After the Battle Soul was fully absorbed, Arthur felt as if he had just been pulled out of water, dripping with sweat.
He shook his head in frustration. The experience of using this Battle Soul was quite unexpected.
However, feeling his current state, Arthur's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light.
His strength had once again seen a significant increase! Moreover, his body had undergone notable improvements… This improvement was different from the faint golden ancient Battle Souls he had used before; it was a comprehensive enhancement.
Additionally, the mental fatigue from deploying five of The Eyes of Horus was completely wiped away.
After stretching his body, Arthur couldn't help but murmur, "This might be the most comprehensive Battle Soul improvement I've ever seen. Well, except for those broken Battle Souls."
The initial broken Battle Souls provided the most comprehensive enhancements.
Later, disassembling some more advanced items, such as Schmidt's pistol, Hulk's pants, and Mark 1, resulted in Battle Souls that were comprehensive but had one particular focus, with some aspects being particularly outstanding while others remained calm.
The most notable was Hulk's Battle Soul, which provided an absurdly high boost to strength.
Before his thoughts could settle, someone suddenly jumped into the cabin. Seeing Arthur drenched in sweat, the person exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here all alone, getting yourself all sweaty?"
Arthur looked at Peter with a puzzled expression on his face, finding the question somewhat odd.
Peter looked at Arthur with an equally peculiar gaze: "If you really can't stand it, you could always find a friendly lady. I'm telling you, there are many warm and hospitable ladies around here, and they can definitely take care of all your troubles."
Arthur remained silent and gave Peter the middle finger.
"Haha!"
Peter wasn't offended. In fact, he was quite pleased to have a chance to mock Arthur.
Then he came up to Arthur and said, "I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first? Oh, and there's also an unexpected piece of news…"
"Bad news," Arthur replied.
"Hmm… After subtracting the cost of selling the power source from the repair cost of the Spaceship, it's probably not going to be enough to buy a new Spaceship."
Peter shrugged as he spoke.
Arthur had anticipated this and wasn't surprised and looked at Peter again.
Peter continued, "The good news is, the Spaceship should be repaired in about three days. I've already found all the necessary parts."
"And the unexpected news?" Arthur asked.
"Well, you might not believe it…"
Peter rolled his eyes and said, "You've become a hero!"
...
...
Arthur had become a hero, and a hero of the Nova Empire at that!
This wasn't Peter's exaggeration; in fact, it had become news, and the story was gradually spreading across the universe!
The news video was sourced by Peter . It featured an alien girl named Carina, who excitedly spoke to the screen: "According to reports from the Seventh Defense Force, the reason for our stage victory in this battle is mainly thanks to a certain Black-Faced Hero! It was he who, at a crucial moment, followed the orders of our Seventh Defense Force's command to launch a decisive attack, successfully killing the enemy's commander while they were caught off guard…"
She paused for a moment, her expression growing even more enthusiastic: "We have received the latest news that this Black-Faced Hero's name is… Instructor!!! Let us…"
Seeing this, Arthur darkened his face and turned off the video. "This is ridiculous!"
"Exactly!"
Peter chimed in, "It's so ridiculous! Why is it that you're the only one who made the news as a hero? We were supposed to sell a prison warden, and now we end up being heroes? This script doesn't add up!"
"…What I find ridiculous isn't that."
Arthur looked at Peter with a resigned expression.
"Then what is it?"
Peter asked curiously.
"If you were a high-ranking official of the Nova Empire, would you award the achievement of killing the enemy's commander to a complete stranger whose name you don't even know?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes and said, "If it were something happening on the ground, it might make sense, but in space, only a few people would know. They could easily keep it a secret or use it to elevate a few 'Empire Heroes' to boost public confidence, rather than giving the credit to an outsider with no known identity who doesn't belong to the Nova Empire!"
"You've got a point there."
Peter thought for a moment and then asked, "So why do you think they did it?"
"I don't know." Arthur scratched his head and thought for a while before saying, "From a noble perspective, they might be gentlemen who wouldn't deceive the public and would rather be honest than steal someone else's credit. From a darker perspective, they might be trying to shift the blame onto us, making Kree target us more aggressively in their future actions. This could give them— at least that planet— a breather and make the public think their leaders are righteous."
"That makes sense too."
Peter considered this carefully and then asked, "So which one do you think they are?"
"How would I know?"
Arthur sighed lightly and said, "We can't know the thoughts of their higher-ups. We don't have the influence or reach to dig into their secrets. But in any case, the impact is minimal."
He frowned as he spoke. If this news had any impact, it was probably just letting the Kree know his name was 'Instructor.'
And the name 'Instructor' might have leaked from Yondu.
Since he and Peter left, even if Yondu had intentionally allowed them to escape, he would still need to make a show of 'capturing' them for his subordinates to see.
Thus, it was only a matter of time before the name 'Instructor' got out.
The real issue was that someone had already seen him behead that green-skinned girl. Now it was just a matter of them knowing his name was 'Instructor.'
Simply put, the enmity was always there.
So he told Peter, "From now on, we need to be extra cautious. I'll stay out of sight as much as possible to avoid detection. Once the Spaceship is repaired in three days, we'll leave immediately! Honestly, it's fortunate that you didn't make the news. Otherwise, I'd be able to just leave, and you'd be left facing the Kree's pursuit alone."
Peter was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why would you need to slap your butt if you're leaving?"