The [Serpent Dominance] could also boost the training speed of any snake-type monsters. This was greater than what Souta imagined.
Recovery? Souta narrowed his eyes. The Nine-Headed Hydra didn't have any injury. Her weakened state was the effect of her being sealed for a long time. Even the parasite wouldn't be able to help her.
That's why...
"Stay here for a while... Just recover a little bit of your strength." Souta said to her.
The snake nodded its head.
"Good." Souta was satisfied. If she could exert a little bit of her strength then it would be enough for him.
After he returned, he would help her recover her previous state. If he let her naturally, it would take a few months before she regained her powers. That's why he had to help her regain her powers faster.
'In one month... I have to do it in one month.' Souta said inwardly. In the current situation of God's Continent, her strength would bring Souta a bit of safety.
The demon army's invasion had slowed down because of Gluttony so this land was the safest place among the seven continents of Imperium for Alice. The Giza Continent was still facing the onslaught of the demon army so it was bad to go there at this moment.
"Do you have a name?" Souta asked the snake.
"This one is called Kessa." The snake spoke using the monster language.
"Okay, Kessa. I will return later to pick you up so try to recover using the special environment as fast as possible." Souta said.
At first, he wanted to leave her in this place for a month but since he wasn't sure about the safety of his territory it was better if she was there as a guardian.
Kessa hesitated but she still asked, "Are you going to return? Are you going to abandon Kessa?"
"I'm not going to abandon you. I just want to settle some matters outside." Souta assured her. If she wasn't weakened, he would undoubtedly bring her with him.
"Kessa understand." Kessa nodded her snake head.
Souta nodded and left the old castle leaving Kessa alone. Her personality was outside of his expectations. She was very timid, and from his guess, it was the effect of her battle against Hercules.
He broke down the barrier around the swamp by destroying its core. Then he went out and faced thousands of undead wandering outside the swamp.
The fearsome army of undead charged at him without hesitation. Their aura was horrifying but Souta didn't even flinch while looking at them. He faced them head-on by using his skills and abilities. Every time he attacked, dozens of undead would perish. He easily took down the undead below Shackled Realm. There were only three One Shackled Realm undead and his doppelganger was enough to handle them.
This was far easier than when he completed this quest in the game. At that time, the undead army had mostly destroyed the three kingdoms and they even crossed the rivers. The number of Shackled Realm undead far surpassed twenty.
In just half an hour, Souta eliminated every undead in the vicinity. The only thing left was to clean the entire Lerna Island.
Souta wouldn't do this since it would take a lot of time if he visited every place of this land just to destroy the undead. He would leave most of it to the three kingdoms. With their current military might, they could capture the territory they lost to the undead army.
Regarding this, he would help them a little bit so he sent his doppelgangers in every direction to eliminate the undead. He would cancel it once he left the island.
Souta arrived at the fortress. He found that Yuko, Yenxa, and Eztein had finished clearing all the undead in the surrounding. There's no need to worry with just a bunch of S-rank undead with Eztein's One Shackle prowess.
"Master!!" Yuko immediately tackled him the moment she saw his figure. She stuck out her tongue and licked his face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm back..." Souta laughed lightly as he patted Yuko's head. Even though Yuko was at third stage, she was still like a child.
He comforted her for a few minutes before Yuko let him go.
Yenxa stood beside him without saying anything. Souta preferred her like this. If she were to act like Yuko, he wouldn't know what to do.
Souta stood up while patting the dust on his clothes. He looked at Eztein and asked, "How is it?"
Eztein naturally knew what Souta wanted to know. "We've finished everything here. The soldiers are still wary of us so I revealed our identity as warriors from Athen's Champion. Only then that they lowered their guards."
"They understand that Lerna Island is within the scope of Olympus' territory so they would have to follow us whether they like it or not." Souta nodded.
Olympus was the overlord of this land. A mere small kingdom on Lerna Island wouldn't go against a warrior from one of the major organizations.
"They wanted to thank us for solving the undead army so they invited us to stay for a night." Eztein looked at Souta's expression.
"We'll accept their invitation. Tomorrow morning we'll depart immediately." Souta paused as he recalled something. He turned to Eztein and asked, "What about the previous warriors that took this mission?"
Eztein shook his head. "According to the commander, we are the first warriors that arrive here in Veinu Kingdom. They didn't know that the Athen's Champion already dispatched warriors earlier."
Souta narrowed his eyes. He also didn't find any of the warrior's corpses on his way. They weren't on the swamp or the old castle.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Gather more information. If we couldn't then we'll just leave tomorrow and let the other warriors investigate it."
"I understand." Eztein nodded. "Maybe, they didn't arrive in Veinu Kingdom. They are probably on the other two kingdoms."
"That's also possible."
Souta and the rest walked inside the fortress. The castle was destroyed previously when Eztein launched his skill so the soldiers could only set up a tent.
Commander Eili talked with Souta about this but Souta didn't care even if he slept inside a tent. Plus, Souta wouldn't sleep since he didn't want to risk his life. Although he was sure that Lucifer wouldn't discover him since he didn't harbor any animosity toward him, it was still better if he avoided sleeping.
Commander Eili gave them each of their own tents.
Souta, inside his own tent, called Eztein over. Eztein entered the tent and quickly took out the golden sphere he got inside the Royal Room.
This golden sphere was a limited-use artifact.
Souta observed the artifact with his own eyes. This would be enough to create a special space like Royal Room in Astros. He would arrange it in reference to the Royal Room's arrangement.
"It's quite good." He nodded with a smile on his face.
"Is it good? When I hold it before I don't feel anything... It couldn't even raise my physical power nor energy power. I just know that it is a high-quality limited-use red grade artifact." Eztein said, very confused.
"This one didn't have any added stats. Its only use was to create a special space like the Royal Room and acts as its core." Souta explained.
"Then, you'll establish a special space in Astros?" Eztein understood what Souta wanted to do.
"Yep, I'll add something more to it. We'll gather more artifacts in the future to strengthen the power of Astros." Souta said as he returned the golden sphere to Eztein. He used a bunch of powerful limited-use artifacts in the game so he planned to get those things along with his equipment.
Right now, he got [Soul Blood Earring], [Solid State Hunter Boots], [Vajra Sword Saya], [Yin Yang Bracelet], and [Burning Ring Seal].
Five pieces of equipment and he already tamed his pet in the game, the Nine-Headed Hydra. Once Kessa recovered her strength, she would be at the intermediate level of fifth stage. Her strength far surpassed the fifth stage Terror Gale Hippogriff that appeared in the Subterranean World.
Souta caressed the [Burning Ring Seal] in his finger. With this, it should be enough to complete the Chain Quest.
After the Chain Quest, he would get another mission to further increase his strength before the battle in Solnes Theater.
The battle for the Tears of Divine Might.
Souta had to acquire it no matter what. At that time, his strength would be known by several large factions and they wouldn't be able to ignore him. So he had to prepare himself.
Kessa's full power would be a great help.
Suddenly, Souta and Eztein felt goosebumps. Their eyes shrank as a powerful pressure spread out in the area.
This is...?!?
Everyone felt the overwhelming pressure. Ordinary soldiers felt their hearts tighten as they fell to their knees. The best feram swept out washing the entire area.
"This energy...? A fourth stage?!" Eztein couldn't help but glance at Souta.
"Yeah, and judging from the aura, it is a peak-level fourth stage!" Souta narrowed his eyes. 'I can probably use this to push the Archetype to fifty percent.'
