Chapter 671: Turning the Tide: The Fall of the Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra

Bzzzz!

Even with two Voidlock Chains reinforcing it, the Mirror Warship still shuddered nonstop. It was clear just how much force the Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra had to unleash to try and shake it off.

The good news was that was all it could do. No matter how unstable the Mirror Warship’s miniature neutron star form got, the hydra never managed to throw it off.

Time passed. At some point, the front of the tiny neutron star—now shining brilliantly—suddenly erupted. The very first beam to shoot out was a Gamma Ray Burst, spawned from the mythic Neutron-Star Core Armor.

This Gamma Ray Burst was a newly-evolved super attack, exclusive to the mythic version of the armor. The terrifying energy it packed defied description. The blast shot straight down along the smooth head wound of the hydra, drilling deep into its flesh.

Song Chi couldn’t guess what havoc this searing electromagnetic storm caused inside the hydra. All he knew was that shortly after it struck, the monster—once wild and frenzied—suddenly grew unnaturally calm.

But that eerie calm didn’t last. In just a moment, the Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra lashed out with even wilder madness.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Its last two heads began smashing into one another, blood-red scales flying, tearing open wounds that quickly grew even more ragged and raw.

Watching this, Song Chi realized the Gamma Ray Burst was inflicting agony so intense the hydra resorted to brutal self-harm to dull the pain. No other explanation would drive such a powerful eighth-tier beast to this.

But that wasn’t the end of it. As this happened, the hydra’s endless red steam seemed to thin and fade, its rapidly rebounding aura stalling out once more.

Yet clearly, the damage from the Gamma Ray Burst, as horrifying as it was, still wasn’t enough to finish the beast off alone.

Good thing Song Chi wasn’t out of tricks. The moment the Gamma Ray Burst was unleashed, the surge of purple lightning collected at the neutron star’s front exploded forth.

Nine devastating bolts of world-ending thunder followed, pouring into the savage wound on the hydra’s head. If the Gamma Ray Burst was a hidden killer, these bolts were all-out brute force. Every strike tore out fresh blood and meat from the already ruined flesh.

Finally, at the deepest part of the wound, a miniature black hole condensed to its absolute limit—then the secondary wave of damage from the God of the Hunt’s Weakpoint Mark triggered.

All these attacks hammered in through that wounded head, coming again and again until the serpent’s gigantic body was almost completely ripped apart.

One thing did need mentioning, though. Because of the Black Hole Singular Burst’s effect, the black hole was practically pressed right up against the Mirror Warship’s neutron star shell. If it were just that, it might’ve been fine.

Black holes and neutron stars, both are extreme creations of the multiverse era. Compared to black holes, neutron stars can at least hold their own for a while. But just as the black hole began its rampage, the neutron star form’s duration hit its limit.

After that, the Mirror Warship reverted back to its regular form, and there was no way it could withstand the crushing pressure from the black hole right in front.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

In just an instant, a bone-deep groan ripped through the Mirror Warship—it was the telltale sound of the ship breaking under intense devouring, pressure, and collapse.

Then, unable to take any more, the ship’s hull started caving in. That was the final trigger. Seconds later, the entire vessel twisted violently, losing all shape.

But right before the Mirror Warship was crushed into a ball of metal, several spatial ripples flashed inside.

Bzzzt!

Two spatial ripples in quick succession: first, Song Chi’s real body teleported from the Omniverse Market onto the warship; second, the Precision Drop Pod module inside the Mirror Warship activated.

……

This rapid barrage from the Heavenly Ruin’s Mirror Warship might have seemed to drag on forever, but it all happened in just over ten seconds.

In little more than ten seconds, the Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra—whose strength had been spiking—was slammed right back into critical condition. Everything that happened in that span stunned everyone watching, but this was no time to get lost in thought.

As the Mirror Warship was about to be swallowed by the black hole, two Dreadnoughts in the rear—including the Meng Clan’s and Immortal Qin Industries’ ships, which had just pulled back—opened fire with long-range barrages.

You couldn’t ask for more perfect timing. What those four captains were thinking was anyone’s guess—maybe they just wanted to finish off the hydra, maybe they were after the hydra’s ‘kill credit’. Whatever their reasons, Song Chi saw it all as the same:

“Abandoning the Mirror Warship wasn’t so you lot could swoop in and steal the kill!”

A subtle flicker of spatial energy nearby, and a figure materialized out of thin air—not far from where the Mirror Warship was disappearing.

As expected, it was Song Chi’s true body, transmitted out of the Mirror Warship via the Precision Drop Pod.

Given how things stood, showing up this close meant he’d have to face the full pressure of an eighth-tier lifeform, plus the crushing force and devouring draw of a black hole right next door.

For a peak sixth-tier like him, either one of those would’ve been impossible to endure.

Yet nothing touched him. Instead, a ghostly light flickered at his brow as he casually summoned the actual Heavenly Ruin.

There was only one reason for that.

Black Hole Evolution Layer’s ultimate ability: Black Hole Domain.

Thanks to the ‘absolute invincibility’ power of the Black Hole Domain, he was unharmed.

Of course, to save himself, the Mirror Warship had to give up the benefit of that protection.

The warship was always just a projection, spawned from the true Heavenly Ruin. As its captain, Song Chi was its link. But separating himself from the Mirror Warship meant the Domain’s protection defaulted to him alone.

Ignoring all the stares that followed him, Song Chi flew straight into the real Heavenly Ruin.

Inside the ship’s control room, he issued one order after another, fast and clear.

By his plan, the fight was far from over.

A pulse of ghostly silver in his hand—an Advanced Lightning Law Crystal materialized. Instantly, the authentic Divine Thunder Cannon on the Heavenly Ruin was powered up.

In a flash, the golden main gun transformed into a Star-Annihilator Cannon, while a storm of thunder gathered overhead.

It was still the Ninefold Violet Heaven World-Ending Calamity Thunder—but this time, Song Chi wasn’t in the mood to wait for that super attack to power up slowly.

Pusa Zen Seal: Zen Seal · Internal · Time Acceleration!

With time sped up, the slow-building thunderclouds above the Heavenly Ruin instantly solidified. A split second later, thunder crashed down.

But before that, he triggered several other modules.

Blood Spear: God of the Hunt’s Weakpoint Mark!

Black Hole Evolution Layer: Black Hole Singular Burst!

He basically re-ran the same playbook as before—but this time, before the attacks truly landed, Song Chi acted once more.

Heavenly Ruin’s Warship Evolution Quest: now activated!

With his confirmation, the warship’s evolution quest was officially underway.

Warship Evolution Quest (Heavenly Ruin)

Current success rate: 0.001% (Initial: 0.001%)

Special resources required (0/3): Spatial Fragment ×1, Singular Stone ×1, Silver Star Bangle-Core ×1

Additional resources: None

Bathed in Alien Blood: None

Staring at the meager 0.001% displayed in the evolution panel, Song Chi showed no sign of disappointment.

He was sure that soon, the ‘Bathed in Alien Blood’ bonus would show a hefty boost to his odds.

The instant the quest began, the streak of attacks just launched from Heavenly Ruin streaked toward the hydra’s snake-body, which was nearly split from head to tail.

Still, Song Chi didn’t relax. He fired up the Projection Emperor Stone module again.

Four identical battlecruisers, just like Heavenly Ruin, materialized in the air—with no extra instructions needed. As soon as Song Chi summoned them, he ordered all four to charge the enemy.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Those four projection warships shot straight at the Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra below.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Wave after wave of ear-splitting explosions erupted as fearsome energy storms swept outward.

Mushroom clouds billowed everywhere, leaving Song Chi unable to see what was happening on the battlefield below. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t let his guard down.

Anyone in the control room would see Song Chi at the consoles, eyes narrowed, clutching a golden Clan Token. Dark energy gathered in his palm, like he could activate the Market Projection Token at any time.

Going by his plan, with so many bigwigs watching this secret realm battlefield, it was best not to use that Market Projection Token unless truly necessary.

But with the evolution quest begun, and even if the Dreadnought-to-Star-Annihilator evolution now stretched to ten years, tying the odds to killing alien races of the Sea of Stars made the climb to a high success rate harder than ever.

If this wave of attacks still couldn’t kill the hydra, Song Chi was ready to set everything else aside and use whatever cards were left—no matter what.

Right now, Song Chi was holding his breath—just like every single being watching this battleground. All eyes were locked on the outcome.

The fate of two of the top-tier civilizations hung in the balance; no one could afford to look away.

Fortunately, things didn’t reach that desperate point.

Suddenly, a melodious chime sounded in Song Chi’s ears, even inside the Heavenly Ruin.

You have slain an eighth-tier Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra. You obtain 1 wisp of Seventh‑Tier Floating-land Origin!

That was just the first notification—more followed, one after the other.

Killed an eighth-tier Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra. This warship now receives the blessing of that hydra’s spirit, gaining this blessing once every ten years!

Killed an eighth-tier Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra. Warship evolution success rate has risen!

No point denying it, Song Chi was elated. It meant the plan he threw together on the fly had succeeded brilliantly.

Meanwhile, the four dreadnoughts behind him were in a much different mood.

Some sighed, some cursed, some sat brooding in silence…

Bottom line, every one of those high-ranking captains was feeling bitter.

Who could blame them? That hydra’s death meant not only a jump in the warship’s evolution odds, but also a hard-earned one million merit points.

One million merit points might not seem much to outsiders, but to these elite captains, it was crystal clear: when the Demon Serpent Floating-Land operation ends, over ninety percent of competing factions won’t even come close to racking up that many.

Whatever outsiders thought, Song Chi didn’t care. He was already checking the evolution progress panel once more.

Warship Evolution Quest (Heavenly Ruin)

Current success rate: 15.001% (Initial 0.001% + 15% from bathing in eighth-tier hydra blood)

Special resources required (0/3): Spatial Fragment ×1, Singular Stone ×1, Silver Star Bangle-Core ×1

Additional resources: None

Bathed in Alien Blood: Eighth-tier Abyssal Nine-Headed Hydra (15%)

His fists clenched with excitement he couldn’t hide.

One eighth-tier beast alone had raised the evolution odds by 15%. By Song Chi’s reckoning, once he invested all the resources he’d prepared, his chance would jump straight to over 80%.

Odds like that were already outstanding.

And if he pushed harder, breaking 90% didn’t even seem out of reach.

But before he could act again, another surge of energy flared at the Secret Realm Altar in the distance.

The Ying Clan’s Star River-class Battleship was clashing head-on with the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Dominator once more. With the hydra gone, the path was clear. It took just two attacks to break the ruler’s move, cutting off the origin ritual before it could even catch fire.

Now, it wasn’t the Divine Dynasty’s Star-Annihilator class and Star River-class ships feeling the pressure, but the swarm of seventh and eighth-tier serpent dominators. But with fleets of Star-Annihilator and Star River-class ships blocking their way, they had no chance of getting involved.