Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

However, instead of the gory sounds of the Hydra's head's jaws crushing them all to a brutal death, Yan and the others only heard a grinding sound like stone being dragged against glass. Realizing that they were alive, they slowly opened their eyes again.

A translucent, golden-hued dome was standing between them and the Hydra's sharp teeth.

Yan was momentarily confused, but he didn't let that stop him.

"Quick! Throw everything you have left!" He ordered sharply. This was an unprecedented opportunity. It would have taken their deaths to do it, but now, they could do it without dying as long as the barrier didn't stand in their way.

Naturally, it didn't. A hole opened up, letting all of the explosives fly through the barrier while still preventing the Hydra's crazed head from closing its mouth.

After throwing everything they had, Yan and his group hurriedly retreated out of the way. The barrier disappeared, and the head closed its mouth. But Yan and the others didn't stop to look. Their lives were more important than watching a good show.

They had their horses run straight away from the Hydra for several long seconds, barely daring to glance back in case another head was coming for them.

Eventually, it became clear that they were safe for the moment. Yan gathered the courage to look back. He wanted to see the head be blown to pieces.

The explosives should go off any second.

That they did.

A muffled boom rang out from within the head, just at the top of its throat. A few seconds later, smoke rose from its nostrils, eyes, and ear holes. It wasn't the flashy show of an exploding head that Yan had wanted to see, but it was good enough. That should have decimated the head's insides. It should not be able to handle that kind of damage.

It might regenerate in a few minutes, but it was more than they could have hoped for without sacrificing a lot of lives.

However, reality wasn't as kind as Yan would have liked. The head slowly turned in their direction, a pair of glowing eyes looking at them through the smoke coming out of its face.

"Shit!" Yan cursed.

He had resolved not to let the others see his hopelessness, even when he was on the brink of despair. That included cursing when things didn't go according to plan. But this time, he just couldn't help it. One of the Hydra's heads took a cartload of explosives straight to the brain and just laughed it off.

This monster wasn't ever going to die.

"Yan, what do we do now?" Oria asked. They were out of explosives. The seven heads were looking at them with hungry eyes. The Hydra's wounds were recovering, and the ice boulder on one of its wings was melting. It was only a matter of time until all their efforts were nullified and their lives were cut short.

"Aren't you asking the wrong person?" Zach said before Yan could answer. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice that only a few recognized.

Most of them weren't sure what to think. It looked like a mad young noble had brought two maids to die. But everyone in Yan's unit was elite enough to quickly realize that wasn't the case.

Zach had an air of madness around him. That part wasn't wrong. But it wasn't the madness of the suicidal. It was the madness of those who saw death on a daily basis and spat in its face.

Of course, Zach saw death on a daily basis since he had Soara, but he never spat on her.

But a few recognized Zach. Yan, Oria, and the Nilma Chief were among them. Oria's lit up, hope returning to them. Every time she saw Zach in action, her view of the world was turned upside down. She was confident he would do it again.

Yan sighed with a tired smile.

"Never have I been so happy to see a traitor."

"Aren't you also working with the Sesha now? That makes you as much of a traitor as me," Zach retorted, not a fan of the traitor label.

"And I do it gladly. So, my senior traitor, please tell me you have something that can deal with this thing," Yan pleaded desperately, without a hint of his princely arrogance. He had long since left behind him things that had no place on the battlefield.

Zach narrowed his eyes and looked at Yan's hair.

"Is your hair glowing?" He asked, avoiding the question. It was so sudden that Yan subconsciously followed along and touched his hair.

"Yeah, it does that sometimes. I'm starting to think my mother wasn't just a maid—Hey! Are we doomed or not?!"

Zach scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression.

"No idea, honestly. But I think you guys had the right idea about stalling it. I'll take over, so you guys get to safety or something."

"What?" Yan frowned in confusion. The others also had no idea what to think of Zach's words, but they subconsciously moved out of the way when he walked straight forward toward the Hydra.

Yan called out to Zach again, wanting clarification. Zach didn't answer. His actions were answer enough. Oria grabbed Yan and stopped him from following Zach.

"Yan, let's back off for now. I'm all out of magic, and we need to get the troops to back off before the head of Fire goes for them. Trust me, Zach looks and acts a little crazy—"

"A little?"

"But he gets things done. If he says he's taking over, let him take over. There's not much we can do anyway. Just support him with your voice once we've cleared out the rest, alright?"

Yan nodded and screwed his head on tight again.

"You're right. I can't get swept up in his antics. I just need to focus on what I can do. Thanks, Oria."

"Always."

The two led their unit back to the rest of the army emptying the rest of the explosives onto the Hydra while Zach walked toward the seven-headed monster with his two maids.