Chapter 25: Bring It On
...
'Sigh, first the monkey, then a worm... and now I'm dealing with a Hydra. Perfect.' His Soul Ring appeared, hovering over his head. Multiple droplets of silver water were summoned, floating by his shoulder. 'Alright.' He cracked his head from side to side. 'Bring it.'
The Soul Beast stared at them with nine pairs of predatory eyes. It was serpentine, with a long, almost four-meter frame. Dark sickly green scales covered its body. Nine heads protruded from the middle like a bush of snakes. Each of the heads' mouths was bathed with poison, almost frothing with it. Each of its nine heads bore distinct expressions—some snarling, others coldly watchful. Its slit-pupil purple eyes glowed with a venomous intent to kill, and when it moves, its body undulates with wriggling force, muscles rippling beneath its hardened skin. At the end of its tail blooms a massive, ghostly yellow and purple flower—its petals pale, pulsing faintly with toxic energy as droplets of violet liquid drip from its edges, corroding the earth wherever they fall.
Tang Ya and Bei Bei froze. This was no ordinary Soul Beast. They had their fair share of knowledge and encounters with Soul Beasts, and just from looking at it, they knew right away that this was a variant, and a thousand-year-old one at that. They felt like their skin was crawling merely looking at that thing. Thankfully they were taught this in class, so they knew what to do.
The first of the nine heads, curling like a living vine, eyes glowing with sickly yellow, looked at them like prey as it hissed. It was about to attack.
Tang Ya's voice was low but firm. "Yuhao, it's a variant Datura Snake. You need to get out of here." She urged him, as her Blue Silver Grass reached over to him in order to send him away forcefully.
But the Silver Demigod caught the vines easily with one hand. "Not happening." He said flatly, slicing through them in the next breath.
"Yuhao, don't be stubborn!" Bei Bei's tone sharpened, worry flickering behind his eyes as he looked between him and the variant Soul Beast. "This is not like the variant Wind Baboon you fought earlier. It's a thousand years old. Its poison is strong enough to kill a three-ring Soul Master instantly if it hits you. You need to run!"
'Much to my chagrin, I perfectly agree with the mortal. You already have what we need. We should leave.' Kronos told him, and it didn't take his grandson long to guess why the Titan King was suggesting running away.
He already had a copy of the Tang Sect techniques. If he walked away now, Tang Ya and Bei Bei would be left to fight that multi-headed monster and most likely die trying. The techniques would be his to do as he pleased. No affiliation, no promises, nothing. All he had to do was leave, and that was all. He'd live, they'd die, and he'd be left to do whatever he wants with their techniques. It was the most logical choice given the circumstances. He could take their techniques for himself and not bother with the Tang Sect.
But that wasn't going to happen. Not a chance in hell. He owed them a debt—and debts were something he always paid back.
"No." The demigod said firmly, getting Kronos to frown disapprovingly. "I'm fighting with you. There's no arguing with me. Now stop talking and get ready for a fight!" He shouted at them.
The Hydra answered before they could. All nine heads reared back and spat streams of poison. The trio scattered, darting in separate directions to split its focus. With nine heads, that was easier said than done.
Acid splashed near Bei Bei as three jets narrowly missed him, melting through the bark of a nearby tree in seconds. "Its body may be big, but its attacks are fast! Don't get hit!" He warned.
"Right!" Tang Ya reacted instantly, weaving the Blue Silver Grass that sprouted from beneath her and directing it towards the Soul Beast, where it then wrapped around the first head in a sweeping arc.
The vines wrapped around the variant Datura Snake's necks like chains to restrain it, but the Soul Beast was monstrously strong, and with the venom seeping out of its mouth, the vines didn't stand a chance.
"It can melt through my Martial Soul!" Tang Ya's face became terrified. This signified she'd be ultimately useless in this battle.
But even so, she had to provide as much support as she could muster. She would at least keep it distracted. "Take this!" She sent over a dozen ropes of Blue Silver Grass at it.
With its attention now on her, the variant Datura Snake opened its mouth as a spray of venom spat toward her, sizzling as it dissolved the edges of her Martial Soul's vines, disintegrating the leaves before her eyes. It then shot a few at her.
"Damn it!" She shouted, trying to maintain her composure as she dodged yet another stream, using her Tang Sect techniques to just barely evade them all.
Bei Bei's right arm sparked with blue-purple electricity. It surged through his palm as he shot it forward and sent a long-range attack, striking two of the serpent's heads.
"HISSSSS!" The sound of burning flesh and plant matter echoed as the heads sizzled. The snake hissed in pain, but much to the Soul Master's dismay, in the place where its destroyed head was, two more emerged in its place, writhing and snapping in wild frenzy.
Bei Bei's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it, it's one of the regenerating types!" He alerted them as he fired another blast.
Variant Datura Snakes were categorized by their abilities; some had the ability to regrow their heads, making them even more difficult to fend off. Normally multiple Soul Masters would have to band together to kill it by pure force. Any other means wouldn't work. Nobody knew any other way to defeat it.
'What are we going to do?' He wondered.
As the only Soul Venerable with three rings, he was naturally the strongest of the three and would make sure to keep its attention on him to give Tang Ya more leverage to bind it and use her hidden weapons, but because it was a variant and a pretty powerful one that could dismantle her Martial Soul, he wasn't sure how long they'd be able to do well against it. It had nine—no, eleven—heads to keep up with them all and had a regenerative factor.
"..." Huo Yuhao, who had stayed back for the most part, had a look of recognition flashing in his eyes. He natively knew what it was. The way it moved, the poison wafting from its mouths. The insane regeneration factor of its heads especially was the biggest giveaway. You'd have to be a complete idiot not to.
'Why do variant Soul Beasts have traits from Greek monsters? Do they really originate from Soul Land? Or could it be because of me?' He muttered as he ducked under a sweeping strike and slashed one of its heads with his dagger in the same motion.
"Xiao Ya, protect Yuhao!" Bei Bei shouted as his first soul ring on his right arm shone brightly.
Under the intense fluctuations of Soul Power, a blue-violet lightning dragon claw easily as large as a football was rapidly conjured and shot out towards the variant Soul Beast. Eleven of them in total, back-to-back, but instead of at the root of the heads, where their regeneration abilities work, he aimed at the top of their heads, where their brains were. If he couldn't kill it, then he figured the next best thing was to fry its brains.
The nine heads each spat out poison to counter. The two attacks clashed, but Bei Bei's electricity just barely managed to defend against it. Some managed to graze some of the heads, but it was nothing substantial.
Black smoke appeared. Through it, countless strands of Blue Silver Grass speared through the smoke and coiled themselves all around the variant Datura Snake. While its poison still affected her Martial Soul, the sheer number made sure she could trap it for a good moment.
"Got it!" Tang Ya shouted but, knowing it would not hold it off for much longer, opted for long-range damage to deal as much damage as possible to give Bei Bei the opportunity to strike.
With quick motion, Tang Ya threw dozens of her hidden weapons back-to-back in a whir of metal.
The weapons weren't just thrown blindly; each one was aimed precisely at its weakest points, like the eyes, the upper part of the mouths where the poison wasn't concentrated, and the ears, to damage its hearing along with its noses. While it was big, its size only made it a larger target.
'She got some skills.' The silver demigod thought as he made his way back to Bei Bei. It was impressive and graceful how she managed to throw so many with such accuracy. 'But it's going to take a lot more than that.'
"HIIIIIISSS!" The Hydra shrieked in fury. Despite the barrage, its hide held strong. The weapons barely nicked it before being shaken loose, scattering across the dirt. With a thunderous slam, it lunged forward, spitting waves of poison as it charged like a raging bull.
The Silver Demigod darted around it, his movements fluid and effortless. Each fang strike missed him by inches, his body flowing like water. He drew its attention away just long enough for Bei Bei to leap straight toward the center of its mass, where all the heads met.
Normally this would be a suicide attempt, but not for him.
The variant Datura Snakes' heads were on him, jaws wide, about to end him simultaneously, but they didn't know just how skilled the violet Bei Bei truly was. He swiftly ducked, dodged, and evaded every head with swift stepping motions no different than that of a seasoned shinobi and used his dragon arm to damage some of the heads, causing the remaining ones to unintentionally bump and bite each other in the process before he leapt back to safety, but he wasn't done there.
"Let's see how you like this!" His second Soul Ring on his right arm shone.
*ELECTRICITY!*
Lightning gathered around him in serpentine arcs, snaking through the air as they wove together into a dense net of crackling energy. Countless snakelike lightning bolts intensified as they formed a net of lightning arrows, creating a thunder net that enveloped each of the heads from above.
This was his second soul skill, Thunderous Rage. He used his first soul skill and himself as bait to set this trap. As long as the snake's head was covered in the net and Tang Ya Blue Silver Grass, it wouldn't be so easy to move. It would literally get in its own way. All that was left to do was to hit it hard. While his attacks wouldn't severely damage its thick scales, this opportunity gave them the upper hand to slowly wear it down with his first Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw.
*LIGHTNING!*
*LIGHTNING!*
Tang Ya wasn't idle either. Her Blue Silver Grass lashed out again, threads of azure wrapping tightly around the serpent's massive frame. With the lightning restricting it from above and her bindings from below, the creature's struggles weakened, its movements sluggish against their combined assault.
'Well executed.' Huo Yuhao noted as he made his way to Tang Ya that he guessed that what Bei Bei did was use one of the Tang Sect techniques, and judging by how stealthily those movements of his were done, they must have been the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
The violet-haired youth was pretty skilled. If he had to rank him somewhere, he'd definitely be an upper-tier demigod child at the level of the Big Three just with his electricity alone, and yet there was still more he hadn't shown. The guy had potential for sure.
As for Tang Ya, he didn't have enough knowledge to gauge her fighting abilities well, but he had to admit she played very well as support despite her disadvantage.
'Just say she's bad!' The Titan King rolled his eyes. It was clear his opinion on the brunette's battle prowess left much to be desired.
The variant Soul Beast's body convulsed violently as Bei Bei kept it up and intensified his attacks. He didn't hesitate as he hurled another lightning barrage, frying four of the heads in one go and not stopping lest they regenerate and cause the situation to worsen.
The attacks, though sharp and well-timed, were nowhere near enough. New heads sprouted from the stumps—one after another—until seventeen hissed in unison. Each maw opened wide, spewing a thick, violet cloud that dissolved the thunder net in seconds.
Free, the variant Datura Snake swung its tail in their direction. The floral appendage bloomed open like a monstrous flower, releasing not pollen but a thick burst of pink fog that spread through the clearing.
"Cough—cough!" Tang Ya covered her mouth as she felt her head become dizzy and her feet become wobbly.
"Miss Tang Ya!" Huo Yuhao, who remained unfazed by the fog, kept her standing.
"Don't breathe in the air!" Bei Bei urged as he held his breath and kept shooting some lightning to destroy some of the gas, but with the amount it was releasing, the volume of gas overwhelmed even his thunder.
Tang Ya and Yuhao pulled back, cautious of the slightest trace of contamination. For the first time, fear flashed across Tang Ya's face. She had no idea how they were supposed to survive this.
The lightning arrows created by Thunderous Rage were doused by the pink fog as if splashed with water. While their power remained, they dissolved into a myriad of small fragments in an instant. While its prey was busy fending off the poisonous gas, it kept on attacking Bei Bei, splitting his focus on it just as much as on the poisonous fog.
*SWISH!*
*SWISH!*
*SWISH!*
Tang Ya tried in vain to do her best to help by throwing as many hidden weapons as she could, but each one was deflected by its scales. What's worse, she couldn't support him with her Martial Soul. She was absolutely useless!
"Miss Tang Ya, you need to stop that. You're just wasting your weapons." Yuhao told her calmly.
"No, Yuhao..." She protested weakly, forcing her weak arms to throw again. "I can't just do nothing while he's fighting!" Her fists clenched even as tears welled and slipped down her cheeks.
*LIGHTNING!*
The variant Datura Snake's heads went to snap at Bei Bei, who did his best to avoid, block, and strike back, but the poison gas was beginning to take effect, and his movements were getting slower. 'Damn it, I'm slowing down!" He jumped from one of the heads as he struck a downward blow with Thunder Dragon Claw. 'I can't fight like this... gahhh!' He got smacked by that same head, sending him crashing into a tree.
*CRASH!*
Bei Bei felt his back slam into the tree before collapsing to the ground with a thud. 'If this continues, I'll die.' He clenched his teeth, forcing himself upright as his gaze fell on the other two, especially on Tang Ya, who looked ready to rush to him.
"Tang Ya, stay right there!" He raised a hand to halt her mid-step. "Don't come any closer." He forced himself to his feet and unleashed another surge of lightning. "You need to get out of here!"
His attacks, while not completely ineffective, weren't a sure-fire win. His Martial Soul, while one of the strongest Beast Martial Souls, could only keep this beast at bay. As shown by how the variant Datura snake was getting affected, its body was covered by a fine layer of electric light from the onslaught, but this wasn't infinite. His Soul Power would run out soon enough, and when it did...
"No, I'm leaving you!" Tang Ya shot back, still throwing her weapons despite her trembling arms and the poison-laced air biting at her lungs.
"Just listen to me and leave!" Bei Bei slashed another of its heads, only to watch two more take its place, but it kept regrowing them. By now it had already regenerated twenty heads.
Instead of pursuing, Bei Bei avoided the pink poison fog and retreated back. As he did, he pulled a porcelain bottle from his person, took what looked like an elixir from it, and popped one into his mouth before tossing the bottle to Tang Ya.
Tang Ya caught it and took out one for her and another for Yuhao. "Yuhao, take this."
"I don't need that. The poison doesn't affect me," he said flatly. His demigod body was immune to anything short of divine-grade venom—Typhon's poison, for instance. This creature wasn't even close. It wasn't a Hydra, not the kind he'd faced before.
"I don't need that. I'm unaffected by the poison." He said flatly.
Because of his demigod body, poison had no effect on him. The only thing that could was Typhon's poison or something similar, and this Soul Beast was far from the Father of Monster's power. It wasn't even as powerful as the original Hydra. That thing was way above its league. He could kill it easily if he wanted.
"Really? Are you sure?" Tang Ya blinked, startled by how calm he sounded amidst the chaos.
"Yes, but that's not what's important. We need to help Bei Bei. He won't hold out for much longer." He told her.
"I know, but I don't know what to do. My Martial Soul and hidden weapon can't do anything against it, and Bei Bei..." She was too weak and too disadvantaged to even think about helping him.
*LIGHTNING!*
Lightning wildly zapped around against the Soul Beast's body as Bei Bei, with sweat dropping from his face, avoided a swing from its tail and shocked it again.
"This thing is too tough. Tang Ya, we should leave and find yourself another Soul Beast some other day. I'll deal one last attack to stun. While it's busy, you two run. Once you do, I'll do the same. I'll meet back with you on the outskirts of the forest." He then sent out another electric net covering of the heads before punching it and then backing away from the next four that spewed poison at him, melting a nearby rock.
Watching the desperate struggle, Huo Yuhao turned to Tang Ya. "It's clear I'm needed. I have an ability that can help Bei Bei. But we'll only win if I fight too." He'd seen all he needed to see. It was about time he stopped this.
He moved to step forward, but her hand gripped his shoulder.
A conflicted look shadowed Tang Ya's face. "Yuhao, I can't let you fight that thing. You just reached Soul Master rank." She bit her lip, torn between fear and the desperate urge to save Bei Bei.
But Yuhao took her hand away. "Let's get one thing straight, Miss Tang Ya, you can't do anything right now, and if I don't step in, Bei Bei will die. Are you okay with that?"
Her silence was answer enough. Tears gathered in her eyes. "Just… be careful, please." She whispered.
Yuhao nodded once, then ran into the fray. 'Ok, let's see what these eyes can do!' He said, to which Kronos's grin widened.
His Soul Ring appeared tilted atop his head as the silver demigods stimulated his Soul Power and channeled it into his Spirit Eyes as they flared in silver.
In his bright silver eyes, a faint dark golden light emerged once more, and a white soul ring appeared and rose from beneath his feet and stopped atop his head.
'Damn, this is fucking awesome.' He thought as the tiniest hint of a smile appeared on his face.
'You're welcome.' Kronos added with a smug smile.
'Like you deserve any of the credit.' Yuhao snarked. 'All you did was replace the worm. It's not like you really did anything.' He countered, to which the Titan scowled at.
On the surface there are no changes, neither physical nor elemental, and that's because there wouldn't be. His Martial Soul and Soul Skill were of the spiritual attribute, meaning they did not exist in the physical plane. Its value would soon be proven when, in the next moment, both Bei Bei and Tang Ya shuddered, their eyes showing shock.
Under their gaze, it seemed as if time had slowed down. Everything around them became extremely clear, and a massive amount of information flooded their minds wherever their sight fell. It was like new information was drilling itself into their brain.
When Bei Bei focused on the variant Datura Snake, he could understand the battle in a whole new light, unlike before. The distance between them, every tensing muscle on the snake's body, where its eyes were locked on, and the direction it was going to spit its acid. Each and every minute detail was laid bare. They didn't even need to use their eyes to see. All the scenery presented itself in three dimensions within their minds like a god looking from above.
'Is this..." They wondered as they thought of Yuhao. They knew each other pretty well, so it's obvious that the only person in their group who could do this was him. It was the most logical conclusion.
It still didn't make the news any less jarring. Was this really Yuhao's first soul skill? How could this be possible? With this detection assistance, they would almost always have the upper hand in a fight. It allowed them to anticipate and act first.
It was so amazing it's impossible to believe that this ability came from a ten-year Soul Beast. Variant Soul Beasts were really on a whole other level if their mutation could bring about such miraculous results.
Contrary to what they believed, Huo Yuhao was not using one Soul Skill but two. Just like Kronos said, the million-year Soul Ring came with four Soul Skills. The ones he was using right now were the first skill, Spiritual Detection, and the second, Spirit Share. They covered a thirty-meter diameter, and he can share his sight with at most three to five people at the same time.
Both soul skills didn't consume much of Huo Yuhao's Soul Power, but they did require a certain amount of his spiritual power and concentration to keep active, especially during a battle. These skills didn't remain active solely by his soul power. He was literally supporting these two abilities simultaneously using both spiritual and soul power. With his honed focus, he can keep this up for an hour or two while in combat.
With his physical strength combined with his eyes, they can win this.
Moving next to Bei Bei, he asked, "Need some help?" He brought out his dagger as more droplets of silver water emerged around the unsuspecting Soul Beast. Because of their tiny size and because Bei Bei and Tang Ya were focused on the Soul Beast, they didn't notice them.
"Thanks, Yuhao. With you, we can beat this thing." Mimicking his enthusiasm, his dragon claw sizzled in electricity. "Let's do this!"
"Ready whenever you are." The sound of their hands tightening was heard as the two stared as they stared at the dangerous Soul Beast ready to fight.
A deep rumbling sound suddenly erupted from Bei Bei's body, his entire body emitting dense blue-purple lightning. The scales on his right arm quickly spread across his body, covering his right chest as well, and his aura surged in an instant. His purple third soul ring also shone brightly at this moment.
This was his third soul skill from his thousand-year soul ring. It was his most powerful, and rightfully it drained more Soul Power than the other two, so he'd only use it when he was in a jam, but now the situation was different. With the assistance of this soul skill, he knew just where to strike.
As the owner of a beast martial soul with the most potent attack ability, this third soul skill, Thunderous Rage, instantly boosted his Soul Power attack by over fifty percent, with the electric attribute increasing several folds. Although this wasn't a direct attack skill, it elevated Bei Bei's condition to an extremely fearsome state. Even Soul Ancestors with four soul rings, if their Martials Souls were weaker, wouldn't be his match.
Although young, his battle experience was exceptionally rich. With Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection and Spirit Share support, they could fight on a whole new playing field. That's why he decided to go all out, or more accurately, semi all out. In the worst-case scenario in which things turned to the worst, he'd make sure to save behind some Soul Power to use his final trump card. "Let's go!"
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" The two charged straight for the Soul Beast, which roared back with equal fury.
The two dashed forward, their speed almost equal. Bei Bei jumped and punched one of the heads, sending it skidding back a bit. That hit wasn't meant to kill it but to give the Silver Demigod the chance to sneak up on it.
Huo Yuhao slipped to the flank. Barefoot, silent, every step measured. His dagger gleamed as he advanced, but he didn't rush blindly. His eyes flickered—silver wavelengths, precise, scanning the movement of the serpent's bodies, looking for the right moment to deal the most damage.
*SLICE!*
*SLICE!*
*SLICE!*
The droplets of silver water zipped through the air like ghostly bullets, piercing through sinew and tendon. The Variant Datura Snake screamed, its massive body buckling as one side collapsed beneath its own weight.
Yuhao then jumped upwards, putting Soul Power inside his Soul Guide. The dagger glowed and lengthened, its bright blade glowing brightly. Raising his weapon above his head, he slashed off one of the heads horizontally. Its body began to regenerate, but at the same time, with his free hand, he pulled three items from a small glowing silver portal. From it, he pulled a couple kunai with red and black tags at the end of them. Stabbing them in the damaged area right as it was regenerating, they glowed bright red before Huo Yuhao slashed the other heads on his way out and jumped away just as a small explosion occurred.
*BOOM!*
"Hissss!" The variant Datura Snake writhed, the explosion engulfing its heads in fire. The smell of char and smoke filled the air as its regenerating flesh failed to mend.
It tried to regrow its injured heads but to no avail. The charred nubs where its heads were wouldn't regenerate. Just like the Hydra from his world, this was its fatal weakness. While it can regrow its head as many times as possible, it can't do it if the wound is cauterized with fire or heat.
"You really are a hydra, aren't you?" He scoffed before jumping back in the fray and slicing off another. "Bei Bei, use your lightning here!" He told him, to which the violet-haired Bei Bei, who wanted to ask about what just happened, opted to save those for later as he shot a lightning attack, cauterizing the wound.
Hissing in agony, their heads extended as they went after him.
*KICK!*
*PUNCH!*
*SLASH!*
But Huo Yuhao had seen it all coming before promptly kicking each of the heads away while cutting some of them clean off and jumping back, leaving it to Bei Bei, who sent out his lightning to lash at the heads in rapid succession, disabling the regeneration, leaving it with only seven heads left.
"Keep it up. From what I've seen, as long as we cauterize the wounds after slicing their heads off, they can't regenerate!" He told him as he went forward to slice off its heads while using his silver droplet to stab through its internal right foot, keeping it in place.
The remaining heads of the variant Datura Snake spat acid into the air, sizzling against the foliage and burning the ground where Yuhao was.
The silver demigod effortlessly stepped to the side, not minding the toxic spell, as he was immune to it, and proceeded to then strike his Soul Guide with surgical precision, coordinated with his droplets, exploiting weaknesses in the snake's muscular structure, and began slashing at it.
He didn't overcommit, didn't waste motion—each strike was calculated to destabilize the creature, to make it vulnerable to Bei Bei's coordinated assaults. The Soul Beast was being pushed back, further away from the area where its poison gas was.
Sending seven droplets below each of its seven jaws, Huo Yuhao commanded them to stab through and close their mouths shut. The variant datura snake felt its jaw forcefully close as it whipped its head all over the place wildly. It was still alive, but it was suffering immensely.
"Tang Ya, left flank! Lower the right heads! Now!" He called, voice low and measured, guiding without commanding as he whipped his head away from one of the wriggling heads while Bei Bei pinned down its hind leg.
"You got it!" Tang Ya followed immediately, adjusting her Blue Silver Grass to ensnare the intended heads now that it wasn't able to use its poison and was weakened to such a degree she could participate in the battle again.
Her vines quivered under the corrosive bite of the serpent's acid, yet she maintained focus, feeding off the shared sensory clarity Silba projected through his first Soul Skill to shoot her hidden weapons right to its vitals.
The flower on its tail began to blossom, about to make another fog of gas appear.
*LIGHTNING!*
*SLASH!*
However, it was stopped by Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao, the former whose lightning followed precisely, arcs of energy slicing through not only the regenerated heads, searing flesh, and slowing its rapid regeneration, while the latter cut the tail, blood spraying everywhere.
The battle intensified. The variant Datura Snake struck at every angle wildly, spitting acid through its teeth and snapping multiple heads simultaneously. The Silver Demigod read the rhythm of the flailing attacks and slashed them apart while discreetly placing exploding tags on them.
*BOOM!*
...
..
.
(What's your favorite Greek monster? Mine are both Cerberus and the Nemean Lion. I like cats and dogs, and the Ophiotaurus too, that thing is sweet. Seeya)