Fortunately, that pair of underwear had already been hanging on the wall to dry for several days, courtesy of Viola.

  Selene approached, initially noticing nothing unusual. But as she casually flipped it over, her expression suddenly darkened.

  Wasn't this almost exactly like what Linda had described in her previous report?

  Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the werewolf leader standing nearby, pretending to count stones with his head lowered.

  Selene was stunned as if struck by lightning, and the underwear in her hand fell lightly to the ground.

  By the time Draven looked up again, Selene had already vanished.

  He couldn't help but hold back a laugh, bending down to pick up the underwear and instinctively bringing it close to his nose for a sniff."The smell's mostly gone; I'll have to remind Viola to change it more often."

  He never expected that even Selene would have a day where she'd run away in defeat. His mood soared, thinking, You think you can run away? You came here specifically, which means you failed to steal the technique over there.

  That just means she'll come again in the future.

  Draven thought of Selene's figure, his lips curling into a grin as his mind began designing several new lingerie styles for her.

  Though Selene had left, the work had to go on. The fresh blood of the magical beasts had to be processed quickly, and he needed to move it to the cellar to brew the blood wine.

  Humming a little tune, Draven threw himself into his work with great enthusiasm.

  Meanwhile, Selene was still flying in midair, her face filled with resentment and burning anger."Damn it!"

  She had cursed Draven thousands of times in her mind, but the shame of being outsmarted refused to leave her.

  What was even harder to accept was that she couldn't figure out what method was really behind this breeding! When had she ever suffered such a silent loss?

  The angrier she got, the more she whipped her lash several times in the air, the wind roaring like thunder.

  As soon as she landed, the surrounding forest and vegetation suffered, a large clearing brutally carved out by her fury.

  After venting recklessly, Selene finally calmed down a bit.

  She shook her whip violently, really wanting to lash Draven to vent her anger. But as soon as the thought came up, a sharp pain suddenly pierced her chest.

  Gritting her teeth, she clutched her chest with one hand, her face pale.

  Under the succubus's oath, even thinking about hurting him mentally would cause a backlash.

  She took a deep breath, and after the pain subsided, she gradually regained clarity.

  Her usual cold, indifferent demeanor returned, but her eyes held a hollow emptiness.

  No matter how much she wanted to avoid the existence of the Demon Lord, it ultimately wrapped around her like a chain.

  Could it be that one day she would have to kneel before him of her own accord?

  That thought made her completely uncomfortable, and her thoughts began to grow chaotic.

  Lydia noticed her state. She simply asked casually,"Where did you go?"

  Selene exploded at her like a spoiled child, just like the little niece who always threw tantrums when she was young.

  Lydia didn't get angry. She walked over and hugged Selene, who was sitting at the edge of the bed.

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  She gently patted her back and hummed a lullaby of the succubus clan.

  This usually aloof lord suddenly looked like a child, her eyes red and tears dropping one by one onto Lydia's chest.

  Feeling that warm wetness, Lydia sighed and patted her even more gently.

  "All of us succubi, sooner or later, will have a day like this."

  Lydia's voice was low, half a reminder, half a confession.

  Whether she understood or not, Selene's eyes slowly brightened with renewed determination.

  She broke free from her aunt's embrace, wiped her tears, and regained her composed expression.

  "I don't believe in any succubus fate!"

  She said stubbornly,"Come on, Auntie, let's go check outside the city again!"

  She had just caught a familiar scent from her aunt, and a sudden flash of insight struck her mind—she seemed to understand the real purpose of the clothes.

  "It's just a little trick to suppress with scent."

  Thinking of those obedient livestock in the pens, she casually put away two pieces of clothing, her confidence returning.

  With Lydia by her side, she set off once more toward the outskirts of the city.

  "If he can do it, so can I."

  The oppressive aura of a lord-level presence fell like a heavy hammer, forcing the beasts in the pens to instinctively crouch low, trembling all over, utterly unable to move.

  Selene stood at the doorway, a satisfied smile on her face. Imitating Draven's method, she hung several pieces of clothing on the pen door, looking very serious.

  "Auntie, have someone clean out all the dead fish from the pond and restock it. Also replace the aquatic plants."

  "Replant the cassava and fruit trees as well, and don't forget to water them with manure."

  She stood there, her gaze sweeping over the beasts, who were now as subdued and obedient as pets from being intimidated. The earlier sense of failure vanished instantly.

  She began carefully briefing Lydia on the secrets she had observed in the Black Flag Territory, each sentence as earnest as reading out a military order.

  Lydia listened attentively, nodding from time to time. Those behind her moved quickly—almost immediately after each command, succubi or slaves set out to carry it out.

  Finally, on their way back, they found a chance to talk about the trading company.

  The two walked side by side toward the newly built trading company building, a solid and simple earth-structure style building. They began discussing operational and layout issues in detail.

  ...

  Meanwhile, on Draven's side, simply providing the slaves with new stone caves on either side of the canyon to shelter them from wind and rain was already enough.

  When the first batch of stone caves was completed, the inner walls still bore the fine marks gnawed by the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants, rough and unpolished.

  But in Draven's eyes, this was already a perfect construction. He couldn't help but sigh again: it really had to be the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants.

  Not only were they easy to raise, but they were not picky eaters at all. Although legend said they fed on ore, at first Draven worried there might be no minerals in his territory to sustain them.

  Later, however, he realized these Gold-Devouring Demon Ants happily ate ordinary stones too.

  Only then did he realize: all stones actually contain metal, just in varying amounts.

  For example, reddish stones usually have a high iron content, while yellowish or greenish ones might have more copper or aluminum. But as long as it was stone, they would gnaw on it.

  If one stone wasn't enough, just give them several. After all, the Black Flag Territory had everything, and stones were the most abundant.

  Draven also gave them an extra reward—diluted honey.

  Martha diluted the honey with water, then used a brush made from animal hair to apply it onto the cliff walls. Once the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants smelled it, they quickly started burrowing inside.

  After Draven's personal inspection, all the stone caves passed. Including the slaves, now everyone except Bran's family of three had moved in.

  To extract more stone, each cave was designed to be very spacious. Even the bulky Rhinoceros Men could fit ten of them comfortably in one cave without feeling cramped.

  Big Bear and the others had already learned to build their own bunk beds using dried wood as frames. As long as it didn't collapse, who cared about looks?

  However, Martha's room was personally built by Draven. He used up many common weapons, melted down metal, and crafted a huge iron bed sturdy enough to hold ten pigs.

  The bed was covered with a thick layer of animal skins, topped with a cool snakeskin layer. Draven sat on the edge, rocking it back and forth, a look of satisfaction on his face.

  "This won't creak anymore, right?" he thought with a smile.

  He had already started thinking about making a set for Village No. 2. Looking again at the iron rings on the wall and the double-layer stretching poles, he grinned and installed a washbasin.

  When Martha finished her work and came home, she immediately spotted these strange but novel installations in her personal room.

  She tilted her head to examine them, and the pair of furry deer antlers on her head tilted as well, looking just like two question marks.

  Draven couldn't help but step forward, grabbing her hand and lifting her up to sit on the washbasin.

  Martha's long legs instinctively squeezed tight. She paused, then her eyes suddenly turned dangerous.

  "You bad guy~" she softly bit her lower lip, her voice carrying a hint of coaxing, but her hands had already hooked around Draven's neck, pulling him closer.

  "No, it's not what you think... wait, let me teach you how to use it..."

  Things began to spiral out of control.

  Even though it was her first time seeing these devices, she was using them more skillfully than him!

  The air inside the cave gradually heated up, unbearably hot as if about to explode. Outside, the heavy rain finally arrived.

  Thunder roared through the dark, cloudy sky, and the rain poured down like it wanted to wash the entire world clean.

  "It's here~"

  Martha panted softly, hanging on the stretching pole, her voice trembling as if responding to the sudden storm.