"Lord Damien."
Hakurou stepped forward and reported, "The tally is complete. The number of surviving lizardmen stands at 14,072."
"The orc army of 500,000 has lost more than half its forces, leaving 250,000 remaining."
"Moreover, they have all lost their fighting spirit and await your judgment!"
"Hm, you've all worked hard."
"It is the honor of us kijin to ease your burdens."
With that, Hakurou joined Ogerpon and Shion, following behind Damien to serve as his escorts.
This was to ensure no reckless fool dared to offend their sovereign.
"Lord Damien!"
Souka added, "The lizardmen have been fully organized and stand ready for your commands at any moment."
Led by the four newly ascended Dragon Lords, the lizardmen had gathered obediently in a corner of the forest wetland that remained relatively intact.
They were deeply curious about the transformations in Souka and the others.
Yet, intimidated by the draconic aura and the suppression of their bloodlines, the lizardmen dared not utter a word out of turn.
"Rumble~~"
Shion manipulated the earth elements, erecting a high platform before the assembly to facilitate Damien's forthcoming directives.
"Handle the lizardmen first, then address the orcs."
Damien ascended the platform with his entourage and cast a glance at Souka.
She grasped his intent immediately and brought forward Gabiru, who clung to life by a thread, on the verge of death.
"You deal with this one first, Souka."
Damien had no interest whatsoever in a fool like Gabiru.
He sat aloft on the vine throne crafted personally by Ogerpon, then placed Rimuru at his side like a body pillow.
Before him, the orcs were arrayed to the left, the lizardmen to the right.
And Damien was the supreme deity, gazing down upon all mortal beings.
"Yes!"
Souka nodded subtly and stepped to the forefront of the platform.
"My kin!!"
"I am Souka, daughter of the chieftain!"
"Today marks a cataclysmic day for our lizardman," Souka declared, pointing accusingly at Gabiru. "All because of him... my former brother, the young lord of the lizardman, Gabiru!"
"He incited rebellion, seized power through usurpation, and even slew his own father with his own hands!"
"Afterward, he sowed deception, leading our restless tribe astray and misleading you all."
"He nearly consigned our entire lizardman to oblivion in this very place!"
As Souka enumerated Gabiru's transgressions, the lizardmen below fixed him with glares of unbridled fury.
These lizardmen were, in truth, largely blameless.
They had not been present when Gabiru provoked Souei.
Even now, they remained ignorant of Damien's existence and bewildered by the unfolding events.
In the recollections of these lizardmen...
Gabiru had abruptly summoned all the tribe's able-bodied warriors under the old chieftain's authority.
Male and female lizardmen alike assembled and marched to this forest wetland.
Then...
Came the orcs, surging like a tidal wave, followed by wave after wave of fallen kin.
Friends, family, siblings...
They had witnessed their companions slain by the orcs, their flesh gnawed and devoured.
Such horrors resembled a nightmare, etched indelibly into their minds.
"Gabiru!!"
"Return my father and brother to me!!"
"My child had only just reached adulthood, and because of you, they're all gone..."
"Traitor!!"
"Gabiru, you lunatic... why would you do this?"
"...."
The barrage of accusations and invectives filled Gabiru, who still retained his wits, with dread and remorse.
He had erred, placing blind faith in Gelmud's falsehoods, and had personally steered the lizardmen toward their doom.
Now, this calamity was entirely self-inflicted...
"Sister..."
"You have no right to call me sister!!"
Yet Souka afforded Gabiru not the slightest measure of regard!
Had Damien not arrived in time to bestow her with power...
Souka could scarcely fathom how many of her kin's lives she might have preserved had she been delayed even momentarily!
As for the kijin...
They were kijin, after all!
What connection did the kijin share with the lizardmen?
The orcs had butchered the lizardmen, and the kijin had interceded midway, bearing the brunt of the onslaught... that alone was benevolence beyond measure.
If they had adhered to Shion's strategy, they ought to have waited until the orcs had consumed every last lizardman.
Only then, with all the magicules converged upon the Orc Lord...
Would it have been the optimal moment to strike!
In that scenario, the magicules and souls of the lizardmen, along with those of the orcs, would all fall into their possession.
Such an immense cache of souls, once refined by Justeaze...
Might well yield two... or even three... True Demon Lords for the monster kingdom.
Consider: after Rimuru's evolution, who would next earn Damien's favor?
Undoubtedly, it would be Shuna and Shion, as kijin and among Damien's earliest familiars.
Confronted with such monumental gains, Shion had still exercised restraint, preserving a sufficient number of lizardmen lives... that was commendable in itself.
Had it been anyone else, a mere subtle interference could have readily amassed a second allotment of soul energy.
"The atrocities you have wrought leave no recourse but death!"
With this thought, Souka's loathing for Gabiru surged to its zenith.
"Furthermore, I hereby revoke your title as young lord of the lizardmen."
"A monster like you, who murdered your father and kin, is nothing short of a disgrace to our lizardman!"
Her proclamation complete, Souka lifted her dragon spear, thunderous energy coiling at its tip. "Here and now, in the name of the lizardman's new chieftain, I pronounce your execution!"
A bolt of lightning erupted, reducing Gabiru's form to utter annihilation.
There was no maudlin spectacle.
Souka granted Gabiru no opportunity for contrition.
For he was unworthy!
"Thud!"
Having concluded the deed, the young woman braced herself on the dragon spear and dropped to one knee. "Lord Damien, I have executed judgment upon the traitor within our tribe. I await your further guidance!"
By rights, Souka should not have presumed to declare herself chieftain, overstepping her bounds.
Gabiru's blunders had undermined the very foundations of their lineage's authority, and Souka would inevitably face repercussions.
Yet the young woman had no alternative.
Fortune had favored her; she had inherited the Dragon Lord factor from Damien's essence.
This ensured that no dragon among the lizardmen would surpass her in might.
What was more, Souka was a familiar personally anointed by Damien.
For the sake of the lizardmen... for the dragonewts's destiny... Souka had to step forward, to lead them and thereby secure Damien's esteem and confidence.
This, too, served as her burden and penance for Gabiru's failings...
"Hm, you handled it admirably."
Damien rose, depositing Rimuru into Ogerpon's grasp, paying no heed to the child's playful squishing and molding of the slime.
***
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