Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3036: Owlape Bloodline

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Dark Realm, Gelid Alps, Snow Elven Region, Frosell District, Frosnow City

I stood frozen inside my own Null Domain, utterly dumbfounded.

Since when had the Snow Goblins inherited the bloodline of the noble Owlapes, the ancient Ruler-class Mulias Tribe?

When the old goblin invoked Ancestral Possession, the brilliance erupting from his body had briefly taken the shape of a silver ape with the head of an owl gazing at the moon.

There was no mistaking that silhouette. It was the hallmark of the Owlape bloodline, the same bloodline carried by the Deviant Devil Mamas Mulias, the true prince of the Mulias Tribe.

A sudden realization came to me, it seems, at some point in history, a Snow Goblin had interbred with a member of the Mulias Tribe. It had to have been a male Owlape.

A female of the Mulias Tribe would sooner embrace the most horrific death imaginable than carry a goblin’s child in her womb.

The males, however…

Using the Deviant Devil as an example, they were notorious for their lack of restraint. Not every male of the Mulias Tribe was as outrageously obscene as their prince, but few would refuse the advances of an attractive female Snow Goblin.

That meant somewhere along the Snow Goblin Empyrean’s ancestral line, one of his forebears had been born from an Owlape parent.

The bloodline had survived in him despite countless generations. And now, it had answered his call. That also explained how he had escaped my Null Domain.

The Owlapes possessed an absurd racial gift. Faced with any environment or circumstance, their bloodline would adapt, producing the optimal body not merely to survive it, but to overcome it, thrive within it, and ultimately reign over it.

The old goblin hadn’t escaped through his own strength. He had borrowed the lingering power of an Owlape ancestor, allowing its adaptive bloodline to forge a body capable of existing within my Null Domain long enough to tear him free.

Judging by his earlier actions, however, Ancestral Possession clearly wasn’t a technique he could invoke without paying a steep price. Otherwise, he would have used that same ancestral power to overpower me, capture me, and drag me out of the Null Domain with him instead of using it solely to escape.

This was the true horror of the Snow Goblins. It was true for the other Goblin tribes. They could breed with almost any race, giving their offspring a chance to inherit the bloodline gifts, racial talents, and innate abilities of the foreign parent.

The odds were low, but they existed. And with a population numbering in the millions, even the slimmest probability would eventually produce extraordinary individuals.

There was another limitation, however. Those inherited bloodlines didn’t remain pure forever. Unless the Goblins continuously refreshed their gene pool by breeding with other races, the acquired bloodlines would gradually dilute over successive generations until the gifts and abilities were eventually lost.

That was why, despite their overwhelming population, only a tiny fraction of Goblins possessed remarkable talents.

It was also why, every mating season, Goblin tribes continued the age-old tradition of raiding neighboring races and abducting both women and men. To outsiders, it appeared to be little more than barbaric custom. In reality, it was the very foundation of the Goblin race’s continued evolution and survival.

Letting out a long, disappointed sigh, I cast one last glance at the Null Domain. A thought quietly surfaced in my mind.

Could the Mulias Tribe also comprehend the Null Rule Meaning and step in and out of Nothing and existence the way I did by relying on their bloodline? The possibility seemed unlikely.

The Owlapes’ adaptive bloodline was undoubtedly extraordinary, but I didn’t believe it was powerful enough to contend directly with the Ice Rule Source itself. If it were, the Snow Goblin Empyrean’s mother would have survived.

She wouldn’t have been forced to give birth prematurely in a secluded cave, with neither the time nor the presence of mind to inform anyone of what was happening before the Null Rule Meaning consumed her.

No. The ancestral bloodline hadn’t saved her. It had only managed to save her child. Even though that was an astonishing feat in itself, it was enough to achieve what I did through my Curse Primordial Bloodline.

I didn’t mean to undermine the Owlape Bloodline. Being able to preserve a life from the edge of Nothing, while its mother herself vanished into Null, was already remarkable enough to be remembered across generations. Retrieving my Null Domain, I reappeared in the skies above Frosnow City.

The Snow Goblin Empyrean was already fleeing into the distance at full speed. Trailing behind him was the Snow Elven elder, repeatedly calling out in confusion. What happened? Why didn’t you finish the job? Come back, damn it!

Regardless of how or what the Snow Elven Elder said, the old goblin didn’t even spare him a glance.

The moment I appeared, the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s clones and the assembled army, already on high alert after witnessing the Snow Goblin Empyrean’s panicked retreat, instinctively tensed. Fear spread through their ranks like a silent tide.

Through Mirror Heart, I sensed every flicker of that fear. Yet alongside it, I also sensed unwavering resolve. They were afraid, deeply afraid. But they were equally prepared to lay down their lives for their race and homeland without hesitation.

That kind of conviction couldn’t be fabricated. Nor could it be shaken so easily. Their collective will was simply too strong. As a result, the Spotlight Bias effect of my Mirror Heart rune found little room to affect them and manipulate their perception of me.

“Are you open to negotiation now, Your Highness?” I asked, my gaze settling on the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s clone forged from the Black Sea Tarnished Glacier. I paused just long enough for my words to sink in. “Or will you wait until I’ve slaughtered half the Snow Elven population before you begin regretting your decision?”