"Are you… Are you the lord that Lady Sakurako spoke of?"

On the other side, the one chosen by the goblins to serve as their temporary clan leader was none other than the elderly goblin from the original story.

He wore a dusty brown cloak, leaning on a cane, his frail body looking as though a gust of wind could knock him over.

"Yes, my name is Damien."

Damien wasted no words and declared, "My purpose has already been conveyed to you by Sakurako and the others."

"Under the witness of Miss Treyni, I will accept your allegiance and grant you my protection."

"From this day forward, you will be my people, obeying my commands."

"I make this promise to you."

Damien said seriously, "As long as you remain loyal to me, I will protect your lives and possessions from any who would harm you!"

"Are you willing?"

The goblins didn't fully grasp the weight of Damien's words.

All they knew was that they, weak goblins, were about to receive the protection of a powerful being.

In the world of monsters, the strong reign supreme.

Living in the forest, where survival was never guaranteed, having someone willing to protect them in exchange for their freedom and loyalty was only natural!

In fact, Damien was being remarkably merciful.

"We're willing! We're willing!"

"Praise to you, great master!"

And so, the goblins gathered before Damien fell to their knees like dominoes, pledging their loyalty.

[Acquired 8600 Goblin Followers]

[Calculating Total Magicules]

[Calculation Complete: Goblins Total Magicules: 258860 EP]

[Unique Skill 'Leader' Begins Consolidating Magicules]

[Consolidation Complete]

[Acquired 78000 EP Magicules]

"Ugh!"

The sudden surge of magicules overwhelmed Damien for a moment, catching him off guard.

His magic capacity expanded, triggering a cascade of reactions. Official source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Boom!

With Damien at the center, his magic power erupted as a shockwave, spreading in all directions. A brilliant blue pillar of magical energy, shimmering with star-like particles, shot into the sky.

If not for Treyni's quick reaction, alongside the Snow Empress standing nearby, shielding the goblins from Damien's overwhelming magical pressure, the closest goblins would likely have been knocked unconscious by the force alone.

"Such… such terrifying presence!"

"Is this the power of our lord?"

"How fearsome…"

Even with the Snow Empress's protection, the goblins still felt the weight of their new master's power.

It was a vast magical force beyond their comprehension.

In that moment, countless goblins were both awestruck and overjoyed.

To think such a powerful being would accept their service.

"Damien…"

The Ice Empress and Ogerpon noticed the change in Damien.

But the two women didn't act rashly. Instead, they stayed in place, assisting Treyni in maintaining the stability of the anti-detection barrier.

With the Snow Empress by Damien's side, nothing would go wrong.

After all, in terms of combat ability, the Snow Empress was the strongest among them.

Whimper…

As for the remaining Direwolves, they were utterly stunned.

What kind of monster had they been opposing?

At the same time, the Direwolves envied the goblins for earning the favor of such a powerful Majin.

'If only… if only that lord would accept our allegiance as well.'

Unbidden, the thought arose in the Direwolves leader's mind.

Even the Ice Empress alone made resistance seem futile.

Submitting to the strong was not shameful.

To preserve their race and continue their bloodline, following a leader with a brighter future was the wisest choice.

The Direwolves was a pack species, with its own social structure.

The alpha led, followed by the main fighting force of the pack, with the elderly wolves and cubs holding the lowest status.

But Damien had no time to recruit the Direwolves.

His mind was flooded with a torrent of information, his body caught in a tempest as it underwent transformation from the massive influx of magicules.

[Detected Magicules Exceeding 100,000, Evolution Conditions Met]

[Initiating Evolution… Evolution Failed]

[Attempting Again]

[Evolution Failed]

[…]

The repetitive messages looped countless times.

Finally, when Damien was growing weary of the cycle, a fragment resembling a miniature cosmos appeared before his eyes within the core of the Cardinal World.

[Discovered Fragment of Star Dragon King Veldanava's Power. Fuse?]

[Upon Fusion, Individual Will Fully Awaken as 'Dragonoid' and Gain the Dragon Species 'Star Dragon King' Evolution Path]

"Fuse!"

Damien hadn't expected that evolving from A-rank to Special A-rank would lead to such an event.

In the original story, Rimuru's extraordinary evolution speed... reaching Veldanava level in just a few years... was speculated to stem from his identity and the Unique Skill 'Great Sage.'

Regarding Rimuru's origins, one theory held that Rimuru was the reincarnation of the Star Dragon King Veldanava, with Great Sage being Lucia, Veldanava's wife.

But Damien believed Rimuru wasn't truly the Star Dragon King.

Rather, the Star Dragon King had long since fallen, and like Rudra, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, had split his soul into countless fragments.

One of the larger fragments had landed in Satoru Mikami, who then reincarnated as Rimuru.

Damien's situation, however, was different.

What he received wasn't a soul fragment of the Star Dragon King but a fragment of his power.

More precisely, it was the authority the Star Dragon King had left in the Cardinal World.

[Notice: Individual 'Damien' Has Successfully Evolved into Dragonoid]

[Acquired Unique Skill 'Voice of the World']

[Unique Skill 'Leader' Evolved into 'Unity of All Spirits']

[Unique Skill 'Planeswalker (Exceptional)' Evolved into 'Gate of the Void']

[Acquired Special Skill 'Dragonoid Transformation']

Phew…

The evolution complete, Damien remained in a daze.

He could feel the magic power within him, now several times greater than before.

More astonishingly, through the special skill of magicule solidification, his physical capabilities had also increased exponentially.

"Power!"

"Unprecedented strength!"

Damien clenched his fist, looking at his hand to find his once-human palm had transformed into sharp dragon claws.

And behind him, a pair of ethereal, azure dragon wings... hovering between reality and illusion... slowly unfurled.

***

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