Chapter 1041: Familiar

"Here."

Alexander arrived in front of a cube adorned with intricate patterns on its surface. It appeared ordinary, but he knew this was what he had been searching for.

The cube, now dull, rested atop a piece of metal surrounded by various incense. It sat in a place resembling a shrine, with a miniature wooden house behind it.

This place had once been beautiful, but now... it was filled with filth that didn't belong.

"Is this the place?" Jovi, the Fourth Head, asked.

Alexander nodded, then stepped forward. "I'll leave it to you. Destroy any undead that approach this area," he said.

Fourth Head and Fifth Head nodded at Alexander's words. They turned to face the battlefield before them. Thousands of undead continued to rush at them without pause, and powerful ones lurked behind. The ghouls, skeletal dragons, and giant undead watched from the rear of the army.

At the front, Eight Head and Sixth Head were fighting the undead with all their might, while Third Head and Second Head provided support from behind with powerful spells.

"Do you think we can hold them off?" Fifth Head asked, concern evident in his voice.

He could sense dozens of auras among the undead that were at SSS-rank. Some of them were even at the peak of SSS-rank, equivalent to the Sixth Shackle Realm.

"Yeah, Seventh Head is still with us," Fourth Head replied confidently.

The Seventh Head of the Dragon Council was widely known as the Blood Lightning Monster, the undisputed strongest Fourth Stage monster in the world.

Meanwhile, Alexander stepped deeper into the shrine-like area. He passed the cube, his eyes focusing on something beyond.

Several dozen kilometers away lay the source of the taint. What had once been a small, contained area from the past had expanded over the years.

It was also possible that the area had been opened before, allowing the contamination to spread. This might be tied to a past event in the Hall Plains-the fall of the Hall of Power.

The Hall of Power had been a Large Country, but it collapsed under the weight of a calamity. Afterward, it rose again, led by the No God Emperor.

"Calamity that struck the land..." Alexander muttered, sensing a connection to the calamity that had led to the downfall of the Hall of Power.

He took a deep breath and removed his necklace, placing it on the floor. It began to emit a dim light, and in the next second, a barrier formed around the shrine.

The necklace was a dark-grade artifact. In fact, none of Alexander's artifacts were lower than dark grade; all were dark grade or higher.

Turning back, he placed his hand on the cube. His elemental power surged, focusing entirely on the cube before him.

...

Eight Head and Sixth Head were locked in battle with the undead when an oppressive aura suddenly descended upon the battlefield.

An undead, emitting a foul stench, appeared. It had the appearance of a man with messy black hair and rotting flesh.

As soon as this undead arrived, the two ghouls, the giant undead, and other high-level undead charged at the group.

Third Head and Second Head's eyes widened in alarm. They quickly cast several spells, enhancing the abilities of Eight Head and Sixth Head.

"Let's go!" Eight Head shouted, undeterred by the overwhelming presence. Feeling the surge of power from the buffs, he clenched his fist and delivered a powerful punch to one of the giant undead.

Bang!

At the same time, Sixth Head blocked the skeletal dragons' advance.

Neither hesitated as they activated the equipment skills of their artifacts. There was no point in holding back in a situation like this.

The undead that had triggered the high-level undead to attack simply watched the battlefield from above.

"I am Fhe. I'll give you a choice-submit and become one of us. Forget your past and join us in immortality," a coarse voice escaped from the mouth of the undead.

It introduced itself as Fhe.

"Sooner or later, we will engulf the whole world. We are the answer that will break the shackles of Imperium," Fhe's voice echoed across the battlefield.

Just Fhe's voice alone made Eight Head and the others wince in pain. They felt an unknown power invading their minds, similar to a charm.

"Still resisting? Then, as an advocate of the higher will, I will exterminate you here and turn your souls into one of us."

Fhe slowly bent his knees, gathering a massive amount of energy around him.

"He's coming," Second Head said gravely.

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, Fhe launched himself forward at incredible speed. Before Eight Head and Sixth Head could react, he was already beside them, his hand poised to strike. But before he could land his blow, a figure appeared in front of him, blocking his hand with a sword.

It happened in an instant-Eight Head and Sixth Head were hurled away before they could even grasp what had occurred.

They turned their heads and saw a monster with four sharp spider limbs rattling on his back.

It was Souta, the Seventh Head of the Dragon Council.

Souta narrowed his eyes, sensing the powerful energy fluctuation from the undead who called himself Fhe. He was already in his released form, knowing that Fhe was not an enemy he could take lightly.

The four spider limbs on his back locked onto Fhe and quickly fired [Bestrou] in an instant. But Fhe vanished from his position before the beams could even reach him.

Souta didn't follow up. Instead, he took his time to carefully observe this peculiar, powerful undead.

At the same time, Fhe studied the monster that had blocked his path. The creature before him stood on a razor-thin thread, its aura several times stronger than normal.

Yet, something about this monster made Fhe feel a deep sense of repulsion. "Imperium...! So the Imperium sent you here!" Fhe's voice surged with power, agitating all the undead in the area.

"Imperium? So you can sense it, huh? I don't even understand why I have the power to fight the corruption here. It only appeared in this place," Souta replied with a smile.

"There's no need to answer. All things will end up the same," Fhe said coldly.

Souta remained silent, grabbing a web strand beside him. In an instant, thousands of webs erupted, slicing through the hordes of undead. He propelled himself forward, dragging the

mass of webbing along with him.

Swoosh!

Fhe opened his palm, his nails elongating into razor-sharp claws. As Souta closed in, Fhe swung his hand, aiming for his neck.

Souta swiftly raised his sword, intercepting the deadly strike. Then, with a deft motion, he swung the webs, entangling Fhe in the sharp strands. Despite their razor-like edges, the webs

couldn't cut through Fhe's body.

"He's durable..." Souta thought as the tension grew.

The four spider limbs on Souta's back charged up an attack and fired it at Fhe.

Boom!!

Souta landed on the ground, focusing on the explosion. His senses felt dulled compared to outside, likely due to the corruption's effects.

Before Saya had identified the power of Imperium, she estimated he could last an hour in this

place. The power of Imperium extended that to two hours. Yet, even within the first hour, Souta could already feel the corruption impacting his senses.

Graa!!

Hundreds of skeletons surged toward him. Souta slashed through them with his webs while keeping his attention fixed on the explosion.

The skeletons were sliced into pieces as the webs shredded their bodies cleanly.

"You have to stay here. In the end, you will become one of us. Don't worry, you won't feel any

pain," Fhe's voice echoed ominously.

Fhe emerged from the explosion, looking down at Souta with a sinister gaze.

"Tough..." Souta narrowed his eyes.

He glanced towards Alexander. Alexander needed to finish his task quickly. Souta doubted

that Eight Head and the others could withstand the onslaught for two hours. The only reason Eight Head and the rest weren't severely affected yet was because of the strange power from Imperium that Souta and Alexander possessed. Without their influence, the corruption would have overwhelmed them much sooner.

Souta abruptly shifted his body to the side as sharp nails narrowly missed him. He then turned around, and strings of flesh quickly enveloped him, transforming him into a monstrous

entity.

As Fhe prepared to attack again, a massive fist struck him in the face, its immense energy

nearly breaking through his rotting flesh.

Bang!!

Meanwhile, Alexander was channeling a tremendous amount of energy into the cube.

Argh!

It wasn't enough.

He gritted his teeth, his aura surging to its limit, causing the surrounding area to tremble.

He remembered this place. It was the frontline of the taint they had previously suppressed. In the past, the taint was minimal because the device was still active. With his abilities back then, he could easily suppress and even disperse the taint—it wasn't much of a threat.

Hmm? Alexander suddenly looked up and saw the undead that had warned him earlier. Now that he examined it more closely, he realized that this undead had been one of his subordinates in the

past.

"Y-You!"

It seemed that none of the Heads had noticed the presence of this undead.

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