ledge overlooking a massive lower basin.

On the ledge, a desperate scene met Evren’s eyes.

Nearly twenty bloodied hunters lay slumped against the cliff face, their golden armor dented and scorched. Three field medics rushed between them, frantically using healing magic to stabilize their comrades.

As Evren walked onto the ledge, one of the medics turned around.

When his eyes landed on Evren’s black coat and the massive Frost-Bane Cleaver, his jaw dropped. "Chairman Evren?!" the medic stammered, dropping a roll of gauze. "You were assigned to Zone One! How are you here?!"

"Zone One is completely cleared," Evren replied calmly. "What is happening down in the basin?"

The medic pointed a trembling hand toward the glowing red basin below.

"It’s a nightmare down there!" the medic shouted. "The core boss is a Level 72 Mutated Hydra. Every time Master Silas cuts off a head, two more sprout from the stump within seconds!"

A wounded hunter coughed in a strained rasp. "We fought for an hour, but it kept multiplying until our mana ran dry. Our swords couldn’t keep up with its flesh."

"Master Silas stayed behind to buy us time to retreat," the medic added. "They are trapped down there; you can’t go alone!"

Evren looked down into the glowing red abyss. "Stay here with your wounded."

Without another word, Evren stepped off the edge of the sixty-foot drop.

He dropped through the air like a stone, channeling his Titan Body Density as he neared the floor.

BOOM!

Evren landed with a heavy thud, his boots absorbing the impact without bending a joint. In the center of the vast cavern, the battle had reached its final moments.

Silas Drake was on his knees, his back pressed against red crystals. His golden breastplate was cracked, dripping with dark acid. In his trembling right hand, his rapier was snapped in half.

Beside him, his three remaining elite guards lay unconscious and bleeding heavily.

Silas was out of mana, and his breath was coming in ragged gasps.

Towering fifty feet above him was the Level 72 Mutated Hydra. Seven muscular necks rose from its massive serpentine body, each crowned with a horned head and burning red eyes. Dark acid hissed from its fangs, melting the stone floor beneath it.

"Is this where I die?" Silas whispered in bitter defeat.

The central head reared back with a deafening hiss, striking downward like a battering ram with its gaping jaws aimed directly at Silas.

Silas closed his eyes, bracing for the end.

BOOM!

A shockwave ripped through the cavern, but the expected pain never arrived.

Silas slowly opened his eyes, and standing in front of him was a broad back clad in a black coat.

Evren had planted his boots into the stone, bringing the flat of his Frost-Bane Cleaver up like a frozen iron wall. The multi-ton hydra head slammed violently into the heavy blade, rattling the cavern floor.

Sizzling acid sprayed across the steel, but the cleaver’s sub-zero frost instantly froze the venom into brittle blue ice, neutralizing the toxic slime on contact.

Silas stared up at him in stunned disbelief. "Evren...?! How are you here?!"

Evren kept his eyes fixed forward, and replied in a completely calm voice. "Get your men out of the way. You are blocking my strike."

The Hydra screeched in ear-splitting fury.

Ripping its central head back, all seven heads spread out like a fan. The three heads on the left lunged back to spit a concentrated volley of caustic acid globes directly at Evren, while the three on the right surged forward with snapping jaws.

Evren reacted instantly. He pushed off the ground, side-stepping the corrosive acid barrage.

SIZZZZLE!

The acid struck the stone where Evren had stood a second before, melting solid bedrock into smoking black sludge.

Mid-dash, Evren spun his body and swung the Frost-Bane Cleaver in a vicious upward diagonal slash.

SHRRRR-CLANG!

The chilled edge bit straight through the neck of the closest striking head, severing it cleanly. Sub-zero frost mana surged into the stump, freezing the wound into dark blue ice.

The severed head crashed into the dirt, freezing solid before it could multiply.

"It works!" Silas gasped from the wall, a glimmer of hope rising in his eyes.

Yet the Level 72 beast was not so easily defeated.

Sensing that its regeneration was being blocked by the cold, the Hydra’s central chest pulsed with a blinding crimson light.

A wave of superheated abyssal heat erupted from the monster’s core, violently melting the frost along its severed neck. Within seconds, two new, thick necks ripped out from the melted flesh, their fangs snapping in rabid frenzy.

Now eight heads glared down at Evren.

"It can thaw its own wounds," Evren muttered, tightening his grip on the hilt of his cleaver.

The Hydra let out a ground-shaking roar as its massive, spike-studded tail swept across the cavern floor at incredible speed.

Evren brought his cleaver down to block, but the weight of the fifty-ton tail strike was staggering.

CLAAAAANG!

The impact rang like a struck cathedral bell.

The force launched Evren backward across the cavern. His combat boots dug deep trenches into the stone as he skidded fifty paces, sparks flying from the friction before he grounded himself against a crystal boulder.

His forearms vibrated with dull numbness from the blow.

"Evren, watch out!" Silas shouted desperately. "It’s filling the room!"