Draven was finally worn down by Liliana's relentless pestering and had no choice but to take out the heavy flail that the dwarf Edric had gifted him from his storage ring.

  The flail was hefty, its iron chain rough and heavy, with a spiked head that looked fierce and menacing.

  Liliana took the flail, her hands suddenly awkward holding such a cumbersome weapon. She glanced at the small, exquisitely crafted fiery-red staff in Viola's hand, and her expression immediately fell.

  With a dull thud, she slammed the flail onto the ground. Liliana pouted, snorted, and turned to run away.

  Draven watched her flickering, restless back and shook his head helplessly. The child's moods were as unpredictable as the shifting wind and sudden rain.

  He crouched down, carefully putting the flail away, silently thinking to himself: raising children is truly not easy.

  Looking up, he saw Viola quickening her pace to catch up with Liliana, trying her best to soothe the little girl's stubborn temper.

  Seeing Viola's fiery-red fox tail swaying gently with her steps, a warm feeling suddenly surged in Draven's heart.

  He thought to himself, although this little fox girl seemed calm and like a steward, she actually hid a great deal of emotion inside.

  Though Draven had given Viola protection so she didn't have to fight often, her strength was by no means weak.

  Originally a high-level bloodline warrior, through the blood wine and Draven's careful nurturing, her power had quietly approached that of a leader.

  Moreover, her awakening was entirely natural, without any external aid.

  The little fox girl was very competitive. Ever since learning that Draven was a naturally awakened werewolf leader, she had been striving to catch up to him.

  Draven was also full of expectations because, according to the secret arts left by Gareth, the higher the rank of the partner, the more significant the enhancement to bloodline power.

  After lunch, Draven assigned the female slaves to weed outside the village and clear the wild growth and debris.

  While lost in thought, he looked up to see the kobold Titus slowly descending on his Nightmare Horse from the sky.

  This was Titus's first time riding a Nightmare Horse, and his excitement was mixed with nervousness and caution. As the horse landed, his legs grew weak, but he still respectfully saluted the leader with a clenched fist.

  Draven took the Serpent Ancestor staff Titus handed him and hung it at his waist.

  After briefly asking about the status of Village No.1 and learning that everything was normal, Draven patted Titus's shoulder and said,"Take this flail and do a good job."

  He then took the flail from the storage ring and handed it to Titus. Holding the weapon, Titus clearly felt the bloodline resonance within and knew this was a rare bloodline weapon.

  He silently vowed never to betray Draven's trust and expectations.

  Draven had high hopes for Titus and planned to assign him to manage the slaves once Bran's training made them strong enough.

  That way, Villages No.1 and No.2 would have sufficient hunting power to gradually relieve the serpent men hunting tasks in Village No.3.

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  "Selene has great ambitions, so how could I have no ambition?" Draven muttered to himself.

  Riding the Nightmare Horse, Draven flew toward Village No.3. The failure at the cassava field left him somewhat anxious, especially about the future of the planned orchard.

  But to his surprise, upon arrival, Acorn Oak and several treants were busy tending the orchard.

  Their hard work was rewarding. Not far from Village No.3, a large, orderly orchard had taken shape.

  Draven approached the fruit trees and examined them carefully. The trees were sturdy, with lush branches and leaves, and more surprisingly, many branches were heavy with ripe fruit.

  Transplanting fruit trees was tricky—usually only young, unfruiting saplings could survive transplantation. For such thick, fruit-bearing trees to be successfully transplanted and thriving was almost a miracle.

  Upon closer inspection, Draven couldn't help but admire Acorn Oak and his treant team. Hundreds of fruit trees had all survived and were growing quite healthily.

  He called over Acorn Oak and several treants and earnestly asked about the orchard's condition. Acorn Oak detailed their care methods and management experience, which made Draven smile broadly.

  Especially after he saw the treants demonstrate their grazing skills, Draven was utterly speechless.

  Acorn Oak approached a fruit tree and crouched down, wearing an expression that was both serious and gentle, as if whispering softly to an old friend.

  His voice was strange, carrying a peculiar tone unique to his kind, as he spoke quietly to the tree.

  Strangely, the fruit tree began to sway slightly, its roots writhing as if struggling, slowly pulling free from the soil.

  Draven stared wide-eyed at the root that writhed like a snake. Under Acorn Oak's guidance, the fruit tree was actually moving forward slowly!

  The roots twisted section by section, crawling with heavy yet determined steps.

  Draven silently cursed himself for wasting talent. These treants right before him shouldn't just be used for guarding or quarrying stone—they were a complete waste of potential!

  Realizing this, he didn't hesitate to decide to transfer Acorn Oak and the treants to Village No. 2. Originally, he had placed the orchard in Village No. 3 because the serpent men there could use snakes to guard the orchard.

  But now the situation was different. Since the treants could easily transplant fully fruiting trees successfully, those trees should be kept closer for easier management.

  After arranging the treants, Draven felt it was time to visit Village No. 3 himself. After all, the serpent men led by Green Serpent were performing quite well. Although they had no fur and rain didn't affect them much, when it rained during hunts, wild beasts would hide, and the serpent men could only wait idly.

  So Green Serpent came up with a solution—fish on rainy days.

  Now, the pond in Village No. 3 was almost packed with fish, so dense that there was barely any space visible on the water's surface. To cultivate the fish, Green Serpent even led a group of serpent men to expand the pond on sunny days—digging mud, reinforcing dams, and working vigorously.

  When Draven arrived, he saw hundreds of serpent men busily waving shovels and baskets. Even Green Serpent himself got into the water, digging while covered in muddy water.

  Standing on the shore, Draven called out to the mud-covered Green Serpent,"Come here!"

  Hearing the call, Green Serpent twisted his body and crawled out of the water, drenched in mud. Draven intended to pat his shoulder but held back.

  "Good work," Draven said."Has Bran told you? There are over a hundred new serpent women in your territory!"

  Green Serpent's eyes lit up immediately, clearly not expecting such a reward from Draven. Smiling, Draven permitted Green Serpent to select female slaves from Village No. 2, and Green Serpent almost jumped for joy.

  This guy was clearly bursting with excitement. Back when he was an elder, he was never short of serpent women attending to him. But since following Draven, he'd only had a bachelor life in one village—lonely and unbearable.

  Draven waved off his thanks and urged him to get back to work. With Gregor around, Village No. 2 was closely monitored.

  Before leaving, Draven hesitated briefly but still handed the Serpent Ancestor to Gregor. Although the Serpent Ancestor seemed of little use when kept on one's person, Draven wanted to see if the Serpent Ancestor dared to act behind his back.

  If Gregor dared to scheme secretly, Draven would never allow him to keep one of his contract slots.

  Since being brought back by Titus, the Serpent Ancestor thought it might lose its freedom again—after all, during the day it served as a belt, and at night it guarded the gate. Such a monotonous life was unbearable.

  Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, Draven assigned it to a bloodline warrior-level serpent man.

  The Serpent Ancestor restrained its excitement and quietly followed behind Gregor.

  Although it didn't understand why Gregor had earned Draven's trust, the Serpent Ancestor knew this was not yet the time to act. Being away from Draven's side was already a great relief for it.

  It was unlikely that any serpent man could resist its temptation.