Damien harbored no doubts about the loyalty of the lizardmen.
One need only look at Souka and her kin to understand.
The Dragonewt were proud, yet they could not resist the influence of their bloodline.
This bloodline suppression was not like that of Veldora the Storm Dragon, or Velzard the Frost Dragon, which rendered the lizardmen incapable of defiance.
Rather, it stemmed from Damien's bloodline factor, used through the act of naming to forge these Dragonewt.
These Dragonewt could be considered creations of Damien himself.
Thus, when facing him... their progenitor god... whether it was Souka or the ordinary Dragonewt, they felt an innate reverence and adoration.
"Next..."
With a flicker of thought, Damien summoned dozens of figures identical to himself, materializing around him.
"Shion, you and the kijin will maintain order among the orcs."
"Souka, you handle the lizardmen."
"Then, have everyone line up," Damien instructed. "I will name them."
What followed was the much-anticipated naming ceremony.
To expedite the process, Damien employed parallel consciousness.
With his mind split fifty ways, he named fifty orcs and lizardmen at a time.
During this, Damien also directed Hakurou to bring the children and non-combatants from the lizardman tribe.
After over half an hour, Damien completed the naming of all the monsters.
[Orc Race Successfully Evolved into Lycanthrope]
Lycanthrope were ranked from lowest to highest: B-rank ordinary Lycanthrope (6,000 EP), B+-rank robust Lycanthrope (9,000 EP).
Then came A-rank Lycanthrope heroes (15,000 EP) and A+-rank Lycanthrope lords (50,000 EP).
At the pinnacle were Special A-rank Lycanthropes.
Beyond Geld, ten others successfully evolved into Special A-rank Lycanthrope.
However, as Damien had only anointed Geld as the king of the Lycanthrope, these Special A-rank Lycanthrope were granted the unique title of Lycanthrope Generals.
[Lycanthrope General]
Average Magicules: 200,000 EP
Among them, two individuals who awakened unique skills were named 'Gad' and 'Gat' by Damien.
Like Geld, they were offspring of the former Orc Lord.
Yet, being younger than their brother, they had not served as orc generals charging at the forefront.
This was fortunate, as it ensured their survival until now.
[Gad]
Magicules: 250,000 EP
Unique Skill: Guardian
[Gat]
Magicules: 250,000 EP
Unique Skill: Gourmand
Guardian excelled in defense, capable of shielding others from harm... a specialization in resilience.
As for Gourmand...
This unique skill, akin to Predator, Starved, and Corroder, belonged to the family of devouring and absorption abilities.
However, its potency was a notch below the aforementioned three skills.
"In the original story, Geld's two unique skills have manifested in his younger brothers?"
Damien found this mildly surprising but gave it little thought.
After all, the Lycanthrope were his subjects.
Having more exceptional talents under his command was undoubtedly a boon.
"Henceforth, the Lycanthrope is entrusted to you."
"Yes!"
Geld responded, "Our tribe excels in agriculture, with expertise in cultivating fruits and various crops!"
"Hm, then you'll work under Treyni."
Damien continued, "She is the Minister of Agriculture for the monster kingdom and was once a dryad of the Jura Forest."
"To work alongside the legendary dryad lady?"
Learning that his future superior was a dryad of the forest, Geld eagerly agreed.
Dryads...
Every monster dwelling in the forest had heard of their renown.
Geld knew well that dryads were famed for their kindness and benevolence, serving as guardians of monsterkind.
To collaborate with such a revered figure filled Geld with immense honor.
"My Lord, what of us?"
The Dragonewt's situation was, in truth, far more favorable than that of the Lycanthrope.
It had to be acknowledged... the lizardmen's potential far surpassed that of the orcs.
Of the over 20,000 surviving lizardmen, 90% had evolved into Dragonewt.
Like the kijin, Dragonewt were A-rank monsters.
[Dragonewt]
[Magicules: 18,000–30,000]
Beyond the Dragonewt, Damien also gained nearly 1,000 assorted dragons.
This included over 800 lesser dragons, 150 mid-tier dragons, and roughly 50 high-tier dragons.
[Lesser Dragon]
[Magicules: 50,000–100,000]
[Mid-Tier Dragon]
[Magicules: 100,000–400,000]
[High-Tier Dragon]
[Magicules: 500,000+]
[Dragon Lord]
[Magicules: ~1,000,000]
Dragon Lords were capable of contending with ordinary True Demon Lords, yet, due to unique circumstances, they could scarcely achieve true awakening.
Even so, their strength was formidable, standing at the apex of the monster ecosystem in the Cardinal World.
In fact, beyond Souka and the Four Seasonal Dragon Lords, Damien identified four or five high-tier dragons with the potential to become Dragon Lords.
Yet, he refrained from anointing them as such.
"My Lord..."
Souka understood Damien's intent.
The Lycanthrope were defeated and subsequently absorbed by Damien.
In his eyes, however, Dragonewt and Lycanthrope were no different... both were newly subjugated forces.
"I will lead my tribe to amass as many merits as possible!"
"Hm."
Damien grew increasingly fond of Souka.
The young woman was perceptive, grasping the subtext behind many of his actions.
By not anointing new Dragon Lords...
He was signaling to the Dragonewt that to earn his favor, they must prove themselves through sufficient merits.
Otherwise, what right did they have to claim his preference?
They were not like the kijin, who had followed Damien from the start and earned the merit of being his earliest familiars.
Whenever Damien had rewards to bestow, the kijin were always his first consideration.
To elevate the Dragonewt's standing in the monster kingdom, we must strive harder!
Seeing Damien's satisfied smile, Souka felt a measure of relief and redoubled her focus on leading the Dragonewt.
[Monster Kingdom Population]
The kijin, including those evolved from goblins, totaled nearly 10,000.
The star wovles, through the combined efforts of Ranga and the Eighteen Wolf Guards, had subjugated nearly all the direwolf species in the forest, with their numbers exceeding 50,000.
Then there were the Kunitsu, evolved from tengu, numbering around 30,000.
Added to these were the 500,000 beastgirls brought back from the Black Bullet world, along with the newly integrated 250,000 Lycanthrope and 20,000 Dragonewt.
The monster kingdom's population neared 900,000.
The threshold of one million was no longer distant.
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that right now I'm working on a really good and promising naruto fanfic. If you're interested in reading it, feel free to give it a try:
[Naruto: Pathological Liar]
Synopsis:
After reincarnated as a worthless member of the Hyūga branch family...
Fate handed me the worst possible script, but that's fine... I was born to be the greatest actor.
Are you ready?
My name is Hyūga Kumokawa.
I'm going to weave one enormous lie.
And make the entire ninja world dance to it.
---