Looking at this trembling new species that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, Kael waved his wand to clean the filth from its body, then approached it actively.
Though the mare was bewildered by giving birth to such a strange child, seeing Kael approach triggered her maternal instincts, causing her to whinny in warning.
"Oh, being protective of your young?" Kael said with some amusement.
This mare was pearl white all over, gleaming in the sunlight, truly a divine steed.
Even Gandalf was very fond of it upon seeing it, specifically going to Rohan's great plains to seek similar wild horses, wanting to tame one as his own mount.
The mare was quite displeased with this human who had captured her. If she hadn't known she was no match for him, she would have given him a kick long ago. She could only snort and warn him not to approach.
Kael chuckled and waved his hand to immobilize her, then walked to the foal to carefully observe this new species.
Magically crossbred species were full of uncertainty. Some, like genetic conflicts, would die from weakness. Others would be uncontrollable, bloodthirsty and violent, attacking people on sight and impossible to tame.
These could all be considered failed products.
Only those crossbred creatures with normal bodies, certain intelligence, and the ability to be tamed could be considered qualified products.
So Kael carefully approached this newborn "foal," observing its habits to determine if it was controllable.
The foal also looked up curiously at Kael, its eagle head examining him as if trying to confirm whether he was its mother.
Kael saw its eyes were clear without any violent emotions, and his smile deepened.
He smiled and reached out to touch it. "Hello there, little one!"
The foal regarded Kael's approaching hand with cautious amber eyes, but when he gently stroked its feathered head, it immediately relaxed. Closing its eyes in contentment, it nuzzled against his palm while releasing soft, melodic cries that were distinctly eagle-like despite its equine body.
From the distant mountains, Thorondor caught the familiar sound of an eagle's call and descended with powerful wingbeats. The great Eagle landed with regal composure, but his golden eyes widened in bewilderment at the sight of the creature before Kael: part horse, part eagle, yet somehow both and neither.
As if puzzled about what species this was.
Seeing Thorondor's expression, Kael said with a mischievous smile. "Thorondor, come see your child. Does it look like you?"
"Coo coo coo?!" Thorondor wore an "are you kidding me" expression but somehow felt an instinctive closeness to this little creature.
Then instantly, as if struck by lightning, his eyes widened with shock and disbelief.
He wasn't even mature yet! How could he have a child? And one with an eagle head and horse body with wings at that?
Seeing Thorondor's expression like the sky was falling, Kael, this unscrupulous master, watched the show gleefully from the side.
Just as Thorondor was struggling with whether to acknowledge this child, Kael took out dried meat to feed the newborn creature, saying cheerfully. "Little one, from now on you'll be called Buckbeak, and your species will be called Hippogriff."
Following the principle of borrowing, Kael didn't think much and applied the species name from another world to it.
After all, they looked the same. This name was perfect.
Then Kael released the mare's restraints, letting little Buckbeak live alongside the mare.
As the hippogriff came into the world, other crossbred creatures began to be born one after another.
But what made Kael frown was that these later creatures were not only deformed but also violent and crazed by nature, completely lacking reason.
Things like lion bodies with dragon tails, snakes covered in tentacles, creatures with lion heads, wolf bodies and snake tails, wolf bodies with dragon tails wrapped in snakes, all sorts of deformed patchwork monsters.
Some could breathe dragon fire, some had venom, some were invulnerable to weapons, some even had the basilisk's petrification ability, and some had extremely high magic resistance—truly dangerous!
They wouldn't even wait for the mother wolves to give birth, either biting through bellies or burning/poisoning the mothers to death, directly killing the she-wolves.
If Kael hadn't prepared early and greatly increased his strength, he might have fallen to these monsters.
Facing these creatures with no reason, only violence and bloodlust in their eyes, even though they were powerful, Kael didn't hesitate to burn them to ash with Fiendfyre.
However, what comforted Kael was that although most crossbred products were unqualified, there were still a few qualified new species born.
Among them, the species he crossbred from Great Eagle and lion was a creature with an eagle head, lion body, and two wings, similar to griffins from the magical world.
Though this little griffin inherited some of the lion's wildness, it also inherited the Great Eagle's wisdom, showing extraordinary qualities from birth.
Kael directly named it "Aslan," meaning Lion King.
There was also a white winged horse created by crossbreeding Great Eagle and Mearas bloodlines, with the resulting embryo gestated in an ordinary mare.
Finally, there was the most complex creation: a hybrid born from the genetic fusion of four different species: dragon, basilisk, giant octopus, and warg.
Kael had long discovered that the more creatures crossbred or the more powerful the species, the higher the failure rate, and even if successfully born, they would be mindless, crazed creatures.
Like hippogriffs, griffins, and winged horses, without exception, one parent in the crossbreeding was a non-magical creature or not particularly powerful.
But more complex combinations like dragon-basilisk hybrids, basilisk-giant octopus crosses, and dragon-great eagle fusions proved genetically incompatible. Even when the embryos formed, they developed into deformed, mindless monsters.
Originally he expected this four-species combination to fail early in gestation or produce another deformed monster.
But unexpectedly, it surpassed all his expectations. The four bloodlines merged perfectly, giving birth to a three-headed wolf pup.
The pup was massive, nearly half the size of its warg mother, causing an extremely difficult labor. Finally, Kael had to perform a cesarean section to safely deliver it.
Though the pup carried dragon, basilisk, and giant octopus genes, this complex heritage showed no external deformities. Its six round, bright eyes were clear and alert, lacking the crazed, mindless appearance that had marked previous failed experiments.
Looking at the three-headed pup nearly a meter tall at birth, Kael tried approaching.
Three heads swiveled toward Kael in synchronized movement, each pair of eyes studying him with bright curiosity. After a moment of careful sniffing, all three faces lit up with recognition. Pink tongues lolled out happily, their shared tail wagging with such enthusiasm that the pup's entire body wiggled, while soft, pleading whimpers filled the air.
Just as Kael was about to reach out and pet the three-headed pup, he noticed something alarming. Saliva dripping from the pup's tongues hissed as it hit the ground, eating through stone like acid, while the nearby grass withered and died on contact.
Kael's pupils contracted in shock as he instinctively pulled his hand back.
Seeing him withdraw, the three-headed pup immediately showed pitiful expressions across all three faces, whimpering in confused distress as if asking why their beloved creator wouldn't touch them.
The truth was that Kael had been the first thing the creature saw upon emerging from its mother's womb, and it had imprinted on his scent completely. This instinctive bonding explained its desperate affection toward him.
With his Legilimency talent, he could sense the three heads were full of affection and grievance toward him.
"Hungry, hungry," the pup's thoughts were captured by Kael.
Looking at the dead warg mother, Kael had to take out milk from his space pocket, transfiguring three bottles to feed each mouth.
The three-headed pup immediately wagged its tail and wolfed down the milk.
Very curious about this unexpectedly successful three-headed pup's attributes, Kael used his wand to continuously examine their body while they drank.
The results made Kael very delighted.
This three-headed pup perfectly merged dragon, basilisk, giant octopus, and warg genes. Describing it as having copper skin and iron bones wouldn't be excessive.
Though just born, its tough fur could already resist blades, had extremely high magic resistance with ordinary spells having little effect, and possessed powerful recovery abilities.
Such a perfect, powerful creature delighted Kael greatly.
What delighted Kael even more was that because the pup's three heads shared one body, the three mouths quickly filled the stomach. Then when one head burped, it accidentally spat out sparks, instantly burning up the bottle.
Another head, though not spitting sparks, easily bit through the steel bottle with its not-yet-fully-grown teeth, and its saliva carried highly corrosive venom.
The remaining head yawned and fell fast asleep, drool spilling out and directly corroding the ground and withering the grass.
So this three-headed pup also inherited the dragon's fire-breathing ability and the basilisk's venom?
Kael's delight continued, his heart blooming with joy.
If this three-headed pup was raised well, it might not be weaker than dragons or basilisks in the future!
"From now on you'll be called Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound!" Kael happily named them.
He also separately named the three heads Little Left, Little Middle, and Little Right, simple and clear.
However, to be safe and avoid the three-headed pup turning on its master, Kael still used the method for controlling basilisks and giant octopuses, taking a drop of the pup's blood to create a blood pact preventing it from harming him.
Besides the three-headed pup, Kael also used magical contracts to bind the hippogriff, griffin, and winged horse.
Among the four successful crossbred creatures, the three-headed pup "Cerberus" was undoubtedly the most formidable.
The Griffin "Aslan" ranked second in power, possessing both a lion's raw strength and an eagle's deadly talons and beak, enhanced by the remarkable intelligence inherited from the Great Eagles. Though its wings remained featherless, they already showed clear signs of the aerial mastery that would come with maturity.
Third was the Hippogriff "Buckbeak," combining a horse's powerful body with an eagle's head and talons, capable of both ground-based galloping and aerial flight. However, it lacked the griffin's superior intellect, possessing only horse-level intelligence despite being able to understand human commands.
Finally came the winged horse, with its pearl-white coat and graceful eagle wings. While perhaps the most beautiful of the four creatures, it was primarily valued for its elegance rather than combat prowess.
Kael planned to station the three-headed hellhound "Cerberus" before Orthanc Tower's entrance, letting it guard like the legendary hellhound at hell's gates, protecting Orthanc's door from those with ill intentions.
Next, Griffin Aslan would patrol and monitor Isengard's sky and surroundings, responsible for early warning security.
Finally, the Hippogriff "Buckbeak" would roam the grassland outside Orthanc Tower but within the walls.
As for the winged horse, Kael put it in a case and brought it to Weathertop through the fireplace.
"Arwen, this is a mount I'm giving you. Do you like it?" Kael said with a gentle smile, releasing the winged horse for Arwen.
Looking at this winged foal before her, Arwen showed delight and affection.