Red Dragon, but chosen by all four gods

"Hmm... This bloodline is interesting. After the arthropod and beast bloodlines are fused, they can actually exhibit the same characteristics at the same time. Why is that...?"

Seeing Heros deep in thought as he probed the test subject's internal organs with a steel needle, Mortar gently interrupted him:

"Brother?"

Heros snapped out of his daze, stopped his investigation, and pulled out the steel needles and all the other tools.

After checking and confirming that no tools had fallen into the test subject's stomach, he gave Motal a look.

Motar then began suturing and treating the experimental subjects.

After doing all this, Motar let out a heavy sigh of relief.

This job was more tiring than she had imagined.

By the end of the day, just maintaining the lives of the experimental subjects and doing odd jobs like suturing wounds had almost drained her of her magic.

For a fledgling dragon, she has done an excellent job.

But for Heros, such an experiment was just the beginning.

He waved his hand, and Mortal, as if granted a pardon, quickly flew away from the experimental cave and returned to the dragon's nest, where she needed to rest.

Although he can use simple healing spells, his non-fire-related spells are ineffective due to his strong affinity with fire.

Unless he can get Makaros to work for him, Mortar the little green dragon is more cost-effective at this stage.

Mortal went to rest, so Heros took out his notebook and quickly recorded today's experimental data while saying to the man on the lab table:

"You're quite good. Out of all the test subjects today, you were the only one who didn't utter a sound the whole time."

"Thank you for the praise, Dragon Lord. Will this help your experiment succeed?"

The man's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible; he had nearly ground his teeth to powder in order to endure the pain.

Heros looked up from his notebook, glanced at him, and then lowered his head again.

"That's right. With such a strong will, you are very likely to become the first person to gain power from my experiment."

"But until then, you are not qualified to call yourself my family."

The man grinned, a smile that seemed to acknowledge the good news.

He then stepped off the operating table with Hill's help and returned to his cell.

Before he left, Heros asked, "What's your name?"

"Tarek Togard".

……

"Togard".

Heros briefly recalled.

"There is no such surname among the noble lords of White River Valley... or even the entire Gem Islands."

"That would probably be ordinary people from the lower classes."

"With such a strong will, he also has many scars on his body from years of hard work."

"He should have been a good soldier."

"But thinking about it, it makes sense. How could those nobles possibly send their own people here?"

Heros was somewhat disappointed.

This man has a rather special bloodline, and the experimental data he provided is also very valuable.

Part of his skin has been replaced by the exoskeleton of an arthropod.

This makes his defense and strength far exceed those of ordinary people.

This controllable exoskeleton could be incorporated into Heros's modification program as an optional "modified organ".

If there were an entire family with this bloodline, it would be difficult for Heros to guarantee that he wouldn't be tempted.

Another thing that disappointed Heros was that all day long, he heard prisoners begging for mercy and breaking down in agony, cursing and screaming.

We haven't heard any genuine cries of injustice.

If such a thing existed, let alone "patient persuasion," Motar could easily determine its authenticity.

If it involves nobles framing someone... to be honest, it would be a waste not to use a knife that's been delivered to your door.

Overthrowing the territorial order of a noble family could very well earn you a "Azure" reward.

Unfortunately, there were several instances of people crying foul while spewing lies, but not a single one was genuine.

Those lords and nobles didn't try anything funny with him!

But it doesn't matter, Heros will rewrite the entire order of the Gem Islands sooner or later.

This reward is unavoidable.

After recording the various data of the "exoskeleton shell" in his notebook, Hill happened to walk in again.

"Young Master Herlos, Lord Macaros needs to speak with you." Hill's tone was full of wariness.

After three years of atonement, Hill has washed away his stain.

Instead, she has a scar next to her eye, indicating that she has been on dangerous missions.

However, despite this, she remained wary while performing her duties to Heros.

She was afraid that she might accidentally be led astray by Heros again.

However, the commander always assigned her the task of serving young master Heros, which caused her considerable distress.

"I understand. I've just finished here and will head back to Dragon's Nest right away."

Heros felt a little guilty towards Hill, so whenever something came up, he would ask Macaros to let Hill work for him.

The main purpose was also to show Makaros that he was primarily responsible for what happened back then.

"You keep watch here. I'll have Mortar take care of the prisoners' daily needs with Maglen and Furdom. You don't need to worry about it."

"By the way, if Anglu finds this place, absolutely forbid him from going in, lest he get excited and cause trouble again."

"Yes."

……

Heros flew back to the dragon's lair and found Macaros waiting for him in front of the lair with a dragonborn army.

He roughly estimated the number of Dragonborn Guardians, which was about half of the total, and was quite surprised.

Each Dragonborn Guardian is incredibly powerful. Under normal circumstances, Makaros only needs to lead a ten-man squad to handle most situations.

Moreover, ever since he ran off to "mess around," Macaros has rarely led a team out. Most of the time, he guards the dragon's lair by himself, while the dragonborn guards carry the communication stones to various territories to handle affairs.

Now that Seraria isn't in Dragon Nest, what happened that she organized such a large team, with even herself fully prepared?

Heros swooped down and landed in front of Macalos:

"Macalos, what happened?"

"Young Master Heros, a major calamity has occurred in a territory. It is very likely that a deep abyss rift has opened, and I must set off immediately to seal it."

"The Abyss Rift? In the Gem Islands?"

Heros found it somewhat unbelievable.

Since entering the Godfall Era, Eladica has been shattered, and many areas with unstable space have experienced invasions from outer planes.

In many places, because the space was so shattered, it has lost its original form and merged with the laws of the outer plane.

These places may be filled with unpredictable spatial turbulence, and terrifying astral objects often intrude. There are even rumors that mysterious and dangerous remnants of the gods also drift among them.

These areas are forbidden zones that life cannot easily cross.

It is also known as the "Godfall Wasteland".

To date, Eladica is filled with "Godfall Wastes" of all sizes, both visible and invisible, and their numbers are constantly increasing.

This is why mortal races live such difficult lives, and most of them have to beg for the protection of great beings in order to live in a corner of the world.

Only beings like dragons can easily traverse most of the "Godfall Wasteland" and still maintain the powerful survival capabilities of the Golden Age.

In the series of events generated by "Godfall Wilderness", the Abyss is always the outer plane that likes to take the lead.

Demons, who are fond of killing and lack intelligence, will eagerly rush out of the rift, turning everything into ashes and wasteland.

However, as the location Seraria chose for her dragon's lair, the Gem Islands have a very stable spatial environment, making it unlikely that abyssal rifts would appear there.

That's why Heros was so surprised.

"It's possible that the local nobles have mistakenly reported another calamity; I must go and verify it myself."

Makaros explained simply, time was of the essence, and he quickly outlined the arrangements:

"Master is not here, Young Master Heros. If you encounter any accidents, you can contact me directly using the communication stone on your person."

"as well as……"

Macaros stared at Heros and said, word by word, "Please, don't go out until I return, okay?"

"Okay, I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to go out."

"That's good."

Seeing that Macaros was about to leave, Heros suddenly thought of something: "Macaros, if it really is the Abyss Rift, could you bring back some demonic items if you have the chance?"

"For example, limbs, organs, or some stored abyssal magic."

Macaros glanced at Heros and breathed a sigh of relief: "To be honest, Master Heros, the fact that you're making this request suggests that you probably don't intend to go in person."

Heros shrugged.

"As you wish, my young master."