Draven was calculating in his mind. He didn't want the Rhinoceros Man to consume too much of the territory's grain, but he had to find a way both sides could accept.

  If he accidentally let them take advantage for free and ended up losing out himself, that would be disastrous. But this matter couldn't be taken lightly; it needed careful planning to design a mutually beneficial arrangement.

  He paced back and forth in the leader's hall, thinking through all the possibilities. His mind continuously weighed the pros and cons, trying to figure out how to make this deal maximize benefits for the Black Flag Territory instead of turning into a disaster.

  Every step he took was cautious, fearing that any misstep would give others the advantage while he bore the losses.

  In the afternoon, Bran arrived, ready to take the slaves. Bran wore the storage ring Draven had given him on his wrist and was grinning foolishly.

  Draven couldn't help but slap him.

  Bran rubbed his head and grumbled,"I'm already the village chief, and you still hit me like this!"

  Draven ignored him and gave an order. Immediately, a group of little black wolf pups rushed at Bran. The whole village turned into chaos.

  Bran ran around desperately, but he couldn't escape those wild little fiends chasing him.

  Liliana, wearing the mask Sylvia had given her, looked like a small cat-person girl standing on the sidelines enjoying the show.

  She curled her lips in disdain, uninterested in the kids' roughhousing. After all, she was a mature woman now and no longer liked playing with children.

  Draven reached out and pinched her cat ears. Sylvia's mask was truly magical. Once worn, it could transform her appearance to resemble any race she had seen.

  And apart from demigods, no one could see through the illusion. This kind of magical item was extremely rare and valuable.

  Unfortunately, no matter how much Draven persuaded her, Liliana refused to take it off. She wore it all day, constantly changing appearances, switching up to eight hundred times a day.

  More sadly, despite all the transformations, her open-hearted nature remained unchanged, as sincere as ever.

  Draven glanced at her helplessly, feeling a bit sorry for her.

  The little pups playing were soon rounded up by their new teacher Linda, effectively saving Bran's life.

  If Linda hadn't intervened in time, those black wolf pups would have given Bran a lot of trouble.

  Bran stumbled over to Draven's side, much more obedient now. Those seemingly small kids were actually fierce when they acted.

  Draven called Bran back to the hall. Village No. 1 originally had only a few dozen villagers. Later, two hundred slaves were added, and with the seven hundred plus black wolves brought back this time, Bran was now managing over a thousand people.

  Even with Serpent Ancestor guarding the place, plus Alaric, Ayla, and Frostwolf Kevin assisting, managing so many people was no easy task.

  After all, this was the foundation of the entire Black Wolf clan. Draven knew clearly that everything had to be arranged well before he could feel at ease.

  Along with Bran came the initially freed hunting team and nearly a hundred kobold slaves.

  This way, Bran's forces were all Black Wolf clan members, internally united and easier to manage.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Village No. 2 was safe but not suitable for only female slaves, elderly, and children. Bran handed over all the people he brought back to Titus, letting the Village No. 2 sheriff truly take on his responsibilities.

  "All the black wolf slaves are under your charge," Draven said seriously to Titus."Bran, you have to work hard and train them into qualified hunters as soon as possible."

  He stared at Bran with a heavy tone. Rurik had performed well in Selene City, as a comrade who had shared life and death battles. Bran should also bear heavier responsibilities now.

  Bran put away his usual carefree smile, patted his chest, and promised,"I will complete the mission!"

  Draven nodded and discussed the next plans with him in detail.

  Besides bringing out the slaves, Bran had an even more important task: to build a good relationship with Frostwolf Kevin.

  Draven not only valued Frostwolf Kevin's ability to tame the exotic white wolf, but he also placed great importance on the powerful tribal background behind him. Simply put, Kevin had been nurtured and trained by his tribe since childhood and had a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the culture and history of the werewolf clan.

  In contrast, Draven and his two companions left their hometown early, wandering aimlessly, living almost like beasts—there was no question of any inheritance or cultural foundation for them.

  At this point, Bran's face couldn't hide his excitement. Kevin had just arrived at Village No. 1 a few days ago, and they were getting along quite well. Naturally, Bran envied that white wolf exotic beast. Even without special instructions from Draven, he would try every means to uncover those secrets. After all, the value of the white wolf was self-evident, and everyone wanted to control the power behind it.

  Draven was very satisfied with Bran's performance and encouraged him to consult more with Alaric. Bran was loyal and brave, no doubt about that, but his mind worked slowly compared to the clever Alaric. Although Alaric was often bullied by Bran, his quick thinking helped solve many problems. Draven even hinted to Bran that if things got tough, he could call on the Serpent Ancestor for help.

  Unfortunately, Bran seemed to have completely missed the hint! Draven shook his head helplessly, feeling some people are just naturally bad at scheming. For now, let Bran try on his own—if it doesn't work out, he'll have backup. In any case, the requirements were simple: build Village No. 1 into a hunting base for the Black Flag Territory as soon as possible, providing a stable supply of meat for the territory.

  Meanwhile, the more than 300 snake people in Village No. 3 would gradually move away from hunting life and shift towards other productive activities.

  Draven disliked war, but he understood it was inevitable. Once the rainy season ended, whether they liked it or not, they had to prepare for battle.

  After giving these instructions, Draven quickly sent Bran away with the slaves. As Bran left, he was still concerned about the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent and wanted the leader to replace the Serpent Ancestor. Draven gave him a kick.

  In fact, Draven didn't yet realize that this arrangement was creating a great opportunity for Alaric's future. The reason they kept the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent was because it was extremely practical. Bran now had enough manpower, so handing it to him would be a waste. More importantly, the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent would play a key role in Black Flag Territory's development plans—something the Serpent Ancestor couldn't replace.

  The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent had already been sent out on a mission. This mid-level high-grade magical beast was almost invincible in the wilderness, as long as it didn't encounter lord-level beasts.

  For the remainder of the rainy season, the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent's task was to strongly support Viola's livestock operations.

  The number of wild rabbits was already sufficient—several hundred multiplying rapidly—providing a stable source of meat for Black Flag Territory's tables.

  Viola had more than a thousand slaves under her control, which made her very anxious. You couldn't have over a thousand people all gathering mushrooms or digging cassava. Cassava was manageable, but mushrooms would become scarcer after the rainy season ended. Then what would the slaves do?

  Among them, over 600 were female slaves and more than 300 were elderly, weak, or disabled—consuming a lot of food daily. Viola was worried that the food supply wouldn't be enough to feed so many slaves.

  So Draven sent out the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent to capture wild goats, wild oxen, wild deer, and other herbivores every day before the rainy season ended.

  Viola had the female slaves build pens near Huaguo Mountain outside the village, hoping the King Serpent would bring back enough prey to allow her more flexibility in managing the surplus labor.

  Herbivores eat a lot, and free-range grazing and hay cutting required manpower, partially solving the female slaves' work allocation problem.

  Of course, this was only part of the solution. The remaining slaves had to continue gathering mushrooms, digging cassava, caring for children, and doing miscellaneous chores.

  Once the village roads were built and arable land surveyed, the female slaves could take part in more important labor, such as road construction, land reclamation, and replanting cassava.

  After winter, when Black Flag Territory's situation stabilized, Viola would probably worry about a shortage of manpower again.