The fighting had ceased once Sha'ri had been killed and Ang'ris surrendered.
Sha'ri's remaining troops simply stopped fighting and surrendered completely once she was killed.
Ang'ris forces likewise lay down the weapons as their lord has surrendered.
The lords, commanders and civilians began to bind all the remaining 20.000 reptilian troops with lengths of rope.
Cochi has used his telekinetic ability to form a forcefield around Ang'ris so she couldn't move at all.
The halfbreed and Ang'ris was moved down to the inner yard and placed in front of their 20.000 bound troops who sat in large rows.
The civilians gathered all around them and the lord's and commanders gathered around Jack before Ang'ris and the still passes out halfbreed.
"You surrendered. But that doesn't mean you will live. You have killed too many of my people and even scarred my very own soul."
Jack stepped towards Ang'ris with a drawn sword.
"And this halfbreed. He might be my son. But he is not human, and too dangerous to keep alive!"
Jack raised his sword before Ang'ris and the boy, truly intending to strike the boy dead.
The power this halfbreed had shown them was simply too great.
If he grow up and reached adulthood. He might wield a power so great that even entire cities would bow down in utter defeat before him.
"Nooo! Please! I beg the godly system, please hear me! I surrender unconditionally to Lord Jack of the human race! If only he spares this boy!"
As on queue, something strange happened inside Jacks irises.
[Lord System has acknowledged the complete surrender of the reptilian Lord, Ang'ris. Civilians, troops and territory will completely switch to 100% loyalty to Lord Jack. Including Lord Ang'ris summoning portals.]
[One condition remains for the complete surrender and transfer of assets. Spare the half human, half reptilian boy before you]
[Do you accept the surrender?]
The [Yes] or [no] option now floated before Jack's eyes.
The other lords saw Jacks swordarm raised to strike, yet he paused.
"What's going on Jack? Why don't you strike and end this?"
Ramises had voiced the question they all had.
"This surrender isn't merely words Ramises. I see a complete surrender in the lord systems. It's true. Everything Ang'ris owns will be transferred if I accept. I have no reason to daubt the power of the system. But there is a condition if I accept. I have to spare the halfbreed."
Jack simply stated the facts.
Not because he had to share it with the other lords, but because he wanted their opinion.
They were old earth-humans like himselves and deserved, at least, an opinion in this matter.
As this could change the future for all of them.
Especially the future of the halfbreed. He didn't want to be solely responsible for the potential catastrophic disaster his future might bring, if left to live.
"I see. That truly changes things if even the system will back up the complete surrender..."
Ramises looked at the other lords and they quickly raised their opinions.
Most where against it, yet besides Ramises who wanted to leave the choice to Jack, as it was his life and pain that had created the creature, a single female spoke up for the child as well.
"It's just a child. A child who lost controle when it's mother was slain directly in front of it. Can any of you truly claim that you wouldn't do the same in his situation? It's a child who, with proper training and human love, can learn to be like us and controle his power. I saw spare him!"
Jack looked at the female lord.
She was earth-asian like Lee.
Young eccentric and beautiful. A woman in her prime.
But it was still 2 votes for the child's continued life, versus 8 lords who thought him too dangerous to be kept alive.
"Brutus. We can end this war right now. Let Jack accept this surrender and spare his people for more suffering. Who knows how many troops and villages needs to be manually conquered otherwise! Be reasonable man!"
Ramises spoke brutally honest as he pleaded with the large and bulky Brutus.
Brutus looked like a tall bodybuilder. His body had raw strength, his blue eyes a slimmer of the same lightning intelligens as Lee himself.
His light brown hair and european precense made his 40 years of life make him a solid and dependable man.
He had strength, wisdom and experience enough to make everyone truly consider his words. Which was why so many of the other lords looked to him for guidance.
"To accept the deal would make the reptilians forces join lord Jack. Even the civilians would become part of his lands. This will force the entire trade-alliance to change its views on other races completely."
Brutus stepped forward to stand next to Jack as he spoke.
"On the other side. We have won the fight and the reptilians towns are cut off and leaderless. It wouldn't take much effort to eradicate them completely, freeing all human lands for their presence for good."
He looked at Jack and then down on the halfbreed.
"But then there is this. An abomination upon humanity. If left to grow this thing could cause devastating chaos in our lands in the future. A timed bomb, that could go off at any minute, growing stronger as the child grows."
Everyone could look at Brutus and truly feel that he was genuinely considering both outcomes.
Brutus squatted down and picked up the boy in one arm. With the other arm he gently pulled the eyelids of the boys left eye.
"He has your strong golden eyes Lord Jack. I truly believe that what the reptilian said is true. He is your son."
He placed the boy back down next to the begging Ang'ris who quickly went to him.
"I will leave the final decision to you Jack. But if you choose to accept the surrender, and let the boy live. Then I hope you understand what must be done to this 'lord'... I will support your decision"
He gazed at Ang'ris with disgust in his eyes.
"Oh. And that boy, if left alive, needs to be thrown into the deepest hole and guarded for life. We simply can't take the chance that he will grouw up and murder us all simply by pulling our blood."
With this he turned around and joined the rest, who awaited Jack's decision.
Jack thought it all over many times.
Part of him wanted to simply kill the boy, Ang'ris and every single remain reptilian on the peninsula.
But another side of him, still remembered how it felt to look into the child's eyes.
"I accept your surrender."
Ang'ris smiled happily as the system notified both Jack and herself about the complete transfer of assets.
Ang'ris summoning stones magically appeared floating before Jack.
Two floating stones, one for the civilians and one for the trash troops.
He grabbed both and put them in his pockets.
[Ang'ris has been stripped of her power as a lord and the lord system has been removed. She is now a Hero in your territory]
[All Ang'ris former assets has been given fully to you. Check the territory map for further details.]
After this the lord system remained silent.
Jack walked to Ang'ris and she look up to him with a smile.
Jack cut of her head with a single strike.
"Kill the rest of the reptilian forces here. Let this be the final revenge for all of us."
Jack spoke and looked at everyone around him.
Slowly, a civilian female walked towards the closest reptilian prisoner.
She used her broken sword to cut the throat of the troop and it bled to death right there on the ground.
Then more civilians began to move and soon every single reptilian had been killed.
The civilians dropped their weapons and turned to embrace eachother.
They had won. They had survived. They had avenged very single human who had died since the first skirmish at the red rivers.
"You didn't have to kill them, you know that right, my lord?"
Lee said it calmly while walked with Jack.
"Oh but I did. Now the reptilians have no other leader figure to turn to. The loyalty to me is indisputeable now, even if the lord system hadn't appeared."
Jack looked at Lee as they walked. He knew that Lee had a point, so he sighed and spoke again.
"Do you truly believe the rest of the lords would simply accept her and that race into our ranks without some kind of final retribution? I had to kill her."
Lee understood the diplomatic impact of conceeding to Brutus's indirect commands.
"And what about the boy?" Lee asked.
"He will be placed in a cell. I will personally see to it." Jack answered with a deep frown.
He would be condemning his own son to a life in prison.
'It can't be helped. He is too dangerous. Maybe... Just maybe the future will change things.'
--
In the following weeks they had many victory celebrations. The first when Jack and the others arrived at home.
Then more as Cochi's town became a proper city with 50.000 civilians located inside, between the two castles and all around the outer walls.
'Victory Hold' Cochi named his city. It became a strong point in Jacks territory and many rivers were worked and farms appeared there.
It also became the point that connected the Glimmering Mountains to the rest of Jack's territory.
The reptilians in the mountain city there, Ang'ris old stronghold, all bowed to Jack and let him know that they were completely loyal.
100.000 civilians lived in that Large city inside the mountain.
20.000 common reptilian troops guarded it. Completely loyal to Jack.
But he let them know to stay in the Glimmering Mountain territory.
He allowed them to use the new 'high-way' he had built between them and Victory Hold.
This was the only place they were allowed to trade with the rest of Jack's humans.
He thought this would give his civilians and troops time enough to meet the reptilians slowly, and accept them as part of their own nation.
Sha'ri's towns and forces had been completely hunted and eradicated in the following weeks.
Their towns, huts and everything about them had been razed and burned to the ground.
Her former combined territory had since returned to 5 different and wild territories.
But it was enough for celebrations when the news of her main city, between the natural large path trough the mountains to the mainland, had been completely erased.
At the beach area, Jack had spend millions of resources to swiftly create a huge city.
'Ocean City's it was called, as it was the only connection to the ocean in the entire peninsula.
A huge 'rare-rank' upgraded castle - now a citadel - had been created near the east side of the beach, right next to the rushing river that flowed from the large lake in the center.
Around the large citadel, he had created three large rings of stone walls, and not just the 6 meter high ones, he had pushed another upgrade to them, becoming twice as wide and 10 meters tall.
The rings of walls could easily contain a million civilians once fully inhabited, and every essential manually build building or resource that Jack had in his arsenal had been properly built and implemented into this Ocean City.
Also a very grand and gold-covered hall had been built here.
It was the embassy and meeting room for all the lord's in the trade-alliance that Jack was now a part of.
Any lord who traveled to his lands could claim a room there for free.
It was here that he bid Ramises, Brutus and the rest goodbye after many days of talks, planning and future trade deals in mind.
"I will see you in my town in 30 days! The 1-year celebration will be magnificent, trust me!"
Ramises waved from his ship as it sat sail from the harbour on the beach that extended from the outer ring-wall of Ocean City.
'So, in 30 days, we've already been on Prime for a whole year.'
Jack was tired. Yet he smiled at the thought, that next year, could be completely calm and let him expand, build and live a peaceful life in this world.