Silence!
You must absolutely submit to me.
Ke Xiu Si fully unleashed his Leader Aura, causing all the dependents present to feel a heavy, top-down pressure.
Whether it was a Wyvern, a Chimera, or an Ogre, they all involuntarily lowered their heads and knelt.
Only after all the dependents had prostrated themselves did Ke Xiu Si slowly cut open the skin on his palm with his claws.
The palm was not covered in scales, but it had thick, tough skin, so much so that even the Red Dragon himself found it difficult to cut.
The cut widened, and warm blood slowly seeped from the wound, coagulating and dripping.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Fresh red blood continuously flowed onto the boulder, pooling in a shallow pit.
The dependents still kept their heads bowed, and an air of silence permeated the space.
No one dared to look up, their gazes fixed on the ground, fearing to accidentally anger the Red Dragon and suffer a tragic fate.
Bloodline Blessing.
Ke Xiu Si murmured.
As the special ability activated under the Red Dragon's will, a strange power emerged within the Leader Aura, connecting the Red Dragon with the blood.
Immediately, Ke Xiu Si felt that the flowing blood was no longer inanimate, but something intimately connected to his body and his own bloodline.
It was even like an extension of his own bloodline, allowing him to extend his influence further and deeper.
When all the blood was completely transformed, Ke Xiu Si could clearly feel a portion of his power being separated.
But this act was not a mere giving; it was more like a tree scattering its own seeds, which would nourish itself when the time came for them to 'blossom and bear fruit'.
The still warm blood in the shallow pit flowed slowly.
It contained an incredible power.
This was the Blood of Blessing.
The dependents did not know how far the ritual had progressed or if it was successful, so they still dared not look up.
The air in the valley was almost stagnant; thousands of monsters crowded together, yet it was unusually silent.
Finally, Ke Xiu Si broke the silence.
You may rise.
Hearing their master's command, the dependents in the valley breathed a sigh of relief and rose in large groups.
But when they noticed the slowly flowing crimson blood in the shallow pit, they all held their breath again, filled with apprehension.
Who wouldn't wish to be the lucky one to enjoy a long life and powerful strength?
Langpu.
Ke Xiu Si called out the first name.
This Ogre Mage was the Red Dragon's chosen chief steward, a rare monster spellcaster, and a meritorious contributor to the prosperity of Ember Nest. What was even more valuable was that he had been so thoroughly swayed that he was utterly devoted, wholeheartedly focused on the Red Dragon's so-called grand blueprint.
Ke Xiu Si needed him to maintain his authority, possess greater power, and set a positive example for all the monsters of Ember Nest.
Langpu feigned composure, pushing up his glasses, as if he had long anticipated being the first to receive the blessing.
But in reality, he had been trembling with nervousness until the Red Dragon called his name, at which point he barely managed to calm his fluctuating emotions and put on a knowing expression.
Langpu laboriously climbed onto the rock, waiting quietly.
The blood flowed backward, surging towards the Ogre's mouth.
The blood that entered Langpu's mouth was only a portion of it, not much for an Ogre over three meters tall.
Normally, this gluttonous Ogre could even drink the blood of a mammoth dry.
But as soon as this 'Blood of Blessing' entered his mouth, Langpu's body trembled violently.
All the fat on his body was shaking incessantly.
Ah—
Torrential elemental energy flowed down his throat.
The Ogre's eyes were bloodshot, his face hideously distorted. He opened his gaping maw, large enough to swallow a human head, like a monster completely devoid of reason, showing no trace of his earlier feigned composure.
However, the scorching fire element continued to move down his esophagus into his intestines, burning his abdomen red, as if a blazing fire had appeared within his body.
Ogres were known to eat anything, with incredibly powerful digestive systems, but at this moment, he experienced an unimaginable pain in his stomach for the first time.
It's burning, it's burning!
Langpu could no longer stand. He involuntarily curled up on the ground, his massive body rolling and struggling back and forth, his arms constantly pounding the ground to vent his pain.
He hammered the boulder, making loud thudding sounds, while the Dragon Blood churned within his stomach.
Under the Ogre's thrashing, the blood, imbued with elemental power, had entered his blood vessels and was being pumped by his violently beating heart to all parts of his body, about to bring about the most thorough change throughout his entire being.
Hoo, hoo.
He lay on the stone, panting heavily. His fleshy and enormous body had become swollen and crimson, with wisps of white smoke rising from his skin. At this moment, he was like an inflated balloon, seemingly about to burst at any second.
The power of the Dragon Race was somewhat too strong for this Ogre of low bloodline.
Langpu let out low moans one after another, his voice growing weaker, but his eyes gradually regained clarity. Anyone could feel his life force gradually fading.
The Dragon Blood greedily drained his life, transforming it into immense elemental energy that filled his body.
Was it going to fail?
Ke Xiu Si made no sound, merely watching silently.
If it failed, he would regret losing a useful subordinate, but that would be all.
The Ogres gripped their wooden clubs tightly, quite nervous. They didn't have much affection for their own kind and would even unhesitatingly eat the corpses of their fallen comrades. But for this 'good at finding food' boss, they still really wanted him to survive.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Earth Goblin leader Dolo's breathing became rapid.
He had been suppressed by Langpu for too long, and once the Ogre died, and since other dependents were not up to the task, he would be able to seize the opportunity to rise and become the de facto chief steward of Ember Nest.
Thinking of this, Dolo's lips curled slightly upward.
Just then, a sudden change occurred.
Ah—
The Ogre, silent for a long time, let out a heavy roar.
He was sprawled on the ground on all fours in a peculiar posture. His swollen body continued to expand, greedily drawing in energy from the surroundings, making the air around him dry.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
His body rose and fell.
His size increased from three meters to four meters, finally stopping at over five meters.
Bony spines protruded from his back.
His hands and feet became sharper, transforming into a form resembling dragon claws.
His thick skin actually cracked open, torn apart by his own expanding body, revealing newly grown, incredibly hard red scales beneath, like a snake shedding its skin.
Only then did Ke Xiu Si realize that the Ogre Mage was not passively receiving the changes brought by the blessing, but was instead using the elemental power contained within the Dragon Blood to manipulate the magic net, constructing a spell model similar to a Fireball within his own body, thereby more thoroughly absorbing the energy from the Dragon Blood.
Doing so carried immense risk, but also yielded extremely high rewards.
And thanks to Langpu's in-depth research, his control over spells had reached a terrifying level.