Red Dragon, but chosen by all four gods

Led by Tarek, a team of young people ascended to the upper levels of the Dragonblood Temple.

Just as the beast-like inhabitants from White River Valley possess many different characteristics, these young people with spirit-like traits also have their own unique characteristics.

Their eyes display different colors, including some rare pupil colors.

Some people have two horns on their heads, some have one horn, and some have no horns at all.

Their common characteristics are that their skin is reddish, they have sharp teeth, and they all have a pair of pointed ears.

They were the first mortals to be received at the Dragonblood Temple after its completion.

When they reached the upper level of the Dragonblood Temple, they saw a completely different scene from the lower level.

There were no categorized small cave areas, nor were there magic circles everywhere.

Before them stretched a vast platform area that seemed to extend as far as the eye could see, flanked by massive stone pillars that had been directly carved out and then reinforced.

This area was created by hollowing out the mountain and was used by Heros for dragon gatherings, so it is not a closed cave.

Although the four walls were not broken through, the front and back were open, allowing the dragons to fly in and out at any time. The space was also large enough to accommodate more than a dozen adult dragons moving around at the same time.

This vast and open area intensified the tension among mortals as they prepared to meet the dragon.

The wind that blows through the mountains is a pleasant breeze to the dragons, but a raging storm that could overturn them at any moment.

The people in the group unconsciously moved closer together, following closely behind the dragonborn warriors.

Soon, they met the master of the Dragon Blood Temple.

Along the stone wall, steps were carved out layer by layer. These steps were not for mortals, but for dragons.

The blue dragon they had seen was sitting on the top step.

Looking beyond the blue dragon and upwards, one sees a massive stone throne suspended high above the rock face, upon which sits a majestic red dragon.

Most of the inhabitants of the White Mist Forest have never seen the Red Dragon, but they have heard of its reputation.

It should be said that among the mortal races of Eladica, no one has not heard of the Red Dragon's formidable reputation.

In the terrifying dragon calamities passed down from generation to generation, the red dragon is the absolute protagonist. Its brutality and evil are deeply etched into the heritage of mortals, teaching future generations the instinctive fear of seeking advantage and avoiding harm.

However, when they saw the red dragon, they were not as nervous as they had imagined.

It wasn't because the red dragon hadn't fully grown up yet, nor because of its distinctive golden-red scales and the dragon horns surrounded by a fire elemental aura.

In fact, these mortals, under the protection of Seraria, lived on the Gem Islands in the Misty Sea. They had never seen a red dragon since birth and could not distinguish the size and appearance that a red dragon should have.

What drew them to the red dragon was its unique majesty.

It was as if a born king was looking down on his subjects, or as if a supreme ruler was waiting for his people to pay homage.

In any case, there was no fear of having one's life threatened at any moment; on the contrary, the tension that had existed since entering the Dragonblood Temple was also eliminated.

In short, by the time they came to their senses, they had already spontaneously knelt down before Heros, along with the dragonborn warriors.

"Lord Dragon, as you commanded, I have brought back the people of the White Mist Forest," the leader, Tarek, reported.

Heros's gaze swept over the group of mortals.

He is now adept at using the technique of "patient persuasion." He can test Corleone's willpower with a single sentence or soothe the emotions of these mortals without uttering a word.

"Elf bloodline... Fairy? And mixed with some hellish blood." Heros quickly made a rough judgment about the bloodline characteristics of this group of prospective familiars.

Maglen had once reported on the bloodline characteristics of these people. As one of the five dragons, his inherited memories could also help him distinguish these racial characteristics inherited from the Golden Age.

But when Heros saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but be amazed by this bloodline feature.

Since he hatched, he has seen many novel bloodline characteristics.

The Milhar tribe, for example, incorporates some characteristics of troll blood, which is already considered relatively simple.

The Galahren family is a product of the curse of werewolves, and most of their lower-ranking members exhibit various bestial characteristics, suggesting that they embraced the magic of shapeshifting in the continuation of their race.

Even more astonishing is the Lortheran family. Although they claim to be of elven blood, in reality, they are mostly cursed by vampires.

A kind of undead-like being, whose curse was passed down, was accepted by some mortals who may have a trace of elven blood. They were continuously integrated in the Godfall Era, and eventually gave birth to this group of "vampires" who love "destructive art".

And these inhabitants of the White Mist Forest are even more wondrous than the Lortheran family.

Fairies are magical creatures, and their power even originates from the outer planes of the spiritual realm. In legends, they often use fantastical magic.

It is quite reasonable that offspring with fairy bloodlines would exhibit a small amount of magical aptitude.

At the same time, the hint of hellish bloodline they displayed reminded Heros of the demons in hell.

That was the complete opposite of fairies, yet it could manifest itself in a group of mortals at the same time.

Moreover, it seems that the two forces have merged quite well and are being displayed relatively stably in these mortals—at least in the group that Maglen selected.

Heros couldn't wait to cut open their bellies and study them carefully.

As Heros's thoughts surfaced, the group of mortals who had been kneeling peacefully suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, their hair stood on end, and an uneasy feeling immediately spread through them.

Seeing this, Heros quickly withdrew his "influence" and reassured her again:

"Have you sworn allegiance to the Golden Dragon Court?"

The moment Heros spoke, the unease vanished. The mortals assumed it was their imagination, and upon hearing the red dragon's question, they immediately swore in unison:

"Yes! We swear to serve the Golden Dragon Court and protect our homeland!"

Heros nodded slightly and said to Maglen, "Since your retinue has sworn allegiance, you may take them with you."

"Inanna has already made arrangements for their resettlement, so you don't need to worry about it. However, they have many lessons to learn if they want to become your dependents, and you'll have to complete those yourself."

"Yes, thank you for your help, brother."

Maglen stepped down the steps and led the group of mortals away from Tarek.

Tarek's trip took a considerable amount of time, but the result still satisfied Heros greatly.

After Tarek's explanation, Heros also roughly understood the situation on the other side of the White Mist Forest.

Overall, due to the bloodline of its inhabitants and the fact that the forest does indeed contain many places where magic gathers, the spellcaster system inherited in the White Mist Forest is more advanced than in other territories.

At the same time, all the noble lords also worshipped magic, and a trend of taking pleasure in absorbing magic power even emerged.

However, the aptitude of spellcasters is still rare. Most noble lords do not possess such aptitude; they merely enjoy the thrill of having their bloodlines activated by external magic.

Despite the fact that such pleasure would further deplete their vitality, they still enjoyed it immensely.

Therefore, these "natural spellcasters" who could actively gather magic power for them to absorb became highly sought after.

Even when faced with Maglen's visit, they tried to be perfunctory and were unwilling to relinquish their respective spellcasters.

These spellcasters, supported by the nobles, enjoyed high status and resources, and felt their lives were quite comfortable, so they had no desire to answer the call of the Golden Dragon Court.

Heros speculated that there might be some influence from the fairy bloodline involved.

Fairies are magical creatures who are free-spirited and pursue laughter and fun.

Hearing this, Heros asked curiously, "So how did you manage to get them to obediently come to the Golden Dragon Court and swear allegiance?"

"You once said that becoming a dragon descendant who is loyal to you is like receiving a second life."

"My brothers and I were once in despair, but we received your favor and salvation."

"In that case, I'll just let them end their lives the first time."

Faced with this question, Tarek, who usually has no expression, showed a rare smile.

"I spent some extra time finding the addresses of these spellcasters one by one, according to Lord Maglen's records."

"While they were providing magical energy to the nobles, they secretly intervened to cause their magical energy to go out of control, causing them to lose their respective noble employers and bear the guilt of murdering nobles."

"When I reappear then and announce the Golden Dragon Court's call to arms, they will naturally rush to serve the Dragon Court."

Upon hearing this, Heros seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

"Hahaha! Very good, I like what you did, Tarek. How did you come up with this idea?"

"Back when I was a wanted criminal, if I wanted to recruit the men under a nobleman, I would often help him 'take out' the nobleman above him, making him a wanted criminal as well, and then he would accept my recruitment."

Heros was in a great mood.

As for those nobles, not to mention that they dared to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, Heros will replace them all sooner or later, so be it if they die.

Those who are valuable and capable will be promoted and appointed, and soon the Gem Islands will no longer need these nobles who manage local territories.

In the future, in Heros's imperial ambitions, there will only be officials, not nobles.

Dragonborn can easily sense the Dragon Lord's intentions, not to mention that Heros has no secrets of his own.

It was precisely because he understood Heros's thoughts that Tarek was able to confidently use this method to "recruit" his followers.

Having finished discussing the White Mist Forest, Heros brought up a new matter:

"I have a new task for you."

"My mother told me that her enemies would never stop attacking and would continue to assault the Jewel Islands."

"Makaros also said that he had received some information from noble lords and suspected that some advance troops had already infiltrated the Gem Islands."

"I have decided that you will lead the team on the Golden Dragonborn's patrol mission, to inspect the various territories."

"If you discover anything, do not alert them. Report it to the Golden Dragon Court as soon as possible. We must wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"in addition……"

At this point, Heroston paused:

"If these insects want to lurk on the Gem Islands and cause trouble, they will definitely seek the support of the local nobles and offer them their own benefits."

"Therefore, you must thoroughly investigate these nobles, understand?"

Tarek understood immediately and withdrew, accepting the order.

Having completed the mission in the White Mist Forest, Heros had great confidence in Tarek.

Finding the lurking enemy is important, but even more important is—making money.

He has largely completed the theoretical part of the second stage of the dragonborn modification surgery, and now a lot of experiments are needed to verify it.

This requires a large amount of magical materials, which cannot be fully supplied by the Golden Dragon Court, so we have to "take" them from those who have stock.

What Heros needed was to drag all the noble lords in his current territory into the fray as soon as he discovered any trace of the enemy, and then empty their treasuries.

As for whether they will defect to the enemy because of this?

To be honest, Heros didn't care.

For these nobles, dragons possessed absolute power.

Only a mother who doesn't like to meddle and has a kind heart would tolerate these parasites wantonly covering up and greedily taking advantage of others.

Moreover, Heros estimated that these vanguard forces, having traveled thousands of miles across the Sea of ​​Mist, would inevitably need to rely on local resources to carry out their mission, and a noble with an empty treasury would be of little use to them.

This can be considered a form of scorched earth policy.

Even if Tarek and his men mishandle the situation and kill some noble lords, it wouldn't be a big problem.

When they died, their subordinates naturally took their place and became the new noble lords.

As long as the overall rules and order of the Gem Islands remain unchanged, the nobles who have long coveted the position of lord will vie for power.

As for whether they will plunder the lower-class people after taking office, leading to the collapse of the overall order of the Gem Islands?

Once Heros completes the second phase of the modification surgery, he will be able to mass-produce Dragonborn warriors.

At that time, all nobles will have to step aside, and the dragonborn who are absolutely loyal to the Golden Dragon Court will become officials and take over the entire Gem Islands.

That time is not far off.

Even when their mother had to enter the Dragon's Rest, they were still unable to deal with the enemy's threat and had to abandon the Gem Islands in order to complete these important goals.

System management experience, knowledge of surgical modifications, and the "Azure" triggered by the modification order, as well as the "Verdant" triggered by the creation of a large number of Dragonborn, are all great assets that can be taken away.

In addition, Heros was planning another famous event.

The labor force of more than three thousand ordinary people is still quite considerable.

After Tarek's attack, Heros plans to use some of the resources and magical materials he earned to renovate his mother's dragon nest.

He had already built his own Dragonblood Temple, and he couldn't bear to see Seraria still living in that crude dragon's nest; even Heros himself couldn't stand it.

He planned to build a dragon's nest that would satisfy Jinlong's aesthetic sense.

Of course, such behavior might trigger the "Dark Purple" in the "Dream Palace," but Heros did not act for that purpose.

She'll be so happy when Seraria comes back.