Chapter 778 - 529: Unexpected Intelligence and the Victory Banquet
Chapter 778: Chapter 529: Unexpected Intelligence and the Victory Banquet
Mage Delin gave him a long, searching look.
"Tell me about that Giant. If I’m not mistaken, you know him well."
Raylo nodded and slowly recounted the story of the Giant Dragon Realm and the Hill Giant Race.
When he learned that this powerful Giant had reached the end of his life, with only a dozen or so years left, he couldn’t help but sigh.
...
「The next day.」
The morning sun spilled through the window and into Raylo’s room.
A night’s rest had left him feeling much more refreshed.
Black Stone City was peaceful.
Raylo stretched, a sense of ease washing over him for the first time in a long while.
Hydra was dead.
The greatest threat had been eliminated.
All that was left was to slowly clean up the remaining forces in the Jade Swamp.
Everything was heading in the right direction.
However, just a second later, as he skimmed through the daily system intelligence, skipping past some gossip and other useless information, a new entry made his heart pound.
8: The Nine-headed Demon Serpent Hydra has not been completely slain. At the moment its body was destroyed, a wisp of its core soul escaped through a spatial rift hidden deep within its lair to a Barbaric World. At the highest peak of this Barbaric World, Hydra has hidden the ’Egg of Ten Thousand Snakes.’ By drawing on the Egg’s power, Hydra is rapidly rebuilding its body and strength. In one month, Hydra will have reformed its body and returned to Catastrophe Level. In half a year, it will devour the Power of that World and return to Catastrophe Level Peak!
Hydra!
’It’s not dead!’
’Not only is it alive, but it escaped to a whole new world through that spatial rift.’
’The Egg of Ten Thousand Snakes?’
’Back to Catastrophe Level in a month?’
’Back to its Peak in half a year?’
Raylo’s expression turned grim in an instant.
He strode out of his study and hurried toward the Alchemy Workshop in the square.
Morning sunlight bathed the streets of Black Stone City. The faces of the passersby were filled with the joy of having survived a catastrophe and hope for the future.
However, to Raylo, all this peace was nothing more than a fragile illusion, one that could shatter at the slightest touch.
The threat from Hydra had never been eliminated.
It was merely lying dormant, waiting to return in an even more terrifying form!
...
「Inside the Alchemy Workshop.」
In the main hall of the workshop, Raylo noticed a new spatial rift had appeared right next to the one leading to the Doomsday World.
The new rift faintly radiated a primal, wild aura.
’The Barbaric World!’
"Raylo? What are you doing here?"
A slightly hoarse voice called out.
Raylo turned his head to look and saw Mage Delin and Master Wendel sitting at a table not far away.
A glass of crimson liquid sat untouched before each of them; neither seemed to be in the mood for a drink.
They both wore gloomy expressions.
"Master."
Raylo strode over to them.
"Did something happen?"
Mage Delin frowned.
Raylo didn’t beat around the bush.
He took a deep breath and repeated the information about Hydra from the system intelligence word for word.
"...Hydra’s core soul escaped through this rift into the Barbaric World."
"It has the ’Egg of Ten Thousand Snakes’ hidden there and is using the egg’s power to rebuild its body."
"In one month, it will return to Catastrophe Level."
"In half a year, it will devour the power of that world and return to Catastrophe Level Peak!"
When he finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the Alchemy Workshop.
Mage Wendel stopped swirling the glass in his hand.
"No... impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
Mage Wendel cried out.
"We inspected its remains and confirmed that every trace of life had vanished! Its soul imprint had completely shattered!"
Mage Delin didn’t speak.
But his murky eyes were also filled with shock.
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Raylo.
"Raylo, this news... where did you learn of it?"
He knew Raylo wasn’t one to make baseless claims.
For him to state it with such conviction, he must have a reliable source.
Raylo couldn’t explain the existence of the system.
He could only say in a low voice,
"Please believe me, Master. This information is absolutely accurate."
Mage Delin looked at Raylo’s determined eyes and fell silent.
He slowly leaned back in his chair, his already gloomy face now as dark as the sky before a storm.
"The Egg of Ten Thousand Snakes..."
He repeated the name under his breath, a flicker of realization in his eyes.
"I’ve read about it in ancient texts. It’s said to be refined from the essence of over ten thousand serpents. Hydra must have entrusted its soul to the ’Egg of Ten Thousand Snakes’ as a contingency plan prepared long in advance."
Mage Delin understood the crux of the matter.
’Hydra had an escape route planned from the very beginning!’
’That Barbaric World is its fountain of resurrection and its wellspring of power!’
"Damn it!"
Mage Wendel slammed his fist on the table in frustration.
"We must act immediately!"
Mage Wendel stood up.
"We have to enter that world while it’s still weak and destroy it and that egg for good!"
But Mage Delin shook his head, rejecting his proposal.
"Not now."
Mage Wendel said anxiously.
"Why? Are you saying we should wait until it’s back to Catastrophe Level, or even its Peak, before we confront it?"
Mage Delin said,
"Wendel, calm down."
"Time is on our side. And so what if Hydra returns to Catastrophe Level, or even its Peak? Any one of us is more than enough to handle it."
He paused.
"But that is an entirely new world. We know nothing about it. Its environment, its energies, its Demons... everything is an unknown. If we rush in blindly, we’ll very likely fall into a trap left by Hydra."
Raylo agreed with Mage Delin.
’Impulsiveness wouldn’t solve anything.’
"Then what should we do? Just wait around?"
Mage Wendel was still anxious.
"No."
Mage Delin slowly rose to his feet. He walked to the rift leading to the Barbaric World, sensing the wild aura emanating from it.
"Hydra needs time to recover, and we need time to prepare."
His gaze turned to Raylo.
"We seized a massive amount of spoils from the battle in the Jade Swamp. Hydra’s flesh, scales, bones... and the Power of the World lingering in its corpse."
"We need time to turn these spoils of war into our own strength."
Mage Delin’s words struck a chord with Raylo.
’That’s right.’
’War is a drain on resources, but it’s also an opportunity.’
’The period of consolidation after every major battle is a golden opportunity for a massive leap in power.’
Mage Delin made a decision.
"We’ll take two weeks."
"In these two weeks, we will each process our share of the spoils and get ourselves into peak condition."
"After two weeks, we’ll enter the Barbaric World together and eliminate the threat of Hydra once and for all!"
"In the meantime, Wendel and I will personally guard this rift to ensure it’s absolutely secure."
’Two weeks.’
Raylo silently calculated the time in his mind.
’Hydra needs a month to return to Catastrophe Level.’
’If we leave in two weeks, we’ll have time.’
’Besides, it’s the most sensible plan for now.’
"Alright!"
Raylo nodded heavily.
"Let’s do it!"
Raylo’s mood remained heavy as he left the Alchemy Workshop.
As he was contemplating how to best use the next two weeks to maximize his power, a figure appeared in front of him.
It was Kado.
He had finished his training in the Mushroom Forest and returned.
Raylo noticed Kado’s aura seemed denser and more substantial than before.
"Kado."
Raylo stopped.
"Sir."
Kado said.
"It seems you’ve made quite a bit of progress."
Raylo said.
Kado gave a good-natured smile and pointed toward the Jade Swamp.
"That Mushroom Forest... it’s a peculiar place."
"The place where the Gravity is inverted. I spent a month there, and I learned more about Gravity in that time than in the last ten years combined."
His eyes shone with excitement.
Raylo nodded.
"Sir, I came to see you about something."
Kado’s expression became serious.
"What is it?"
"The Great Elder sent a message. He wants to see you."
Raylo nodded. The Great Elder, Gu, had been a huge help in the battle for the Jade Swamp. He would have to thank him in person.