My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 232: Provoked!

As he was distracted by the two heads that were already flanking him, Kace barely had the time to register that the central head made a move gobble him up. As the large-scaled raced over the head of the one on his right, Kace prepared himself to take a blow. He quickly activated Kinetic Vision to make the most out of his reactions, even if they were subpar these days for the opponents he found himself against. 

Although it failed to give him the time needed to prepare a counter-attack, he was able to turn a lethal attack into a glancing blow. At the same time he only just noticed that the central head had been blinded in its left eye as a large piece or sharpened rock hung from it. The blow managed to launch Kace from the Hydra's back, but he managed to land safely on his feet on the ground as he was expecting it. He kicked up a dust cloud in the process of slowing his momentum.

'The Hydra probably lost its eye during Grugda's second attack. So now we know its eyes and internal flesh are obvious weaknesses. So what about the outside?' Kace quickly used this chance to glance over the huge form to see what other damage Grugda's spells manage to inflict. Kace was elated to see that the creature's underbelly sported a few holes of its own as its blood slowly soaked the earth.

A loud groan came from Kace's left, Grugda was staring worriedly at one of the holes which then drew Kace's attention. It was already healing at a visible rate! 'Oh, fuck me!' It came as no surprise why the two suddenly felt deflated about their efforts. If the Hydra healed this fast, it would be difficult to accumulate enough damage to kill it.

'You'll have to aim to bleed it dry.' Sylvan quickly offered a timely solution, though his mental presence clearly showed that he struggled to restrain his feeling of pain.

'Thanks, man, you should revert to your other form. I doubt you'll survive if I keep dipping you in there.'

Sylvan grunted but did not dare to argue. It was true that his weapon form was wholly unsuitable for fighting this beast. He changed back into his bracelet form but kept himself ready to use his vines if he had to. Now that he was settled into taking a supporting role, Kace reviewed his options.

"We have to harass it and lure it to the traps! Open the path!" He roared towards Grugda.

The Hydra noticed his shift in attention and chose to charge at him. Kace was not worried. However, there was a reason he could afford to be distracted at that distance. The Hydra's charge was interrupted as it felt a series of stinging pains assaulting its soft belly. It was clear that it felt frustrated as one of the heads sharply dove underneath its frame to find out what had happened.

The creatures five heads all radiated an almost comical confused expression when it failed to find what had harmed it. The beast's instincts quickly reverted to rage for the duo that it could see before it. Five tongues whipped out into the air as it digested different pieces of information from the taste in the air that only it could understand.

While it chose to make itself a sitting duck, both Kace and Grugda unleashed their ranged spells. This was in the hopes of provoking it, as they backed off towards the path that Grugda ordered the forest to create. The creature's eyes narrowed on them, its mindset only allowed it to process their action as prey trying to escape. However, it had tasted something in the air that made it move cautiously.

It was the lack of fear in the air that caused that reaction! That combined with the fact that it had tasted the scent of at least five other lifeforms. However, the king of the swamp was unable to discover where they were hiding. It made sure to angle the strongest parts of its body with every step that it took to protect itself against the barrage of spells. 

Kace felt disappointed that it was able to make such a complex decision. It meant the hunt would be even more strenuous than he originally imagined. The Hydra's body trembled as it released another agonising screech. The shock of feeling its belly being pierced again, despite protecting it, caused the beast to briefly rear up on his hind legs.

As Ice Spears and Earth Lances pierced its soft, meaty underside due to its exposure, the Hydra noticed several dark figures leaping through the air where its belly had been. Only for them to disappear as soon as they touched the ground again. The Hydra screeched an indignant challenge towards the strange figures as they retreated into the ground. 

Now that it knew where the other opponents were coming from, it realised that the current situation was against it. Kace and Grugda were still retreating while sending potshots at it, which just aggravated its mood further. Since the small figures would be difficult to catch, it had to focus on the two that it could keep its eyes on. 

A sinister-looking fog began to build up in the four flanking head, it slowly leaked into the air from the corners of their mouths. The central head kept its gaze focused on the retreating two as it unleashed the deadly gas towards the ground. Like rolling waves, the cloud crashed against the earth and spread out in every direction. There was a brief scream as one of the Tu'thrag inadvertently came into contact with the attack as it was unleashed.

Kace cursed at the sight and could only hope that the goblin in question managed to retreat in time to prevent deadly injuries from occurring. Luckily, Grugda had supplied them with the jar that held the ointment in case of emergencies. As long as the injuries were not too bad, then the goblin should make a full recovery.

It was their own safety that they had to worry about. The ointment only lasted so long, so they had opted to not use it on themselves beforehand. They had planned to apply it as soon as they found the Hydra's lair. So that meant, that right now, they were completely vulnerable to the approaching poisonous cloud!