Ruling over a population was no easy task, something which Cocytus was keenly aware of.

In order to test the strength of Nazarick's forces he had been ordered to conquer the nearby tribes of lizardmen, which the Guardian of the 5th Floor managed to accomplish after defeating and killing in battle the tribe leaders.

Since he had been impressed by their fighting spirit however Cocytus pleaded with his master Ainz Ooal Gown to spare the lizardmen and had received the order to rule them and instill in them feelings of genuine respect and adoration towards Nazarick.

Being able to do something like that to those who have been conquered through force was a huge task that no other Guardian had done before in the Great Tomb.

It was difficult enough to make Cocytus'various hearts skip a beat simultaneously whenever he thought about it.

But sulking about the enormity of this challenge would not bring any result with which to compensate the faith his master Ainz-sama put in him, so Cocytus steeled his resolve and moved to reach the entrance of the lizardmen's village.

That was originally just the Green Claw tribe's village, but in order to face the threat of Nazarick's army they temporarily joined forces with the rest of the lizardmen and now after their defeat it housed all the surviving members of the alliance.

As soon as Cocytus arrived the sentries gave the alarms and the non-combatants inside hurriedly retreated in the huts: despite being alone his fighting prowess had been witnessed two days before, so he was a very concrete threat should he decided to rampage inside the village.

After everyone was safe a representative came outside, a young albino female with scales that gleamed like alabaster.

Despite her age and skin condition Crusch Lulu's druidic abilities were strong enough for her to be recognized as a tribe leader, and with her other previous equals dead she was the de facto leader of her kin.

"I welcome you to the lizardmen village, Cocytus-sama. How may we be of service to the Supreme Lord of Death Ainz Ooal Gown-sama?"

"Starting. From. Today. I'm. The. One. Tasked. With. Ruling. This. Village. So. I. Would. Like. To. Meet. The. Various. Tribe. Leaders. In. Order. To. Decide. Some. Initial. Guidelines."

"Understood, may you please wait inside the assembly hall? I'll go and gather the new tribe leaders..."

With a nod Cocytus walked towards the building pointed by Crusch.

Despite being bigger than the average lizardmen houses the door was still too small for him to enter without crouching.

Once inside he started waiting with his arms crossed.

Usually if he had nothing to do he would spend the time training, and indeed the hall was big enough for him to swing his weapons; however there was the risk of him getting too fired up in his efforts and accidentally beheading the lizardmen who would soon enter.

It was also inappropriate to be seen flailing around by the people he should have a civilized conversation with so he decided to simply stand there.

That way he was also able to focus his thoughts in order to better plan how to handle the current situation: he now had to convince individuals with different goals and wishes to work together.

The different tribes also have suffered unjustices and wrongs who could prevent them from accepting to be close together if not to fight a common enemy so their mutual cooperation would not be so easy.

Once the lizardmen entered the hall they went close to Cocytus for the first time and were very intimidated by him.

They were all young because the elders were massacred by the Guardian in front of them, however since they saw him from afar they had now idea just how big he was: adult lizardmen reached 1.90 mt of height so they were slightly higher than the average man, but they could not even reach Cocytus's chest as he was a staggering 2.50 mt tall.

His looks were just as threatening as his height, being a muscular humanoid insect with 4 arms, ice spikes on his back and a great tail behind that looked sturdy enough to break a tree with one swing.

His body's blue exoscheletron was shaped like a samurai's armor and looked just as cold as the various blue eyes in his long head, while the great mandibles that protruded from his mouth seemed able to cut any of his onlookers in half.

The lizardmen's sudden arrival made the growing tension in the insectile Guardian explode as he slightly lost control of his ice powers and puffed an ice mist from his mouth, which the lizardmen misunderstood as displeasure for their delay so they hurriedly bowed:

"We apologize for the delay, Cocytus-sama!"

"It. Doesn't. Matter. Now. Let's. Begin..."

Replied the Guardian magnanimously, then since there were no seats inside he simply crossed his legs and sat.

Despite this he still did not have to raise his head to look in the eyes the lizardmen who were standing near him.

Once everyone else was seated he addressed the only one he recognized, Crusch Lulu:

"Why. Shasuryu. And. Zaryusu. Are. Not. Here?"

He was referring to the two brothers who were among the ones who challenged him in combat and who were the last ones to fall.

Cocytus had personally asked to his master Ainz to resurrect them because their fighting and strategic capabilities were outstanding, managing to outwit him twice in the two battles they fought against Nazarick.

They would surely be useful to him now, so he was disappointed they were not present.

"Zaryusu, Zenberu and his brother have been resurrected, however they're unfortunately too tired and need to recover. I hope we can make up for their absence..."

"It's. Fine... The. Supreme. Being. Ainz-sama. Has. Ordered. Me. To. Rule. You. But. In. Order. To. Do. So. You. Will. Have. To. Stay. Reunited. In. This. Village. And. Prosper."

At that point one of the tribe leaders got up and protested:

"To stay so close to opportunists like the Dragon Tooth tribe is unheard of! They would surely take all the best fishing spots for themselves! They..."

He probably wanted to continue his verbal assaults, but a sudden gust of gelid wind from Cocytus' mouth chilled both his body and his spirit.

"How. Noisy... Still. I. Commend. Your. Courage. For. Daring. To. Interrupt. Me. What. Is. Your. Name?"

"Ah-ahhh... Kyuku Zuzu, leader of the Razor Tail tribe, Lord Cocytus!"

"Kyuku. Zuzu... I. Will. Remember. That... It. Seems. That. There. Are. Enmities. Between. The. Clans. Can. You. Explain. This. To. Me. Kyuku. Zuzu?"

"Ah, just Kyuku is fine, Mighty One...

Most of the feuds came from a period of shortage of fish which made the tribes fight each other in a great war in order to survive.

The amount of food in the lake is limited, so we're susceptible to every changes and have to spread out to find new hunting spots: if we stay all together in the same place we'll quickly end up the supplies..."

"I. See. Food. Can. Be. A. Problem..."

Cocytus was equipped with items that negated any requirements for nourishment or sleep and eliminated fatigue in order to be able to fight for days without any need to rest, so he was not used to consider such ailments.

Since they were beyond his military expertise he was also unable to come up with an easy solution for this problem, however that did not mean he could do nothing.

He stood up, then moved his head around to look at each of his newly subordinates in the face:

"Umu. This. Meeting. Has. Been. Very. Useful. I. Need. To. Go. For. Now. I. Will. Return. As. Soon. As. Possible"

and exited the hall while the lizardmen bowed in deference, directed towards the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Indeed, even if he had not an answer to feed the lizardmen he knew one being whose intellect surpassed any other: his all-knowing master, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Meanwhile, numerous pairs of eyes were observing the reptilian village from afar.

A group of toadmen was spying what was happening there while hidden in the waters of the lake.

One of them then croaked:

"What our sentries said is true: our long time enemies have been weakened! Go relay that to our boss!"

A messenger quickly detached from the group and swam away directed towards the other end of the lake.

This was a golden chance for them to finally acquire the full control of the lake, they could not let this pass...