Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

The experiments over the past few days have made one thing clear to Leylin: the fundamental goal of the [Bloodline Evolution Potion] he developed is not to strengthen himself, but to improve the ordinary humans of this world.

Humans do not have any innate racial advantages, and their physical abilities are far inferior to those of orcs and other subhuman races.

This is why, in brutal border conflicts, human armies often need to deploy several times or even ten times the manpower to fight against the orcs.

If the shortcomings of human physical strength could be compensated for through medicine, even if it only reached the level of orcs, it would be enough to change the fate of countless people and greatly reduce unnecessary sacrifices.

Although the drug was initially successful, the problem was also obvious—the drug was too potent.

Even with the dragon blood factor diluted to Leylin's current physical condition as a standard, it is still too potent a poison for ordinary people. If used rashly, the result would most likely be either turning into a monster or accelerating aging and dying.

"I need to continue adjusting the formula, reducing the potency, and improving safety," Lei Lin thought to himself.

"Only when the potion is mild enough that even the weakest goblins can safely tolerate it can it be considered a true success and can be cautiously introduced to humans."

Another practical problem is the raw materials.

The core ingredient of the potion comes from his own blood. Although his current dragon physique makes him far more capable of producing blood than ordinary people, long-term, large-scale extraction is not a sustainable solution.

He needs to find a local, sustainable alternative to mimic or replace that particular activity in his blood.

"If only I knew the Word of Power: [Gift of Blood]..."

Leylin thought with some helplessness, that the Word of Power could directly bestow its own bloodline blessing upon others without the need for a physical blood exchange, but unfortunately he couldn't.

Ultimately, if he hadn't witnessed firsthand the weakness of humanity in this world, which stirred his sense of shared humanity and responsibility, he might not have bothered to develop such a self-destructive yet beneficial drug.

After all, even if ordinary human soldiers become stronger as a result, their effectiveness against a disaster of the "Rotten Coffin Dragon King" level would still be limited.

Their potential is probably not even as high as the Griffin King he can summon at will.

"But... we can't ignore their plight just because they can't help me," Leylin thought to himself.

Stripped of all his advantages, he is just one of the masses. This power gives him the possibility to change some things.

..............................

Meanwhile, in the Orc Kingdom, in its capital city...

The atmosphere inside the magnificent and rugged stone palace was solemn.

The current Orc King, Kasor, sat high on a throne inlaid with beast teeth and gems, his majestic face now marred by a furrowed brow.

"Great Shaman!" Kaso's voice was deep and rumbling like thunder, echoing in the empty hall.

"Has the ancestral revelation still not yielded results? Who exactly destroyed the border town of Apache?"

In the center of the hall stood an old orc wearing an old leather robe and adorned with numerous bone ornaments and feathers.

The kingdom's high shaman has just finished a vigorous ritual dance.

It was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, and its cloudy eyes still held the lingering fear of communicating with the spirits of its ancestors.

"My king... this is a disaster, a great disaster!" The great shaman's voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Speak!" Casso leaned forward, the armrests of the throne creaking under his grip.

"Our ancestors glimpsed terrifying fragments in their spiritual vision... They were the forbidden things that devoured orcs, unspeakable demons, transcendent beings that reigned above all living beings..."

The high shaman took a deep breath and uttered a word that sent shivers down the spines of all the orcs:

"It's—a dragon!"

"A dragon?!" Casso abruptly stood up, his crimson pupils contracting sharply. "You mean, a dragon turned the prosperous Apache into a dead city?!"

"It's absolutely true!" The shaman's wrinkles deepened with fear.

"In that deathly silence, our ancestors saw only a pair of eyes... as bright as the sun, as fiery as molten gold!"

"Only a true dragon could so absolutely and silently wipe out the life of an entire city in an instant, leaving not even a single survivor to report the crime!"

In reality, the Great Shaman, due to his thin dragon bloodline, only vaguely sensed a trace of oppressive aura remaining in that dead city that made his bloodline tremble.

It didn't actually see the killer, but in its and the Orc King's understanding, only the legendary dragon could have done such a thing.

"A dragon...it really is a dragon..." Kaso slumped back onto his throne, muttering to himself.

Dragons are legendary creatures that transcend ordinary racial conflicts and occupy the top of the food chain; they are natural disasters capable of single-handedly destroying a nation.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Perhaps there is no need to worry too much," the high shaman said, barely managing to regain his composure.

"The dragon's aura was fleeting and did not linger in the kingdom. It must have just passed by by chance, had a meal, and should have already left our territory by now."

"Just passing by?" Casso shook his head, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"If it happens once, it might do it again! What if it 'passes by' again one day, gets hungry, and uses our city as a granary? What if it devours our warriors as snacks?"

The great shaman was speechless; faced with absolute power, any scheme seemed futile.

Kaso paced irritably before the throne, his heavy footsteps pounding the stone bricks. After a moment, he stopped, and a series of commands rained down like hail:

"Immediately dispatch more elite scouts to patrol the western border thoroughly! Sweep it up like a comb! Any trace that resembles a dragon, even if it's just a rumor, must be reported to the capital immediately!"

"The entire army is on maximum combat readiness! Training intensity doubled! And, expansion! I want to see the army more than three times its current size within three months!"

"Your Majesty, you must not!" the high shaman hurriedly dissuaded.

"Such a massive army would consume an astronomical amount of meat daily! The output from our pastures and hunting grounds is simply insufficient to support it!"

"If we don't have enough inside, we'll take it from outside!" Casso said snarlingly without a second thought.

"Aren't there several human nations nearby? Aren't there plenty of 'two-legged sheep' in their towns and villages? Go and rob them! Go and catch them! The meat will come to you!"

"But, my king," the great shaman said with concern.

"The strength of those major human nations should not be underestimated, especially the Kingdom of Inberia in the east, which has several powerful individuals comparable to our beast generals, and its king is unfathomable. If they unite, or if Inberia leads the retaliation, we will face a bitter battle."

"What good is it for weak humans to unite?" Casso roared, spittle flying everywhere.

"The threat we face now is dragons! A natural disaster that could wipe out our race! In the face of dragons, humanity's so-called alliances are nothing but a bunch of worthless idiots! If we don't seize them now, it will be too late when we're starving and facing dragons!"

Seeing the unwavering resolve in Kaso's eyes, the Great Shaman knew that war was inevitable. He could only sigh inwardly and then consider how to minimize the losses.

"Then...My King, our plundering needs a main direction. Which human nation should we target first?"

Without hesitation, Kaso gritted his teeth and spat out a name: "The Kingdom of Inberia".

The high shaman's heart sank; his worst fears had come true: "My king, please reconsider! Inberia is a powerful nation, and there is also 'that human' in existence..."

"Just a year ago, he led only a small number of elite troops to annihilate the Gusayi nomadic tribe and set fire to all of them. That young human prince's strength is probably no less than that of our generals, and perhaps even..."

"Enough!" Mentioning "that matter" completely ignited Casso's anger, and he slammed his fist on the armrest, making a loud noise.

"It was him! He ruined the meat supplies I painstakingly prepared for the new army! The Gusayi tribe was one of my most important suppliers, and he uprooted them completely! This revenge will be taken!"

The high shaman felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew that Kaso was still upset about the lost shipment of goods, which was meant to reward and motivate the new army.

Seeing that he could not persuade Kaso to change his target, the High Shaman had no choice but to compromise: "My King, if you insist on attacking Inberia, perhaps... we should avoid a full-scale war?"

"Can we claim that we are simply seeking to reclaim what belongs to us—the humans we purchased from the Gusayi tribe but who were abducted by the Inberians?"

"Using this as a pretext to launch a limited border attack, recover losses, and then cease hostilities? This would both replenish supplies and, to some extent, avoid a full-scale conflict with Inbelia."

Kaso's bloodshot eyes darted around a few times, his anger subsided slightly, and his reason returned somewhat.

Going to war with a powerful human nation is indeed extremely risky, and the Great Shaman's proposal sounds like a compromise.

"...Hmm." The Orc King exhaled two heavy breaths from his nostrils.

"As you suggested, under the pretext of 'recovering stolen property,' organize an elite force to raid the border villages and towns of Inberia!"

"Objective: Seize population, a swift and decisive victory, and we'll retreat once we've taken enough! But we must demonstrate our power and let those humans know that offending our orc kingdom comes at a price!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will make the preparations immediately." The Great Shaman bowed and withdrew, but the ominous premonition in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.

It always felt that both the mysteriously vanished "dragon" and the soon-to-be-enraged Kingdom of Inberia could bring far more disaster to the Orc Kingdom than anticipated.