"Lord Damien."
Hakurou stepped forward and reported, "The tally is complete. The number of surviving lizardn 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 judgnt!"
"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 lizardn have been fully organized and stand ready for your commands at any mont."
Led by the four newly ascended Dragon Lords, the lizardn 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 lizardn dared not utter a word out of turn.
"Rumble~~"
Shion manipulated the earth elents, erecting a high platform before the assembly to facilitate Damien's forthcoming directives.
"Handle the lizardn first, then address the orcs."
Damien ascended the platform with his entourage and cast a glance at Souka.
She grasped his intent imdiately 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 lizardn to the right.
And Damien was the supre 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 forr 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 enurated Gabiru's transgressions, the lizardn below fixed him with glares of unbridled fury.
These lizardn were, in truth, largely blaless.
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 lizardn...
Gabiru had abruptly summoned all the tribe's able-bodied warriors under the old chieftain's authority.
Male and female lizardn alike assembled and marched to this forest wetland.
Then...
Ca 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 !!"
"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 lizardn toward their doom.
Now, this calamity was entirely self-inflicted...
"Sister..."
"You have no right to call sister!!"
Yet Souka afforded Gabiru not the slightest asure of regard!
Had Damien not arrived in ti 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 montarily!
As for the kijin...
They were kijin, after all!
What connection did the kijin share with the lizardn?
The orcs had butchered the lizardn, and the kijin had interceded midway, bearing the brunt of the onslaught... that alone was benevolence beyond asure.
If they had adhered to Shion's strategy, they ought to have waited until the orcs had consud every last lizardman.
Only then, with all the magicules converged upon the Orc Lord...
Would it have been the optimal mont to strike!
In that scenario, the magicules and souls of the lizardn, along with those of the orcs, would all fall into their possession.
Such an imnse 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 monuntal gains, Shion had still exercised restraint, preserving a sufficient number of lizardn lives... that was comndable in itself.
Had it been anyone else, a re subtle interference could have readily amassed a second allotnt 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 lizardn."
"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 na 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 judgnt upon the traitor within our tribe. I await your further guidance!"
By rights, Souka should not have presud 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 lizardn would surpass her in might.
What was more, Souka was a familiar personally anointed by Damien.
For the sake of the lizardn... 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 sli.
***
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