System's POV
-
chapter-561-2
Orochi was a fearsome monster and had once terrorized the world of Gomorra.
The homeworld of the Jinns, where the rule was survival of the fittest.
Even the strongest monsters of the same rank had tried but failed to defeat it.
Those who were lucky enough to escape from their battle against it no longer wished to face it ever again.
Even Belzeebub, who was considered one of the strongest members of the Apocalypse, didn't want to fight against Orochi a second time.But here he was, watching Zion's battle through a projection while drinking a glass of wine.
From the very start, he already knew the outcome of the battle.
Despite managing to reel in a few allies, including Camazotz, Beelzebub believed that there was no way that Zion's entourage would be able to defeat the Majin King, whom he believed to be unkillable.
With an incredibly strong regeneration ability that could instantly recover a severed head in less than a minute, Orochi was undoubtedly an incredibly tough, fearsome opponent.
Even monsters who had the same regeneration ability didn't wish to fight it, for it possessed a venom that could paralyze and weaken its foes, allowing it to overpower them in the span of a few minutes.
Although the Earth Dragons succeeded with their sneak attack, and Cranky had succeeded in biting off one of the eight heads of the Ancient Serpent, the battle was far from over.
The remaining heads sank their fangs onto Cranky's back, while the Honey Badger retreated with the severed head in its grasp.It planned to eat the head as a snack while it was fighting against the snake, whose fangs were unable to pierce the Honey Badger's tough fur.
Suddenly, a screech reverberated in the sky as a Giant Roc made a nosedive and used its claws to swipe at one of the Serpent's heads, resulting in a spark at the moment of impact.
Zed, who had taken his true form, flew past the Majin King before it even knew what hit it.
The Giant Roc then made a U-Turn to attack the Eight-Headed Serpent once more, but the Majin King was prepared this time around.
It unleashed a toxic spray in Zed's direction, forcing the Giant Roc to use its incredible speed to do evasive maneuvers.
"Eat this!" Erica shouted as she hurled a Giant Fireball at the toxic spray, causing it to ignite and explode right on the Majin King's face.
David, who could recognize Erica's fireball from a distance, couldn't help but clench his fist in admiration, seeing the Sorceress had joined the battle.
True to his word, Zed circled around the Eight-Headed Serpent while Erica hurled one spell after the other.
Her spells weren't really doing any damage, and the most they could do was enrage the Majin King, distracting it for a while.
"Your resistance is futile!" Orochi shouted using telepathy, unleashing a shock wave that blew Zed away.
The three Earth Dragons then stood side by side and unleashed a single Earth Spike that pierced through the Majin King's body, making it skid hundreds of meters away.
But the attack was no more than shallow, only managing to embed itself for two meters, which was not enough to cause serious injuries to the Majin King.
"As expected, we can't deal it a decisive blow," Rogg said through telepathy. "What now, Zion?'
"Just continue to defend," the Mirror Slime, who was perched on the Earth Dragon's head, replied. "Let the others deal with the offense."
"Understood," Rogg stomped the ground in front of it and created an Earth Wall that was dozens of meters thick, preventing the serpent heads from taking a bite at them.
Since the three Earth Dragons were working together, their control over the Earth Element was magnified. Together, they created an extremely powerful defensive barrier, which they had once used to counter the beam attack of Thirteen's Submarine, Nautilus.
The Earth Dragons prided themselves on their strong defense, so whenever their favorite shows weren't being aired on television, they practiced together to enhance their defensive capabilities.
Although they didn't expect that they would be using it against a Majin King, their training finally bore fruit.
Of course, the only reason why they were able to fight Orochi on even terms was due to the fact that the Eight-Headed Serpent's Rank was still unstable.
Crossing between two worlds was not a simple matter, even more so for someone of its rank and therefore naturally restricted by the laws of Solterra.
But Thirteen had no intention of letting the Majin King regain its full strength, so he initiated this mission while they still had a small chance at victory.
While everyone was busy fighting, Cranky was watching from the side and eating the Serpent's head as if it were some kind of delicacy.
"Oi, Cranky, hurry up!" Tiona's Clone, who was inside the Honey Badger's ear, used telepathy to pass Thirteen's orders. "Don't even try to savor its taste. Just swallow it whole!"
Cranky ignored Zion and continued to eat at his own pace, almost tempting Endi to summon a boulder and throw it at the Honey Badger's head to make it hurry up.
But she knew that infighting would not help them at this moment, so she brushed the intrusive thought aside and focused on helping Rogg prevent the Majin King from advancing forward.
Seeing that its physical attempts weren't working, three of the Serpent's heads opened their jaws wide, preparing to unleash a breath attack.
It was at this moment that something extremely fast descended from the sky and punched the three serpent heads consecutively, forcing them to unleash their breath attack at its own body.
"Who's your daddy now huh?!" Camazotz, who was the most opportunistic motherf*cker among Thirteen's team, chose that moment to make its entrance.
Not expecting that its attack would be directed at its own body, Orochi screamed in pain and anger.
But just as it thought that its situation couldn't get any worse, a reinforced steel bolt pierced the side of its body.
A few seconds later, another bolt struck, embedding itself in the main body, further angering the Majin King, whose eyes turned blood red from anger.
"Everyone, brace!" Thirteen ordered through the clones that were communicating directly with his team members. "The enemy is entering its second phase!"
As if waiting for that announcement, Orochi lashed out its tail at Endi.
The three Earth Dragons once again summoned an Earth Wall, but this time, the Majin King shattered it, and its attack landed on Endi's body, making her skid dozens of meters away.
"Sh*t!" Rogg, who had watched too many shows on TV, cursed out loud because they weren't able to strengthen the Earth Wall in time, resulting in the attack reaching Endi.
"I'm fine," Endi replied as she joined her comrades in battle. "Don't lose focus or we're goners!"
Thirteen had expected that Orochi would fight them seriously once it had received sufficient injuries.
Although its Rank was still unstable, it was still a Majin King, so any half-hearted attempt to block its attacks would fail completely.
While the three Earth Dragons were now focusing all of their attention on defense, Cranky finally finished eating the Serpent head that it had snatched earlier.
It then gazed at the Eight-Headed Serpent for a few seconds before it started digging on the ground.
Rocky, who was right below the battlefield, had created underground tunnels, which he and Cranky could use to launch attacks from beneath Orochi's body.
The Honey Badger knew that the Majin King could detect enemies even if they were underground, but Cranky didn't care.
The only thing on its mind was to grab another snake head to eat, not caring if it would get bitten or injured in the process.
Thirteen, who knew what Cranky was thinking, adjusted the angle of his Grand Ballista and took aim.
His ammunition was limited, so he only planned to use it only when necessary.
Once the Grand Ballista was no longer operational, he would join everyone on the front lines and attempt to fight the Majin King in a battle of attrition.
Since their opponent had incredible regeneration abilities, they would just fight it for as long as they could.
Perhaps an opportunity would present itself, allowing them to tilt the balance in their favor, and give them a chance to overcome this mission, which even Thirteen believed was near-impossible to clear.