The false hydra here. It's huge. Bigger than the one in the dungeon. Almost twice as big. It has seven heads, with the middle one being the largest. The mirage mana it emits is powerful, not as powerful as the Fairy Queen Titania, but powerful enough to rival even the Adventure Guild Master Miss Akela. It's sinister. Just like the one in the dungeon, it can talk as it welcomes us all into its nest, telling us that we will become its snacks. The other head is slightly smaller, but still sinister. The hiss that comes from each of the false hydra's heads is deafening. The hissing also contained the mirage mana that will probably ensnare all of us.
The Imperial soldiers on the other hand, fifteen of them. They are all muscular, intimidating looking. They look confident, with Dana commenting that they're probably the elite of all the Imperial soldiers we've met so far. Their uniforms are the same as the one that introduces himself as a Marquis, so they are probably from the same platoon.
"Shut up. You don't have to say a word. We are only here to kill the false Hydra and capture you all." [Head Knight Rentap]
"Confident, aren't you?" [Marquis]
And so our battle begins. I already maximize the barrier's output so that none of us will be affected by the false Hydra's mirage mana. Since we're more numerous than the team in the dungeon, our movement is limited, as my barrier can't cover all of us, so we're all in formation again, with me, Fie and Dana in the middle.
Right from the start, my blessing warns me, it's obvious that their target is none other than me. Once I am down, the others will fall, as easily as a snake catches its prey. Arrows rain down on me. Fire spells bombard me. Even each of the heads of the false hydra tries to devour me alive.
"Protect Diana! If she's down, we're all doomed!"
"They're elite, that's for sure" [Khamisah].
All of the Imperial soldiers are also under the influence of the False Hydra spell, and willingly so. From what Sas mentioned, they're under numerous spells. Pain Inhibition, Mental Fortification, Pseudo-Berserk, and even a high-level mirage mana spell called Mirage Fire, a mirage spell that is in the form of a fire that covers their entire bodies. It will not harm the user, instead it acts more like a shield, but the primary function of it is that once the user makes contact with any target, the target will be inflicted with mirage fire, burning them. The fire is capable of damaging the target both physically and mentally. As Guild Master Akela mentioned, the mirage fire can burn a person's memories and mental capacity.
Of course, since I am here, and with my special blessing from the fairy queen Titania, the False Hydra's mirage mana is useless. We are all aware of this fact, and thus the battle will determine whether I can survive long enough or fall victim to them.
"The False Hydra and the Imperial Soldier are not coordinating well enough! Take advantage of it!" [Nar]
"Tchh, if only the princess is here, we can command the False Hydra" [Marquis].
"Hiss!!! You're a fool, Marquis! You know I will not be controlled! Not by her, not by you! A proud Hydra like me is meant to control everyone, you, the Chimera Princess, the Prince and the Emperor, and even the Devil King!" [Fake Hydra]
"Tchh, I don't care who you want to control, but I'm sure you remember that I'm just cooperating with you!" [Marquis]
Chimera Princess. Nar, Sas, Randy and I instinctively knew who they were talking about. It must be Princess Tiara. So Princess Tiara is supposed to control not only the Chimera back then, but also the false Hydra. I wonder how they're going to get a sweet, caring, responsible teacher like her to do such a terrible thing.
"Chance! Out of my way, lowly adventure!" [Marquis]
"As if I would let you hurt Diana!" [Kat]
"That's for me to decide, not you!" [Marquis]
The Marquis grabs Kat's tail and tries to stab her in the back. Kat's lightning reflexes prevent her from being stabbed, but she deflects the sword instead. The Marquis, getting angry, pick Kat up and slam her to the ground repeatedly. This infuriates me and the other, and I instinctively use a wind spell to save Kat, but
"Oh no!" [Diana].
"Looks like you hurt that poor kitty." [Marquis]
"It's not her, you're using me as a shield" [Kat].
"Rightfully so, that's what a beastman like you is made for" [Marquis]
"Take your hand off her!" [Khamisah]
"Haa!" [Randy]
Randy's axe manages to sever the Marquis' hand that was grabbing Kat's tail. Miss Khamisah, on the other hand, hits the Marquis in the face so hard that his teeth literally fly out of his foul mouth. The nose is deformed, the cheek looks like it's turned inward. What a strong blow from the strongest adventure! We thought that the Marquis would fall backwards from the impact, but
"Naive!" [Marquis]
The Marquis braces himself and launches himself forward with his fire magic. He explodes violently. He manages to get through Kat, Khamisah and Randy and is about to grab me with an explosive spell on his hand, but
"Get your filthy hands off my little sister!" [Dana]
"MEOW!" [Fie]
"Who said you could hurt her?" [Head Knight Rentap]
The Head Knight uses his shield to pin down the Marquis. The Head Knight's trusty shield absorbs the impact of the Marquis' violent explosive spell. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Powerful explosion, all rendered useless by the Head Knight. Fie uses my mana to quickly use Water Magic and create a water bubble to suffocate the Marquis. As for Dana
"Take this!" [Dana]
She stabbed the Marquis, piercing his heavy armor like a piece of paper! Strong! Blood spurted out, and when the Marquis tried to fight one last time, Dana simply electrocuted him, knocking him unconscious.
"Useless! At least be useful in your last moment!" [False Hydra]
The false Hydra control the Marquis. Now unwillingly controlled, the Marquis begins to gather magic on each of his limbs, exploding himself! The Head Knight quickly uses his shield along with a powerful Earth Shield spell to contain him! BANG! BANG! BANG! It's even more powerful than his last attempt, making the Head Knight grunt in pain with each attempt! The Marquis' limbs grow shorter and shorter as pieces of muscle, nerve, and bone fly out from the explosive spell. When all that's left is the torso, the controlled Marquis uses a burst of explosive magic to propel himself forward, and with his intestines dangling out, once again! Boom! Gross. Now all that's left is his chest and head.
"Stop it! Just let him die peacefully!" [Diana]
"Sure! One last bloody firework out of him!" [False Hydra]
"Filthy monster! Everyone, stand back! I'm going to throw my Gungnir at that damned snake! Nar! Sas! Stay away from the snake!'" [Dana]
Dana, charging her Gungnir, throws it at the Marquis, sending the spear and the Marquis' pack of explosives flying at the false Hydra! The false hydra control all the other Imperial soldiers to make a shield flesh out of them. The false hydra even uses some of the civilians as it hastily controls them, but unfortunately, the speed of the throw and the power behind it make it useless. I can only thank the Goddess as the civilians were pulled away by Nar, Sas, and the other, leaving only the Imperial soldier. As soon as Gungnir strikes the false Hydra, a powerful explosion ensues. It tried to regenerate, but Sas quickly burned it, even masterfully controlling the black flame from the devil king's remnant, but
"DAMN YOU! THE THING! HELP ME! DEVIL KING! OBEY ME!" [Fake Hydra]
[DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!]
Something sinister... Something even more sinister is afoot!