Chapter 123 Tailing Boss Fight

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"All right! We've rested. Where to now, Lhorne?" Lily exclaimed, and we followed her. We departed after burying the dead dwarves.

"We should go this way," Lhorne pointed in a direction.

Not long after we set off, we stumbled upon a dilapidated house. Inside, we found a campfire that was still warm, indicating that someone had been there recently. Lily was thrilled, thinking the group she had been chasing was nearby.

"They must have camped here last night and left around the same time as we did, no more than five hours ago," Lhorne, our tracker, said confidently. He smiled at the prospect of finally catching up to the others. "This way! The group seems to be larger than I thought. We might be the last ones to catch up!"

"Hmm? You couldn't tell before?" Nora asked.

"It was obscured. The footprints led back and forth to the riverbank, so I couldn't tell. But this one has about ten sets of footprints - elves, dwarves, and tailfolk," Lhorne explained.

"Wow, I could tell the elves and dwarves, but you could also tell tailfolk?" Lily said as she tried to mimic Lhorne by examining the footprints. Dwarves have footprints like those of children, while elves have footmarks like those of adults. Ahh! Maybe Lhorne judged it was tailfolk from the depth of the footprints, as tailfolk didn't usually wear heavy armor.

"I see. From the depth of the footprints, huh?" Nora nodded in understanding.

"Yes. The tailfolk from our group were all wearing leathers, so their footprints were lighter," Lhorne confirmed.

"Where are they?" Lily grew impatient and kept asking as we continued our journey.

"They should be close by. They moved in a large group of ten. We should be able to catch up to them," Lhorne replied. But the footprints were getting wider as if the group was running from something.

"Why would such a large group be running?" Nora questioned.

"No idea."

"Ah... it's the hydra..." Lhorne said as we arrived at an empty clearing. Several trees were broken, with giant quadrupedal footprints with dragging marks. "Or something as big as that. It went that way."

"Now of all times?" Nora whined.

"We have to save them!" Lily shouted, and the group started to run.

"Don't run too fast. We still need to be stealthy. If the hydra turns against us, we'll be in danger," Lhorne cautioned.

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We jogged our way to the footprints, and after about an hour, we found ourselves at a lake that bordered the dungeon wall. The hydra was on a small island, sleeping there. However, we found no trace of our comrades on the way there.

"Where are they?" Lily asked, sounding frustrated. "Could that hydra have...?"

"No, there was no sign of a battle. The footprints are in a straight line. If there had been a battle, it would have been more chaotic," Lhorne dismissed our assumptions.

"Hmm? Did we take the wrong path?" Nora wondered.

"Hmm... Maybe our friends managed to hide when they were being chased? Should we go back and retrace our steps?" Lhorne suggested.

We followed Lhorne's suggestion and retraced our steps. Lily was getting increasingly anxious as we found no clues, even though it felt like we were close. Then, the hydra suddenly moved. It stepped out of the lake and started heading in our direction.

"Huh? We didn't make such a sound, right?"

"That hydra was attracted to something else. Hide in the trees!" Lhorne muttered. As we hid in the bushes, it walked past us.

"I thought we were dead there. I wonder where it headed to?" Nora said as she sat down, spreading her legs in relief.

"We should follow it," Lily said.

"Why?" Lhorne asked.

"We need to kill it either way. Its head was regenerating," Lily said. I looked closely at the hydra, and she was correct. The heads were regrowing. We had managed to take down some of them, bringing them to about half of their original length, but they had already reached the base of the heads. Moreover, the wounds on its body had turned into scabs now.

"But we could not possibly kill it alone!" Nora exclaimed.

"We could. After a surprise attack and taking down one of its heads, I could cast the fire dragon, and it will chase it. Then we could hide again until I recover and do it all over again," Lily said with a determined voice.

"Are you sure it will work?"

"It only has four heads now. I am sure I could take down at least two or three. The last one will be left to luck," Lily said.

"Alright! Let's kill it!" Nora said as she prepared her scimitar.

As the group stealthily surrounded the hydra, an axe flew toward it with such force that it cut right through one of its heads. The group was stunned, but Lily recovered faster and shouted, "NOW!"

"Roger!" I cast multiple fire arrows and fireballs, raining them down toward the hydra. Our position was not ideal, but we could not afford to waste the chance the axe-thrower had given us. The hydra roared as it raised earthen wall spells, ruining the jungle terrain we were in. Monsters screamed at the sudden uproar and gathered around.

"Lily!" Alistar shouted as he and a team of dwarves ran, trying to surround the hydra.

"Alistar! So you were here! We have been looking for you!" Lily shouted. Both groups rendezvoused.

"What an opportune timing. I thought we would die there," Alistar muttered. He then smirked at the beast as he ordered another axe from Niece. "With you, we can kill this thing!"

"Huh? What happened?"

"It killed two other dwarves. They sacrificed themselves to become bait so we could flee," Alistar said. However, despite what he said, he wasn't fleeing. I guess he wanted to kill this thing even if there would be more casualties, huh? It surprised me that these two lords had the same mindset. Did he also notice the hydra regenerating?

"Lily, as you have noticed, that dragon is growing back its heads. We need to kill it even if there are casualties on our side," Alistar said, and Lily nodded.

"Good. Lhorne! There are several more arrows for you! Use the explosive ones as you see fit," Alistar motioned Lhorne to Niece. "Did you lose somebody to that thing too?"

"No. But I noticed its heads regenerating. It's best to kill it while weakened. Its heads amplify its power after all," Lily said. Alistar nodded, and they spread out again.

The boss battle of this dungeon would begin anew.