Epic of Caterpillar
chapter-355

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Before going to the dungeon, I decided to share some of the Artifacts I obtained from Agatheina and Levana. In specific, the ones that could grant increased vitality and self-regeneration. She had only crafted three more, so I had to chose who to give it to…

Rimuru already has a Slime self-regeneration, which is amazing, and Brontes can even regenerate lost limbs within minutes. Nesiphae and Nixephine had gained a strong self-regeneration already after consuming and assimilating small Lesser Slime Clones. Alice and Nefertiti already had good regeneration as well, so I gave them to Gaby, Mady, and Adelle.

The Artifact by itself is named [Agatheina's Heavenly Blood Jewel], she had given me these and if I wanted, she would give me more of her blood, however crafting new ones could take her a few hundred years, so I refused.

The jewels resembled beautiful rubies that shined brightly, the way to 'equip' these were by consumption. They were made for Vampires, but she was sure that it would work even in non-vampires, and it may also bring them new vampire-like traits and powers without any weakness.

Gaby, Adelle, and Mady glanced at the jewels.

"Do I really have to eat it?" asked Gaby.

"Well, if you don't want to, it is fine, I will save it for someone else…"

"No, wait, I will eat it!" said Gaby, it seems that the moment I said that her 'gift' was going to be taken away, she immediately accepted to eat the odd jewel.

"Aah, this certainly as an eerie feeling to it, but if it's crafted by a Goddess…" said Mady, reluctant for a second.

"Don't worry, I had already inspected it thousands of times over with my Appraisal Skills and also bathed it in my blood and Amiphossia's Heavenly Medicine Venom, so it should be safe of anything bad for you" I said, reassuring Mady of the safety of its consumption.

"Very well then…" she said, gulping the gem.

"T-This is… do I really have to? I'm pregnant, could it be bad for the child?" asked Adelle.

"Your concern is natural, Adelle, though I had already asked Agatheina about such things, the only thing that it will do to our child probably makes it stronger"

"A-Alright then!" said Adelle, bravely gulping the artifact.

Flash!

The three merfolk girls suddenly shined in a bright crimson red as the entirety of their flesh became a little bit warmer as if they were going through a marathon of exercise and then they calmed down, having to rest over a futon.

"T-This…!"

Mady suddenly lifted her tentacles as she saw no changes in them, neither in her upper body… except a strange blood tattoo in her back.

"That is the catalyst of the power that the artifact will grant you, it does look quite pretty"

Adelle had the small scarlet tattoo in her chest, while Gaby in her belly.

"I do feel like I have a greater vitality now…" (Adelle)

"Indeed… It as if my strength had multiplied several times…" (Mady)

"Ah! I gained the Bloodsucking Skill…" (Gaby)

"I gained Monstrous Strength Skill" (Mady)

"Amazing! I also got it!" (Gaby)

"This is more wonderful than I thought" (Adelle)

It seems that these artifacts grant several Vampire skills to non-vampires, without having to convert them, it was certainly a miraculous item, some of my wives desired it as well. I considered the idea of crafting something similar with my own blood, though I would have to ask the recipe to Agatheina.

Afterward, it came the two artifacts that were once from two Champions. The first one was a long rapier covered in a crimson metal and decorated with incredibly small ruby jewels. Its name was Rapier of Blood; Agatheina, just like the Goddess, and it came with her blessing included. It had a nice affinity with Alice, so she got it.

"Oh? This rapier really does fit me… I can feel it calling for me… it asks for blood! … I'm joking"

The last one was a large dark-colored spear with bat-like decorations and covered in dark metal and black jewels named Midnight Spear of Nihilism, Levana.

It exuded an eerie aura but seemed to be welcoming of Acelina more than me. Even though Acelina had just recently changed, her devilish new looks were enough to enchant this weapon's will.

I gave it to her as she released a burst of refined laughter.

"Ohoho~ This match my new devilish aesthetics if I say so myself~! Thanks, my love! I will make use of it to release the malice within my new form!"

There were also Lesser Legendary Accessories, which were distributed evenly around everyone, including my children, these items were covered in Agatheina's and Levana's blood, so they had a small part of their Divine Blessings.

Of course, I also kept some for myself, which I will use in the future to make my own equipment set stronger.

Before leaving for the Dungeon, I said my goodbyes to Mady, Nephiana, and Adelle, who will stay in the Golem Castle resting while watching over their children, they should be giving birth/hatching the eggs in some more days… although Nephiana's eggs incubation had extended a lot, so I can't really tell.

Hugs, cuddles, and kisses were delivered, as my Slime Clones would take care of them in my absence. I have managed to connect them with my own mind, so instead of them being just a copy of my mind or a split mind, they are directly connected to me, so it would be as if I've never left.

"Take care, Kireina, conquer that dungeon," said Mady, as she hugged me tightly and gave me a passionate kiss.

"Hopefully, you're back before Belle is born! You better hurry up, I don't want you to take so long like the Forsaken Labyrinth, that was ridiculous!" complained Adelle, she wanted to spend more days cuddling with me without doing anything else.

"I know… we will do it fast, don't worry," I said, patting Adelle's adorable head and silky blonde hair, as I stole her a kiss which she did not resist.

"I don't even know when will they hatch, their period of hatching has been extended a lot, and they still seem very healthy and strong… but hopefully you can come back before they hatch," said Nephiana, embracing me with her wings, giving me several small kisses.

"I hope so as well, and even if I can't, I will teleport here immediately using the gate I installed in the castle, don't worry"

Our party was all of my children and the rest of my wives included, alongside new members of my harem, like Oga and the Centaur Twins, Aleksandra wanted to come very badly, but I left her doing paperwork with the supervision of the Rin Sisters.

The trip back to the Cilane Kingdom only took a few minutes, as we were back in this Kingdom of eternal winter, my children who haven't seen this in detail admired the scenery and the eternal ice storms.

The sky was cloudy and white, and small particles of ice gently fell over from the sky, forming small gatherings of pure white snow, several Centaurs were already not present, and most of the population were now Ice-type Demi-Human, Monsters, and Undead.

There were Yuki-Onna and their children who are usually Ice Goblins or Ice Trolls, Ice Ogres, with blue skin and white fur, large Wendigos disguising as giant beasts with their magic pelts, Ice and Tundra Ghosts and Winter Slimes.

Morpheus church was converted into a golem and moved to my Empire, where I placed it right to the side of my own church, so the people could pray for him, even non-centaurs. Agatheina and Levana churches were also constructed again, as I didn't manage to bring them over.

About the Winter Slime and Ghosts, some monsters had escaped the dungeon and had developed intelligence after becoming my citizens and receiving my blessings, so they were accepted as citizens and happily moved to Cilane, where they can be at ease with a temperature that is more comfortable for them.

There was a group of Ice Ogres that I summoned months ago in the Dungeon's Gacha, they became citizens after working very hard and quickly made several families with their strong sexual stamina and the women desiring to form families, often young Hobgoblins and Trolls.

There were new shops and stalls everywhere, selling the delicious food produced back in my Empire. Like hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, bento boxes, and carbonated juice, sodas.

There were already several buildings converted into crafting workshops to produce valuable items for everyday needs, like lamps, freezers, beds, clothes, tools, and so on.

In a few days, Cilane had become a big industrial-oriented Vassal Nation.

As we bought some food for the trip, Vudia and Ailine began to eat juicy burgers alongside orange juice, while flying close to me and their mothers.

I bought a small bento bot with rice, sliced Wyvern meat covered in barbeque-like sauce, and Walking Fish meatballs covered in a spicy red sauce, there was also carrot and other vegetables pickled and covered in dressings, it was a full meal in a small pocket-sized bento box, for only a few credits.

Reaching the outskirts of the Cilane Kingdom there is a surrounding wild area, an Icy Forest where strong Ice-type monsters roam around, only very skilled hunters could explore these places in the past, but by usually strong citizens, saw this forest as another place where one can gather easy meals in the form of monsters.

There are mostly very large Ice Wolves, Hairy Pigs, and Ice Elementals, however they have been hunted a lot. On our trip, we saw several of my citizens hunting down giant pigs and wolves, some celebrating having leveled up.

"Things had certainly changed… this place was mostly left alone, so monsters roamed freely, but now look… there is even a paved road and the monsters instinctively fear people now…" analyzed Sofarpia, with a calm gaze.

"Indeed… there are even some Centaurs being instructed by master's citizens, how wonderful" added Sofelaia.

As we dived depth within the forest, on its center, abandoned ruins made out of what seemed to be frozen gold bricks showed up in the distance, some explorers were already going in and out, however they seemed rather tired.

I approached them and asked what it was, but they seemed to become even more frightened after seeing me.

"UWAH!"

"T-The Empress?!"

"A-And her family!"

The Explorers party, consisting of five people, a Yuki-onna wearing mage attires, a small goblin wearing thief clothes, a troll wearing armor, a Fire Salamander wearing fighter clothes, and a Oni-type Chaos Human woman wearing cleric clothes kneeled on the ice of the floor.

"C-Calm down… you don't have to be frightened of me, my citizens… Hm? Aren't you…?"

The Yuki-Onna, the Goblin, and the Troll had familiar faces… now that I think about it, they are the same guards I once met in the outside Wall of my Empire…

"Oh, you three are Explorers as well?"

The trio froze, and then slowly stood up.

"To think that the Empress recognizes us?" said the Goblin.

"How blissful…" said the Yuki-Onna, putting her hands in a praying position.

"T-Thanks for the lunch of that day, Empress-sama" nodded the troll, with a thankful and humble tone.

"Don't worry about it! So, why are you here? This place is dangerous, I was about to conquer it"

The trio then glanced at each other, the Fire Salamander boy and the Chaos Human girl began to ask questions.

"You guys know the Empress-sama!?" asked the Salamander boy, bewildered.

"Incredible, expected from our senpais!" praised the Oni-type Chaos Human girl, with a happy smile in her beautiful red-skinned face.

"Yeah…and about us being explorers, you see, Empress-sama…" (Goblin)

"We wanted to taste delicious monsters!" (Yuki-Onna)

"That time… when you shared that Dragon meat with us…" (Troll)

"It awakened something within us!" (Yuki-Onna)

"Greed!" (Goblin)

"Desire to grow stronger so we can eat more delicious monsters!" (Troll)

"I-I see… I would recommend you guys to go back to the city, for now, this Dungeon is a high-level dungeon that I haven't taken for myself yet, so it's not as monitored and you may end up dying…"

The trio seemed understanding.

"We understand"

"Please, have a nice exploration with your family, Empress-sama!"

"The best of lucks!"

And the three then carried away the dumbfounded Salamander and Chaos Human away. Although they seemed to be running away than anything else.

"O-Okay… bye!"

My children glanced at me with smiles, some were chuckling.

"Haha, mommy you scared them!" said Vudia.

"What?"

"You did, your Aura… it's being constantly released…" said Ailine, containing her chuckles.

"That's right, that's right…" said Ryo, giving the explorers a bitter smile.

"Mom, try to maintain your Aura inside of your body if possible…" said Amiphossia, seemingly reprimanding her own mother.

"O-Okay, I see… I just instinctively coat myself in it and all of you as well… I will try to be more sociable and contain it within my body…"

And with this small scene, we entered the Life-Attribute Dungeon, and the first thing that greeted us was a large, fifty meters tall golden lion, which was incredibly enraged and covered in daggers, arrows, and swords, red blood dripping from its small wounds…

"Were those guys fighting this thing…? oh, I see why they ran away, aside from my intimidating Aura, they feared me reprimanding them for leaving an angered monster to greet us…"

"Growl!"

The giant Golden Lion, who was mildly wounded roared, as its footsteps made the floor tremble, its shiny mane released sparks of light and its Aura was strong and filled with vitality.

"Is this a Life-Attribute Monster, guu?" asked Rimuru, as she calmly admired the enraged Lion, who launched itself towards us.

"It does have something different than other monsters and beasts we have fought before…" analyzed Zehe.

"Oh, I wonder how it tastes, with such high vitality… Dark's Death Vertical Slice!" wondered Nesiphae, as she jumped into action, raising her large Battle-Axe and releasing an Axe Technique.

SLASH!

"GROWL… GEEEEH…!"

Nesiphae's Battle-Axe sliced through the hard fur, skin, and flesh of the Lion, however, it was stopped by its strong bones, however the Lion roared in pain, releasing a voice unfit of a Lion…

The Lion roared, opening its mouth wide, suddenly, a bright yellow light surged from within, releasing a powerful beam of what seemed to be Light and Life Attribute towards Nesiphae.

"Little Lion, you shouldn't resist~! Armor! Venomous Guard!" said Nesiphae, protecting all of us from the large beam as she covered herself in a powerful dark armor made out of metallic scales, then she released an Armor technique, increased her defenses with a Poison Attribute barrier.

FLASH!

The beam was completely blocked by her as the light dissipated, the Lion tried to go around the large Nesiphae, aiming towards Rimuru.

"Oh? Rimuru, it's yours!"

"Guuu! Come here, little Lion!" said Rimuru, as she raised her two swords, her Rainbow Sword and her Wind Sword, releasing a series of Mana Blade Techniques combined with her magic, showcasing hundreds of slashes of all colors.

The Lion did not possess any kind of defensive method and was greeted by Rimuru's attacks, the slashes penetrated her flesh, snout, eyes, and skin like butter, leaving traces of magic within his flesh, stopping its amazing regeneration for some seconds.

"GROOWL…!"

And then, as the Lion released its own Claws techniques to defend itself, a new threat appeared from behind it.

Zehe teleported herself through a small Black Hole and appeared floating behind the Lion, without it even realizing, countless Shadows Tentacles began to attack the lion's back. Zehe was able to use her physical techniques not only with her own body but with the tentacles that she created through magic.

The Lion was bathed on its own scarlet red blood, and Nesiphae rushed for the finishing move.

"Venomous Executer!" she said, activating another Battle-Axe technique, raising her Battle-Axe towards the lion's torso, slicing it in half.

CLASH!

Now not even the lion's sturdy bones could save it, its innards leaked out as the two halves struggled to move, he Lion's face, all disfigured because of Rimuru's onslaught, releasing its last roars of pain after closing its eyes. Its large soul popped out but was quickly absorbed by the Dungeon.

[Kireina] and her [Party] gained 1.550.000.000 EXP!]

[LEVEL 065/250 EXP 30.103.248.530/47.200.000.000]

[Kireina] defeated the boss [Golden Mane Life Lion King]

[Kireina] and her [Party] completed several conditions]

[Cheap Tactics], [Overkill], [Overwhelm], [No Item Used]

[Therefore, [Kireina] and her [Party] have been granted with corresponding prizes]

[Kireina] obtained the item(s) [Ancient Reward Loot Box (A)] x1

[Kireina] obtained the item(s) [Golden Life Blood Bottle (Mythic+)] x1