Chapter 310: Galeos’s Hydra Legend, Azure Dragon Level 6

Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Galeos’s Hydra Legend, Azure Dragon Level 6

The third strategic zone, the Damp Cavern.

Water seeped from the surrounding rock walls, the dripping echoing through the cavern.

The battle raged on.

A red Blind-Eyed Crystal Lizard, over three meters long, let out a piercing shriek. It condensed a Crystalized Energy Barrier before it, completely blocking Thomas and a few other Adventurers who were charging at the front.

Lance burst out from the flank.

He whipped his right arm out like a lash.

[Dragon Wing Slash]!

[Effect Bonus: Attack Range +1 (Unarmed Extension), Slashing Damage +5.]

Ether Energy enveloped his forearm and hand, forming a razor-sharp current of air.

"SHREEEAK~"

With a tearing sound, the Crystalized Energy Barrier was instantly ripped apart by the slash. Though said to be capable of withstanding the impact of a One Ring Spell, it was as fragile as paper against the Trait of [Melting Gold Armor Shattering], which ignored 30% of any Magic Shield.

Lance’s hand-blade didn’t slow, cleaving straight through the Crystal Lizard’s thick carapace and spine. Scalding blood splattered everywhere.

Perhaps it was the constant high-intensity battles during this period that had deepened Lance’s understanding of his techniques.

Without him even realizing it, his Skill Level for the [Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style] had broken through once again.

[Skill: Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style LV6 (Master Level)]

[Dragon Wing Slash] was one of the new Demon Body Techniques he had naturally comprehended after reaching Master Level.

This move hadn’t been recorded in the memories he had originally obtained.

This confirmed for Lance a hidden trait of the system panel. As long as he grasped the core techniques of a skill—even an incomplete version—the panel would help him deduce and complete it through constant refinement in real combat. Eventually, it would restore the skill to its most complete form.

Before he could even finish his move, a cry of alarm came from Thomas to his right.

The hapless young Knight was once again pinned to the ground by a red Sound Wing Beast that had pounced from above.

The monster’s large, tusk-filled mouth was snapping at his throat.

Lance quickly flicked his left hand.

A Steam Chain Blade shot from his grasp.

Every link of the Chain Blade flowed with the silver-red Ash Dragon Breath, trailing a brilliant streak of fire through the air.

Like a venomous snake, the Chain Blade wrapped precisely around the Sound Wing Beast’s neck, the intense heat searing through the gaps in its scales.

Lance yanked his wrist back sharply.

"SQUELCH!"

The sharp Chain Blade instantly tightened, severing the Sound Wing Beast’s artery.

A torrent of dark red blood gushed out, showering Thomas’s head and face.

"Cough, cough..."

Thomas pushed the headless corpse off himself and scrambled up from the ground, looking disheveled.

Lance had lost count of how many times he had intervened to save him.

’He really shouldn’t have raised that death flag,’ he thought.

He noticed that the Demons today seemed to have a special aggro for Thomas; all of them were charging the young Knight as if possessed.

’If I hadn’t been roaming nearby to provide timely support, this kid would’ve absolutely met his end here today.’

’Let alone gone back to get married.’

[Professional Experience +5]

[Main Profession: Pale Guard Level 3 (20,000 / 20,000)]

[Status: Upgrade Available]

’Finally, enough experience.’

A smile touched Lance’s lips.

He glanced around. Here in the center of the cavern, the other squads were also finishing their cleanup operations.

The rampaging, red-skinned Demons had all been slain, and the ground was littered with mangled corpses.

These three major zones were special battlefields temporarily created for this "Phase Deathmatch," unaffected by the Underground City’s regular respawn mechanics. Once cleared, they became safe zones.

After confirming that the area was clear, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

Their nerves, stretched taut for so long, finally relaxed. Many of them, ignoring the blood and mud on the ground, collapsed right onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Julius walked over to Lance, glancing at a massive stone monument standing not far ahead.

"The last checkpoint is right there. Lance, why don’t you activate it?"

"Alright."

Lance didn’t refuse and walked straight to the stone monument.

The monument was over five meters tall, its surface carved with a mural.

During their advance through these three zones, they had encountered countless similar stone monuments, all of which recorded the Legends of the Heroic Spirit Galeos’s life.

Across the three zones, there were hundreds of such Legends, both great and small.

’As expected of an Upper Heroic Spirit who can influence the laws of the Underground City. His foundation of Legends is truly profound,’ Lance mused to himself as he looked at the mural.

’Still,’ he thought, ’I already have the seeds of two Legends, and I haven’t even reached the Excellence Tier. Given enough time, achieving this number of Legends doesn’t seem too difficult.’

’Besides, even regional Legends with limited circulation in the Material Realm are counted.’

Lance shifted his gaze to the mural before him.

The painting depicted Galeos slaughtering the Legendary Demon, the Hydra, in a swamp.

The scene was very familiar. Lance immediately recalled witnessing a similar battle in a vision during his last Heroic Spirit Baptism.

However, the mural had a very strange detail in its composition.

At the edge of the battlefield where Galeos fought the Hydra, countless tiny human figures were carved.

These people showed no Fear of the Demon. Instead, they were all prostrating themselves on the ground, worshipping the terrifying Hydra.

In their view, the Hydra was the true god, and Galeos was merely a "divine incarnation" who had descended to help the Hydra shed its Demon form and become human.

They believed that Galeos killing the Hydra was just a sacred ritual of transformation.

"What a foolish Legend..."

Lance shook his head, noncommittal about such an absurd belief.

He raised his palm, pressed it into the recess in the center of the stone wall, and slowly infused it with a stream of Ether Energy.

The patterns on the monument instantly lit up with a blinding light, and then, the entire cavern began to tremble slightly.

[Third Zone clearance progress detected at 100%]

[Zone cleared successfully]

"We won! We cleared it!"

"It’s finally over!"

After a brief silence, deafening cheers erupted within the cavern.

Many people hugged each other and wept with excitement, releasing the Fear and pressure that had been building up for days.

Watching the cheering crowd, Lance’s tense muscles also relaxed slightly.

’Looks like this trip to the Underground City is finally coming to a close.’

However, when the high-spirited team returned to the public safe camp, the sight that greeted them made everyone’s blood run cold.

A grim atmosphere permeated the camp.

Everywhere were ash-covered, wounded Adventurers.

They sat slumped in twos and threes in the open areas, their eyes vacant.

This oppressive atmosphere made Lance’s triumphant team freeze in their tracks.

The cheering died abruptly.

The ones left in the camp were the team led by Felix himself, responsible for clearing another branch zone.

"What happened?"

Lance strode forward and stopped an Adventurer who was bandaging a wound on his arm.

The man looked up and replied, "We were ambushed by the Crimson Bell of Death... They detonated a large number of compressed Alchemy Bombs at the load-bearing nodes in that zone..."

After a brief inquiry, Lance quickly understood the whole story.

Fortunately, after last night’s celebratory banquet, Lance had acted with caution and specifically called the captains of the three Grand Guilds together for a brief tactical meeting.

’He had recalled a passage he’d seen in a book from his past life: "When an extremist group is in a long-term state of suppressed failure, they will not reflect on their actions, but only become more and more radical. To change their circumstances, they will eventually resort to any means of retaliation." ’

It was precisely because of Lance’s warning that Felix had remained on high alert while advancing through the zone.

The Crimson Bell of Death had originally planned to lure Felix’s entire team into a trap, then detonate pre-planted bombs to bury them all alive.

But Felix, using a Detection Spell he had prepared beforehand, discovered the cleverly disguised Alchemy Devices.

Seeing that their ambush was exposed, the members of the Crimson Bell of Death had no choice but to detonate the bombs early.

Although this targeted attack didn’t cause mass casualties, the violent explosion directly destroyed the zone’s structure.

Felix made a split-second decision and ordered a full retreat. This saved most of their lives, though a few members at the very front were seriously injured.

But... the final zone they were responsible for clearing was now completely buried.