Chapter 1666: Protective National Divine Beast

The moment the giant hydra emerged, Bai Tan and his subordinates uniformly recoiled several steps. It wasn't that they weren't elite enough; rather, the oppressive presence of the colossal creature was simply too overwhelming. In that instant, some soldiers froze rigid with fear, unable to evade even the attacking stone beasts.

"Form the 'Serpent's Embrace' formation, fire arrows!" Bai Tan roared, shattering a stone beast with a backhand thrust. This type of monster couldn't be fought alone. The officers he kept by his side had followed him from the battlefield into officialdom and immediately formed the array upon receiving the order.

This was a military battle formation, forming a circle like a long snake biting its own tail to encircle and destroy the enemy. Each person in the formation carried a large shield and glowed faintly.

The giant hydra's trident, whose head alone was longer than an adult human, jabbed into one soldier's shield. Surprisingly, it only pierced the shield, failing to impale the man! The other soldiers swarmed forward, slamming their pickaxes into its body. These pickaxes had long ropes attached to their ends; once the tip pierced the enemy's armor, everyone would pull with all their might in various directions, potentially pinning the monster in place.

The army had many methods for hunting monsters, and this was one of them: using overwhelming numbers to trap a smaller force. Bai Tan had also led troops to hunt monsters in his youth and was experienced, but he had never before encountered a monster with such an imposing aura. It was also his first time experiencing what an unparalleled demonic aura truly felt like.

Over a dozen pickaxes struck the giant hydra, creating only shallow dents. Given the thickness of the giant hydra's tough hide, this damage was negligible. If it couldn't be pierced, it couldn't be pinned. The giant hydra, holding its trident with one hand and having three hands free, casually grabbed a soldier from the formation and tore gently. The man screamed terribly, but—

Huh, it didn't tear. The giant hydra seemed a little surprised too. With its strength, let alone a person, even a wild ox would be torn in half! It didn't know that the Serpent's Embrace formation could transfer most of the damage sustained by an individual to other comrades within the formation, a technique known as collective bearing. No one could escape harm unscathed, but it significantly increased the survival chances for everyone in the formation.

The giant hydra deliberately paused and savagely applied more force with its hand. Rip! Blood mist sprayed. This time, the tearing exceeded the formation's sharing limit. Even if seventy to eighty percent of the damage was distributed, the remainder was still more than the unfortunate person in its grasp could bear. The soldiers in the formation also cried out in pain, with several clutching their chests and coughing blood, their expressions turning listless. Even when distributed among hundreds of people, the giant hydra's strength could still inflict severe internal injuries.

"That's more like it," thought the giant hydra, swaying its head as if the blood mist mesmerized it. White mist surged around it, flowing towards the wounds on its scales and filling them in a few breaths. Everyone's faces turned even graver—the white mist surging from the Jade Spring Palace could actually repair its injuries. This was its home ground; could they truly win here?

King Yao pointed at Bai Tan and hissed, "Kill! Kill him!"

The giant hydra swam directly towards Bai Tan, crashing through everything in its path. It seemed to know that the soldiers also possessed elemental energy and was too lazy to bother with them. Soldiers blocking its way were either swept aside by its trident skimming the ground or simply knocked away by its massive body! Despite its enormous size, its movements were incredibly agile and cunning. The soldiers were sent sprawling, unable to withstand even a single blow!

Bai Tan was greatly alarmed and cried out, "My Lord, save me!"

While the monster unleashed its power, Qingyang retreated to the side of Begia's envoy, Wu Linghe, looking up at the giant hydra and saying, "I never expected King Yao's protector beast to be a hydra! I heard they live in the Upside-Down Sea, born of malevolent energy. This one is astonishingly powerful; how can it live in the Jade Spring Palace and have its inner core controlled by King Yao?"

Such a powerful demonic aura she had only ever felt from the Emperor and the Winter Palace Grand Master. Such colossal monsters either slumber in their caves, spending winter with low consumption, or like the great fire spirit Juju of Mount Xu, possess unique natural talents and geographical advantages, or receive sustenance from a powerful nation; otherwise, they would perish in environments lacking spiritual energy. This giant hydra likely benefited from the latter two factors; otherwise, King Yao couldn't have kept this secret for so long. It would obey King Yao's command, likely because its inner core was controlled by King Yao?

Wu Linghe suddenly said, "Don't you find its movements dull?"

Although he was Begia's envoy, he had been cowering within the Azure Guards' protective circle since the fighting began, looking uneasy. The orders he received were to visit Yao Kingdom, not to fight, and he never expected to arrive just in time for such a major confrontation that could wipe out a nation. But now, as he spoke these words, his tone and expression were unusually calm, like still water. Yuan Xuan subconsciously glanced back at him, seeing his gaze fixed on the giant hydra, empty and profound, no longer displaying the uneasy look from moments ago. It was as if he had become a different person.

But Wu Linghe's sudden change left Qingyang utterly unfazed, or rather, not surprised at all. King Yao only knew that this Begia envoy's primary identity was the son of the Grand Minister of Spirit Void City, but was unaware of further details: He was an adopted son, adopted by the Grand Minister's family at six years old, transferred to Mount Xu for cultivation three years later, and did not leave the mountain to return home until he was sixteen.

"Indeed," Qingyang said, carefully observing the giant hydra's movements, "Though powerful, it only acts on instinct. Why is that?"

Whether great demons or powerful cultivators, their path of cultivation involved overcoming many obstacles, and they would inevitably accumulate much experience and insight. Their strength lay not only in their profound cultivation and tough bodies but, more importantly, in their understanding of combat, their grasp of timing, and their comprehension of the supreme Dao. But this giant hydra indeed possessed an invulnerable body and terrifying strength, yet it had not shown any advanced combat awareness so far. Otherwise, Bai Tan would have fallen long ago.

Qingyang then turned to look at King Yao and the white inner core in his hand. "Inner core, control, hmm..." she mused. "Could it be that King Yao is controlling its every move?"

The word "control" actually has different degrees of intensity. She had initially thought that the giant hydra was forced to serve King Yao because he held its inner core, but now, carefully discerning the giant hydra's behavioral patterns, it actually resembled a giant marionette—the giant hydra fought exactly as King Yao directed it, showing no independent combat ability. King Yao himself was not a cultivator, and his understanding of combat was relatively superficial. Thus, the giant hydra he controlled only displayed the ability to rampage wildly! Even so, the giant hydra's innate quality was too high and its combat power too formidable, making it an insurmountable foe for Bai Tan and his men.

"This isn't a shadowy hydra," Wu Linghe said again. "This is an external dharma-form!" He articulated each word slowly: "True Person Thousand Illusions' external dharma-form!"

Qingyang was finally taken aback. "True Person Thousand Illusions?" Qingyang echoed. "This colossal creature is also connected to True Person Thousand Illusions?" A faint smile played on her lips: "It's truly a pity Bai Ziqian isn't here."