"I think I get what you an."
Damien recalled Gabiru from the original story... a rather foolish character.
Not all Lizardn were self-important fools like Gabiru; so, like the Lizardman chieftain and the future follower of Souei, Princess Souka, were quite intelligent.
But such individuals were the minority.
The Lizardn's general attitude reminded Damien of a certain arrogance from his past life's world, full of self-assuredness.
On reflection, it wasn't surprising.
The Jura Forest had three dominant races: the Ogres, Orcs, and Lizardn.
The Orcs numbered in the hundreds of thousands but lacked individual strength.
The Ogres were strong but too few in number.
The Lizardn, with tens of thousands and individual strength above C-rank... so even reaching C or B... saw themselves as the forest's protectors, inherently superior to other races.
"Forget it."
Damien decided to ignore the Lizardn for now. "Souei, co back."
"Yes, my lord!"
The Lizardn had rejected his alliance proposal.
Damien wasn't petty enough to hold a grudge over it.
Alliances were their choice to make.
He wouldn't force his will on others, demanding they follow his plans or face consequences.
"Lord Damien?"
Shuna noticed Damien set down his utensils, wondering if her cooking wasn't to his taste.
"It's fine, it's not about your food, Shuna."
Damien shared Souei's report about the Lizardn with Shuna, Snow Empress, and the others present.
"What ungrateful creatures these Lizardn are!"
Shion was the first to speak, indignant. "Should I go teach them a lesson, Lord Damien?"
"Just a lesson?"
The Ice Empress was far more ruthless. "If they won't submit, just wipe them out!"
"Uh…"
Even Shion was taken aback by her extremism. "That's a bit much, Ice Empress."
"Is it?"
The Ice Empress didn't think so.
In the world of soul beasts, it was kill or be killed.
In the Jura Forest, Damien was undeniably the strongest, and by a wide margin.
Not declaring war on the Lizardn and allowing them to live in the forest was already rciful.
Yet they still refused.
If it were her, she'd have stord their tribe and scattered their ashes long ago.
"Enough, Ice."
The Snow Empress intervened. "This isn't the Far North, and the Lizardn aren't mindless beasts."
"They have their own culture and customs, like the Ogres."
The Snow Empress had studied the Ogres's traditions, centered on a code akin to bushido.
Without Damien's great favor and Ogerpon's presence as a superior kin, subduing the Ogre would've been difficult.
In the original story, even the Majin Gelmud's attempt to na the Ogre was refused.
The Ogre would rather face extinction than compromise their principles.
This showed how hard it was to subdue the Jura Forest's monster tribes.
The more civilized they were, the harder it was to suppress them with force alone.
The Ogres, Lizardn, Orcs, and Tengu were more human than monster.
Yet, they differed from humans.
They were too stubborn.
"Sotis, dignity outweighs life."
Shuna noted, "The wolves submitted because their entire pack was defeated."
This wasn't to say the wolves lacked integrity or were cowardly.
Rather, as beasts, they didn't prioritize dignity and freedom above all.
You wouldn't expect a dog to refuse food offered in disdain, would you?
That would be absurd.
Moreover, as the wolves evolved into beastn, they shed their beastly instincts, gaining a pack trait: canine loyalty to their master.
"Let's leave it at that for now."
Damien said, "We don't need the Lizardn's strength anyway."
Subduing nearly 30,000 Lizardn at once would yield a terrifying amount of magicules.
Even at a 3% return from naming, that'd be close to 5 million magicules.
But for Damien, the difference between 7 million and 12 million magicules wasn't significant.
Naming them was another matter.
For the Ogres, goblins, and wolves, naming was a blessing.
But for the Lizardn?
Begging to na them would be deaning.
Did he look like he had magicules to burn?
"Your naming is a transformative opportunity for them." Snow Empress said.
"It's the Lizardn who fail to appreciate it."
Her words earned unanimous agreent.
"Exactly, it's their loss for not seizing this chance." Shuna added.
Shion snorted, "They're just blind!"
"We'll discuss it when Souei returns."
Damien estimated that with Souei's speed, he'd be back from the Lizardn's wetlands in a few hours.
Sure enough, Souei soon appeared before him.
Kneeling on one knee, head bowed, he seed to be apologizing for the Lizardn issue.
"Rise, Souei."
Damien said, "Good work."
"It's my honor to serve you, my lord."
Souei's tone was calm, but his words were heartfelt.
Having received such favor from Damien, he longed to repay him.
"You did well investigating the Orcs."
Damien continued, "As for the Lizardn…"
"What exactly happened?"
"Didn't you demonstrate the Kijin's strength to them?"
"I did, but…"
Recalling the situation, Souei still found it bizarre. "They didn't believe it."
"What?"
Shion shot up, furious. "What do you an, 'didn't believe'?"
You could say they weren't scared... that Shion could understand.
But not believing?
What kind of nonsense was that?
"Exactly what it sounds like."
As Souei spoke, he projected the events using shadow magic.
In the shadowy images, Souei overwheld hundreds of Lizardn with ease.
Even their trident-wielding leader was defeated in a single move.
Of course, Souei hadn't killed them.
He'd rely taught the arrogant Lizardn a lesson.
"That's perfect, isn't it?"
The Ice Empress, propping her chin, approved. "That's exactly what those fools needed."
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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