System's POV

Chapter 508: The Path Of Evolution [Part 1]

Ratatoskr, who had just been saved by Thirteen, was immediately brought into Rocky's Mobile Fortress.

At first, the Ratman was surprised to find himself in a special domain inside a monster.

There, he found other monsters, who were incredibly strong and felt intimidated by them.

Of course, in order to make the White Ratman less anxious, Giga did his best to treat his Master's new slave—errr, guest like a pal.

It only took two hours before Ratatoskr finally calmed down and admired the helpers who had come to the Ratmen's aid.

Thirteen told the White Ratman their goal, making Ratatoskr look at him with respect and admiration.

Erica, who was looking at it from an observer's perspective, felt as if Zion was a scammer who was doing his best to brainwash the Ratman into believing that he was the Ratmen's savior.

"We are a bit short on time, so how about you drink this first?" Thirteen said as he offered Ratatoskr a goblet that was filled with something red, which smelled like blood.

"What's this?" Ratatoskr asked with curiosity.

Zion moved closer and whispered in the Ratman's ear because he didn't want Erica and Sherry to hear his answer.

"Dragon's Blood," Thirteen whispered. "A Red Dragon's blood."

The Ratmen was a race who ate the flesh and drank the blood of their prey, so drinking blood was not a problem for Ratatoskr.

In fact, the moment the white Ratman saw and smelt the fragrance of the blood in the Goblet, his bestial instincts were screaming at him to drink it.

However, his willpower won in the end, so he didn't drink the blood that was offered by him right away.

But after hearing that it was Dragon's Blood, Ratatoskr no longer hesitated and drank the goblet filled with blood with small sips, as if enjoying the taste of a delicacy that was very rare to acquire.

By the time he finished drinking the entire goblet, the Ratman's white fur turned red for a few minutes before bursting into flames.

Erica and Sherry both cried out in surprise because they thought that Thirteen had really killed Ratatoskr.

While they didn't bat an eye at killing monsters, they could tell that Ratatoskr had no intention to harm them.

For this reason, they didn't think that Zion would kill him without mercy, burning his body until he turned to ashes.

But contrary to what the two girls were thinking, Ratatoskr didn't burn into ashes.

He simply went on all fours and screamed in pain as his entire body blazed like a raging bonfire.

"Don't worry, he's just undergoing evolution," Thirteen said in order to calm the two girls.

"Evolution?" Erica asked. "He's evolving?"

Thirteen nodded. "Yes. So don't worry. He won't die… maybe."

Sherry looked at the burning Ratman before shifting his gaze at her Boss.

"Maybe?" Sherry asked.

"Mmm." Thirteen nodded. "Giga, do you still have some of that meat left? It's a waste if we don't use that flame to barbecue some meat. Who knows? It might taste awesome."

Giga made a gesture as if telling his Master "Say no more, Fam" before going to their meat storage to pick up some meat to roast over the blazing Ratman, who had fainted on the ground.

A few minutes later, Giga, the Ogres, and the Trolls could be seen holding pieces of meat on steel skewers, holding it over Ratatoskr's flaming body.

The corner of Erica's lips twitched after seeing this scene and politely declined Giga Chad's offer of eating the barbecued meat he had roasted over Ratatoskr's body.

Thirteen, on the other hand, wasn't picky and accepted the meat from the Blaze Skunk.

"This is tastier than expected," Thirteen commented, clearly enjoying the barbecued meat in his hand. "Are you sure the two of you don't want it?"

"I'll just have fruits today," Erica replied.

"Me too," Sherry seconded.

Thirteen shrugged. "It's your loss."

Several hours had passed, but Ratatoskr's body was still burning without any signs of ending.

Thirteen, who already accomplished his mission, asked Rocky to enter the Goblin Territory so that they could do their main objective.

While this was happening, the teenage boy sat cross-legged on the ground. He was sharing the senses of Tiona's clone, which had gone in a different direction than them.

In order to find the location of the Shard of Origin, the members of the Parade of the Hundred Demons scattered in different directions.

Kesari, who had become one of Tiona's subordinates, was more motivated than usual.

Even though he was now serving Thirteen and Tiona, his determination to save his race remained the same.

This was also the reason why he would not hesitate to go above and beyond his capability in order to carry out his new Master's orders.

Two days then passed in a blur.

Erica and Sherry once again hunted Goblins, sending a ripple of danger among their ranks.

News of an unknown assailant gradually spread within the Goblin Community until it reached the Goblin Emperor's ears.

At first, he thought that the Ratmen had betrayed them, but he soon realized that this was impossible to happen.

The Ratmen were bound by his decree, and since he was in possession of their Shard of Origin, none of them could defy him.

Because of this, he thought the humans, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, must've been the main culprit of the recent raids in his domain.

They had captured a few of them and had put them to work as studs to create powerful versions of their race.

In Solterra, female Goblins existed, but that didn't stop them from capturing the females of other species in order to increase their population.

Also, some of the Goblins born between a goblin and other races were born with special traits and abilities, making the Goblins prefer to mate with other species than their own.

The only time they would reproduce with each other was when there were no other options, which ensured that their race would continue to thrive even if they didn't manage to kidnap the females of other species.

"What do you think?" the Goblin Emperor asked the only human inside his throne room. "Is it those Other-Humans?"

Other-Humans was the term the Goblins used for the humans that suddenly appeared in Fractured Heaven who didn't belong to the Human Kingdom located in the North.

"It's possible," the middle-aged man replied. "I don't think the Lizardmen will go all the way here in your territory when they are busy with the Ratmen."

The Goblin Emperor nodded in agreement before raising his fist.

"Find them!" the Goblin Emperor ordered. "I don't care if you bring them back to me dead or alive, but make sure to find them and bring them to me!"

"""Yes!"""

Countless Goblins raised their weapons in approval before leaving the throne room in haste.

They were enraged that someone dared to mess with their kind and right inside their domain.

The Goblin Emperor knew that any variable would hinder the plan that he and the King of the Humans had agreed upon.

So it was best that they eliminate any threat that could potentially stop the plan that could free them from the cage that had held them captive for hundreds of years.