Realm Wars

The Dracodile was no match for Ryu in terms of speed. But in terms of strength, the Dracodile only advanced in slight margin due to its massive body.

But with the addition of [Rampaging Voltage], the name of the gauntlet that Rigulus made, he could now bore a hole on the Dracodile's hide without much effort. It also didn't hinder his mobility and muscle joints which he liked very much.

The weapon also provided electric shock, which rendered his opponents paralyzed or stunned for a few seconds. Not only that, electricity coated his every blow, perfect for any aquatic enemies.

It was the best weapon Ryu could have in the Nightmare Sea.

Cecily noticed Ryu's weapon too but dismissed it as Ferris buying him one. As long as he could fight and tear her enemies, she didn't care what they did.

Speaking of Ferris, Cecily briefly shot a look in Ferris's direction. Without moving nor any indication that she would help, Ferris sat in the boat like she would pass out from drowsiness.

Cecily frowned and performed a soul scourge on her. That would wake her up. And as Cecily expected, Ferris faced her direction with her eyes dilated and her face smirking.

Ferris jumped from the boat, and with her daggers in her hands, she shot into the air with a humming sound and plague a jagged wound on the Dracodiles skin.

Annoyed, Cecily stopped the soul scourge and concentrated on the Dracodiles. There were some left, the persistent ones that wouldn't go down. 

The Dracodiles were extremely territorial, and even though it was losing, it wouldn't retreat. It would chase its enemies into the ends of Septverden if it had to.

On the boat, Kai's mana was almost depleted in half. It was good that the Dracodiles were nearly defeated, and their ships were advancing further away from them, so he stopped freezing the water.

He was a Swordmaster, not a mage, so his mana reserved was limited, unlike Rosa. 

As the boat advance and the enemies' numbers lessened, the group finally tumbled on a cave in the middle of the lake, and everyone wondered if the Lost Jewel of Tethy's was inside.

Kai wanted to relax and leave the remaining Dracodiles pursuing them to the others, but it seemed like it was not the case when something huge appeared out of nowhere.

"N-now what?!" Kai lamented. 

The Owner's smile was skewed. The first time that Athen and Athena saw droplets of sweat ran through his face. 

"Now. .. we faced the real boss of this island. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you. .. the guardian of this lagoon. . ."

Everyone couldn't breathe, brought by the oppressive air of a giant beast towering above them like a mountain. Its slit eyes brought fear. Its multiple heads slithered like snakes, and its jaws were enough to swallow the Dracodile in one gulp.

".. . the Ancient Hydra!" (Pic)

Lucian and the others didn't have time to wonder why the Owner appeared to know the beast as if he was here before when the Ancient Hydra attacked.

No one moved nor knew what happened. All they felt was a gust of wind, and half the boats were destroyed while mercenaries were all ground meat inside the Ancient Hydra's stomach.

"Not good!" Raphael shouted in Lucian's mind. "It's a Rank-S beast! That man tricked you!"

Lucian gritted his teeth as he shot the Owner a look. The Owner knew what they would face. He was here before them. No wonder he wanted to collect the debt now. He needed their strength to defeat it.

He wanted for them to defeat that monster!

"Run! If you can't use your Azure skills here, then you cannot hope to defeat it!" Raphael said.

Lucian bit his lips. It was too late. The Ancient Hydra already saw them.

"Lucian!" Rosa called amidst the chaos. For the first time ever in the Nightmare Sea, horror coated Rosa's face. "It's rank-S–!"

Rosa didn't finish her sentence when the Ancient Hydra attacked once more. Despite its size, its agility was a whole new level that Lucian had a hard time following its movement, much less Rosa.

"Rosa!" Lucian shouted when the Ancient Hydra rose with a mouth full of torn bodies.

Kai was stunned as well and croaked Fifi's name.

Ryu was searching for Cecily amidst the pandemonium, and Ferris was still on the verge of sleep despite the level of danger they were in.

"Rosa. . ." Lucian choked and sighed in relief when Cecily appeared beside him with Rosa in one hand.

"Damn, it's fast." Rosa cursed and slapped Cecily's hand from her waist. "I can't even cast a spell at this rate."

"You," the Owner called and looked at Lucian's group. "You and the others hold it off, and my group will attack it from all sides while the mages stay at the back for support."

Attack it? Lucian appeared in front of the Owner in the blink of an eye and grabbed his collar. 

"Are you out of your mind?! That's a Rank-S beast! We should plan our escape before it would devour us all!" Lucian shouted.

The Owner beamed amidst the sweat on his face. "I have a plan. As long as you delay it and keep it away from me for thirty minutes, I assure you that we could stop it."

The Owner slapped Lucian's hand and fixed his lapel while Athen and Athena and the mercenaries occupied the Ancient Hydra.

"And besides, it's too late to retreat now."

"You lead us here, knowing that monster is here, didn't you?" Lucian hissed.

"And you have yourself to blame. You agreed to this, not knowing the full consequences. So don't slap your nativity on me, boy."

Lucian bit his tongue.

"If you and your group wanted to get out of here with your limbs intact, I suggest that we don't waste time and do as I plan."

"If you cross us–"

"I won't." The Owner's face turned serious for the first time. "I desire this Jewel, and I'm not about to leave this island empty-handed." 

Lucian looked at the Owner for a moment. He couldn't trust him, but what could he do? Release Raphael? That would only complicate things more. And he didn't even know if they could win against such a high-level beast, even with Raphael joining them.

Lucian gnashed his teeth. "What's your plan?"