The Hydra’s blood itself is a deadly toxin capable of poisoning even superhumans. Moreover, its acidic nature caused a hissing sound every time it splashed onto buildings and the ground, slowly melting whatever it touched.
“That—”
Each of the Hydra’s heads seemed to share the pain. As the five remaining heads screamed in unison, Khan stomped on the severed head, causing it to burst before he charged again.
『Brooch of the Wind Spirit’s Blessing』
─Win the love of the Wind Spirit. Gain the spirit’s protection!
Though the brooch’s description was playful, its performance was anything but modest.
It allowed Khan to move at much greater speed with less effort, and even added a slight acceleration to his attacks. While it seemed like a trivial benefit, at Khan’s level, such small advantages could be decisive.
He dodged the Hydra’s next attack just in time, his sword slashing through its massive body.
Compared to its enormous bulk, it was a minor wound, but the weapon that inflicted it was the ‘Dragonslayer Sword Draupnir’.
『Ah, now I feel like I’m truly awakening.』
The sword’s voice sounded groggy, as if it had just woken from a long sleep. In truth, it wasn’t far from reality.
Ever since they had subjugated the demonic realm, the grudge within the sword had been barely able to communicate coherently, almost as if half-asleep. Its attempts at vibrating the blade in protest were more instinctive reactions than conscious thoughts.
『My condition hadn’t been great since we entered the demonic realm. I never imagined it would turn out this way.』
Having awoken from its long slumber, Draupnir began explaining what had happened.
『Torn forcibly from my original body, the damaged parts have now restored themselves. Though it’s only partial, the recovery of a lost part of my soul by self-regeneration is something close to a miracle, even by the standards of this body.』
With that, Draupnir proudly activated the ‘Curse of Dragonslaying,’ coinciding with the moment Khan ascended the Hydra’s head.
『Hmph, it seems you’ve grown stronger while I was recovering. Yours is a body I can’t fathom.』
Despite its slightly arrogant tone, Draupnir was mostly correct. The last battle it had witnessed was against Alpha, and since then, Khan had leveled up twice and upgraded his equipment.
Most significantly, his growth stemmed from a massive increase in his stamina stats.
『Stamina: 38』 +9
From the spoils of the North, he had gained the ‘Wristguard of the Diligent Dwarf’ and the ‘Boots of the Elder Troll,’ which increased his stamina by 3. The Vessel of Greed and the ‘Ogre’s Crotch Protector’ added another 6 stamina. Altogether, it was a 9-point increase.
Total Stamina: 47.
It was akin to transforming a glass cannon that couldn’t handle the recoil of its own explosive shots into a steel cannon capable of firing multiple rounds without melting the barrel.
But the transformation brought on by the increased stamina didn’t stop there.
‘It’s more efficient than before.’
Not just because of the Wind Spirit’s blessing, but because his body had become sturdier, allowing him to harness his overwhelming strength more effectively.
Sure, he had the same stats during the fight with Augrabes, but back then, he hadn’t mastered his body as he had now.
‘Not anymore.’
『Antares’ Sword Technique (B) – 76%』
The skill that was advancing towards A-rank the fastest among all the skills Khan had mastered so far.
The swordsmanship, benevolently passed on by the grudge, had fully become a part of his body.
Of course, it wasn’t some cliched setup like ‘a middle-aged, chubby office worker turned out to be a martial arts prodigy.’
It was more that his body had innate talent.
Swoooosh—!
Narrowly dodging the Hydra’s neck, used as a battering ram, he swung his sword to sever it, and a loud scream echoed through his skull. Khan merely furrowed his brow for a moment and continued his movements without pause.
He leaped up the remains of a building, managing to land on the Hydra’s body in a single bound. Using the protruding scales as footholds, he swiftly made his way to the top of the Hydra’s head. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
“Gaaah—!”
However, the Hydra wasn’t planning to go down easily.
Another head opened its jaws wide, intending to bite down and crush both Khan and the other head completely. It was a desperate attack, meant to eliminate the most troublesome foe by sacrificing one life. Khan waited—then sliced horizontally across his location.
Splat—!
The Hydra’s scales, not fully developed, were easily cut by the Curse of Dragonslaying. The head split neatly in two, and the upper half of the severed head flew through the air before crashing down.
Boom!
The headless neck collided with the Hydra’s other head, which Khan had climbed. As the Hydra flinched in pain and tried to shake Khan off, he jumped without hesitation.
He drove Draupnir into the scales he had just used as a foothold.
Crrraaack!
It was as if a sword had sliced through a human’s skull and spine in a straight line. With a silent scream, another head crashed to the ground.
“Two left now.”
Having handled four heads in an instant, Khan opened his white shield like an umbrella and spoke.
It wasn’t that the Hydra understood his words, but the remaining heads blinked and fled. The creature that had been rampaging with the intent to destroy all of Argon was now fleeing, bleeding profusely, leaving everyone in stunned silence.
But warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge never let their prey escape.
『A mighty beast indeed! Nephew—!』
The arrival of Pashantu, who had been battling monsters at the city gates like a whirlwind.
She emerged from between buildings like a colossal gray wolf. Just like Khan, she used the outer walls of buildings to propel herself upward and managed to grab hold of the Hydra’s scales.
Of course, adding the weight of one person wouldn’t significantly slow down the massive creature. Yet, Pashantu stopped the Hydra in a way that defied everyone’s expectations.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Like a climber scaling a cliff, she embedded her black axe into the scales as she ascended the head. Realizing it couldn’t afford to ignore this persistent human, the Hydra, which had been heading straight for Necar Mountain, lost its balance and crashed into a building.
“Pashantu…!”
A sharp scream burst from Delphina’s lips. Enchanted by Khan’s incredible prowess, she had been observing the battle when she suddenly remembered that the great warrior lent by the duke must not be gravely injured.
“No need to worry.”
“Pardon? But…”
“If she could be harmed by something like that, she wouldn’t have survived Hoarfrost Gorge.”
“What do you mean…”
Is Hoarfrost Gorge some kind of earthly hell? Delphina couldn’t comprehend this faith, and her mouth opened in astonishment.
“Pashantu!”
“Revived! Fully—!”
Pashantu reappeared, her whole body drenched in blood, but still gripping the axe embedded in the Hydra’s body. She was laughing heartily.
‘Her lifeline is annoyingly resilient.’
Khan smirked and tightened his grip on his axe.
Initially, he had been concerned about facing the Hydra, but it turned out to be easier than expected since it wasn’t the nine-headed beast from the game.
Of course, that didn’t mean the Hydra was weak.
If it hadn’t been for Diego’s letter, Nordic and the surrounding cities would have been razed to the ground. Prince Alan would have shown up late and, after subduing the Hydra, proclaimed,
“If it weren’t for me, the West would no longer be the West, but a region ruled by monsters!”
He wouldn’t have been wrong. With Nordic, the coastal bulwark, destroyed, all regions except the East would have been exposed to the monster threat. People would have hailed him as a hero who saved the entire kingdom from certain doom.
‘Given that he has such a large number of Royal Guards and if you add his knight supporters, he probably could have taken down a six-headed Hydra.’
Knowing this, he likely allowed Nordic to fall. This was suspicious, but…
『What are you waiting for? End it quickly.』
I was planning to do that anyway.
Khan flicked his wrist, answering the grudge’s urging and prepared to throw his axe. Judging by his current strength, he didn’t even need to use his newly upgraded A-rank skill, Dragon Fang Cannon. He estimated that he could easily take off one of the Hydra’s heads.
Aries, who had been tailing the Hydra, could handle cutting off the remaining head alone. The rest of the wounds weren’t healing quickly due to the enhanced malicious energy from the grudge spirits.
“What’s that sound…?”
Khan stopped his throw abruptly and turned his head, a peculiar smile spreading across his face. Delphina tilted her head in confusion, only to flinch as loud cheers erupted from behind them.
“Woaaahhh—!!”
“Save the city!”
“We are Prince Alan’s army—! All those who can fight, rally under our banner!”
Delphina couldn’t hide her shock.
Just when she thought Prince Alan would show up late to play the hero after the Hydra ravaged Nordic and nearby cities, he appeared sooner than expected. To her astonishment, he was even at the forefront, swinging his sword.
His distinctive appearance and gleaming armor, coupled with the sight of him personally saving people while getting his hands bloody, painted the picture of a heroic prince straight out of a storybook.
But this made it even harder for her to understand.
‘Wouldn’t cleaning up before Nordic falls be less dramatic? Did he genuinely intend to stop the Hydra? If that was the case, shouldn’t he have acted before the Hydra went on a rampage…?’
Delphina started to genuinely question if her half-brother had gone mad. When Alan spotted the ravaged Hydra and erupted in a furious outburst, her suspicions turned into certainty.
“Those damn bastards! They stole my prey again…!”
“P-Prince, what’s gotten into you?!”
“Let go—! Can’t you see those thieves stealing my prey right in front of me?!”
It was unsettling to see the slender prince shake off dozens of burly men as he charged forward. Moreover, his ability to cut down monsters effortlessly in a single blow even caught Khan’s attention.
『What a foolish man. He’s awakened power he can’t comprehend or control.』
Khan watched as the enraged prince carved through monsters with alarming ease, a rare look of genuine surprise on his face.
Draupnir clicked its tongue as it muttered.
What does it mean? Khan was about to ask, but then he felt a strange warmth in his chest. He reached inside his fur coat to find the source.
The heat was coming from a piece of dragon scale he had kept against his heart as a form of protection. Until now, it had been nothing more than a cumbersome item, useful only for teasing Draupnir.
‘What the…?’
The phenomenon didn’t stop with the dragon scale heating up.
Clang!
Prince Alan, who had been charging towards them like a madman, suddenly dropped his sword. Then, clutching his face with both hands, he let out a bizarre scream. His body began to emit loud cracking noises.
Seeing these dangerous signs, Khan quickly turned and threw his axe at Prince Alan’s head. Maxim and Delphina, startled by the sudden action, tried to stop him, but it was too late—the axe had already left his hand.
Crack. Crackle.
“How dare you… attack royal blood.”
Prince Alan, now resembling a reptile with vertically slit eyes, bit down on the axe lodged in his mouth, shattering it effortlessly.
“You shall be executed here and now, barbarian.”