The battle against the Chimera Beasts had begun throughout the dungeons across all the kingdoms.
Our Rising Heroes and Platoon A-1 were facing eight such Chimera Beasts.
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Battle 1
Adrian, Sera, and another member of the Golden Paradox stood against a fast and rough juggernaut.
Its thick horn looked capable of breaking huge rocks with ease. Its lion's body gave it incredible speed, while its crocodile-like scales provided it with immense toughness. Even its crocodile tail served as another dangerous weapon.
Adrian had already come up with a plan.
It was straight out of the playbook, but hopefully, it would be enough.
Everyone knew that defeating the Chimera Beast wasn't their only goal.
They had to do it efficiently. They needed to conserve their magic and energy. This was only the beginning, and they all knew they would soon face much greater threats.
The plan was simple.
Adrian and the other member would keep the Chimera busy while Sera placed her traps.
Once the Chimera was restrained, they would aim for its core.
But it wasn't going to be that easy.
Its rapid movements and its tail, which acted as an additional weapon, allowed it to keep up with two opponents at once.
Its immense strength was another problem.
Every time it charged toward them, its movements unintentionally destroyed Sera's traps.
Sera had to cast them repeatedly.
Adrian and the other member made sure to keep the Chimera away from the areas where she was setting them up until they were finally ready.
And soon... The moment arrived.
Adrian went underneath the Chimera while the other member lunged at it with his sword.
Adrian quickly turned back to make his move.
The Chimera spun around.
Its horn moved toward Adrian while its tail swung toward the other member, using the momentum of its massive body to increase the force of both attacks.
That was when Sera activated her trap.
Thick roots suddenly emerged from beneath the ground and wrapped around the Chimera, restraining it.
They all took their chance.
Adrian used his sword to slash through its horn.
With one clean cut... The horn was severed.
At the same time, the other member attacked its chest, creating an opening.
The Chimera struggled desperately to free itself.
But Adrian and the other member immediately backed away.
Sera raised her hand.
"Bloom Blast."
A powerful blast struck directly through the opening in its chest.
The attack pierced deep enough to reach its core.
The Chimera froze.
And then... Its body began disintegrating.
Within moments, it turned into nothing but ashes.
The first Chimera was down.
---
Battle 2
At the same time, Lila, Cherry, and another member of the Golden Paradox stood against the Chimera with the body of a wolf, eagle wings, antler-like horns, and the tail of a serpent.
The battle began.
The Chimera immediately took to the air.
It dived toward its targets, using its horn as a weapon while its tail acted as a shield against incoming attacks. Its tail also possessed much stronger regeneration capabilities than the rest of its body. That made trapping it extremely difficult. Even when they managed to restrict its movement, it could use its tail to escape.
Lila and the other member fought the Chimera head-on.
Meanwhile, Cherry remained slightly farther away.
She wasn't rushing.
She was waiting.
She didn't have a complicated plan.
Her intention was simple. One clean shot. Directly at its core. That was all.
Her next attack had already been loaded into her slingshot.
Lila noticed it.
Because of that, she continued attacking the Chimera while coordinating with the other member.
Lila didn't want to waste unnecessary energy.
For the most part, she focused on dodging.
But the Chimera became more troublesome with every passing second.
Its wolf body was small. Its wings were incredibly fast. And it constantly moved through the air.
But eventually... It had to make a mistake. And it did.
Just one proper opening.
Lila immediately took it.
Her spear tore through the Chimera's right wing.
Its flight became unstable.
Before it could recover or regenerate...
Cherry was already ready.
"Lavalicious."
A stream of extremely hot, melting lava was launched directly toward its chest.
The lava pierced through its body, burning everything it touched.
And finally... It reached its core.
The Chimera was destroyed.
Its body turned into ash.
The second Chimera was down.
---
Battle 3
Drakar, Carter, and two other members of the Golden Paradox stood against the Chimera with the body of a bear, the head of a boar, sabertooth fangs, and a scorpion tail.
And judging from its body alone... It was a force that simply wouldn't stop.
The Chimera charged toward anything in its sight, swinging its massive arms and using its fangs to attack.
Getting close to it was extremely dangerous.
But unfortunately for the Chimera... It was facing Carter.
Also known as Bronzed. An unbreakable tank.
And beside him stood Drakar, who possessed incredible offensive power.
There wasn't much of a plan this time.
The Chimera might have been dangerous.
But Carter looked at it as nothing more than a warm-up.
"Wait."
He looked toward Drakar and the other two members.
"Let me play with it first. Then you can join me to finish it off."
At first, Carter treated the Chimera like a raging bull.
And himself like an El Matador.
He kept frustrating the Chimera, dodging its attacks at the very last moment.
The seals on his armour possessed many abilities.
One of them allowed him to keep the armour light.
Because of that, he didn't have to sacrifice his speed for its toughness.
He could remain fast... while still being incredibly durable.
The Chimera continued attacking.
Carter continued dodging.
Until suddenly... Something shifted in Carter's eyes.
This time... He had no intention of moving away.
BOOM!
A massive clash erupted.
Dust filled the entire area.
For a moment, nobody could see anything.
Then the dust slowly settled.
Carter was standing there.
And he was holding the Chimera above his head.
He looked toward the others.
"Here."
And then... He threw the Chimera.
The two other members immediately attacked it in mid-air.
Drakar joined them. Together, they launched their attacks.
They struck the Chimera from multiple directions.
And finally... Its core was destroyed.
The third Chimera turned into ash.
---
Meanwhile, the other battles continued throughout the dungeon.
Some groups had already reached their conclusions.
Others were still struggling.
But one thing was certain.
This stage of the Dungeon War was only beginning.