Moon Bay, Waning Crescent Island.

The cool and bright moonlight cascaded from the night sky, and the grievously injured leader of the Lantern Fishmen, having dragged himself ashore from the sea, lifted his head. Reflected in his view was the golden Hatchling Dragon, whose scales still shone resplendently under the night’s veil.

Each golden scale, diamond-like, glittered brilliantly.

Not a single scratch marred them.

“My critical strike… it didn’t even leave a mark on it? What kind of monster is this? Even for a dragon, this seems too powerful.”

The Lantern Fishman leader’s heart was filled with unimaginable emotions.

A critical strike was the culmination of a Spirit Warrior’s entire spirit, energy, and mind, concentrating nearly all of their psychic power into one moment of explosive force, capable of defeating foes beyond one’s level.

However.

This strike, bearing the full will of the Lantern Fishman, had no effect whatsoever.

“It wiped out a tenth of my Power Essence, not bad.”

“If it were an ordinary Tier 6 creature, it would have suffered greatly.”

Saga pondered, his gaze falling upon the Lantern Fishman leader, taking a brief measure of his opponent.

Now, with large areas of his fish scales shattered and blood streaming, the Lantern Fishman leader had lost the desperate vigor he initially possessed, replaced by a sense of decay.

“Is this a severe blow to the spirit?”

Saga’s eyes narrowed slightly, noting the leader’s luminous tendrils drooping listlessly, almost devoid of luster.

The golden Hatchling Dragon looked down, its deep voice resonating directly in the mind of the Lantern Fishman leader:

“Fishman, choose to be a slave or a kin of the dragon.”

Slave or kin. The Lantern Fishman leader’s gaze dimmed; he wished for neither, but he had no choice in his current state.

The difference between a slave and kin seemed clear-cut.

As a slave, it meant they were unwilling to submit to the dragon’s might, merely captured and enslaved by force, serving Saga out of necessity.

To become kin meant abandoning the dignity of the Lantern Fish tribe and swearing loyalty to Saga.

After a moment of hesitation.

“The Lantern Fishman will serve you and become your kin.”

“I will instruct my tribe to serve you wholeheartedly, only hoping you will treat them well.”

The Lantern Fishman leader bowed his head, his voice weak as he spoke.

Dragging his injured body, he struggled to stand and addressed his tribe in the language of the Lantern Fish: “People of the Lantern Fishman tribe, do not resist the rule of the True Dragon. Becoming the dragon’s kin does not mean we lose our dignity. The True Dragon has shown sufficient power. Following the True Dragon, we can achieve better development.”

His voice grew fainter as he spoke.

However, Saga could clearly see that the Lantern Fishmen, forcibly gathered, looked at him with eyes full of resistance. These creatures, prouder and more dignified than the average Sapient Being, were reluctant to accept their chieftain’s compromise.

They became restless, chattering in the Lantern Fish language, their demeanor quite agitated.

“Why should we choose to submit?”

“If we were in the Frozen Ocean, within the empire created by our Lantern Fish tribe, the empire would not stand idly by.”

“We are the Lantern Fish tribe, not some inferior sea race. We have our own dignity and glory!”

Saga could not understand their words, but he could roughly grasp their meaning through psychic whispers and sense the resentment and anger in their tone.

They seemed unable to comprehend why their leader would willingly give up the dignity of the Lantern Fish tribe.

The Lantern Fishman leader tried to soothe them, but to little effect.

His already weakened voice was drowned out by the indignant clamor of his tribespeople.

“Your tribesmen seem not to understand the situation,” Saga said, turning to the Lantern Fishman leader.

The leader, out of concern for his people and considering the future of the tribe, had given up his dignity to submit, but was instead met with insults and misunderstanding from his tribespeople.

Unlike the Shark Tiger tribe, the Lantern Fish had higher intelligence, being creatures that commonly used rudimentary psychic abilities.

However, higher intelligence meant having their own thoughts, which made them harder to manage. The chieftain’s prestige was not as strong as that of tribes like the Shark Tigers. In contrast, the Shark Tiger tribe placed too much trust in their respected leaders, and if the leader made a wrong decision, it could lead to the tribe’s utter ruin.

These two models each had their pros and cons.

At this moment, seeing the doubtful and distrustful eyes of his tribespeople, the Lantern Fishman leader’s already injured spirit sank further, as if the sound of breaking echoed in his heart.

His expression twisted slightly, wanting to say something, but his severely injured body swayed and collapsed to the ground.

The Lantern Fishman leader’s spirit and body were both heavily damaged.

Especially his heart, which had suffered a severe blow, leading to self-doubt and denial, causing the Spirit Warrior to step towards death.

“Chieftain!”

Seeing the Lantern Fishman leader suddenly fall, the Lantern Fishmen became even more agitated, some breaking through the Shark Tiger blockade and rushing towards what they perceived as the instigator of their woes, the golden-scaled Saga.

The Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon roared and bellowed, sweeping its claws and smashing its tail, crushing the Lantern Fishmen who charged at Saga, which somewhat calmed the rest, though they remained restless and angry.

The Lantern Fishman leader turned to look at his tribespeople, sighed, then turned his gaze back to Saga with difficulty.

“Slave or kin. Let them choose for themselves.”

“I don’t care anymore.”

His voice was low, the light in his eyes dimming, and as his words fell, the Lantern Fishman leader’s psychic energy and life force faded away.

The little Hatchling Dragon swished its tail, frowning on its facial armor.

“Really? Just blocking your critical strike without a scratch caused such a blow to the spirit?”

“Hmm… The reaction of its tribespeople also exacerbated the mental trauma.”

The Lantern Fishman leader’s injuries were severe, but he could have been saved. It was his own loss of the will to live that led to his hasty death.

With the prestigious leader dead.

This meant that Saga would lack an effective manager for the Lantern Fishmen, and given their resentful demeanor, if they were forcibly taken as kin en masse, they would likely cause trouble behind the scenes.

“The spirit is so fragile, unable to withstand a single blow; death is a release.”

“Otherwise, to live on would be to suffer endlessly in spirit.”

Now that the Lantern Fishman leader was dead, Saga lifted his chin and looked at the restless Lantern Fishmen, speaking softly, using his psychic power to convey his will to their hearts:

“Choose.”

“For the sake of your insignificant dignity, stubbornly resist me, and I will fulfill your wish, making you the lowest slaves, preserving the dignity you cherish, allowing you to indulge and exult in it.”

“Or, let go of this laughable dignity of the weak and swear loyalty to me.”

As a dragon, Saga also valued dignity and glory.

But Saga believed these were the privileges of the strong; only the strong were entitled to talk about dignity and glory.

Of course, the weak could also pursue dignity and glory, but only if they could ignore the tremendous cost of the pursuit. If they couldn’t even ensure their basic survival, what dignity and glory could they speak of?

In the distant Frozen Ocean, there was a vast Lantern Fish empire with many legendary Lantern Fish and even demigod-level powerhouses. The Lantern Fishmen also belonged to the Lantern Fish tribe, and there were many Lantern Fishmen citizens in the empire, including legendary ones.

However, this did not change the fact that the Lantern Fishmen of Moon Bay were weak.

Although they belonged to the Lantern Fish tribe and took pride in the empire established by the Lantern Fish in the Frozen Ocean, they were not recognized as citizens by the empire.

In the eyes of the legitimate citizens of the Lantern Fish empire, these remote dwellers were no different from savages and were not acknowledged as their kin.

At the same time.

The emotional turmoil of these Lantern Fishmen provided different feedback to Saga.

The vast majority stubbornly refused to serve, preferring to be slaves or to die.

But there were some Lantern Fishmen who showed awe towards Saga, hoping to serve him and become kin of the dragon.

There were also those who suppressed their anger, trying to appear submissive, contemplating biding their time.

Saga saw through them all, not needing the Lantern Fishmen’s response. He pointed with a dragon claw and said to a Tier 3 elite Lantern Fishman, “You, temporarily take the place of the Lantern Fishman leader.”

Then, selecting a few other Lantern Fishmen, Saga said:

“Assist him, manage your kin well. Do a good job, and I will consider you my kin, not slaves. Those who perform well, I will grant opportunities beyond your imagination.”

Saga had chosen those who did not resist him and even revered his power.

In other words, a group of turncoats with little racial cohesion.

This type of Lantern Fishman, who feared power but also aspired to it, made up about one-twentieth of the population, a very small proportion indeed. The majority of the Lantern Fish tribe were quite stubborn at heart.

The Lantern Fishman selected as the new leader was bewildered but couldn’t help feeling overjoyed.

“Thank, thank you, True Dragon, no, thank you, my lord, for your recognition.”

Under normal circumstances, how could it be his turn to be the leader?

Suddenly being chosen as the leader excited this ambitious Lantern Fishman.

“Maglar, are you going to betray your race and become a traitor?”

At that moment, a Tier 4 Lantern Fishman shouted angrily, glaring at the Lantern Fishman chosen by Saga as the leader.

“This…”

Maglar hesitated, subconsciously looking towards Saga.

The golden Hatchling Dragon was expressionless, extending a dragon claw.

Among the Lantern Fishmen, this Tier 4 individual was the most resistant.

If not for being on the opposing side, Saga would have admired such a character. But since they were enemies, there was nothing more to say.

Whoosh!

With a thought from Saga, an invisible and powerful force erupted.

The Tier 4 Lantern Fishman’s expression changed, feeling as if invisible ropes had bound him. His body uncontrollably moved, flying sharply, pulled towards the oppressive golden Hatchling Dragon. But before he could touch it, a repelling force burst forth, crushing and rolling him on the ground.

Until he lay at the feet of the new Lantern Fishman leader.

Shaking his head, the Tier 4 Lantern Fishman saw the traitor of his own kind looking down at him with schadenfreude.

The Tier 4 Lantern Fishman felt humiliated, roaring with rage, trying to stand and resist, but a sudden heavy pressure descended, overwhelming his already injured body from the Yellow Crystal Earth Dragon, forcing him to kneel.

His limbs strained to support his body, preventing him from lying flat on the ground.

At this moment, Saga’s gaze narrowed, his voice resonating in the mind of the Lantern Fishman leader he had chosen, slow and unquestionable: “Let me see your resolve to serve me.”

Whoosh!

Black Shark appropriately tossed a serrated bone knife, dropping it in front of the Lantern Fishman.

The new leader was momentarily stunned, subconsciously picking up the serrated bone knife, but he did not act immediately, hesitating amidst the angry glares and curses of his kin.

“What, what do you want me to do?” he asked Saga in his mind.

The golden Hatchling Dragon’s gaze narrowed, his calm words like a sea brewing a storm: “You don’t know what you should do? Then what use are you to me?”

He intended to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

Moreover, there was a more important meaning—to stir up internal strife within the Lantern Fish tribe, to divide them internally, and to make the conflicts among them irreconcilable.

To make the vast majority of Lantern Fishmen, who would be slaves, hate the managers chosen by Saga, forcing these turncoats to hope even more to serve Saga well, to find ways to work for him, and even to oppress and control their own kind, to feel the dignity they had abandoned.This method was simple yet effective, and Saga was not the only one using it.

Many kingdoms, even empires, employed similar tactics for managing other nations and even their own citizens. The specifics might differ, but the overall pattern and core were largely the same and consistent.

The sapient beings oppressed by such means often didn’t feel it, and even if they became aware, without the power to break free, they could only numbly accept their fate in helpless resignation.

The new chieftain of the lanternfish people hesitated for a few seconds.

It looked around and saw the hateful eyes of its kin.

But for some reason, a surge of anger suddenly grew within.

Initially hesitant to act, the new chieftain of the lanternfish people, upon feeling the disgust from its own kind, steeled its heart and gripped the serrated bone knife thrown to it by the black shark.

Raising the serrated bone knife, the lanternfish person fiercely slashed at the neck of a fourth-tier lanternfish person.

Hiss!

The fish head tumbled to the ground.

At the same time, the new chieftain of the lanternfish people turned around, knelt before Saga with its back to its tribespeople.

“My lord, I will serve you with all my heart and soul!”

It bowed its head deeply as it spoke.

At this point, other than pledging loyalty to Saga, the lanternfish person had no other way out.

“Remember, the power I grant you can be taken back at any moment.”

A meaningful smile appeared on the faceplate of the golden Hatchling Dragon.

Witnessing this execution-like scene, the captured lanternfish people erupted in rebellion once more, but they were ruthlessly subdued by the yellow crystal earth dragons and the shark-tigers.

Saga extended a dragon claw, pointing at the captive lanternfish people, selecting those with the strongest rebellious spirit, gathered them together, and repeated the process, allowing the chosen managers, who had little sense of identity with their own kind, to deal with them.

In less than ten minutes.

The heads of the most rebellious lanternfish people fell, those who revered Saga became managers, and the remaining ordinary lanternfish people were turned into slaves.

With that, the handling of these lanternfish people came to an end.