Starting the next day, Rurik began asking around the city about the whereabouts of the rat-men.
Although those rat-men made small weapons and had a low success rate for bloodline weapons, Rurik didn't see that as a big problem.
As long as their craftsmanship was good, Black Flag Territory always had large numbers of slaves. There were plenty of slaves to let them learn those skills.
The small size of the weapons would naturally be solved over time, and the low success rate for bloodline weapons was a headache for the leader to deal with.
What Rurik cared about was how to find these rat-men and persuade them to join Black Flag Territory.
Draven didn't yet know that his good brother in Selene City was creating new problems for him.
At this time, Draven himself was facing a thorny issue: how to properly settle the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants.
Village No. 2 already had the Violet Carpenter Bee colony, and these two insect groups were mortal enemies. Putting them together was obviously inappropriate.
When Draven took away the ant nest, he noticed many Violet Carpenter Bee corpses scattered inside the Gold-Devouring Demon Ant nest.
This was likely because the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants were far larger than legend suggested, largely thanks to their long-term predation of the Violet Carpenter Bees.
The two insect colonies had been confined to the bottom of the fissure by the Death Qi layer, battling each other for years. Even after leaving such an environment, their mutual hostility was hard to change.
Therefore, the best solution was to keep them separated. However, for better management of the massive ant colony, it was best to have the queen ant often stay close to her master.
Draven didn't plan to move to the other two villages. Fortunately, he had two Beast Control Rings, enough to transfer the queen ant.
The Gold-Devouring Demon Ants were strong fighters and existed in huge numbers, but they didn't fit Draven's style.
He didn't want to walk around with a huge ant colony following him wherever he went. If he could get another Divine Power Insect Nest, maybe the situation would be more acceptable.
The problem was that there was only one of those. Even more troublesome, Draven had to carefully consider to whom he should transfer the queen ant.
Only leader-level figures could use the Beast Control Rings, and each person could only have one. Liliana's slot was already filled.
The only ones left were Gregor, Green Serpent, and Serpent Ancestor.
But Gregor was a clone and couldn't be stationed in one place long-term.
Draven viewed both the Violet Carpenter Bees and Gold-Devouring Demon Ants as defensive forces.
As for the Serpent Ancestor and Green Serpent—such valuable resources—there was no way Draven would give them away for free!
After much thought, Draven decided to temporarily place the ant colony in Village No. 1 and not transfer the queen ant yet.
After all, he still had one vacant contract slot and wasn't in a hurry. Viola and Martha were both top-tier bloodline warriors.
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Whichever one broke through next could easily take over the contract in the future.
Moreover, the unique traits of the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants finally gave Draven hope of building a fortress.
However, to block the U-shaped canyon exit where Village No. 1 was located, relying solely on these flying ants was far from enough.
So, he sent Liliana back to Village No. 2 and told her to incorporate the beehive outside the village into the Divine Power Insect Nest.
With this outrageously convenient spatial treasure, the Violet Carpenter Bees could be fully housed inside the village.
Draven watched as Liliana placed the Divine Power Insect Nest—containing the beehive and bee colony—next to the potion fields.
With a dazzling flash of light, the originally palm-sized Divine Power Insect Nest expanded into a tall structure similar in height to a stone house.
But when he saw the satisfied smile on Liliana's face, Draven felt that it was all worth it.
Afterward, Draven took out the glowing plants from his storage bracelet and handed them to Viola for cultivation.
He gave a quick greeting, then led the Gold-Devouring Demon Ant colony toward Village No. 1.
These flying ants could even chew through hard ore; mere rocks posed no problem for them.
Draven was already planning in his mind—placing them on the cliffs of the canyon would not only protect Village No. 1's safety but also take on the task of mining stone.
With their sharp and sturdy mandibles, as long as they were properly directed, their mining speed would definitely surpass manual labor by a large margin.
Riding his tall and mighty Nightmare Horse, Draven escorted the massive ant colony all the way.
Upon reaching the cliff, he began restoring the ant nest structure he had previously excavated.
He rearranged the vast nest and temporarily settled it on the rock face at the canyon's exit.
Then, through the binding contract, he issued orders for the queen ant to tightly control the colony, awaiting further arrangements.
By the time these tasks were done, it was already evening.
Back in the village, Draven saw Bran, who had stayed behind, feeling a slight sense of relief.
Though Bran was reckless, after Draven's stern warning, at least he no longer led hunting parties out on his own.
However, the expression on Bran's face was clearly unpleasant—he hadn't yet adapted to the changes in his life.
Change takes time for anyone, and Draven didn't press him harshly.
Entering the village chief's residence, Draven first said a few words of praise.
Bran, however, showed little interest and just pursed his lips, muttering quietly,"I'd rather be out hunting."
Draven couldn't help but give him a gentle kick and took the cup of wine handed over by a few wolf-women in the village.
He then asked about the village's current situation. Except for him and Ayla, the other responsible leaders were still out and hadn't returned.
Draven remained patient and let Bran talk about the training progress.
He didn't expect the slaves to show remarkable results overnight; it was enough that Bran knew he cared about the matter.
After chatting briefly, Draven walked around the village. He saw that quite a lot of stone had already been piled up and nodded with satisfaction.
"No need for you to collect stone from now on—I've brought some helpers."
Bran looked at him curiously, and Draven told him about the Gold-Devouring Demon Ants.
As soon as Bran heard, his curiosity couldn't be contained; he was eager to see them in person.
Draven didn't stop him. The contract queen ant had already received orders and wouldn't attack recklessly.
This was also a drawback of commanding insect swarms: without the commander present, although the colony obeyed the queen ant's commands, it couldn't distinguish friend from foe.
It was like how Draven could only command the colony not to attack the villagers.
But if hostile forces stood before them, as long as the enemies didn't make the first move, the colony wouldn't attack easily.
They would treat anyone who didn't show aggressive behavior as their own kind.
Of course, if Draven himself was present, the situation would be different.
Bran set off full of enthusiasm.
Draven returned to the village chief's residence but found only two wolf-women inside.
He frowned slightly, thinking: it seemed the other two villages needed a dedicated meeting place as well.
Otherwise, as the leader, he always had to squeeze into the same room with his brothers' wives, which felt awkward no matter how you looked at it.
With no better option, he asked the wolf-women to call Ayla over.
He let Ayla briefly report the deputy chief's work progress.
Ayla glanced at him curiously—she rarely saw him this serious, which made her a bit nervous.
But soon, she took out a thin parchment booklet and immediately got to work.
Listening to Ayla's detailed report, Draven occasionally revealed a cold smile at the corners of his mouth.
"You guys are all scolding me behind my back, right?"
