Chapter 83 - 79: Bloodlines Can Be Fused?
Chapter 83: Chapter 79: Bloodlines Can Be Fused?
「The next day.」
Velin and several of his guards appeared at the entrance to the prisoner camp. His purpose for this trip was to size up the captives and determine how much value he could get out of them.
Thirty Rock Breaker Knights were scattered across the muddy ground, clutching their cramping stomachs. The moment they saw Velin enter, their gazes turned hostile.
Velin paid them no mind, walking calmly and unflinchingly through their midst. In his mind, information on one person after another began to appear.
He passed a Knight with a broken arm, whose eyes were filled with hatred.
[Brian Ironfist]
[Level: Level 3 Knight]
[Bloodline: Grip of the Earth (Bronze Tier) 29%, Mixed Bloodline 71%]
[Abilities: Hand Axe Mastery, Horsemanship Mastery]
[Overall Evaluation: Robust physique. An excellent Knight. Bloodline concentration has reached the activation threshold and can be purified at a relatively low cost.]
’I’ll remember that,’ Velin noted to himself, continuing on to the next without breaking stride.
[Solon]
[Level: Level 3 Knight]
[Bloodline: Son of Adamant (Black Iron Tier) 27%, Mixed Bloodline 73%]
[Abilities: Horsemanship Mastery]
[Overall Evaluation: Sharp reflexes and a decent talent for defense. Bloodline concentration has reached the activation threshold and can be purified at a relatively low cost.]
One sample after another was silently analyzed, each representing a precious resource that could be directly converted into combat strength.
Velin’s heart began to beat a little faster.
He felt less like he was inspecting a POW camp and more like a miner who had stumbled upon an undiscovered gold mine!
His gaze finally landed on the Half-Dwarf in the corner. When the string of data flooded his mind, his breath caught in his throat.
[Ola Stonebeard]
[Level: Level 4 Knight]
[Bloodline: Oser Tactician (Silver Tier) 42%, Hill Warrior (Silver Tier) 17%, Mixed Bloodline 41%]
...
[Overall Evaluation: Enormous bloodline potential. An extremely rare bearer of a dual-race bloodline. The two bloodlines within his body show no signs of rejection and have the potential to fuse. An excellent research subject.]
[Modification Plan: ...]
’Fusion?!’
Velin stopped dead in his tracks, forcing himself to keep his expression calm.
’This is too strange.’
Whether it was the scriptures of the Church, the propaganda of the Empire, or the heritage of noble families, they all emphasized one thing—bloodlines were a gift from the heavens, determined at birth.
But now, the system was telling him that two completely different bloodlines not only didn’t reject each other but could even... fuse?
A forgotten fragment of memory suddenly surfaced. The texts in the Empire’s history books that praised the emperors of old mentioned more than once that the great monarchs would exhibit traits like "draconic majesty" or "scaled dragon arms."
’Could it be... that this wasn’t just flowery language, but the literal truth?’
’Could that be the result of bloodline fusion? Or perhaps, the ancestors of the imperial family were "half-breeds" who had fused with dragons?!’
The idea seemed absurd, yet it aligned perfectly with his own series of modification experiments. Whether it was plants or insects, after undergoing modification, they all developed new bloodlines and transformed into new species!
Previously, Velin had assumed this was a difference between non-sentient and sentient beings, but now... it seemed he just hadn’t explored that particular field yet.
The rules governing this world were clearly not as simple as they appeared on the surface. How many secrets were hidden behind the Empire and the Church’s prohibition on bloodline research?
The path of scientific research has always been to hypothesize boldly and verify carefully.
For now, Velin decided to believe in the possibility of this theory and would slowly verify it in his future experiments.
He stood there dazed for a while before rubbing his numb face. Ignoring the probing gazes of the others, he walked to the center of the camp.
To peer into the deeper rules of this world, he had to completely win over this Half-Dwarf. Not only win him over but also make him a willing participant in the experiments.
However, the time wasn’t ripe. Ola and this group of Knights still needed to have their rough edges worn down by a bit more time in captivity.
Velin then cleared his throat, making sure his words reached everyone’s ears.
"Starting today, you will all undergo ’labor reform.’"
The Knights weren’t surprised. This was a common practice in war; after all, no one was willing to feed thirty-some mouths for free.
"Those of you who are literate will go to Newly Town’s night school to be teachers. Those with exceptional martial skills will go to the garrison to be instructors."
A stir went through the captives, and looks of relief clearly flashed across some of the Knights’ faces.
Being a teacher or an instructor was far more respectable than doing farm work in the fields or mountains.
"As for the rest of you," Velin paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "you’ll be shoveling dung for the scarab beetles."
The air froze. The faces of all the Knights first flushed red, then turned an ashen gray from humiliation.
This was trampling their honor underfoot! Making them serve the very insects that defeated them?!
In the midst of the silence, a hoarse voice spoke up.
"I’ll go."
Ola rose from the corner and walked out, his face devoid of expression.
’I want to go shovel dung for those insects.’
All the Knights stared at their commander with looks of utter disbelief.
But Ola ignored his comrades’ stares. He wanted to see for himself just what those monsters were. He needed to understand exactly how he had lost.
"Fine," Velin nodded. ’Letting Ola see the gap between us is good for both of us.’
Outside the camp, a commotion arose. Ola’s gaze traveled over Velin’s shoulder toward the distance.
Not far away, over a thousand newly arrived serfs were being herded by the militia into a block of vacant residential houses.
Their movements were numb, their eyes vacant. The scene was identical to when Ola used to manage his own domain.
The corners of his mouth split into a self-deprecating smile.
"Baron Velin, congratulations on acquiring eleven hundred ’troubles.’ I was a lord for twenty years. I know better than anyone that managing these good-for-nothing wastes of space who only know how to eat and wait for death is far harder than killing a thousand enemies on the battlefield."
He leaned in closer. "You’ll find that their numbness and stupidity are sharper than any enemy’s sword. They’ll wear away your patience, bit by bit, drain your energy, until they turn you into someone just like me... a failure. Enjoy it."
With that, he spun around and strode toward the guards, ready to be taken to the scarab beetle nest.
Velin watched his retreating back, feeling not even a ripple of emotion. In fact, he found it rather amusing.
’A failure? Ola has no idea what the root cause of his own failure is.’
’These feudal-era nobles are still stuck in a mindset of enslavement and oppression.’
’They think they can extract value just by setting up layers of overseers and cracking a few whips, completely unaware that the labor costs, waste, and corruption from such crude management can actually outweigh any gains in efficiency.’
Velin had no interest in wasting his own energy on such things. That system should have been obsolete long ago, just like slavery on Blue Star—it only disappeared because clever rulers invented more efficient means of exploitation.
Like his merit point system, for example.
The best way to get a person to take off their coat isn’t to rip it off them, but to lead them into a sauna.
He knew the first opportunity to win over this stubborn Dwarf had arrived.